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Authors: PhD Friedemann MD Schaub
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potential apparent. The subconscious has really only one flaw, if you will. It needs our
conscious
guidance to fully utilize its potential and operate in a way that is supportive and harmonious with our entire being. Some compare the subconscious mind to a loyal, extremely talented servant who faithfully continues to perform the same tasks repeatedly until told to do something different. When we learn how to consciously work with our subconscious mind, we can change faster and perform better on all levels—mental, emotional, and physical. It’s through conscious-subconscious collaboration that we are able to access our true potential and gain a deeper understanding of who we truly are.
HOW OUR SUBCONSCIOUS SCARES US
You’re in a hurry, and of course your keys are hiding again. You look for them everywhere, becoming increasingly anxious. Finally you discover them right where you always put them. Hadn’t you checked there before at least twice?
Or maybe you’re on your way to an interview. You feel good until you notice that mustard stain on your shirt. All your confidence slips away, and you start to panic. You’re sure that you will make a terrible impression, because all the interviewer will notice about you is that stain—just as you do.
Why is it that you can’t see certain things you want to (your keys), whereas other things you want to ignore (the mustard stain) are all you can focus on?
Every second of our lives, we’re surrounded by an incomprehensible amount of information. As I mentioned before, we need to filter out a large portion to make sense of the world and not become completely fried. But how do we distinguish the tiny fraction of information that is relevant from all the remaining input that needs to be ignored? If we tried to make these distinctions consciously, we wouldn’t be able to do anything else. Literally all our focus and energy would be devoted to deciphering and sorting every single detail in and around us. This is where our subconscious mind comes in and employs specific filters to separate what it perceives to be as important to us.
In a study conducted at Columbia University in New York, volunteers were shown pictures of random people with neutral expressions. The researchers also displayed random images of people with fearful expressions. The images with the fearful faces appeared and disappeared so quickly that the volunteers weren’t consciously aware of them. However, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans—which measure changes in blood flow—clearly demonstrated that the brain had registered the fearful faces, even though the subjects denied seeing them. 1 This study shows that our subconscious filters and processes information, and is also able to perceive external input much more quickly and in more subtle forms than the conscious mind can.
Subconscious filters consist of memories, emotions, inner conflicts, and beliefs. They delete, distort, and generalize information that passes through them and leave us with a condensed and altered version of all that surrounds us—an
internal interpretation
of reality (see Figure 2 ). Since most people are not consciously aware of their subconscious filters, they’re also unaware that their view of the world is basically just “made up.” Which also means that whatever you think
you are
is just a fraction of the truth.
Figure 2: How our subconscious creates fear and anxiety
Let’s have another look at the snake/rope example. Say you didn’t sleep well the night before your walk through the woods because your noisy neighbors kept you awake. You’ve been on edge all day and already had an argument with your spouse. From the perspective of your subconscious, you’re already more vulnerable than usual and, therefore, in need of protection. When you spot that thing hanging from the branch, your subconscious quickly cross-references this image with memories of actual events or scenes from a scary snake-filled movie
conscious
guidance to fully utilize its potential and operate in a way that is supportive and harmonious with our entire being. Some compare the subconscious mind to a loyal, extremely talented servant who faithfully continues to perform the same tasks repeatedly until told to do something different. When we learn how to consciously work with our subconscious mind, we can change faster and perform better on all levels—mental, emotional, and physical. It’s through conscious-subconscious collaboration that we are able to access our true potential and gain a deeper understanding of who we truly are.
HOW OUR SUBCONSCIOUS SCARES US
You’re in a hurry, and of course your keys are hiding again. You look for them everywhere, becoming increasingly anxious. Finally you discover them right where you always put them. Hadn’t you checked there before at least twice?
Or maybe you’re on your way to an interview. You feel good until you notice that mustard stain on your shirt. All your confidence slips away, and you start to panic. You’re sure that you will make a terrible impression, because all the interviewer will notice about you is that stain—just as you do.
Why is it that you can’t see certain things you want to (your keys), whereas other things you want to ignore (the mustard stain) are all you can focus on?
Every second of our lives, we’re surrounded by an incomprehensible amount of information. As I mentioned before, we need to filter out a large portion to make sense of the world and not become completely fried. But how do we distinguish the tiny fraction of information that is relevant from all the remaining input that needs to be ignored? If we tried to make these distinctions consciously, we wouldn’t be able to do anything else. Literally all our focus and energy would be devoted to deciphering and sorting every single detail in and around us. This is where our subconscious mind comes in and employs specific filters to separate what it perceives to be as important to us.
In a study conducted at Columbia University in New York, volunteers were shown pictures of random people with neutral expressions. The researchers also displayed random images of people with fearful expressions. The images with the fearful faces appeared and disappeared so quickly that the volunteers weren’t consciously aware of them. However, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans—which measure changes in blood flow—clearly demonstrated that the brain had registered the fearful faces, even though the subjects denied seeing them. 1 This study shows that our subconscious filters and processes information, and is also able to perceive external input much more quickly and in more subtle forms than the conscious mind can.
Subconscious filters consist of memories, emotions, inner conflicts, and beliefs. They delete, distort, and generalize information that passes through them and leave us with a condensed and altered version of all that surrounds us—an
internal interpretation
of reality (see Figure 2 ). Since most people are not consciously aware of their subconscious filters, they’re also unaware that their view of the world is basically just “made up.” Which also means that whatever you think
you are
is just a fraction of the truth.
Figure 2: How our subconscious creates fear and anxiety
Let’s have another look at the snake/rope example. Say you didn’t sleep well the night before your walk through the woods because your noisy neighbors kept you awake. You’ve been on edge all day and already had an argument with your spouse. From the perspective of your subconscious, you’re already more vulnerable than usual and, therefore, in need of protection. When you spot that thing hanging from the branch, your subconscious quickly cross-references this image with memories of actual events or scenes from a scary snake-filled movie
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