People often ask – how did I get all these stressful thoughts and beliefs to begin with? In this connection, it is important to remember the basic nature of consciousness itself, which is that it has no built-in power of discernment but rather absorbs whatever information it is exposed to. This is a completely automatic and unconscious mechanism and happens by itself.

Consciousness just picks up whatever it is exposed to. As a result, we are all being programmed innocently and automatically from the moment we are born.

Just look at a little child and you can see this. When a parent tells a child, “This is good, that is bad, you should be like this, you shouldn’t do that, etc. etc.” the child doesn’t question what the parent says. The child doesn’t say, “Is that true mother?” No, the child just accepts whatever it is told. And this is true for all of us. We are programmed massively from the moment we are born and believe everything we are told.

We’re programmed first by our parents (who do this completely innocently of course because they too were programmed from birth), and then by our schools, the media, television, the people around us, in short by everything we come in contact with. Everything we see and hear is input which we innocently absorb. That’s just the way it is; the way consciousness works.

Waking Up and Questioning Our Programming

It is only when we begin to wake up to the nature of mind and consciousness that we slowly gain the ability to question the programming we have received and can ask ourselves “Is this true?”

When we begin to see that there is a difference between the thinker and the thoughts, we are taking a great leap forward in consciousness which changes everything. When we can see this, when we can see the difference between the thinker and the thoughts, it means we can also see that we are not our thoughts. We can see that thoughts are something that come and go, but that we (whatever we are) remain.


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We have thoughts, but we are not the thoughts! This is a vital distinction. Very vital, because when we understand this – we suddenly have the ability to step back and ask ourselves “Is this thought true? Does this thought have anything to do with reality or is it just an innocent story?” And this is a great awakening, a great revolution in consciousness.

Breaking The Bondage Of Our Programming

The moment we can ask ourselves “Does this thought have anything to do with reality?” “Is this thought true?” we are starting to wake up. This understanding breaks the bondage, which is our total identification with thoughts, and empowers us to wake up from the dream state.

This is why the study of the Mental Laws (see my book “The Awakening Human Being”) and the way the mind works is so vitally important. Up until we understand the mechanism of consciousness, we are all innocent victims of our thoughts and the programming we have received on a daily basis from childhood up and which continues throughout our lives until the day we wake up to the nature of mind.

©2011 Barbara Berger. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted with permission of the author.

Book by this Author

Are You Happy Now? 10 Ways to Live a Happy Life
by Barbara Berger.

Are You Happy Now?What is preventing you from being happy now? Is it your partner, your health, your job, your financial situation or your weight? Or is it all the things you think you “should” do? Barbara Berger takes a look at all the things we think and do that prevent us from living happy lives now. Barbara presents 10 practical ways to use this understanding in your daily life, your relationships, at work and for your health.

Click for more info or to order this book on Amazon.

About the Author

Barbara Berger, author of the book: Are You Happy Now?

Barbara Berger has written over 15 self-empowerment books, including her international bestsellers "The Road to Power / Fast Food for the Soul" (published in 30 languages) and "Are You Happy Now? 10 Ways to Live a Happy Life" (published in 21 languages). She is also the author of “The Awakening Human Being – A Guide to the Power of Mind” and “Find and Follow Your Inner Compass”. Barbara's latest books are “Healthy Models for Relationships – The Basic Principles Behind Good Relationships” and her autobiography “My Road to Power – Sex, Trauma & Higher Consciousness”..

American-born, Barbara now lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. In addition to her books, she offers private sessions to individuals who wish to work intensely with her (in her office in Copenhagen or on Zoom, Skype and telephone for people who live far away from Copenhagen).

For more about Barbara Berger, see her website: www.beamteam.com

Books by this Author

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