The subconscious mind is halfway between the conscious thinking mind and the unconscious mind or collective unconscious. The thinking mind would be the consciousness and is able to reason and make meaning of things. The subconscious mind is the recording mechanism that records information based on how it was perceived by the judging thinking mind. The unconscious mind is a record of things how they innately are without judgement and is thought to be outside of time and space so therefore is a record of everything in the past, present and future. The subconscious mind takes info from the conscious mind and puts it into the unconscious mind and likewise, the subconscious mind pulls information from the unconscious mind and surfaces through the conscious mind in the form of ideas, inspirations, etc.  (1)

A precise example of the subconscious mind at work and related phenomena can be found in a book written by psychoanalyst Gavin De Becker, “The Gift of Fear”. He describes how a victim “knew something was wrong”, but initially discredited her own instinct/subconscious mind, opting instead to respond to the perceived threat in a normal, “socially acceptable” manner, completely ignoring that the subconscious mind tried to tell the conscious mind “that something is wrong.” De Becker tapped into the mind of the victim regarding her “prior awareness by the subconscious mind that caused her to act instinctively” allowing her to realize that the perpetrator was going to kill her. The analyst brought her conscious mind to recognize how her subconscious was working on her conscious mind, by eliciting her original “inner thoughts/voice” through a series of events to which her subconscious mind ultimately drove her conscious mind to behave in such a manner as to protect her from being killed. Gavin was able to elicit her subconscious mind’s recognition of a dangerous situation that compelled her conscious mind to act to save her through its basic survival instinct, bringing to the victim’s conscious mind that it was the “subtle signal that warned her.” The victim describes this as an unrecognized fear that drove her to act, still unaware consciously of precisely why she was afraid. Her conscious mind had heard the words, “I promise I won’t hurt you, while her subconscious mind was calculating the situation much faster than the conscious mind could make sense out of WHY the fear was there. The victim stated that “the animal inside her took over.”  (2) 

The conscious mind is a remarkable thing but there’s a whole other level of awareness that, when tapped, can greatly expand your abilities and allow you to achieve your goals in life. Follow these tips to learn how to access your subconscious mind.  (3)

1. Practice “Stream of Consciousness” writing. Set a timer for 5-10 minutes and write whatever comes immediately to mind, continuing writing until the time is up no matter how dull, strange, weird, or whatever it sounds. Although at first this will channel your conscious mind, it will bring up unconscious thoughts. Have patience. Writing, at first, will be difficult but, with practice, becomes rather easy.

2. Learn to meditate. There are many methods of meditation but all deal with focusing the mind, quieting it, and allowing you to harness it. Choose whichever appeals to you and be sure to practice daily, if only for a few minutes.

3. Take an art class. The creative process in art of all types of art – drawing, photography, painting, clay, dance, and sculpture – helps tap into the subconscious. By taking seeminglydisparate elements and melding them, you may learn to use more of your mind to solve problems.

4. Learn about the subconscious. The more you learn about the human mind, the more you can use it to enhance your life. Take coursework in psychology. Read Joseph Campbell. Take a martial arts class. Pray and/or meditate.

5. Practice positive self talk. If you say to yourself, “I can’t do this, I’m going to fail,” you will fail. However, if you say, “I can do this. I know I can!,” you’re more likely to succeed. This process is known as “affirmation“.

6. Visualize. This is one of the most significant keys to success. Actively picturing yourself achieving a goal will help you actually achieve it.

7. Study briefly just before bedtime. This is especially helpful for things that require memorization. If you review your periodic table, your Latin vocabulary list, or your football play book just before sleeping, your subconscious will likely process it throughout the night for you.

8. Pay attention to your dreams. Your deeper mind will sometimes try to sort out your life issues through dreams. If you pay attention to them, write themimmediately down, and reflect on it, you may get insight to the problem at hand.

9. Listen to your intuition. Your intuition is a way your mind has of warning you to dangers or opportunities before your conscious mind has all the information. If you get an “uh-oh” feeling about a person or situation, listen. This is often a key step in avoiding tragedy.

10. Use different means to develop your subconscious mind. Guessing things will help a lot. Just try to listen to your intuition and make predictions. Use different tools, for example iPhone apps like “Yes-No oracle” answering to yes-no questions. This also opens subconscious parts of you mind.

11. Trust in your subconscious ability to completely change your life around.You are the master of your Universe, thoughts, actions, emotions, and reactions.

Sources for this article are from the following:

1.  http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Subconscious_mind
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subconscious
3. http://www.wikihow.com/Control-Your-Subconscious-Mind