The Mind of Man

The human brain is such a marvel of evolution that to set out to describe it is an exercise in futility and one that is impossible but here I go anyway.  I am going to write it down as it comes to mind.  Then perhaps go back and sort it out.

Aha!  right there is a big clue.  At first I refer to the brain, an organ of the body that has been studied in great detail; measured, weighed, has had features described and functions ascribed to different lobes and zones.  Then I referred to writing it down "as it comes to mind."

This means something entirely different than brain.  Mind provides ideas, which by definition are not physical, and brain allows us to express them in words.  We are at some level connected to a spiritual world, and "mind" as used here refers to that connection.

Even when connected we are at different points of connection at different times.  We can be connected to another person, living or dead, or connected to a whole layer, and there are different layers available that give insight to thoughts and ideas unique to the instance.  We could be connected to whole realms of cerebral images and not able to comprehend and describe the experience.

As for most of the time, the brain is not necessarily so connected and functions as an organ of the body, relaying sensations and interpreting signals from within.  E.g., blow your nose, eat s.t., relieve your bladder and/or bowels, move your leg, it's getting stiff; for men, empty your semen sac; for women, fill a void. And on, and on, and on.

There are, however, occasions where we are connected to that spiritual world.  At these times we are cued to act, react, move, think, are made aware of this or that; and we may act upon those hints or not and if not this time, perhaps they will come around again.

A subset of this is the influence others have on us.  Sometimes merely by their presence but more likely by their expression to us, which can be directed toward any one or combination of the senses.

There is also an emotional aspect of any expression, be it picture, gesture, or words; some even from hundreds of years ago.  This emotional aspect stimulates us, as the receiver or viewer, and may or may not have been intended to cause the reaction that it does; unintended consequences.

Our thinking, other than responding to the needs of our body, is often guided by outside influences.  These include others with whom we have contact, which can be in-person or by some other means such as a picture, correspondence, phone, text or other digital social media.

Influence is also from media in general, i.e. advertising where we are bombarded constantly to do this or that, mostly to buy or call.  Then there is the influence of music.

Music is much more subtle in its role as an influence.  It seems to work on an emotional level and evokes various responses.

All of these influences seem to get us to act in some certain way; to do something.  If we are not careful they can take over our activities and we abandon the pursuit of our dream(s).  There are those who don't have a stated dream and they go on about their activities at the beck and call of others.  Something like an actor in a play or movie, written and directed by others.

So we have response to body influences, response to the influence of others, response to environmental influence, and response to music.  All of these are what the 4th Way uses to state that we are mechanical, or "machines."  All of these influences take a great deal of lifetime, not all of which is wasted.  A good part of it though could better be spent on chasing our dream(s).  And I say "chase" advisedly because the fulfillment of dreams is elusive, dreams evolve as we approach the realization of them.

We can often not see what is necessary to fulfill a dream.  What we see are little opportunities to take steps towards it.  If we are awake to them, we can take them.  So the fundamental requirement is to have a dream in the first place.  Without it we are adrift on the ocean of life, floating aimlessly, only to one day be cast ashore never to move again.

In other writing, I have recognized the importance of a dream.  More than one persona in the being is on the alert for the opportunities to move toward realization so things seem to happen that way.

Dreaming is a major application of mindful thinking.  It requires the full force of the mind and is primarily imagination.  Imagination, guided by reason and experience, is the most significant aspect of the mind.  This essay is from imagination; it is a product of imagination.  These are thoughts written.

The importance of words suddenly becomes apparent.  Words have meaning and become the woven fabric of thought that transcend simple actions and reactions.   Language allows complex thoughts to be expressed and not only be developed by the author, but also to be passed along to others now and in the future.

A biblical reference is, "In the beginning was the word." It is, I think, fundamentally correct.  We could, I suppose, have imagination without language to express it.  That premise would require a lot of imagination to pursue.

Nothing happens until one acts, takes action, does something.  All of the thinking in the world means nothing if action is not taken, which may be why we exist as physical beings.

Thinking is one of the processes from which action comes and the most basic component or the starting point, the genesis of ideas, is imagination, abstract thinking.  The cycle is: abstract thought, to dreams, to action.

The leap from dream to action can be made in one leap or in small steps.  The realization of a dream is a group effort, where the group is comprised of all the many personae who are the being.

In addition to these and in the likeness of being, we form organizations of people that have as their purpose the realization of  the larger dream, which is sometimes called the mission or purpose.  Once beyond the individual, it is a whole new field of study.

It is important to recognize that organizations are similar to an individual.  Just as a person has a variety of unique personae, an organization has a variety of unique people.  It is the dream that unites the persona and gives them direction.

I am reaching a conclusion that the mind and the body, including the brain, are two different entities.  This is big.

It seems that the brain gathers impressions, remembers them and the mind uses them as fodder for imagination which can lead to action.  The mind reaches a decision on what to do in a variety of ways but it is important to note that not all actions are initiated by mind.

Some actions are reflexive, some responsive, and some reflective.  Reflexive are made in response to perceived danger or threat.  Responsive are made to satisfy a physical need, real or perceived, from ideas spawned from influences.  Reflective are from mind.

Mind may straddle the spiritual and physical realms.  While imagination uses memory and reason to reach conclusions that lead to actions, the influence of other entities in the spiritual realm may also be a factor.  They may, although not in every instance, influence the mind to act in a way that the rest of the being may not have foreseen.

A great mystery is the composition of the spiritual realm.  I imagine two general sections, good and evil.  Where good is the constructive and works to continue life and the spawning of spiritual entities and evil is destructive and intent on doing what can be to destroy life and end the development of the spiritual realm.  Good and evil may even be further subdivided according to some overall aims that are eternal.  We see evidence of great good and great evil such as Mother Teresa and Adolf Hitler.

The influencing entities are those who, as Masters, have graduated to permanence through work during lifetimes.  Influence on the mind of living beings comes from within the subdivisions of good and evil

These subdivisions may even be hierarchical right down to the individual spiritual entity.  This is not to say that an individual mind is completely in the spiritual realm but it is closely influenced by spiritual entities in its proximity.

Using his mind, the individual still has the choice to act in agreement with spiritual entities' influences or not.  He has the option to select which influence he will allow to prevail.  The integral of his choices, leading to the juncture where Master attains permanence, determines where in the hierarchy of the spiritual realm he is placed.

Completely good and completely evil may be two extremes of a continuum.  It could be that spiritual entities enter that realm at some sort of mid-point, leaning one way or the other.  Then as the present passes they develop, even in this spiritual realm, to more of one or the other and existing there in eternity, influencing living beings.

It seems reasonable to think that the physical realm, from energy and subatomic particles through atoms and matter to the universe, is a model of the spiritual world.  And we are just beginning to see and understand more of this physical world.  We only have imaginative statements, such as what I am making, about the spiritual realm.  Furthermore, and by definition, there is no physical proof of its existence.  This is the beauty and the futility of it.

On Death

I am now about to complete my 79th year of life; what began at conception is now passing.  I note in the obituaries that about half of those listed are older.

Often I look at my image in the mirror, on the screen, and photos and ask, who's that; and I honestly don't know.  Because there are actions taken by this person that are not deliberated ahead of time; they are more reactions.  Often they are the result of another action that was taken for a different reason.  I have gone to places for one reason and when I got there, there was an unforeseen consequence.  Most of the time it was good.

There are different occurrences, resulting from inattention.  These produce unexpected and unanticipated results, often inconsequential.

I conclude that "Master" is a driving force within me.  He is mute and secret.  He seems to occupy a niche inside me.  He may have aim and a purpose that he is fulfilling; a purpose as part of a larger, spiritual world that uses life to do whatever.  For example, there are those who study Mathematics and Physics and use the results to reach out into space, to Mars and beyond, and those who study Biology and improve the quality of life and the span of lifetime we are able to experience, and Ecology to extend and protect life on earth; to name a few.

These studies require discipline, without which nothing would be accomplished.  There is a struggle between doing what one needs to do and what one wants to do; discipline and permissiveness.  It is the balance of these, the compromises made, that allows progress and pleasure; too much of either and the results are destructive.

Our time, our cognizant time, time that we experience during our lifetime, is taken up with living from day to day.  A portion of it is applied to fulfilling our basic needs, real and perceived.  The rest is seeking pleasure and avoiding pain, fulfillment of psychic needs, emotional gratification, and satisfying appetites of one kind or another.  The wise person sees this and maintains a degree of control; keeping one or more from gaining so much power that gratification becomes the sole purpose of existence.

All the while the physical being is living a lifetime, Master uses the being to advance the aim of the spiritual world of which he is a part.  When that lifetime is over, when the body can no longer renew enough cells to carry on, Master bids it fond farewell, in most cases, and moves on to another.  If a body is unfortunate enough fall victim to fatal gratification, disease, or suffer fatal harm, Master may likewise move on to another.

This body, then, is no more than a means for Master, as part of a spiritual world, to achieve aim.  There is, however, an illusion that it is more than that.  It, the brain-body, has been evolved to be quite a complex being, capable of imagination, reasoning, and decision making.  In being thusly constructed, it gets the notion that it is more.  This is unfortunate because it is not.

When death occurs, all of the physical aspects of this brain-body cease to function; Master moves on.  And if this is what is meant by soul then, yes.  "Rest in peace" may be restated to "Go in peace."  What could have been accomplished, given the circumstances, was accomplished  in this lifetime; on to the next.

What I realize, as I write these thoughts, is the truth of death.  This body ceases to function as an instrument of the spiritual world; it decomposes to its disparate constituency.  All of the "personality" experienced during it likewise ceases to be.  It remains, only as memories that were recorded and recalled; and when not, as in the case of some civilizations past, it is lost.

Dust to dust.

The Icing (The Niceties)

We have the four necessities, our basic needs: nourishment, sleep, participation, and sexual expression.  We act to satisfy them as long as we have them, some a lifetime.  The other times of our lifetime determine who we were, who we are, and who we want to be.  Satisfaction of the basic needs requires time, an interval of life, wherein the need is met and satisfied.  When satisfied, there is a silence, of sorts, wherein the being can contemplate and make his next move.

For each need, then, there is a respite, a freedom from that need.  During this respite the deeper levels of the being can make progress towards achieving the goals that support Aim.  Aim is the end to which "Master" is working.

It is impossible to state with any certainty what is the Aim of "Master."  A stab at it would be: to achieve a state of existence that no longer depends on the physical world, in other words, to become a spiritual entity.

I think that a whole other world exists; one that is spiritual, or not physical, wherein entities exist in peaceful or not so peaceful states.  There could be rules and laws in that realm as well as in our own; laws that, when violated, carry with them repercussions.

When at peace, constructively doing whatever spiritual entities do, such as manipulating life in the living physical world to develop along certain lines, then all is well.

There could be those whose lifetime, i.e. their most recent physical inhabitation, was violated by another in such a cruel way that they bring vengeance upon that other.  There are true stories of perpetrators of heinous crimes, including wars, being brought to justice in ways that drip of spiritual intervention.

This implies that there is a force for good and a force for evil.  Good and evil, then, need definition.  Good may be what is done to advance the existence of life and evil may be that which violates or undermines it.  This is a veritable ice-berg of a thought.

The litmus test of a lifetime is what we did/do; if it advances the aim of Master AND allows others to do so, it is good.  If it doesn't, even if that means having done nothing, then it is evil.  There is only good and evil.

So in living a successful life a being's needs are satisfied and other actions/ inactions advance Master towards his Aim.

The Cake (The Necessities)

Yesterday I wrote a rather long item about my current situation here at home.  It was therapeutic for me and I'll read it again sometime.  There is, however, something else on my mind, which may have been triggered by that writing session.

It seems that we have needs that must be met more or less in parallel, or that must be met at different moments/times of day.  An obvious one is nourishment of the physical body, a second, and equally obvious, is for sleep, the third is the need to participate in the world around us, and the fourth is the need for sexual expression.

We get hungry, we find and eat food, digest it, utilize it to repair/ replace used cells, and eliminate the waste.  This is a contant process, it goes on all the time and we are not consciously aware of it-- generally.  We get involved on a conscious level while looking for food and drink, become aware of the processes through sounds, smells, and the sensations around them, respond to the need to excrete waste be it solid, liquid or gas.  Otherwise we are not involved.  Although the involvement described above is continual and requires attention, it is not like healing which continues without any attention other than that called for by pain.  A great deal of our lifetime is spent attending to nourishment of the body.

Another need, and one over which we have little control, is sleep.  Here I am referring to becoming unconscious for an extended period of time, hours.  It seems that there is this requirement to go to sleep every day,  It is so strong that it occurs whether we want it or not; such as when one falls asleep while reading or watching TV or even while driving a car.

The body continues to function during sleep and much research has been done about it but it remains something of a mystery.  Suffice it so say that it is a period of the day when physical and psychic damage is repaired.  One can also say that it is an extreme state, i.e. the part of our being that makes decisions is turned off and the personae of the "instinctive source" take over.

So sleeping and eating are two basic process required for life.  There are other needs that are in play all the time at least while we are conscious but these two are fundamental and there are two others that are also fundamental.  

A third primal need is participation.  "No man is an island." We cannot be satisfied for very long if we are not in some way attached to one or more others.  From the very beginning of a lifetime, we are part of a group.  It starts with mother and family, then in teen-age years it ranges out to schools, church, groups such as scouts, teams, or gangs; then as we grow older there are work groups.  Some even make a career out of it in politics or government in one form or another.

Our need to participate shows itself in conversation.  This is the basis of participation and it can be in talking or corresponding in writing or on-line.  The need to participate, or be a part of s.t. beyond our individual self is as basic as any of the other needs discussed thus far.

The fourth of the primary needs is sexual expression, i.e. satisfying the urge to procreate.  The urge expresses itself in many ways.  It begins with, or is made apparent by, a supply of semen in a man and ovulation in a woman.  The need for the man is for relief; for the woman it's fulfillment.

A man has a sac of semen and seeks out a place to make a deposit; a  woman has an egg that is ready for fertilization.  From these two basics unfolds some bizarre behavior.  This behavior is the  result of other aspects of the being getting involved, especially personae of the "emotional source."

A being is made aware of this need at the onset of puberty when semen begins to be produced by the male and ovulation occurs in the female.  It continues until both of these end later in life but can be prolonged either medically or through imagination stirred by stimuli.

The ability to cope with this need is developed over time.  There are societal conventions which are violated in secret all the time.  When violations become publicized there are repercussions.  It's interesting that almost everyone violates these conventions at one or more times but still expresses condemnation when observed in others.

Dealing with situations that arise  from this need fills many volumes of literature in all forms: poems, plays, novels, fables, myth, and even "spiritually" inspired works.  As anyone else, I could tell stories of my own exploits in this arena but will spare the reader and me.  Now in my 79th year, the need has subsided and can be more objectively described.  There is, however, a long span of lifetime during which a man or woman must deal with this need.

Beyond our four basic needs there are permutations of them.  Recognizing them and dealing objectively with them is the secret of success shared by many.  Going to extremes with or in any of them can be problematical.

There are situations where society, i.e. the larger community, makes rules and or laws to regulate the effect on others of one satisfying his own needs.  Violating these rules has consequences, some more severe than others.  Satisfying one's own needs to the detriment of others becomes criminal in  some cases.  Punishment can range from a reprimand to prison and even death.

Obeying and disobeying rules can become an obsession and one extreme is a s bad as the other.  (A good example is my little essay, Mind the Yellow Line.)  Volumes could be, and have been, written on situations where people have behaved at one extreme or the other.  

There are situations where the perpetrator is, in his own mind, simply meeting a need without regard to the effect he's having on others.  It is this very situation for which the laws are written.  The law is there to guide and to punish.  The punishment being for the wrong and the guide as an example to others to refrain from that same behavior.

The next installment deals with what we do in addition to satisfying basic needs; the icing on the cake.

The Missing Ingredients

What's missing?

My daughter worked in a start-up company that was beset with problems, not of a business nature but of a Human Resources nature.  There was a total lack of "culture," i.e. accepted and expected behavior, attitude, and personal values.  It even went so far as to have a committee address the issue.  Nothing was resolved, the company simply disintegrated and became worthless.  It was a shame because the idea and the needs that it met were real.  Another entrepreneur advanced the idea and it was successful.

Burger King floats the idea that any woman impregnated by a World Cup competitor would receive free hamburgers for life.  A restaurant in Lexington KY refuses service to a White House staffer.  Time magazine uses a composite photo of the president and a child that misrepresents both of them.  All of these are cases of poor judgement.

We see a lot more of this now because there are three ingredients necessary for an idea or an organization to succeed.  These are intelligence, judgement, and discipline.  All three of these have to be in play in order to avoid missteps and embarrassment.  And in today's environment two of the three are missing.

Why do we see more of this?  I submit it is because we are evolving a society that doesn't value experience.  Experience by those who have been there, done that, and are sadder but wiser for it.

Lacking a stratum of experienced heads, the people who don't know any better are making decisions.  The mistaken belief that knowledge, i.e. knowing facts and interpreting them, is all that it takes to be successful.  We have abandoned any idea of an older wiser opinion having value.  We are reluctant to even discuss what we are going to do for fear that it will be nixed.

We are into our screens, searching data bases, and reading news that is manipulative.  Isolating ourselves from any and all who might disagree with us.  And when we think we are right, we do it.  Like the person with the right of way on the road, sometimes we are dead right.

We don't have social intercourse with others in general, in waiting rooms, on the bus, at the fitness center, at the ball game (or any other sports venue.)  If we aren't familiar with someone, don't know them, we have nothing whatever to do with them.

So the idea is put into action and things blow up in our face.  It's time to temper intelligence with experience, to have the wisdom to base our actions on judgement and the discipline to think and ask before acting.

Such a Good Boy

Why do we do whatever?  There are things we do to seek pleasure, things we do to avoid pain, things we do to be left alone.  And, I think, that just about covers the territory of motivation.

One of the pleasures we seek is the "attaboy" or "attagirl."  That little hint of recognition of a good job.  We often spend that little bit of extra time to get it right for the same reason or, perhaps, because we don't want the pain of embarrassment that comes along with a less than satisfactory performance.

Then there is the phenomenon of what we say and when it is said.  Upon reflection, I have often said things, spouted facts, truths, and opinions that would indicate that I am smart.  At least it would make me feel that way and, therefore, to others.  That the others were in awe of my smartness was not necessarily always the case.

I think I know from whence this comes.  For me it has to do with being told I could no longer attend a school because of a low grade point average.  I thought it indicated that I wasn't very smart and have been recovering from that rejection ever since it happened.  From that day on I felt that I had to prove to me and others that I was in fact smart, intelligent, and in the know about any and all things.  Until now that is.

 For the record, and yielding to the need to be thought of as smart, I went back to that school and graduated in my original field and was on the honor roll every semester from then through graduation.  I went on to get an MBA from a prestigious school and, objectively, was successful as an engineer, manager, and executive in a large corporation.  So you see, I am still haunted by this.  Any hint of failure or unsatisfactory performance causes me great angst.

Since retirement I have backed way off of this line of thinking.  I'm involved with acting in theater, films, and voice where one is only as good as his current performance.  There is no need to impress anyone when not performing and there is a need for humility to yield to the wishes of the director during rehearsals.  There is still the need for good performance in the current production.

Recognition comes from having been seen on stage or film, not from a perceived position of power in the community.  With no power or influence there is no need for anyone to be obsequious nor is there a need for me to be so to anyone else.  Praise comes from performance and allowing others to vicariously be in the limelight.  And, if my performance is good or even great, they take away a good or even great feeling about it as well.

It is tempting to tout my intelligence but less and less.  I look forward to when I don't feel a need for it.  The most frequent situation now is answering questions.  I find it tempting to answer any and all questions that come my way, therefore showing how smart I am.  Maybe I'll simply register the question and not answer it.

As for my personal need to feel that I have a superior intelligence, I believe I will simply have to get over that.  There are many instances where I don't have a more intelligent answer or solution and I thank me for not speaking up and showing my lack of having one.

My aphorism: "Impervious to the remarks and opinions of others, I have more fun," speaks to this but it has to go deeper.  So I will add another: "Looking at my accomplishments and activities, I see that I am at par or better."

I have to reach a fundamental understanding of my intelligence, not that it is superior but that it is what it is and that I can look back on my accomplishments and be satisfied that I am not inferior in any way.

I put it that way on purpose because in the past I have striven for a feeling of superiority.  It came from my history and my education as an engineer where we were taught to derive the solution and not simply apply formulas.

In retrospect and upon reflection, I understand that I am not a mathematical nor scientific genius.  Not better than nor worse than anyone else who makes their way in the world.  Capable of being duped and excusing me when I have been.

Another aspect of the way it was is the exception that I took to any question of my intelligence.  I would react strongly to any suggestion that I was less than "in the know."  This has abated considerably and instead of the all knowing nod or mm-hmm, I ask why, or what, or where, or when, or how much.  Often I am surprised by the answers that I get.

So "Impervious to the remarks and opinions of others, I have more fun" will stand and I'll add "Looking at my accomplishments and activities, I see that I am at par or better," because they are two different things.

These blog entries may be part of my need to prove my intelligence but I quickly add that they are made for me.  Others may enjoy them but I ask them to hold their criticism because it is not sought.  Suffer in silence.

Respite or Escape

In the way we spend our time, there are two basic types of things we do; that which we should do and that which we would like to do.  It's a good day when what we should do and what we  would like to do are the same and we move toward the fulfillment of our dreams.

There is, however, an insidious activity, or two or three or more, in which we engage that is completely and totally a waste of time.  Doing it for a break, a respite, is one thing but often these activities are those in which we get lost, for sometimes hours, and when we finish there is nothing to show for it.

They are in a category by themselves, escapes  We of course like to do them or we wouldn't but sometimes the allure of doing them gets hold of us and before we know it we are involved where we shouldn't be.  It is so much easier to make an escape than do what would be more constructive and even profitable.

So the big question is why?  For one they are enjoyable.  Some give a sense of accomplishment; such as solving a Sudoku puzzle or Crossword puzzle, others entertain, such as a YouTube video or a scroll through Facebook, still others provide for social contact such as an Email, a phone call, or even a face to face chat with another.

One thing they all have in common is that they are readily available and convenient.  There is no planning or preparation involved, there is no result that must be achieved, there is only the engagement of the device or the "hello" to another and we are off and running.

Since there is no result that must be achieved, there is no fear of failure or unmet anticipation of success.  Avoiding the need for a specific and good performance we can get lost in the activity itself.

This creeps into practice, such as at the pool table shooting balls without proper attention to the shot.  It can happen on the driving range at the golf course.  I've done it and have seen others do it; stand there, shoot the ball, it goes where ever and shoot again, and again.  In running, they call it "junk miles," in riding, they call it a "trail ride,"  mindless activity.

In our Time Utilization grid, these activities are not urgent nor important.  Recognizing them and curtailing participation in them to a "time-out" is the necessary action to be taken.

The dream of our ideal is important because one of our more cognizant persona will recognize the distraction and call it to the attention of  Director who will then reorganize the activities and engage in those that would advance the realization of that dream.

This, of course, is not the only purpose for having a dream of our ideal.  Other equally important or even more important aspects of having a dream are elucidated  in other essays.

Engaging in escapes may be a hold over from when we were young and forming our patterns of thinking, moving, and feeling.  Since we had no life dream to guide our activities, we simply did whatever we enjoyed and used the many iterations as learning experiences.  And since we had no schedule we could keep up the trial and error until successful.

As we approached maturity, we were educated by those in positions of authority and our activities became more directed to achieve results, achieve our dream.  But "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," so we occasionally we revert back to our pre-schooling days for a break in the intensity of performance.  Once refreshed, we should go back to the grind.  It's when we don't give it up that the trouble ensues, the time is wasted and never recovered.

The moral of the story is obvious and not lost on me.  I'm off now to achieve my dream.