Customer Reviews

Beyond the Conscious Mind: Unlocking the Secrets of the Self

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Our beliefs may be false (a revelation which had a profound impact on me) and the accuracy of our powers of introspection may be suspect, but our emotions are logical (!) and we can think and communicate non-verbally, not to mention the creative powers we have left untapped. I wish this had been the textbook for my high school psychology class.

Right from page 1 the author has his work cut out for him: explaining the self-organizing nature of the brain and what this means for our consciousness. Blakeslee does this brilliantly with numerous examples of self-organizing systems (like a beehive) that even a non-scientist can understand. Without getting bogged down in technical descriptions or getting lost down philosophical dead-ends, Blakeslee introduces us to our "self module", only one among many talents at our disposal. After describing what this language-bound module can do (and what it can't do, but other modules can), he masterfully applies this knowledge to our everyday lives: our emotions, education, beliefs, our children, sports, music, and creativity.

The book lives up to its name, because I have never read another book on consciousness which really introduces you to nonverbal thinking, a large and thought-provoking chapter in the book. From the famous Libet "consciousness time-lag" experiment, Blakeslee bravely follows the ramifications this presents for the self module, and reveals the equally disconcerting possibilities it holds beyond the conscious mind.

This book is probably one of the most interesting books I have read. It is easy to read and revolutionary at the same time. I stumbled across this book at the University of Arizona College Book Store. Otherwise, I would never have found it. I am completely baffled as to why this book is currently out of print. If you have any interest in psychology, this book is an absolutely must read! If you do not read this book, you are missing something very important.

This is a book that gives the final picture after you have thought so much about this issue. And explains so much else with it. I have some questions also; In one of the chapters the author says that 98% of the time the self module is not "on". My questions are: What decides if one of the modules is "on" or "off"? Is it some kind of "marker" telling that either the self module is on or off? What if the self module is not "on", is it still "running somewhere else"? By the way; is the author planning a new book about the modules role in dreaming? Thanks

The failure of the publisher soon after this book was published is really a shame as it should have had a much bigger impact. Blakeslee's ideas are clearly presented and can make a major difference in your life by helping you to better understand the distortions that result from a faulty self-concept. Unfortunatly, the self-concept we are taught by our society totally ignores the thinking going on in all parts of our mind other than the verbal self-control part of your mind. A large section on mental illusions shows some of the bizzare lengths we go to to preserve this false concept of a self always in control.
It's really a shame that this book is no longer in print as used copies are selling for as much as $250 in the used market.