Dear Dr. Romance: Can you program the subconscious?

Dear Dr. Romance:

I saw the articles on your site and I would like to know if you can ´´program´´ the subconscious mind to win a X salary per month, even if the subconscious mind is programmed to attract money.

Dear Reader:

We have a brain mechanism psychologists call "preparatory set." It's one of the mechanisms the mind uses to sort through the enormous amounts of data that flow in daily, and keep it manageable. By writing down the things you want to accomplish and making them clear, you can "program" that mechanism. Once programmed, it directs your attention to certain events and occurrences.

To illustrate: When you decide you want a certain car (an SUV, a hybrid or a certain brand of truck) you see that model everywhere, you notice every one on the freeway, you see every ad or commercial. Preparatory set works that way. Once you program it with your goals (visualizing in addition to writing is most effective) you will automatically be more aware of certain events, opportunities and people who can be helpful. You'll also be more clear about what you want, and this will sneak into your conversation and your general attitude, where others can pick up on it. It's not really magic, unless you believe as I do, that the mind is a miracle in itself.

The more specific you can be in programming the subconscious, the better it works. Use pictures, not just numbers. When you get that certain salary, what will you do with it? Create visual pictures of your lifestyle with that salary. The subconscous has been described as a "mail-order desk" If you don't tell the order desk exactly what you want, you run a chance of getting the wrong thing. "Patterns of Change" will give you more information about programming your subconscious, and The Real 13th Step explains in more detail how you can work with your subconscious mind.