The Mind

We all know that the mind is associated with our thoughts. However thoughts are one thing and the mind is another. Nowadays, neuroscience has proven a link between emotions, thoughts and the brain.

Certain areas of the brain have been shown to “light up” every time the individual fixes his attention on something specific, or feels a particular emotion.

The brain is fundamental for the creation of thoughts, however, thoughts are not a material thing. Obviously, thoughts are of a psychic nature and are displayed in a space we call “mind”.

“The universe is Brahama’s mind” The Vedas Book.

The Transmitting Mind and The Receptive Mind

The Mind has two functions:

• The Transmitting Mind: This forms mental creations such as; thoughts, structures, projections.

This mental function is useful for things like solving puzzles or playing chess.

It is often said that we should ‘think before we act’.  However, contrary to popular belief, thinking in itself is not so useful in our daily life, since conscious decisions tend to be a result not of a chain of thoughts, but of a process of ‘reflection’.

Reflection is an attribute of the ‘Receptive Mind’ that is not directly related with thoughts but with our consciousness.

• The Receptive Mind: This receives information, elements and states from our own inner world as an interpretation (or reflection) of the outside world.

The Receptive Mind is the mind of the Sages.

How can we understand this?

Let’s imagine a view of a lake, with trees growing around it and the sun shining. If it’s windy, the water in the lake moves in a choppy way, the colours and shapes are distorted and we can barely make out what things are being reflected in the lake.

If the wind drops, the water on the lake stops moving and the reflection it produces is an exact copy of the actual view.

The mind works in the same way. If there is a constant flow of thoughts, subconscious aspects, different emotions and projections, then the reflection that we receive of reality is distorted by this movement.

In most people, the mind is simultaneously generating an endless stream of movement in the different levels of our conscious and subconscious. It’s enough to walk for five minutes while observing our mind, to verify that we produce thoughts and associations every moment, and what we can observe are only those that belong to the conscious part of our mind.

The aspects that are deeper down in our unconscious mind are imperceptible to most people.

This stream of activity generates a huge ‘noise’ in our mind, preventing the correct use of our ‘conscious awareness’.

This explains why everybody sees what they want to see, and why we all have a different point of view on the same object being observed. It also proves that ‘reality’ is something that is unknown, and this has been demonstrated with the modern advances in neuroscience.

When the constant flow of thoughts and associations is reduced, taking the mind to a Reflective-Receptive mode, the reflection of reality we will obtain will have a direct relation with reality itself.

What does Gnostic Culture recommend?

A great teacher of mankind said: “the best way of thinking is not to think “

Gnostic Culture teaches how to free ourselves from the great hubbub of “noise” in our minds: the thoughts, associations and projections that set us apart from reality.

Through the practice of meditation (1/2 or 1 hour daily) the mind is educated to remain receptive, in peace, with absolute control of the awareness and in possession of the ‘reflective faculty’.

Once a ‘conscious awareness’ and a ‘reflective state’ is achieved, we will be able to observe the course of our life with a lot more clarity. We will be able to understand ourselves, other people, the world and the purpose of our existence.

Whoever’s mind works in his favour, will become ‘enlightened’ since he has the ability to see reality.

Dear reader, we invite you to meditate for an hour a day. At first you may think that there’s no change. But don’t be discouraged, within a few months you will begin to find your inner light. It will be a gradual, natural process, almost imperceptible but of profound significance for your Being.

We wish you success and invite you to go more deeply into these studies so you can become an element of change for humanity around you.

Greetings.

Gnostic Culture.