How to Expand Your Mind

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Understand the basics of the mind.

   It is important to know that your brain and mind are not the same thing.
   
   The brain is the physical structure in your head; the mind is a more abstract concept that produces and stores thoughts and feelings.
   
   Though separate, the brain and mind are always at work together.
   
   When you have positive thoughts, like love, creativity, and joy, your mind remains in a peaceful state.
   
   When you have negative thoughts like fear, jealousy, hate, and anger, your mind is disturbed by them.
   
   In a disturbed state of mind there is a wastage of energy and we are not usually able to relax.
   
   Understand that positive thoughts generate positive feelings and negative thoughts generate bad feelings.
   
   Both positive and negative thoughts are additive.
   
   Having many negative thoughts throughout the day will pile up and make you sad; a great amount of negative thoughts can even lead to depression.
   
   The opposite is also true.
   
   If you have many positive thoughts and feelings, they will add up to make you feel incredible bliss.
   
   So for allowing the growth of the mind, you must try to keep the mind in its default stage i.e. peaceful stage.
   
   If your mind is in a relaxed and calm state, only then you are able to attain your full potential.
   
   Another rule is that your brain processes information as per your current mood.
   
   For example if you are in a good mood , it will be easy for your brain to retrieve positive information (and hence you feel nice and the world looks wonderful to you.) On the other hand if your mood is bad then your brain finds it difficult to process positive information or memories and hence you feel bad.
   
   So it is always better to switch your mood rather than go along the negative thought process.
2. 2

   Step 2: Understand what your subconscious mind does.

   Our subconscious mind works behind our conscious mind and is really powerful.
   
   Its has many supernatural powers, you won't generally believe but indeed they do exist.
   
   If you want your subconscious mind to work for you then you must trust in its power.
   
   Our subconscious can be considered as a spirit or God inside us that has all the powers and knowledge which we require at any moment of life.
   
   It contains information about our personality which we aren't usually aware of.
   
   It also contains a person's belief system which decides how a person will respond in particular situations.
   
   The very same act or occurrence
   - good, bad or otherwise
   - can produce completely opposite responses in people, based on our beliefs.
   
   By understanding how your subconscious mind works, you can solve your life problems more effectively.
   
   Although your subconscious mind is all powerful, it works under the master ship of your conscious mind.
   
   So you should be careful in what you are believing in and what input you are giving to your mind because ultimately your subconscious mind is going to make it true.
   
   It always listens to its master and receives the positive as well as negative input blindly. , Our mind is able to change its belief system, attention and thinking according to the situation.
   
   A flexible mind is open to new ideas , change and can act in the best way.
   
   Unlike a rigid mind, a flexible mind analyzes the available options for a given situation and chooses the best among them.
   
   Whereas a rigid mind will be limited and confined to its belief system and would get frustrated if things don't go in its favor.
   
   Remember that you often see things the way your mind wants to show you.
   
   This happens because of your belief system; when things go against your beliefs, you'll feel uneasy, agitated, or upset.
   
   But if you can adjust your belief system, you can find opportunity even in a bad situation.
   
   A number of new neural pathways are created in your brain when you become involved in new tasks and these paths become strengthened when you repeat these tasks.
   
   This property of the brain is called Neuroplasticity.
   
   It means that the brain can be restructured and hence you can acquire new skills. , Almost everyone gets bored sometimes; dull or tedious work can aggravate even the hardest of workers.
   
   However, an excess of boredom can contribute to depression.
   
   When you feel the onset of boredom, take a break to refresh your mind with a hobby, a conversation, exercise, or even some TV.
   
   These methods can boost your mood and can help you return to your work again.
   
   Remember entertainment is also very essential for the normal growth of your mind.
   
   One thing to keep in mind is that boredom isn't related with a particular task you are doing rather it is more related with the state of your mind.
   
   So if your mood is low then even an interesting task may look boring to you.
   
   On the other hand you may take interest in a comparatively uninteresting task when you feel high in mood! More often it has been observed that if you are able to fully concentrate and engage in your work, it will look you more appealing.
   
   Remember, you can't enjoy life by being lazy all the time.
   
   However, resting is different from being lazy.
   
   If you really want to enjoy life, here is a secret.
   
   Become active to take action around the clock (that means 24 hours a day/7 days a week).
   
   It will not make you tired.
   
   In fact, there will be a chain of tasks which include things which you like most, recreational activities, and your responsibilities.
   
   If you take time daily for recreational activities, it will fill you with tremendous energy so you can do less enjoyable tasks without being tired.
   
   But all activities should be in a continuous cycle.
   
   One complete task will give you the energy and inspiration for another.
   
   For following this style you require a lot of guts and a positive attitude towards what you are doing.
   
   It is just like saying to yourself that "yes I am ready to work and take actions around the clock but I would like to enjoy my life fully and not get bored." In other words, it is a way to expand your mind and life.
   
   Another way to make your work more interesting is to do it wholeheartedly.
   
   Just pour your whole attention into your work and you will feel the difference.
   
   By doing this you can embrace your work better and the quality of your work will also be improved.
   
   Apart from that, when you switch to another task you will feel a sense of positivity and joy.
   
   Another benefit of this method is that your mind will remain free from negative vibes and ideas.
   
   Give more time to the work which is more important to you and all the things will be balanced automatically. , Each one of us has various kinds of beliefs about life and stuff around us.
   
   These beliefs are actually established in our mind and soon become our reality.
   
   We see the world with the frame of our belief system.
   
   Any belief takes time to become strong in our mind.
   
   Many internal and external stimuli play an important role in the making of our so called belief system.
   
   According to the law of belief "Our reality differs according to our belief system".
   
   Although beliefs are very helpful in strengthening our will power and confidence, they also limit us to see the partial reality.
   
   So we must be flexible in our thinking and should ready to change our belief system whenever necessary. #One should remember that their beliefs are just beliefs and can't be put equivalent to reality or truth.
   
   Beliefs become weak when we experience something contradictory to our existing beliefs.
   
   And in a similar manner, they become strong when you find things which support your existing beliefs. , Many times our mind plays tricks on us, and if we are not attentive enough we will fail to observe the truth.
   
   Cognitive biases are the patterns in mind which will make you unable to take right and rational decisions.
   
   Because of cognitive biases we tend to think in a certain manner and can be deprived of the real truth.
   
   Because of biases, our decisions appear as appealing but they become illogical many times.
   
   If we can understand these cognitive biases then they can be overcome with some practice.
   
   The best way to overcome the biases of mind is to pay attention to your thoughts , feelings and actions.
   
   As the time passes your attention will become sharper and you'll be able to observe even the subtlest biases of your mind.
   
   Below there are some common examples of cognitive biases.
   
   Self-serving bias:
   Because of this bias, we tend take more responsibility for successes than failures.
   
   Confirmation bias:
   We tend to confirm our preconceptions and knowledge by searching and interpreting things in a way that support our conceptions.
   
   And we can ignore or reject the information which doesn't support our own views.
   
   Curse of Knowledge:
   It indicates the inability of more informed individual to think about the problems from the perspective of lesser informed individuals.
   
   Bias blind spot:
   People tend to think themselves as less biased than other people.
   
   It means that by default we remain blind to our own cognitive biases.
   
   Outcome Bias:
   In this bias we judge a decision based on its outcome rather than how exactly the decision was made in the moment.
   
   Just because you win a lottery doesn't mean that buying a lottery ticket was a smart decision.
   
   Here you are deciding the value of decision after you have seen the outcome.
   
   Overconfidence :
   This is one of the most familiar bias.
   
   Under this bias we tend to overestimate our capabilities and skills and as a result we tend to take greater risks in our daily lives.
   
   In this bias we feel convinced and confident that we are right irrespective of truth. , Sometimes when you are sitting idle, not doing anything in particular, some ideas will come to your mind unexpectedly.
   
   This is called intuition, and it is different from your regular thought processes.
   
   Through intuition, knowledge comes to you directly from unknown dimensions.
   
   Intuition tells you things like what you should do and what not to do! Many times it seems illogical to you, but never ignore your inner voice.
   
   Listen to it and try to analyse what it could mean.
   
   Intuition is a deep voice of yours or it may be considered as the deepest mind.
   
   Our intuition gives us the signals about various things going to happen in future.
   
   Intuition is considered as the power of our spirit.
   
   Everybody has different levels of intuition.
   
   Some people are very aware of it and others just don't know about it.
   
   But the fact is that it remains with us every time and guides us consciously or unconsciously. , Daydreaming may seem useless to many, but it's helpful in the long run.
   
   You must have heard that "All great people were great day dreamers".
   
   Everything is possible in imagination and a person can visualize beforehand what he want to be!.
   
   You must be thinking that how daydreaming can help in attaining our goals.
   
   In-fact by daydreaming you can see and imagine various steps and objectives of your goal and hence make it easy to achieve.
   
   More you visualize your goal more are the chances to achieve them.
   
   Look at Napoleon for an example; he would imagine a whole battle and then used to rehearsal for it, and this made him an great warrior.
   
   Please note that you love to do things which you fantasize about.
   
   So if you fantasize about health and fitness then you will naturally be motivated towards going gym and doing exercises.
   
   And it is true with anything.
   
   For example if you fantasize to become a writer then most probably you will develop the skills of writing.
   
   It is because fantasy is an intense process which has a very deep effect on our subconscious.
   
   So this tool of fantasy can be used intentionally for your growth and success.
   
   But make it sure that you don't fantasize about negative things because sooner they can become your reality.
   
   For example if you fantasize about getting fight with people ,you will actually find yourself amidst fights with people.
   
   Try to explore what do you want to be in life and how do you want to spend your time? , Human memory has many flaws in it.
   
   We usually forget things and keep on getting distracted from tasks at hand.
   
   This involves forgetting on the conscious level.
   
   However, there is also forgetting at a very subtle level of the mind.
   
   We aren't usually able to fully track and remember our own thoughts, feelings and motives.
   
   The more subtle a thought or feeling is, the more difficult it is to recall it.
   
   It requires a lot of awareness and attention to track all our thoughts and feelings.
   
   If you are able to analyse your own thoughts, feelings and intentions, you can solve most of your problems.
   
   In the state of full awareness and attention, all the knowledge and wisdom will be available to you.
   
   The more you pay attention, the more wisdom and intelligence you will achieve. , Many times we make conscious and unconscious promises with ourselves.
   
   For example you promise yourself to study better, to be fit, to buy a gift for your parents and many others.
   
   So the true problem comes when we don't keep these promises.
   
   Because of this we feel disconnected with ourselves and our confidence decreases.
   
   On the other hand if you work hard to keep these promises , you establish a strong relationship with your inner being and gives a meaning to your life.
   
   You will feel connected and get filled with joy.
   
   Remember the promises can be small or big.
   
   Take care of every minute promise which you made to you.
   
   And you will experience the wonder. , Fear can easily stop the expansion of your mind.
   
   Everybody has some kind of fear.
   
   Some have fear of speaking in public, fear of learning new things, or some other type of fears.
   
   While some fear is normal, excess of it can affect the whole personality of a person.
   
   To overcome your fears you need to understand them.
   
   Most of the time our fears are the indication of any coming danger or threat and they are the psychological warning to make us careful.
   
   So it is a better idea to understand your fears rather than fighting with them.
   
   Remember that you can't overcome your fears by fighting with them because by fighting, you've already accepted its presence.
   
   Whereas fear can be an obstacle in growth of mind the love, happiness and various other positive emotions leads to the expansion of mind.
   
   So make love, your strongest emotion and you will be surprised to see its amazing results. , Life is uncertain and you may undergo severe problems and sufferings but becoming a positive thinker you can remain happy even in odd situations.
   
   The only thing you have to do is:
   Change your attitude towards life.
   
   Every pain and suffering is temporary and you are not going to tolerate it for long time.
   
   So be happy and don't deflect from bad situations.
   
   On the other hand if you will think negatively then it can spoil your life.
   
   In-fact thinking negatively is one our habit and we can get rid of it by proper training.
   
   Life is beautiful in its own way but one must have a positive attitude to see its beauty.
   
   Time and events aren't constant, they are changing continuously.
   
   So one can't complain that his/her life isn't worth living. , The modern world is always busy, and sleep is often pushed to the side in favor of work.
   
   But sleep is absolutely essential if you want your mind and brain to operate and develop at their best.
   
   Adults should get eight hours of sleep and children should get nine to ten; if you sleep less than that, you won't be able to reach your full potential.
3. 3

   Step 3: Know that your mind is flexible.

4. 4

   Step 4: Keep yourself occupied and avoid boredom.

5. 5

   Step 5: Understand the law of belief.

6. 6

   Step 6: Overcome the cognitive biases: Although our mind is very powerful yet like other things

7. 7

   Step 7: it has many limitations.

8. 8

   Step 8: Listen to your intuition.

9. 9

   Step 9: Use day dreaming and fantasy.

10. 10

    Step 10: Be aware and pay attention.

11. 11

    Step 11: Keep the promises you've made to yourself.

12. 12

    Step 12: Overcome your fears.

13. 13

    Step 13: Think positively.

14. 14

    Step 14: Get plenty of sleep.

Detailed Guide

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