The Conscious, Subconscious and the Unconscious
Mind forms the three levels of the mind
on which several studies have been conducted by
the famous Austrian psychologist, Sigmund Freud.
These studies just have a theoretical basis as it
is very difficult to prove these scientifically.
The three levels of the human mind can be very well
studied by making use of the triangle analogy.
The tips of the triangle are compared to the conscious
mind that occupies a very small portion of the space.
It is a reference to the fact that the conscious
mind accounts for only 10% of the brain functioning.
Under this comes the section that occupies
slightly larger space than the conscious mind.
The section comprises of the preconscious or in other words the
subconscious mind which accounts for 50-60% of the brain functioning.
Below the section of the preconscious mind lies the section of the unconscious
mind that fills up the remaining space up to the base of the triangle.
Thus, the unconscious mind accounts for 30-40% of the brain functioning.
This part of the brain is deep and dark and has
the least accessibility to conscious thoughts.
The conscious mind is referred to as the master of the brain.
It is the part of the mind through the means of which other
people are able to understand and associate with the person.
This part of the brain is responsible for communicating with
the outside world through the means of pictures, facts,
figures, writing, speaking, thought and physical movement.
The subconscious mind is referred to as the storehouse of the brain.
It keeps track of all of the memories and past experiences of any specific trauma
or any normal incident that has been forgotten by the conscious part of the brain
and is no longer of any importance to the person.
The subconscious or the preconscious part of the brain is in
continuous contact with the unconscious part of the brain.
The belief, attitude, habits, and behaviors of a person are formed on the
basis of the memories and experiences stored within the preconscious mind.
The unconscious mind establishes a contact with the
conscious mind through the means of the subconscious mind.
It is this interaction which makes the interaction
of the people with the surrounding world meaningful.
It lets the person communicate to the environment and the people in it
through the means of emotions, feelings, sensation, imagination, and dreams.
A detailed explanation of all of the three levels of mind has been given below:
The Conscious Mind
Until now there doesn’t exist any definite definition for defining the conscious mind.
However, it has been proposed that the factor distinguishing the conscious
mind from the preconscious orthe unconscious mind is 'awareness'.
But it would be wrong to refer to the subconscious mind as being unaware.
Several studies have been lodged that demonstrates the influence of environment and the
surroundings on the people even when they are under
the effect of anesthetic or are in deep sleep.
There are cases when one drives to the destination but has
no memory of the trip after reaching the destination.
In such cases, it is the subconscious mind that is aware and
is responsible for performing all the necessary functions.
The conscious mind is also believed to perform
the function of thinking and logical reasoning.
Even this fact does not distinguish the conscious
mind from the subconscious or the unconscious mind.
The unconscious mind is also contemplated to be
the storehouse of all the emotions, memories
and habits and thus makes it capable of carrying
out logical reasoning and thinking properly.
Let’s understand the working of the conscious
mind through the means of an example.
At the time when the humans are a tiny baby, the
development of conscious part of the brain is incomplete
which makes it incompetent for testing and measuring
all of the information from the environment.
During this stage, it is the subconscious and the unconscious
part of the mind that performs majority of the functions
such as identification of nipple or bottle as the source of food, to
know and understand that crying gets them the attention of the people,
to elucidate the cuddles given by parents as a
sign of safety and love and many other things.
Hence, during this stage, it is the subconscious
and the unconscious mind that is working hard
which help them in developing logical patterns of association
which are important for their survival in further life.
From all of the studies and the discussions, it
has been concluded that the conscious mind is
responsible for performing two main functions
which no other part of the mind can perform.
These are as follows:
1. Directing your Focus
It is a known fact that the subconscious part of the mind is more
active in terms of creating a sense of awareness about the environment
as compared to the conscious mind and has the
capability to work during sleep conditions.
However, it is important to know and understand the fact that the
subconscious mind works on the orders of the conscious mind.
For instance, if you are thoughts are negative
in the conscious mind then even the subconscious
mind will deliver your emotions, feelings, and
thoughts that are related to negative thinking.
Through this, the feelings and emotions will become a reality, and
if the person’s mind would not be able to overcome negativity,
then he/she would get caught in a never-ending
circle of negativity, anxiety, and fear.
There are some people who are able to maintain a positive feeling
and consider the situations in their life to be positive.
The way a person's feelings about his/her life is highly dependent on the way a
person's subconscious and unconscious mind was programmed at the time of birth.
The ability of the conscious mind to make
decisions about how it makes the person feel,
i.e. positive or negative, happy or angry, pessimism or
optimism is one of the most dynamic powers that our mind holds.
The thoughts that a person develops and holds within its mind are considered
to be one of the true freedoms that are possessed by human beings.
A person caught up in prison under worsened and
inhumane conditions can still choose to be
free from the mind by directing his/her thoughts
from the conscious mind towards positivity.