The conscious mind is where we spend most of our time. It has several parts.
One part is our analytical, logical mind. That is the part of us that looks at problems, analyzes them, and figures a way to solve those particular problems. It is also the part of us that makes the hundreds of decisions we have to make, just to get through an average day, that we think are automatic but in fact are not. Things like: Should I open the door? Should I turn the water on? Should I tie my shoes? We think those are automatic functions, but we must make a decision as to whether or not we want to do these things. The conscious mind acts and makes decisions.
Another part of the conscious mind is called the rational part of the conscious mind. This part of us must give us a reason why we behave in a particular fashion. Sometimes, if we don't have a reason why we do the things that we do, we become anxious, nervous, and frustrated. The only problem with the reason the rational mind gives us as to why we behave in any particular fashion is that it's often wrong. For example, we often reach for something to eat when we're bored, anxious, depressed, or for a myriad number of other reasons, when we're actually not hungry. Yet we tell ourselves that we're eating out of hunger.
Another part of the conscious mind is what we call willpower. You're familiar with willpower. We've all heard someone say, "I'm going to put down this pack of cigarettes and nothing on God's earth will make me start smoking again." Well, we all know how long that lasts! Just until willpower weakens, and then the old habit pattern comes back again.
The conscious mind also contains what we call working memory. That's the memory we need every day. How do I find my way to work? What is my phone number? Where did I leave my car keys? It is the memory that we need just to get through an average day. The content of the conscious is within the realm of awareness at all times.
The
level below the conscious is called the subconscious, or inner,
mind.
The subconscious mind is extremely powerful. It can make you into anything you'd like to be: rich, famous, thin, fat, happy, sad - it's the real us. The greater part of our mental life is below the conscious level, below our awareness, and it has a great impact on our conscious acts, thoughts, and feelings.
Like the conscious mind, the subconscious mind has several functions. One of the duties of the subconscious is control of the body mechanisms. One part of the brain regulates the autonomic nervous system, controlling every organ and gland. The subconscious is probably able to control chemical and electrical reactions as well. Hypnotic experiments have been made that show the control by the subconscious of many such mechanisms.
The subconscious is the storehouse of memory and learning. It seems that we can record every perception when received, much as if a motion picture is being made, with sound effects and even with all the other senses registering, not only sight and hearing, but touch, smell, and taste as well.
Only a very small part of all the things that happen to us is subject to conscious recall. Most people have very few conscious memories of things occurring to them before the age of five years. Perhaps a few exciting or very interesting events may be remembered. Now and then, there may be a very early memory, but often it is something we were told about long afterward. We only think it is the real memory. Nevertheless, everything that happens to us is in our subconscious memory in the greatest detail. We can consciously forget, but the subconscious never forgets. Much that we consciously forget continues to affect us in many ways. Even if we can't recall everything at the conscious level, we never really forget anything.
Habitual behavior is a function of the subconscious mind. You know you have some good habits, and you know you have some bad habits, but really most of our habits aren't good or bad. Most of our habits really are utilitarian habits. We automatically respond in a certain fashion when something else happens. For example, when the telephone rings, we don't look at it and wonder what it is; we automatically pick it up and answer it.
Another part of our subconscious mind controls our emotions. We wouldn't want to be without our emotions, but sometimes our emotions get us into trouble. When we feel intense emotion, we tend to deal with the particular situation from our irrational but highly intelligent subconscious mind. Sometimes it gets us into trouble! I know that many times in the past you've dealt with a situation emotionally, and then after the situation was over, when the analytical conscious mind took over, you heart yourself thinking or saying something like this, "Now why did I say that? Why did I do that?"
Another important part of the subconscious mind is the protective mind. It must protect us against danger, real or imagined. You see, something imagined by the subconscious mind is just as real as if it were actually happening. It can't tell the difference, and it must protect us against danger. This part of the mind is always aware and functioning, whether you are awake or asleep. It is even aware when the conscious mind is out, as from a blow, or when under an anaesthetic drug. The mother of a baby may be sleeping soundly, but at the first whimper or cry from her child, she will instantly awaken. Her subconscious has said, "Come on, wake up! Something may be wrong with the baby." If you inadvertently touch something hot, your inner mind sends messages instantly to the muscles of your arm, and you snatch your hand away before you can think and analyze the situation. In many other ways, the subconscious is always alert to guard you from harm and danger. Yet, paradoxically, it can also cause illness and even self-destructive behavior.
There
is one part of the conscious mind that I haven't told you about
yet, a part that quickly stops suggestion. This is called the critical
factor of the conscious mind. I want you to think of this part of
your conscious mind as an employee, if you will, of the subconscious.
Its job is to stop, to put on hold like a red traffic light, any
suggestion of change that we give ourselves or receive from an outside
source. It stops it. The critical factor is like the rudder of a
ship. It can keep you on course and is the pilot of all your inhibitions.
It sends such signals as: "I can't," "I won't,"
or ""I haven't been able to before, so I can't now."
Its influence is necessary when it reminds you, for example, of
the folly of feeding crocodiles by hand. But it needs to be overcome
when it paralyzes you into crystallized habit patterns, when healthy
caution becomes crippling fear. Ideally, your critical factor screens
impulses, filters out what is harmful, and helps you set realistic
goals. But because the critical factor responds to the subconscious,
and because the subconscious is protective, the critical factor
does not always work in an ideal fashion.
