There is one area of the subconscious mind that seems rather devious and extremely hard to program. It is called the sub of the subconscious mind. It often could seem like faulty software in the computer. But when finally programmed correctly, it can become the greatest asset. It brings us good luck and assists with perfect timing through life. At times we feel as if nothing is happening to us anymore. Everything is going along smoothly. We walk up to a closed door and the door opens for us. We walk up to a telephone and it begins to ring. These signs show us that the subsubconscious is going along very nicely. As soon as we do not enjoy this fine timing, it is generally because of the sub of the subconscious area. For when two programs of a similar nature go into the subconscious computer at different times, they mix and mingle and form a third program within the subconscious that is difficult to fathom intellectually. This is recorded in the sub of the subconscious. For this reason, the sub of the subconscious mind seems awesome and foreboding. If both of the programs are good, beneficial, positive and spiritually vibrant, things go smoothly for us. But if they are not, this area of the subconscious can be very disturbing. Remedies are deep introspection and emotional-intellectual honesty. The subsubconscious can become very powerful, creating healthy new tendencies in this life and molding a dynamic personality. ¶Two thoughts, at different times, sent into the subconscious mind, form in what is called the sub of the subconscious a totally different rate of vibration when intermingled—that is, if the psychological arrangement of the mind was the same at the time each thought entered it. This subconscious formation of thought often turns into feelings of the lower, instinctive nature and causes the external mind to react to situations in a way that it normally would not have done. ¶The subsubconscious mind not only attracts situations that express its contents, but creates situations by playing upon the subconscious itself. The sub of the subconscious mind, therefore, is the part of the subconscious that stores and manages the unfathomable result of the combinations of intense, emotionally-charged experiences, either positive or negative. These combinations create a third, hybrid reactionary condition quite unlike what either experience alone could have caused. ¶Color shall be our example. Blue stands alone as a color, and so does yellow. When they merge, they make a third color, green, which creates a mood when you look upon it, different than the mood that arises from looking upon blue or yellow alone. Only in understanding that green is a composite of yellow and blue is the mystery dispelled. Add white to red and you get pink. Add water to soil and you get mud. This is easy to understand and shows the nature of impressions coming together in the subconscious. Add oxygen to hydrogen and you get water. That is a mystery which parallels the nature of the subsubconscious mind, a realm where one plus one equals three, while in the subconscious the sum is two. §
Yes, two different reactionary thoughts of a similar vibration sent into the subconscious at different times under similar psychological conditions create a third, different subconscious happening. This happening registers in the subsubconscious and continues to vibrate there until it is dissolved and reabsorbed within the subconscious itself. If psychological structures build up as problems in the subsubconscious and are not resolved, they can inhibit or hold back the superconscious. One then easily feels depressed and subject to many lower emotions. Then the concept that one is a self-effulgent being seems quite distant, indeed. When the subsubconscious build-up is problem free, superconsciousness is there, bringing success and well-being. ¶The subsubconscious concerns us primarily as the state of mind which relates to congested subconscious force fields, or vāsanās, caused by two similar intense emotional reactions at psychological moments. The resultant deeply suppressed emotions are puzzling to the seeker because, unless he is able to resolve through periodic review his subsubconscious, he may find them welling up from within him unbidden, and he knows not why. The subsubconscious influences us when we are encountering an experience similar to one that caused one of the two component reactions. This releases highly unexpected emotional responses, inobvious reactions and new behavioral patterns, some positive, some negative. The hybrid formation continues to react within the subsubconscious mind until resolved. Once understood, the mystery is gone. The vāsanā loses its emotional power. To a very great extent, it is the subsubconscious that harbors our subliminal aspirations, self-esteem, impulses toward success, neuroses and overall psychological behavior. ¶An example of this state of mind is as follows. A young man goes to an office party and accidentally spills coffee on his suit. Being a gentle, shy man, he becomes embarrassed and emotionally upset when everyone turns to look at him. Many months later, he attends his sister’s wedding. In her excitement at the reception, she accidentally spills tea on her beautiful new sārī. She is naturally embarrassed. But it is a psychological moment for him, intensified by his attachment to his sister, and he becomes more embarrassed for her than she is for herself. ¶A year later he discovers that each time he attends a social gathering, his solar plexus becomes upset, his digestion is affected, he gets a headache and has to leave. The fear mechanism, stimulated by the subsubconscious mind, is protecting him from another upsetting condition among a group of people. This continues for a number of years until the subsubconscious, in a semi-dream state, reveals itself to him and he sees clearly how the two reactionary thought patterns, caused by the dual experiences, met and merged and gave rise to a different conscious experience—the indigestion, the headaches and the dread of being among people. Once the obstacle was resolved in the light of understanding, he would be able to be among people in gatherings without these ill effects. §
It is only when the emotionally charged experiences that go into the subconscious are of a strictly instinctive nature that the subsubconscious is uncomely or not beneficial and becomes a strong hindrance to well-being. On the other hand, experiences of a positive, intellectual or spiritual nature merging in the subconscious can create a subsubconscious that is quite dynamic and helpful, giving courage and competence in worldly affairs. Feelings of security, love and compassion can come up from the subsubconscious during psychological moments in one’s life to counteract and eliminate or subdue feelings of jealousy, hatred and anger, which are natural to the instinctive mind. ¶For example, a man’s business flourishes during the summer. The next winter he experiences great exhilaration and satisfaction at winning a skiing competition. The summer success and the winter accomplishment merging in the subconscious create a third, different impression which builds an abiding confidence and impulsion toward future victory. The next year, he goes into a second business and again prospers. His competitors wonder how he has avoided the seasonal ebbs and flows of this particular business. “How has he been so lucky?” they wonder. The strong impression of being successful planted in the subsubconscious has created a positive habit pattern for the forces of the subsuperconscious to flow through. ¶The subsubconscious can also be formed by the blending of strong, intuitive, religious or mystical impressions. For instance, a devotee has an elevating vision of a Deity in an early morning dream or a conscious vision during meditation. A year later, while meditating, he has the experience of flying through the ākāśa in his astral body. These two impressions merge in the subconscious and create a deep-seated faith and unwavering certainty in the inner realities. Such vāsanās bring up courage and eliminate the fear of death, replacing it with the assurance that life is eternal, the soul is real and the physical body is but a shell in which we live. Now we have seen that the subsubconscious state of mind can be beneficial, or it can hold impressions that are actual obstacles in our path that must eventually be dealt with and overcome. Both positive and negative impressions can lie vibrating within it at the same time without interfering one with another.§
Through the powers of meditation, one can straighten out a few of the subsubconscious mind’s predominant misprogrammings that cause tendencies that make us act in certain ways. The subsubconscious mind can be understood consciously when the thoughts which created this “sub” are traced. These will usually be found when the conscious mind is at its lowest ebb. When resting it is possible to study the sub of the subconscious mind with ease. The body is relaxed and the conscious mind has loosened its hold on external objects. When study has commenced, trace through the thought pictures consciously, without disturbing the overall picture. Take into consideration the fact that all thought stems from a series of influences within the ego. These influences take form and shape in thought. When you manifest pictures before you, trace them to their conception by holding the consciousness lightly over the mind, blotting out all distractions that may creep into the mind in an effort to disturb your consciousness. Take your findings, whatever they may be, and consciously think them through until all doubts have been dispelled. You will then find that through your conscious effort the sub of the subconscious mind has been understood consciously as well as subconsciously. ¶Generally this process occurs automatically. We resolve the obstacle in the dream state. When we meditate deeply before sleep, we pass through the dream world and enter superconsciousness. From here, the work is done on the subsubconscious mind. Should we try to remember these dreams or analyze them and meditate at the same time, we would reimpress them again in the subconscious and strengthen these same patterns and tendencies. When we have had a long series of peculiar dreams, often this is the subsubconscious mind working out these habit patterns and tendencies and throwing them back into the subconscious to be programmed beautifully and correctly. To clear the subsubconscious of uncomfortable happenings, especially if you are living a good, religious life and performing regular sādhana, you can simply command it to clear itself. It will do so during the in-between dream state that you have experienced just before awakening. Therefore, the advice is, when you are going through your first stages of unfoldment, clarifying and reprogramming the sub of the subconscious mind, do not analyze your dreams.§
When the ego functions in subconscious or subsubconscious dream states, situations are created. These situations, remembered while in a conscious state termed “awake,” will create on the conscious plane similar happenings. Here again we have a manifestation of the subsubconscious mind in the dream. It is apparent that we dream things that we could not have possibly thought up. Such dreams are a conglomeration of seemingly unrelated happenings that pass through the mind. The unrelated happenings do, however, reimpress the subconscious and conscious mind if remembered, and in turn impress the subconscious again, and similar happenings are created in our everyday life. This, perhaps, is hard to believe, but as each of us thinks back over our life, we can pick instances where this rings true. ¶To change this picture, use the power of the subconscious mind to clear its sub and release within you the full abundance you were born to live. When using the subconscious mind in manifesting control over this situation, take into consideration that it is not able to eradicate the vibration. But during sleep your subconscious will make it possible for you to continue working out the rate of vibration created while in the dream state and remembered while awake. Simply tell your subconscious mind, when you are in the process of remembering a dream, to work out the remaining particles of that experience during sleep rather than recreating it on the physical plane. ¶When awakening after having had some bad dreams, say to yourself, “Great! I must have really started reprogramming the sub of the subconscious mind last night. I certainly should be feeling more positive with a stronger will in a day or two.” The key is to forget about your dreams as soon as you awaken if you are practicing attention, concentration and meditation. ¶When the ego wakes up from sleep, the physical body should immediately be put into action. To go back into the state of sleep immediately after naturally becoming conscious causes the five positive currents to be unconventionally depolarized; the ego passes into the subsubconscious regions.§
The sub of the subconscious mind can and does create situations of an uncomely nature. It is well known that repressions are formed by a series of suppressed desires. When these repressions are released, the emotional unit undergoes a change. It is also well known that all the thoughts placed into the subconscious remain there until they materialize into something definite. Then they will reappear. It is a little different with the subsubconscious mind, for it not only attracts situations that will bring these thoughts out, but creates situations by playing upon the subconscious itself. The subsubconscious mind, through its natural magnetism, attracts so-called temptations and unhappy conditions. The conscious mind, weakened by harmful practices, falls into this self-created trap. There the ego seemingly suffers between the subconscious thoughts that created the “sub,” the ego’s conscious expressions, and its sub-superconscious knowing. Guilt is one of the results of this state, also pride and anguish. These are a few of the qualities resulting from the subsubconscious state of mind. When the “sub” is controlled through a deep understanding of its inner workings, the ego, or consciousness, is free from being bound in identifying itself with the mind, body and emotions. The ego, or consciousness, can then progress towards the dynamic realization of your real Self—beyond the mind, the mind that is under your control. Otherwise, the ego is caught in the cross-section between the conscious mind and its subsuperconscious knowing, resulting in superstition, ideology, fanaticism and an argumentative nature. ¶The subsubconscious mind is very simple. We can compare it to kumkum, the red powder worn as a dot on the third eye, which is a combination of yellow turmeric and pale green lime juice. We can also liken it to ice, formed when water meets with freezing temperature. Cooking is perhaps the best common example. We place vegetables in a pot on a stove or fire, and we add the delicious curries. With the heat coming up from beneath the pot, the ingredients merge together as one. The vegetables no longer taste like they formerly did and neither do the spices. It is not possible to separate the vegetables from the spices once the cooking has begun. ¶A traumatic emotional experience occurs and is recorded in the subconscious. This we liken to placing the vegetables into the pot. Eight months later, a similar experience happens and is reacted to with equal emotion. It happens, it is reacted to, it goes into the same pot. The vegetables have joined the spices. A subconscious remembrance of the previous experience comes up and is accompanied by a heat of emotion. This is the heat that welds the two impressions together, just as fire cooks the curried vegetables. The two experiences have now become one, inseparably blended together in the subconscious, making a third impression, or vāsanā, totally different from the two impressions that manufactured it. It is unique and complete within itself, driven forward by an emotional force even greater than its two component experiences. ¶It is this subliminal power that makes the subsubconscious mind an overwhelming hindrance or a tremendous helpmate when used properly. When existing in negative ignorance, it is a deterrent on the path to enlightenment. The solution to eliminating the power of emotion that compels these blended karmas forward is simple. We only have to understand the ingredients—the vegetables and the spices—and resolve each one separately. Once cognized, even the most complex patterns can be resolved or unraveled through writing down one’s inmost feelings and burning the paper in an ordinary fire. This is called the vāsanā daha tantra. Remember, however, that it is not necessary to remove each and every negative impression, one by one. Rather, we seek to strengthen the positive impressions. This in itself is sufficient and will allow unseemly impressions to be naturally resolved. §
As we study the mystical teachings of our religion, we begin to reprogram the subconscious mind and mold it like we mold clay. We become more conscious of our fears. We tell ourselves, “There is nothing to be afraid of. There is not one thing to be afraid of.” We are able to talk to the subconscious mind in this way. It is called affirmation. “I am a fearless being. I am a fearless being,” we keep saying to ourselves time and time and time again. In affirming this truth we begin reeducating or reprogramming the subconscious mind. Finally, we begin to remove the layers upon layers covering the soul. ¶In India there is a traditional analogy of a lamp whose light is concealed by a screen of colored pieces of cloth. It is said we can uncover the lamp, representing the light of the soul, by reprogramming the subconscious. First we take off the black piece of cloth. The dark green one is still there, so little light comes through as yet, and we are faced with the instinctive emotion—our great protective power of being jealous. Both fear and jealousy are protective mechanisms of the mind. We work with our jealous nature as we make other affirmations. “I have all that everyone else has. The same power that is within everyone is within me.” In this way we begin reprogramming the subconscious and gain more and more confidence in ourselves. Jealousy is inferiority. We feel we lack that which someone else has, so we try to cut them down a little bit to our size. Jealousy makes people mean. Finally, we work our awareness through this dark green sheath of jealousy, and we remove that sheath from the lamp of the soul. A little more light now shines through, and we begin to feel good about ourself—“I’m not so bad after all. In fact, I’m pretty good.” We become more confident and penetrate even deeper while working on the next instinctive quality, and the next and the next and the next. Finally, as we take off the last sheath, we find that we are That which we were all the time. We are inwardly free. We have removed awareness from the conscious mind and brought it through the subconscious state into pure superconsciousness. Now the physical body seems to us but a shell, a place in which we live in order to express ourselves on the surface of the Earth. The spiritual body seems to us to be our real body, and we wonder why we didn’t realize that before. §