The Unconscious mind was much maligned by Freud and his followers. The Unconscious was supposed to be not very co-operative as it was not supposed to be in voluntary control. It made the people, especially in the Western world feel scared of something that no one knew much about.

Hypnosis was about the Unconscious. Freud practiced hypnosis during initial years  of his practice. But he gave it up at some stage. My own understanding is that probably Freud was not very knowledgeable about the subject himself. Credit goes to him for being able to think differently and to be able to look at the areas of psychology that few in the Western world had done till his time.

That the Unconscious mind was emotional in nature and controlled our body’s physiology was also known at that time.

As time has passed, we have learnt so much in neuroscience. We now know that a particular part of the nervous system is not in our voluntary control. Just like the Unconscious, it affects our internal organs and controls our blood pressure, heart rate, our digestive system for example. This part of the brain is called the Limbic System. Its various parts and connections affect and are affected by emotions.

However, the scientists called this part of the brain Archicortex or Old Brain or Primitive Brain. This was in comparison to the “more intelligent” Neocortex or New Brain that was responsible for logical thinking. The Western world has been smitten by this part of the nervous system, ignoring and undervaluing the emotional part of the brain because it was just “emotional.” Interestingly, in the Eastern part of the world, the Unconscious has been given due respect for thousands of years. People have been meditating in many forms, in places like India, China and Japan for a few thousand years at least. They were not afraid of the Unconscious. They knew how to “tame” the Unconscious.

One of the key issues that has been overlooked till date is the role that images play in bridging the Old Brain and the New Brain. The images do not have a language. For example, the image of a shoe will bring up a certain image in your mind. If a hundred people knowing a hundred languages have the same image in their mind, they will use a different word in each language to describe it.

A joyful experience will carry same set of images in people speaking different languages. A trauma will be a trauma in French, English or German or Japanese. The images could be same in each case. The languages describing those images will be different. All memories are stored as images (not in languages).

There is a rule that affects how our lives can change. It has to do with how we interpret an image. If we are able to change the interpretation of an imagery experience, the words that describe that event will change too.

A man was driving a car. He passed by a stationary bus at a bus stop, going in the same direction. He did not notice that a woman was crossing the road in front of the bus. There was an accident. The woman hit his dashboard, fell on the road and later died. The driver of the car suffered with trauma and guilt about the accident. It was only when the traumatic emotions were changed, that he got his sleep back to normal.

This is an example of the way the Conscious mind changes its interpretation of the traumatic event.

Why is this important?

The images are created by the Unconscious mind. The interpretation (not the emotional experience) is carried out by the Conscious mind. If the Unconscious mind makes us feel traumatized by holding on to a particular memory, then the Conscious mind interprets it as a trauma. But if the Unconscious mind has the same images and the traumatic emotions are neutralized, the Conscious mind interprets the experience as a learning experience only. The suffering stops.

If we can change the interpretation of every experience that we are scared of, our whole life changes. This is also how a person with Depression can be healed. Many times they would need therapy to help them heal.

A correction officer was doing his duty in the prison. He was suddenly attacked by a prisoner for no reason. The attack was so sudden that he had no time to respond. As he shouted for help, his colleagues arrived to rescue him. He was so shocked that he did not know he was bleeding. He had to be told by a colleague that he was bleeding from his face. He then went for first aid for his injuries. It took a few days for the physical injuries to heal. But then he started to have nightmares. His sleep became disturbed. He started to have flashbacks of the assault. He became irritable and sensitive to slight noise. He had developed symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He had the understanding to appreciate that whatever was happening to him was not logical. But he could not help himself from feeling the way he was feeling.

This is a typical example of the “fight” between the logical Conscious and the “illogical” Unconscious mind.

The logical mind was stating that the event of assault had ended after a few seconds. The Unconscious mind believed that the event was not over yet. He could not sleep and had to resort to take medication to help him sleep. His sleep had been disturbed by his Unconscious mind that had the role to help him survive. It did not want to make him sleep as it was afraid he would be killed if he slept. The Conscious mind, on the other hand, was trying to convince him that everything was well. There was a fight going on between the two. And the correction officer was suffering as a result.

When someone feels depressed, they are preoccupied with negative thoughts of the past. The cognitive Conscious mind is active in the thought processes. The low “feeling” comes from the Unconscious mind. It is also responsible for the sleep disturbance that happens in depression.  Now we have a situation that the Unconscious mind does not let the person sleep because it considers the situation as dangerous for the person. The Conscious mind is at odds with it as it is trying to convince the Unconscious that there is no logic for sleeplessness.

Similarly, in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, for example, the obsession is a thought that the Conscious mind gets hooked on. The Unconscious mind is insecure and fearful about the situation. It tries to make the person avoid the anxiety provoking situation. The Conscious mind, on the other hand wants to be convinced that there is nothing wrong in the situation. As the two struggle to convince each other to their own beliefs, the person suffers.

If you look at the various mental health conditions, almost all of them can be understood and explained on the basis of the “fight” between the Conscious and the Unconscious mind. This fight involves a lot of energy for which Cortisol- the stress hormone- is responsible.  According to some energy practitioners, it is this excessive energy production that cause the mental / physical problems.

Mostly these conditions are treated with medication based on the principle that they cause neurotransmitter imbalance in the body. But another angle to their treatment can also be based on the understanding that the battle between the Conscious mind and the Unconscious mind can be brought to a halt by helping them work together. If the Unconscious mind is at peace, the Conscious mind has no problems. It is at peace too.

If this angle is appreciated, then we  can have another understanding in the treatment of major psychiatric disorders using little or no medications.  

In this first part you will get to know the meaning of the Conscious and the Unconscious mind.

The Unconscious mind got major recognition with Freud’s work. It was not that it was not known before that. The old Hindu scriptures are replete with references to ways and means of affecting your “inner self.”

Many people are confused or unaware of what the Unconscious is all about. In order to understand it, you have to look at the Conscious mind.

The Conscious mind is the aspect of us that allows us to plan our life, to think about philosophy of life or to create a routine in life. It is a “thinker.” It has made the world a materialistic place, with all the advancements in technology. It is associated with the left hemisphere of the brain. It is logical, factual, practical and business like. It is unemotional. From anatomical perspectives it is supposed to be located in the New Brain or Neocortex or Cerebrum. It is the part of the nervous system that makes us more intelligent as compared to other animals. It is considered to be the more mature, thinking part of the nervous system.

The Unconscious is a bit different form of consciousness. It is the part of the nervous system that is emotional. It is a “feeler.” It is supposed to be more influenced by the right cerebral hemisphere. It is the part that controls our habits. Anatomically it is associated with the older parts of the brain- the basal ganglia, hypothalamus, the hippocampus and is associated with the control of almost all of our internal organs. This part of the nervous system is oblivious to logic. It makes you cry and laugh and feel the feelings that you feel. Freud and others describe it as if it is like a child. It defies logic but plays a very important part in your life. It is a dreamer. This is where dreams come from. It is creative. It makes stories, fantasizes, creates images and enjoys music. And interestingly it helps the nervous system store images.

What influences do the Conscious and the Unconscious mind have in your life?

Suppose you are struggling with a habit of drinking too much. If someone asks you why you do that, you may say “I don’t know.” But you can also defend yourself by saying that you cannot control your drinking once you start. You may be asked to “just stop” drinking “too much” by someone who wishes you well. You know that it is a tall order. You cannot “just stop” drinking too much because someone tells you to do so. You just cannot control your drinking.  

This example is true of many other habits you may have. You cannot control them. On the negative side, you may be gambling or you may be using drugs or you may be addicted to food. On the positive side, you may be engaged in doing regular physical exercise because you “enjoy” engaging in a physical activity. As long as you do them as a habit, they are controlled by your Unconscious.

All habits, good or bad, are controlled by the Unconscious. The Unconscious, as stated before, is illogical. But when you understand the power and the abilities of the Unconscious, you can change almost every habit that you would like to change. More than words, the Unconscious appreciates feelings. That is why almost all “life changing” experiences involve emotions and feelings. If you know how you can influence your own Unconscious, you can master your life.

There is another interesting thing about the relationship between the Conscious and the Unconscious. They influence each other.

If you are in the habit of leading your life as a professional or as a busy worker, it is likely that your Conscious mind has been more active than the Unconscious mind. With the logical Conscious mind so active, you are sometimes likely to lose the ability to be creative or even to enjoy music or arts. You will then probably describe yourself as a “busy” and “practical” person. You will find it hard to change your habits. You will believe, most likely, that you “don’t do emotions.”

Another interesting fact is that if you can influence your Unconscious mind to change, your Conscious mind naturally follows it because it has no option but to respect the change. This is the law of Nature.

How do we influence the Unconscious mind to change? We will explore in the future posts.   

Do miracles happen by chance or can they be created?

Are the following stories true or are they a figment of someone’s imagination?

A professional singer and musician was struggling to establish her freelance presence in the competitive world of music. She was not finding much success. She dreamed of getting work as an actress where her music skills could also be used. She loved to do theatre where she could also play music. Such assignments were hard to come by. Then suddenly she got this offer. She got offered a part in a play. Also tied in with this commitment was the offer of doing music for the play. She was over the moon. She thought it was a one off opportunity. As weeks have gone by, she has so much more work now that she has difficulty in handling the assignments.

A budding film producer/ director was trying to find work. Contacts were limited. But the experience in working with ad films was to her advantage. She was hoping she would get some engagements to prove her mettle. Then suddenly, she got five emails in one day offering her different film projects. She had to then decide which ones to accept and which ones to leave.

An airline crew member was in the job for many years. Other colleagues had been promoted but this person was finding it difficult to go up the ladder. She did not know how to change things for her. Then she did something that changed her life. She got the promotion she was looking for, without making much effort.

A businessman was in debt with the banks for a six figure sum. He was distraught as business was in a mess. Then he did something that changed his business. In another six months time, he had a six -figure sum in the bank, having paid off his debt.

A young lady was struggling to conceive after eight years of cohabiting with her husband. She was not sure what could help her. She then did something that changed her life. She conceived successfully after six months.

A struggling small time actor had the dream of joining Broadway. He was based in Ireland and Broadway is in London. He thought that it was just going to be a dream. Then he did something. One day out of the blue he got a call from a director in Broadway to offer him a role in a play on Broadway. He grabbed the opportunity.

These stories are actually real life experiences and observations. What did these people do to make things happen?

 What is common to each of them is that each person involved, took the steps to change themselves as a person at an emotional level. Each of them was my client. I had the privilege to guide them through their journey.  

They knew that they were responsible for their own destiny. But did not know how to change it. They were carrying on with their daily life, in their respective professions without even expecting something dramatic to happen. Some of our experiences were contrary to what we had read in some of the books on creating miracles.

It is as simple as this.  Change your emotional state to a more positive state by getting rid of your anger, fear and grief. This is what creates miracles.

 It may sound quite “unscientific”. But what we do in my clinic, involves only science and nothing else.

You have within yourselves the power to create miracles. The only thing is you need to know is how to shift your emotions and then just do the work to shift them in a focused manner. The world around you changes accordingly. The resources around you will re-align themselves to create what you wish to have. The above experiences also proved that there are certainly some rules in Nature that you need to follow to create miracles in your life.

These are the four lessons we learnt:

1.Not one of these people was expecting miracles to happen but their lives did change.

2. All of them had a certain wish but did not know how the wish would be fulfilled.

3. They simply took it to rid themselves of their negative feelings of anger and fear that had been parts of their life till that time.

4. They were certainly not “striving hard” to get what they wanted.