The Spiritual potential of the mind

So!.. basically I have this thoughts going around my mind on the last couple of weeks; I don’t know if I will be able to express the real concept, not because of the complexity but because I haven’t talked about this topic in an open environment before, nevertheless I think this is the time to do it.

Well… let me put over the table a short background of all this: while I was a young man (from 19 to 23) I decided to study (not only by reading books) some religions around the world, all that started when I found old books and letters from my mom (she passed away at her 29 years old when I was 2 years old); these books and letters were about Masons, Gnostics, Rosa Cruces, Dragoninos and Buddhism. The books where the theory and the letters where my mom’s own thoughts and her practices results!... you can imagine my expression when I discovered that!. That was my link with her! (I thought at that time); Some parts of her “experiments” where unconcluded!.. that was the moment I decided to finish them, but if I wanted to; I have to start from the beginning in order to really understand what she was looking for.

Ok, time to start the discussion!.
In those 4 years I discovered some amazing things and met the most interesting people around the world, that put me in the point to actually know that we are not only a simple race a simple creation by GOD (in any form you represent HIM/HER) it was more inside of us, we are more of what we think we are; but all that potential is trapped inside (spiritual and intellectual) of us somewhere.

All these religions including the Catholicism/Christianity have a lot of things in common, not only the fact that they were created to preserve the good among the humans but also some aspects about the INTERNAL path every single human MUST follow in order to reach the perfection. This has nothing to do with religions as the humanity conceptualized it, we are not talking about to follow a superior entity and believe all that is said as a dogma, I will not take pieces of the bible, Coram, the book of the dead or any other book and try to justify it by using my intellect, that is the easy part to do to be honest, the intellect will always find a reason to explain anything.
WE will talk about to question ourselves: thoughts, verb, feelings and actions!; this will help us to realize that we can be better and know more about what surround us just by knowing ourselves.

We will start from the simpler to the complex and from there to the inconceivable, so take your backpack grab some food and a good pair of shoes, because this journey will be fun and long, we will share our thoughts, challenge ideas and discover ourselves.

First Chapter: The Spiritual Potential of the Mind

Let's start with our most powerful tool -the MIND! This topic is a favourite of the intellectual /academic world these days. Many of the so called “brightest minds” on the intellectual playing field “confirm” to us that the MIND and BRAIN are literally the same thing. That is the popular academic position.

It would be easy for me to just go along with that idea, but there is no proof in science or elsewhere that the mind and the brain are the same thing, just a BELIEF that they are. My ideas on this are based on my own experiences. That point is important: We need to make our OWN conclusions on these very important things, and we need proof that we can experience. We must remember, it is never wise to simply accept and follow ideas without first trying prove the conclusions they present.

As I see it, the difference between the physical BRAIN and the MIND are very clear:
The brain is the catalyst of the mind. The mind needs to transmit ideas in a way that can be understood by the body. The Mind uses the Brain as a means to interpret those ideas into actions, and so accomplishes that process of transmission. In return the Brain feeds the mind interpreted data and information from the senses (your eyes, nose, ears, tactile etc) in this physical world. But wait a second! Does that mean we are speculating that the MIND is outside somewhere, and not part of my physical and material being? Well, yes: The mind is something 'outside' of physical reality! The mind resides outside of what we call time and is not subject to the 48 rules that govern your physical body.

The main problem facing anyone attempting to making these distinctions is how to get some proof? Don't worry, we will get there soon enough. But first let me throw out some pertinent questions that may shed light on how we can get that proof and the reasons for seeking it:

Why are we not able to use the full 100% potential of our brain?
Why is that for 99.9% of our lives we are not aware of what our mind is actually doing?

The mystery does not end here. Some of the self styled 'experts' on these subjects may suggest: We are unable to utilize our full brain potential because the brain is not fully developed and the BRAIN itself must be 'trained' to increase that potential. Others still, will fall back to the safe (and unprovable) position that the brain is so vast and immensely complicated that we could not hope to use it all. But why would their physical universe – via natural selection / evolution- provide us with a great big brain that we cannot even use properly? Why gives us such a fantastic tool, if we cannot even hold it in our grasp?.

In some very developed cultures the division between mind and brain is taken as very clear. Almost all of these cultures utilize the process known as meditation to close that gap connecting, in the strongest way, the mind and brain. To reach that point of connection, it is necessary to train (or fine tune?) the MIND in order that we may control it and in turn be able to fully exploit our brains!; Can you see the difference now? Read BETWEEN those lines. Mind to brain – not the reverse. In some of these cultures the seeker will overpass the normal techniques of meditation and attempt to achieve a superior state sometimes called 'Nirvana' (ed note – similar to 'State of Grace' in Christian thought). I must state at this point that while this is an excellent means to find peace, control, and illumination/enlightenment – we need to go even FURTHER to even begin to control our minds. Now you may say: 'I HAVE full control of my mind! I am reading this and I know what I am reading!'.

Let me ask a few rather normal question that I hope will help to explain my point.

1. Are you consciously aware of what your mind has transmitted to your brain in the last 10 mins? Every whim and will?.
2. Can you control, focus, or direct your OWN thoughts for at least 5 minutes?.

Here's an experiment to demonstrate what I mean: In your mind, picture the face of the man/woman you love for 1 full minute. But imagine JUST the silent image, no sounds, no smell, and no movement. You will soon see that your mind will automatically try complement the image by adding familiar or remembered sounds, backgrounds, movements – like a smile, and other sensory memories. You will quickly see that you are unable to 'control' your mind for long time periods. If that last thought experiment was too hard to imagine, try this simpler one that illustrates the same point. Go into your kitchen (or wherever you hide them) and light a match. Look at the flame and memorize that image as best you can. Blow out the match, sit down, relax and close your eyes. Try to keep the single image of JUST that flame in your minds eye for as long as you can. If you faithfully reproduce these exercises, you will become aware of how quickly your mind interrupts your single focused thought by diverting, enhancing, and introducing other thoughts....

So...What can we take away from this so far? The most powerful race and most intelligent organism on this planet in not able to fully control his own mind and therefore has not yet discovered the full potential of the brain.. Because he has not trained to control his mind – the Leader - he has not discovered how to fully utilize his brain; the physical organ that acts as a catalyst for mind to body transmissions.
It would be extremely unfair of me to only point out the problems without giving a possible solution(s)! But, don't worry I am not about to suggest crazy, underground rituals involving ancient spirits to solve this matter (LOL!) The Idea is beautifully simple and comes in easy steps. First we learn to walk, then to run, then to jump. We do this by repeating these actions.. The same logic is applies here. We train the MIND in the same way. The Gnostics and Masons refer to this as 'auto-observation'. Here is, in part, how it works: While focusing on nothing – a blank- or focused on a specific thought (like our match or loved one) you will find yourself in a complete silence for the first few seconds. Then something very interesting will happen. Like a peel of thunder an image, word, or sound will force itself into reality, and you will NOT be able to control it. As with real thunder, there will follow a rain – a downpour – of thoughts. Once this rain of thoughts begins, it is very hard to calm it down. But, THAT is exactly the point! By attempting to redirect your attentions on a single thought you want to focus on – and keep it fixed in your mind, thus training your mind to properly use your brain. With continued practice and focus over time (days, weeks, and even years) you will pass from being able to focus for a few seconds to minutes and even HOURS! The results of such focus and training could only be described as amazing! Although the source may defy explanation, the observable side effects of a trained mind on the life individual are so beneficial that it would be safe to say: The sky is the limit (literally)!.