The 3 Parts of Mind and How to Use Them

"Gnothi seauton", the inscription over a hall at Princeton University, is Greek for "know yourself." These words were engraved above the entrance to the temple at Delphi and adopted by Socrates as his personal motto.

Photo by Denise Applewhite

Many people think of life as a battle, but it is not a battle - it's a game. But, just like any game, you need to know the rules to be able to play correctly, know what you're doing and enjoy the game. First of all you have to know that the universe is abolutely fair. That's why we speak of "universal laws". They apply every time, without exception. "As ye sow, so shall ye reap" means that we get back exactly what we send out. This also means that if you don't like something in your life, you can change it by thinking and acting differently.

To do this successfully however, you first have to be able to take a step back and reflect on your thoughts and actions. As the Greeks said, "Gnothi seauton - Know Yourself".

The Mind has 3 parts - the subconscious, the conscious and the superconscious mind.

The subconscious mind is like a video camera which faithfully records whatever it is confronted with, without censoring, embellishing or changing even the tiniest little detail. In this way whatever you think and imprint on your subconscious mind, sooner or later is played out in your external life. That's where affirmations come in. Affirmations replace a belief, or a thought or emotional pattern which is not serving you with one that will yield positive, enjoyable results for you.

The conscious mind is the material mind and reacts to events as they appear to be.

The superconscious is the God Mind, Higher Consciousness or Divine Spark within each of us which is the realm of perfect ideas, or the "perfect pattern" as Plato called it. This is the divine blueprint for every person. You have a purpose to live and a place to fill that is your alone and this perfect image is held in the Divine - superconscious - Mind and flashes across your everyday awareness as a dream, a deep desire or "something too good to be true". This is your destiny (or destination) which is known by the Infinite Intelligence which made you and is now within yourself.