Influencing the subconscious through language is a fascinating concept that touches upon various fields such as psychology, linguistics, and marketing. Everything from mainstream to social media plays a pivotal role in influencing our conscious and subconscious.
I read a book more recently “Free Your Mind” that addressed the many ways we are constantly being manipulated via subconscious messages. These are everywhere and when you become aware of the form they take and how they seek to influence you, subconsciously you awaken.
Milton Erickson an American psychiatrist and psychologist, who specialised in medical hypnosis, and was generally regarded as the foremost hypnotherapist of his time, created hypnotic language patterns that can bypass the conscious mind and directly influence the subconscious. These became part of a series of presuppositions in NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) now known as the Milton Model, there are over 20 of these and as you learn more about them, the influence on your subconscious by external messages is reduced.
The interesting fact about these patterns is that when you unbundle and apply them to everyday life, it becomes clear that we are being manipulated every day. More importantly when you become aware of these patterns not only can you awaken your subconscious, you can also inoculate yourself against them. The byproduct of this awakening is that you can then combat these in real life situations and if inclined use these patterns to influence and coach others.
As an aside, Obama was a master at using these language patterns to influence the US public!
In this article I will cover one of these patterns that is universally used to influence your subconscious – “Complex Equivalence.”
Why choose this one pattern? Because it is constantly being used in messages to influence us every day.
Complex Equivalence
This is basically when someone tries to equate two things that are not similar as though they are similar, aligned, intertwined, dependant on each other or are the same. It generally draws an unrelated conclusion from an event that when questioned, logically does not follow. As an example, the greatest use of this in modern times has been the catch cry around Covid and keeping safe. In Australia we had a term “Social Distancing.” Which normalised being at a distance from each other to be safe from the virus. The interesting thing here is you cannot be social while distancing.
Some other examples in business are statements like “They don’t look at me when I present, therefore they are not interested.” Or because you are here, you are ready to learn. The interesting one being pushed by AAMI insurance is “bargain regret” where they show various consumer items such as blenders and running machines that blow up because they were a cheap purchase and then liken them to cheap insurance. Surprisingly, this message is more likely being pushed as insurance premiums have soared and people are looking for cheaper alternatives. All of the above statements have two statements that are unrelated and pushed together as related.
The one I particularly like is when a politician states “All Australians want XYZ” to push an agenda when “All” is factually incorrect.
Basically, it’s a mathematical equation and when you understand this you can counteract it. Listen to the keywords where “A equals B,” or “A is the same thing as “B.”
To unbundle this in your mind or even verbally you can ask How does “A” equal “B”. Or how is this the same as that?” or “How does this mean that?”
Understanding more about Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and the relationship between language, behaviour, and neurological processes, helps us understand how language interacts with the subconscious mind. That is a powerful tool for communication, persuasion, personal development and inoculating your subconscious from those influences.
So, is your subconscious awake?