Exploration of the conscious mind.

What is the conscious mind? Is it something physical like the brain? Is it something nonphysical, like a computer program, but operating within the brain's biological-computer?

There is another perplexing question. If the mind is non-physical, like a computer program, how is the mind related to the soul?

The conscious mind defined.

First, let's establish that there are two parts of the mind. The human mind is bicameral, that is, it is composed of two elements: the conscious mind and the subconscious mind.

The conscious mind is responsible for processing everyday thoughts. It is responsible for our conscious movements, thoughts, ideas and communications. Most of our waking time is under the control of our conscious mind.

The subconscious mind, which we will discuss in detail in the next section, is far more complex. Part of the subconscious mind, called the autonomic nervous system, is responsible for all of those things that we don't think about, yet our brain continues to manage. For example, regulation of body temperature, digestion of food, even the act of getting hungry, vision, breathing. These are all under the control of the autonomic nervous system. It's a brain system that, if it's working correctly, we rarely think about.

Similarities to a Computer System

A computer system has two types of memory: A). Short term or random access memory; B). Long-term random access memory. Short-term memory is where computer programs are stored when the execute and where data used in computations is temporarily stored. This memory is only active while a particular program is running. As you read this webpage, the words on the page are stored in short-term memory and then overwritten, in whole or in part, when a new page is read. Long-term memory, or random-access memory includes disk drives, thumb drives, memory cards, external hard disk and all those forms of memory that we used to permanently store data and programs. Short-term memory is statically attached directly to the central processor while everything else is outside it.

The brain works in much the same way. Art imitates life. Our brains stores the information we need to operate on a daily basis in short term memory. This memory is both imperfect and occasionally overridden. Have you ever heard the saying, "Use a word three times and it's yours." That means that if you learn a new word, and make use of it in a sentence at least three times within a day or so, that word will be permanently added to your vocabulary. It is unlikely that you will forget the word or its meaning over time. Using the word three times moves it from short-term memory, the brain's computer buffer, to long-term memory, the brain's permanent storage.

This doesn't answer the question of the location of the brains permanent vs. temporary storage. Everyone is relatively certain that short-term memory is actually stored in the brain. The problem, however, is the location of the brain's long-term/permanent storage. Clearly, some of the permanent storage is hardwired, such as reflexes. However, under certain conditions such as hypnosis, an individual can have almost perfect recall of events as early as infancy and early childhood. If one thinks about it, the amount of data storage for this type of memory recall is massive!

In some instances, under hypnosis, people are believed to recall, from memory, events which happened before they were born! This process is often called past life. Where are these memories stored? Can they be stored in the brain? The brain didn't even exist before you were born or incarnated. If these memories are real, where are they stored? How are they accessed?