The Subconscious – your invisible guide through life…

So, we have arrived at one of the most significant sections of the book, in which I will tell you about the Subconscious, or, as it is also called, the unconscious. It is such a powerful "manager" of your life that you cannot even imagine it. Whether you are a happy person or an unhappy one is the result of the work of your Subconscious. Whether you are a rich, successful person or a poor one is also the result of the work of your Subconscious.

In fact, all your current results in life — be it in family, finances, career, and so on — are the result of the work of your Subconscious. It is what has, step by step, led you to where you are now. But for now, you don't even suspect this, because you don't know how it functions, managing your life on "autopilot". And what's more important — you don't know who can influence and even manipulate it, and how. And believe me, this is very important to understand. But let's take it one step at a time.

To begin, let's turn to how scientists describe the Consciousness and the Subconscious, so we have a common starting point:

The Consciousness is often compared to a computer's RAM. It is a relatively small part of our psyche responsible for processing information "here and now" and for the near future. We often use the Consciousness when we need to think something over, reflect on it, or make a decision. We do something while being aware of it. As they say, we act "consciously" or "deliberately". Everything else resides in the Subconscious.

Self-discipline, focus, self-control, and critical thinking are the tools of the Consciousness.

The Subconscious is like a vast reservoir of information located in our head. It stores all our memories, abilities, beliefs, automatic reflexes, and ancient instincts. Everything we have ever seen, heard, learned, and done is recorded in it. The power of the Subconscious is truly astounding. It is known to control and manage all vital functions of the human body: from circulation to breathing and digestion. It is often the Subconscious that helps a person by guiding their activities. Through thoughts, intuition, dreams, feelings, and premonitions, it suggests necessary ideas and solutions to us.

"Wants" (I want / I don't want), "dreams" (I have a dream), ideas (an idea came to me), emotions, and feelings (motivation, laziness, boredom, apathy, and so on) are the tools of the Subconscious.

Imagine a person as a building with many rooms. The Subconscious in this metaphor is the largest and most important "room with a closed door". All other rooms are open, but your "Self" (the Consciousness) has no access to this room. It is in this room that all the control levers for your body and many aspects of your life are located: instincts, reflexes, innate talents, formed beliefs, and all accumulated life experience (memory). Based on this entire "archive," upon your request (from the Consciousness), the Subconscious instantly generates the most suitable, from its "point of view," answers or solutions and transmits them through the "buffer" of your thinking to "another room" — for consideration by your Consciousness.

At the same time, the Subconscious is not a static archive; it is constantly self-learning. The more knowledge you have in your memory about the world, about the patterns of events, about the behavior of other people, the more accurate and varied the solutions it can offer for any specific situation. These complex "calculations" happen in fractions of a second, processing colossal arrays of data. But we, at the level of Consciousness, do not notice this process — it all happens behind that very "closed door". We only receive the "ready-made" solutions from the Subconscious in the form of thoughts, ideas, desires, or impulses to act.

For example: a small child, faced with danger, will choose an instinctive strategy — to cry to call for help. But as they grow up, they develop many more response options: to run away, to hide, to fight back, to call the police, and so on. And all this is thanks to the self-learning of the Subconscious, by accumulating information about the environment and the behavior of other people in society.

It's important to understand that you (your conscious "Self") and your Subconscious share control of your life and body in an astonishing proportion: approximately 10% of control belongs to the Consciousness and 90% to the Subconscious. Just think about it: most of the time, you live a life whose plan is prepared for you by the Subconscious, but in 10% of cases, you can make your own adjustments to this plan and even object to it.

Attention: in only 10% of cases out of 100% can you make adjustments and cancel any decisions your Subconscious has made for you to execute in this plan! But the key point here is "and that's only if you realize it".

That is, if you realize you are acting wrongly in the moment or that events are not unfolding according to the plan you initially intended for a certain period. Only then can you engage the tools of the Consciousness: critical thinking, self-control, discipline, by forcibly performing a self-analysis and making adjustments to this plan. But in practice, you will simply continue to "go with the flow" under the guidance of the Subconscious, on complete "autopilot," without even thinking about it.

But nevertheless, you have your 100%. "Where is it?" you might ask. Here is where: all the sensations (feelings, emotions, experiences) of living this, albeit largely "programmed," life, you experience 100%. That is, your life path plan is drawn up for you by the Subconscious behind the "closed door," but all the joys, sorrows, delights, and disappointments of following this path are experienced by you, your conscious "Self".

You could say that the Subconscious controls your actions and choices in much the same way your parents did when you were very young. Remember: it was they who formed your "plan of action" and largely determined your life path (which kindergarten to attend, which school, whether you could stay out late with friends, etc.) while you were under their control. As a child, you didn't always choose this path, but you were the one who walked it. And all the feelings and emotions associated with this path were also experienced by you. If your parents purposefully created an atmosphere of love, joy, and security for you (for example, they loved you very much, spoiled you, and were well-off), your childhood was most likely happy. Conversely, if the environment was unfavorable (for example, your parents were addicts, cruel, or simply indifferent), your childhood could have been filled with suffering. And no matter how you resisted, cried, or complained, you lived through the emotions and sensations that were prepared for you by this parental "scenario". You simply had no other path back then.

Over time, you grew up and got the opportunity to separate from your parents to build your own route in life. Your parents can no longer directly shape your path. But it doesn't work that way with the Subconscious. You cannot "leave" or "separate" from it — it is an inseparable part of you, inside your body. Moreover, the work of the Subconscious is structured in such a way that your Consciousness (that is, you personally) doesn't even suspect that someone else can control your body. The main principle of the Subconscious's operation is stealth and subtlety. Everything is arranged as if it is you, and all the decisions you have made in life are your personal decisions. On the surface, it looks that way, but in reality, it's much more complicated!

Example #1: Procrastination

Imagine a common situation. You are a university student, and you need to prepare an important report by the end of the week. You are full of determination: "I'll come home, get right to work, finish it early, and have the whole week free!" But your Subconscious resists and signals to you through thoughts, emotions, and feelings: "I don't want to!" ("I really don't feel like it...", "I'll have time later"). As a result, you imperceptibly slide into procrastination and start doing anything — scrolling through social media, watching series, drinking tea, chatting with friends — anything but writing the report, thus postponing the real task to "sometime later".

The key point here:

1. "I don't want to" (resistance, desire to postpone) is a direct manifestation of the Subconscious at work.
2. "I have to, I need to" (realization of necessity, sense of duty) is the voice of your Consciousness.

But, as we can see, in this example, the Subconscious won today's battle, no matter how much you consciously tried to convince, force, or resist it. As a result, the day was spent on the phone, watching TV, drinking tea, and hanging out with friends, but not on writing the report.

What happened? You (your Consciousness) lost another round to your invisible "manager" (the Subconscious) and, most likely, didn't even realize it. Yet within you, an active struggle of "For" and "Against" was taking place, but you didn't even notice it. As a result, you lived this day (or part of it) according to the script prepared for you by the Subconscious, and your personal, conscious plans were once again postponed to "tomorrow" or "sometime later". And this is how every day goes when you don't notice the work of the Subconscious.

In other words, you are "allowed" to have any personal plans for the day, month, or year, but whether they will be realized by you depends not only on your willpower (conscious efforts and self-discipline) but also on the "consent" of your Subconscious. And I assure you, even with willpower, in many cases you will still deviate from your intended plans if the Subconscious says "I don't want to".

Homework (for self-discovery): In your spare time, try to recall ALL of your significant plans, goals, and dreams that you have had. How many of them did you ultimately achieve? Did you become who you dreamed of being? And how many plans were left somewhere halfway or had to be abandoned completely?

These simple questions help to realize the scale of our invisible "manager's" influence on the trajectory of our lives.

More examples based on instincts and reflexes

So that you can feel even more clearly how the Subconscious is able to control you without your direct consent, let's look at a few examples based on the workings of instincts and reflexes. It is in such situations that the Subconscious automatically and quickly seizes control of the body almost completely, without even asking for your conscious permission.

Perhaps you will object: "But wait, these are just instincts!" Absolutely right. But what does that change? I will ask in return. If they are "just instincts," does that mean there are mechanisms in your body that act autonomously, controlling you without your conscious permission? It seems so, right? If you are ready to admit this at the level of Consciousness right now, it will be easier for you to understand: the situation with the Subconscious as a whole is very similar. It's just that its everyday work is much less noticeable; it is carried out covertly, and therefore we usually don't notice it. But it exists, and it is continuous.

Even instincts are, in fact, just one of the many tools controlled by the Subconscious. Their peculiarity is that their manifestations are usually very bright, almost undeniable. Therefore, it is much easier for us to identify their work and feel it for ourselves than to track the more subtle and veiled influence of the Subconscious in everyday life situations.

So, let's consider these vivid examples.

Example #2: Aggression

Recall moments from your life (or the lives of your friends, acquaintances) when you or someone else suddenly "flared up," showed uncharacteristic aggression, and then, when the emotions subsided, thought with surprise and regret: "Why did I get so hot-headed? I could have handled it all much more calmly".

What happens in such moments? At a certain point, at the peak of emotional intensity, the Subconscious effectively seizes control of the body. It forcibly increases its share of control (conditionally, from the usual 90% to almost 99%), thereby pushing the Consciousness to the periphery, leaving it with only about 1% of influence and, as it were, blocking its ability to actively intervene. In such a state, you can, with your own hands, commit actions that are completely uncharacteristic of you in a calm state.

For example, in a moment of such a sharp, explosive outburst (and it's important to understand: this powerful emotion of aggression is formed inside you by the Subconscious itself, it doesn't arise on its own!) you might shout, insult, or even physically harm another person. It is this strong emotion that helps the Subconscious to temporarily "disable" your conscious "Self" and gain almost complete control over the body and thoughts.

Let's remember: The emotion of aggression itself is formed by the Subconscious! This is not a random outburst — it is its tool for instantly suppressing the Consciousness and seizing full control of the body.

But after a while, when the "smoke clears" and the emotional background subsides, the Subconscious "let’s go" of the situation, loosening its grip. Your share of conscious control returns to the conditional 10%. In simpler terms, the Consciousness (that is, you personally, your conscious "Self") reconnects to the management of the body.

And it is then that you, as if "waking up," begin to evaluate what happened from your usual point of view, using the tools of the Consciousness: critical thinking, self-analysis, self-control. And, as a rule, you genuinely do not understand why everything happened the way it did. Why were such destructive actions, such sacrifices, necessary? After all, it could have been handled with much smaller losses.

Most often, we regret such outbursts, or we see another person who has done something similar regretting it. This is a very clear example of how your Subconscious, at a critical moment, is able to completely seize control of the body without even asking for your (the Consciousness's) permission. And then you are forced to "pay" for its actions, sometimes regretting what you did for the rest of your life (for example, ending up in prison for a long time or losing your best friend over a trivial quarrel).

A small but important clarification: when seizing control (up to a maximum of 99%), the Subconscious usually leaves that 1% to the Consciousness so that you can consciously see your behavior and process the stream of self-justifying thoughts from the Subconscious about your actions ("it was his fault," "they drove me to it," "I had to do it," "I was right"), BUT you cannot correct your behavior or stop the flow of these thoughts. That is, we see and feel our actions, but we cannot correct and control them, as the 1% power of the Consciousness is insufficient to manage the body and correct incoming thoughts. In those rare cases when the Subconscious seizes control 100%, the Consciousness can completely "shut down," and then the person acts in a state called a fit of passion or insanity.

Example #3: Fear

This is another vivid illustration of how your Subconscious works. You can read as many kind fairy tales about cute little bears and watch cartoons about their friendship with humans as you like. But imagine that one day, while walking in the woods with a basket for berries and without any weapon, you come face to face with a real, live bear. At that very moment, all the fairy tales will instantly fly out of your head. It is then that you will feel with utmost clarity how your Subconscious works — using the most ancient instinct of self-preservation.

No matter how much you consciously try to convince yourself that "the bear might be friendly" or that "you need to stay calm," you will feel with your whole being what an automatic seizure of control of the body is like. Your Subconscious will be completely indifferent to your conscious arguments. The most you will be able to do is make a microscopic adjustment to your actions, using that 1-2% of conscious control (out of the 10% available to you in a normal situation). But you will be, to put it mildly, very scared. And nothing will help you consciously "turn off" this fear, no matter how much you try to talk yourself out of it.

Just imagine: a bear is coming towards you in the forest. You are standing there without a weapon. It is staring at you intently but isn't moving yet. If you still believe that you have full control over your body and thoughts on your own (that is, consciously), try a little exercise at this moment: looking at the bear, try to completely let go of the fear, relax your body, which is paralyzed with terror (as the Subconscious is already preparing it for flight or fight), and calmly count to 100. And then, as if by your own will, "allow" the fear to reappear. Do you think you will be able to not feel fear while looking the beast in the eyes?

I assure you, you probably won't even be able to count to ten. With a high probability, you will already be running for your life, as fast as your legs can carry you, even if the bear has no intention of chasing you. The situation will return to your conscious control, and the chilling fear will recede only when the immediate danger has passed, and the Subconscious deems it possible to return control of the body and emotions back to you (that is, to your Consciousness, and even then, only within the 10% limit).

Example #4: Jealousy

And here is another extremely telling example of how the Subconscious can instantly seize control of your body and mind. Imagine the situation: you see your loved one talking animatedly with someone you consider a potential rival. They laugh, exchange glances, perhaps accidentally touch each other. And suddenly, completely unexpectedly for you, a wave of burning jealousy rises within you.

What happens in this moment? Your Subconscious, guided by the ancient instinct to protect its mate and continue the lineage, instantly activates a whole cascade of physiological and emotional reactions. All your attention, like a laser beam, focuses on the "object of threat". Your heart begins to beat faster, your breathing becomes shallow, and obsessive thoughts arise in your head: "Is he/she cheating on me!?", "They are definitely flirting!", "How could he/she!", "They are standing too close to each other". Notice that these thoughts are generated by your Subconscious, not by you!

It is important to understand: the emotion of jealousy itself is not formed by your conscious "Self", but by the Subconscious! This is not a random emotional outburst — it is a tool with which the Subconscious temporarily blocks your rational thinking and seizes almost complete control over your actions and thoughts.

At the peak of jealousy, you can commit acts you would never do in a calm state: make a public scene, say something harsh or offensive, ruining the evening for yourself, your loved one, and everyone around. At that moment, you are absolutely sure you are right, because the Subconscious helpfully "plants" justifying thoughts ("I have the right," "I'm being betrayed," "this must be stopped immediately"). The Subconscious, using the powerful emotion of jealousy, reduces your capacity for critical thinking from the usual 10% to that same 1-2%, where you are still aware of what is happening but are no longer able to stop.

And only when the emotional storm subsides, when the Subconscious is convinced that the threat is gone, will it gradually return control to the Consciousness. And then, having "woken up" and returned to your normal state, you may recall your words and actions with surprise and shame: "What came over me?", "How could I have said that?", "Why didn't I trust the person I love?", "Where did these unfounded suspicions come from?".

It is particularly telling that fits of jealousy can occur even in people who consider themselves rational and balanced, who sincerely believe that "jealousy is foolish" and "I am not a jealous person". But when the Subconscious activates this ancient defense mechanism, all rational beliefs recede into the background, and the person acts under the influence of a powerful emotion that they cannot consciously control.

Just as in the case of aggression or fear, jealousy clearly demonstrates that the Subconscious can at any moment seize control of your body and thoughts, without even asking your permission, if it deems it necessary to protect what it perceives as vital interests.

Example #5: Danger

If a stone suddenly flies towards your face, your eyes will close automatically and very quickly. Your hands will raise themselves for protection; your body will instinctively duck or swerve away from the flight path. All of this will happen in a fraction of a second, completely without the participation of your conscious "Self". And only after the danger has passed, and your Subconscious returns the usual share of control over the body to the Consciousness (those conditional 10%), will you begin to consciously assess what happened. And, perhaps, you will even be surprised at how quickly and accurately you reacted, avoiding injury.

This example also vividly shows that the Subconscious not only controls and manages our body, but it also works significantly faster than our Consciousness. In other words, while you are becoming aware of the danger and thinking about how to react, the Subconscious has already done everything for you.

Homework (for the curious): If you are interested in this topic, search the internet for information from scientists about how much time the Subconscious is ahead of the Consciousness. How much time passes from the moment a thought, born in the depths of your Subconscious, is transmitted to the Consciousness, and you finally become aware of its existence and can "think it over"? The results may surprise you.

These examples (aggression, fear, jealousy, reaction to danger), related to the work of instincts, which are also controlled by the Subconscious, clearly demonstrate situations in which even a person unfamiliar with these ideas can feel how the Subconscious is able to seize control of the body. But it is important to remember that in our daily lives, the Subconscious most often works in a more "passive," hidden mode. If we take everyday situations, like the example with procrastination, and there are many such situations in each of our lives daily, you may not even notice its subtle but constant work. However, it is this unnoticeable work that largely shapes our life path.

You have surely heard the expressions: "a person acts consciously" or "unconsciously," "rationally" or "irrationally." All these concepts, in essence, describe the same dynamic – the interaction of our conscious "Self" with that very powerful "main manager," the Subconscious, which prefers to work in a hidden mode.

To act consciously or rationally means to try to follow a planned course, not succumbing to sudden, overwhelming emotions, consciously controlling or even ignoring them. This is when a person, at the level of Consciousness, actively resists the work of the Subconscious. In such moments, a person makes an effort not to allow the Subconscious to completely seize control. This is the case when you are afraid – but you still carry out the task at hand. It's when you really don't want to do something – but you, overcoming internal resistance, continue to act according to the plan.

In essence, this is a conscious effort to hold the "steering wheel", not allowing the Subconscious to completely take over during an emotional storm. It is in these situations that a person consciously fights to keep the Subconscious's share of control within the conditional limits of 90-95%, not allowing it to expand its influence to 99-100%. Yes, the Subconscious can literally overwhelm with emotions, thoughts, and sensations, trying to gain complete control, but the person (their Consciousness) applies willpower to cope with this onslaught and not deviate from the intended path. This is like trying to drive a car on a slippery road when the steering wheel is trying to slip out of your hands. This is truly difficult inner work, and not everyone is capable of it in the moment.

This ability is often called willpower. And like any muscle, it can and should be trained. Interestingly, the main training of this "muscle of Consciousness" often happens during adolescence, especially during school years. The habit of regularly completing academic tasks, striving for good grades (conditional "A's" and "B's"), overcoming "I don't want to" and "it's boring" – all this helps us build up that very "mental muscle." This gives us in our future adult life the opportunity (but, alas, not a 100% guarantee!) to maintain control over the impulses of the Subconscious in some situations. I will note – not in all, but only in some critical cases.

The difference can be as follows: if for a person who, for example, got C's and D's in school and is not used to self-discipline, the Subconscious in a stressful situation can seize control by 98-99% at once, then for a person with a more trained Consciousness, this seizure might be, conditionally, 95-96%. It would seem the difference is small, but these few percent are the very gap that allows the Consciousness to intervene, to correct an impulsive reaction, to "stop" in a fit of emotion and look at the situation more soberly, to act more reasonably.

Otherwise, when a person cannot consciously resist the Subconscious seizing control, they act, as they say, unconsciously or irrationally. Sometimes, it's even said that they "behave like an animal." That is, they find themselves under the power of the Subconscious by 98-99%, guided by feelings and emotions in the moment, and the consequences no longer bother them – "whatever happens, happens, even if the whole world burns, even if I go to jail."

What conclusion can we draw? The more actively a person trained the tools of their Consciousness in adolescence (self-discipline, focus, willpower through overcoming "I don't want to"), the more chances they have in adult life to act consciously, assessing situations rationally and making balanced decisions.

And conversely, if the tools of the Consciousness were used little in youth, and the person lived predominantly on "autopilot," guided only by the tools of the Subconscious ("I want" or "I don't want"), then in adult life, they will most likely act irrationally more often. They will more easily give in to emotions and, in almost any, even insignificant, situation, fall under the complete control of the Subconscious.

To put it even more simply: a person with a developed Consciousness usually analyzes a situation using the criteria of "should/shouldn't," "right/wrong," "expedient/inexpedient," and tries to calculate the possible consequences of their decisions. Whereas a person with a "weak" Consciousness is most often guided by only two impulses: "I want" or "I don't want," without much thought about what will happen next. The main thing is to satisfy the immediate desire.

Now we will look in detail at the very main instrument with which the Subconscious "lobbies" for its interests, imperceptibly preparing us for certain decisions, conclusions, and even actions. And this instrument is thoughts. Have you ever wondered what a thought is and how it is born in your head?

At first glance, the concept of "thought" seems self-evident to us – after all, we all constantly think. But as soon as you try to consciously hold a thought, to focus on one thing, it turns out that this is incredibly difficult. A thought constantly tries to jump to something else, distracting our attention. We are far from always in control of our own thinking to the extent that we would like.

Try a simple experiment: fix your gaze on some object and try to think only about it. The longer you do this, the harder it will be to maintain your attention. You will notice that it constantly jumps to something else, and you have to use willpower to bring it back. It turns out that a thought is not so much our "property," but largely "willful," and we have to use conscious effort to keep it on the object under consideration.

What is usually called a thought? In dictionaries, we can find various definitions that highlight its main aspects: "Thought is an action of the mind, reason, intellect"; "Thought is also a sensory image." Sometimes a thought is called something expressed in the form of a visual image, sound, word, or even sensation, spoken aloud.

There is a very profound statement on this matter: "Usually, people consider thought to be something of little importance, so they are very indiscriminate in accepting a thought. But from accepted correct thoughts, all good is born; from accepted false thoughts, all evil is born. Thought is like a ship's rudder: the direction and, for the most part, the fate of the entire huge machine depends on a small rudder, on this insignificant board dragging behind the ship." (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov)

An incredible number of thoughts pass through each of our heads every day. Scientists have calculated that on average there are about 6,200 of them every day. Some of them are formed into ideas, and then a certain part of these ideas finds its realization in our actions and deeds. And in the end, we get concrete results in our lives. Someone today, suddenly remembering that the store closes in five minutes, ran headlong for groceries and twisted their ankle on the way. And someone else, also rushing to the store, accidentally met an old acquaintance and received an invitation to an interview for a new, high-paying job.

Let's remember: About 6,200 thoughts arise daily in the head of an average person.

And for each person, these thoughts are different. They generate different actions, which, in turn, lead to different results during the day, week, month, year. Just imagine: it is enough to "catch" and implement just one, but a different thought or idea from this huge mass of thoughts that arise daily in our head – and your life can change dramatically. The only question is, which one?

How are thoughts born?

To this day, no scientist in the world can describe the very mechanism of the birth of a thought with absolute accuracy. All that modern science can do is to record with instruments that before a person becomes aware of a thought in their head (that is, before you personally notice it), there is already a certain activity in their brain, in the areas associated with the Subconscious.

The research data varies somewhat: some record the formation of a thought in the Subconscious half a second before its awareness, while others talk about 6-10 seconds. This probably depends on the specific conditions of the experiment and the complexity of the task. But that is not so crucial.

What is important is something else: all scientists agree that before a thought appears in our Consciousness, it has already been formed and prepared ("cooked up," if you will) in the depths of our Subconscious, behind that very "closed door." And what is even more amazing: in experiments where subjects were asked to perform a simple action (for example, to raise a hand, without specifying right or left), scientists, using instruments that track brain activity, could predict in advance which hand the person would choose! They saw characteristic activity in certain areas of the brain 0.5-10 seconds before the subject themselves became aware of their decision and performed the action.

That is, the sequence is roughly as follows:

1. A thought (or intention) is born in the Subconscious and is recorded by instruments.
2. After 0.5-10 seconds, this thought is "transmitted" to the area of the brain responsible for Consciousness.
3. Only after this does the person realize: "I want (or an idea came to me, or I made a decision) to raise, say, my left hand".
4. And only then do they raise their left hand.

It turns out that the scientists knew about the subject's choice before they did! This suggests that our feeling of conscious choice is in many cases just a beautiful illusion, a post-facto awareness of a decision that has already been made at a deeper, subconscious level.

Homework (for deep immersion): If you are interested in these experiments and the conclusions of scientists, I highly recommend looking for information about the research of such prominent scientists as Benjamin Libet, John Eccles, Natalya Bekhtereva, and others who have studied these issues. Their work can reveal a lot of new things to you.

Well, we have briefly touched upon the official scientific data. For practical purposes, the fact that a thought is an "action of the mind" or a "sensory image" is of little use to us for now. The most important thing we need to firmly grasp now is that thought is the most important and primary instrument from which absolutely all changes in your life begin, both on a physical and spiritual level. And its birth occurs in the depths of the Subconscious, in that very "room with a closed door," access to which is closed for our conscious "Self."

Further, a series of thoughts, logically or associatively linked together, can give rise to an idea. And an idea, if it receives emotional support from the Subconscious, gives rise to sensations (feelings) and, ultimately, the actions (or inaction) of your body, depending on its content and strength.

It is through this seemingly simple chain that the control of a person's behavior (their actions, decisions, conclusions) occurs without their direct conscious permission. This is a very secretive mechanism that works inside us on complete "autopilot," but at the same time "shares" with us ready-made conclusions and impulses through thoughts entering the Consciousness.

And all a person can do, if the thought is not supported by strong emotions, is to think it over (analyze it at the level of Consciousness) and, possibly, "throw it out" (forget it), if they consider it unnecessary, random, or unimportant. But if the Subconscious believes that a given thought or idea is of particular importance to you (or corresponds to its deep-seated programs), then such a thought will necessarily be accompanied by powerful emotional reinforcement. And such an emotionally charged thought is already very difficult to dismiss or ignore (although theoretically it is possible through significant efforts of the Consciousness). As a rule, it is such thoughts and ideas that give rise to concrete actions or, at least, prepare a person to perform certain actions in the near future.

What is the most important thing to understand about thought?

• Thought is the main and primary "building material" of all changes in your life, both positive and negative.
• Any thought is born in your Subconscious. You do not have the ability to consciously control the process of its birth; you become aware of it in its "finished" form. This mechanism works covertly and incredibly fast.
• A series of thoughts, linked together in a sequential chain, form an idea.
• And an idea, supported by emotions, gives rise to sensations (feelings) and leads to actions (or inaction).

Thus, through this continuous thought process, controlled by the Subconscious, your life path is formed over time – that very "plan," following which you have ended up where you are now, and with the results you have. In the end, each person's life turns out differently: for some, it is filled with happiness and joy, and for others – with grief and suffering. And, perhaps, it was only necessary to make a choice in favor of a different thought or idea at some fork in the road of life – and your result today would be completely different.

Let's remember: The results you get "tomorrow" directly depend on the choice of a particular thought or idea "today."

Imagine, five or seven years ago, on a very ordinary day, you were thinking about what to cook for lunch. The choice was: to make soup or dumplings. There were no potatoes for soup in the fridge, but there were dumplings, meat, and other vegetables. It would seem the choice is obvious – dumplings. But your Subconscious signaled "I don't want dumplings" and immediately "tossed in" a thought: "Why not go get some potatoes? The store is nearby, and I'll take out the trash at the same time." And so you went to the store, bought potatoes, and on the way back, you completely by chance met a person. An acquaintance began between you, which grew into love, and now, after these 5-7 years, you are raising two wonderful children together and, perhaps, are already thinking about a third. A beautiful family story, isn't it? And, as life shows, not so rare.

Or maybe everything turned out differently? And instead of meeting your soulmate, an aggressive dog appeared on your path and bit your leg. And now, after the same 5-7 years, you annually visit cosmetologists to get rid of the scar. Hmm, such cases, both positive and negative, are also not uncommon, even on the scale of a single large city.

"Is it really that simple?" you might think. "Is it enough to just choose a different thought, a different idea – and everything in my life will change?"

Alas, not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance. Your Subconscious is the main "manager" and the main "generator" of thoughts and ideas, because only it has full access to your memory and all accumulated experience, on the basis of which all "answers" to life's challenges are formed. You have no other such "helpers." But what if in a certain situation it offers you only one solution? What will you choose from then, if there is only one option for an answer? This is the main question, and the answer to it is the key to many changes.

Imagine the Subconscious as a huge, continuously "bubbling cauldron" or, if you like, as a boundless library with a perfectly tuned cataloging system. It constantly "digests" all information coming from the outside world, and also analyzes every event that has happened in your life. At the same time, it does not just store data, but meticulously sorts it "onto shelves," like a wise librarian.

In its continuous work, there is an activity that can be called its favorite and most natural, to which it devotes the most attention — this is the processing of precisely new, previously unknown information about the world, events, places, or people. And along the way, in the process of all this work, it assigns each piece of information a certain level of significance ("high significance," "medium," "low significance").

If in the process of this "sorting" some information turns out to be close in meaning or association to an already stored event, person, or experience, the Subconscious will certainly remind you of it – through a suddenly arising thought, memory, idea, or even a fleeting sensation.

Let's remember: The Subconscious continuously sorts all incoming information about the surrounding world and the events of your life, putting it "on shelves" as in a "library" (memory) and simultaneously assessing its significance for you personally. But it gets the most attention and, if one can say so, "pleasure" in this work precisely from processing new knowledge and impressions.

If the significance of any information or an event that happened to you was assessed by the Subconscious as "high", we will remember it for a long time, reliving the associated emotions again and again. If the assessment was "of little significance", then we will very quickly forget about it, and it will not have a strong influence on us.

To make this clearer, let's consider a life example. Imagine two people:

• Alexey is an ordinary driver who worked hard for many years and saved money for a premium-class car. For him, this is not just a car, but a crucial investment in the future: he plans to work with wealthy clients, and his income directly depends on the prestige of the car.
• Maxim is a successful entrepreneur, the owner of a large business. For him, an expensive car is just one of the many attributes of his status, a pleasant but not vitally necessary acquisition.

Now imagine that exactly the same event happens to both men: they get into a serious accident, and their cars are beyond repair.

For Alexey, this event will be instantly assessed by his Subconscious as a catastrophe of the highest significance. The loss of the car for him is not just the loss of an expensive item, it is the collapse of all plans, a blow to financial stability, a threat to his future. The emotional response will be incredibly strong: despair, fear, perhaps anger and a sense of hopelessness, because it will be very difficult for him to recover from such a loss.

For Maxim, however, despite the obvious unpleasantness of the situation, the Subconscious will assign this event a much lower level of significance. Yes, it is annoying, it will take time to buy a new car and settle the formalities with the insurance company. But for him, it is just a temporary inconvenience that will not have a cardinal impact on his life, financial situation, or peace of mind. He knows that he can easily buy a new car, perhaps even a better one than before.

This example clearly shows: behind the external, sometimes deceptive, similarity of people (each of us has arms, legs, a head, and so on) lies an absolutely unique inner world. And it is the Subconscious, passing any, even a completely identical event for everyone through the unique filter of personal life experience, values, beliefs, current social status, and a host of other individual characteristics, that makes its own, strictly personal assessment of significance for each person. What is a tragedy for one is just a minor nuisance for another.

The Subconscious works non-stop, on complete "autopilot," striving to make your life easier, to take on routine tasks, while simultaneously "digesting" an endless stream of information about the surrounding world and offering, as it seems, optimal courses of action at any given moment. How? Through thoughts and suddenly arising ideas that are transmitted to you through the "buffer" of thinking into your Consciousness. You are only left to accept or reject the proposed options, passing them through the filter of your mind, your conscious "Self."

Sometimes we are forced to consciously "awaken" the Subconscious, forcing it to actively engage in solving suddenly arisen tasks. For example, you are at work, and the director gives you an urgent assignment: to draw up a vacation schedule for the entire department for the next year. You (your Consciousness) immediately switch to performing this task. At this moment, your Subconscious is also forcibly activated: having received a clear task from the Consciousness, it will "sift through" all relevant information in your "inner library" (memory) in a fraction of a second, activate the necessary skills and knowledge in this area, and offer the most optimal solutions. As a result, you will open the necessary program, make a list of employees, take into account their wishes and production needs – and the task will be completed. This is an example of the activation of the Subconscious based on external obligations.

Let's remember: Having received a specific task from the Consciousness, the Subconscious in a fraction of a second will scan all the "shelves" in its "library" (memory), select only the necessary knowledge and experience, form an algorithm of actions based on them, and transmit it to your Consciousness through thoughts and ideas: what you will need, where to start, what steps to take. At the same time, it activates the necessary skills and abilities to implement this task. And now you are already working, with a fairly clear plan in your head.

However, most often our Subconscious prefers to work in a more relaxed, background mode, dealing more with ensuring our "inner life" than with urgent obligations and requests from other people. Perhaps that is why we do not always love our work (especially if it involves constant emergencies and strict deadlines) or are not eager to fulfill the requests of other people, be they friends or acquaintances. Why? Because such unplanned, forced activation requires significant energy resources and tension from the Subconscious. And it, as an independent and very "economical" system, prefers to deal with the current provision of your (and in fact, its own) life at a familiar, measured pace, rather than being distracted by external "irritants."

As a result, it turns out that while you are living your ordinary life, doing some things, your Subconscious not only participates in solving current tasks but also, in parallel, in the background, continuously studies the surrounding world through all the senses (hearing, sight, taste, smell, touch). It sorts new knowledge, puts it "on shelves," and along the way can notify you of its "finds" through suddenly arising thoughts about events or people that are somehow associated with this new information.

Sometimes this leads to a real "mess in the head": you are focused on doing something, and the Subconscious, in addition to thoughts related to this matter, periodically "tosses in" completely extraneous memories, ideas, or images. And all this mixes into a bizarre cocktail. For example, while you were cooking lunch, you could have simultaneously remembered and thought about many events and people that have nothing to do with the cooking process. Such is this "bubbling cauldron" in our head.

• The Subconscious constantly processes all information coming from the outside world through our senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch).
• It sorts the received information and knowledge "onto the shelves" of your inner "library" (memory), simultaneously assessing its level of significance for you personally.
• At the same time, its favorite and most natural occupation, to which it devotes the most attention, is the processing of precisely new, previously unknown information.
• It generously shares the results of this tireless work with us in the form of suddenly arising thoughts, ideas, emotions, sensations, even when we don't ask it for them at all.

Let's remember: Receiving information and knowledge about the surrounding world and their subsequent sorting in memory is, perhaps, the favorite occupation of the Subconscious. But special attention is paid precisely to new information. That is why most of us enjoy traveling to new places so much, meeting and communicating with pleasant new people, reading new books, watching new movies, choosing new things, enjoying the pleasant aroma of new smells, or trying new dishes.

When we begin to think consciously, forcibly connecting the Subconscious to solving specific tasks, it processes our request in a fraction of a second. It activates all our relevant skills, abilities, knowledge, and provides "ready-made" options for answers or solutions in the form of thoughts, ideas, and memories. We cannot know in advance 100% what result this or that response option from the Subconscious will bring us if we decide to use it, but we always count on the best outcome.

Let's remember: The Subconscious, when preparing a response to our request, always strives to provide the best, from its "point of view," solution for the given task. In doing so, it tries to take into account the possible consequences for us in the future and instinctively strives for us to get the best results.

However, if we recall events from our past, it is easy to notice that not all thoughts and ideas, even the most brilliant at first glance, led us to positive results. The same is true today: any, even the best idea proposed by the Subconscious, does not give an absolute guarantee that its implementation will necessarily lead you to a joyful outcome. The exact opposite result is also possible.

For example, you might suddenly get the idea to go to the store for groceries not tomorrow morning, as you originally planned, but this evening. And in the end, it may turn out that you get into a car accident, damage your car, and will be very upset, long remembering that it would have been better to go in the morning. Or it could be the other way around: on the way to the store, you meet your "soulmate," whom you have been looking for for so long, and you will be immensely happy for a very long time, maybe for your whole life.

Have you ever wondered what could be the reason for such unpredictability of results? Why, for some people, even with similar ideas and actions, life turns out successfully and brings positive fruits, while for others, it leads to disappointments and losses? But behind these seemingly random results often stand quite definite "forces"!

Remember, at the very beginning of this book, I gave you examples of how differently people's lives turn out, even if each of them put in a lot of effort, tried, and strived only for the good. But, nevertheless, the outcome for each was different. Here is how it looked in those examples:

• "...One gets the impression that the 'Light Forces' are choosing an easy and unobstructed path to success in life for him, ultimately bestowing him with happiness and well-being."
• "...As if the 'Dark Forces' were showing the person the way, choosing a difficult and thorny path guaranteed to lead to the abyss, even though he resisted it. And in the end, he still ended up on the sidelines of life…"

I think you haven't often asked yourself such questions in this plane. Therefore, all that is usually left for us is to simply believe in the good and the best, hoping that all evil and bad will pass us by. Yes, we intuitively believe in good and evil not because we read about them in children's fairy tales, but because we see their real manifestations in our lives or in the lives of our acquaintances and friends. And if something bad happens to us, or it seems to us that we have reached a dead end in life, many of us turn our thoughts to God, to a Guardian Angel, to some "Higher Powers," hoping for their help and protection.

But at the same time, we often completely forget that in addition to the "Light Forces," many traditions and teachings also mention the "Dark Forces." They also somehow coexist in our world and, perhaps, are also capable of influencing us. But how can they do this? And can they at all? That is the question!

We will talk about this in detail in the next section: "The Dark Forces". Let's move on there.