Let’s do a little mind experiment. Pay close attention to what happens when you read the following word:

Babylon

What happened? What image, phrase or event came to your mind?

Next, think about what that image, phrase or event meant to you. When did you first hear or see the word Babylon? What was your reaction to it?

This is key, knowing when you first heard or saw the word.

Why?

Because your subconscious mind is controlling you. Or more correctly, your subconscious mind is controlling your reaction to this word.

The subconscious mind is essentially a filing cabinet in your brain where it stores every conceivable thing you’ve ever experienced along with your reaction to it.

Consider this:

Are you afraid of snakes? Why? Not everyone is afraid of snakes; one of my followers here has a daughter who has a pet snake, for instance. But if you’re afraid of snakes, perhaps something happened that made you react to snakes the way you do. Was your first exposure to snakes a story or picture in a children’s book? Maybe it was a show you watched on TV? Maybe you live in a place where snakes roam free and cause fear or anxiety in the people in your environment?

Whatever happened when you first saw a snake, your subconscious mind stored that memory in your brain. Now, it brings that memory, along with its associated emotional reaction, to the forefront of your consciousness every time the word or image of a snake appears in your life.

Think back to the lemon slices experiment I mentioned in this blog. I described in detail what happens when you place a slice of lemon in your mouth and then described in detail what happens when you think about placing a slice of lemon in your mouth.

Can you taste the lemon when you think about the lemon? Even without lemon in your mouth? How come you know how to describe lemon as sour, or tart, when you don’t have lemon in your mouth?

You can read the full post here.

Now I’m going to tell you what happened to me when I saw the word Babylon.

The other night, I was scrolling through some social media. Suddenly, a map of the ancient city of Babylon appeared on a documentary channel I follow. It had the word Babylon written across the map.

As soon as I saw the word Babylon, I immediately recalled the tune By the rivers of Babylon, by Boney M, the disco/funk vocal group who was popular during my childhood in the 70s.

I heard the voices of the singers in my head (I like Boney M), and, what’s more, I’m still hearing the song now, days later, in my head

Your subconscious mind is an extremely strong, potent memory machine capable of driving your thoughts in your present moment at the slightest trigger.

My first exposure to the word Babylon was not the ancient city, but rather to the song by Boney M. Specifically, the tune. At the time, I didn’t even know that Babylon was an ancient city (I was a child, somewhere under the age of 10).

Yet this is what my subconscious mind dredged up when I saw the word Babylon; a song by Boney M.

I have more on this topic. Stay tuned…

Thank you for reading my post. Meanwhile, if I sold two more batches of birch bark, this time to a customer in Pennsylvania! I was so happy, I had been disconnected from my shop for almost five days due to a work stint, family stuff and Canadian Thanksgiving. I feel motivated to take the next step now, and load more items to my shop. Please feel free to look around Boldly Chic Boutique anytime. You can access the store here or via a tab in my website here.