Levels of Mind

Conscious Mind

Conscious mind is that part of our mind which reasons, thinks, discriminates, contemplates and analyzes. Emotions or feelings of all sorts, i.e. likes, dislikes, love, hatred, jealousy, anger, joys, sorrows etc., are all experienced in this mind. Imagination of all sorts of future happenings and worrying about the past are all done through this mind.

Through physical senses (Sight, Sound, Smell, Touch and Taste), conscious mind remains in contact with the outside world. All voluntary movements of the body are done by our conscious mind only, through the respective organs of action.

Besides, the conscious mind also remains in touch with the subconscious mind (another level of mind described later). Impulses and urges from our subconscious mind induce the conscious mind to behave in a certain way and to indulge in certain types of action. However, the conscious mind on the other hand is also subject to pressures from society and outside world which expect it to act or behave in a certain way so that its image is not tarnished. It results in a conflict if the subconscious mind’s urges and the social expectations don’t match and thus our conscious mind remains in a state of conflict and turmoil. If it increases too much, it results in many psychosomatic diseases.

The central idea in mind control is to remove this conflict in the conscious mind by exposing the subconscious mind totally and removing all types of biases, prejudices, fears, suspicions, and negative emotions stored there.

Subconscious Mind

Subconscious mind is another level of mind and is accessed when we go deep inside our inner journey.

The subconscious mind is the storehouse of our memory. All that we have ever seen, heard, thought, talked, done whether in this life or earlier lives get stored here as a sort of permanent record. Emotions linked with our thoughts, words and actions are also deposited in our subconscious mind along with memory. It is this emotional part of our thoughts/words/deeds which after depositing in the subconscious mind plays havoc with us. These emotions make the conscious mind restless by constantly agitating it from below. They are like fire balls kept below the conscious mind. The urges and impulses rising from the subconscious mind constantly demand satisfaction through the conscious mind.

Pure memory without any emotions doesn’t affect the purity of subconscious mind. It is the emotions which make the water of subconscious mind impure and turbulent and which in turn agitate the conscious mind.

Every incident to which we react with emotion also creates an impression on the subconscious mind which is called samskara. Because of these impressions, we all have different types of predispositions, inclinations, habits, biases, phobias, fears etc. In the science of mental control, the subconscious mind is purged of all these impressions and impurities, and rendered pure. To illustrate it with an example, suppose you have had a very bad experience with a tenant in your house. You had frequent quarrels, shouting, and exchange of abuses with him. By such repeated incidents, you might develop a bias or impression in your mind that now you will never give your house on rent to anybody because all tenants would be like that only. Similarly, another person who has had a wonderful relation with his tenant might develop a bias that it is good to keep a tenant in the house. Thus, because of biases, both the persons are not able to see the reality as it is. However, the fact of the life is that there are both good and bad person in the world and just because some persons are bad, everybody doesn’t become bad. Even you may have to say at a place as a tenant where you do not have a house of your own, will you behave in the same way as your tenant behaved with you? Certainly not. The requirement is to clean the subconscious mind of all biases and past conditioning so that it can look upon the things in a completely objective way without adding the colour of emotions.

Normally, the subconscious mind can’t be directly accessed. Way to go to it is only through the conscious mind. But a branch of science has been developed called ‘hynotism’ through which the hypnotist makes a direct access to his subject’s subconscious mind by bringing his conscious mind in a semi-sleep or drowsy state by suitable techniques. The advantages of this direct access is that the subject’s phobias, fears, biases, guilt complexes stored in the subconscious mind can be directly known and then counter suggestions can be given to the patient’s subconscious mind to alter these patterns. So many psychological treatments have been done this way where the roots of the problems were lying in patient’s subconscious mind. Use of hypnotism has now been extended to painless surgeries and childbirth by giving the patient necessary suggestions during hypnosis and there is no need to give external anaesthesia.

All our mental powers or occult powers belong to the domain of the subconscious mind. Telepathy (mind to mind communication), clairvoyance (seeing distant things), clairaudience (hearing distant sound), hypnosis, autosuggestions, visualization, all these phenomena belong to our subconscious mind. When by any means (i.e. meditation, hypnosis), we have access to our subconscious mind, we can have access to these powers also. Power of materialisation of thought also belongs to the domain of the subconscious mind.

Functioning of autonomous nervous system in our body is totally under control of the subconscious mind, e.g. activities of breathing, digestion, blood-circulation, heart, immune system, etc.

Super conscious Mind

Super conscious mind is our real self devoid of any impurity and full of bliss and peace. If we can have a glimpse of it even for a moment we will be filled with indescribable peace. It is like drinking from the fountain of joy and peace. The more we are able to stay at this place, the more the nectar of bliss and peace and happiness comes by our contact with this real self. The illusory happiness or pleasures which we derive from worldly possessions and sensory enjoyments are only short lived and mixed with pain.

Now the most vital question is how to remain in contact with our super conscious mind or real self? The subconscious mind acts as a barrier between the conscious mind and super conscious mind and dose not allow the conscious mind to perceive the super conscious mind directly by turning within. To illustrate it with an analogy, the subconscious mind is like a lake filled with water, the super conscious mind is the bottom of the lake and the conscious mind is the perceiver looking from the top through the water of the lake. So long as the water of the lake is dirty and turbulent (i.e. the subconscious mind is full of impurities), the conscious mind can’t see the bottom of the lake. But when the water of lake is pure and calm (i.e. a pure subconscious mind purged of all impurities), you can clearly see the bottom of the lake.

Hence in other words, techniques of self realization are nothing but a process of cleaning the impurities of the subconscious mind and a process of stilling the conscious mind and turning it inward. When the conscious mind is directed outwards, it is in contact with the world and when it is inwardly directed it is directed towards this real self (or the super conscious mind). This is what is done in meditation to turn the direction of mind inwards, that is, towards the real self.

Nature of Mind

“To me the very essence of education is the concentration of mind and not the collection of facts. If I had to do my education over again and had any voice in the matter, I would not study facts at all. I would develop the power of concentration and detachment and then with a perfect instrument (mind) I could collect facts at will.”

-          Swami Vivekananda

The essence of all yoga and spiritual education is the control of mind. It is a must not only for ascending the ladder of spiritual life but also for achieving success in our day to day practical life. Once you control your mind, happiness and peace come as a natural consequence.

Almost all our agonies and pains are due to our not having proper control over our mind. Instead of becoming master of our mind, we have become its slave. It makes us dance from here to there according to its whims. Instead of us dictating upon it, it is dictating on us and pulling and pushing us in various directions. The servant has become the master and the master has become the servant. We have to restore our master status and place the servant in its proper position if we want to be really happy and peaceful again. This means that we should be able to put our minds where we want and keep it from running here and there. Unless we control and overcome our mind, we are bound to be unhappy and stressed. We can’t avoid it. In fact it is the difference in the ability to control the mind that makes one different from another.

An uncontrolled and unbalanced mind also gets constantly torn apart by various emotions, viz. likes, dislikes, love, hatred, jealousy, revenge, anger, grief, pride, fear etc. Which are generated because of the inability of the mind to face life or world as it really is. It gets carried away by the dualities of life like gain/loss, success/failure, praise/insult, life/death, pleasure/pain, union/separation, etc. Because of which it is overjoyed and excited at one moment while in the next moment it is highly frustrated, depressed, and tense.

Once you conquer your mind, you become a totally transformed person, always peaceful and cheerful. Nobody and no situation in the world can deflect you from your state of equilibrium. You reach a stage where all external circumstance lose hold over you and surrender themselves to your feet. You can stand like a rock amidst severest opposition and obstacles. You are the king of the kings and have the power to move the whole world, if you desire so. You are a source of light and power for whoever comes in contact with you. Power of a controlled mind increases manifold in the same way as the power of running water increases when it is controlled by constructing a dam.

Although difficult yet by constant practice and firm determination, it is definitely possible to conquer your mind. It may require a life long practice but considering the rewards, it is worth.

                                                     Nature of Mind 

What is Mind

Mind is that faculty by virtue of which we are able to be conscious and aware of ourselves. Consciousness and awareness of self and others are the basic characteristics of mind which distinguish sentient or living things from insentient or non living things. A stone is not conscious of itself, as it has no mind. Same is the case with all physical objects. Since they have no consciousness, they can’t think, analyze, reason, and feel good or bad, sense pleasure or pain. It is the mind which thinks, reasons, analyzes, discriminates, feels good or bad, senses pleasure and pain, imagines and worries etc. An inanimate object doesn’t have all these faculties.

Your mind or soul is the real you. Your body is in your possession just like you possess a house, a car; that is why you refer to the body in the same way as you refer to your car or house, i.e. my body, my car, my house etc. The body is the instrument of mind through which it (mind) acts in the world and also suffers or enjoys.

It is the mind which sees, hears, smells etc. Through respective sense organs and through the mechanism of the brain. It is the mind which feels the pleasures or pains of the body. If mind is off or disconnected from the body, you will feel no pain. For example, while sleeping a person feels no pain of a physical injury because at that time his mind is dissociated from the body. It is also the mind which speaks, eats and works through respective physical organs.

Mind is Different from the Brain

The brain is a physical organ like any other organ of the body while mind is a non-physical entity. The brain can be compared with a sophisticated computer through which mind controls and connects itself to the body. Thus the brain acts as a link between the mind and the body.

Thinking, reasoning, feeling, imagining etc are all attributes of mind only. The brain as well as the body being physical and inanimate by nature can’t think or feel. The body and the brain are made alive and animated by the entry of mind or soul only. At the time of death, when mind (or consciousness or soul) leaves the physical body, the brain as well as the body fall dead and become like any other physical object of the world. The brain and the body, thus, are simply instrumental of the mind.

Mind Has No Weight or Measurement

Being non-physical, mind can’t be weighed or quantified in any measurement nor can it be chemically analyzed in any laboratory. These are all the attributes of physical objects only.

Mind Is Eternal and Immortal

The brain and the body, being physical in nature, are subject to decay and are perishable in nature, while mind or consciousness or soul never dies. It survives the death of the physical body. With the passage of time, mind, instead of decaying, grows with the experience and maturity. To put in short, mind or soul is without a beginning, or an end. It is immortal. There was never a time when it was not there and there will never be a time when it will not be there. It is beyond creation and dissolution, beyond time and space and is eternal. No external violence, murder, fire, accidents or bombs can touch it.

Mind Is Self Luminous and Self Energized

Unlike physical objects which require a source of energy, mind or conscious doesn’t require any outside energy to function. It is self energized and self luminous, and goes on functioning till eternity. It is the brain which needs energy for its functioning.

Mind Can Exist Independent of the Body

Mind is much superior to the body. Mind acts as a master and the body as the servant of the mind. After death the body dies, but the mind continues to exist as one’s basic identity.

There are some persons who develop their mental powers to such an extent that during their life time itself, they can leave their body at will and travel as far as they like and then come back to their body. During this travel, they (i.e. their minds) remain connected to their body by a fine silver cord. This is called ‘out of the body experience’ or ‘astral travelling’. Sometimes we can have this experience without any conscious effort when we have a near miss with death or near death experience.

In the event of death, this silver cord gets broken so that the body and mind become totally separated and the body falls dead.

There are other mental powers, e.g. telepathy, clairvoyance (perceiving distant scenes by mind), clairaudience (listening to distant sound by mind) etc. In all these phenomena, body or our physical senses are not involved. These phenomena are directly manipulated by our mind only.

Also during deep stages of meditation one becomes totally oblivious and detached from one’s body. At that stage if someone talks to you or touches you, you don’t notice it because mind has almost disconnected from the body and the outer world, and has turned towards the inner world.

 

You Get What You Think Even if You Don’t want it

By the powerful Universal Law of Attraction, you draw to you the essence of whatever you are predominantly thinking about. So if you are predominantly thinking about the things that you desire, your life experience reflects those things. And, in the same way, if you are predominantly thinking about what you do not want, your life experience reflects those things.

Whatever you are thinking about is like planning a future event. When you are appreciating, you are planning. When you are worrying, you are planning. (Worrying is using your imagination to create something you do not want.)

Every thought, every idea, every Being, every thing, is vibrational, so when you focus your attention on something, even for a short period of time, the vibration of your being begins to reflect the vibration of that which you are giving your attention to. The more you think about it, the more you vibrate like it; the more you vibrate like it, the more of that which is like it is attracted to you. That trend in attraction will continue to increase until a different vibration is offered by you. And when a different vibration is offered, things that match that vibration are then drawn to you, by you.

When you understand the Law of Attraction, you are never surprised by what occurs in your experience, for you understand that you have invited every bit of it in- through your own thought process. Nothing can occur in your life experience without your invitation of it through your thought.

Because there are no exceptions to the powerful Law of Attraction, a through understanding of it is easy to achieve. And once you understand that you get what you think about, and, equally important, when you are aware of what you are thinking, then you are in the position to exercise absolute control of your own experience.