What are subliminal messages? Well, subliminal messages are affirmations that are given just below the threshold of conscious awareness. Subliminal messages are used to program the subconscious mind or influence subconscious behaviour. This means that anything that is deliberately given to you at a subconscious level in order to change your perspective, outlook, behaviour or beliefs are subliminal messages! Simply put subliminal messages are affirmations that are presented to you at a subconscious level. Subconscious messages are statements that bypass your conscious reasoning faculties and seep into the subconscious mind.

Although it is a common belief that subliminal messages should not be heard or seen this is a false belief. Subliminal messages most be visible or audible if they are to be effective. The affirmation only becomes subliminal messages because they are masked by other images or sounds.

A great example of subliminal messages can be seen in some advertisements. The subliminal messages in a visual image are always masked by other things in the picture that misdirect your attention. However if the image or word is pointed out it becomes apparent. The same is the case for audible subliminal messages. The voice that is giving commands is indistinguishable from the background music or sounds. However if the masking sounds were removed and the recorsing was left at the same volume the subliminal messages would be easy to hear.

The reason why subliminal messages work lies in how your mind operates. Although there are millions of stimuli reaching your senses every moment your conscious mind is only aware of a very limited amount. This is necessary for you to carry-out your daily activities effectively.

Your ability to block out almost all of the stimuli that is reaching your senses allows to remain focused on what you are doing. If everything that is happening around you were to become apparent to you, you would have sensory overload and be unable to function efficiently at any given task. The only time other stimuli comes into your conscious awareness is when they require your attention. It is then that the subconscious mind alerts the conscious mind of this stimulus.

The subconscious mind is also responsible for performing task that you have previously learned. Walking, talking and driving are good examples. Once you had to consciously learn how to do these things, something that required all your attention. Now they are automatic. The same is true of your beliefs and attitudes. They have become automatic and subconscious!

As you began life and grow older your conscious mind was offered beliefs, usually from parents, teachers and peers, which you either accepted or rejected (we do not accept all beliefs handed down to us and also create some of our own based on life experiences). Once critically analysed by the conscious mind these beliefs were then passed into the subconscious mind for storage and retrieval.

To program the subconscious with stored information it is usually necessary for the information to pass through the conscious mind where it can be analysed and accepted or rejected. The conscious mind therefore acts a gatekeeper to the subconscious mind!

It is possible to present information directly to the subconscious mind without any interference from the conscious mind through the use of subliminal messages.

Advertisers have known about the power of using subliminal messages for decades and use them to ignite your emotions and sway your buying habits. By embedding subliminal messages into ads they can make a connection between their product and a pleasurable feeling, belief or physical drive at a subconscious level.

In the same way that advertisers use subliminal messages in an attempt to influence your buying behaviours, so you can also use subliminal messages to influence your own behaviour. You can instil new beliefs and behaviours that are the same as successful, rich, confident people. In fact the use of subliminal messages, as a self-change tool, is limited only by your imagination!