It鈥檚 all very well having a clever unconscious running the show, but it would be nice to know what it鈥檚 up to. How, though, when you are not aware of what it鈥檚 thinking?
In fact, there are a few tried and tested ways of getting in touch with your hidden thoughts. Harvard University鈥檚 Project Implicit unconscious biases using quick-fire questions that assess how readily they associate words such as 鈥渂lack鈥� and 鈥渨hite鈥� with others such as 鈥済ood鈥� and 鈥渂ad鈥�. The project鈥檚 website has a slew of online tests exposing unconscious attitudes to race, gender and homosexuality. The questions flash up fast so it鈥檚 hard to cheat. Try them 鈥� you may be surprised at what your unconscious has to say ().
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Russell Hurlburt, a psychologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has another approach. He asks volunteers to wear an earpiece linked to a beeper, which goes off at random intervals six times a day, prompting them to note their thoughts. At the end of the day, Hurlburt conducts an hour-long interview to tease out what people are thinking and how. After four decades of doing this, he has come to the conclusion that most people have no idea what is running through their minds, but that they can be taught to tune into it in just a few days.
That鈥檚 exactly what I find, when I volunteer to join the study. The first day I am terrible at it. I believe I鈥檝e captured what I was thinking: 鈥淚 am on the train thinking that I should send some emails.鈥� But then I speak to Hurlburt. 鈥淒id you hear words in your head?鈥� he asks. I don鈥檛 have a clue. 鈥淧robably. Maybe,鈥� I say. This is typical for the first day, he assures me.
Hidden powers: 6 amazing things your unconscious mind can do
You predict the future, decode words in your dreams and judge faces in 0.1 seconds. Thoughts you don鈥檛 know you have run your life 鈥� here鈥檚 how to eavesdrop
The second day goes better. At the time of one beep I am feeling overwhelmed and note that my head is spinning. 鈥淟iterally spinning?鈥� asks Hurlburt. 鈥淵es鈥�, I reply, and proceed to describe a very familiar sensation that I seem to have always known without knowing it. Hurlburt nods. He believes figurative sayings may often reflect reality. 鈥淚 think that when some people say they are seeing red, they literally see red,鈥� he says.
Another beep while I am very angry reveals that I don鈥檛 literally see red. But it turns out that I do pay a lot of attention to bright colours. I had no idea. Another bleep reveals more weirdness. It goes off while I鈥檓 walking in the woods, making an imaginary phone call, and the words 鈥淥h, hello鈥� are floating from top right to bottom left across my field of vision. Surreal!
Mind reading
Spinning head, floating letters and colours everywhere 鈥� is this my unconscious mind laid bare? Hurlburt isn鈥檛 convinced. He believes we are conscious of such thoughts while having them, but then they vanish 鈥渓ike a dream upon waking鈥�. Using the beeper is more like mindfulness meditation, he tells me. 鈥淶en monks have a very similar system 鈥� they sound the gong and you pay attention to what鈥檚 going on right now.鈥�
Still, learning to tune in to my moment-to-moment experiences might give me greater access to my unconscious. A study published earlier this year were quicker than others to consciously register a decision made by their unconscious mind. At the very least, the beeper experience has revealed parts of my inner life that I didn鈥檛 know existed. It has been fascinating. What鈥檚 more, anyone with a smartphone can download Hurlburt鈥檚 app, IPromptU, which interrupts you randomly to remind you to tune in.
The thoughts you don鈥檛 know you have actually run your life. Here鈥檚 how to eavesdrop on them
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥�7. How to make the unconscious conscious鈥�
