What Is The Conscious & The Unconscious?
Author
Damon Cart
Date
Jan 25, 2017
Tags
General tips
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Conscious, consciousness, conscience, the unconscious, the subconscious, etc. We say and hear these words so much that we often forget what they really mean. We say and hear them so much that we tend to think of them as real, tangible things when they're anything but. They're all just categories of one mind and categories aren't real. Let's work quick and dirty to define these words. Of course there are much broader definitions. I'm not an authority on the English language and these words can be used in other ways I'm sure. Conscious: that which you're are aware of this very moment. Consciousness: the fact of being aware. Conscience: the inner compass that let's you know when something is right or wrong. The Unconscious: the part of the mind that is working the involuntary systems like beating your heart, breathing, etc. also the part that is receiving information through your senses and running mental processes that you're not consciously aware of. The Subconscious: a derogatory way to refer to the Unconscious. Not really, but some people feel that way. It's just another word to refer to The Unconscious. Calling it "sub" makes it sound like it's lower than or less than the Unconscious when really it's a part of the mind that is just as relevant as any other part. NLP mainly works with conscious and unconscious processes. Your conscience is what we refer to in NLP as ecology, but that's a different article. Freudian psychology dealt with problems by talking about them and the therapist asking questions to help the client bring the unconscious processes and programs causing the problem into consciousness or conscious awareness. For certain people and certain problems just bringing the unconscious programs and processes that supports problematic feelings or behavior into consciousness resolves the problem, but not always. Milton Erickson often worked in exactly the opposite way. In many cases he didn't find it necessary for his patients to bring anything about the problem into consciousness. In fact, that could create more problems. It could create resistance to solving the problem. Erickson would speak directly to a person's unconscious trusting that the unconscious has all of the resources to heal itself. Sometimes it just needs a little direction and it helps if that direction is coming from a hypno-wizard like Erickson. NLP deals with structures in both the conscious and unconscious. You can use the conscious mind to focus your attention in a way that will help you achieve desired outcomes. NLP also deals with bypassing the conscious mind and going directly to the unconscious in order to get beyond possible resistance the conscious mind creates. This too is done to achieve desired outcomes. One of the jobs of the conscious mind is to filter information and reject what might seem false or unrealistic. This serves us and it can limit us. When it comes to all of these words describing different parts of the mind be careful not to overcomplicate it. The mind is already complex enough without adding confusing terminology. Also remember that you have one mind. You don't have multiple minds working in all different ways. You have one mind and within that mind we can point to different categories of mental processes. That's all the Conscious and Unconscious is.
Damon Cart
Author
Damon Cart is considered to be a natural talent by some of the best NLP trainers in the world. His approach to guiding and teaching students brings to their awareness that they've been doing NLP all of their lives without realizing it and he empowers them with skills and resources to thrive and reach their full potential. With the understanding of how Neuro Linguistic Programs create oneβs experience a person can then take charge of those programs and create the experience and the life they want. By taking this approach into his own rigorous, daily NLP practice Damon has been able to rapidly accelerate his progress in learning, coaching clients and teaching workshops.
