It is helpful to use the well-known metaphor of the Iceberg to explain the difference between the conscious and unconscious minds and its relevance in our everyday lives.

 

In this context the tip of the iceberg represents the conscious mind.  The submerged and greater part of the iceberg represents the unconscious mind, the much larger mass that sits below the surface.

 

When the differences are defined it is easier to understand how and why our experiences and self-identities are processed and subsequently ‘stored’ in their unconscious state. 

 

The Conscious Mind

 

• has immediate awareness and actively sorts incoming information.

• has an ability to hold up to 9 pieces of information at any one time. For most of us the limit is between 5 and 7. We therefore speak of the conscious mind being able to process 7+/- 2 information streams at one time

• the ‘digital’ side of thinking-it subjects everything it is thinking to a logic test. Is this statement true? Is it false? Is what I’m experiencing logical or irrational etc.  The conscious mind relies on seeking logic. Essentially it has to ‘think on its feet’.

• it is the location for reflective review of what we experience, or have already experienced.

 

In my practice I combine the knowledge and principles of  EFT with NLP. From an NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) perspective the conscious mind filters, distorts and deletes information received through it thus reducing the amount of information that requires processing. An example of this - two people witness a car accident.

 

The two people are standing next to each other and observe the accident from the same physical viewpoint.  When interviewed by police investigators it is revealed that the two accounts of the incident have glaring differences.  This is in part because of the filters, distortions and deletions by the conscious mind of each person and what they saw in front of them. This is the manifestation if you like of the ‘7 bits of information’.  So on a practical, workable level, the conscious mind simplifies input to prevent overwhelm.

 

The Unconscious Mind

 

• the vast majority of our mental processing is at the unconscious level.  All things remembered include our responses to people, things, situations and so on. An example being the car accident previously referred to.

• it tracks millions of bits of data every second and does so effortlessly. It stores memory, emotions and every event we have experienced in our lives.

• It makes no logical, moral or ethical judgment

• is largely uncritical of throughput from the conscious mind

• the unconscious mind quietly regulates body temperature, heart rate, breathing rhythms and all other body functions that occur simultaneously and in normal health, effortlessly.

• when repeatedly told by the conscious mind that a certain thing is true, the unconscious mind acts accordingly.  This is why it is important for our ‘self talk’ to be positive.

• takes care of the clutter so as to free up the conscious mind to act quickly when required to make quick decisions etc

• is primarily the determinant of behavior

• it gives us the ability to dream and imagine

 

Applying What We Know About the Unconscious Mind using EFT

 

As mentioned previously by tapping on specific acupressure points, telling the ‘story’ (a history of the issue) and expressing the attached feelings and emotion allows the person to be ‘in the now’ and to become ‘the observer’. The event and/or emotions are raised to a level of conscious awareness.  Once there is conscious awareness, the process is relatively easy and generally, resolution is rapid.

 

How we respond to life’s challenges as adults is usually a direct result of what we learn about ourselves as young children when we begin to establish our self-identity.  Whatever we learn about ourselves both in a positive and negative sense is ‘taken on’ and is with us throughout life often outside our realm of conscious thought. 

 

Unless undesired automatic (unconscious) responses are acknowledged and cleared using some form of therapeutic healing, the ‘default’ responses, beliefs and behaviours will persist.

 

Some of our self-beliefs can limit our achievements or our ability to live a totally fulfilling life. They can cause us to be fearful, anxious and stressed, angry, un-forgiving or impatient and on a conscious level we do not know the reason for it. This can ultimately affect our relationships with others and our ability to have a life that feels happy and complete.

 

Therefore it is vital when providing a healing modality such as Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), that the un-useful or negative core issues experienced by that person are accessed and acknowledged by the individual and then cleared.  The process of EFT provides this access

 

The EFT process changes the way we view the negative experience. It allows the unconscious mind to alter the way a memory is stored, minus the unhelpful emotions.

 

By using EFT to clear any particular emotional blocks, the unconscious mind is freed up to store the changes in the thoughts and feelings about something as a new, positive ‘default’ behavior or response. This happens irrespective of how long the old pattern has been in place. 

 

Being without the emotional and energy blocks then becomes a permanent process for the unconscious mind.  A space is cleared for a positive and useful mindset that is not subconsciously driven by negative thought or emotion.

 

Therefore the function of EFT through working with the body’s energy system, is to uncover and to enable clearance of the core issues, along with any attached negative emotion and energy. The tapping process and focus brings the problem into conscious awareness, into the ‘now’ where it can be completely dissolved.