| "The Unconscious Mind and The Iceberg Metaphor," a | | | | iceberg. The unconscious mind's resources constantly |
| useful metaphor to understand is the iceberg and how | | | | supports the conscious mind. Just for one minute, think |
| it can be associated with the unconscious mind, and | | | | about all the things you know how to do without your |
| how the two parts of our mind, the conscious and | | | | conscious mind's awareness. If you just drive a car, |
| unconscious mind and their relationship can better work | | | | you use over 30 or 40 particular skills without your |
| together. When you see a floating iceberg in the | | | | conscious mind being aware of all them. These are |
| ocean, the majority of the iceberg's massive size is | | | | skills you know how to do, not facts, they are |
| below the surface of the water. | | | | processes that require decision-making, intelligence and |
| What you see above the surface of the ocean is only | | | | training. |
| a very small percentage of the whole iceberg's mass. | | | | These are very important natural resources, other then |
| In a way, the mind and the icebergs are alike. What | | | | the learned resources and skills which perform |
| we experience and notice above the surface is the | | | | beneath the surface of the conscious mind. What |
| conscious mind and while the unconscious mind which | | | | regulates all your systems of the body? The |
| is the most powerful and largest part of the two still | | | | unconscious mind keeps these systems in harmony |
| remains unseen below the surface. | | | | and balance with one another. The unconscious mind |
| What represents the conscious mind in our metaphor | | | | controls your blood pressure, your heart rate, your |
| is the small amount of the iceberg above the surface | | | | digestion, and your nervous system, these are only a |
| and the unconscious mind which is the huge iceberg | | | | few of the many natural, unconscious and automatic |
| mass below the surface. All awareness that is not | | | | duties of the mind. |
| presently in the conscious mind is held in the | | | | The conscious mind is only a small part of the total |
| unconscious. All our thoughts, feelings and memories | | | | being, just like that portion of the iceberg which is |
| that are out of the realm of our conscious awareness | | | | above the surface of the ocean. When we say and |
| is defined as being in our "unconscious." The | | | | speak the words "my mind," we ordinarily think of the |
| "subconscious" which it is sometimes called and is also | | | | conscious mind. Because we associate the conscious |
| known as the deep mind or the dreaming mind. | | | | mind with activities like analyzing, thinking, and making |
| In a different way than the conscious mind, the | | | | decisions and judgments. Only so much information |
| unconscious is all powerful and knowledgeable. What | | | | can reside in the conscious mind at any given time and |
| keeps our body working and running well is the | | | | it is busy analyzing, actively filtering and sorting data |
| responsibility of the unconscious mind. The unconscious | | | | and perceptions. While everything else falls beneath |
| holds memories and reflections of every single | | | | the surface into the unconscious mind or |
| occasion and event we have ever experienced and | | | | "unconsciousness." |
| felt in our lives, the accumulation, origination and source | | | | They say, only seven pieces of information or |
| of all our emotions, and it is often thought or viewed as | | | | knowledge, plus or minus two can be held in the |
| our relationship and connection with the Spirit and with | | | | conscious mind at any given time. Everything else that |
| one another. | | | | we are feeling, thinking or perceiving right now, all our |
| No image of how the mind behaves and works | | | | memories, remains in the unconscious, until they are |
| disputes the awesome power and spirit which is in the | | | | called on into our conscious mind or until rising |
| continuous activity beneath the tip of the unconscious | | | | spontaneously out of nowhere. |