Imagine having this experience: you go to a program or a seminar and you learn something powerful, and you think to yourself, “That is awesome.  I am going to practice that in my life.”  You go home and use it for about a week or two, or maybe three, and then you go back to your old patterns and habits.  Has this ever happened to you on some level?  Why does this occur even when we acknowledge that what we have learned will lead us to greater success?  Your mind learned the information and incorporated it into your behavior intellectually but the behavior was not yet seamlessly aligned with a deeper part of your being: your values, beliefs and identity.  The behavior had not yet integrated at the  subconscious level.

A study performed by George Miller in 1956 revealed that we can only do about seven things at a time, plus or minus two, based on our capabilities. So consciously, you can only do somewhere between five and nine things at any given time.  Therefore, on a daily basis, most people operate on automatic pilot based on deeply ingrained programming.  The key to living powerfully and purposefully is to be fully aware and respond from present consciousness rather than react from conditioned programming.  If something external occurs and you automatically react, the reaction is coming from within you and is not necessarily a part of the world outside of you.

A great Zen proverb relates that when you squeeze an orange, you get orange juice. You do not get apple juice. You get what is inside.  Similarly, when you are squeezed by life’s pressures, what comes out of you?  Is it a sweet nectar or is it some kind of funky concoction?  When facing challenges in life, it is tempting to blame these challenges on our circumstances.  It is possible to blame the challenges that we face on what occurs outside of us, not realizing that everything in the external realm is the natural manifestation of what occurs within the internal realm.

When you find yourself operating on automatic pilot, focus on being aware of what you are doing.  Remind yourself that you can choose to focus on a few things and do each of them with full consciousness and love.  One example of operating at a subconscious level occurs when you leave your office at the end of work and you are on your way to meet someone for dinner, but since you are accustomed to driving home, you take the wrong exit as if you are driving home.  So who is driving your car?  It is your subconscious mind.

Our subconscious mind is available and receptive to support us in realizing our vision.  It is your job to make sure that your conscious mind is guiding your words and actions, especially when single-minded focus is mandatory for your success.  Practice being aware of when you are reacting based on programming or when you are fully conscious and present. Awareness is key to conscious transformation.  This can mean the difference between doing something at a mediocre level and doing something at the level of mastery in alignment with your Higher Self.

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