The nonconscious mind - what is it? 

The nonconscious mind - what is it?

The nonconscious mind is every mental faculty we have except the conscious mind, which is quite a collection. From the processing that turns raw sensory data into perception, to the execution of complex learned tasks (such as descending stairs or driving a car), and much more.

To get an idea of what the nonconscious mind is, consider this story:

You leave home in a hurry, to do the shopping. During the drive to the supermarket, you spend your time mentally flitting between the bathroom and the kitchen, creating a shopping list. You suddenly find yourself in the supermarket car park with no memory of driving there, or of parking the car. Your nonconscious mind, and your body, did that while 'you' were busy making the list.

Your nonconscious mind is much more than the dark horror that a glancing acquaintance with Freud might indicate. Enough that it, in conjunction with your body, can function independently of 'you', your conscious mind.

You might compare your mind without your consciousness to your body without arms. In many ways fully functional, but with certain abilities you used to have completely absent.

The person I think of as 'me' is actually only one of what we might choose to view as a small community. But we mustn't be tempted to view the nonconscious mind as some kind of invader or alien. It is more a part of each one of us than the (evolutionarily speaking) recent arrival, consciousness. Because the nonconscious mind is, by definition, beyond the focus of conscious attention, it necessarily becomes a sort of silent partner. We aren't aware of it or its presence or operation, so we forget about it.

The nonconscious mind is not available or visible to consciousness, so we all have personality characteristics that others can perceive (via the way we behave and treat ourselves and others), but we cannot!