Difference between the conscious and subconscious mind

Recognising the difference between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind -

The 'Iceberg' metaphor is often used to show the relationship between the conscious and subconscious minds. The part of the Iceberg visible above the water line represents the conscious mind, which contains all the thoughts, feelings and memories you can easily get in touch with or recall.

The conscious mind and the subconscious mind are two distinct aspects of our mental processes. Here's an overview of each:

1. Conscious Mind: The conscious mind represents our immediate awareness and the thoughts, perceptions, and experiences that we actively engage with. It encompasses our current thoughts, sensations, and emotions. When you are awake and alert, making deliberate decisions, solving problems, or engaging in conversation, you are operating primarily from the realm of the conscious mind.

2. Subconscious Mind: The subconscious mind refers to the part of our mind that operates below the level of conscious awareness. It stores information, memories, beliefs, and patterns of behaviour that influence our thoughts, emotions, and actions. The subconscious mind is responsible for automatic processes like habits, instincts, and intuition. It also plays a significant role in shaping our perceptions, attitudes, and responses to various stimuli, often without us consciously realizing it.

It's important to note that the conscious and subconscious mind are not entirely separate entities but interconnected aspects of our overall mental functioning. The subconscious mind constantly influences and interacts with the conscious mind, shaping our thoughts, behaviours, and experiences.

Understanding the interplay between the conscious and subconscious mind can help us recognise and work with underlying patterns, beliefs, and conditioning that may influence our lives. Techniques such as mindfulness, meditation, hypnosis, and therapy can provide ways to access and explore the subconscious mind to promote personal growth, self-awareness, and positive change.

Bruce H. Lipton wrote in his book, The Biology of Belief, "I believe the greatest problem we face is that we think we are running our lives with the wishes, desires and aspirations created by our conscious mind…. neuroscience has now established that the conscious mind… runs the show only about five percent of the time."

This leaves the subconscious mind running 95% of what we think.

The Conscious Mind

The conscious mind is the domain of thinking, choosing, sensing, perceiving and experiencing within your current state of awareness. This includes your short-term memory.

The conscious mind uses words, numbers, data, facts, and information collected from the five senses to communicate.

For example, Personality, Planning, Short term memory, Judgement, Willpower, Decisions, Critical thinking

The Subconscious Mind

The subconscious mind is the domain of our permanent memories, feelings, beliefs, behaviours, thoughts, attitudes and values.

The subconscious mind uses feelings, memories, symbols, metaphors and stories to communicate.

For example, Emotions, Habits, Long term memory, Cognitive biases, Patterns, Beliefs and values, Creativity, Automatic body functions