The Power of Your Subconscious Mind – A Story from Kuwait

I am working on my laptop writing this story. The light of the day is coming through the window. There is no sun which means the weather is cloudy. Sometimes I look at the trees through the window. The sound of the music being played on TV is coming to me through my ears. The room temperature is pleasantly cool. I am aware of the taste and smell of the coffee I am sipping. I keep changing my sitting posture to make myself more comfortable. Sometimes I get upset or angry when I make mistakes. All these sensations, perceptions, thoughts, feelings and emotions which I am experiencing right now are what we call the conscious mind. There are also uncountable thoughts, feelings and emotions which we are not aware of at the present time, but we can recall them from our past memory whenever we desire. We do not always remember every experience that we have passed through at every moment of our lives. The storehouse of all our forgotten or unforgotten thoughts, feelings and emotions is called the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind is also responsible for involuntary functions of our body. It is the creative and imaginative genie that does so many miracles, discoveries and inventions. Whereas the conscious mind is just the tip of the iceberg, the subconscious mind is the entire universe we carry within us. The experts say that the subconscious mind is connected with the Universal Mind which is another name for the Cosmic or Heavenly forces. Some people have inborn capability to connect with the deeper layers of their subconscious mind and thereby reach the Universal, Cosmic or heavenly realm bringing back miraculous thoughts and ideas which are used for improving the quality of life on this planet. There are also those people who learn the skill or techniques of communicating with their subconscious or Universal Mind. Prayer, meditation, hypnosis, biofeedback and relaxation methods are some of the techniques used for reaching the hidden, esoteric realms of the subconscious mind.

I would like to share with you one such experience that happened with me in which my subconscious mind took complete control of the movements of my body and my conscious thoughts. I had received instructions from a friend to move to a certain place and meet a person in order to achieve a goal. Did I follow his instructions? How and where my mind moved me is an interesting story.

I was in Kuwait. It is a small, little country on the northern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. It’s an oil-rich Gulf State where the wealth flows like oil. Kuwait is a flat land with no rivers or lakes. It is a coastal desert at the end of the Persian Gulf. If you want to enjoy desert camping or shopping in ultra-modern huge and spacious malls you must visit Kuwait. You will be able to shop tax-free of all kinds of international brands. You can also eat hundreds of varieties of foods in various restaurants of international repute. You may enjoy walking through some traditional shopping areas. Unfortunately, Kuwait has demolished its old walled city. Now they repent the demolition because it was a great architectural remnant of the Arabian cultural heritage. However, there are still some fragments of the olden days of Kuwait.

The main populated area of Kuwait is around the capital city of Kuwait. Besides the Capital Area, there are two other large cities known as Jahra and Ahmedi. Jahra town is over forty kilometers located in the north-west of Kuwait on the road to Iraq. The city of Ahmedi is almost the same distance in the south of Kuwait bordering Saudi Arabia. The rest of the country is a huge desert with oil refineries all around. As the sun sets, one can see the fire belching out of the refineries’ chimneys all across the desert.

In the Arab world they use a word called “Wasta”. It means you can get anything done provided you have connections with influential people. You may have a problem with the police, or your application is stuck in queue. If you have wasta, you will get your job done out of turn. If you know an influential Kuwaiti national, you can get all your problems resolved in no time.

Using the wasta always makes me feel embarrassed because I understand that by applying wasta one usurps the rights of other people who are already waiting in the queue. Therefore, I always try to avoid using wasta. Nevertheless, a time came that I had no other options left but to look for a wasta. I had a late-model/year vehicle that had some mechanical problems. The time came when I had to renew its registration. I knew for sure that the traffic police would not clear my vehicle because the year before, they passed it on the condition that I would get the vehicle updated mechanically. I got the required repairs done, but I wasn’t fully satisfied with its performance. As the inspection date arrived, I contacted a friend of mine who was a senior state officer. He spoke to the vehicle inspection officer in the Ahmedi District and asked me to contact him. He said it was not a big problem. I was told to see the concerned officer between 4-6 pm in the afternoon at his office in the Vehicle Inspection Department of Ahmedi District. The place was over 40 kilometers in the south from my home town. I lived in Havalli, a locality very close to the Capital Area.

I left for Ahmedi at 3 O’clock in the afternoon because I had to see the officer at the right time. I knew every nook and corner of Ahmedi because before moving to Havalli, I resided in Ahmedi (Fahaheel) Governorate. I took the motorway and reached the town much before the required time. But I could not find the Vehicle Inspection Department. I had to run from pillar to post in search of the traffic office. I did not have GPS in my car or in my cell phone. I called Dr. Saleem, a friend who works at Jahra Hospital and asked him if he knew the exact location of Ahmedi Traffic Office. He said that he had no knowledge of the traffic office of Ahmedi. It was the month of August and the desert of Kuwait was emitting heat all over the atmosphere. The sun was at its peak, the sky was clear with no speck of clouds. There was no soul visible on the streets who I could ask for guidance. Finally, using my own trial and error method, I reached the traffic office. The gate at the main entrance of the vehicle office was closed. There were four other vehicles already waiting in front of the gate making a queue. They told me that the gate would open at 4.30 pm. There was no security guard or any person at the gate who I could ask if I could see the Manager. There was no option but to wait in the queue for the gate to open. As the time passed more and more vehicles came and soon there was a long line of vehicles. I did not know what to do. I called my wasta friend but there wasn’t any response. It was 4.30 and the gate opened. The vehicles started moving in and I also had to follow them. I could not break the queue. I could neither stop nor leave the car even for a second. The police inspector started checking the vehicles. He was a young man, very smart and quick in his job. As the vehicles in front of me moved forward my heart started sinking. I did not know what to do. It was very important that I must see the Manager before the inspector checks my vehicle. But how could I see the Manager before my turn comes? I could not leave the queue. I could not speak to anyone. What should I do? Nothing could be done. I just left myself at the mercy of the Heavens. Soon it was my turn. The officer took my application documents, went at the back of the car and asked me to press the accelerator at full. He checked the indicators etc, signed and stamped my documents and said: “Are you happy?” I was surprised. I never knew him. He did not know me. I never met his senior supervisor or Manager who I was supposed to see beforehand. How could he give me a clearance certificate? My wasta friend never knew my car number or other specifications.  Anyway, it was such a joy for me I cannot describe in words. I drove away and on the way I said I must call my friend and thank him. He did not answer his phone.

I reached home and told my wife that I had my car documents cleared. I met Dr Saleem in the evening. He asked me why I was asking about the traffic office of Ahmedi District. How could he help me with directions of locations in Ahmedi since he works in Jahra and not Ahmedi? As I was talking to Dr. Saleem, it dawned upon me that I did not travel to Ahmedi at all. I went to Jahra instead which is in the opposite direction of Ahmedi city. The Manager, I was referred to by my wasta friend, was at Ahmedi and not at Jahra. Both these cities have a distance of over 100 kilometers between them. I started pondering on this entire strange episode that happened with me. I drove all the way to Jahra thinking that I was going to Ahmedi. Not for a single moment the thought came to me that I was going in the opposite and wrong direction. Jahra was one such place I visited very rarely and therefore I was not familiar with the geography and map of the area. But I was very well aware of the location of traffic office of Ahmedi. Despite all these factors I was in a sort of hypnotic state moving towards Jahra with no thought or indication that I was going wrong. It seemed that all the doors of worldly awareness were shut upon me. My job was done without any wasta. I did not have to meet any friend or any influential person. Although, my wasta was in Ahmedi, my subconscious took me to Jahra. My conscious self was looking for the wrong ways of this world but my subconscious said:”Do not depend upon this physical world! Listen to the voice of your subconscious mind!” When the subconscious takes control of the mind then the conscious mind goes into gloom (background) and the person moves as directed by the subconscious. If we listen to the inner voice that comes from the deeper, esoteric realms, we shall be able to find the solution to all the problems and challenges of life. The subconscious can do everything. This is called the power of the subconscious mind. This fact dawned upon me that day. “Thank you Subconscious Mind, you are my guardian angel!”

Mumtaz Shah