The subconscious mind is an extraordinary, hidden force within us, quietly steering much of our inner lives and shaping how we interact with the world.
Sadly most people aren’t aware of this silent architect governing over 90% of our thoughts, habits, and behaviors.
Imagine yourself walking home from school or work only to arrive with no memory of the journey because your mind had migrated to another country or whatever activity or when you remember someone after hearing a certain type of a song or watching a TV while absent-mindedly eating your popcorns only to pay attention after realizing they’re over.Â
The term subconscious mind is derived from two terms Sub and Conscious.
Sub to mean below while conscious has to do with awareness. So in this context we can say: Sub conscious means ‘Below awareness’ referring to the part of our mind that works below our awareness.
Unlike the conscious mind which rationally makes decisions and takes charge of voluntary actions, the subconscious executes them automatically based on past programming.
It also acts as a vast bank of memories, beliefs, emotions & impressions we have accumulated over our lifetime.
Some refer to it as the backdoor, some the unconscious mind, some the irrational mind, some the non conscious mind while some call it the lower mind.
The 5-95% Analogy.
Many thinkers and scientists claim what we are aware of, our thoughts, emotions and actions only form 5 % of the entire mental spectrum.
That over 90% of our daily habits and behaviours are automatically directed by the subconscious mind.
Think of the automatic reactions, our habits that manifest in our daily routines, implicit memories and emotions in our daily lives.
The Iceberg Metaphor by Sigmund Freud.
One sage who tried to explain the above was Freud in his topographical model of the Mind also referred to as the Iceberg Metaphor.
In his explanation, the psyche was like an Iceberg in water with only a little part of the tip visible above the water while the rest lied underneath.
The visible part referred to the Concious Mind which we are aware of while the pre-conscious and unconscious is represented by the invisible part underneath.
To Freud , most mental activities occur beneath the level of our conscious awareness.Â
Though he used the term unconscious and subconscious interchangeable in his earlier studies, we can today allege that what he termed as the Pre-conscious was the subconscious mind.Â
In a nutshell, the subconscious mind is the part of our mind that operates below our own awareness taking charge of all automatic processes and acting as a vast memory bank of all our experiences both positive and negative. When the Concious Mind sleeps, the subconscious mind takes over. It’s actions and processes can however be brought to conscious awareness through conscious thoughts and mindfulness.Â