PP5 Bruce Lipton - Amazon S3€¦ ·  · 2014-07-24Bruce&Lipton& with!Dawson!Church!...

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www.TappingPeakPerformance.com 1 Bruce Lipton with Dawson Church The Honeymoon Effect Dawson: My guest today is Dr. Bruce Lipton, who formerly served on the faculty of the Stanford University School of Medicine. Bruce is a famous stem cell biologist and pioneer in the field of epigenetics, the science of how our genes can be controlled from outside of the cell, or even outside of the body. I’ve known Bruce for many years since I first collaborated with him to publish his Wall Street Journal bestselling book The Biology of Belief. His most recent book is called The Honeymoon Effect. In this wideranging, provocative, and funny interview, Bruce talks about how our unconscious beliefs can sabotage our conscious goals. The material of our unconscious minds was installed before we turned seven years old. No matter how clear and strong our current, conscious goals are, that old material can sabotage our performance. Here’s a quote of Bruce’s I’d like to draw your particular attention to. He said, “The function of the mind is to create coherence between your beliefs and life experiences. How can you bring your subconscious mind into coherence with your goals to boost your performance, rather than blocking it?” Bruce has several practical recommendations to share with you. Bruce, I am delighted to welcome you to the program. Bruce: Dawson, I’m absolutely delighted myself. I love the opportunity to be with you and talk with your wonderful audience. I should also let them know that The Biology of Belief wouldn’t have gotten off the ground without you as a fundamental participant in creating that book. I want to thank you because your help made that book really wonderful. Dawson: Thank you. It has been great to see how it has gone from those small beginnings to the huge success that it is now and how these ideas have been reaching people. Let’s talk about the whole notion of energy and that, biologically speaking, we humans are energy. Jim Oschman says that energy is the currency, or the medium of exchange, of nature. Showing how human beings are energy and can live in that realm is powerful. You do that more eloquently than anyone else I know. I’m just thrilled by your approach in that way.

Transcript of PP5 Bruce Lipton - Amazon S3€¦ ·  · 2014-07-24Bruce&Lipton& with!Dawson!Church!...

 

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Bruce  Lipton  with  Dawson  Church  

The  Honeymoon  Effect  

 

 

Dawson:   My   guest   today   is   Dr.   Bruce   Lipton,   who   formerly   served   on   the   faculty   of   the   Stanford  University   School   of   Medicine.   Bruce   is   a   famous   stem   cell   biologist   and   pioneer   in   the   field   of  epigenetics,  the  science  of  how  our  genes  can  be  controlled  from  outside  of  the  cell,  or  even  outside  of  the  body.  

I’ve   known  Bruce   for  many   years   since   I   first   collaborated  with  him   to  publish  his  Wall   Street   Journal  best-­‐selling  book  The  Biology  of  Belief.  His  most  recent  book  is  called  The  Honeymoon  Effect.  

In   this  wide-­‐ranging,  provocative,  and   funny   interview,  Bruce   talks  about  how  our  unconscious  beliefs  can   sabotage   our   conscious   goals.   The   material   of   our   unconscious   minds   was   installed   before   we  turned   seven   years   old.   No   matter   how   clear   and   strong   our   current,   conscious   goals   are,   that   old  material  can  sabotage  our  performance.  

Here’s  a  quote  of  Bruce’s  I’d  like  to  draw  your  particular  attention  to.  He  said,  “The  function  of  the  mind  is  to  create  coherence  between  your  beliefs  and  life  experiences.  How  can  you  bring  your  subconscious  mind  into  coherence  with  your  goals  to  boost  your  performance,  rather  than  blocking  it?”  

Bruce  has  several  practical  recommendations  to  share  with  you.  Bruce,  I  am  delighted  to  welcome  you  to  the  program.  

Bruce:  Dawson,  I’m  absolutely  delighted  myself.  I  love  the  opportunity  to  be  with  you  and  talk  with  your  wonderful  audience.    

I  should  also  let  them  know  that  The  Biology  of  Belief  wouldn’t  have  gotten  off  the  ground  without  you  as  a   fundamental  participant   in  creating   that  book.   I  want   to   thank  you  because  your  help  made   that  book  really  wonderful.  

Dawson:  Thank  you.  It  has  been  great  to  see  how  it  has  gone  from  those  small  beginnings  to  the  huge  success  that  it  is  now  and  how  these  ideas  have  been  reaching  people.  

Let’s  talk  about  the  whole  notion  of  energy  and  that,  biologically  speaking,  we  humans  are  energy.  Jim  Oschman  says  that  energy  is  the  currency,  or  the  medium  of  exchange,  of  nature.  Showing  how  human  beings  are  energy  and  can  live  in  that  realm  is  powerful.  You  do  that  more  eloquently  than  anyone  else  I  know.  I’m  just  thrilled  by  your  approach  in  that  way.  

 

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From  the  new  book,  let’s  talk  about  applying  these  ideas  in  relationships.  Let’s  have  a  quick  overview  of  why  you  picked  this  topic  right  now.  

Bruce:  We  talk  in  our  circles  about  how  we  are  creating  the  lives  that  we  live.  Of  course,  a  lot  of  people  look  around  at  their  particular  lives  and  say,  “I  wouldn’t  have  created  this.  I  would  have  done  something  different.  Obviously,   I’m  not   in   that  creation  seat.   I’m  being  controlled  or   influenced  by   these  outside  sources  that  prevent  me,  in  some  sense,  from  getting  to  my  destination.”  

A  lot  of  people  say,  “I  would  love  to  create  a  life,  but  not  the  one  I  have.”  Then  it  turns  out,  as  we  know  from  The  Biology  of  Belief,  that,  in  fact,  the  very  positive  and  negative  things  that  come  into  our  lives  are  part  of  our  participation.  We  are  co-­‐creating.  

As  I  said,  people  don’t  really  like  to  go  there  when  they  look  at  their  current  situation.  Then  I  say,  “Go  back  to  a  time   in  your   life  where  you  fell  head  over  heels   in   love  with  somebody.”   I  ask  three  general  questions  to  shape  what  I  call  the  honeymoon  effect.  

I  say,  “Go  back  to  that  time  you  fell  in  love.  Were  you  healthy?”  Almost  everyone  when  they  go  back  to  that  time  says,  “Yes,  I  was  exuberantly  healthy.”  

Then  I  say,  “Did  you  have  energy?”  Of  course,  everybody  laughs  because  they  know  that  they  made  love  for  days  without  stopping  for  food  or  sleep.    

Then  I  say,  “Was  life  so  beautiful  at  that  time  that  you  couldn’t  wait  for  the  next  day  to  have  more?”  The  answer  is  almost  always,  “Yes,  it  was  so  fabulous.”  

I  say,  “When  you  fell  in  love  like  that,  it  was  like  heaven  on  Earth.”  They  say,  “Yes,  it  was  like  heaven  on  Earth.”  I  say,  “Here’s  an  interesting  aspect  from  a  scientific  insight  and  understanding.  That  was  not  an  accident,  coincidence,  or  chance.  That  was  a  personal  creation.”  

That   becomes   really   relevant.   If   you   understand   the   nature   of   how   you   created   a   period   called   the  honeymoon,  which  was  tantamount  to  heaven  on  Earth,  then  there’s  a  more  important  question.  What  happened  to  it?  

It  starts  out  so  beautifully.  Then  if  the  relationship  continues,  the  juiciness  of  that  heaven-­‐on-­‐Earth  thing  disappears  and  it  becomes  regular  life  again  at  some  point.  

The  whole   idea   is   this.   The   understanding   of  The  Honeymoon   Effect   is   the   science   that   goes   into   the  nature  of  why  you  created  the  honeymoon  effect  and  how.  More  important,  how  come  it  disappears?  What  was  that?  

Why  that’s  so  totally  relevant   is  that   if  you  know  the  mechanics  of  how  you  created   it  and  the  reason  why   you’ve   lost   it,   then   you   come   down   to   a   very   simple   logic   that   says   that   if   you   have   that  understanding,  you  could  create  heaven  on  Earth  every  day  of  your  life  for  the  rest  of  your  life  and  not  just  have  it  for  that  short  honeymoon.  

That  is  the  mission  statement  and  understanding.  First,  people  have  to  understand  that  when  they  fell  in  love  like  that,  it  was  not  an  accident.  It’s  knowledge  of  self.  Knowledge  is  power.  Knowledge  of  self,  by  definition,  is  self-­‐empowerment.  

What  my  book  is  intended  to  do  is  to  get  people  to  own  that  if  they  did  this  before,  they  can  do  it  again.  If   we   all   did   this,   then   heaven   on   Earth   is   not   just   an   individual   experience.   It   becomes   a   global  experience.  That  destination  is  what  I’m  looking  for.  

 

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Dawson:   Imagine   us   all   living   in   that   state   all   of   the   time   and  doing   things   to   consciously   evoke   that  state.  I’ll  give  you  one  little  example  from  my  office  here,  Bruce.  

We  all  work  in  the  office  and  are  very  intent  on  our  jobs.  It’s  an  open  plan.  We  all  see  each  other.  Every  once  in  a  while,  my  assistant  Deb  will  say,  “We’re  all  very  serious  here.  Let’s  tell  some  jokes.”  She’ll  grab  some  jokes  off  the  Internet.  We’ll  all  laugh  uproariously  and  share  the  funniest  thing  that  has  happened  to  us  that  day.  Suddenly,  the  energy  of  the  whole  thing  has  changed.  

In  the  book,  you  talk  about  energy  and  how  we  can  sense  it.  Just  below  the  level  of  our  conscious  mind,  our   subconscious   is   chewing  at   all   of   these  pieces  of   information.   You  do   things   to   consciously  evoke  that  kind  of  good  energy,  as  well  as  use  that  perceptual  system  to  avoid  bad  experiences.  

Bruce:  We  get  so  caught  up  in  emotion  that  we  fail  to  recognize  that  we  could  step  back  a  little  bit  and  not  just  be  an  actor  in  the  life,  but  also  be  a  director  of  that  actor  in  the  life.  

You  can  step  back  and  say,  “Wait.  I  want  you  to  go  in  a  different  direction,”  and  all  of  a  sudden  we  can  change  that.  That’s  where  personal  empowerment  comes  from.  

Dawson:   Yes,   because   we   assume   that   these   conditions   and   circumstances   are   fixed,   external,   and  inevitable.  In  fact,  what  you’re  pointing  to  in  the  book  is  how  much  of  our  lives  are  really  self-­‐directed  and  completely  within  our  ability  to  shift.  It’s  our  habits  that  keep  us  where  we  are.  

Bruce:  Yes,  that  is  a  critical  part.  As  The  Biology  of  Belief  emphasizes,  we  have  been  programmed  to  be  disempowered.  We’re  all   equally  powerful   creators  on   this  planet.  But  people   say,   “That   guy   is   really  powerful  over  there  and  I’m  not  that  powerful.”  

Then  you  might  ask,  “How  did  that  person  get  all  that  extra  power?”  The  joke  is  that  they  didn’t  actually  get  any  extra  power.  They  just  took  away  the  power  from  everybody  else.  This  is  an  awakening  period  in  the  conscious  evolution  of  our  planet  to  take  back  that  power  of  creativity,  which  is  our  conscious  mind.    

It’s   interesting,  when   I   give   a   lecture,   I   show  a   slide   from   the  movie  poster   of   the  movie  The  Matrix.  Almost  everybody  has  seen  the  movie.  I  say,  “When  you  go  into  a  store  to  look  for  a  copy  of  The  Matrix,  they  say,  ‘It’s  in  the  science  fiction  section.’  It’s  actually  a  documentary.”  Basically,  the  emphasis  of  The  Matrix   is   that  we’ve  all  been  programmed.  The  protagonist   is  offered  two  pills.  You  can  take  the  blue  one,  flip  back  into  the  program  and  continue  playing  it  out,  or  you  can  take  the  red  pill  and  get  out  of  the  program.  

This  is  all  science  fiction,  but  I  say  that  from  The  Biology  of  Belief  onward,  the  story  of  programming  is  not  science  fiction.  It’s  a  reality.  Taking  the  red  pill  and  getting  out  of  the  program  is  profound  for  a  very  simple  reason.  

The  emphasis  and  underlying  point  behind  The  Honeymoon  Effect  is  that  in  the  conventional,  day-­‐to-­‐day  lives  that  we  lead  on  this  planet,  we  operate  our  lives  at  most  5%  of  the  time  with  a  conscious  creative  mind,  which  is  the  seat  of  our  personal  identity,  soul,  and  spirit.  

We   live   in   the   conscious  mind,   and   the   conscious  mind   is   very   creative.   That’s   the  mind   that  has  our  wishes,   desires,   and   aspirations.  When   you’re   operating   from   the   conscious  mind,   you’re   expressing  your  personal  wishes  and  desires  in  every  decision  you  make.  

When  you  operate  from  the  subconscious  mind,  you  operate  from  programs.  That’s  very  cool,  except  if  the   programs   are   not   very   good.   Then   when   you   switch   to   the   subconscious   mind,   you   play   these  disempowering   or   self-­‐sabotaging   programs.   You   do   it   just   as   the   name   says:   Subconscious   is   below  conscious.  

 

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Conventional   science   says   that   on   a   day-­‐by-­‐day   basis,   because   our   conscious  mind  wanders,   it   has   a  unique,  creative  ability  to  look  into  the  future,  see  the  past,  disconnect  from  your  head  in  the  moment,  and   have   a   daydream.   Every   time   the   conscious   mind   is   in   movement,   by   definition,   it’s   not   paying  attention   to   the   current   moment.   This   is   when   behavior   defaults   to   the   existing   programs   in   the  subconscious.  We  play   these   subconscious   programs   and   the   conscious  mind   is   not   paying   attention,  which  means  that  when  you’re  caught  up  playing  subconscious  programs,  you  yourself  don’t  generally  see  it  because  your  conscious  mind  is  not  busy.  That’s  why  you’re  playing  the  program.  

It’s   interesting.   In  my   lectures,   I  give  people  this  story.  They   laugh  because  they’re  familiar  with   it.   It’s  one  little  story  with  two  very  profound  points.  The  little  story  is  this.  

You   have   a   friend.   You   know   your   friend’s   behavior   really  well.   You’ve   known   them   for   a  while.   You  happen  to  know  your  friend’s  parents.  At  some  point,  you  see  that  your  friend  shares  some  of  the  same  behavior  as  their  parents.  

It  comes  to  the  point  of  a  voluntary,  casual  statement  such  as,  “Hey,  Bill.  You’re  just  like  your  dad.”  You  back   away   from   Bill   because   he   goes   ballistic   and   says,   “How   can   you   compare   me   to   my   dad?”  Everybody  laughs.  

Here  are  two  profound  points.  First,  everybody  can  see  that  Bill  behaves  like  his  dad.  The  only  one  who  doesn’t  see  it  is  Bill,  and  for  a  simple  reason.  He  fundamentally  downloaded  his  father’s  behavior  in  the  first   seven   years   of   his   life   as   a   subconscious   program.  When  his   conscious  mind   is   busy   thinking,   he  defaults  into  the  subconscious,  which  plays  not  his  behavior,  but  the  behavior  that  he  was  programmed  with  by  his  dad.  

The  reason  he  doesn’t  see  it  and  why  he’s  playing  it  is  because  he’s  not  paying  attention.  Again,  5%  of  the  time  we  are  running  our  lives  from  our  conscious  wishes  and  desires.  Ninety-­‐five  percent  of  the  time,  because  our  mind  wanders,  we  play  subconscious  programs  and  don’t  see  them.  

The   fundamental,   subconscious   programs   actually   come   from   other   people.  When   you’re   doing   that,  you’re  not  playing  your  wishes  and  desires.  The  bottom  line  is  that  in  everyday  life,  only  5%  of  the  time  are  we  moving  toward  what  we  want  out  of  life,  and  95%  of  the  time  we’re  moving  to  the  programs  that  we  got,  especially  in  the  first  seven  years  of  life.  

We’re  not   living  our  own   lives.  We’re   living  the  program.  We’ve  all  been  programmed.  Then  they  say,  “What  happens  when  you  get  out  of  the  program  and  take  the  red  pill?”  

Here’s   a   coincidence.   It’s   a   funny   story.  When   people   fall   in   love,   science   has   recognized   that   while  people  are  making  love,  their  conscious  mind  stays  in  the  present  moment  and  doesn’t  travel  like  it  does  in  a  normal  situation.  

When   you   are   falling   deeply   in   love   and   having   a   honeymoon   experience   point,   if   we   did   an   EEG  assessment  of  your  brain  activity,  it  would  turn  out  that  essentially  90%  or  more  of  your  life  was  coming  from  your  conscious  mind.  That’s  the  one  with  your  wishes  and  desires.  

Guess  what?  When  you’re   falling   in   love,   it’s   the  same  as   taking   the   red  pill.  You’re  no   longer  playing  these   subconscious   programs   that   you   have.   When   you’re   not   playing   the   programs,   then   you’re  operating  from  consciousness  and  have  manifested  heaven  on  Earth.  You’ve  created  from  your  wishes  and  desires.  

Two  people  cooperating  in  that  venture  both  creating  from  wishes  and  desires,  by  definition,  manifest  wishes   and   desires.   The   honeymoon   experience   turns   out   to   be   just   an   opportunity   where   you   stop  

 

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playing   the   program.   It’s   that   moment   when   you   unconsciously   took   a   red   pill   and   got   out   of   the  program.  Look  at  what  you  created—heaven  on  Earth.    

The  problem  is  life  gets  busy.  At  some  point  when  life  gets  busy,  the  conscious  mind  begins  to  wander.  We   kick   into   the   default   programs.   Where   did   this   behavior   come   from?   It   hadn’t   played   in   the  honeymoon  because  as   long  as  you  were  on  the  honeymoon  every  behavior  was  controlled  by  wishes  and  desires.  

The  moment  your  mind  wanders,   the  behavior  programs   that   kick   in  are  programs   that   you  got   from  other  people,  which  generally,  by  definition,  don’t  support  your  wishes  and  desires.    

The  net  result  is  you  created  heaven  on  Earth  when  you  didn’t  play  the  program,  and  you  lost  heaven  on  Earth  when  the  conscious  mind  got  busy  and  you  kicked  back  and  unconsciously  played  the  behavioral  programs  you  got  from  other  people  and  beliefs  about  yourself.    

That’s  the  most  important  aspect.  I  think  we  should  talk  about  that.  Growing  up,  I  observed  my  father.  The  first  seven  years  I  downloaded  his  behavior  as  my  behavior.  When  I’m  not  paying  attention,  I  play  my  father’s  behavior,  just  like  Bill  did.  

That’s   really  where   the   second   profound   point   of   the   Bill   story   comes   in.   The   first   profound   point   is  everybody   else   can   see   that   Bill   behaves   like   this   father   because   his   conscious   mind   is   not   paying  attention.  

The  second  profound  point,  which  I  really  want  to  emphasize,  is  all  of  us  are  Bill.    

So   95%   of   the   regular   day   you’re   not   even   observing   your   behavior   because   it’s   automatic.   If   these  behaviors   don’t   support   you,   then   95%   of   the   day   you’re   engaging   in   behavior   that   sabotages   your  wishes  and  desires.  You  don’t  see  that  you’re  involved  in  the  results.  That’s  where  the  victim  role  comes  in.  I  intended  to  be  healthy,  to  have  a  great  relationship,  and  to  do  great  at  my  job.  None  of  those  things  have   been   realized.  When   people   in   the   regular   course   of   life   experience   that,   they   say,   “It   was  my  intention  to  be  successful.  Obviously  if  I’m  not,  it  must  be  the  universe  is  against  me.”    

You  sabotaged  yourself.  You  know  that  because,  when  you  stopped  playing  those  tapes,  when  you  had  that  honeymoon  experience,  you  had  a  completely  different  life.    

One  of  the  chemicals  released  by  the  brain  (called  neuropeptides)  when  you’re  engaged  in  the  pleasure  of   a   new   relationship   is   serotonin.   Serotonin   is   the   brain   chemistry   associated  with   addiction.  When  you’re  experiencing  this  pleasure,  the  system  is  saying,  “I  want  that.”  The  serotonin  actually  drives  your  behavior  to  get  more  of  that.  It’s  an  addiction  behavior.  

It  really  hurts  when  a  relationship  ends.  As  you  mentioned,  the  chemistry  of  that   love   is   like  heroin.   If  you   fall   out   of   love,   just   like   the   heroin   addict   you   go   through   cold   turkey   because   the   loss   of   that  pleasure  chemistry  drives  people  like  addicts  looking  for  a  fix.  

When  the  relationship   is  working,   the  serotonin  keeps  you  engaged   in   the  process   to  release  more  of  that  pleasure.  When  the  love  ends,  it  is  extremely  hard  on  the  individual  because  they’re  experiencing  it  psychologically.  They  don’t   recognize   that  underneath   that  psychology  of   the   loss  and  pain   is   the   fact  that  the  serotonin  was  saying,  “Hey,  I  need  another  fix.  I  don’t  have  any.”  That  becomes  the  issue.  

Dawson:  Bruce,  let’s  talk  about  that  early  period  and  how  those  subconscious  patterns  get  laid  down.  

Bruce:  The  concept  of  consciousness  requires  that  you  have  something  to  think  about.   If  a  newborn  is  emerging  from  the  birth  canal,  pretend  that  they  could  talk.  They’re  just  coming  to  life  in  his  world.  You  

 

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say,  “Welcome.  Tell  me  something.”  The  newborn  would  look  at  you  and  say,  “I  don’t  know  anything.  I  just  got  here.”  

To  be  conscious,  you  must  have  some  experiences  to  be  conscious  of.  What  happens  in  the  first  seven  years   is   that   the   brain   is   operating   in   a   record   mode.   There’s   fundamental   data   going   into   the  mechanism.  

Because  the  brain  is  operating  at  a  lower  vibrational  frequency  than  consciousness  as  the  predominant  brain  state  for  the  first  seven  years,  the  brain  is  operating  in  theta,  which  is  more  like  hypnosis.  

The  relevance  is  very  simple.  How  do  you  teach  a  child?  You  don’t  have  to  teach  a  child.  The  child’s  brain  is  designed  to  record  everything   for   the   first  seven  years.   It  observes   the  parents,   family,  culture,  and  community.  It  downloads  how  every  parent  or  member  of  the  family  interacts  with  each  other  and  the  community.  It  learns  the  rules  of  how  to  engage  in  a  society.  

The  first  seven  years  gives  you  download  data.   It  provides  consciousness  after  seven.  After  seven,  you  can  use  that  data,  work  with  it,  and  change  things.  If  you  don’t  change  it,  then  you  just  keep  operating  from  the  same  program.  

I  want  to  emphasize  this.  In  The  Biology  of  Belief,  there’s  a  statement  that  reads  simply,  but  it’s  not  just  a   sentence.   It   is   fundamental.   The   statement   simply   says,   “The   function   of   the   mind   is   to   create  coherence  between  your  beliefs  and  your  life  experiences.”    

It’s   a   very   important   sentence.   Since   you’re   downloaded   with   beliefs   even   before   you   have   belief  experiences,  it’s  the  beliefs  that  ultimately  shape  your  life  experiences.  The  significance  is  that  you  got  the  fundamental  beliefs  that  you  operate  from  in  this  world  from  other  people  because  that’s  when  you  were  in  the  record  mode.  

Ninety-­‐five   percent   of   the   day   when   you’re   operating   from   your   subconscious,   the   fundamental  programs  of  behavior  and  beliefs  that  you’re  manifesting  are  actually  derived  from  other  people.  

We  do  subconscious  testing  for  belief  statements.  We  individual  test  for  this  specific  statement:  “I  love  myself.”  Eighty  percent  or  more  of  the  people  in  every  audience  will  not  test  positive  for  that  statement.  

There’s  a   simple   reality.   If   your  mind  has   to  create  a   reality  based  on  your  beliefs  and  you  don’t   love  yourself   as   a  belief,   then  how  can  you   find   love   in   any   reality  derived   from   that?   It’s   very   simple.   If   I  don’t  love  myself  and  a  partner  says  she  loves  me,  logically  I  have  to  think  she  has  no  real  quality  control.  What  that  means  is  we  discount  that  offer  of  love  because  we’re  not  worthy  of  it.    

Dawson:  We  may  even  sabotage  it.  

Bruce:  We   sabotage   ourselves   unconsciously.  We’re   only   doing   it   because   the   conscious  mind   is   not  paying  attention.  That’s  when  we  shoot  ourselves  in  the  foot.    

The  reason  is  very  simple.  It’s  important  for  people  to  understand.  Why  don’t  we  love  ourselves?  This  is  critical   because   if   you   don’t   love   yourself,   you   can’t   manifest   a   life   where   love   is   the   primary   part  because  your  life  will  match  your  belief.  

Why  don’t  we  love  ourselves?  Not  only  do  we  observe  other  people’s  behaviors  as  ours  during  the  first  seven  years,  but  we  also  download  a  belief  about  who  we  are.  Who  are  we   in   this  world,   family,  and  community  that  we’re  born  into?  The  only  way  you  know  that  in  the  first  seven  years  is  other  people  tell  you.  “You’re  the  most  wonderful,  loving,  gifted  child.  You’re  a  genius.”  Not  many  parents  say  that.  This  is  where  the  problem  comes  from.  Most  parents  act  like  coaches.  

 

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If   I   was   on   a   team   and   not   performing   well,   the   coach   comes   up   to  me   and   says,   “That’s   not   good  enough.  You  can  do  better.  You’re  not   trying  hard.  You  don’t  deserve   the  accolades.  You’re  not  good  enough.”      

A   person   on   a   sports   team   who’s   old   enough   hears   these   criticisms   and   in   their   conscious   mind  interprets  them  and  thinks,  “I  can  do  better.  The  coach  knows  I  can  do  better.  I’m  apparently  not  putting  my  full  effort  into  this.  The  coach  is  goading  me  to  do  better  by  saying  these  statements.”  

That  is  an  understanding  when  you  have  consciousness.  Before  the  age  of  seven,  the  child  is  not  using  consciousness.  The  child   is   recording.  What  does   the  child   record  before  age  seven?  “That’s  not  good  enough.  You  could  do  better.  Who  do  you  think  you  are?  You’re  not  that  smart.  You  don’t  deserve  this.”  

Parents  are  not   saying   that   to  attack  and  undermine   their   children.   They’re   saying   it   in   the   form  of   a  coach   and   thinking,   “If   I   say   this   to  my   child,   I  will   encourage   them   to   be   better.”   That’s   really   cool,  except   the   child   is  not  operating   from  consciousness.   The   child   is   just   recording.  What  does   the   child  record?  

Dawson:  Parents  think  they’re  helping  them  by  pointing  out  their  errors  and  the  things  they  aren’t  doing  well.  The  assumption  is  that  if  I  point  out  things  you  aren’t  doing  well,  that  will  motivate  you  to  do  them  better.  

All  the  child  hears  is,  “You  aren’t  doing  it  right.  Sit  straight.  Eat  your  vegetables.  You  came  in  third.  Why  didn’t   you   come   in   first?”   They’re   getting   a   constant   stream   from   these   well-­‐meaning   people.   It’s   a  cumulative  negative  effect  on  people’s  formative  consciousness.    

Bruce:   That   is   exactly   the   whole   problem.   If   parents   don’t   know   that   their   words   are   not   being  consciously  considered,  they’re  just  being  recorded,  why  is  that  important?  Because  that’s  the  recording  in  the  subconscious.  As  I  said,  95%  of  your  life  comes  from  the  subconscious  programs.  The  function  of  that  mind   is   to  make   reality   based   on   that   program.   You   have   your   conscious  mind   and  wishes   and  desires.  You  say,  “I’m  going  to  do  great.  I’m  going  to  be  great  at  this  job.”  Then  you  go  into  the  job  and  95%  of   the   day   your   conscious  mind   is   thinking   about   how   good   you   could   be   at   this   job.  While   the  conscious  mind  is  thinking,  you’re  playing  the  program.  What’s  the  program?  “I  do  not  deserve.  I  am  not  good  enough.”  

Why  is  that  relevant?  It’s  unconscious,  but  the  behavior  is  going  to  match  the  program.  If  you’re  thinking,  “I  could  do  really  great,”  the  subconscious  mind  says,  “You’re  not  good  enough.”  The  behavior  will  have  to  be  not  good  enough.    

Unconsciously,   you’ve   failed,   and   you   didn’t   see   it   and   you   don’t   understand  why.   The   fact  was   you  carried  forth  a  program  of  limitation  and  self-­‐sabotage  unconsciously  that  is  playing  95%  of  the  time.  

Dawson:  Yes,  and  countermanded  only  by  that  5%,  which  is  hardly  strong  enough  to  reverse  it.  You  have  this  subconscious  programming  done  very  early  in  life  that  convinces  you  that  you  aren’t  good  enough  because   your  parents   acted   like   coaches.   They  were   trying   to  help   you  understand   the  defense,   your  behavior,   but   as   it   goes   into   the   subconscious   as   little   instructions,   you   then   have   this   weight   of  information  all  suggesting  you  aren’t  good  enough.    

Trying  consciously   to   succeed  at   things   is  very  difficult  because  you  only  have   that   small  effect  of   the  conscious  mind  overlaying  this  huge  mass  of  subconscious  material  suggesting  you  aren’t  good  enough,  you’re  defective,  you  can’t  do  things  effectively,  and  so  on.  

 

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Bruce,  this  is  a  huge  trap  that  people  fall  into,  have  to  live  with,  and  then  dig  themselves  out  of.  For  me,  it  took  30  years  of  therapy,  personal-­‐growth  work,  and  all  kinds  of  things  before  I  even  began  to  emerge  from  that  cloud  of  negative  stuff.  

What   was   your   formative   experience   in   realizing   the   dead   weight,   pull,   or   sea   anchor   of   this  subconscious  programming  that  is  so  hard  to  escape  from  and  so  shapes  our  worldview  and  experience  of  life?  

Bruce:  The  first  thing  that  really  blew  my  mind  because  I  wasn’t  familiar  with  it  was  muscle  testing.  I  was  teaching   at   a   medical   school   and   had   a   severe   motorcycle   accident.   All   the   best   that   my   medical  colleagues  could  do   for  me  as   I  was  crumpled  up   in  pain  and  could  hardly  move  was  say,   “Here,   take  these  pain  pills.”  That’s  what  they  do,  right?  

One  of  the  students  was  a  chiropractor.  Another  student  said,  “You  should  go  see  that  guy.”  I  said,  “I’ve  never  been  to  a  chiropractor.  I  have  no  idea  if  this  is  good,  bad,  or  what.”  I  thought,  “What  the  heck?  I’m  really  hurting.  I’ll  try  it.”  

I  went  to  the  chiropractor  and  it  was  absolutely  phenomenal  how  much  better  that  treatment  was  than  taking  a  pain  pill.  What  was  interesting  is  that  we  did  a  muscle  test.  I’d  never  experienced  that.  

In   this  particular  case,   I  held  out  my  arm.  They  pushed  down  on   it  when   I  made  a  statement  with  my  conscious  mind.  Then  they  would  say,  “Be  strong.”  Then  they  would  push  down  on  my  arm.  If  my  arm  dropped  very  fast,  it  meant  that  the  statement  was  not  supported  by  my  subconscious.  If  my  arm  stayed  strong,  then  my  conscious  and  subconscious  agreed.  

It’s  very  simple.  You  have  two  minds.  The  conscious,  creative  mind  can  make  any  statement  it  wants.  It’s  creative.  The  subconscious  mind  has  programs   in   it.   If   the  conscious  mind  makes  a  statement  and  the  subconscious  agrees  with  it  because  of  past  experiences  and  stored  data,  then  the  system  stays  strong  because  the  subconscious  controls  the  muscles  of  the  body.  

When  you  make  a  statement  with  your  conscious  mind  and  your  subconscious  mind  goes  through  the  databases  and  says,  “This  is  completely  unsupported,”  then  there’s  disharmony  between  the  conscious  and  subconscious  over  the  statement.  Since  the  subconscious  controls  the  muscles,  disharmony  in  the  subconscious  is  expressed  as  a  weakening  of  the  muscles.    

The  first  time,  the  chiropractor  said,  “Hold  out  your  arm  and  say,  ‘My  name  is  Bruce  Lipton,’”  which  is  true,  of  course.  I  said,  “My  name  is  Bruce.”  Then  he  said,  “Be  strong,”  and  my  arm  was  rock  solid.  Then  he  said,  “Say  your  name  is  somebody  else  of  a  different  sex.”  I  said,  “My  name  is  Barbara.”  I  held  up  my  arm  thinking,  “This   is  kind  of  silly.  Of  course,   I  can  hold  my  arm  strong.”  He  pushed  down  on  my  arm,  and   it   just   about  dropped.   I   thought,   “I  wasn’t   ready.”  He   said,   “Almost   everybody   says   that   the   first  time.”  

I  held  out  my  arm  and  said,  “My  name  is  Barbara.”  All  of  a  sudden,   I   realized,  “I’m  not  holding  up  my  arm.  It’s  falling  weak.”  After  that  second  or  maybe  third  time,  it  hit  me.  I  said,  “I  am  not  controlling  the  muscles  because,  if  I  were  controlling  them  and  said  ‘Stay  strong,’  then  they  should  have  stayed  strong.  I  said  to  stay  strong,  and  the  muscles  went  weak.”  

All  of  a  sudden  I  realized  that  I  am  not  in  charge.  There  is  something  more  powerful  that’s  overriding  my  conscious  wish  to  hold  the  muscle,  which  was  the  subconscious  program.  That  was  the  awakening  that  said,   “Oh,   my   god,   the   subconscious   is   more   powerful   than   the   conscious   mind   because   I   couldn’t  override  the  belief.”  

 

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That  was  the  opening  up  that  said  that   I  have  a  subconscious  that  opened  the  door.   I   thought,  “What  things  are  in  my  subconscious  that  I  might  not  be  aware  of  for  a  very  simple  reason?  If  there’s  a  program  in   the   subconscious,   as   I   just   revealed   to   myself,   it’s   more   powerful   in   controlling   my   life   than   my  conscious.”  

That  was  the  doorway  to  look  into  the  subconscious.  We  can  facilitate  this  very  quickly  for  an  audience  because  people  will  say,  “How  do  I  know  what  the  subconscious  programs  are?  I  can’t  test  all  of  them.”  

I  say,  “You  started  getting  subconscious  programs  in  the  last  trimester  of  your  mother’s  pregnancy.  The  first  one  or  two  years  are  especially  a  significant  downloading  of  programming.”  

I  say,  “Go  back  in  the  conscious  mind  and  tell  me  what  was  going  on  in  the  first  year.”  They  say,  “I  don’t  know  what  was  going  on.”  Then  we  realize  that  we  weren’t  consciously  there,  so  we  can’t  really  relate.  What  were  the  programs?  

People  say,  “I  don’t  know  what  my  programs  are.”  Then  I  say,  “Here’s  the   joke.  Ninety-­‐five  percent  of  your  life  comes  from  the  subconscious  programs,  so  our  lives  are  almost  like  printouts  of  the  behavioral  programs  of  our  subconscious  minds.  

They  say,  “Why  is  that  relevant?”  I  say,  “Look  at  your  life.  You  have  things  that  come  easily  to  you  that  you  really  like  because  you  have  beliefs  in  the  subconscious  that  encourage  that.  For  anything  that  you  have  to  work  at,  struggle  over,  or  have  to  put  effort  into,  why  are  you  working  so  hard  to  accommodate  it?”  

The  answer   is   simple.   If  you’re  having   to  work   really  hard,   the   resistance   is  because   the  beliefs   in   the  subconscious  do  not  encourage  what  you’re  trying  to  accomplish.  

All  of  a  sudden,  they  say,  “I  can  save  a  lot  of  money.  I  don’t  have  to  review  all  of  my  life  to  understand  how   it   works.”   You’re   printing   it   out   right   now.   What   works   works   because   you   have   programs   to  support   it.   What   doesn’t   work   generally   is   not   working   for   you   because   whatever   beliefs   you   have  conflict  with  that  destination.  

All  of  a  sudden,  you  think,  “That  saves  a  lot  of  time.  I  can  see  what  my  issues  are  by  looking  at  my  life  and  asking,   ‘What’s  working?  What’s  not  working?’  and   then   recognizing   that  what’s  not  working   is  a  reflection  of  a  belief  that  is  counter  to  my  wish.”  It  saves  a  lot  of  time.    

Reprogramming  is  where  the  whole  thing  falls  apart  for  most  people.  I  know  you’re  very  familiar  with  it  because  you’re  a  hero  in  the  EFT  field,  which  is  one  of  the  processes  of  reprogramming  those  negative,  subconscious  programs.  

Dawson:   EFT   is   really   good   with   events   that   occurred   from   that   age   of   seven   onward.  We   can   take  people  with  PTSD  who  have  been  in  really  difficult,  tragic  circumstances  as  adults  and  do  some  tapping  with  them.  It’s  amazing  to  see  their  emotional  triggering  shift,  but  it’s  a  lot  harder  when  you’re  working  on  those  early  life  events  because  those  events  are  below  the  level  of  conscious  memory  and  harder  to  access.  

Bruce,   I  have  two  questions.  What  are  your  favorite  ways  of  relaxing,  releasing,  and  shifting  all  of  that  material  that  is  deeply  embedded  in  the  subconscious  mind?  Also,  what  milestones  are  there  in  making  progress?    

If  you’re  a  therapist  or  coach  or  working  on  your  own  personal  issues,  it’s  often  really  frustrating.  Before  I  got  serious  about  my  spiritual  practice,  I  kept  a  diary,  beginning  when  I  was  15  years  old.  By  the  time  I  was  45,  I  had  30  years  of  personal  journals  to  look  at.  The  most  depressing  thing  was  that  I  would  open  a  

 

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journal  when  I  was  25  and  compare  it  to  a  journal  from  when  I  was  35.  Bruce,  you  could  just  black  out  the  dates  and  exchange  the  journals,  and  you  would  have  no  idea  which  was  which,  because  I  was  just  dealing  with  the  same  problems  over  and  over  again.  

Bruce:   The   first   thing   that   really   has   to   be   understood   is   this.   There   has   always   been   a   conventional  belief  that  the  two  minds  are  totally  connected  with  each  other  so  that   if  you  put  more  awareness  on  the  conscious  mind,  that  should  profoundly  change  the  programming  in  the  subconscious  mind.  That’s  the  first  big  mistake  because  the  two  minds  are  interdependent,  meaning  that  they  function  and  learn  in  different  ways.  As  a  result,  affecting  one  mind  does  not  necessarily  influence  anything  in  the  other  mind.  This  is  always  a  big  problem.  

The  biggest   joke   for  me   in   the  beginning  was,  even  when   I   find  myself  doing  a  behavior   that   I  all  of  a  sudden  became  aware  of,   I  would   think,   “I’m  doing   this  behavior   like  my  mother  or   father.”   It  would  irritate  me  like  crazy.  

Then  I  would  get  mad  and  talk  to  myself,  saying,  “Don’t  do  this  behavior  anymore.  This  is  really  bad.  It’s  so  stupid  and  disempowering.”  I’d  talk  to  myself,  and  then  find  myself  doing  the  same  behavior  again.  

I’d  get  more  frustrated  and  think,  “I’m  so  aware  of  this  behavior,  and   it’s  still   there.”   I  keep  talking  to  myself,  and  then  I  realize  the  joke.  Who  am  I  talking  to?  The  joke  was  simply  this.  The  conscious  mind  is  the  seat  of  our  personal  identity  or  spirit-­‐source  uniqueness.  We’re  in  the  conscious  mind.  

I   said,   “The   conscious   mind   is   now   talking   to   the   subconscious   mind.”   Here   is   the   problem.   There’s  nobody  in  the  subconscious  mind.  It’s  a  machine,  mechanism,  or  record-­‐playback  device.  

All  of  that  frustration  you  get  is  like  an  old-­‐fashioned  tape  player.  Imagine  a  tape  player.  You  push  play  and  the  program  is  going.  Then  I  say,  “Go  up  and  talk  to  the  tape  player  while  the  program  is  going  and  tell  it  you  don’t  want  to  do  that  program  anymore.”  

How  much   talking   to   the   tape   player  will   it   take   to   change   the   program?   The   answer   is   you’ll   never  change  the  program.  That’s  not  how  it  learns.  You  have  to  push  the  record  button.  Otherwise,  it  doesn’t  work.  

The   conscious  mind   is   totally   creative.   That’s   the  power  of   it.   Being   creative,   the   conscious  mind   can  learn  from  reading  the  self-­‐help  book.  I  say  to  people,  “You’ve  read  all  of  these  self-­‐help  books.  I’ll  bet  if  I  gave  you  a  test,  you’d  get  100  on  the  content.  Now  that  you’ve  read  these  books,  you  understand  the  content.   Has   your   life   changed?”   For   most   people,   the   answer   would   be   no.   Our   conscious   mind   is  totally  aware,  but  our  lives  are  still  exactly  the  same.  It  gets  very  frustrating.  Then  you  read  more  books  and  go  to  lectures.  You  learn  and  you  watch  a  videotape.  The  conscious  mind  can  learn  and  think,  “Aha!  I  get  it.”  That’s  all  it  needs.  The  conscious  mind  is  creative,  so  it  learns  beautifully  like  that,  but  it  doesn’t  translate  to  the  subconscious  mind  for  a  simple  reason.  

The  subconscious  mind  does  not  learn  that  way.  It  learns  by  two  fundamental  ways.  For  the  first  seven  years,   the   brain   was   in   a   state   of   hypnosis,   with   theta   as   the   predominant   brain   state.  Why   is   that  relevant?  If  you  want  to  change  the  programming,  then  going  back  into  self-­‐hypnosis  would  be  a  way  of  doing  it  because  that’s  the  way  that  system  learned.  

After   seven,   the   subconscious   mind   learns   in   a   different   way.   Now   it   works   on   our   conscious   mind,  creating  habits.  The  conscious  mind  says,  “I  want  to   learn  the  times  table.  Two  times  two  is  four.  Two  times  four  is  eight.”  

 

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You  learn  A,  B,  C,  and  D.  You  keep  repeating  it.  At  some  point,  repetition  builds  it  into  the  subconscious.  Now   for   the   alphabet,   you   don’t   have   to   think,   “A,   B,   C,   D,”   to   get   all   of   the   way   through   it.   You  programmed,  repeated,  and  habituated  it.  

The  first  way   is  hypnosis.  That’s  how  you  train  the  subconscious  mind.  The  second  way   is  habituation.  That   is   the   second   primary  way.   Reading   a   self-­‐help   book   is   not   habit   or   hypnosis.   I   can   educate   the  conscious  mind  reading  the  book,  but  I  never  touch  the  subconscious.  

This   is  why,  collectively,  our  conscious  minds  are  so  smart  and  our   lives  don’t  match  the  awareness   in  our   conscious   minds.   The   reason   is   this.   You   can   easily   educate   the   conscious   mind,   but   it   doesn’t  change  the  subconscious  unless  you  do  hypnosis  or  habituation.  

Being  mindful  is  a  way  of  training  the  subconscious  mind,  which  means  what?  Keep  your  conscious  mind  present.  It’s  an  exercise,  as  you  well  know.  

Why  is  this  relevant?  It’s  because  if  you  operate  and  repeat  your  behaviors  using  your  conscious  mind,  then  a  repetition  of  conscious  decisions  becomes  habit.  By  being  mindful,  you  can  rewrite  the  habits  by  putting  in  new  habits  and  playing  them  over  again.  

It’s   really   hard   to   be  mindful   in   our  world.   There   are   these   new  belief   change  modalities   and   energy  psychology  modalities,  which  are  greatly  needed  at   this   time.  We  need  to  deal  with  world   issues   fast.  Necessity   is   the  mother  of   invention.  Science   is   revealing   that  human  behavior,  unless   it   changes,  will  lead  to  our  extinction.  

Dawson:  Yes,  now  we  have  this  evolutionary  pressure  to  change  really  fast.  Thank  you  ever  so  much  for  being  here  and  sharing  your  amazing  insights.