How to Utilize Your Unconscious Mind

I have recently been thinking a lot about how my mind works and how I can utilize it in the most productive way possible. I have noticed that sometimes ideas pop into my head, allowing me to passionately work for hours to get what feels like an infinite flow of inspiration down on paper. Other times I can sit for hours without getting anywhere. Why does this happen? What triggers these periods where ideas and solutions seem to appear, magically, completely out of the blue?

I have found that there are similarities between how creative ideas occur, and how I come across mathematical solutions. They never completely appear out of the blue. I have normally previously worked a bit on it, or thought about it, without really getting anywhere. Then, after a few days, weeks, or months, suddenly my mind is filled with inspiration. It is as if my mind has continued to work on the problem without my consciousness being aware of it. Then, when finished, it makes me aware of the results.

While exploring the subject, I came across the book “The Art of Thought” written by Graham Wallas in 1929. In one of the chapters, Wallas describes how minds process problems. His suggested process takes advantage of the delicate dance between the conscious and unconscious mind required to develop creative ideas and solve complicated problems. It is split into the following four stages:

Preparation — The stage in which the problem is investigated, in all directions.

Incubation — The period of time where you don’t consciously think about the problem.

Illumination — The stage where all ideas come to fruition.

Verification — The period of testing and modifying the idea to a practical end.

During the preparation stage, the problem is investigated and the seeds are laid to be able to construct new ideas and work on the problem. It is a purely conscious stage which involves reading, planning and adjusting the mind and attention towards the problem.

Then next step is incubation, an unconscious stage where your brain processes the information without you being aware of it. It can’t be forced and it is individual and task dependent how long it takes before your unconsciousness is ready to deliver the results.

The illumination stage is where all the results and ideas generated from the incubation stage appear as a burst of inspiration to your conscious mind. I have found that a good way to trigger the illumination stage is through occupying the body while letting the mind roam free. My favorite arenas for this is when trying to sleep, going for a walk or having a shower. For me, the challenge isn’t to trigger the illumination stage, the biggest problem is to capture the inspiration and ideas before they fly away.

The verification step is similar to the preparation stage in which you must condense and validate the impulsive flow of ideas that were generated in the illumination stage.

I have discovered that starting multiple tasks after each other without finishing them helps integrate this process into something productive. You lay the groundwork for solving the problem, then deliberately go on to a new task when the progress starts to slow down. Then, when revisiting the task later on, suddenly lots of new ideas appear.

Wallas’ steps could also potentially be cycled through multiple times before finishing off your work. Multiple rounds of illumination can help refine and further improve your end product.

Being aware of how your mind works makes it a lot easier to be creative and solve complicated problems. It stops being this magical thing that you don’t have control over and becomes a journey you can embark on when ever you like. Following and being aware of these steps will turn you into a master of creativity and problem solving!