What is Mind?
The element or complex of elements in an individual that feels, perceives, thinks, wills, and especially reasons.
- definition by Merriam Webster dictionary
Our minds are super powerful. While our brain sits in the skull and is connected to our nervous system and directs and controls senses and actions of our body, the mind is an abstract part of us where thoughts originate or pass through.
The Three Minds
You may be surprised to know that we have, in fact, three minds!
The first one is our CONSCIOUS MIND. It’s the trusted friend we use daily – from the time we wake up until the time we sleep. It helps us make decisions, process things around us, helps us get through the day!
The next one is our SUBCONSCIOUS MIND. It is what I like to call “our vault.” It stores all the information that we process through our senses since our birth (and much before then, if you believe in it) up until now and gives us only needed information through our Conscious mind. Imagine remembering every moment, every thought, every action, every feeling, we have experienced since birth – that would be information overload and we won’t be able to get through our day! It is also something we rely on to do routine tasks such as driving a car.
Our third mind is the SUPERCONSCIOUS MIND. It is also known as the Universal Mind. You may have heard about our HIGHER MIND or Self, a part of which is experiencing this lifetime. The Superconscious Mind is also the Source, the one that gives us our spark and connects us with all life force around us. It is that invisible force that keeps our heart beating; takes care of nature, cycles, etc.
The Mind - Body Connection
The Mind is a wonderful servant but a dangerous master.
- Osho
Let’s get back to that one important thing – the thoughts that originate or pass through our mind. A human mind thinks through thousands of thoughts per day. In fact, a recent study published by the National Science Foundation, found that an average person thinks about 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day! The study also found that, of those thoughts, about 80% are negative, and 95% are repetitive thoughts as the day before.
What do you think these recycled thoughts, mostly negative, do to our body? Thoughts are attached to emotions, which in turn affect your physical state. When you think of something happy, you feel happy; think of something sad and you feel sad, and so on - you get the point. If you keep thinking about the same things (remember that we think about same things every day 95% of the time), and if those thoughts are negative, your emotional state makes you feel sad, angry, shameful, guilty, etc. Now imagine what effect this would have on your body over time.
Every thought causes neurochemical changes in our body, some temporary, and some permanent. An article, “How Your Thoughts Program your Cells,” explains that every thought is an electrochemical event, taking place in your nerve cells producing a cascade of physiological changes. There are over 10,000 receptors on each cell in our body.
“Each receptor is specific to one peptide, or protein. When we have feelings of anger, sadness, guilt, excitement, happiness or nervousness, each separate emotion releases its own flurry of neuropeptides. Those peptides surge through the body and connect with those receptors, which change the structure of each cell as a whole. Where this gets interesting is when the cells actually divide. If a cell has been exposed to a certain peptide more than others, the new cell that is produced through its division will have more of the receptor that matches with that specific peptide. Likewise, the cell will also have less receptors for peptides that its mother/sister cell was not exposed to as often.” (Source: https://highexistence.com/thoughts-program-cells/)
When we learn to channel our thoughts wisely, we can use our mind effectively for our benefit.
The White Lotus
“Out of the mud of your fears, struggles, pain, and confusion, the lotus flower of your inner heart will spontaneously grow.”
- Buddha
We are more than what we perceive ourselves to be.
Lotus is a beautiful flower that grows pristine even in the murkiest of waters. This beautiful flower rises through the muddy waters and comes out into the light, unspoilt by the dirt around it. In many philosophies, white color of the lotus is associated with becoming awakened, is a symbol of great knowledge, and also signifies mental purity.
We are trying to bloom like the lotus, from the murky conditions in our life, by taking guidance from that knowledgeable Superconscious Mind. In doing so, we should get rid of any unnecessary baggage that is blocking us from our progress. We step inward and work with our own powerful higher self and mind to bring about desirable transformation and heal ourself.
