Perhaps you will allow me to introduce you to a part of yourself that you may not even know exists. Depending on where your journey in life has taken you so far, you may or may not be aware of the fact that about 95% of your mental processing takes place below the level of conscious mind…in the unconscious mind. That’s right. Only 5% of our awareness is at the conscious level of mind at any one point in time…the tip of the iceberg. So just imagine all of the material that is submerged in that 95% of the iceberg below the surface, in the unconscious mind:
- Memories (good and traumatic)
- Messages taken in from parents and others throughout life (positive and negative)
- Associations that give meaning to life’s experiences (when this happens, it means that)
- Beliefs about self and the world (e.g., I am good and worthy/defective in some way, I am safe/not safe in the world, I am weak/empowered)
- Beliefs that trigger thoughts and emotions (good, bad and ugly)
- Cognitive biases absorbed from families, cultures, religions and institutions
- Creative inspiration and intuition (the sense of knowing that something is ‘right’ or ‘true’ without the need for evidence or data)
- Resources for creating personal change
- Resources for creating large scale change, across organizations and the world
Enhanced awareness of this topography of mind has given rise to voluminous discussion among professionals across many disciplines about what this means for humanity and how we can leverage the knowledge for the good of individuals, organizations and the world. Here are just a few questions being addressed:
- If we are driven to action in the world by beliefs operating at an unconscious level—below our conscious awareness—what does that mean about free will?
- Are we destined to live the life of the narrative housed deep within our unconscious minds, or can we change it? How can we change it?
- In how many ways can we harness the resources of mind?
For right now, just allow yourself to imagine what might be possible, knowing that each and every employee has a vast resource of creativity and inner knowing tucked below the surface of mind, awaiting to be tapped. And conversely, every employee has a certain amount of material in that vast inner mind that keeps them stuck—limits on their performance—until they find the keys to release it. Imagine a world of business in which leaders are leveraging the whole mind for their organizations…and even the world! Smart businesses can change, and are indeed changing, to leverage the most current information about the nature of the mind and the depth of its resources.