Sigmund Freud’s ‘frosty mind’ view of how the mind works overall and this is summarised in his famous quote below.
“The Mind is like an iceberg; it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water.” Sigmund Freud
According to Freud, our psyche is like an iceberg. The id (or areas of primitive drives) lies hidden in the unconscious. The ego manages our conscious thoughts and regulates both the id and the superego (our critical, judging voice).
The Conscious Mind
Freud stated that the conscious mind exists at a superficial level, so we can easily access it. Beneath the conscious sits the unconscious, which is effectively the data warehouse driving our behaviour and emotional state. He referred to the conscious as a ‘puppet’ in the hands of the unconscious – suggesting the conscious to be only the surface structure of the more complex psychic realm.
Freud also believed that everything that we know on a conscious level has at some point existed in the unconscious, prior to rising in the conscious. He called this the ‘pre-conscious’. What’s more, he stated that not everything rises into our conscious awareness so much remains always in the unconscious.
The Unconscious Mind
He also referred to the pre-conscious as the holding bay for memories that have not been repressed and that we can call on at any time into our conscious mind.
The unconscious offers storage for ideas and memories that are too powerful, too painful, or otherwise too much for the conscious mind to process. When memories and the associated emotions run the risk of overwhelming the psyche we create ‘parts’ which stops the conscious mind from accessing the data.
Nerve Cells Galore
The brain is the most complex organ in the body. This jelly-like mass of tissue, weighing in at around 1.4 kilograms, contains a staggering one hundred billion nerve cells. It would be fair to say that we still only have an awareness of a fraction of the capability of this incredible supercomputer.
There are two entities that remain enigmatic: the mind and the soul. What separates them? Where are they located? Do they lie within the brain? The answer is we really don’t know. Thousands have pondered this question from neuroscientists to psychologists and philosophers, without finding a firm answer.
This video clip may give you something else to think about. This very clever Russian scientist claims to be able to photograph the human soul. His findings are fascinating. http://investmentwatchblog.com/scientist-photographed-soul-leaving-body-human-aura-energetic-fields/
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