Consciousness can tell us no more than a ripple on the surface of a river can tell us of its depths.

All that consciousness really tells us is of the existence of passing states of mind. It can tell us nothing of their origin, their value, or their consequences.

When we dream that we speak, we believe that we speak from a free decision of the mind, yet we do not speak, or, if we do, it is by a spontaneous motion of the body. - Spinoza

It is only when experience has supplied us with an idea of what may be done that we will it shall be done.