THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "NEGATIVE" BEHAVIOR

By Rev. Keith Smyth

The above signature is that of Rev. Keith Smyth. His expertise is in Huna, Biofeedback, computers, dreams, science and electronics. He is doing research in some of the above areas. He is a Technical Writer, electronics Instructor and Metaphysical Teacher. He is also a cartoonist and contributes many for our Rainbow Connection.

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This will come as a rather drastic shock to many psychotherapists, ministers and metaphysical students. It is sometimes rather difficult to "get it" as a conscious understanding.

Lets begin with a basic presupposition or two. First, lets just suppose that no part or level of the mind likes or wants pain or unhappiness. This includes the levels of mind not normally under conscious awareness, sometimes referred to as the "subconscious" or "unconscious" mind, as if it were separate and distinct from the "conscious" or "rational" mind.

Point of fact. There is only one "mind". However, the "rational" intellect seems to have a need to divide things into chunks in order to cope with it.

Another presupposition. Lets suppose that every behavior was created as a form of positive actions/thought process in order to achieve something at some previous time, and this behavior action now interferes with new wants.

Here is a kicker. An action/ thought process now viewed as "Bad", started out as "Good". As a matter of fact, hanging the label "bad" on any action/ thought processes creates an new action/thought process termed "guilt" and loss of a sense of having any self-worth.

I mean, if we don't feel that we have any worth, how in this or any other world, can we ever expect to get any thing, including a sense of self-worth? Downward spiral, that.

The difficulty is that there are many levels of operation of the mind. The operation of the level termed "rational" or "intellectual", usually isn't. It seems to be, for the most part, a set of conditioned responses to outside stimuli, based upon what is taught as "right" or "logical" or "intelligent". Sometimes I wonder if there really is any intelligent life on this planet.

Back to behavior patterns. Any behavior pattern can be changed. That is not a supposition, that is a statement of fact. If it were not so, nobody would ever learn any skill not already present. Reading, writing, walking, bicycle riding, roller skating, auto mobile driving - nothing. We all would still be crawling around, crapping all over our selves.

But HOW can a behavior pattern be changed? Well, first off, by quit trying to define WHAT the behavior is. It does not matter what it is. What does matter is what OUTCOME is derived.

By viewing actual outcome in relation to desired outcome - i.e.,- what do I want to get/have/feel, a new behavior pattern can be created. But first it must be understood by the "rational" mind that the actual behavior pattern, whatever it is, was created for a positive purpose, and the underlying foundation of that purpose was, and is, and always will be, PROTECTION.

Never mind for right now, what society terms as "bad" or "good". What ever that was done, was done for a purpose. There is no such thing as a purposeless action. ALL actions done by a human being have PURPOSE.

All actions expect to derive some result. If the result of the action is at cross-purposes with what is socially acceptable, punishment by society results. That is the way it is. We do NOT get to vote on it. Crossing society in too drastic a manner can get you dead, just as crossing many natural laws can get you dead. But these are results of actions. In all actions, there are "pay- offs".

Whatever the "pay-off" now, it was generated earlier as a positive benefit. As we realize consciously that the outcome of a particular behavior has a pay off with too high a price tag, we can modify the behavior. Lets get one thing straight, right off the bat. Any behavior starts out under conscious desire. NOT CONTROL! DESIRE!

Behavior patterns are CONTROLLED at a level of mind not under conscious cognizance. Don't believe it? Take memory for example. The conscious mind does not know how memory operates! When the conscious mind wants something recalled, it generates a desire.

Sometimes the memory floats up, AND SOMETIMES THE MEMORY DOES NOT. When the memory does not come up into the conscious minds ken, it is usually because the conscious mind gets locked into a loop of "Oh hell, What is it?" and tries to remember so hard that the memory cannot get into view. Later, when the conscious attention is turned elsewhere, the memory comes in full blast!

Quite frequently, it is at 3 AM. But there is an observation here, if we will only heed it. If that memory was not in view of the conscious mind, then obviously it was out of view! It was somewhere else, and the conscious mind does not know where!

Other memories are deliberately withheld from view of the conscious mind. This is not a decision of the conscious mind. The decision is based upon a protection. All memories carry levels of emotion still embedded in them.

If at any time, the conscious mind says to the other levels of mind dealing with memory, "I cannot handle that!", for whatever reason, the memory will be withheld until the conscious mind demonstrates that it can indeed handle this memory. Until then, the memory will stay non-viewable, which is to say non-experienceable.

If every time though, that the conscious mind says "Yeah, sure, sock it too me" and then stiff- arms that pain, the other levels of mind says "Ah ha. Lied to again. OK. No memory of this until you prove you can handle it.!" And then these levels attempts to feed that memory into conscious view in bits and pieces, attempting to defuse the emotional content of that memory, AND this level of mind WILL generate a behavior pattern based upon never allowing any situation or circumstance to occur in which another such memory can be created. PROTECTION.

This is how a behavior pattern is sometimes created in the first place. Or, a close enough analogy to be extremely useful. Another method of creation is for the conscious mind to state that "I will never ............." whatever that never is, done during an extremely emotional state, and WHAMMO, a one time learning experience in which a behavior pattern is generated. It becomes true, that you will never do what ever it is. You have generated a behavior pattern that will insure that you never do this. It is sometimes called a "Phobia".

In order to get the behavior pattern to change, it is not necessary for the conscious mind to understand what the behavior is, it is only necessary to realize that the outcome of the behavior pattern is no longer beneficial. It is only necessary to call attention to the outcome created, and ask that the behavior pattern generating that outcome be modified to create the desired outcome, with the same or a greater level of protection. It is also necessary to do some future pacing e.g. mentally imagining this happening, and checking to find if there is some level of mind that objects to such an outcome. If there is, find out what the objection is. It has usually been found that another level of mind will have its protection function negated by the desired outcome.

When this happens, find out if the objecting part is willing to have its protection function modified so that the new behavior pattern level of protection becomes its function. If not, find out exactly what this particular level of mind is protecting you from. Then ask if it is willing to have this protection from embedded into the behavior pattern to be generated. It is usually willing. Then find out if all levels of mind agree that the new behavior pattern is agreeable.

How do you communicate with these levels of mind, you ask? Easy. Sit quietly, and ask that this level of mind communicate with you, by using a sensation in the body. Do not attempt to do this using a pendulum! It is too easy for the conscious mind to override the non-conscious levels and get the pendulum to swing as the conscious mind desires.

Ask that the intensity of one sensation be increased dramatically as a signal. Then ask that if this is the particular sensation, if this level of mind will now decrease the sensation. Then, by increasing the intensity of the sensation, a "yes" answer can be generated, and by decreasing the intensity of the sensation, a "no" answer can be generated. Then do your communicating. But whenever you think you want a behavior changed, do not attempt to define the behavior, ONLY STATE THE DESIRED OUTCOME.

LEAVE THE CREATION OF THE SPECIFIC BEHAVIOR PATTERN TO THESE LEVELS OF MIND. THEY ARE BEST EQUIPPED FOR IT.

The conscious mind is not. This is not its function. Notice also, that instead of creating only one behavior pattern for the desired outcome, it is much more effective if these levels of mind will go to the creative part of mind, and have it create a minimum of ten alternative behavior patterns which will give the desired outcome, and then have the level of mind responsible of implantation and operation of the behavior, to choose three of them, and then pick one out to begin with first. Get it to agree to try this behavior pattern for six weeks. If it does not feel that the same or a greater level of protection is present, have it use the second choice for six weeks.

But give it a chance!

This does work!