Subconscious Mind

Self Deception Is Common. Test Yourself For Implicit Bias.

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Long ago; over 30 years in fact, I realised that self-deception is a major hindrance to clear and good thinking.

I recognised that humility is a key ‘antidote’ to self-deception and implicit bias.

What is implicit bias?

“An implicit bias, or implicit stereotype, is the unconscious attribution of particular qualities to a member of a certain social group.

Implicit stereotypes are influenced by experience, and are based on learned associations between various qualities and social categories, including race or gender. Individuals’ perceptions and behaviors can be affected by implicit stereotypes, even without the individuals’ intention or awareness. Implicit bias is an aspect of implicit social cognition, the phenomenon that perceptions, attitudes, and stereotypes operate without conscious intention. The existence of implicit bias is supported by a variety of scientific articles in psychological literature. Implicit stereotype were first defined by psychologists Anthony Greenwald and Mahzarin Banaji in 1995.

Explicit stereotypes are the result of intentional, conscious, and controllable thoughts and beliefs.[2] Explicit bias’ are usually directed toward a group of people based on what is being perceived. An explicit stereotype example for gender, would be that all adolescent girls like to play with dolls and makeup.

Implicit bias’ are associations learned through past experiences. Implicit bias’ can be activated by the environment, and operate outside of intentional conscious cognition.”

We can see aspects of the subconscious mind at work here. The above quote states: “Individuals’ perceptions and behaviors can be affected by implicit stereotypes, even without the individuals’ intention or awareness”.

If we think we are not subject to bias, then we are in fact deluded.

And guess what?

We might not see our bias, though often, other people see what is in us!

Do you really want to: 1) continue with your delusions, and: 2) want others to know you better than you know yourself and form opinions about you accordingly? These opinions may lead to actions by others which you might not like.

Scientific American has more information:

How to Think about “Implicit Bias”: Amidst a controversy, it’s important to remember that implicit bias is real—and it matters.

The article highlights some potential shortcomings of implicit bias testing.

Scientific American writes:

“One reason people on both the right and the left are skeptical of implicit bias might be pretty simple: it isn’t nice to think we aren’t very nice. It would be comforting to conclude, when we don’t consciously entertain impure intentions, that all of our intentions are pure. Unfortunately, we can’t conclude that: many of us are more biased than we realize. And that is an important cause of injustice—whether you know it or not.”

AKA (Also known as): Scientists say you might have a bias.

One of the first steps in freeing yourself of implicit bias is to acknowledge you might have an issue; and one way of confirming that is to take some tests.

Harvard University’s implicit association test can help you determine the types of prejudice – including those related to gender, sexual orientation, self-esteem, anxiety, alcohol, religion, weight, race and mental illness – you may want to confront.

The tests: Project Implicit https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

More information about the project: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/aboutus.html

Besides the obvious moral benefits to reducing personal bias, there are significant business advantages too. Look at the statistics in the following two Forbes articles for example:

New Research: Diversity + Inclusion = Better Decision Making At Work

The Truth About Diversity — And Why It Matters

“Inclusive teams make better business decisions up to 87% of the time. • Teams that follow an inclusive process make decisions 2X faster with 1/2 the meetings. • Decisions made and executed by diverse teams delivered 60% better results.”

Your bias might be costing you a lot of money!

14 Scientific Reasons To Disconnect At The Weekend

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In general, society needs to pay a lot more attention to science.

And especially science we might not like to hear. The stuff that makes us feel uncomfortable.

Why? Because science is factual and ignoring it can mean ‘worse science’ applies, or will apply; such as sickness, loss of productivity, early death and more. The ‘more’ has got to be better than early death, right? Perhaps not – your death might be lingering…

One of the key reasons why we don’t pay attention to, and act upon, science is because we have subconscious blocks to behaviour which would help us. These subconscious blocks can be nested and interconnected. A right mess, in other words.

Personally, I like to start with the science, examine it for ‘roadblocks’ – areas where my life is not in harmony with it – and then design and implement a plan for dismantling the hindrances. I don’t see avoiding scientific truth as an option.

Ok, so what’s the science about disconnecting at weekends?

Direct link to infographic below here.

Courtesy of: NetCredit

Australia Day 2018

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Today, 26th January, is ‘Australia Day‘ in Australia. A national public holiday.

I quote from Wikipedia:

“Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Celebrated annually on 26 January, it marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales and the raising of the Flag of Great Britain at Sydney Cove by Governor Arthur Phillip.”

How one perceives Australia Day depends on one’s outlook and perhaps bias.

Here are just some different perspectives:

A sad day for Aboriginal culture, marking the beginning of an invasion, subsequent abuse and even at times, ethnic cleansing.
The beginning of severe damage to Australia’s flora and fauna. Just one example is the introduction of the feral cat (I love cats by the way).
A time to be grateful for the ‘efforts’ of the British Royal Navy and Royal Marines in securing new living space for disaffected and/or entrepreneurial Britons, malefactors, their descendants and later migrants.
A time to be grateful that some other nation did not settle Australia, and perhaps one with a worse outcome for the native people than the British.

There are of course more ways that one can reflect upon Australia Day. We can be sure however that due to the biological nature of humans, Australia was never going to be still in the ‘Stone Age’ by today, 2018. When the British invaded in 1788, yes invaded, Australia had a Stone Age type culture which had been in place for thousands of years. In my view it was in many ways a better place back then. But not all.

I am an expatriate Briton, however there is more to me. I have ancient Nordic roots, being descended from Danish Vikings. I am part Irish – a grandmother was Irish. I have German and French ancestry, along with significant Welsh, Scottish, English and more. I was born in London, England. So who am I? A mongrel?

Who I am is not totally my race or ethnic background. Should I go back ‘home’ to Denmark – if they would have me? Where do I belong? Should I try to ‘undo’ what the Danes did to the local Britons back in the day?

Who we are is our deep thoughts. From thoughts spring actions. Multitudes think they are of one perspective yet scientific testing shows that they have strong confirmation and other biases. Multitudes are clearly deluded.

Aside from making efforts to clear our subconscious minds of unhelpful thinking, we need to aim to become better people – more compassionate, kinder, wiser, more humble, more loving. These are all things which we, Aboriginal people included, like to experience, so why don’t we focus on being like that for others?

I know someone who hates Aborigines, yet has helped them in a charitable way for years, so much so that he got an award! The public recognition was a key driver. The man claims to be a Christian. What kind of life and mentality is that? Empty is to put it mildly.

I have a deep respect for the Aboriginal people of Australia, their culture, and the Spirits of this land today. When I was young I saw them as a ‘defeated race’ worthy of no respect. I was a stupid bastard, despite being intelligent.

I am a ‘naturalised Australian’ having gained citizenship in 1985. Ironically, I feel more ‘Australian’ today than I did back then because I have more respect for Aboriginal culture, and at times I respectfully interact with and honour their Spirits. I am grateful to live in Australia and while I am glad that it is a British culture (as opposed to French, Spanish, Dutch etc) my deepest gratitude is to the Aboriginal culture and Spirits. I feel very sad about what has happened to them.

Most ‘Aussies’ are originally British or Irish anyway, probably being mostly descended from British military, civil service or criminals. Some Aussies call me a ‘Pom’, and some have been quite nasty about it. Perhaps I might ask them if they are descended from the British ‘redcoats‘ (military) or the criminals. I am descended from a redcoat – Major General Alexander Carnegy CB. Wry smile.

To me, the real Australians are the Aborigines. I am a Briton, with origins and roots in other (European) cultures…

PS: One for the racist types: If you were bleeding to the death by the side of the road and the only person able to help you was a black guy; how racist would you be then?

…And one for those politically correct unqualified ‘snowflakes’ who like to diagnose others as having phobias, without examination: what race is Islam? And Christianity? They are not races. We gotta get our thinking straight.

What Have Tea Dregs Got To Do With Subconscious Mind Coaching?

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Tea dregs…

…what connection do such dregs have with subconscious mind coaching?

These days I drink decaffeinated green tea made from a tea bag, with no additives such as sugar. I never drink the bottom part. It’s a throwback to decades ago when I drank tea as a youngster in the 60s and 70s. Back then, much tea was made using loose leaf tea, a teapot and a tea strainer, and I had sugar in it too. The dregs at the bottom contained excess sugar and bits of tea matter, which tasted, and felt, nasty. Eew!

As I contemplated drinking my current tea dregs today, I decided to carefully and slowly monitor my feelings. Sure enough, I felt a distinct sense of revulsion starting to bubble up from below. This explains my regular habit of still not drinking my tea all the way to the bottom, despite the dregs being as clear as the top.

Decades ago now, my mind was conditioned not to drink tea dregs due to the icky taste and sensations. The conditioning, which is lodged deep in my subconscious mind, is still there and affecting my current day behaviour, even though with my conscious, logical and decision-making mind I know there is no need.

My subconscious aversion to drinking the dregs of tea is still in control, even after all these years.

A simple example, but one which many of you will be able to try for yourself. Try slowly drinking the dregs of clear tea with nothing added and notice your feelings and reaction.

Some people may not get any reaction but still have the habit of avoiding the dregs of such tea. Sometimes this kind of thing can indicate a more subtle and deeply buried aspect of subconscious mind conditioning.

Subconscious conditioning is often, and usually, hidden or obscured from your awareness.

If I want to, I could do subconscious mind reprogramming and free myself of my deep-seated aversion to the dregs of tea. I probably won’t bother because it is not an important issue and left intact, will always be an excellent example of how the subconscious mind is in control of much of our thinking and feelings. In fact, here’s a good idea…I will at times use my pre-programmed aversion to tea dregs to demonstrate and illustrate the effects of subconscious conditioning during my seminars and training.

Another way of looking at this subconscious conditioning concerning tea dregs is that it’s an excellent example of how more IMPORTANT things might be affecting YOU today, perhaps without your even being aware of them. Things which do need reprogramming; that is, if you are genuinely serious about improving your life. Not everyone is.

Please contact me today for a chat about how I can help you.

Training And Consulting For Health, Mental Health And Coaching Professionals

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I offer training and consulting in subconscious mind coaching for a variety of health, mental health and coaching professionals including:

Psychologists
Psychiatrists
Counsellors
Mental Health Nurses
Mental Health Educators
Academia
Other Mental Health Professionals
Doctors
Nurses
Therapists
Life Coaches
Executive Coaches
Leadership Coaches
Relationship Coaches
Sports Coaches
Shamanic Practitioners

Clients receive:

Details of my background and experience
Training in the logic and science of why and how my method works – the ‘hope’ and ‘knowing’
Training in how to activate the principles learned – the doing
Actual workshop experience in implementing the principles – the results
Examples of how the techniques can be applied in a variety of situations
An opportunity for questions and answers

These services attract specialist consulting fees of $275 (Australian Dollars – AUD) per hour for a one on one basis. Group coaching rates available on request.

Please contact me for more information.

Your Business Is Your Business – Discretion, Privacy And Secrecy

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My focus is on the needs and desires of my clients. My work is about them.

Here is my Privacy Policy. Privacy and confidentiality is a ‘given’ as standard because I operate appropriately.

This article is about a deeper level of privacy, secrecy and discretion than is normal.

My approach to basic privacy and confidentiality is more thorough than most similar service providers partly because some of my background includes investigations, intelligence analysis/work InfoSec and undercover operations. My deep personal experience and understanding of betrayal, humiliation and shame (well beyond the norm, or what one learns academically) – earlier in my life – also means I know how valuable and important to people their privacy is from a deep emotional perspective.

Some of my clients go further than most and require total discretion and even secrecy. They have their reasons and know what they are, so I won’t detail them here (partly because that helps their privacy). I do not, and will not, assist people in committing crimes however, or in covering them up. My discretion and secrecy policy is about helping people with their deep privacy concerns, not crimes.

Seeing me discreetly means that some people who would otherwise not have got help can do so. It also means they may prevent further deterioration of their situation.

I am a Subconscious Mind Coach, a Life Coach, a Counsellor, an Executive Coach, Business Coach, Mentor, Staff Trainer, Healer and Shamanist. The nature of my work with clients can include some deeply personal stuff, some of which carries a stigma or other ‘negative’ implications.

My focus is on what my client wants and needs.

If my clients require extra discretion and secrecy they get it. I accept phone calls from private numbers. I need not know who my clients are, or what their work involves. If clients want to use anonymous, and/or encrypted email, they can. If necessary, I can help with suggestions on how to facilitate discretion and secrecy – what methods to use, what services to deploy and so on.

I do not report client details or sessions/consultations to anyone, and couldn’t in any case if I have no client data.

I do report all my income and GST to the taxation authorities (I sleep well at night). That said, if a client does not want an invoice/receipt, then I put their transaction through my accounts as a cash sale – that way I honour my tax obligations without having a record of who was the subject of the work involved.

If a client wants an invoice/receipt, but still wants anonymity, I can also note it as a cash sale on the paperwork without having to name the client. I will not lie on the invoice description about the services provided, however descriptions can be couched in terms which are more ‘discreet’. Again, honouring my tax and legal obligations, but preserving client confidentiality.

Some of my activities and services are not associated with stigma, or other drivers for needing and wanting extra discretion/secrecy; which means that if someone is known to be a client of mine, other people cannot be sure my client has seen me for help in a stigmatised area. This helps people maintain their secrecy and discretion because no one is sure about exactly what people see me about, and I will not tell. Clients are free to tell others whatever they like.

Free and convenient parking is available in my street, or on my premises, however for clients who want extra privacy and discretion, similar parking is available in streets nearby. I am located at the beginning of my short street, so walking around a corner or two after parking elsewhere is easy for clients. There is also a bus stop nearby.

I also travel to see clients at their premises, and meet others in public places, such as nature. Still more receive help via the phone or a chat service, including at times, video. Whatever works best for you and your needs for discretion.

Your business is your business, not someone else’s.

Please contact me if you want further information, or to arrange a discreet meeting or distance consultation.