Meditation as a tool to access the subconscious

Meditation and the subconscious

Among meditation’s numerous benefits is one that is rarely talked about, the access it provides to the vast world of the subconscious. The subconscious part of us is, as aptly named, subconscious and as such we cannot directly come in contact with it through our normal objective consciousness but it determines our habits, attitudes, motivations, emotions, in fact, our whole life!

The influence of the subconscious

In our daily lives, its workings go completely unnoticed. Those little thoughts that pop up at odd moments, the flow of our stream of thoughts, our level of motivation throughout the day, are all as a result of subconscious workings. Though at times we consciously try to direct these areas of our lives, it, most of the times, amounts to nothing, for actually, you cannot fight your subconscious leanings that way.

Also, our subconscious memory is perhaps the most complete record of all we have learnt or experienced in our entire lives. We never really forget anything; it just sinks below the level of waking consciousness.
The unfortunate part is that we cannot directly relate with this aspect of ourselves. The subconscious mind operates in an entirely different manner from how our conscious mind operates. That which may take us quite some time and effort to understand or comprehend properly is but a blip at this level of our minds. You may liken this to the difference in computing between, say, a normal desktop pc and maybe a super computer used to at NASA facilities, the difference is quite staggering.

Penetrating the deeper levels of the mind

Meditation, on the other hand, serves as an excellent tool to access this level of the mind. When we meditate, we reduce the flow of thoughts in our conscious minds, the incessant activity of our conscious mind, slowly getting to a state of inner spaciousness. It is at this point we become slowly aware of the deeper levels of our mind.
At this level, we readily have access to a vast repository of knowledge and wisdom. All we need do is ask, and then listen. The answer may not come at that moment, but later on, while in our daily state of mind, we may have a flash of intuition, bringing to light a complete solution to our earlier question.
Relaxation is very essential in this process. We cannot access our subconscious when tensed or under stress. That is why it is necessary to keep a relaxed attitude in this process. On the other hand, when troubled, deep breathing and letting go will bring us back to that level where we can slowly proceed to the depths of mind in search for wisdom.