French philosopher, Rene Descartes in his 1637 Discourse on the Method, is famous for the proposition, “Je pense, donc je suis”.
In Latin, it is translated as, “Cogito ergo sum”. In English, it is the phrase,
“I think, therefore I am”.
This statement serves as the foundation for knowledge in the face of radical doubt. It implies that while other knowledge could be a figment of imagination, deception, or mistake, the very act of doubting one’s own existence served as proof of the reality of one’s own mind —
there must be a thinking entity (or self) for there to be thought.
Today, our knowledge of the mind and how it functions has evolved into neuroscience.
We know that there are two parts to the brain, the subconscious and conscious.
The subconscious mind’s roll is to
collect data and store it.
recall data when needed.
handle emotions, based on the collected data.
regulate body functions, (like breathing, pumping your heart, and muscle memory).
build beliefs, made up of countless experiences, emotions, and memories it has perceived.
Roll of the conscious mind is to
identify incoming data
compare it with the data stored in the subconscious
analyze it
then make a decision.
The conscious is responsible for all thoughts, reasoning, and imagination.
The conscious and subconscious are aligned because of how they function together.
The function takes the path of least resistance. Repetition of actions reinforce the well-worn path of action— it is stored as such in the subconscious databank.
It takes effort by the conscious mind to re-train the process because the subconscious mind has nothing else to draw from and is uncomfortable with the lack of data.
Therefore, habits are hard to break.
Hearthside has designed Whole Spectrum Wellness to work with both the conscious and subconscious to re-train our habits and assist in the creation of the person we want to be.
