Eleni Sarantinou bLU Talks 2019

Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge

I was born in Greece, the home of olives and grapes. I studied Economics and had a successful career in IT before stumbling across Life Coaching and NLP. Today, I’m an NLP trainer, a Life Coach, a wife, a mother, a world traveller. Nothing gives me more joy than sharing what I’ve learnt, and am still learning, with you. Read more

The Unconscious

Greece 1987. My mind traveler transforms me to a student again. Upon completion of high school, the infamous Pan-Hellenic examinations for University admission are in front of me: 11-16 June; ‘all or nothing’. Who will make it and get a ticket to higher education? An electric atmosphere of anticipation and stress takes over the whole nation.

Sunday 14th June 1987. The Euro basket Final in Greece: HELLAS – U.S.S.R. The omnipresent Nikos Galis and his team have a chance to make every Greek go ‘really’ crazy. Will they pull it of? Will they become heroes?

7.30 in the evening. Sitting alone in my room with my History book. Study? How? What kind of complot is this? All windows of every home are open, people in sheer excitement shouting, cheering, and preparing for Greece’s big night. Match starts, History book closes. If this means I will not have a University degree, well..so be it!

Two hours later. WE WIN, WE DID IT! 103-101. Our hearts beat to the same rhythm, every Greek, every car is out all night celebrating and next morning at 7.00am I present myself at the Exam center: sleepless, exhausted, scared but inspired!
***
Behind every leader and inspiring personality lies a harmonious relationship between conscious and unconscious. These two need to talk to each other, accept each other and work with each other. In a team sport or any organization, there is a parallel of who we are inside. The trainer/leader/captain/teacher/parent on one side and the people who make it happen on the other. They are indispensable to each other. Just like we are the happiest when our thinking process (conscious) looks inside its hard working partner (our unconscious), a team leader needs to look inside the team and connect fully.

The deeper the communication, the tighter the bond. The unconscious mind is made of all those mental processes that continue without our knowledge, the millions of ‘hard working dedicated helpers’ who make sure our heart keeps on beating every second, keep all our organs running day and night and keep us breathing without noticing; they store all our past memories, experiences, feelings, habits, strategies, beliefs systems. Everything that appears in our lives is only a projection of all these well-hidden programs inside our head.

Would you like to get an idea of how big it is? Watch the following BBC movie:

http://www.life-spheres.com/videos/general/science-on-unconscious-size

The intellect working alone cannot solve problems. On the other hand, we need the help of our consciousness/awareness/our captain in order to love, cherish and ultimately train the depths of our mind in order to have the balance we all seek. The difference between a moment of bliss and a moment of darkness is defined by this degree of communication in individual level between the two.
***
That final, that evening in Greece was a result of a magical synergy; between the basketball team and its leaders/trainers. Decisions, reactions, words of support and nerve control had to happen within seconds where the thinking process stops and the result relies on flawless instinct and intuition.

The words, the looks, the touch, the breathing, the beliefs and values on the 14th of June 1987 for this small group of Greek basketball players were the result of their individual effort to combine their logic with their instincts and they became the Greek nation’s ‘leaders’. Miracles happen every day when we are willing to give the time, energy and dedication to unite our two opposite poles. Every sport, country, business or family nowadays more than ever needs to take time and bring balance inside their own mind first; the rest just follows.

Why care what someone or even ourselves think? In a moment, another out random thought will fill the gap.
Let us understand how our mind works instead!

Change Book Cover

The Change Book Series is all about empowerment and collaboration! My chapter with title ‘Sacrifice-less’ came straight from my heart in a flash.
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