Fear. The word itself has a feel to it. In fact, if you say the word aloud, try to put a picture, a smell, a taste, or a touch to it. Not a pleasant experience, is it?

In fact, no matter how small you just experienced that, whether it’s blood pressure, pupils dilating, blood sugars increasing, the fight/flight response has been triggered. Why then, does the body respond to just a word?

After all, it’s just a word. There is no immediate threat here. The answer lies in Frank Kappas’ Theory of the Mind. In essence, this model shows us that the conscious layers of the mind act as a filtration system in which we choose to accept or reject input from our external or internal environments.

Once we accept a concept, the subconscious mind below then creates programs that run unconsciously in the background to make sense of our world and keep us alive and well. The subconscious mind is completely objective. It only accepts the idea, thought, etc.

When we get fearful messages from the environment around us, we bypass the critical thinking area of the mind and go straight to the primitive subconscious area for the flight/fight response. We then create a subconscious program that attaches a meaning to the idea. This meaning creates a sense of stability, predictability, and order to the environment around us. This is good or this is bad. This will harm or this will protect.

If you repeat that idea over and over, it becomes deeply rooted into the primitive mind. The primitive mind becomes a collection of subconscious programs and emotions meant to keep us alive. They are not real. They are constructs put together as we go. These programs now sit there.

Unchanged and unbending as we continue to experience the world around us. The conflict comes when our experience outgrows our unconscious programs. The incongruency grows until we stop, acknowledge the now limiting belief within, and create a new beneficial program more congruent to who we are now. A smoker quitting cold turkey after years of suffering is an excellent example of this.

Our collection of new and old programs gives us a lens with which we view the world. Completely unconscious. Completely unique to us and our experience. When one challenges our programs, we defend it as a primitive mind would, as a threat to our physical well-being. Ever wonder why people react differently or adversely to an event that would not otherwise affect you? This is why. What they don’t realize is that the external world is meant to be our mirror. How we react will reveal to us our successful or self-limiting subconscious programs.

So, let’s look at the state of our world today regardless of your perception of the matter. The messages of fear are higher and more repetitive than they have ever been. In it’s raw state, fear bypasses the critical mind with ease. These messages are also repetitive. Repetition creates familiarity. Familiarity indicates trust and support is present. Trust and support are life sustaining concepts. Life sustaining motivation is related to a fear of death.

That is why repetition is so powerful and is one of the Laws of Suggestibility in relation to hypnosis. You will notice it a lot in advertising. Finally, associate that message with someone in a position of trust, and now the message has validity. Validity also improves chances of survival. Even better, it adds in the promise of prosperity. Prosperity speaks to greed, which is the other emotion that humans are most susceptible to.

This is why the Law of Association is so successful, and again commonly used in hypnosis. Thus, fear, in all of it’s forms, is the perfect recipe for acceptance of whatever model is being proposed.

In a hypnotherapy session, using these Laws of Suggestibility for anything other than what the client wants is considered unethical and subject to the revocation of one’s licensure. There is no question on that. In the state of our world at present, we see organizations of all kinds, and yes, governing bodies, are all using these laws to some extent either intentionally or unintentionally.

Whatever sale you want to make, concept you want to pass, if the audience is not receptive, these laws can make the unpalatable into something quite tasty. The problem with this model is that it is not a win win model. Over time, both sides lose. This is because the human body and mind cannot sustain a fear state.

In fact, we are meant to be in this state only 1% of the time. It is a vital but acute state only. Sustaining it will develop individual conditions such as Hypertension, Diabetes, and Depression. People acting in perpetual states of fear are acting in survival mode and those operating on subconscious programs other than their own are incongruent to their authentic selves. In these states, one can be greedy, uninspired, unmotivated, angry, frustrated, or lost. Ultimately, the individual has to reject what is not authentic in order to survive. A system built on these intentions and concepts will collapse with it.

So, what is the answer to our current global situation? These concepts of the human brain and body would suggest that we go back to making decisions with our logical brain, be aware of the power of our mind, and most of all be aware of the power of suggestion. Ask yourself these questions. First, what are you accepting and what are you rejecting in any given moment? Second, what brain are you using right now in your current state?

If you are aware of a message that doesn’t feel right, then choose to reject it. Or are you feeling fear, anger, competition, or lack? If so, then you are in your primitive brain. Unless you are in immediate physical danger, get out of your primitive brain so you can think! How do you do that? Take a step back, take two deep breaths in and out, and come back to the present moment here and now. That action alone brings you out of the sympathetic response and right back to the here, the now, and the logical brain. Happiness, contentment, fulfillment, communication, connectedness, open mindedness, and compassion are the things we experience in the logical brain because we are in control there and staying on our most congruent path.

So, just breathe and be aware. If we all do this as much as we can, then our whole, collective system works better as a whole. This was the birthplace of democracy and civilization. We are currently a highly evolved species that is choosing to solve a complex, long term problem with our primitive minds. The primitive brain may have kept us alive as ancient man, but our cerebral cortex got us out of the trees and on to our feet. We can get on our feet again. Movement forward is dependent on using our greatest strengths as they were meant to be used.

✦ KEEP EXPLORING