By 
the subconscious mind
Our subconscious mind automatically runs programs that keep us functioning on an unconscious level. The following analogy explains how more than 99% of our thinking is unconscious.
For this analogy, the captain of a ship represents the conscious mind and the crew represents the subconscious mind. The captain’s role is to plan a course to a particular destination and give orders to the crew to proceed to that destination.
The role of the crew is to receive the captain’s orders and carry them out accordingly. This all works well as long as there is a well-trained crew that is able to correctly take and follow orders.
The crew has been trained to go to one port and one port only. The captain now gives orders to go to a new and different port. The crew acknowledges the orders and proceeds to execute them to the best of their ability, that is, they go to the only port they have been trained to go to.
Ignoring this, the captain, believing his orders are being followed, goes to sleep in his cabin (unconscious). The result is that the crew takes the captain and the ship to the same port as always.
The function of the conscious mind (the captain) is to decide objectives. The function of the subconscious mind (the crew) is to realize these objectives.
When properly trained, the subconscious mind is able to receive instructions from the conscious mind and follow them without further instructions. However, when the subconscious mind has been poorly trained and is running the only program it knows, the results can always be predicted, i.e. when the conscious mind sets a new/different goal, the subconscious mind, unable to deviate, automatically maintains its original programming and generates the same results as before.
A poorly trained subconscious must be constantly monitored by the conscious mind in order to achieve the desired result.
Example: A person decides to go on a diet.
The conscious mind sets a goal to reach a certain weight by a certain date. To ensure the success of the diet, exercise is started and calories are watched. Meanwhile, the subconscious, which has a pre-programmed weight set point that it cannot change, will always work to return to that setting.
The diet begins to work; the weight begins to fall. The subconscious, sensing that this is contrary to its programming, begins to present reasons to the mind to quit the diet, using wishes to prompt self-talk, such as “a little more won’t matter”, “I’m entitled to an extra serving”, “I can start again tomorrow”, etc.
The conscious mind, believing that the subconscious mind understands its instruction and will follow it to reach the new goal, does not feel the need to monitor progress and drifts into unconsciousness.
The subconscious mind, unable to deviate from its programming, produced the same results that it has always produced, that is, the diet fails.
(The result is that the crew takes the captain and the ship to the same old port.)
Even when the diet seems to have been successful and the target weight has been achieved, unless the subconscious reference point about weight has been changed, the subconscious will continue to work diligently until it has succeeded in restoring the weight prior to the diet. This cyclical process is why weight loss programs that do not take this process into account are problematic.
The subconscious mind is diligent in finding our weakest point of resolve to get its way. He uses imagination incessantly through our senses, for example, “that apple pie smells delicious”, and then justifies his belief by presenting the thought that he deserves it.
The conscious mind uses logic, such as “eating the cake will ruin your diet,” to make its case, but imagination is much more persuasive than logic.
The imagination will always win, except when we have made a conscious decision and constantly monitor and be aware of our thoughts and behavior.
We have set points in all areas of our lives that our subconscious programming strives to maintain.
In finance this is revealed in the number of lottery winners who return to their original financial state, or worse, after a few years. On an unconscious level, the winner’s subconscious belief is that they are undeserving and therefore uncomfortable with money. This makes them unconsciously act in a way that repels money. This process works both ways; when a person’s subconscious feels that he is serving money, she will guide him to behave in a way that will attract money.
Knowing that imagination is the vehicle the subconscious uses to get its way, we can use this knowledge to our advantage to overcome our limiting beliefs and programs, to achieve the desired results.
The function of our subconscious is to serve us, it will create the reality that it is programmed to create. Left unmonitored, it will perform this function to the best of its ability and manifest, through our behavior, our hidden beliefs, whether or not these beliefs serve us.
Like the captain of the ship, who stays conscious and monitors his crew, we can, by monitoring our thoughts and using the gift of mindful imagination, project the desired results of our imagination into our world and effortlessly bring them to life.
“I am the owner of my destiny, I am the captain of my soul.”
William Ernest Henley