The Unconscious Mind: What It Is and How to Use It
One of the most fascinating aspects of the mind is how most of what’s going on in it lies outside of our awareness. On this episode, Dr. Rick and I explore the unconscious mind and the material we might find there. We talk about what the unconscious mind is, the purpose of the unconscious, repression, and what we can do to access, use, and release that unconscious material.
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Key Topics:
0:00: Introduction
2:25: What is the unconscious mind?
5:35: Why material gets moved to our unconscious mind
8:45: Freud, Jung, and repression
14:25: Looking at repression through a developmental model
18:55: Bias, relational ‘scripts’, and what we can do about unconscious patterns
21:45: Interpreting dreams, and the limits of science
27:55: Examples of repressed material and how to uncover it
30:05: Rick’s first love story
34:20: Emotional release work you can do without a therapist
38:00: Distress tolerance
42:10: The body-based, non-cognitive nature of unconscious material
44:10: Sentence completions, automatic writing, and sand trays
47:00: Building self-worth, and creating a safe container
54:50: Teaching what you need to learn, and the importance of support
57:30: Including what’s left out
1:00:00: Recap
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New Program From Rick! If you want to break old patterns and step out of the familiar scripts that hold you back, Rick's Change Your Mind online course is for you. It's a 6-week program starting March 18 designed to help you step out of old assumptions and attitudes and into new, helpful thoughts about yourself and others. Visit RickHanson.net/ChangeYourMind to learn more and get 20% with coupon code BeingWell20.
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