16 A Programmer’s Guide to the Mind
One of the major differences between the conscious and the
subconscious lies in awareness. If a mental room is conscious, then I can
see whether its contents are good or bad. On the other hand, aspects of
thought which are subconscious lie outside of my inner sight; I cannot
observe how these rooms appear. However, while I may not be able to see
the other rooms of my mental house, I can experience the mental benefits
of a well run household. If the „kitchen‟ room is working well, and I do not
„live‟ in the kitchen, I may not be able to enjoy the pretty paint on the wall,
but I can savor the good food which is sent my way. For instance, the
diagram above illustrates the mental „house‟ of a Server person. He cannot
see „next door‟ into Mercy thought. However, if his Mercy „room‟ is
operating, then he will experience the mental benefits.
On the other hand, suppose that my mental „kitchen‟ is broken down
and full of cockroaches. Obviously the food which comes my way will not
be very appetizing. It may even make me feel sick. Similarly, if one of my
subconscious modes of thought is crippled, I will not see this damage, but I
will suffer the consequences.
Another major contrast between the conscious and the subconscious
lies in the area of control. When a room is conscious, then I can make it
operate even when it is only partially finished. In other words, if my
„room‟ is half-filled with garbage, or cluttered with building material, then
I can use conscious thought to „walk around‟ these obstacles, and get my
mental work done. I can also do the opposite. Even if my conscious room
is well constructed, I can stop it from operating simply by stepping in and
waving the „arms‟ of conscious thought. Of course, conscious control can
only go so far. If my room is sufficiently messy, then it no longer becomes
possible to step around the mental garbage. No matter what I do, nothing
happens until some of the rubbish is cleaned up. Similarly, there comes a
point in the mental construction process at which even conscious control
cannot prevent the conscious room from operating.A
In contrast, mental rooms which are subconscious do not seem to have
these luxuries. Getting them to work is a more tedious and lengthy process.
If they fill up with too much mental trash, then they will grind to a halt.
Keeping them functional, therefore, means regular garbage collection.
Finally, once a subconscious room is functioning, there is no instant way to
stop it from operating. It will keep „chugging along‟ whether I like it or not.
A Technically speaking, it appears that conscious thought and the mental
mode in which I am conscious are distinct. It is as if there is both a room
and a „person‟ living in that room. Therefore, in order to make the
conscious room operate, I can either use conscious control, or else program
the room so that it works by itself. If my conscious room operates
autonomously, then conscious thought for me is like living in a room full
of labor saving tools and gadgets.