Conscious vs. Unconscious
Conscious vs. Unconscious Perspectives: Understanding Our Inner World
We are often guided by two primary forces in our lives: the conscious and the unconscious. But what exactly do these terms mean, and how do they shape our thoughts, actions, and experiences?
At any given moment, you are either consciously aware of what you’re thinking and doing—or you are being influenced by patterns and impulses that lie beneath the surface of your awareness. Understanding the difference between these two states is key to personal growth, healing, and understanding the hidden dynamics that influence our lives.
What is the Conscious Perspective?
The conscious mind is the part of our mind that we are aware of. It’s what we’re currently thinking, feeling, and processing in real-time. When you're making decisions, problem-solving, or reflecting on a situation, you are using your conscious mind. It’s where intentions, reasoning, and active thoughts reside.
For example, when you decide to go for a walk, or you consciously focus on your breath during meditation, you're using your conscious mind. It’s your rational mind—the part of you that is present and actively engaged in the world around you.
Key Features of the Conscious Mind:
Awareness: You are fully aware of your thoughts and actions.
Reasoning: You can analyze situations logically.
Focus: Your conscious mind directs attention and makes decisions.
Willpower: You exert control over your choices and actions.
What is the Unconscious Perspective?
The unconscious mind, on the other hand, operates below the surface of our awareness. It includes all the memories, desires, beliefs, and experiences that you are not currently aware of, but that still influence your behavior and perceptions. It’s where our instincts, automated behaviors, and repressed memories live.
Think of the unconscious mind as a massive storage system for everything you’ve learned, experienced, or avoided throughout your life. Even though you may not be consciously aware of these factors, they still govern a large part of your behavior, reactions, and decisions.
For instance, if you have a fear of public speaking, that fear might be rooted in an unconscious memory of being criticized or humiliated in the past. Even though you’re not consciously thinking about it, that memory continues to affect your actions and perceptions.
Key Features of the Unconscious Mind:
Automatic Behavior: Your body and mind act on past experiences and conditioning.
Repressed Thoughts: Memories and emotions that you may have forgotten or pushed away.
Instincts and Impulses: Natural urges and reactions that are not influenced by reasoning.
Habits: Behaviors that are ingrained and no longer need conscious thought.
How Does the Unconscious Influence Us?
The unconscious mind is incredibly powerful and impacts many aspects of our lives, often without us even realizing it. Here are a few ways it affects us:
Automatic Reactions and Habits: Many of our day-to-day actions, such as how we speak, move, or even eat, are driven by unconscious patterns. These habits are formed over time and don’t require our conscious mind to actively control them.
Emotional Responses: Emotional triggers often stem from unconscious beliefs or past experiences. You may have an intense emotional reaction to a situation without fully understanding why it triggers you in the first place. It’s likely that an unconscious experience or belief is fuelling that emotion.
Limiting Beliefs: Many people are unaware of the limiting beliefs they hold about themselves—beliefs like “I’m not good enough,” or “I’ll never succeed.” These beliefs are often unconscious and can shape our actions and decisions without us realizing their influence.
Dreams and Symbolism: Our unconscious mind often expresses itself through dreams, symbols, and imagery. These can be a reflection of repressed thoughts or unexpressed emotions that our conscious mind struggles to process.
The Role of Hypnosis in Uncovering the Unconscious
Hypnosis is a powerful tool for accessing the unconscious mind, providing a bridge between conscious awareness and the deep-rooted beliefs or emotions stored in our subconscious. Hypnotherapy can be used to uncover hidden memories, reframe limiting beliefs, and address emotional traumas that influence our current behavior.
One notable approach to hypnosis is Dolores Cannon's Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique (QHHT). Cannon's work in the field of past-life regression and quantum hypnosis revealed that our unconscious mind holds vast reservoirs of information, including memories from past lives, deep-seated emotional patterns, and unexplored aspects of the soul. Her findings suggest that many present-day struggles or patterns may have roots in past-life experiences, offering a new avenue for healing and self-awareness.
Past-life hypnosis, which delves into memories from previous lifetimes, offers a perspective on how the unconscious mind carries over unresolved emotions or unfinished business into the present. These memories can be accessed and processed to facilitate healing in the current lifetime, offering insight into recurring themes or blocks that may not be easily understood.
Hypnosis and the Chakra System
In Reiki and energy healing, blocked energy is often tied to unresolved emotional or psychological issues stored in the unconscious. The root chakra (at the base of the spine) governs our sense of safety and belonging, and when it is blocked, it can lead to feelings of insecurity or fear—issues often rooted in unconscious beliefs or past trauma. Other chakras, such as the heart chakra (which governs love and emotional expression), can also be impacted by unconscious emotions or repressed experiences.
During hypnosis or Reiki, the energy flow in these blocked chakras can be rebalanced, allowing unconscious material to rise to the surface where it can be processed and healed.
Front Chakras vs. Back Chakras Perspective
The chakra system is a critical component of understanding both conscious and unconscious forces at play in our lives. Front chakras and back chakras have distinct roles and qualities, and understanding how energy flows through them can offer deep insights into how we engage with the world around us versus how we engage with our internal world.
Front Chakras: Our Engagement with the External World
Front chakras are aligned with the external world and our interactions with it. They govern aspects of expression, action, and communication.
Root Chakra (Muladhara): Situated at the base of the spine, this chakra connects us to safety, security, and our sense of belonging. If this chakra is blocked, you may feel disconnected from your physical body or anxious about the world around you.
Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana): Located just below the navel, the sacral chakra is related to creativity, sexuality, and emotions. A blocked sacral chakra may result in emotional suppression or creative stagnation.
Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura): Situated above the navel, the solar plexus governs self-esteem, willpower, and personal power. If blocked, you may feel powerless or lack confidence in your decisions.
Heart Chakra (Anahata): The heart chakra is a center of love, compassion, and empathy. If blocked, feelings of isolation, lack of connection, or inability to express love may arise.
Throat Chakra (Vishuddha): Located at the throat, this chakra governs communication and expression. A blockage here may prevent you from speaking your truth or being heard.
Third Eye Chakra (Ajna): The third eye is the center of intuition, insight, and clarity. When blocked, it may lead to confusion, lack of clarity, and difficulty trusting your inner guidance.
Crown Chakra (Sahasrara): This chakra connects us to higher consciousness and the spiritual realm. A blocked crown chakra may result in a sense of disconnection from a higher purpose or lack of spiritual fulfillment.
Back Chakras: Our Internal World and Hidden Influence
Back chakras are connected to our inner experiences—the hidden aspects of our being that we may not always be fully aware of, and they govern the ways we react to situations and people from a more subconscious, automatic level. These chakras often hold unconscious patterns and responses.
Root Chakra (Back): The back of the root chakra is associated with ancestral patterns, trauma, and our inherited energy. The energy in this area can sometimes be stored from generations past, manifesting in unconscious fears or survival mechanisms.
Sacral Chakra (Back): The back of the sacral chakra is linked to repressed emotions, particularly those that relate to past experiences that may have been painful or difficult to process.
Solar Plexus Chakra (Back): The back of the solar plexus governs our subconscious beliefs around self-worth and personal identity. Blockages here may lead to feelings of inadequacy or inner conflict that go unnoticed until triggered.
Heart Chakra (Back): The back of the heart chakra relates to unresolved emotional baggage and unhealed wounds from the past. Healing in this area requires bringing awareness to these unresolved issues and finding ways to release them.
Throat Chakra (Back): The back of the throat chakra is often associated with suppressed communication and hidden truths. It may carry the weight of words unspoken or truths left unexpressed.
Third Eye Chakra (Back): The back of the third eye chakra governs subconscious perceptions and intuitive blocks. There can be repressed psychic information or unprocessed intuitive insights that have not yet made their way into conscious awareness.
Crown Chakra (Back): The back of the crown chakra is related to spiritual connection and soul alignment. It may indicate where we’ve unconsciously disconnected from our spiritual truth or higher calling.
EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)
EFT, or Tapping, is a technique that combines elements of exposure therapy with acupressure to help release emotional blockages tied to unconscious patterns. By tapping on certain meridian points on the body while focusing on specific emotional issues, individuals can access and release the energy associated with those emotions, leading to healing.
This technique is particularly helpful for addressing unresolved emotional issues that have become stored in the body and mind as a result of past trauma, limiting beliefs, or unresolved unconscious conflicts.
Kundalini Energy and the Unconscious Mind
Kundalini energy offers a fascinating perspective on the conscious and unconscious mind. According to ancient yogic teachings, Kundalini is a powerful, dormant energy that resides at the base of the spine, symbolized as a coiled serpent. When awakened, this energy rises through the chakras, activating each one as it ascends.
This awakening process can bring unconscious thoughts, fears, and repressed emotions to the surface, often causing emotional upheaval or physical sensations. As the Kundalini energy rises, it is believed to facilitate profound self-awareness, healing, and spiritual awakening, while also integrating unconscious material into conscious awareness.
In many ways, the Kundalini awakening can be compared to the process of psychological healing. As unconscious material (including deep-seated beliefs and emotions) surfaces, we may experience personal transformation and growth. Just like psychotherapy, Kundalini awakening requires integration—allowing us to make conscious sense of the previously unconscious material.
This energetic shift also aligns with the concept of energy blockages in the chakras. When Kundalini energy rises through blocked chakras, the energy needs to be properly integrated and processed for healing to occur.