Somewhere deep inside, every person is running a massive operating system. This supercomputer, imperceptibly us, processes everything that happens around us. The brain, using its logic, creates a specific picture from the entire received information flow. And this image, in turn, influences our choices, feelings and the experience that we form. It is not entirely known what exactly underlies all these complex processes, but there are some processes we are aware of.

Our reality is subjective.
We perceive the world through the senses, and the brain receives the lion’s share of information through the eyes. But the visual system is not like a live broadcast of what is happening; it is much more complicated. What we see is the result of how the brain has processed the resulting image. The brain creates a description in a split second based on what you have already learned in the past. All incoming signals pass through a chain of neurons called the “visual pathway”. As a result of this journey and billions of calculations made by brain cells, the final picture is formed.

The brain seeks to speed up its work as much as possible: it skips linking words, “guesses” the word by several letter outlines, and so on. Given the number of units of information a person receives per unit of time, such optimization can only be admired. But this superpower can play a cruel joke on us.

Try to quickly answer the question: “How many of each type of animal did Moses take into the ark?” Most of us would answer “a pair.” But the correct answer is zero because the ark was built by a completely different, no less famous biblical character named Noah. The brain tries to spend as little of its resources as possible and automate everything, whether reading or choosing products in the store. To do this, it can create some performance, barely recognizing familiar details. This is the unconscious system that quickly draws a picture of what is happening and saves us from overload, helping to solve routine and everyday tasks rapidly. But it is imperfect and can collect pieces of information into a version of events that is very far from reality. For example, you may not hear what is being said to you, or you may mindlessly take a package of granola that only looks like your favourite brand.

The only way to successfully detect your perceptual error is to use consciousness, the second and no less critical component. This is the same prefrontal cortex that helps clarify and possibly challenge the story created in your unconscious part. This explains the benefits of mindfulness: it turns out that by mastering the skill of mindfulness, being present here and now, we make the brain work more efficiently. This means we can protect ourselves from a distorted perception of reality and its consequences in the form of wrong decisions and actions.

Why do we forget to buy salt and overeat?
Indeed you are familiar with this: you ran out of salt or napkins. You promise to go to the store for several days in a row, or you go there immediately but come back without what you went there for. It also happens that even ten reminders on the phone do not help to do a straightforward thing.

The secret of such strange behaviour is still in the brain’s structure. Both humans and animals have a habit-forming centre. The so-called procedural memory is connected with this centre. We remember regular routes, how to ride a bike or tie shoelaces. If some action is repeated many times, the brain immediately directly accesses this memory and launches the corresponding learned action. Thanks to this, you can, for example, hover somewhere in your thoughts or flip through something on your smartphone while walking through a well-known area, and at the same time, get to the desired point without any effort.

But when you do something new, episodic memory and the hippocampus region work. Thanks to them, the memory of our feelings, emotions, and thoughts are preserved: we remember what happened to us and many details related to it. They also help us learn better. This can manifest itself, for example, if you have moved to another area and have not yet mastered it. Then attention captures many details, and you become much more aware on the way from the nearest bakery to the house.

But once habit autopilot or process memory kicks in, we lose access to episodic memory. Our habit system is in the driver’s seat and helps us do exactly what we’ve done many times before. And it is entirely unaware that there are new goals like buying salt this time. When a habit kicks in, we lose touch with the information that helps us make decisions and realize where we are and what needs to be done.

Eating while socializing, in front of a screen, at a party, or during times of stress are the most frequent autopilots that lead us to overweight and overeating. And often, everything happens only because the system of habits is included in the work, thereby closing access to the prefrontal cortex, which helps to understand hunger and stop when the body needs it. A similar mechanism, it turns out, also works when, for example, you are not hungry but agree to your grandmother’s piece of pie or popcorn at the movies.

Visualization works
The visualization method has not lost its popularity for many years. It is offered to be used for the magical fulfilment of any desires, for healing, and so on. Everything is good in moderation, but dreaming or mentally rehearsing some event is not so useless. Imaginary movements and images activate the same brain areas as real ones. Mental training helps to improve physical abilities and skills. When you achieve some result in your imagination, you support the brain and even the body to create the experience and neural connections that will help you achieve what you want. And the more details and feelings involved in this rehearsal, the better the effect.

Oracle within us
The brain associates any experience with certain sensations and states. These sensations affect the nervous system and slightly change it, leaving peculiar traces. In the depths of the unconscious, emotional memory presumably lives.

We now know that many unconscious processes can influence our feelings and actions. But at the same time, it is also in our power to help our subconscious and consciousness work together as one well-coordinated team. And there are many tools for this.

Of course, this is only a tiny fraction of all the fantastic and unusual that our psyche and brain hide.