Lesson
4 -The Mind—Part I
The mind is your most powerful instrument; the mind
is great and it can help you achieve everything. Without the mind, even your
body and senses cannot function because the mind animates your five senses.
The
human mind can either take us to enlightenment or be the source of great pain.
If untamed, the mind can destroy our life by becoming attached and even
addicted to the constant desire of our 5 senses and external objects.
When we quiet the restless mind through meditation,
our mind becomes concentrated. The
concentrated mind is naturally ecstatic. EEG machines attached to the brain
show that the brain can vibrate at four different frequencies:
Beta Waves: Related to the
busy, waking state.
Alpha
Waves: Experienced during undisturbed concentration (12
seconds of non-thought).
Theta
Waves: Existing during deep meditation (144 seconds or
2.4 minutes of non-thought.
Delta
Waves: Experienced by high Yogis during Samadhi (28.8
minutes of non-thought
When we focus the mind, we can do anything. Without
concentration we cannot accomplish anything worthwhile. Once you train your
mind to tune into the silence of pure consciousness, your mind will know
everything because pure consciousness is the source of all knowledge. Pure consciousness
is that vast, silent field that awaits you right behind the thinking mind.
Only you can train and quiet your own mind; no one
else can do it for you. Take very good care of your mind; be very selective
about what you put into your mind.
The wise person
controls the mind through the soul (pure consciousness). A mind guided by
the soul (Atma) will then feed the brain with energizing & uplifting
thoughts, and we will possess enough discrimination to register only useful
signals from the senses. Here is how guidance is passed down the hierarchy in
an enlightened mind:
Soul
Mind
Brain
Five
Senses
For most people this order is reversed. The brain
and mind are under influence of the five senses and desires. The five senses get attached, are
obsessed, and are even addicted to various external objects. The senses then
pass on their obsessive desire to the lower mind (intellect) and agitate the
mind.
This
is how we build our own prisons, our compulsions, attractions, and addictions
make the nervous system and mind restless and tired. We gradually loose our
inner-peace as a result. In this way, the lower aspect of the mind (rational or
intellectual mind) is enslaved to desire for external objects.
THE NATURE OF SOUL,
MIND, THE SENSES, and THOUGHTS
This
is how the enlightened sages define the nature of soul, mind, and the senses:
Soul: India’s ancient
Vedantas say the human being is made of six energy sheaths, each vibrating at
different energies. The Soul is the outer-most sheath, the one that is least
solid. The energy field of the Soul vibrates at above 1,000,000 cycles per
second.
The
nature of the soul is to “know” instantaneously without any doubt or analysis.
The knowingness of the soul is not related to linear logic or ration. All
instantaneous and grand insights come from the Soul.
Upper-Mind: The upper-mind
(Buddhi) is an electromagnetic energy field containing information. It is the
link between the God Force and the individual personality. The Mind-Field is a
vibrational energy layer that lies between Soul and the physical body. The
Upper mind is the source of all insight, intuition, imagination, telepathy,
telekinesis (moving objects with mind-power),and clairvoyance.
Subconscious Mind: The subconscious mind is the storehouse of all your past emotions and
experiences. This mind controls our most primal and powerful early-life
emotions. Many of our emotions and habitual thought-patterns find their root in
the subconscious mind. The way to access the subconscious mind is to totally
relax the intellect until the mind chatter dissolves into nothingness. We can
also send regular auto-suggestive messages to the subconscious, using the
intellect.
Lower-Mind
(Intellect): Nature
of the intellectual mind is to think then doubt and analyze what it just
thought. Another nature of the lower-mind (Intellect) is to constantly hop from
one thought to another. The intellect cannot grasp the field of nothingness or
transcendence that we can access during deep meditation. The lower mind is just
a drop within the ocean of pure consciousness that comprises the upper mind
(Buddhi).
Five Senses: The nature of the
five senses is to engage and enmesh with external objects, then, form
attachments to external objects in the form of desire or to reject unpleasant
sensations. Both attachment and avoidance cause us pain. The way to liberation
is to witness all of life without avoidance or attachment. The concentrated
mind can accomplish this.
Thoughts: Are bubbles of
energy that arise from the ocean of pure consciousness and descend onto the
intellect and the brain. Thoughts are self-propagating. The more attached and
fascinated you become with thought, the more thoughts you will have. When you
encourage thought, your head fills up with more thoughts. Lesson of the
day—don’t follow thoughts downstream! Follow your thoughts upstream to the
silent gap between two thoughts. This is the Source of all thought, pure
consciousness or the Upper Mind.
THE UPPER,
SUBCONSCIOUS, & LOWER MINDS
The
mind operates at three levels—the upper-mind (Buddhi) is the source of all
memory, intuition, insight, creativity, and imagination. Buddhi also
discriminates between the real and the unreal.
To
help us manage our lives on the material plane (driving, paying bills, taking
care of kids), the upper Mind-Field funnels the infinite intelligence it
receives from the Soul to trickles of thought which eventually vibrate in the
brain.
As
I mentioned, many of our old, forgotten emotions and memories are hidden away in
the subconscious mind, which is the second layer of the mind.
The
lower-mind (intellect) or manas, is
where personal (intellectual) thought arises. Manas (lower mind) organizes, defines,
categorizes everything in the material world according to your core beliefs
& past experience.
Thought-waves
arising in the lower-mind are then sent to vibrate in the brain.
We
accept thought-waves created by the intellectual mind as the truth, although
these are only personal truths superimposed on God’s quantum (subatomic)
reality.
When
the mind is focused on external objects or thoughts, the upper-mind’s cosmic
consciousness is constricted down to personal intellect.
In other words, when the Upper-Mind identifies with
thought, it constricts and pure consciousness becomes intellect (lower-mind or
manas).
When we get lost in the activity of thought
(lower-mind), our ego and individual personality emerge. By identifying with
our individual thoughts, ego, and personality, we think we are separate from
God and separate from all other people and elements of our universe.
CHARACTERISTICS OF
THE UPPER-MIND (Mind-Field)
·
The Mind is
one Universal field of energy containing all the cosmic information we need.
·
The
Mind-Field is subatomic and therefore, undetectable by scientific instruments.
Mind-Field’s vibrations are too high to be detected by scientific instruments
and our five senses.
·
The
Mind-Field has no fixed location (in your body). Being energy, the Mind-Field
flows and is “non-local”.
·
The energy
of the Mind-Field moves at the speed of light.
·
We can
access the upper-mind, when our brain is at the Alpha-wave level. The Alpha
state is a restful state of the brain when brain vibrations are so low, they
don’t interfere with us contacting the higher mind.
·
The mind is
not restricted by time or space.
·
The mind
doesn’t die when the body dies, but the brain dies with the death of the body.
The Mind-Field simply leaves your body and takes our memories to the next body
that it adopts.
People who die (are brain dead) for a few minutes
and are later resuscitated, recall having memories of their life while hovering
over their dead body.
So all memory is stored in the energy field of the
mind not in the brain.
Evidence that memory is stored in the Mind-Field
(not the brain) occurs during surgery. Patients under deep anesthesia when the
brain shows no activity will later have full memory of what the surgeons were
saying and doing in the operating room.
People who are in comas for months will have clear
awareness of people and events occurring around them while in deep coma.
Insight, intuition, and imagination are also
activities of the upper-mind (not the brain). This is how creative ideas just
come to you “out of nowhere” because they are coming from the invisible energy-field
of the mind. This is a quantum field of infinite creativity.
Being an energy field like the unified field of
consciousness, the upper-mind is one universal mind connecting all beings. We
can all draw information from the same universal mind.
Here is an example of One Cosmic Mind accessible to
all: Two sisters report seeing their dying dad’s image in the sunset at the
same moment. They see the same exact image and message at the same time.
The mind being a quantum energy field, is non-local
and can instantaneously reach anywhere without brain activity. This is why you
may have thought of a dear one and the phone will instantaneously ring with
that person on the line.
Another example of non-locality of the mind is two
inventors unbeknownst to each other and worlds apart will simultaneously come
up with the same invention.
Telepathy, the ability to transfer thought from one
person to another is yet another example of the non-local nature of the mind.
The mind-field is not restricted by time and space.
Whenever you have experiences of deja vu or
clairvoyance (seeing into the future) you are crossing the time barrier.
Deja Vu experiences are also indicative that your
Mind-Field used to accompany a different body in a different life.
THE
SUBCONSCIOUS MIND
The
subconscious mind acts as an intermediary between the human intellect (lower
mind) and Buddhi (upper-mind). The subconscious has access to our intellectual
thoughts as well as to the spiritual energy of the God-Force.
The
subconscious acts very much like a radio transmitter; it converts your
intellectual thought-waves into ultra-high frequency waves, at or above 1
million cycles per second, so that the God Force can quickly hear your message.
This is exactly what a radio station does, it converts the human voice into
ultra-high frequencies that can travel through space; at the other end, an
ordinary radio set once again reduces the vibrational frequency of the voice
message so that the human ear can hear it.
The
subconscious mind is actually a layer of energy approximately 20 centers
outside and within the periphery of your body. The subconscious records every
incidence, thought, and emotion in this and other lifetimes. It is a source of
immense energy and intelligence. Once the subconscious believes and adopts a
thought or life-purpose, it contacts the spiritual energy of the God Force and
manifests that thought or purpose, using the most practical means available to
you.
You
may ask, how do I contact my subconscious and pass along the right message? There are four means of accessing and convincing your subconscious:
·
Autosuggestion
·
Love
·
Faith
·
Meditation on the energy field that
lies outside of your body within a periphery of 20 centimeters.
Autosuggestion
Autosuggestion
is the practice of repeating a positive mental thought over and over again. If
you persistently repeat a meaningful and powerful thought in your mind, that
thought soon penetrates your subconscious mind and soon enough, you will become
that thought.
You
can plant any thought or purpose in your subconscious mind. Of course, pictures
work better than words; therefore, plant your auto-suggestive message in the
form of a mental picture instead of a mental sentence.
Once
your subconscious mind absorbs and accepts your message, your entire being will
be transformed. In fact, this is how hypnosis and self-hypnosis work. The
hypnotist places the patient is a very relaxed state with an empty mind, and
begins to make positive mental suggestions to the patient. The patient’s relaxed
and accepting mind begins to absorb and accept these suggestions
subconsciously. Once the patient comes out of his or her hypnotic trance, the
desired personal transformation will have taken place. Many people have quit
smoking this way.
Once
your subconscious accepts and believes your mental message, it accelerates the
vibrational energy of your thought or desire to approximately 1 million cycles
per second or above. At those frequencies, your mental messages travel deep
into space, and they influence the God Force to manifest your desires through
the most practical means available.
IMPORTANT
CHARACTERISTICS OF LOWER-MIND (Intellect):
·
Lower Mind takes the shape of any thoughts
that you feed it. If you feed it with
lust or anger, you will have a lustful or angry mind. If you think about God
all the time, you will have divine thoughts.
·
The
lower-mind (intellect) is addicted to thought, therefore, it will hop from
thought to thought. It will never stand still. Don’t try to fight the
lower-mind/intellect by trying to stop thought. You won’t succeed! The trick is
to witness and not identify with passing thoughts.
·
The lower
mind doesn’t want to give up its addiction to thoughts.
·
Wherever
your mind goes, your five senses and prana (Life-Force) go. The five senses are
actually controlled by the mind; if you withdraw the mind from an object
(Prajyahara), the five senses will no longer experience that object.
·
Nature of
the lower mind is to cling to the negative elements of life. So, always aim the
mind at high, uplifting places.
THE NATURE OF THOUGHTS
·
When we think, we superimpose our
personal reality on God’s reality. So, thoughts are our version of truth. The
majority of people are deluded, walking around, confined in their own heads,
seeing the world through their personal version of truth.
·
Thoughts pull us out of the present
moment. Thoughts block our momentary experience of life. Thoughts are always
about the past or the future—never about the “now.”
·
Most of your thoughts are other
people’s thoughts. As adults, we have long ago lost touch with our own
inner-voice. Our thoughts are dictated to us by tabloids, newspapers, teachers,
parents, TV, and the Internet. Only by going inward, in the silence between
thoughts, can we hear our own true voice. This silent Voice is the only Truth
relevant to you and your life. Once a week, practice ½ a day or a full day of
silence. Talking agitates the nervous system, the intellectual mind, and
because of all this restlessness, we loose our inner-voice. During several
hours of silence, you will reconnect with the inner-voice of guidance.
·
The average person has about 60,000
thoughts per day. More than ninety percent of your thoughts repeat themselves
from day to day. That is because you are unconsciously stuck in those
thought-patterns.
·
Thoughts are self-propagating. The
more you feed or energize thoughts by thinking, the more thoughts multiply and
amplify. The way to inner-peace is to follow thoughts “upstream” to the Source
of thoughts. Following thoughts “downstream” by trying to analyze them will
only multiply your thoughts.
·
Thoughts vibrate and travel through
space. Each thought vibrates with a different frequency. The more loving
thoughts vibrate at higher frequencies. The more intense the emotion and intention
behind a thought, the farther it travels through space.
·
The Source of thought, pure
consciousness, is the gap between two thoughts. When we meditate on the gap
between thoughts, the lower-mind quiets down and we experience the present-moment reality of the God Force.
THE POWER TO CHANGE
THOUGHTS
We experience life based on our thoughts. No
external circumstance can affect us; it is only our thoughts about a situation
that affects us. Your thoughts determine your experience of life. If you truly
understand this basic truth, your entire life will change.
When we’re identified with thought, we believe our
thoughts are reality. When we learn only to Witness or observe thoughts and
emotions, we also find the freedom to let go of negative thoughts and move on
to more positive thoughts.
Thought-waves
are impermanent impulses of energy; they are not solid, and they are forever
changing. We have the freedom to change thoughts and replace them at will.
Your
lower mind (intellect) can only experience one thought at a time. A destructive
thought occupies just as much space as a good thought. So, why take up the
precious mental space with negativity? You can immediately change your experience of life by changing your thoughts.
THE BRAIN
The brain is only a vibratory center that registers input
from the senses and receives thoughts from the mind. Thus, your thoughts are
energy waves that arise out of the silent emptiness of pure consciousness.
Thoughts that flow into your lower mind are later sent to vibrate in the brain.
The brain is only a vibrational center; it has no independent capability to
think. It is your thoughts that generate brain activity.
Look
at the diagram below:
Mind
mind feeds the brain
thought-waves
Brain brain
vibrates at 0-24 cycles/second based on sensory input
from environment
Senses
THE CYCLE OF
ILLUSION
Most
of us are caught in a vicious cycle that I call the “Cycle of Illusion”. Here is how the cycle of illusion traps us:
1.
External or internal event triggers
our mind & sense.
2.
Thought arises in response to mind
activity.
3.
Thoughts trigger emotions.
4.
Emotions prompt us to take physical
action.
5.
Nature returns our action with a
similar reaction.
The
problem with this vicious cycle is that certain events trigger our habitual
thought-patterns (Samskaras) such as jealousy, fear of poverty, lust, etc…
Since we are not conscious of our thought-habits, we react unconsciously.
Nature then mirrors our unconscious act with a similar reaction. We then use
nature’s reaction as evidence that we were right in the first place. After
years of accumulating false evidence, our unconscious mental-habits have
hardened in every cell of our body.
What
we learn in meditation is to observe and not react unconsciously to thoughts
and corresponding emotions.
In
this way, we gradually learn to witness and not identify with passing thoughts
and emotions. As a witness to thought,
we
also learn to exist for longer periods in the silent gap between two thoughts.
When
you rest in the silent gap between two thoughts you are in a state of pure
transcendence. Although you have no body, mind, and senses, in the state of
pure consciousness, you are completely aware of life and the underlying reality
of life within the present moment.
HOW TO QUIET THE
CHATTERING MIND
The
upper-mind naturally swims in the blissful consciousness of the Soul. The
upper-mind is the connecting point between the Soul and the lower mind
(intellect). By nature, the upper-mind (Buddhi) is peaceful and not agitated
with mind-noise.
The
lower mind (manas or intellect) becomes agitated because of what we feed it
through our five senses.
Follow
these Vedantic life-principles and you will see that your mind will become
quiet, clear, and expanded:
1-
What Do I live For?
Everyday we can ask ourselves this question
with sincerity and humility. Each time we ask, we shed layers of pride,
defenses, fear, and false selves, until gradually, the heart opens and we
arrive at our sacred truth. Our sacred truth is our private accord with God,
our natural destiny.
Once we recognize and
acknowledge our truest essence, the ancients encourage us to hold it
steadfastly in our vision. This steadfast allegiance to the Self will naturally
calm and center the mind.
2-
Integrating Our Thoughts
Words and Actions
When our thoughts, words, and actions are
not in alignment with who we really are (the Self or Soul), we experience
inner-conflict. Inner-conflict triggers a great deal of anxiety and
mind-chatter. Patanjali, the enlightened father of Raja Yoga, urges us to
constantly behold our sacred truth(s) and dedicate each day to serving these
highest ideals.
In the English language, we call it prioritization. Let’s say that your
highest truth is to love and protect your family. When things come down to the
wire, you will know where your allegiance lies. Not so simple, you say? Those who have found true harmony and peace
say it’s just that simple. There is a profound contentment in knowing who we
are, what our life is about, and living it.
Ending one’s internal civil war frees up
enormous amounts of energy; our mind reclaims its natural calm and is able to
concentrate deeply.
3-
Concentration
The Vedas point out that the concentrated
mind is ecstatic. A single-pointed mind is less distracted by random thoughts
and emotions that cause anxiety. Therefore, the concentrated mind is naturally
joyful.
The other advantage of having deep
concentration is that the concentrated mind can quickly cut through confusion,
depression, and superficial reality. A mind that is quiet and deeply focused
can distinguish apparent reality from the underlying reality, even in the most
complex situations.
Concentrating the mind also has physical
benefits. During periods of deep concentration, our breathing becomes deep,
smooth, and rhythmic. The respiration rate drops and our heartbeat also
decreases. Deep concentration on a pleasant topic or object reduces blood
pressure and relieves psychosomatic illnesses such as migraine headaches.
Whenever our mind is in frenzy, we can find
an object or topic that intrigues our mind. Concentrate on every aspect—its
content, shape, color, movement, sounds, texture, etc... At that level of
concentration, time and space vanish and we bathe in a cocoon of quietude.
4-
Mind Control Through
Breath Control (Pranayama)
The Yogis teach that each human emotion has
a corresponding breath. In other words, our emotions and respiration are
intimately interconnected. When our mind is agitated, we can quickly settle it
by taking 10-15 slow, long, deep, and rhythmic diaphragmatic breaths.
The Yogic
diaphragmatic breath begins with relaxing the stomach muscles; next, as we
inhale, we should sense the sides of our ribcage expanding sideways and
outward. Exhalations should always be longer that inhalations. For an even
rhythm, inhalations should melt into exhalations with short, natural pauses in
between.
5-
Withdrawal of the
Mind (Prajyahara)
Vedic scholars explain that the mind
controls the five senses. When we fix our mind on an object, the five senses
also follow and so does prana (the life force). In the West, many people seek
relaxation and inner-fulfillment through external distractions and
entertainment. When we focus on external gratification, we give away our mind,
our senses, and life force to something outside of our Self. As our fixation on
external gratification increases, cravings intensify and ultimately we develop
addictions.
Prajyahara is the practice of withdrawing
our mind from the external object. When we do this, our five senses retreat and
loose their craving; the prana
re-circulates back in our body.
6-
Good Company
The quickest way to increase your prana is
to keep close company with the holy, wise, and the kind. When we are in good
company, we absorb powerful “vibrations” that inspire and calm our mind. The
opposite is also true; many of us have experienced destructive relationships
that leave our minds depleted, anxious, and full of bad ideas.
Take
note of your daily interactions and minimize (if not eliminate) those interactions
that regularly deplete your energy.
7-
Transforming
Negative Thoughts
All our thoughts and emotions are
impermanent waves of energy and each particular thought or emotion vibrates at
a different frequency. Positive emotions like love, generosity, humor, and
goodwill vibrate at higher frequencies than negative ones like hatred, anger,
jealousy, fear, and shame (the lowest known emotional frequency). Since our
thoughts and emotions are non-solids, controlling or repressing them is
foolish—like trying to crush darkness in a fist.
Hindu psychology recommends that we
transform negativity by consciously thinking a contrary, positive thought that
brings in higher frequency vibrations.
8-
Mind Food
The ancient Upanishads point out that the
most refined components are converted into “mind-stuff.” Thus, the purest foods
create the most powerful minds. Unprocessed, vegetarian food that is neither
too sweet, too bitter, too salty, or sour is best. The body will convert
fruits, nuts, grains, and fresh vegetables into clear thinking minds.
When referencing mind-food, the Upanishads
refer to more than just our diet. All our thoughts, actions, words, and
life-experiences (past & present) etch their impressions on the canvas of
the mind. The mind, according to the Vedantas, is very impressionable and
absorbs the qualities of whatever we point it to. In modern terms, we can think
of our mind as a camcorder—every life experience we expose it to will be played
back to us.
Those who seriously seek peace of mind are selective
about what they expose their minds to.
9-
Meditation
The surest, most systematic method of
quieting and expanding the mind is meditation. During meditation, the mind
turns inward to witness its own activity. Through the witnessing process, we
realize that there is some One observing our thoughts. The One watching cannot
possibly be the passing thoughts and emotions. This simple yet profound
recognition is deeply reassuring and calming to the mind. Once we identify with
the Witness, we no longer cling to old hurts, concepts, and limitations. The
mind expands like an ocean and we are liberated.
THE ENLIGHTENED MIND
When the mind is inward
and resting in the silence between two thoughts, mind expands into pure
consciousness. This is Buddhi (upper-mind) that draws from a universal pool of
information (cosmic consciousness).
When
we live in the gap between thoughts, we are Gods— we are living in pure
consciousness (Buddhi). In the gap between two thoughts, we witness thoughts
and emotions but we do not identify with passing thoughts. We identify with the
Source of thoughts—the silence from which thoughts arise.
In
any spiritual practice, we break free from the lower-mind of personal reality
and operate in the upper-mind of non-attachment to thoughts, clarity,
intuition, insight, and creativity. We always want to be the Witness to
thought, not attached to passing thoughts and emotions.
Non
of the above states is possible without steady concentration. You must develop
your concentration muscles. The concentrated mind is naturally blissful and not
attached to passing thoughts and emotions. As your power of concentration grows
you will gradually reach the highest level of meditation—Samadhi during which
the observer and the observed become One. This is the state of God
Consciousness.
