Free Yourself from the Shackles of Your Conditioned Thinking Using the Concept of Synaesthesia

Researchers have discovered an interesting phenomenon of the human body and they have christened it as "synaesthesia." Every one of us possessed this gift when we were children but we lost it as we grew up. But there are many creative people like artists who come out with their masterpieces when they are under this state. 

Experts define this state as a process in which one of the human senses interprets an experience as if it is an experience of another sense. To quote an example, when you look at the sky and if you feel as if you are tasting your favorite fruit or you are hearing your favorite song, you can assume that you are in a state of synaesthesia. Richard Cytowic has written a book entitled "Wednesday is Indigo Blue" on the subject of synaesthesia.

Experiencing the state of synaesthesia may not be very common. But the fact remains that we receive lots of information from our surroundings and environment and we interpret them in our own way. This is called perception. In fact, two people can interpret the same thing in two different ways. The way we interpret depends upon many factors that include our memory and the conditioned judgment of our mind. Experts have found out that our deep-rooted beliefs due to the conditioning of our minds color our perceptions and how we interact with others and how we view the ideas we receive. 

But if we feel that our perceptions are not doing any good for us, we can certainly change the way we look at things. Of course, changing these habitual patterns may not be easy because the conditioning of our minds may be very much deep-rooted. But we can unlearn these habitual patterns though it may be an intimidating process. 

There are ways that can help you move away from the shackles of your conditioned thinking. Let us have a look.

1. Read a poem you like with a different mindset. In the book, "Dead Poet's Society," Robin Williams, who plays the role of a person who teaches literature and who is unconventional minded, tells his students to try reading the same poem in different places like while sitting on their desk, in back-yard, while playing soccer and so on. You can also try this and see how it changes your perception.

2. Change your route. If you use the same route to reach your workplace, try changing your route. You can try having a stroll in a new locality and even if you get lost in the new area, it is all the more better because it may inspire you to get creative and try new ways to reach back to your place.

3. Begin your day with some good news instead of poring over all the bad news in the newspaper. This will keep your spirits high throughout the day and not only that, you will feel an inexplicable peace all through the day.

4. Stop being judgmental. This may especially help if you have been disliking a person. Place two chairs opposite each other. Sit on one chair and try visualizing that the person is sitting on the opposite chair. Re-play all the resentment about the person in your mind. Ensure that you do not censor your thoughts. Now stop visualizing the person and look at the empty chair while repeating to yourself that all the resentment and anger have vanished and are no longer there. The efficacy of this process depends upon your ability to let go. But once you remove these negative thoughts from your mind, you will feel less burdened and lighter.

5. Accept everything and everyone as they are. This is very difficult and needs consistent practice. This also involves accepting the fact that changes will happen on their own and it is not necessary that you must force changes on people or things. Experts firmly believe that desiring to change things or others will impede unconditional love. 

Life offers a plethora of opportunities using which we can free ourselves from the shackles of our conditioned thinking. It is by unlearning and learning we can try those ways and succeed in them.