Subconsciousing, part one

[dfr1973]

 I get the impression that the silence following yesterday's big "Eureka!" outburst is everyone waiting patiently for my next post.  Or, perhaps y'all didn't get rained out for the weekend.  Even the chickens are hiding under shelter now at the first few raindrops - usually they only care when it starts coming down hard, which it has done a few days this week.

As my thoughts are congealing, I realize a big part of the excitement is a feeling of validation.  Hubby pointed out that we "set things on the back burner to simmer" on a regular basis, so we've been groping towards the main idea of this, but not only does Atkinson's chapter validate our gropings, it shines light on a purposeful, methodical way to do this.  In fact, Atkinson describes this phenomenon at the start of the chapter as a way of introduction.  Here are the meaty quotes I pulled out of the first part of the chapter:

• • we called your attention to the fact that Reasoning was not necessarily conscious in its operations, and that, in fact, a large part of the rational processes of the mind are performed below or above the field of consciousness. 
• • We also gave you a number of cases in which the sub‑conscious field of the Intellect worked out problems, and then after a time passed on to the conscious field of the Intellect the solution of the matter. In this lesson we propose instructing you in the methods by which this part of the Intellect may be set to work for you.
• • those who related instances of the help of the sub‑conscious mind had merely stumbled upon the fact that there was a part of the mind below consciousness that could and would work out problems for one, if it could somehow be set in operation.  And these people trusted to luck to start that part of the mind in operation. Or rather, they would saturate their conscious mind with a mass of material
• • In none of the cases mentioned was the subconscious mind directed specially to perform its wonderful work. It was simply hoped that it might digest the mental material with which it had been stuffed—in pure self defense. 

Those last two quotes describe what I have been doing up to this point: chuck all into the big mental stockpot and set it on the back burner to simmer.  Atkinson has a better way ...

Comments

Now that's gold

[syfen]

That's the piece I've been looking for too. I have a vague idea how to accomplish it thanks to Leland. I've used mentative suggestion to nudge my reactions to spear memories with considerable success, and I have a feeling that using the method on my subconcious or will directly would produce results, but I'm very curios about WWA's methods.

Re: Now that's gold

[dfr1973]

Part two is now up. I hope you get some good-sized nuggets out of it.

piqued interest

[temporaryreality]

Now this is interesting. I tend to be a backburner worker too. It's probably why I cycle around from project to project until I reach whatever 'congealing' moment there is at that particular phase in each one... and then I pause to take stock (haha, get it, stockpot.. :D), recognize conditions aren't right for continuing yet... and then I move to the next thing.

That works well for some things (figuring out where to plant fruit trees and what type) and not others (I've lost several trains of thought on novels-in-progress and the required catch-up is daunting).

Will head off to read part two now...