Changing your labels!

02/09/2008 23:18

As we move forward in our life experiences, we begin to become defined by the people that we interact with. Our parents, our friends, our teachers, our authority figures and anyone we communicate with begins to place us into personal, social, economic, religious and sexual classifications, labels and stereo types. As humans, there seems to be a need to define and classify each person, place and thing around us.

Through words, implications and actions our subconscious mind begins to form and create
 an image of who we think we are. All that we believe to be true about ourselves begins to manifest itself into the illusion of the ego self. An illusion that we are separate from one another. An illusion that we are different.

We are given labels such as rich, poor, smart, stupid, good, bad, ugly, beautiful, not good enough, a success, a failure etc. The ego begins to collect these labels and strengthens the disillusionment of separation. We believe that we are what we are told we are. We begin to tell others what we think they are. We label others as we see fit the exact way we were labeled. In turn, these limited beliefs that are imposed upon us take away our power to be truly who we are. A being of unlimited potential.

  Where do these limiting beliefs and negativity originate from? How did we as a society create such binding structures within our society that hold us back from realizing our true potential. What can we do as a collective consciousness to cleanse and remove the negative structures within our minds?

What matters now is to work together with those in your life and begin to understand one another better by becoming more in tune with how we relate. We can dissolve old structures of communicating that are no longer beneficial to us through compassion and understanding. With these virtues we can begin to allow our collective consciousness to ascend and evolve to a greater state of being. We can release our pasts, both individually and as a planet collectively and begin to create a future of peace and harmony in our relationships.

Take a moment and become aware of the energy we share. The energy we send to one another on a daily basis. We are in a state of continual communication with one another. We send each other physical signals, we send electric or energetic signals and we verbally communicate with one another everyday. When we say "I love you", "I am angry with you", "You are stupid, lazy, overweight etc"  we  evoke energy and emotion to the recipient. Even without verbal communication we send a feeling or vibe to others. When we get angry, happy, sad or feel love for someone, we transmit that feeling to them subconsciously.  We don't need words to tell someone that we are not fond of them. And vice versa. And intuitively know when someone likes us.

We can feel it and sense it. How we feel about someone manifests throughout our interactions. True feelings and thoughts tend to "leak out" subconsciously. If someone is angry with you and you ask "Whats wrong?" they may respond by saying "I'm fine" but the look that they give you shows their anger. We have all experienced someone giving us a bad vibe, even if they "seem" nice! The feeling that we have in our gut is not congruent with they way they are behaving. We tune into the energy and emotion behind the mask they wear and our system is tell us what that person is really feeling.

We are, at our core, all sensitive to the vibrations and energies of what others say, think and feel about us. When others say, think or feel negative things about us, our bodies, minds and energy systems begin to absorb these like a sponge. Most people that carry a lot of negativity have usually absorbed such thoughts and feelings in the developmental years of their lives through the way they have been raised and treated by others.

When we label people in our minds as rich, poor, smart, stupid, good, bad, ugly, beautiful, not good enough, successful etc. even if it is only a thought, it can still be felt by the person we are thinking of, even if only at a subconscious level. We think to ourselves "That person is annoying." A part of them is truly aware of how we are feeling. In turn, they respond and react to us subconsciously knowing what we are thinking. It becomes a dance of unspoken yet understood communication.

Negativity directed at an individual grows stronger if we begin using spoken words (even gossiping about someone projects negative energy their way) Words have the power to harm or to heal. Choosing the correct words when dealing with people on a daily basis is important, as one word, positive or negative,  can stick with someone for a lifetime.

And personally I have seen many people throughout my life make others feel stupid or diminished simply by the way that they treat them, without having to say a word. Small actions such as raising one eye brow, wrinkling a forehead, holding a chin or turning away can speak volumes. Gestures tend to be windows of the emotions that we are feeling. And our subconscious minds pick up on subtle meanings within others body movements and the way they carry themselves. Even if lips lie, the body always tells the truth.

Once we begin to realize these truths, we can begin to practice more mindfulness in the way we think, speak and interact with others, individually and collectively. If we don't like someone, being  indifferent or neutral towards them nullifies negativity within our minds while preventing negative energy to be transmitted to them. Of course it is ultimately more powerful to send them compassion, forgiveness and, yes, even love! Continuing to think negatively about someone only generates more negativity. And if you can't think of anything nice to say about someone, how about just not thinking about them at all. (moms everywhere were correct!)

We can begin to become aware of and remove negative words we use from our vocabulary that are designed to diminish others and start to use words that are respectful and empowering.

By integrating behaviors like the ones above into our daily routines, we can terminate the transmission of negativity and begin to become a source of positive energy. Can you imagine what would happen if just half the worlds population began to treat one another with this respect?

For ourselves, we can become aware of the labels that we carry around with us on a daily basis. There might be good labels. Chances are there are negative labels that prevent you from moving forward in your life. Pretty much everyone I know has at least one negative label they lug around with them like a piece of old luggage. Write out your labels. Take a good look at what it is you believe about yourself.

Now looking at the labels, as you read them begin to notice the feelings that come up. The emotions that arise. The thoughts they evoke.

And realize, that these labels are what has been implied that you are. They are not the true you!

All of them are a result of what was said to you, what was done to you and the way that others made you feel. You made a subconscious choice at one point to accept, wear and act out the labels that were given. Even good labels are usually there because we felt good about something we accomplished.  We accept both the good and the bad. And we believe this is who we are.

The truth is, that we carry every possible label within each of us. We all can be smart, we all can make mistakes and feel stupid at times, we can be beautiful or we can be ugly, We can be motivated or we can be lazy, we can be a success or a failure. All of these labels have always been there inside of us, waiting for a situation to arise that will make them surface. We can learn from these labels because they are simply a part of us. We can take the lesson we learned from being angry, a failure, sad etc. and begin to decide to use another label, another facet of who we are.

Because we contain all of the labels, we have within us unlimited potential. We can begin to make a conscious decision to use only the labels that are valid to us in the moment we are in and we can choose to be any label at any time. We can remove the labels that are no longer applicable to us and file them away under garbage!

 knowing that you have a choice in the matter of who you are, what labels are you going to choose to use today?


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A consulting hypnotherapist, hypnotist or NLP Practitioner can help you to remove limiting labels and beliefs. If there is a label that is strongly embedded in the subconscious mind, contact me to set up a free consultation. Alternatively If you are out of the Toronto area, I would recommend purchasing a hypnosis mp3 from my store to help with the process or finding a local hypnotist in your area.