Clarification Of The Mind

(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)

 

“It is not what happens to us that is either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ but,
rather, the way we think about what happens to us.” Marcus Aurelius

Too often we go through life without pausing to think about the meaning of our experiences. Only when something bad happens do we stop to ask, “what am I supposed to learn from this?” With a little more thought on our parts, we can begin to understand the purpose behind every event in our lives. The trick lies in gaining a higher perspective from which to redefine what happens to us. The mind can be trained to reduce outer circumstances to symbols in the same way that things are reduced to words. By finding inner symbols to represent events in the outer world, we can disidentify from these events and become detached from the negative emotional charge they might contain for us. Symbols thus become tools for breaking negative thought patterns that lead to undesirable emotional states. Qabalah, photographs, sketches, or even clippings from magazines can serve as the material focus through which we can make these symbols come alive in our minds. Once our experiences have been symbolically transformed, we can manipulate them, reorganize them, and discover or create new meanings for them. A spiritual state of mind provides the perspective necessary for this redefinition of daily life.

Since thoughts make up the contents of the mind, and the mind defines the nature of the world, what we perceive outside ourselves depends on the quality of our thoughts. In Apocalypse Now (1988) we read concerning thoughts that, “Far from being ethereal and remote from life as we may sometimes believe, thoughts act on us in profound ways. Indeed, we can literally say that thoughts are living beings. Practice shows that we can create, vitalize, and strengthen an idea force by thinking about it. As we observe its possibilities, dimensions, and applications it becomes more clearly defined. Feelings are attracted to it, and the new idea force seeps into us, becoming part of our attitudes toward life and our habits of action. Thus by thinking about strength, love, or joy, we create strength, love, or joy in ourselves.” This idea illustrates the reason for meditating on positive qualities we would like to possess, goals we wish to pursue, and ideals toward which we ought to strive. By concentrating on our thoughts and learning to direct them consciously, we can teach ourselves to create particular states of mind at will.

The perspective from which we perceive ourselves and the world depends upon our state of mind. Our minds can dwell in different parts of our field of consciousness. To identify these mental states, it helps to have a map of our consciousness field. Any map that can be described here must of necessity be a general one, and students will need to personalize this rough sketch of the consciousness field by adding details of their own. Briefly, the mind can occupy an unconscious, subconscious, self-aware (conscious), or superconscious portion of this field. The higher the state of mind (i.e., closer to the superconscious), the broader the perspective that can be gained on experiences. A broad perspective offers more possibility for thought and reflection, since happenings can be interpreted in a variety of ways, some of which might be positive and meaningful. The limited perspective afforded by unconscious or subconscious mental states can lead to negative mental and emotional responses to events. Thus, we are more likely to lose our tempers or become upset when we are “spaced out,” not paying attention, or unaware of what we are doing. The closed mind jumps immediately to a certain conclusion about what an event or experience means, leaving no room for ambiguity. The more limited the mind’s perspective, the easier it becomes for misinterpretations of events to be perceived as real and reacted to without sufficient thought.

Prayer, meditation, and invocation can serve to raise the consciousness and provide the long range perspective necessary for disidentification from negative thoughts and emotions that can cloud the mind and cause us to perceive the world as dangerous or hostile. The superconscious perspective gained from these spiritually oriented practices gives us the ability to respond to even the most difficult experiences in a calm and balanced manner.

Once a spiritual perspective has been, at least temporarily, achieved, we can begin to perceive the hidden meaning behind events in the outer world. Everything that happens to us has a purpose. Our experiences are meant to teach us something. As Apocalypse Now (1988) tell us, “If we look at the human pilgrimage on earth and at the infinite variety of human experiences through the grid or glass of the ‘spiritual perspective,’ we find that its true nature and essence appears now to be a long series of very diversified adventures, trials, and tests. All of these now become ‘transparent’ and reveal their nature and function as being that of self-actualization and self-realization?to enable a human being to fully develop his nature, consciousness, and other faculties so that he may be an effective vehicle and temple for the expression of spiritual energies, or God’s will on earth in the physical dimension.” Thus, even the most difficult experiences can be understood as necessary steps along the path to true wisdom and perfect happiness. Without hurricanes, periods of poverty or ill health, loss of a job or of a spouse, or some other trial, the goal of self-realization would be impossible to achieve. Only dissatisfaction with the circumstances of life leads us to seek the more stable ground of enlightenment and the peace of mind that comes from rising above worldly concerns. For while earthly riches may flee, good company depart, and waters rise to cover the cities where thousands live, the wisdom of the spirit endures on the holy mountain that cannot be moved.

In order to gain and keep a higher mental perspective, the mind must be flexible and agile. The agile mind possesses the ability to concentrate, visualize, and organize the thoughts it contains. Mental habits must be identified and detachment gained from them if the mind is to remain flexible. This process must be ongoing, since new habits of thought often form after old ones have been broken. Objectivity and fair thinking must be cultivated by consciously searching for and entertaining all the possible meanings for a given event or statement. An awareness of mental limitations must be obtained and a strategy developed for how to transcend them. The way that the mind works should be examined, and methods for changing its manner of functioning developed. Finally, the ability to shift the focus of one’s attention and the level of one’s consciousness must be cultivated and perfected. The following questions and exercises will help you to create a more agile mind for yourself and assist you in your journey toward higher consciousness.