Here is a quote -The conscious mind may be compared to a fountain playing in the sun and falling back into the great subterranean pool of subconscious from which it rises.
—Sigmund Freud
Some individuals are aware of the presence of a subconscious mind within them. By ‘some individuals’, I intend to point at those who are at ease with their subconscious mind, and, at times, shape the course of future action based on those faint yet audible voices that they hear from within. Well, each one of us should try to develop this ability since the voice of our soul will never betray us. For starters, the subconscious mind utilizes our thinking prowess to store information that the conscious mind may not process immediately. Information thus stored in the subconscious mind is always available for later retrieval when ‘recalled’ by the conscious mind, or by an astute psychoanalyst who can draw out information stored in the subconscious. In addition to this, the subconscious mind is responsible for controlling other functions, often referred to as the involuntary actions of your body, like breathing and heartbeats.
To make it more understandable, let us take, for instance, an individual who aspires to learn driving. Initially, they will concentrate on the road and avoid talking to their fellow travelers, as they are using only their conscious brain. After a few months, they may take the liberty to talk and use mobile phones while driving.(We have only mentioned it for illustrative purpose, we do not advise anyone to do this) .The subconscious mind’s ability to store and retrieve information and convert it into habit makes this possible. Putting it in simpler words, the subconscious mind is your autopilot, which takes control of the situation whether your conscious brain allows it to go that way or not. The untrained subconscious mind often resorts to triggering feelings and emotions when an individual is subjected to new and awkward situations.
Because of the subconscious brain, humans encounter feelings like anxiety and nervousness before delivering a lecture, making a presentation, or accomplishing anything that does not come naturally to them. This forces us to train our subconscious mind in a way that it can accept challenges of all natures and magnitudes.
Establish a working relationship with your subconscious mind
To achieve this, you have to become conscious and familiar with the hidden powers of the subconscious mind and the role it plays in achieving success. The simplest way of doing this is to re-educate your mind to alert it to the presence of the subconscious mind. Being conscious of our subconscious and making efforts to harness its limitless potential is an important step.
Gather information regarding the subconscious mind
The logic is simple. You cannot exploit anything in the manner you desire if you are not aware of how it works. The more you learn about the human mind, the more you can use it to enhance your life. Things like reading quality books on mind power, taking courses in psychology, praying, etc, can help you in getting a better grip on how our subconscious works.
Practice ‘Stream of Consciousness’ writing
‘Stream of Consciousness’ writing is a form of spontaneous writing in which an individual writes whatever comes immediately to mind. No matter how lacklustre, strange and weird your write-ups are, penning those thoughts is the way to go. For best results, you can set a specific time and duration for writing and stick to it. It is the best possible method to vent the notions long held by our subconscious. This will help you feel relaxed. Here, too, patience is the key, as it may take a while to see the results.
Practice meditation
Many seek the help of yoga and meditation to train, control and harness the potential of the subconscious. Meditation has the power to set up a line of communication between the conscious and subconscious mind and promote close coordination. The arts, as they say, are the truest form of expression of the subconscious mind. According to conventional wisdom, taking up an art – including but not limited to drawing, photography, painting, clay molding or dance – as a hobby is a viable option to train your mind. Taking seemingly disparate elements and melding them enables the individual to learn all-important problem-solving techniques.
Listen to your intuition
The subconscious has the ability to warn the individual of a potential crisis before the conscious mind gathers all the desired information. Standing by your intuition may prove to be a key step in avoiding tragedy. In this age of technology, you can utilize a variety of easily available yet effective tools to condition your subconscious. You can use iPhone apps like ‘Yes-No oracle’, which involves answering a series of questions in yes or no form. This has proven its credentials in giving people access to the subconscious parts of their mind. Guessing games may also help your cause substantially, as these games require making a prediction based on your intuition.