F.: The next two questions from the 12 May posting dealt with body and “mind.” What is the body? Nothing more than plant food. Via photosynthesis, the energy which reaches earth in a form that is unusable by life forms is converted into a usable form. No plants? No life. No sun? No life. Beginning of the story of the body. End of the story of the body. Now, to the source of all human misery and all suffering: the “mind.”
All life forms on the planet—except for humans—are driven by the functioning of a brain + natural instincts. For millions of years, each human (or each ancestor of a human) also functioned under the auspices of a brain + natural instincts. All six senses were being properly used along with the brain, so humans and their ancestors lived naturally. After languages developed, nonsense increased and natural living decreased. The 13 March 2006 entry explained this:
Originally, the brain consisted only of the parts that are now called the “hindbrain” and the “midbrain," which have always controlled natural processes. As the species developed communication skills and as a “forebrain” developed, supernatural thinking and unnatural behavior followed.
Persons began to dream up concepts and teach those as if they were the truth. The brain and natural instincts would eventually have less influence over humans than would the unnatural, artificial “mind” and all the fictional beliefs therein. Thus began the misery and suffering that plagues the relative existence of humans. Why?
The "mind" is an accumulation of lies, a conglomeration of the false beliefs and bogus concepts taught via enculturation and accepted as truth. It is the “mind”—that storehouse of fiction—which impedes the proper functioning of the brain’s ability to perceive accurately. For Realization to happen, the brain must be active but the “mind” and its phony content must be rejected in order for persons to Realize and then be free. And being free in this context means being free of the influence of the bastardized consciousness and then enjoying the freedom that comes when the consciousness is re-purified (that is, freed of all the contaminating lies and beliefs and concepts and attitudes and ideas received via programming and conditioning). An obstacle to the re-purification of the consciousness is the fact that the indoctrinated haven’t a clue that they have been indoctrinated, just as role-players haven’t a clue that they’re playing phony roles and assuming false identities.
What of you? Have you ever taken pen and paper in hand and listed all of “your” beliefs? If so, you found all of that which drives you through life. Have you ever considered that anything that drives you is in charge of you, is determining where you go and what you do and where you end up, and is taking away the freedom to choose independently? Have you ever studied those beliefs one by one and determined that you did not come up with any of those but that they were programmed into you? If so, you have seen that you have no beliefs of your own but have unconsciously assumed those beliefs to be “yours” when they were really “theirs.” And if you trace those beliefs of theirs that you have assumed to be yours, you find that all of those ideas are nothing more than ancient concepts dreamed up by ignorant, uneducated men thousands of years ago. If you realize that, then the suggestion to cast aside all ideas and concepts and beliefs becomes very easy since you’ll have Realized that you have no ideas, concepts, or beliefs. Then, deciding to take the required steps in order to re-purify the consciousness becomes the only sane and sound alternative. Why? Because it will be no different from trying to decide whether to keep your neighbor’s garbage (or your parents’ garbage or the garbage collected by men 5000 years ago) or to throw it all away. Please enter into the silence of contemplation. [To be continued]
