The Reticular Activating System and it's relation to Life Coaching

Posted on August 18, 2020 by Shawn Gantkowski, One of Thousands of Spirituality Coaches on Noomii.

So what is this Reticular Activating System (RAS)? To keep it simple I will try to refrain from the neuroscience technical definitions. Essentially it is our mind’s filtering system for what we allow in and what we don’t. At any one moment in time there are approximately 2,000,000 pieces of data within our perception through our five sense organs. They include the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and touch. So while we are essentially a super computer, the most technological piece of machinery on the planet we only have five primary sensors. These sensors are unfortunately focused outside of ourselves and utilized as a protection mechanism for most. Being that our minds cannot perceive and process two million pieces of data every waking moment it needs to somehow filter what it allows in our perception so it doesn’t overwhelm itself.

So how does it choose what it lets in and what it ignores you ask. That’s where things get interesting and shocking. What the RAS allows into our perception is what we have determined is important. Quick example do you feel your right foot’s big toe? Now you do because you asked the question and your mind is designed to get you the answer. The truth is that feeling you are currently experiencing is always there you just never pay any attention to it. Unless of course you stub your toe, then the pain sends a signal to your mind and you hone your attention on the physical part of your body that has an acute pain while at the same time dropping all the other 1,999,999 pieces of information around you in that moment. Because you told yourself that the only thing that is important is the pain you are experiencing and getting it to stop, so your mind does what it always does, it goes to work manifesting what we tell it we want.

Here is another example; pick a color, any color it doesn’t matter which one just pick any you like. Give it a moment or two and watch what happens. You are scanning for the color you told your mind and even cooler is the fact that you are seeing the color you picked. Be honest, you are seeing it everywhere, aren’t you? All this once again has always been there, we just don’t pay it any attention because we never deemed it important to our mind so it filtered it out to leave room for the “important” stuff.

Just so we are clear let’s use one more example. My wife and daughter have been playing the “punch bug” game while we are driving to and from places. In case you don’t remember the game it is when you spot a Volkswagen Beetle while driving, if you see it first you get to playfully punch the other person in the arm. So my daughter has been away for a month on vacation out of state with her grandparents and while my wife and I are driving to conduct our business she is constantly pulling my attention to the “punch bug” she spots, and she sees them everywhere. By the time my mind processes what she is saying to me I have already passed it and I missed what she saw. Even when I try to glance behind me to see what she was referring to I don’t see it. I think to myself; how many Beetles could they have really made that are in this small city? My wife has chosen the Volkswagen Beetle to be important as there is an emotional tie to the game her and my daughter play while driving together so her RAS allows it in her perception. Another way to say this is that this becomes her reality. It’s not really true reality as it is only a tiny component of what is real to her in that moment based on her filtering system.

So while I am missing the VW Beetles my wife sees, I begin to think to myself; what else am I missing? I am missing more than I am able to perceive and this is the dangerous piece of our mind and the RAS filtering system. But before we get into that let’s discuss how we establish the filtering system so we have a clear understanding of the mechanics behind it. We already know that what we deem important is what gets through right? So then what determines what or how we decide what is important? What we label as important are our values, beliefs, and opinions. And do you know where the majority of our values, beliefs, and opinions originated from? They didn’t come from where you might think, they actually were programmed into your subconscious before the age of five. That’s right, the age of five. So your RAS has been programmed with the filtering system long before you were an adult by your caretakers such as parents, teachers, friends, family, you get the point. See your RAS filtering system is not even yours, it is a concoction of all those who were responsible to your development prior to age five. Of course over time you have evolved some of the filtering system but very little is your programming.

This can get pretty scary when you think about it. We have all heard the saying; “First impressions are lasting impressions.” Right? When we see someone for the first time our mind is trying to categorize them and fit them into our values, beliefs, and opinions database or file cabinet system as I refer to it as. Our minds need to separate and fragment the world so it can protect us, or so it believes. So if I meet someone new, let’s call him Johnny and he is wearing a red ball cap, and I hate red ball caps I will immediately not like Johnny. My mind is already made up, nope, I don’t like him. So did Johnny have any control over the first impression? Of course not, he just chose to wear a red cap today and I don’t like red caps. How does this happen? When I was little the neighborhood bully wore a red cap so therefore I set up my filter to always be on the lookout for red caps, they’re bullies!! Or, maybe I overheard my mom talking to one of the ladies down the street mentioning that Billy is a bad influence on the other kids. Guess what I did with that information? Yep, I stored it and created another filter. Red hats are bad influences, guys named Billy are bad influences. See how dangerous our thoughts and opinions can be. I know this sounds silly yet it is true. It is the way our entire psyche is designed. Now since my mind has been conditioned to separate me from everything else and my mind is designed to keep me safe in the world my filter is setup to avoid the dangers of the world. In this case guys named Billy or anyone with a red ball cap. Or worse yet, what if I met a guy named Billy who wore a red ball cap? That would be the end of me…

Now I don’t go around consciously looking for guys in red ball caps to run away from. And that’s why it is dangerous, because this is all happening at the subconscious level. I don’t even even know it is happening, I just think I don’t like this guy Johnny, it’s just something about him I say. No there is nothing about him, it is my attachment to the past that is creating my present reality through the use of my RAS filter. Yet I believe Johnny is the problem. This is all old programming from my childhood that keeps me stuck in the past. I create a false reality about everyone, everything, and every place based on my subconscious programming. And this is why we never get ahead in life. Only when we can drop all of our own B.S. and come to the real reality of it all, that we truly know nothing about anything, can we start to look at everything new and fresh and see it for what it really is and enjoy all these opportunities that have been right in front of us this entire time.

The truth is we spend over 95% of our waking lives in our subconscious minds where our dysfunctional values, beliefs, and opinions are. The problem is that we continually create the same patterns of behavior due to our RAS filter. Our mind is designed to get us what we want and it does just that, it gives us what we have told it to. So while 5% of the time you are saying; “I want a brand new Ferrari!” Your subconscious mind, which by the way is 95% of the time is saying things such as;“I can’t afford that on what I make.” Your mind is on the job and now your RAS is filtering everything out that doesn’t provide you with the proof that your can’t afford that Ferrari. And this is why life coaching. Life coaches have the gift of getting you to identify those old model beliefs you have about yourself, about others, about everything. Once you are able to identify what is stored deep within your subconscious, and only then, are you able to dis-create those beliefs, values, and opinions that have been holding you back all this time. It’s not easy as those beliefs, values, and opinions have been in there for a long time. But with some help, some guidance, and lots of love a life coach can get you through it all. And the best part is that once you make it through all the old model thoughts that have kept you in the past, you are able to create the life you have always wanted to without the fear of ever returning to the old model ever again. A life coach will help you destroy those bridges of beliefs, yes, we are going to burn those bridges of beliefs once and for all. To be clear I am using the Ferrari as an example to demonstrate a point, please do not think hiring a life coach is going to automatically manifest a Ferrari in your life. It will however, get you closer to whatever it is in your life you want.

While you can engage in all the positive affirmations you want your life just doesn’t seem to change and you begin getting frustrated and feeling like a victim of life. We have all been there, it’s okay. Truth is that’s why some of us became life coaches to begin with. Just like the above example with my wife and the Beetle, her RAS is filtering out anything that doesn’t fit the Beetle model. No other cars seem to pull her attention to them yet the Beetle steals the awareness from whatever she was thinking about in an instant, it just reacts so fast while I am oblivious to the Beetle. So let’s use the Beetle example a bit more intensely. Instead of Beetle my wife spots, let’s decide she is programmed to find money, or successful business opportunities. While driving together she spots a great business opportunity in a newly opened business park. I missed that opportunity as I was focused on the new guy at work who always wears a red ball cap. I just know he’s out to get me, he thinks he is better than me. So while my wife is getting ahead in life, I am stuck where I have always been, trying to manage the situations that randomly take place in my life yet I think I am in control. Now I’m jealous that my wife always has this luck and I am so unlucky.

This is why the philosophers, the Great Saints, Sages, and Great Spiritual Masters talked of having no opinions, values, or beliefs. As having such things we miss out on all the opportunities that life is presenting to us, yet we fail to see them, no different the the Beetle, or the golden business opportunity or anything else we don’t allow past our filter. We actually suffer in life because of the situations we find ourselves in due to our own values, beliefs, and opinions that were programmed into our subconscious minds. When we can be fresh and new each day like we are seeing the world for the first time, only then will we begin to see what reality really is. We can start by practicing what in Yoga is called “empty and hollow” stop caring what happens and just enjoy the experience. Set the goal and then just focus on all the little things that come up on your way towards your goal. We tend to set a goal and focus so intently on achieving it that we miss the other plethora of opportunities along the way that would have gotten us exactly what we really wanted, love, acknowledgment, peace of mind, and of course happiness. It has always been about the journey, we all know what the end goal of life is so instead of rushing to get there let’s just enjoy everything along the way and watch what starts presenting itself to you. And yes, we must enjoy the stuff that isn’t so pleasant as well, it’s all part of this journey. The only reason we know what is pleasant is because of the unpleasant, so embrace it all starting right now in this moment. What have you been missing?