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By: Jonathan Nhan

"The Conscious Mind: How to Use It Effectively for Improved Mental Health"

That internal dialogue in your head that is always narrating, debating, and deliberating your day to day life is the part of the mind that we are aware of. Because it is the most visible part of our mind, we often attribute our successes and failures to it. While this is not completely inaccurate, it is not the full picture either. In the second part of this series examining a practical model of the mind, let’s get acquainted with the conscious mind, how you might be using it wrong, and how you can use it better.

The conscious mind is the part of your mental processes that you can observe and control most directly. For some, it narrates their daily lives and their thoughts. You can hold an awareness of a limited number of things in this part of your mind, on average about 5 to 7 things in your conscious mind at once before it gets overwhelmed and kicks something out. It can be challenging enough to recall your own phone number at times, imagine how difficult it would be to keep 2 or 3 phone numbers in your conscious awareness simultaneously!

When we struggle with problems and get stuck, many of the blocks come from our conscious mind. Think about a recent problem where you got stuck. How much of your brain power was used to solve the actual problem versus thinking about how you are stuck in the problem! We can get stuck in cycles of worry and anxiety when the focus becomes how we are experiencing a problem. Thinking about how you are stuck in a problem will rarely get you out of that situation.

It is very important to acknowledge these feelings and emotions of frustration, anxiety, and worry because once you can acknowledge these feelings and accept that they have occurred, it becomes easier to set them aside. Denying these feelings puts your energy towards moving away from them rather than moving through them and processing them in a useful way.

The conscious part of your mind has a very important role in your overall mental health and well being. The conscious mind can be used to set your focus and intentions. This internal narrator is often responsible for controlling negative self talk and limiting beliefs. Many of these things can be seeded by an outside influence, when we repeat limiting beliefs that are put on us by other people, we are reaffirming them and cementing them into place.

Begin to expand your awareness to identify how you are talking to yourself. It’s is all too common, and quite nefarious, the amount of times I hear people put themselves down in the course of normal conversation. When we give voice to negative beliefs about ourselves, we are limiting ourselves. Your conscious mind is under your control. While it may seem impossible to change how you think or feel about yourself, I’ll offer you one small thing that I found immensely impactful.

When you catch yourself saying that you can’t do something, add “YET” to the end of that statement. I recently started taking up drawing and I used to tell myself “I can’t draw”. Changing that to “I can’t draw yet” is a distinctly different message. The first statement is a limit, a wall, a barrier. The second statement gives space for growth. Bonus points for if you state the action you’ll take to get to your goal - “I can’t draw yet, but I will practice everyday”.

Begin noticing how you are using your conscious mind and start playing with different ways of speaking to yourself. Encourage yourself and be on your own side. Once you get good at setting your own positive intentions, you’ll be ready to tap into the true powerhouse of your mind: your unconscious mind.

By: Roger Tumminieri

I've always had an affinity for Toronto neighbourhoods. Growing up in the city (Agincourt, to be exact), I developed a passion for the uniqueness and diversity of every distinct pocket of Toronto - which is effectively a city of neighbourhoods.

I've been 'Supporting Local' with my work since 2015  when I started the Etobicoke Lakeshore Press (even before that, if I take into account the first magazine I published back in 2006 for West Queen West) and have carried that passion with me ever since. 

After moving from South Etobicoke (Long Branch, to be exact), to Grey Highlands I began to view our new country communities through that same lens - seeking the subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences between places like Meaford and Collingwood, Durham and Duntroon, and Flesherton and Markdale.

How happy was I when I stumbled upon Carolyn Graziani's Instagram account.

Her illustrations of Toronto neighbourhoods and locales across Midwestern Ontario struck a chord with me. So much so, I'll be profiling many of her works right here and in print with the Etobicoke Lakeshore Press and Hello Country Magazine. 

Stay tuned for more Art Is Love features.

You can view/order Carolyn's work at www.localesdesign.com

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Above prints (Mimico and Meaford) were chosen to highlight our family's move from South Etobicoke to Grey County and are so named in the tagline for Fiat Lux Media.

By: Roger Tumminieri

In my freezer. That's where :)

A big shout-out goes to Josh Bauman at Greener Grazing for keeping his clients healthy and well-fed.

We're very much enjoying having an ample supply of Grass Fed Beef at the ready...and buying in bulk sure is cheaper and more convenient than going to the store every week for more meat. 

Have you ever bought beef in bulk?

Consider reaching out to Josh and see what difference it makes to your health and finances.