In today’s society, our freedom can feel restricted by the forces of work, family, and social commitments. We often find ourselves unable to access the power of personal freedom, as our conscious efforts to free ourselves from the expectations of modern life can be challenging and time consuming, and altogether confusing without guidance. To even have a grasp of what personal freedom is can’t be properly understood without the actual experience of it.
Unlocking the power of freedom through unconscious exploration can open up a new world of possibilities. With careful understanding of the unconscious processes, we can gain greater insight into our innermost thoughts and feelings, and unlock an immense source of personal freedom. This blog post will explore the potential of utilizing unconscious exploration to unlock the power of freedom, and discuss how this can be achieved through practical application in our daily lives.
1. What is unconscious exploration?
There are a multitude of exercises that can be done to assist in exploration, but first we should define it. Unconscious exploration is a process of unleashing the hidden potential that lies within us by uncovering the information that our unconscious mind holds. This exploration allows us to access knowledge, insights, and emotions that we would otherwise not be able to access. The common suggestions of how to engage in unconscious exploration can be done in various ways, such as through meditation, hypnosis, free writing, or free associative drawing. Through this exploration, we are able to uncover our innermost thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, and use them to unlock the power of freedom.
While I have done all of the above, I’ve found myself tapping into something a little bit more unconventional to access the unconscious. In theory, it’s incredibly simple. In practice, it’s going against every instinct my conscious mind wants from me. And yes, it also involves me describing my conscious self as almost its own entity, because using the word I makes it more difficult to tap into the unconscious.
The reason for that is simple — I have to trick my self into allowing for the unconscious to express itself, and for my conscious self to acknowledge it. Ok, more simple in my head — let’s stick with the basics for now and get to the practices in section 3. For now, just know that the process of unconscious exploration will not be done through the intellectual mind, and I’ll explain why and how later.
2. Benefits of unconscious exploration
If the unconscious mind is responsible for automatic processes like breathing, how our other leg and foot is able to catch itself while walking so as to not prevent falling, creating inspiration, and other things vital to functioning and actual living, then what else does it offer that we are not in tune with? Unconscious exploration has many benefits, including the ability to unlock our creative potential, access new insights, and develop a better understanding of ourselves. By learning to trust the unconscious mind, we can become more open to new ideas and experiences, which can lead to greater self-awareness and personal growth. Additionally, unconscious exploration can help us identify and break through self-imposed limits and boundaries, allowing us to expand our thinking and explore new opportunities. With this newfound freedom, we can gain a deeper understanding of who we are and how we fit into our environment.
It’s kind of like this. Imagine you are trying to understand what love is, so that you can have the best relationship you can. You form thoughts about love through watching different movies, observing your parents and others’ relationships. What you have is an intellectual understanding of what love is. You get into your first relationship, and you apply that intellectual understanding. “I’m in love,” you say to yourself! You know where this is going. To intellectualize love is to take away its true feeling.
In order to make way for what love actually is, you have to remove your intellectualizing from the equation so you can experience it in its truest sense to know it. Same for the unconscious. Why do you think it is that the unconscious is best made known through dreaming? Your logical mind isn’t there to disrupt it. It can make itself known. What I believe to be the ultimate benefit of exploring the unconscious is an unwavering sense of what it is you want and need. To experience the unconscious is to experience something in its truest sense, without thought.
If I were to say that’s all you get from it, most would be happy. It’s my opinion that the freedom of unlocking the unconscious not only leads to feelings of something in its truest sense, but that it leads to epiphanies. Sudden realizations, revelations. All of these experiences tend to erupt without conscious thought. At this point we’re all wondering how we get to this point? What is a practical way to experience this? And to that I would say, don’t ask the question from the conscious self.
3. Strategies for unlocking unconscious exploration
Unlocking the power of freedom through unconscious exploration requires the development of strategies to tap into our inner wisdom. It is a journey of discovery, one that requires us to explore new areas of our minds and to be open to the unknown. It is only through discovering our true desires and needs that we can live authentically and with intention.
Some of the strategies that can be used to unlock unconscious exploration include mindfulness, journaling, meditation, and dreamwork. Mindfulness can help us to become more aware of our thoughts, feelings, and actions in the present moment. Journaling can help us explore our inner world and to articulate our thoughts and feelings. Meditation can help us to become more aware of our deeper self and to discover our true purpose. Dreamwork can help us unlock our unconscious and uncover the hidden meanings in our dreams. All of these strategies can help us unlock our inner wisdom and to live with intention.
While I believe that all of the above is helpful, I’m looking at more unconventional ways here. Imagine the unconscious as a plant. In order for this plant to grow, it needs water and sunlight. The conscious self is a skyscraper, built next to that plant. The plant is at the base of this giant skyscraper, and even surrounds it underneath with its root system. Ultimately, in looking down from a skyscraper, we are only able to see the plant from a bird’s eye view. And even more than that, we’re unable to water it, and we are in the skyscraper that blocks it from receiving the sun. So the only thing the flower is really receiving is what falls from the skyscraper — mostly trash. By explaining the unconscious in this way, I’m allowing for you to already start your experience of it in a different way, rather than only saying “remove your conscious self to witness the unconscious self.”
So now you have a trash plant. I’m mostly being facetious here, but it is the theory of Carl Jung that the shadow self is made up of the things that the conscious self pushes away with a refusal to acknowledge it, resulting in us acting out these things without awareness of it. AKA the trash. We’re getting a little sidetracked here.
You want to feed this plant so that it can grow, and coexist with the building next to it. How is this done? We’ve already talked about removing yourself from the equation so that the sun and rain can reach the plant. By being aware of the plant or the unconscious self and our blocking it is the first step. The second step is to understand the plant, or the unconscious. To understand something isn’t a matter of seeing it from one angle (such as in the skyscraper) and claiming to understand it. No, it’s by tricking the mind into seeing it from different angles. Think of the Chinese proverbs here. While they may seem frustratingly contradictory in nature, they serve to feed the plant without conscious awareness of interfering with it.
In order to better understand the unconscious, meditation, dreamwork, free association, and the above all help to get out of the way to experience it. What I would argue the unconventional unconscious exploration method to unlocking the freedom of its power is by using experiences around it. By nurturing a problem or something you wish to intuitively understand, you rely on the unconscious to solve it, rather than the intellectual conscious mind. This can be done by feeding the unconscious different pieces to the puzzle of the situation, allowing for different perspectives to be had, all being stored within your unconscious. Don’t worry if this doesn’t intuitively make sense.
If I’m looking at a tree, I am able to understand the reality of that tree by looking at it from every possible angle so that my conscious self isn’t making up for a lack of knowledge by trying to guess at what it is that lies on the other side, or angle of the tree. To unlock unconscious exploration, I try to experience the unconscious without the conscious self by getting out of my own way, or removing its attempt at understanding by compensating of not being able to see it. To feel its nature helps to understand it.
I look at the unconscious from every angle, by acknowledging my experience of it. This is done by introducing my self to different things that produce a visceral feeling I associate with the unconscious. A feeling that I cannot put words to. One that moves me. I pay attention to certain types of music, art, gut feelings, unwavering feelings, or thoughts that feel important. By doing so, I am chipping away by removing thought and letting experience take place, leading to a more intuitive understanding that is so powerful that my intellectual conscious side has no choice but to step aside, witnessing the unconscious.
4. How to maintain an open mindset
Let’s tone it down a bit from the last section. Simply put, to have an open mindset is to acknowledge the existence of the unconscious at work. Having an open mindset is essential when it comes to unlocking the power of freedom through unconscious exploration. It allows us to be open to new experiences and ideas, which can be incredibly beneficial. To maintain an open mindset, it’s important to be willing to learn, be curious, and open to different perspectives and experiences. Additionally, it’s important to be willing to step outside of our comfort zone and challenge ourselves regularly. This can help us keep our minds open and encourage us to explore new ideas, opportunities, and possibilities.
5. Integrating unconscious exploration into daily life
Integrating unconscious exploration into daily life is essential for unlocking the power of freedom. Uncovering what lies beneath our conscious minds can help us confront and heal from the traumas and pains of the past, allowing us to live a more authentic life. Through the practice of unconscious exploration, we can learn to recognize patterns, re-frame our beliefs, and gain clarity and insight into our own lives. To make the most of this practice, start by exploring for a few minutes each day, and gradually build up your time as you become more comfortable. Incorporate activities such as journaling, meditation, and dreamwork into your daily routine to ensure that you get the most out of this powerful practice, but only do what you are comfortable with, as this can be very powerful and bring up a lot.
In conclusion, unlocking the power of freedom through unconscious exploration is a powerful way to tap into one’s inner power and find a sense of self-actualization. It can help to foster a deeper understanding of the conscious and unconscious minds, allowing us to gain greater clarity and insight into our desires, values, and beliefs. As we move through this exploration, we can begin to make choices that empower us to create a life that truly resonates with our core values, values that will generate deep satisfaction and joy. It is by doing this that we can avoid only thinking our way into what is our reality and instead allow for us to feel our reality too. Search for feeling, experience it.
