The Power of the Sub - Conscious

THE POWER OF THE SUB-CONSCIOUS

Cl. Mario D’Couto SDB

            Sigmund Freud, one of the world’s famous psychologists spoke about or compared the human mind to an iceberg. Just as an iceberg has 3 layers, so too is the human mind. According to Freud, the human mind has 3 layers: id, ego and superego. The ‘id’ refers to those things which the mind does not give that much of importance. The ego is that which is conscious of the things around and the superego deals with one’s sub – conscious. Of the 3, the sub – conscious is said to be the most powerful for although it is fully conscious of the things around, it absorbs everything like a sponge.

            So how does one use his or her sub – conscious effectively? Try to get your conscious and unconscious purposes in harmony with each other. In order to achieve any worthwhile goal, we must learn to make our conscious and unconscious minds work in complete harmony with each other. If our conscious mind says, “I want to be a successful writer” or “painter” or “salesman” and our unconscious mind says, “That is not my desire!” then it is most likely that the unconscious will win.

            Lawrence Gould once made this statement, “Many a man has been puzzled at the lack of results from his grim determination to succeed, when his real, unconscious desire was to have a good time and to take life easy …… A picture that often comes into my mind …… is the scene in the old fashioned melodrama where the heroine pretends to yield to the villain’s embraces but behind her back waves a white handkerchief to call the hero to her rescue.” Our unconscious mind frequently moves these white handkerchiefs. The white handkerchiefs come in the form of desires, drives and intense wishes.

            The unconscious will do everything in its power to achieve its goals. Sometimes its aims are very good for us; at other times they may be dangerously self – destructive. If they are destroying us – as shown by too much dependence on drink, laziness or failure to make any progress – we either need help from a reliable therapist, or intelligent use of the power of self – suggestion.

            How to find out what your unconscious goals have been? If you want to know what your unconscious goals have been, look around you. Take a look at yourself fin a full length mirror. What sort of a person are you? Slim or stout? How do you dress? Neatly or carelessly?      Look at the room in which you are sitting. Is it neat or disorderly? Who is living with you? Are you a bachelor? If you’re married, what sort of wife or husband did you choose?

            What sort of a house do you live in? Or is it in an apartment? Do you have a garden? A workshop? A car? A T.V. set? Every single material possession around you represents a small, possibly unconscious goal that eventually found material expression. Every detail of your life was actually the result of an aim selected by your unconscious mind for the fulfillment of an unconscious purpose.

            To achieve a worthwhile goal, it is first necessary to find out what you have been unconsciously aiming for. You have to pay the price for any goal. If you say you want something but after years of striving have not attained anything close to your goal, then you have refused to pay the price. Most likely you have substituted a different goal – your unconscious choice.

            Your unconscious mind will listen to suggestions. The most helpful thing to remember about the unconscious mind is that it is very amenable to suggestions. Keep pouring positive suggestions from your conscious mind into your unconscious, and the unconscious mind will soon accept the suggestions.

            If you want to know what kind of ideas your mind is really thinking, sit down and just put down everything you can think of in the next 10 minutes. Don’t try to write coherently. Just jump form one thought to another. When you have finished, take a look at what you have written. Were your thoughts constructive, helpful, glowing with hope, or were they destructive, negative and bitter?

            An advertising man who tried this was so shocked by his findings that he decided to assume control over his own mind. He knew enough about the mind to know that one can choose what one thinks. He decided to fill his mind with positive thoughts. The best time to think constructive thoughts that will influence your unconscious mind is just before you drift into sleep at night. In that relaxed, half – conscious state, instead of counting sheep, paint a mental picture of what you want to be in the future.

            Don’t aim at being a carbon copy of someone else. We make a great mistake when we want to be exactly like Mary or John or Jimmy. No other person is an exact model for us to follow. John may have one trait we’d like to add to our personality. If he is extremely tactful, for instance, we can listen to him; watch how he handles difficult situations and how careful he is to sense how the other person feels before he opens his mouth.

            We can copy individual characteristics we admire. We can emulate John in tact. We may also want to learn from others how best to develop certain worthwhile qualities ourselves. But anyone who says he wishes he could be someone else is usually lying to himself or herself. God made each of us as an individual; we have no ore reason for trying to be exactly like the other fellow than the mountain ash in my backyard has a reason for trying to be like the sycamore tree.

            However, this does not in any way imply complacency or mediocrity or being half – hearted. We have to have definite goals. If we want to achieve we have to start doing something about it now! If you’re going to be a great novelist, you had better practice writing at least one hour a day, starting today. If you plan to be a successful salesman, you’d better call on some prospects today. If you hope someday to own your business, you’d better decide how much money you’ll need to launch yourself and start saving.

            There is only one time to take the first step towards realizing your goal. Right this minute! In this light, there is a nice statement made in a bulletin form the Commonwealth Building and Loan Association of North Hollywood, “Getting an idea should be like sitting down on a pin – it should make you jump up and do something about it.”