Body
What is the subconscious?
The Subconscious mind is a part of the mind that controls the automatic functions of the body, our memories and held beliefs. It is called the Subconscious because it is not conscious to the person who is thinking the thought. They are blind to the thoughts of the subconscious because the subconscious does not think essentially. The subconscious executes formerly agreed ideas and routines that at some point have been accepted to make life easier for the person in day to day life. In this way the Subconscious is like a fast key for our minds. It reduces our time spent dealing with information by running an automatic response system.
The Conscious mind however, is the ‘thinking brain’. This is the part of us that makes us feel like we are here. If I want a sandwich, I say to myself ‘I want a Sandwich’ and the Conscious mind feels an awareness of this decision. In Conscious thought we are aware of our decisions. This is most noticeable when we are learning something for the first time. Usually when doing something for the first time we feel an awkwardness and possibly an overload of new information. This can mean that our total concentration is required and in many cases learning something new can be exhausting. This is because we must consciously do every action in the new activity and consequently, we use a lot of energy.
When we first learned to tie our shoes, it was difficult, but over time we worked it out and now we do not think about how to do it. Interestingly, If I asked you to explain to me how you tie your shoes, it would be very difficult and you may forget how you actually do it. This is because your conscious mind doesn’t know how to do it. It is only when your conscious mind is left out of the process that the subconscious can work unimpeded.
So, in many ways the subconscious is a great thing for us to have. Without it we could not function in the world. We could not deal with new information, because it would be as if we never remembered anything.
Freud
Freud was one of the first to look into and attempt to explain the subject of consciousness in the human mind through his work which he named Psychoanalytic theory. The term Freudian slip for example was coined in appreciation of Freud’s work in that area. The Slip refers to a person who subconsciously says something that relates to his past in a present situation, revealing something that was on his or her mind that he or she didn’t even know about.
EG, John has a new girlfriend and he invites her over to dinner to meet his parents. As he asks her if she would like a drink he embarrassingly calls her by his ex girlfriends name.
Why did he do this?
In effect he wasn’t thinking consciously when he said the word, his Subconscious mind took over from the Conscious mind and reverted to known information to fill in the gaps.
Freud believed that there were three states of consciousness, the Conscious, the Preconscious and the Unconscious, the latter two being the parts that are generally assumed to be the Subconscious.
For the purposes of this report I will refer to what Freud termed the Unconscious and Preconscious as the Subconscious, because this term has become so widely accepted.
So, the beginnings of mind analysis in our society began with Freud early in the 20th Century coming to the conclusion that our minds have different parts and are subject to many underlying belief systems and motivations, that we are unaware of. This is important to understand if we are interested in discovering ways to help people change. If your client does not seem motivated or does not seem to be able to find the way to change for the better it may be interesting to look at the words he or she is using.
Words have a magical power. They can bring either the greatest happiness or deepest despair; they can transfer knowledge from teacher to student; words enable the orator to sway his audience and dictate its decisions. Words are capable of arousing the strongest emotions and prompting all men’s actions.
SIGMUND FREUD, The Educator’s Book of Quotes
Another Pioneer of the subconscious is Milton Erickson. Erickson, who is the founder of what is now known as ‘Conversational Hypnosis’ began studying the power of the human mind, when earlier in his life he had been told he was going to die by his family Doctor. Out of stubbornness he found himself focusing intensely on the sunset through his window fearing it may be the last chance he ever has to see another one. His view was obscured by a tree and a fence, but nevertheless he enjoyed the sunset as much as he could. Getting worse he fell into unconsciousness for 3 days and when he awoke he asked his father when they had moved the tree and fence from his view. His father looked back puzzled. They hadn’t. The tree and fence were still there. As Milton recovered he began to realize the power of his own mind and eventually developed various techniques used to heal people using Hypnosis. Realizing the strength we have to bend what we see to our belief. He had such a strong focus on the sunset that the other things literally disappeared from his view.
Subconscious used in Conjunction with Coaching
it is quite normal to become focus on the activity so intensely that a trance state is entered, and the person’s attention becomes removed from any other stimuli
Milton Erickson
He believed that people are often going in and out of hypnosis on a daily basis. From TV, tuning out listening to music, talking to someone, etc. Anytime people lose focus on where they are, Erickson believed they were in a trance state. He also believed that when the person was hypnotized he or she would be more susceptible to information that was provided in that moment. Meaning the person would be more open to suggestions and more accepting of new information and making changes. However, he also believed that suggestion was not limited to someone who was already hypnotized.
Although I propose that Hypnosis is a great tool to be used in conjunction with Coaching. I would also say that the ability to affect the subconscious is not limited to Hypnosis. Indeed it seems many times through repetiion and inspiration, we are affecting our patterns of behaviour.
Erickson believed that the unconscious mind was always listening, and that whether the person was in a hypnotic trance or not, suggestions could be made which would have a hypnotic influence, so long as those suggestions were not rejected by the unconscious mind.
Erickson worked a lot with induction techniques and he discovered that people are unlikely to respond to Conscious commands such as, ‘I want you to fall asleep right now!’
However, when a person was put into a confusing state by being asked to think about something complicated or something requiring concentration, and then suddenly jolted. He would create a moment when the Conscious mind would not know what is happening. The subconscious mind then typically takes over and as the Subconscious mind responds directly to Conscious thoughts it will take the first piece of information in that moment. So, he would use the word ‘sleep’ as his next command. This technique is known as a rapid induction. This is now used by thousands of Hypnotherapists across the world.