Man’s attempts to conquer the mind has been from ages. How many have succeeded is known to him with how he manages his life or externally when measured his relative success in the society with respect to achievements.
It becomes an inevitable choice of being with a mind always. One does not have a choice of not being with it. Actually, one has less understanding as to how the mind works. It is certainly a mystery. The attempt to unfold it has not been so successful in spite of so many researches happening on it. But, still, the attempt to conquer the mind is on everyone’s card.
Two minds are not the same. Even, if both are born out of the same parents. When spotting a thing or talking about a well-known topic, there is always a difference of opinion. That means the reference within which is being referred to come to an answer is different. But, dynamically the reference may change to others opinion if it is convincing. What is new becomes a new reference to store if it is considered relevant. There is a continuous amount of activity that happens to store and erase data on this reference. The reference gets enhanced as we go through with experiences of life. With all this, do I have a choice to write and erase the data at my will?
Every one of us tries to keep only those memories of joy and do away with bad experiences from coming up. How much we succeed in this. The person’s “Will” has less power to play in doing so. “Time is the best healer”, a known advice given to people going through a trauma. The mind is hurt with respect to reference what it considered as correct. When there is a vast deviation from the reference, then it puts us in pain, as the mind becomes restless to find what has happened. The acceptance comes eventually when the reference is altered with new inputs and when one let it go of that memory.
Let us shift back to understand what this mind is. A logical connection with neurons wired together in the brain. There are multiple patterns of this wiring forming the references. “Neurons that fire together, wire together.” – Donald Hebb. Mental states become neural traits. Day after day, your mind is building your brain. Some references are hard-wired and some changes with new experiences. Everyone’s perception of life depends upon how much of volume of references he holds through hard wired. Resistance to change becomes imminent when the hard-wired reference is threatened. It may be good or bad. Then, we stand by what we understand is right.
The brain is the organ that learns, so it is designed to be changed by your experiences. It still amazes me but it’s true: Whatever we repeatedly sense and feel and want and think is slowly but surely sculpting neural structure. As you read this, in the five cups of tofu-like tissue inside your head, nestled amidst a trillion support cells, 80-100 billion neurons are signaling each other in a network with about half a quadrillion connection called synapses. All this incredibly fast, complex, and dynamic neural activity is continually changing your brain. Active synapses become more sensitive, new synapses start growing within minutes, busy regions get more blood since they need more oxygen and glucose to do their work, and genes inside neurons turn on or off. Meanwhile, less active connections wither away in a process sometimes called Neural Darwinism: the survival of the busiest. This gives a great sense of understanding that we have control over what is getting stored in our mind.
The mind is always compared to a garden. It may contain flowers all around, weeds, or a mix of both. It depends upon the gardener’s interest to keep it up. The weeds need to be cleaned. The choice lies with oneself what he really wants it to be. The fragrance of the garden depends upon that. More we grow flowers; the weeds will move away. The flowers can be grown through positive experiences, which are enriching the body and soul.
Many a time, we are engulfed by a particular thought. That holds us for a long time, depending on the time we want to hold it. From a conscious state to an unconscious state. The shift is necessary to bring back to the conscious state to feel the present. A well-known monk narrated it beautifully. Our awareness is like a light. The mind encompasses many references that are required for our existence. Where this light focuses, it is illuminated. Certainly, the awareness can be shifted with our willpower, a conscious choice that is possible.
The experiences what I have will determine the conditioning of the mind. The most basic way to have a positive experience is to notice the good things that already surround us in everyday life. Have, enrich and absorb a pleasant sensation through good experiences around us. Every attempt will enhance our inner strength building a beautiful mind.
The mind is still a mystery. The more I ponder over it, the more it becomes difficult to understand its mysteries.
“Our life is the creation of our mind.” – Buddha
By Ramesh Kuppuswamy –
Founder of Aikya-Oneness Foundation
Author of a book – Revelation -A path walked
