Hello and welcome to Making Sense of Women's Health. I am Roberta Bass, and amongst other things, I am a CONTROL Practitioner and also a CONTROL Workshop Presenter.

So today I am thrilled to introduce you to the CONTROL system, which is a method developed by Tim Box, who is a mind coach and remedial hypnotist. Now, Tim created CONTROL to help people communicate directly with their subconscious minds without having to rely on traditional hypnosis. His approach has been used by thousands of people worldwide to make rapid and positive changes in their thoughts, feelings, and behavior.

In this episode, we're going to explore how CONTROL works, why it's so effective, and how you can use it to take charge of your mind.

Whether you're facing challenges like stress, anxiety, unhelpful habits, low self-esteem, poor sleep, or struggles with motivation, CONTROL provides a practical and empowering way to create real change. And a lot of the people that I speak to are not quite sure what it is. So I'm also going to share how you can work with me—either one-to-one or in a workshop—to learn this powerful method for yourself.

By the end of this session, you will understand what CONTROL is, why it is such a transformative tool for creating the life you want, why I and all the other CONTROL practitioners love it, and why my clients that I have used it with also love it.

Why CONTROL is Different from Traditional Hypnotherapy

I always say that CONTROL is a type of hypnosis, but what I don't explain maybe in enough detail is why it is different and maybe better than normal hypnotherapy.

So it doesn't rely on trance. Instead, it does empower individuals to actively take charge of their subconscious mind.

If you've ever been to a normal hypnotherapy session, you might lie back and then let the therapist guide you into that deeply relaxed state, hoping that the suggestions in that state will stick. CONTROL, on the other hand, keeps you fully conscious—you’re aware and involved throughout the process.

This is important because it emphasizes that you are always in control.

Some people get worried with hypnosis because of things like stage hypnosis—seeing people being made to cluck like chickens and seemingly being controlled by someone else. When I tell people about CONTROL, they often ask if it’s about controlling the mind. I’m not a mind controller, honestly! You are actually in control—that is part of the reason why it's called CONTROL.

It also, if we break it down about the different elements of it, it's a seven-step process. And we will talk about what those all stand for in a minute. But the CONTROL system teaches you how to communicate directly with your subconscious.

So then you can use that skill long after the session or the workshop. You’re not reliant on me to make the changes in the future. Once you've learned it, you can use it forevermore.

The Model of the Mind

Before we think about how CONTROL actually helps, we need to discuss the model of the mind that we use in the CONTROL system.

Think of the mind being split into two parts:

1. The Conscious Mind: This is our logical, rational part of our mind. It can handle a handful of tasks at once, and it’s where decision-making and our long-term goals live. It's the part of immediate focus—the bit that you're listening to me with now.
2. The Subconscious Mind: This is where all our behavioral patterns reside, along with all our automatic responses. The subconscious is really powerful and can handle hundreds of things simultaneously.

Up until the age of about eight or nine, we are purely subconscious in our thinking. So we have no long-term goals or ambitions. We simply live in that moment. If we want something, we go for it.

And around that age, nine or so, we develop our logical mind and the part that has longer-term ambitions—things that are more rational. But along comes with the logical mind, this thing called our critical faculty.

The Critical Faculty

The critical faculty acts like a security guard. Its job is to assess any new information coming in and compare it to our map of reality—our understanding of the world that’s built from our experiences as a child.

If the new information doesn’t match what’s already on our map of reality, the critical faculty rejects it as false.

For example, imagine as a child, a spider appears, and your parent screams. That reaction gets logged on your map, marking forevermore that spiders are scary—even though your logical mind knows they are tiny and harmless (unless you live in Australia!).

But the subconscious fear response remains because that’s what we’ve learned, and it’s on our map of reality. To make changes to our map, we need to bypass the critical faculty.

Instead of sneaking into the building that the security guard is patrolling, we bring everything of interest from inside the building (our subconscious patterns) outside, where we can directly work on them.

This is called subconscious dominance, and we achieve it in two main ways:

1. Emotion: Strong emotions like anger or sadness can bypass the critical faculty, but this isn’t very therapeutic.
2. Imagination: This is where CONTROL comes in. Imagination is an incredibly powerful tool because the subconscious doesn’t distinguish between reality and vividly imagined scenarios.

The Ship Analogy

Now, think of the mind as a ship:

• The conscious mind is the captain. It knows where the ship is headed and why.
• The subconscious mind is the crew. It handles all the tasks required to keep the ship afloat and moving.

The crew joined the ship before the captain arrived and took on jobs to keep things running smoothly. However, over time, some of these roles may no longer be helpful.

For example, a crew member might avoid public speaking to protect you from embarrassment due to a childhood incident. But as an adult, that same behavior could hold you back at work or in business.

The CONTROL system allows us to communicate with individual crew members, reassign their jobs, and steer the ship in a way that serves your current goals.

How CONTROL Works

CONTROL is built on a structured approach:

• Create Space: Clear your mind and focus on the change you want.
• Open Communication: Establish a dialogue with your subconscious.
• Notice the Details: Pay attention to how the unwanted pattern feels and functions.
• Talk to Yourself: Communicate directly with your subconscious to remove barriers.
• Rewrite the Patterns: Replace old behaviors with new, helpful ones.
• Observe the Change: Notice how the new pattern feels.
• Live It: Put the changes into practice.

1:1 Sessions and Workshops

When you work with me 1:1, I guide you through the process, uncover the root causes of your patterns, and negotiate with your subconscious. Most changes happen within three sessions.

In workshops, you learn to use the system yourself—a DIY approach. Both methods empower you to take control of your mind and life.

Conclusion

Thank you for joining me today. I hope this episode has given you just a glimpse of what the CONTROL system can do, why it works, and why it is so powerful.

If you have something you want to change in how you think, behave, or feel, I would love to help you. Visit my website or book a free consultation to see if CONTROL is right for you.

Until next time, take care and remember—you have the power to take control of your mind and your life.