Self-Care with the Help of Your Unconscious
Your Unconscious can help you heal.
Use Your Unconscious Mind to Transform Areas of Your Life
If you are feeling worn out, you might know you should relax, reduce your stressors, and get to bed earlier. So why don’t you do any of that? When you most need restoration, you once again find yourself wasting time with distractions: You mindlessly check mobile devices or watch TV. But what if you could replenish yourself and engage in self-care with the help of your unconscious?
The key to changing your habits and feeling energized again may be to release emotions and beliefs that are no longer serving you. Letting go of the old can make room to bring in something new that will give you enthusiasm, hope, and motivation. Your energy might shift dramatically and lead to a feeling of revitalization as you begin a transformation process your unconscious is yearning for.
When you ignore callings from within, you can start to feel bored, listless, and tired out. Your conscious mind may be ignoring a need to grieve or feel anger or face the truth about your role in being overworked and too pressured. Not realizing this, you might seek distractions that ultimately leave you feeling even more drained. Self-care activities require time. You must replenish yourself emotionally, releasing what is no longer serving you and bringing in what will make you feel joyful and vitalized.
What if your unconscious could help you transform aspects of your life that are seemingly impossible to change? What if you let go of the denial that is keeping you from accessing the truth about what you need to do differently? You may be avoiding rest because the desire to radically change the story of your life is so intense and unsettling that you are keeping it hidden in your unconscious. You may think your opportunities are limited, but what if you are wrong, and your real problem is your fear of stepping out of your comfort zone? Unleashing the truth may free up energy from the unconscious mind that can restore and revitalize you.
The unconscious can speak its wisdom to you and help you break through obstacles to change. When you reduce the intense chatter of the busy conscious mind and sit alone quietly in meditation, you make space for wisdom and insights to arise. They come through symbols, sensations, and a feeling of knowing that can’t necessarily be explained logically. Your unconscious mind can help you shift energetically, releasing emotions and beliefs that no longer serve you and allowing peace and healing wisdom to replace them.
Reduce your distractions and take time to simply be present in a place that doesn’t make demands on your attention—a spot in nature or in your home, away from stimulation and distractions. Close your eyes and intend to begin clearing the clutter in your life that has kept you from replenishing yourself. Ask Spirit or God to be your ally as you access the wisdom within.
Focus on your breath, or a word, or the sound of birds and the wind. Let emotions arise and flow out of you. Let your unconscious communicate to you in sensations or symbols or words. Remain present, letting go of what you no longer want to hold on to. Pose the silent question, “What do I need to know to feel replenished?” Be patient as you wait for the answer to arise.
When you feel ready, ask, “What should I release?” The answer may not be completely clear, but your unconscious knows you are opening up to its wisdom and is likely to answer your call. In your mind’s eye, you may see what you need to let go of. An internal voice may say, “Take away the noise that distracts you.” Your understanding of that noise may come to the surface of your awareness.
Then, let your unconscious mind bring in the healing knowledge and energy you need by asking, “What should I bring in?” Your knowledge about what you need to do differently can become clearer, and you may feel an energetic shift as you make the exchange of old for new, of what no longer serves for what you most need right now.
Even if words or symbols don’t appear, notice how it feels to be open to the possibility of healing and transformation. Pay attention to how you feel and to any insights that arise. Be patient, and if distractions appear, draw your attention back to the task at hand: opening up to inner resources, guided by Spirit. Be welcoming to the power of your unconscious to restore you and lead you to Healing and transformation.
When you intuit that it is time to end this exercise, open your eyes.
If symbols appeared, let them suggest their meaning to you. Use this technique more than once, being open to more layers being peeled back. In ten minutes here and twenty there, you can begin to replenish yourself with the help of your unconscious. You can also use other tools, such as Jungian and shamanic techniques found in my book Change Your Story, Change Your Life, to open up a channel for communication from your unconscious. Work with a therapist if you feel too unsettled and upset, but know that for most people, a slow and gentle opening to what you know deep inside opens up a path to positive transformation.
Longings may surface that make you feel scared yet excited as you realize you can let go of the old and bring in the new. Your unconscious wants you to say no to “I can’t” and “It’s too late” and to say yes to “There are ways I can change my life.” Tune in and listen to it.
What will you release? It may be tasks and commitments, extra possessions that weigh you down, memories of failure, or beliefs about your inadequacy. What will you bring in? It could be a commitment to new habits, a sense of entitlement to get more rest or a belief that opportunities will arise even if you aren’t working nonstop. Sadness about lost opportunities can become replaced with curiosity about what new ones may appear. Beliefs that it’s too late to change may be switched out for beliefs that something better is ahead—that is, if you follow through with action. Use your newfound energy to look for new opportunities, change your routine, and talk through your options with a friend or a therapist. Set goals big and small, and take steps to transform. Continue consulting your unconscious, and see how your life begins to change after you have replenished yourself by engaging in self-care with the help of your unconscious.
You may also enjoy Carl Greer: Change Your Story, Change Your Life
About the Author
Carl Greer, PhD, PsyD, is a practicing clinical psychologist, Jungian analyst and shamanic practitioner. He teaches at the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago and is on staff at the Replogle Center for Counseling and Well-Being. Learn more at CarlGreer.com.
