From the Mist

This book accidentally got my attention while surfing. I have only just begun reading it but several thoughts came to my mind I would like to share with you.

First of all it is always a surprise to read a scientifically sound book. This book tries to be scientific and succeeds in doing so. It presents facts, possible explanations, and most importantly, asks questions.

But what surprised me again was the total lack of asking the question: “have people always had the cognitive structure they have today?”

The treatise on the subconscious through the ages, beginning with the views of ancient Greeks, seems to assume that “they” were somehow the same as “we”. For me this book is interesting because, I almost dare not say it, I do not believe there is such a thing as the sub- or unconscious. A constant source for discussion with my partner who is a psychotherapist and a haptonomist, I have the view that what we call unconscious is simply a part of a cognitive “field” in which also something like “consciousness” cannot be found.

I have found myself to be able to be “aware” even in deep sleep, and I am convinced this is not pathological or aberrant. I am especially critical of the Freudian interpretation of subconsciousness, which places the subconsciousness in the area of suppressed feelings and counterproductive and disturbing aspects of our being. So naturally I would be interested in research that dares to ask fundamental questions about consciousness, or in this case subconsciousness, and I look forward to reading this book.