Mindset Matters – Part 1 By Angeli Marie Shaw

A DEEPER LOOK INTO WHAT WE DO, WHY WE DO IT AND HOW THE POWER OF CHANGE STARTS WITH YOU.

That’s quite a ‘powerhouse’ you have upstairs, and both consciously and unconsciously, hundreds of trillions of neuronal connections are being made with each second we breathe life. Whilst the human brain is by far one of the most complex objects known to man, with that complexity also comes mystery. Mix it in with the body and soul, the mystery deepens and down the rabbit hole you go. But before diving in and free-falling your way through it, let’s keep our feet on the ground and gain a better understanding of how your ‘powerhouse’ works and how you have more control than you realise.

Amongst the many studies out there, including biology, neuroscience, quantum physics and epigenetics (just to name a few), lies the idea that we have infinite potential and personal power. Where this potential and power becomes limited is a result of our thoughts and perceptions, which in turn affects the cells in our body, therefore altering our DNA. With this newfound information, we are living in a time where we can no longer ignore the effects that our brains and the information it holds has on us, but what we can do is gain a better understanding of it, and find ways to create more positive, profound effects, releasing the grip of old patterns and create new, more supportive patterns, habits and behaviours. We can indeed become masters of our own mindscapes, but it’s not something that just happens; we need to do the work. Much like any learning, whether it be a trade, degree or life skill, we simply need to begin. But first, let’s strengthen our knowledge further.

From the moment we are born, our brains have already been developing for quite some time. In fact, the brain starts to take shape within 4 weeks of conception! During pregnancy, our brains development is all about growing neutrons and connections and making sure each section of the brain grows properly and in the right area. Controlled by genes, this process takes a huge amount of energy; but did you also know that our behaviours and environment can cause changes that effect the way our genes work? In fact, they also have an influence of our limiting beliefs, issues and traumas that we carry. To simplify, scientists are now researching that epigenetic changes resulting from traumatic experiences can be passed from one generation to the next, sometimes referred to as intergenerational trauma. Throw your current life in and what effect it has on your cognitive state, what could you be passing on? And what have you possibly inherited? We’ve all heard the saying ‘you are what you think’ and that ‘powerhouse’ brain of yours is running the show. So, what does this all mean? I want you to consider what goes through your head, when you have to deal with a difficult client, perhaps you want to resign from your salon, or as an employer you want to let someone go. You get anxiety when it comes to increasing your service price, or the thoughts that enter your head when a client appears to be ‘cold’ towards you. So many scenarios that evoke emotion in you, create motivation or arouse fear. A lot of us will say ‘but I can’t help it”, but what if you can?

Another thing to consider is your gender. Regardless of how you identify yourself, you were born with either male or female parts, and this also has an impact on how we think and respond to the world. One of my favourite examples of this is a husband and wife. The wife turns to the husband and says, ‘what are you thinking babe?’ to which the man responds ‘nothing’, so the wife asks again and gets the same answer. The thing is, when a man says he’s thinking about nothing, he is LITERALLY thinking about nothing. The husband asks the wife the same question. Only when she says ‘nothing’ she actually means EVERYTHING. There is certainly a lot more complexity to how females function, but there are reasons for that. For example, women contain more ganglion cells in their eyes, meaning they can process more visual information as they send the image to the brain. Females brains also have a resting state of 70%, while men’s is at 30%. What this basically means is woman have the ability to take more information in than men, even when they are not directly paying attention. Women literally ‘see’ more than men. Annoyed your son missed that sock on the floor under the couch? Guess what? He probably didn’t see it, but a woman will, always. Can you relate?

Then there’s the topic of conscious and unconscious thoughts. The conscious mind has the power to decide what filters into our subconscious mind, however the issue is that we are not taught to actively choose our thoughts. We tend to just accept whatever is filtering through. Our conscious mind has the power to reprogram our subconscious mind and this is done mainly through repetition. For example, think back to the first time you did a blow dry. You had to consciously think about what to do, how to section, hold your brush and coordinate your dryer with your arm movements. In time, those actions have become automatic, and you’re able to do it subconsciously. This can be applied to almost anything in life, but in order to make changes, we need to bring these things into our conscious mind, and then choose to take action.

The past century has seen huge steps forward in our understanding of how the brain works, and with so many therapies, modalities, tools etc. to choose from when wanting to grow, change and improve our mindscapes, it can understandably become an overwhelming process. Please know that any step you take, no matter how big or small is an investment in YOU and if you refer to parts of my article, you may just be doing good by your future offspring too!

So how do you decide where to begin? Part 2 coming in the next issue!

Love & Bliss, Angeli xxoo

Angeli is a Holistic Empowerment Coach, Mindset Mentor and founder of The Bliss Coach. To find out more and get in touch visit www.theblisscoach.com.au or follow us on our socials @theblisscoach