Karthik, the proverbial loser, would have passed his life unnoticed but for the phone call which changed his life one early morn. The caller, also calling himself Karthik, teaches our hero how to get the top job, the hot chick, the happening life, until our hero angers him…Is it downhill after that?
Well, I got to watch Karthik calling Karthik recently, and was very intrigued by the various facets of the mind that were shown in the movie. Based on a little research, I’m listing out the important states of the mind, and how they can influence the way we think.
Conscious State : Our conscious mind resides in the cerebral cortex, and is the area used for logical thinking. When we are in the conscious state, our mind tends to take logical decisions, and differentiates between what is possible and what is practically impossible. This conscious state is also known as the Beta state, and we spend most of our waking hours in this state. Our brain radiates certain waves (13 cycles per second or higher) when we are thinking, reasoning or engaging in problem solving.
To give an example, let us consider a student who is preparing for a challenging exam like CAT. It is his conscious mind that tells him that he has been an average student all his life, and that it is practically impossible for him to bell the CAT!
Sub-Conscious State : Our subconscious mind is located in the primitive parts of our brain, i.e., the medulla oblongata and the limbic system. The sub-conscious state is also known as the Alpha state, and our brain now radiates waves ranging between 8 and 13 cycles per second. Our subconscious cannot distinguish between thoughts that are created by external events (reality) or imaginary events. If we can begin to imagine that we are filled with a lot of confidence, our sub-conscious will accept that as true. At the same time, if we imagine a lot of negativity, our sub-conscious ming will accept that as the truth as well.
Therefore, if we take the example of the student again, he has the power to imagine that he has enough aptitude to bell the CAT, and to pursue his dreams. With repeated self-instructions in the alpha state, the student begins to believe sub-consciously that he has the confidence to reach his goals, and will automatically start taking steps towards it.
THAT is the power of the sub-conscious mind!
Unconscious State : The unconscious mind is the source of night dreams and automatic and random thoughts, i,e., those thoughts that appear without any apparent cause. It is the store-house of all the memories that have been forgotten, but may still be accessible to consciousness at some later time. The Theta state (between 4 to 8 cycles per second), the dream state, and the Delta state (below four cycles per second), characterize the unconscious mind. When we are just going to sleep but not yet asleep, or just awakening but not yet completely awake, we are usually in the theta state, and when we are in deep sleep, we are in the delta state.
One example of the operation of the unconscious mind is the when the same student does not get the right approach to solve a particular problem, and suddenly, a bulb glows somewhere that provides a solution. A similar phenomenon happens when we try hard to remember something, but when we stop thinking about it, the data that we were looking for is retrieved in a flash!
The power of the human mind is unthinkable. It is up to us to train it in such a way that we can achieve all our goals and lead a good life, or to fill our lives with a lot of negativity.
References:
Personal Development
Optimistically Pessimistic :-) 