Mind Your Brain!

For the past many years, I would use Facebook as a way to note down my questions about life, self-made quotes and even reminders. Thank the Lord for os.me. Literally!:)

But gratitude aside, not long ago, from the ‘Memories’ feature on Facebook, I got reminded of the following question which I had asked myself many years ago:

“Is the brain in the mind or is the mind in the brain?”

Or something along those lines. And it’s only after coming across Om Swami, our fountain of wisdom, that I figured out the answer. You probably know it too, but an empty vessel makes much noise, so I shall keep writing.

Well, firstly I realised the difference between the brain and the mind. The brain is a physical organ whereas the mind seems to be related to the metaphysical aspect of our existence. The mind is infinite. The brain is finite. Now onto answering the question as to what’s in what, well, it’s deep.

It is through the mind that we can understand that we have a brain, and as we have a brain, we are able to express what’s in the mind. Thoughts are of the mind, and as we constantly think the same thing, physical neural pathways form in our brain. Or so it is according to science. So really, our business is with the mind – for fix the mind and the brain will fix itself too.

If we silence the mind, the brain activity reduces, I believe. So, can mind exist without the brain? Honestly, I don’t know any of this first-hand. When I do, I’ll write a post from the other side (Just kidding, not sure they have technology there).

But what I do know, is that if we calm the mind down, by dropping thoughts as they come, with utmost awareness, then we can tap into a broader deeper ocean of knowledge. Reading books, filling ourselves with knowledge conditions our mind and subsequently limits our brain and neural pathways into a certain way of thinking.

Whereas unlearning, dropping our beliefs, rising above our conditioning, challenging the known, sets us free from the conditioned mind and refines the brain. The brain then becomes an instrument instead of a library of knowledge. We stop extracting information based on what we heard, learnt and know, instead the brain only delivers and fires knowledge at us from deeper within. 

We know from knowing and not from thinking. My first couple of experiences of this, which am sure most of you have also gone through, was a few years ago.

Well, I wasn’t a very organised student. I did absorb a lot in class just by sitting there and listening but when it came to exams, I would revise at the last minute. So, for a particular exam, as you would have it, I was up till 3am revising but just as I decided to go to sleep, before turning off my laptop, a random thought appeared. I was inspired to search for something I hadn’t heard of and couldn’t find in the notes. So I looked it up and understood it. Lo and behold, that exact question came up in the exam and I nailed a 15 or 20 mark question. Now the downside of that is, my arrogance went up and I studied even less. Which was not quite a good idea, but let’s not go there.

Another incident came up in a face to face exam whereby something within kept nudging me that the answer was ‘Air conditioning’, although I never knew this could be an option. I initially dismissed it, but as I blurted it out, of course it turned out to be the correct answer. Now there were other such instances, but be careful to not push your luck! Study, kids! Okay?! (Smirks) You could even say that these two incidents were purely a stroke of luck but maybe it wasn’t.

So bottom line is: Let’s pray for the wisdom to know when to read, when to drop and what to believe, so we may verily turn our brains into the instrument of the free mind! 

Now, if I confused the heck out of you, it was intentional. Just kidding!

I didn’t plan on writing for the os.me brain challenge, but there you go, seems like I did:)

PC