Science tells us that we have three parts to ourselves: consciousness, subconsciousness, and superconsciousness. Likewise, we are aware of mental, emotional, and spiritual qualities that make up a person. Mind, heart, soul; id, ego, superego; and the list could go on, including other culture's beliefs and language subsets and meanings - endless!
Our everyday lives are made up of consciousness by default. Thinking, figuring, planning, perceiving, judging, etc. are examples of consciousness at work. It is the primary force that influences our will and actions. Consciousness is the hardest worker of the triad system; it puts in the most effort, has the most emotional charge, and quite protective of itself, wanting to maintain its control and power. This level of consciousness is the most grounded and in touch with the reality we see before our eyes. Seemingly the strongest in its natural duties, it is however equal with its partners (subconscious and superconscious).
Subconscious is the hider. It exists in the form of being that is not so readily available. As a backup storage for consciousness when consciousness doesn't want to think about something, the subconscious is a place of non-feeling, non-judgment. Its specialty is being, rather than thinking and doing like consciousness insistently does. One peculiar thing about the subconsciousness is that it is full of secrets - and one may not even know the secrets it holds either. Subconsciousness holds ideas and moments for a very long time - maybe forever. In order to access the subconscious and its valuable information, the only way is to go through consciousness or bypass it, as many psychotherapists and hypnotists practice. In such doing, the consciousness must become relaxed and trusting, as it may not be comfortable with the information stored in the subconscious.
Just like subconsciousness is beyond the consciousness, so the superconsciousness is beyond the subconscious. Superconsciousness, further beyond, accesses a realm of the "everything." Superconsciousness holds information in its widest, all-encompassing, most eternal form. This is what Jung called the "collective unconscious." Information from this part of the person may involve intuitive or channeled guidance, universal connectedness, seeing the future, or the like. Reaching the superconscious level is somewhat rare as it takes serious focus to hold a foot in this super-reality and another foot in this down-to-earth-reality. If you can understand a homogenous, universal, oneness of souls as well as all information that constitutes reality, then you can conceive the superconscious level. This level isn't hard to communicate with, but the human brain, heart, and gut (3 brains) have been conditioned to not consider this level until psychology reopened it in secular form. In other words, the typical human is not readily conscious of their superconscious connection to everything.
All three "levels" of consciousness have their places and roles in our lives. Consciousness is the active force that humans are most familiar with; subconsciousness holds inactive or passive forces that humans tend to ignore except, usually, in cases where healing is needed; superconsciousness exhibits a unifying, universal force. By force, I mean information or a reality. We readily live our lives in the force of consciousness as decisions are everywhere. But what if healing needed to take place on the subconscious level; or what if purposes of life were held in the superconscious?
Consciousness is the muscle of the "conscious system." It allows us to grow intellectually and so forth, allowing us to expand our knowledge and practice. But why? Why do humans have a consciousness? (I am not addressing animals or other life forms in this essay, by the way.)
As an active force, consciousness allows change and transformation. Being and becoming is our most natural state (revert back to subconsciousness) that sustains at a level of individuality (superconsciousness is the most natural state overall). In a state of subconsciousness, we are an individual with qualities that are, more or less, inactive. The information that is stored at the level of subconsciousness isn't doing any work, thus it isn't warranting any transformation or becoming. The soul - whether you think of it as the sub- or superconsciousness - contains a blueprint for becoming who we are. Consciousness is our way and directive to implement such into manifestation and reality.
It may be sad to say, but we don't usually see all three levels working together in harmony because consciousness and ego pair up because they think and act the same way. What we are to learn, and therefore exceed, is the limitation and error that consciousness gets itself into. Consciousness likes to think it controls life; however, we must learn to harness and benefit from it. If consciousness and superconsciousness - perhaps even subconsciousness too - work together, perhaps we could recall and put into action, consciously, the meaning of life, for example.
If you feel you have been "stuck" or on "pause," not exhibiting much growth or headed towards your purpose, I reckon that you may need a checkup with your subconsciousness or superconsciousness. It could help subconsciousness be guided into becoming more whole, more complete, more fulfilling. This is because the subconscious has the blueprint for wholeness, forwarding it back to superconscious being. Superconsciousness is designed to assist in providing universal, collective coordination, as the human is in oneness with the universal being.
