Understanding the Subconscious – What it is and how it works
I’ll be honest . when I picked up this book The Power of Subconscious Mind, I wasn’t expecting a miracle. It wasn’t even part of a big “self-growth plan.” I just wanted to start reading again. Covid had slowed everything down, and somewhere in that silence I thought, why not pick up a book? This one had been lying around, and I’d heard the title so many times that I decided to give it a shot.
And that’s how The Power of Your Subconscious Mind became the first book I read after years of not reading.
First Impressions
This isn’t a modern, flashy book. It was written in 1963, and honestly, some parts really sound that old. At first, I thought it might bore me. But something about the way Joseph Murphy explains things made me pause.
His main point is simple:
your thoughts shape your reality, because your subconscious absorbs whatever you feed it.
That’s not a brand-new idea you’ll see the same theme in newer books like The Secret or Atomic Habits. But what struck me was how directly he said it. No fluff, no complicated terms.
Just: “What you keep repeating in your mind will eventually become your life.”
And I sat there thinking, well… maybe that’s why I’ve been stuck with the same doubts for years.
Key Ideas That Stuck
A few things stayed with me even after closing the book:
Our subconscious is like soil. Whatever you plant fear, hope, faith, doubt , will grow. So if I keep repeating “I can’t do it,” guess what? I probably won’t.
Visualization isn’t wishful thinking. It’s like rehearsing in your Subconscious mind. Athletes do it. Musicians do it. And Murphy says anyone can use it.
Faith is self-programming. If you believe something long enough, your subconscious accepts it, and your actions follow.
Your last thought before sleep matters. This part hit me. He says the last thing you think before bed seeps into your subconscious Mind. I tried it went to bed with a positive line instead of my usual worries. It felt small, but the next morning I did wake up lighter.
My Honest Take
Not everything in the book worked for me. Some examples felt outdated, and he repeated a lot of points in slightly different ways. At first, I found myself rolling my eyes at a couple of the “miracle healing” stories. They felt too far-fetched.
But here’s the thing: the repetition also worked in its own way. After the third or fourth example, the idea really started sinking in. It was like Murphy was trying to drill it into my stubborn head: watch your thoughts, because they’re powerful whether you believe it or not.
I also realized how casually I let negative phrases run in my Subconscious mind. “What if this fails?” “Maybe I’m not good enough.” I never noticed how often those thoughts showed up until this book made me more aware. That awareness itself felt like a shift.
Why You Might Want to Read It
If you’re completely new to self-help, this book is a gentle and motivating place to begin. It doesn’t throw heavy science or big words at you. It just gives you simple advice that feels doable.
If you’ve read a lot of modern books, you’ll notice overlap. In fact, you might laugh at how much current self-help content is just a remix of Murphy’s ideas. But I think that shows how timeless it is.
Would I recommend it to someone who only trusts research-backed, scientific explanations?
Probably not. This book leans more on faith, belief, and anecdotal stories. But if you’re okay with taking inspiration and applying it in your own way, it can still be very impactful.
What It Meant to Me
More than the content itself, I’ll always remember this book for what it represented. It was the first book I finished after a long break, the one that reminded me reading could still comfort me, challenge me, and even heal me. Starting with a book about the mind felt symbolic, almost like a sign: before changing my habits, I had to change my thoughts.
And that’s the biggest gift I took away , the reminder that while I can’t always control what happens around me, I can choose what I feed my inner world.
Final Note: The Power of Your Subconscious Mind may not be perfect. But maybe that’s the point you don’t have to agree with every page. Even if one sentence stays with you and makes you rethink the way you talk to yourself, the book has done its job.
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