‘The law of life is the law of belief. A belief is a thought in your mind. Do not believe in things to harm or hurt. Believe in the power of your subconscious to heal, inspire, strengthen, and prosper you. According to your belief is it done unto you’. – Dr. Joseph Murphy
Conscious mind is 10% of our mind of which we are most aware. This part of the mind is responsible for logic and cognitive reasoning, decision making and will power. Subconscious mind is 90% of our mind that is mostly below the level of our awareness. This large percentage of the mind is responsible for reflective action and auto responses from nervous system. It contains the positive and negative associations (beliefs) that we’ve established through our life experiences.
“We must realize that the subconscious mind is the law of action and always expresses what the conscious mind has impressed on it. What we regularly entertain in our mind creates a conception of self. What we conceive ourselves to be, we become.” Grace Speare
1. Conscious Mind vs. Subconscious Mind
Conscious Mind
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Definition: The conscious mind is the part of awareness you actively use — decision-making, reasoning, willpower, and focus.
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Characteristics:
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Processes information slowly (about 40–60 bits per second).
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Handles logic, planning, abstract thinking.
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Limited capacity — it can only focus on a handful of things at once.
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When you’re learning a new skill (e.g., driving, speaking a new language), your conscious mind is engaged.
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Subconscious Mind
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Definition: The subconscious (or nonconscious in modern neuroscience) runs below conscious awareness. It stores automatic habits, beliefs, memories, and emotional conditioning.
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Characteristics:
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Processes information much faster (estimated 11 million bits per second).
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Controls 90–95% of daily behaviour — your “autopilot.”
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Governs reflexes, learned routines, and emotional triggers.
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Examples: reaching for your phone without thinking, emotional reactions, posture, driving without realising the route.
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2. Programmed Behavioural Patterns
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How they form:
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Repetition + emotional intensity wires patterns into neural circuits (Hebbian learning: “neurons that fire together wire together”).
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Childhood experiences shape subconscious programs deeply because the brain is in more theta brainwave states (highly suggestible).
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Over time, repeated behaviors become encoded as default neural pathways and reinforced by dopamine reward cycles.
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Why they stick:
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Once a pattern is automated, the brain conserves energy by defaulting to it (the brain uses about 20% of the body’s energy, so it favors efficiency).
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Subconscious habits often override conscious intentions (e.g., consciously wanting to eat healthy but subconsciously reaching for comfort food).
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3. Overcoming Programmed Patterns with Modern Science
Here’s what the latest research highlights as effective:
Neuroplasticity
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The brain remains highly adaptable throughout life.
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To reprogram habits, one must interrupt old circuits and reinforce new ones through repetition, novelty, and emotional engagement.
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Practices like cognitive reappraisal, mental rehearsal, and deliberate practice activate plasticity.
Mindfulness & Metacognition
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Mindfulness allows conscious observation of subconscious patterns in real time.
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Studies in 2023–2025 show that even brief daily mindfulness reduces the automaticity of stress reactions by weakening amygdala–prefrontal coupling.
Embodied Techniques (Bottom-Up Regulation)
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Breathwork, heart-rate variability training, and somatic practices influence subconscious emotional regulation by calming the autonomic nervous system.
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This shifts physiology out of “survival mode,” making it easier to consciously install new patterns.
Memory Reconsolidation
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Neuroscience (Nader, Ecker, 2020s research) shows that when a memory or belief is reactivated and paired with a new emotional experience, it can be rewritten.
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This is why therapies like EMDR, Internal Family Systems, or somatic experiencing are effective — they tap into subconscious programs while they’re “malleable.”
Visualization & Mental Rehearsal
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fMRI studies (up to 2024) confirm the brain doesn’t strongly distinguish between vivid imagination and lived experience.
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Mental rehearsal paired with emotion strengthens new circuits and primes subconscious behavior (e.g., athletes visualising perfect performance).
Behavioral Design & Environment
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Subconscious patterns are cued by context.
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Modern habit science emphasizes environmental engineering (changing cues, reducing friction, stacking new habits to old ones) to outsmart subconscious autopilot.
4. In Summary
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Conscious mind = slow, logical, limited → “goal setter.”
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Subconscious mind = fast, automatic, vast → “goal getter.”
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Behavioral patterns = subconscious programs created through repetition and emotion.
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Overcoming them requires leveraging neuroplasticity, mindfulness, emotional rewiring, and environmental cues.
In 2025, modern science is clear: lasting change happens not just through willpower (conscious), but through retraining the subconscious, aligning body, brain, and environment to support new ways of being.