The impact of the subconscious mind on the conscious mind How should one consider the impact or influence of the subconscious mind on one's conscious awareness and mental processes, especially during sitting meditation? My mind seems to often exhibit a proliferation of short-lived flashes of images "from nowhere". Is consideration of the relationship between the subconscious mind and the conscious mind a futile endeavor or a worthwhile endeavor? Some brief exposé of how Buddhism views the importance (or unimportance) of the subconscious mind would be appreciated.
There is an interesting section on Visions and Signs in the teachings of Ajaan Fuang. I quote my other answer here.


  § "Don't be amazed by people with visions. Visions are nothing else
  but dreams. There are true ones and false ones. You can't really trust
  them."
  
  § A Bangkok housewife who was practicing meditation with Ajaan Fuang
  heard some of his other students say that meditation without visions
  was the straight path. It so happened that she had frequent visions in
  her meditation, and so hearing this made her wonder why her path was
  so winding and convoluted. When she asked Ajaan Fuang about this, he
  told her: "Having visions in your meditation is like having lots of
  lush wild greens growing along the side of your path. You can gather
  them as you go along, so that you'll have something to eat along the
  way, and you'll reach the end of the path just like everyone else. As
  for other people, they might see the greens without gathering them, or
  may not even see them at all — because their path goes through arid
  land."
  
  § "Visions — or whatever things appear in the course of your
  meditation: It's not the case that you shouldn't pay any attention to
  them, for some kinds of visions have important messages. So when
  things like this appear, you have to look into how they're appearing,
  why they're appearing, and for what purpose."
  
  § "There are true visions and false visions. So whenever you see one,
  just sit still and watch it. Don't get pulled into following it."
  
  § "You should watch visions the same way you watch TV: Just watch it,
  without getting pulled inside the tube."
  
  § "If you can't let go of your visions, you'll never gain release."
  
  § One of Ajaan Fuang's students asked him, "When you see something in
  a vision, how can you know whether it's true or false?"
  
  His answer: "Even when it's true, it's true only in terms of
  convention. You have to get your mind beyond both true and false."
  
  § "The purpose of the practice is to make the heart pure. All these
  other things are just games and entertainment."