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Its all about MEaning

I was thinking of you and thought that you might like to read something I put together the other day that I used as part of my Life Coaching Program.

It looks like a long email, and as you get into it, I know you will find it interesting...

As a Life Coach I really get to speak to a lot of people and its amazing that no matter how many people I speak to and coach, it always comes down to one thing... Meaning.

We as human beings are constantly observing and thinking about what information comes in through the 5 senses. All bits of information are random until we “make sense” out of them. In fact there is no meaning to anything until we attach a meaning, right?

There is so much information that comes in through the 5 senses that we have to filter it down to a very small amount so that our conscious minds can handle it. Our unconscious mind just absorbs all the information and it filters it for us using our neural filters or Neuro associations, (these are our core human needs, memories, values, beliefs, attitudes, etc…). These filters prioritise what information we choose to BELIEVE is important.

Now as we grow through childhood these choices happen by a process of osmosis as we learn unconsciously from our parents, environment and culture. This process is completely unconscious and organic up until the point when we realise that we have a CHOICE as to how we INTERPRET things, don’t we?

The interpretations that we choose are the MEANINGS that we give things. These meanings can be labels which are related or unrelated to us. For example the word knife might have a personal meaning to you or not and might just as well be a utensil used for eating and that’s all. However if you were held at knife point, knives might then have a different meaning for you.

The question we can now ask is are we really in control of the meaning that we give things even when there can be a large amount of emotional energy attached to it. The answer is definitely yes, and is also complex. We need to take into account the literal meaning of what something means as well as a deeper meaning, a more intuitive meaning for our unconscious.

Why is meaning so important? I think you can probably answer this one yourself. The greater the meaning you give something the more influence it will have over your behaviour. Think about it… The science behind behaviour or what motivates us to take action are our neuro-peptides that are produced by the hypothalamus. The moment we interpret something in a certain way and give it a meaning, that meaning is sent to the hypothalamus to produce the state-of-being that will reflect that meaning in your body. This is so that you can literally feel what you’re thinking about. When you find something scary, you feel fear in your body, right? When you find something funny, you feel that laughter in your body… The same goes for all others states.

So what meanings are you unconsciously giving things?

Are they empowering you or not?