Escapism

Escapism

The pervasiveness of escapism in our modern world continues to rise.

The conscious mind is operational for daily thoughts, conversations and interactions while our subconscious mind is a suppressed storage of memory, down to every detail of everything that has ever happened to you in this lifetime (and some would argue past lives as well).  Although many people are unaware of the connectedness of the two, we often end up with present day situations, romantic relationships and sporadic interactions that reflect what our subconscious mind holds. As Carl Jung, an early pioneer of Psychology once wrote “until you make your unconscious conscious, it will control your life and you will call it fate”.

We live in a world where escapism has been completely normalized.  Coming home after having a bad day, for many people means let’s escape this feeling by: binge eating, alcohol consumption, sexual pleasure, gambling, shopping, drug use and so on.   Not often do you hear “my day was terrible so I’m going to shower and then meditate to rebalance my chakras.  Following this I will journal to reflect on what lessons I have learned from this day”.   We are not a society that is encouraged to reflect, we collectively go for that immediate shot of dopamine and gratification whenever our lives don’t go the way we want it to.  Unfortunately, this kind of escapist process which is encouraged and completely acceptable in our modern world, is of absolutely no value to the human psyche. When you fail to deal with your problems, try to escape from them or ignore then all together, the universe has a really delicate sense of humour where you start to see these problems manifest over and over.

“Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will some day become our reality” – Earl Nightingale

As Earl Nightingale points out, you must protect and unify the conscious and the subconscious mind in order to close the entanglement loops of certain themes that continue to surface in your life.  For example, if you grew up in the post-war era, you most likely overheard your parents talk about money growing up.  You probably often heard fights about resources such as clothing, food and bills. Although your conscious mind several decades later may have forgotten these repetitive conversations, you now struggle financially and are perpetually worried about your own financial resources.  You save every dime, you refuse to take a day off, and you penny pinch your way though life.  In this case, ‘doing the work’ to unravel your subconscious mind would have been an optimal choice, however many do not know this option exists.

Another example that I frequently see in my practice is having loose boundaries – meaning you people please, always put others first, or have a hard time saying no, even when the activity does not serve you.  This often stems from the subconscious holding on to a parentified role as a child, being the eldest child helping with your younger siblings a lot or having a parent with severe mental health.  In any of these cases, your subconscious mind has tuned into the rhythm of putting others first at all costs.  As a child when this is demanded of you and expected from you, you have no other choice.  If this type of construct is unhealed, you will continue to go through life experiencing people who walk all over you and attract the “demanding type” of partner, friend colleague or boss, until you learn to grow and adjust your boundaries.

This concept exists because your subconscious mind interacts with the reality that we live in.  Although the mainstream media, school indoctrination and most of television stays away from Psychology topics such as this, there are some Hollywood movies and a plethora of authors who speak towards how our reality is intertwined with our subconscious mind.

Reading Recommendations:

Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

E2: Nine do-it Yourself Experiments that Prove your Thoughts Create Reality by Pam Grout

The Universe has your Back by Gabby Bernstein

Super Attractor by Gabby Bernstein

The Compound Effect by Jack Canfield

Manifest your Destiny by Wayne Dyer