Subliminal tapes and audio affirmations
Does listening to subliminal tapes work? How about recording affirmations onto a tape and listening to them while sleeping? That’s what I had decided to find out for myself.
Subliminal messages on a tape or cd
A method that has been around for a long time now is using tapes with subliminal messages on them. A lot of people swear by them. There are literally tons of tapes and cds being sold (with subliminal messages) for just about every area of your life.
Basically, the tape contains some music and positive affirmations. All you can consciously hear is the music and not the messages. But your subconscious mind is supposedly able to listen to the hidden messages.
In theory this works because your conscious mind is busy listening to the music and the messages/affirmations bypass it and get directly imbedded in your subconscious mind.
Audio Affirmations
I had heard that a very effective method for using affirmations is recording them onto a tape or cd and listening to them while sleeping. To make it more effective you can actually listen to them while you’re falling asleep, through out the night while you’re sleeping and wake up listening to them.
These are the times that the conscious mind is dormant and you have direct access to subconscious mind without much resistance. You can theoretically bypass your analytical and self-limiting beliefs.
That’s briefly how they work. I’m assuming everyone has a basic understanding of them.
If not then there are probably many places online that can describe them in much greater detail than me, for anyone interested.
I wanted to find out for myself if they did indeed work. If they did then that would be simply awesome as both of these methods were very simple and easy to apply.
So, this is was my plan:
- Listen to tapes while I fell asleep, through out the night while I was sleeping, and wake up listening to them
- Do it consistently for at least 30-60 days
- If no change then same as #1 but also listen to them through out the day
- Do it consistently for at least 30-60 days again
- If desired change not there then record baroke music along with the affirmations
- Listen to them again for at least 30-60 days
- Listen to subliminal tapes while I fell asleep, through out the night while I was sleeping and wake up listening to them
- Do it consistently for at least 60 days
- Same as #7 but also listen to them through out the day
- Do it consistently for at least 60 days
How to measure results?
First of all I really wanted it to work. I had read how this had helped so many people so I was actually very motivated and very much looking forward to them working.
So how exactly would I know if either of these methods worked?
I was looking for any difference in my attitude. I also wanted to see if I was acting in accordance with the new messages or if I was still acting the same.
If a situation presented itself I would notice what thoughts came to my mind and what actions I took. I was not necessarily looking for a total change in my thinking but even a little reminder or a nudge in the right direction.
For example:
I was afraid of roller coasters, every time I got close to them I would start panicking and mind would be filled with fearful thoughts.
After applying these processes, even if I could feel myself thinking that even though it roller coasters were something I’d been afraid of I could actually take steps to overcome this fear, that would have been considered successful for me.
Basically, I was looking any, even a tiniest change in my thinking and attitude.
Results:
I did not notice any change. 
The subliminal tapes also provided manuals with written affirmations that were recorded on the tapes so I actually would read through those affirmations as well to make sure I knew what was being programmed in my mind.
For the example of roller coaster above, I noticed if I was still acting out of fear or not. But in the moment of fear I could not even remember any affirmations that were being programmed in my mind through subliminal tapes or while sleeping via tapes I had created.
I had several affirmations regarding many different issues but I did not notice any change whatsoever in any of those areas nor in my attitude in those areas. That was very disappointing.
I had a lot of limiting beliefs toward these processes though. Even though I had really wanted them to work and was willing to put in the work required to make them work, I was also not very optimistic about them.
It’s quite possible they might have worked with a different attitude. But the whole point of these processes was to develop a different attitude. It was catch 22.
Even though both of these processes have apparently worked for a lot of people, for me neither the subliminal tapes, nor audio affirmations worked.
Related posts:
- Using affirmations
- Challenges with affirmations
- Are you feeding your mind?
- Self conversation: Talk to your best friend
- Why do I feel tired all the time?
- It’s tough to write while depressed
- How to instill new beliefs?
- What is the cause of depression?
- Focus on one thing at a time
- 25 ways to feel good right now!
August 13th, 2009 at 5:50 am
I’m interested. Did you use tapes or cds that were bought commercially from someone else?
I have found these help to an extent but not nearly so much as recording your own. It takes a lot more work, but like to use recordings of my own voice (you get over the embarressment) saying the affirmations plus outlining your goals. These I play overnight as I sleep together with a particular piece of soothing music.
Does it work? Hmmm…it is a bit difficult to say yet as I was a bit erratic on this for a time and need to get more disciplined (and my goals have changed – one big one on the cd has been attained – so I need to rerecord the goals part). However, I mentioned I used a specific piece of music and it came on the radio recently while I was washing up – and I fell asleep over the washing up!
If this Pavlovian effect occurs with the music, it makes me wonder if the affirmations might be getting through as well.
I would add I think this is just one element in a whole armoury of self-programming techniques (others are spoken affirmations, self-talk, visualisations etc) which are most effective when used together.
One more thing, there will those who say that subliminal messages do not work. Okay, so why then do companies regularly advertise?
I hope this helps – and I will press on with my attempts to get this right.
August 13th, 2009 at 8:05 am
Subliminal tapes were the ones bought commercially while audio affirmations were the ones I recorded myself. Baroque music is supposed to enhance our learning. That’s why I recorded my affirmations and listened to them and then recorded them again with Baroque music playing in the background.
Or driving!
Subliminal tapes are different in the sense that all you hear consciously is music but the messages that are also on the tape get picked up by your subconscious.
So, I tried both but didn’t get much benefit.
But a friend of mine used to play classical music to help him fall asleep and it would be playing at low volume through out the night while he was sleeping. During the day every time he listened to the same music he was able to hear things he had not heard before. He could pick out really fine details with in the music. So, it worked for him.
I have met other people for whom both subliminal tapes and tapes recorded by themselves have worked. Maybe I missed something. hmm… but I spent literally 100s of hours listening to them while awake and sleeping.
Hope you’re not listening to the same music while washing dishing anymore?
August 13th, 2009 at 8:54 am
This is obviously a subject that is a lot more technical that we thought. It needs more investigation.
I hadn’t heard of that effect from classical music either. Interesting.
As for listening to it at home. Well, I have classical music on now and it doesn’t seem to…….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
August 13th, 2009 at 10:53 am
hehehe… at least you’re at home and not driving!
We know one thing. Autosuggestion works. Now how we go about that is what matters! I think every one is different so what may work for me may not work for someone else and vice versa.
That’s why we have so many different techniques and tools out there.
Important thing to realize is that autosuggestion does work! And now find a way that you can make it work for yourself!
I’m exploring other ways now so won’t be spending more time on subliminal tapes or on recording more of my affirmations onto tape as I have given them a fair trial already.
August 14th, 2009 at 10:37 am
I wonder if the audio tapes were recorded in someone else’s voice…do you think it may have more of an affect then? I thinking along the lines of marketing…we have been programmed to trust other peoples opinions so similarly, I am wondering if you tried positive audio affirmations recorded in another person’s voice. This being that generally, people don’t trust their own opinions because we have been programmed to think that ’science and authority’ know best. (which is completely untrue, because science has historically and currently been used to further oppression and dominance).
Good post. It made me realize that we need to actually trust ourselves and talk to positive people.
August 14th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I think some techniques work for some, but don’t work for others. This is especially true for mental techniques.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
@Daffy Duck – So true. That’s why it’s important to explore different techniques instead of giving up all together.
I know people who tell me that this “self-help/development” stuff just doesn’t work. It’s because they tried affirming the famous affirmation “everyday and in every way I’m getting better and better”. They did this for a while and when nothing changed they decided that “this stuff” just doesn’t work.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
@Terry – hmm… That is a good point. When I was recording my own affirmations I was recording in the first person and second person but it was still my voice. E.g. “I am very persistent” and then “You are very persistent”. Maybe that’s what I’ll try next. I have a lot of tapes with affirmations recorded by others e.g. from Louise Hay.
If I do I’ll remember to post the results here
August 16th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
http://www.innertalk.com
August 17th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Thanks Amy.