The conscious mind can be thought of as the computer-like function of the mind. The conscious mind plays a unique role: it keeps us safe. We explore its boundaries and how it benefits us. We’ll talk about how it works in conjunction with the other two functions of the mind to make us aware of insights and information that come to us in subtle, barely noticeable messages.
Our conscious mind is our objective mind. It has no memory, and it can only hold one thought at a time. It functions to identify incoming information using our senses; sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and feeling.
Our conscious mind is continually observing and categorizing (sometimes correctly and sometimes incorrectly) what is going on around us. It’s the part of our mind that can’t be fully trusted.
It is continually sorting impressions and consequently deciding which are relevant and which are not.
The subconscious is often influenced by past actions and previously wrong decisions and is like a binary computer. It accepts or rejects things in a simple “yes” or “no” manner in order to make a decision. It deals with one thought at a time: positive or negative, yes or no.
The benefit of this kind of thinking is to preserve our lives. It enables us to make a “go, no go” decision quickly. Our subconscious, on the other hand, is like a huge memory bank. Its capacity is virtually unlimited and permanently stores everything that ever happens to us.
We will cover how these two functions of our mind work together next time we meet. For now, just know that we rely on each of our mental mechanisms and that all three must be functioning for us to be complete.
In exploring the level that exists just below that of our conscious awareness, we come to the subconscious mind. It is the part of our mind that records everything we do; every activity we engage in, each thought we have about those activities, and the likes and dislikes we encounter each day. It is the part of our minds we are familiar with when we sleep, dream, and behave according to beliefs of which we are not aware.
Although nothing is forgotten by the subconscious mind, this part of our consciousness remains hidden from our everyday awareness. However, that does not exclude it from influencing how we think and act in our conscious state.
It is our subconscious mind that provides meaning to all our interactions with the world—meaning as it is filtered through your beliefs and habits.
It communicates information through our feelings, emotions, imagination, sensations, and dreams. Our current understanding of consciousness is rigid. It fails to give recognition to the conscious experiences outside the definition of normal. Such experiences are considered fake, abnormal, or unnatural.
Normal consciousness is earthbound and is only normal in the sense that is it well known; you are aware of something on the outside as well as some specific mental functions happening on the inside.
Studies from as far back as the seventies show that our brains begin to prepare for action just over a third of a second before we consciously decide to act. In other words, even when we ‘think’ we are conscious, it’s our subconscious mind that is actually making decisions for us.
Arrives the Super-conscious Mind! This ever-exhilarating but complex super-consciousness is a level all its own. This is the third level of the mind also guides us and through which we can control our lives. Let’s tackle this exceptional mind space, aka, the super-conscious mind.
While the conscious and sub-conscious minds are familiar to us, the super-conscious mind remains unknown and mysterious.
It is the hidden spiritual system behind intuition, spirituality, and physical and spiritual healing. It is the problem-solving part of us and allows us to feel such things as joy, excitement, and empathy. The work of our super-conscious mind is often overlooked when we aspire to live a richer, more meaningful life.
While we are familiar with the fleeting moments of raised consciousness, few know the technique for purposely entering the exalted state of super-consciousness. Super-consciousness is the state reachable only through meditation, chanting, affirmation, and prayers specifically designed to lead us into a state of super-consciousness.
It is our super-consciousness that makes possible human achievements of greatness . . . And the elevation of the human spirit.
It is an episode in which a deaf mediator is enlisted to solve a planetary dispute. He cannot speak, but has a chorus of three personalities that exist within him and speak aloud for him. One is logic and judgment, the second, passion and romance, the third—like the super-conscious—is that which binds all three together. It is harmony, wisdom, and balance.
While the analogy is not exact, the episode gives us an idea of how our three minds interact—each mind serving a purpose with the super-conscious serving to combine all three to create a higher form of existence.
A Next Step: Essential Oil to Enhance the Brain? Yes!
To use Brain Power topically: Apply 2-4 drops directly to the desired area. Dilution not required, except for the most sensitive skin. Use as needed. To use Brain Power aromatically: Diffuse up to 1 hour 3 times daily.
Michelle is a globally recognized intuitive life coach and the host of the popular iTunes podcast, The Intuitive Hour: Awaken Your Inner Voice. She’s also the author of the award-winning intuitive development book, Take the Leap. Michelle was honored to be featured at Hay House Radio and Hay House World Summit, the world’s largest health and wellness event.