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Self-states are what the mind comprises. Dissociation is what the mind does. The relationship between self-states and dissociation is what the mind is. It is the stability of that relationship that enables a person to experience continuity as “I”. A flexible relationship among self-states through the use of ordinary dissociation is what allows a human being to engage the ever-shifting requirements of life's complexities with creativity and spontaneity. It is what gives a person the remarkable capacity to negotiate character and change simultaneously—to stay the same while changing. And it is this relationship that determines what is meant when we speak of conscious and unconscious. (Bromberg, 2006, p. 2, my italics)