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There are many facets to our personality and even to our consciousness. And while most of us would like to believe we know ourselves, there is so much at play beneath the surface that we don’t often understand.

For decades, psychologists have been aware of the difference between the subconscious mind and the conscious mind, thanks to the world of psychoanalysts like Sigmund Freud and Hermann Rorschach. Because of their work, we now understand that our conscious mind is only the thoughts we are aware of. Beneath the surface, we are absorbing sounds, sights, and words constantly that we never give much notice to.

Even deeper and beyond that, is a whole world of unconscious (subconscious) thoughts and behaviors that lie beneath the surface.

To dig into that world, experts have used symbology and imagery to bring these thoughts to the surface. As an example of this, the following image can be seen in two different ways. What you see first has a lot to say about your subconscious mind and how you innately deal with inner conflict.

What do you see first?

 


If you saw the trees:

If you saw the two trees, you are someone who is contemplative and quiet. When you are dealing with conflict from within, you often dive inward, avoiding your problems in place of the peace of everyone else. Rather than voicing your emotions, and feelings, you tend to keep them to yourself, because you don’t want to be a burden to someone else. Unfortunately, sometimes this can come at a cost to your well-being.

Conversely, you have a knack for not reacting emotionally at times when it would be counterproductive and are very good at thinking of things objectively before reacting in a way that would be detrimental.

If you saw the woman:

If you noticed the woman first, you are someone who faces conflict head-on. When you are dealing with deep emotions and feelings, you often can’t help but let them out. This can be a good thing, but in the heat of the moment, it can be a bad thing. You wear your heart on your sleeve and are very authentic when it comes to your emotions.