Sigmund Freud argued in his psychoanalytic theory of personality that the unconscious mind is defined as a reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that are outside of our conscious awareness.
Our Unconscious is powerful. Your experience of past events, patterns of relationships, and your wishes and fears shape your experience of yourself in the world, and it is even present with colleagues, friends, and family members.
Much is outside of our awareness, and only when revealed can we begin to be free from what we can’t see and the limitations. When you open those windows into your deepest self and shine the light on the root of your self-doubt, anxiety, and struggles, you can then reveal your truth, a more expanded reality, your path and tap your true potential.
So how can we access our unconscious mind?
When we focus on becoming more self-aware, we are able to better open these windows to the unconscious.
Start by paying close attention to your dreams.
Our unconscious mind creeps into and manifests itself through our dreams. Keeping a dream journal to record these dreams is a powerful tool to see beyond your conscious mind. Start by paying attention to the literal content of your dreams to try and uncover the hidden, unconscious meaning. In being able to understand these, you have direct access to your unconscious and these dreams, daydreams, and fantasies offer clues to your unconscious world - your wishes, fears, concerns, and dreams.
Practice free-associative journaling.
Free association is another way Freud believed we could access our unconscious thoughts and desires. Grab your journal, relax, and start writing any and everything that comes to mind, allowing yourself to dump out all your thoughts in writing onto paper without judgment - just letting your mind flow.
If we can trace together these streams of thought, we may uncover repressed thoughts, feelings, and memories. Once we recognize patterns within our unconscious mind, we can take purposeful actions to change the direction of these thoughts and how they manifest themselves in our conscious lives.
Good luck on your journey to uncovering the Unconscious!
