One of the first and probably most important lessons I learned from my Freshman physics professor, was that we all have the ability to hand problems that need to be solved over to our subconscious mind. On the first day of class, he assigned a problem set that was to be due in a week. We were told to do two things that night. First, read the problems with the intent of taking in all the information(variables) contained in each problem. Then, make sure to have a clear understanding of what specifically the problem was asking  to be solved. We were also instructed, however, NOT to begin solving the problems. We were as he put it, “just planting the seed.” To be honest, I thought he was full of bologna. For that reason I was all the more surprised when his method actually worked! Ideas about the problems would suddenly pop into my conscious mind when I would least expect it. I think almost everyone has had that experience at some time or another. For most people, this happens when they’ve been working for what seems like endless amounts of time on a problem without making any progress. Then they finally give up; only to find the answer comes to them in a flash at some random moment. This is something author Robert Greene calls, “serendipity” and it is a clear demonstration of the power of the subconscious. Although most have had these experiences, few try to harness their power. This was the lesson I learned from my professor, and one I’ve carried with me ever since.

George Bernard Shaw said, “two percent of people think, three percent of people think they think, and ninety-five percent of people would rather die than think.” Of the active thinkers in our society, very few are able to effectively wield the power of their subconscious. That’s rather sad, especially knowing that the most difficult thing that stands in their way is nothing more than their own conscious mind. Allowing the subconscious to solve a problem, is often just a matter of instructing it to do so, and then having the confidence to consciously let go and wait for it to produce a result. Perhaps the issue is that most problems in life have a timeline; so it’s difficult to let go and just believe that an answer will seemingly appear out of nowhere. Although, for those who are too afraid to trust in the power of their subconscious, it may be surprising to learn that studies have shown that while the conscious is able to evaluate problems utilizing 40-100 pieces of information at a time, the unconscious is able to utilize upwards of around 10 million! If that’s not convincing enough, there’s also a difference in the way each part of the mind uses that information. It has been postulated that the conscious mind views information in more of a hierarchical manner, whereas the unconscious mind views things as more of a web of information. Meaning that our subconscious is better suited at taking in new information and forming connections in a way that our conscious mind might otherwise be unable to. Therefore, actively and willingly incorporating the subconscious mind in day to day tasks will allow one to develop greater creativity in addition to enhanced problem solving ability.

For anyone who is still skeptical of the effectiveness of the subconscious, I encourage you to think of it as a powerful computer. In physics we were taught to write computer programs to solve large problems. This meant that what might have taken hours or days to solve before, could now be reduced to a much shorter period of time. Our subconscious functions much the same way, in that it too is capable of arriving at a much quicker solution while dealing with very large amounts of information. Keep in mind, however, that both produce a result based on the information they have been given. This means that once a solution has been provided, it should be handed over for review to the conscious mind.

The goal then is not to divorce the intuitive (subconscious) from the rational (conscious), having each work in isolation of the other. Instead, the objective is to reach such a high level of mental awareness that both conscious and subconscious are able to work together in perfect harmony. It may sound like a difficult task to accomplish, and although there are many strategies to enhance it’s effectiveness, it begins simply by following the strategy that was presented to me by my freshman physics professor. One that everyone is more than capable of implementing in their own life.