What Is Mind?
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Despite decades of research in neurology, psychology, and philosophy, the true nature of the human mind remains largely unexplored. Nonetheless, it is generally agreed that mind consists of the cognitive faculties that, among many other tasks, allow us to feel, think, reason, discriminate, and imagine.
In another post, we looked at the possibility that there is more to mind than mind alone. The qualities of personality, the soul, the Divine Spirit, and even our material bodies, all come into play within the mind. Together, they determine self-consciousness, self-reflection, self-evaluation, moral decisions, and spiritual desires—even the ability to know God.
Read: Personality, Ego, Spirit, and You
Delving into the intricate workings of the mind or an in-depth exploration of psychological research is beyond the scope of this writing. Nonetheless, there are a few relevant observations to make.
Mind Is Malleable
Research by Daniel J. Siegel of the UCLA School of Medicine suggests, among other things, that mind is not spatially limited to the body or the brain, and that there exists an extended mental connectivity between individual minds—that mind is relational (Mind: A Journey to the Heart of Being Human, 2016).
This extended connectivity is a quality of both personality and mind, suggesting that there is more to the human condition than material science will admit. But more importantly to the objectives here, Siegel’s research demonstrates that minds are manageable. While this is not an entirely new idea, it has seldom been evaluated in an experimental context.
Mind is the creator of everything. You should therefore guide it to create only good.
– Yogananda
Mind is not only manageable, but also malleable. In science, the brain’s ability to reprogram and rebuild itself is known as neuroplasticity. In this process, the brain physically adapts to thoughts and feelings by creating new neurons and forming new neural networks. These physical changes can actually repair dysfunctional patterns of thinking and behaving. In other words, you can literally mold your material brain by means of active thought and repetitive actions.
Read: Spiritual Habits for the Soul
Communion with God also changes the physical structure of the brain. Two neuroscientists, Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman, maintain that a daily routine of prayer and worship permanently alters brain structure and function (How God Changes Your Brain, 2010). This is a proven way to physically and spiritually recreate yourself, thereby becoming more enlightened, empowered, and improved.
Mind Is the Gateway
We take control of our thoughts through the power of personality awareness, which is simply the ability to observe our mental activities (mindfulness). With spiritual guidance, the personality can train the mind to be positive and progressive. We begin by acknowledging and accepting only those thoughts that are loving, truthful, good, and beautiful. These thoughts motivate and direct our vital, soul-changing choices.
Mind is a divine gift—it is one of God’s precious endowments. But although mind, or consciousness, is spiritual in origin, it is not spirit. It is, however, our door to the spirit dimension—the spirit phase of existence; it is the medium through which we harmonize our lives with that of spirit life.
While the mind is not the seat of the spiritual nature, it is indeed the gateway thereto.
– The Urantia Book
Through the power and presence of your personality, learn to engage your mind as a good friend. Teach it new ways of thinking by adopting an instructive attitude of kindness, respect, and love. If you find your mind unruly, you will have to be patient, persuasive, gentle, and persistent in your efforts.
By being aware of our thoughts, we can actively teach our minds to become spiritually mature, adopt a graceful poise, be selfless, love others, be patient and forbearing. And just as importantly, we do our best to avoid unrealistic fantasies, harmful thoughts, and childish emotions.
Read: Mindfulness as Spiritual Self-Reflection
Idealize the positive. Train your mind to remember the good and worthwhile events of your life. Recollect the great moments you shared with family and good friends, and use these to construct a gallery of positive mental images you can draw on for your personal betterment and enlightenment.
Training the mind begins by understanding that mind and consciousness are things we possess, but they do not represent who we are in entirety. The mind is a tool at our disposal. We can focus it, shape it, and direct it any way we choose.
All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts.
– James Allen
Clear Your Mind
There are always challenges and problems to solve. We cannot evade the difficulties, responsibilities, and duties of everyday living. Instead, we muster courage, step forward, take up the gauntlet, and face our daily challenges with faith and determination. This is the Spirit Way.
We minimize our disappointments by not expecting too much from others. And if we expect social institutions or governments to live up to our cherished ideals, we simply set ourselves up for even more disappointment.
Instead of complaining about the present, we try to do something about it. Instead of regretting the past, we learn from our mistakes. And instead of worrying about the future, we make plans. Complaints, regrets, worry, and even guilt are not spiritual states of mind.
There ain’t no future in the past.
– Vince Gill and Carl Jackson
Let your Spirit Teacher orient you in a broader, universal context as you evaluate your thoughts with reason, logic, wisdom, and spiritual insight. God is always trying to assist you, and all you need to do is become conscious of that help and be willing to receive it. Trust in the goodness, wisdom, love, and power of the Spirit to transform you—and it will.
Master Your Thoughts
You can be a slave to your thoughts or the master of them. You can allow your mind to work against you, or command it to work for you. You can indulge in negative thoughts, or you can direct your thoughts toward positive, rewarding paths.
The tamed mind yields happiness.
– The Urantia Book
Use your mind to its fullest capacity; let it work for you. Train your mind to ponder an issue and to consider it from different perspectives. Focus your mind on the problem at hand and imagine every viable solution within the context of divine values. Then take a good rest and consider it again. Many of our problems are the consequence of making unwise, impetuous decisions, often based on a few facts and little understanding.
Read: Divine Problem Solving.
Learn to separate your personality from your mind. Your personality is your true self (see Personality, Ego, Spirit, and You). It allows you to see your thoughts, observe your actions, and ponder your future in a self-conscious and objective manner. The personality decides—it is your source of willpower, whereas the mind is the arena in which you create, analyze, reason, and evaluate.
But the mind also generates emotions and sentiments, some of which are primitive and irrational. Recognizing the clear separation between the willpower of personality and the workings of mind allows us to choose more dispassionately, thereby avoiding the danger of becoming a slave to every whim, anxiety, and fear.
Without an awareness of personality, it’s easy to fall into the illusion that we are what we think. No doubt, our thoughts affect our behavior, but it would be more accurate to say that we are what we believe, because our beliefs guide our thoughts, actions, and choices.
The true power of personality is that it picks and chooses which thoughts it will reject or adopt. We simply refuse to entertain any particular idea or emotion, just as we refuse to entertain notions of selfishness, envy, or jealousy. We also counter unwanted feelings by choosing to be reasonable and logical.
But the best way to nudge out unwanted thoughts is by choosing to fill our minds with divine values, spiritual objectives, and supernal ideals—to express love, compassion, and goodness. The unseen Spirit is our source and inspiration for all our moral decisions, notions of altruism, and spiritual insights.
Read: Four Divine Values of a Spiritual Life
Treat your mind as a separate entity—objectify it—give it a life of its own by speaking to it forcefully but also with kindness and respect. It is your child and your friend, not your foe. It is your mediator between the material and spiritual worlds. Attempting to beat your mind into submission with constant self-criticism will only undermine your feelings of self-worth.
In all your efforts, be persistent. Your mind is reluctant to give up bad habits; it doesn’t like to change. It will conjure up all kinds of sophisticated arguments or stereotypical views to dissuade you.
Taming the mind, therefore, begins with our ability to discriminate between our thoughts. And it also comes from the realization that there is, in truth, a correct or divinely led method of choosing, one that is intricately bound up with our faith in the wisdom of the Paradise Spirit.
