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Because of programming and conditioning and enculturation, that which had been an asset (memory) has became a liability.
Because of programming and conditioning and enculturation, that which had been an asset (memory) has became a liability.
FROM A SITE VISITOR: Loved your expression “brain-flush”?! Now that resonates. I’ve been visiting your site off-and-on since the early days - you did a piece one time on the brain and mind and consciousness but I can’t find it in the search. Can you tell me how to find that and then tie it in with “brain-flush”? LOL Thanks.
F.: Again, apologies for the search problems. It seems that the site is not searching all of the 2005 postings for some reason. This might be the comment that you’re referencing: “Consciousness is rooted in the Absolute. The brain is rooted in the elements. The ‘mind’ is rooted in wrong programming and faulty conditioning and lies and concepts and ideas and superstitions and falsehoods.” For more on that, visit www.advaitaquotes.blogspot.com.
Your question is similar to many that came in after the post on discarding knowledge (including this one as well: “How can consciousness be ‘warped’ or ‘corrupted’ if it’s just energy?”) All of those questions will be addressed in this new series of postings, along with your query. At the root of the relative problem involving persons is this: that which was one of nature’s assets (the formation of a mind after the brain evolved and developed the ability to store memories) has been warped into an unnatural or supernatural liability. While no Advaitins would suggest that seekers must learn science in order to Realize, Maharaj did say that someday science would advance enough to catch up with the Advaita understanding and validate scientifically the philosophical Teachings. He was correct, so please bear with this approach that might resonate with some.
The smaller human brain, in its earlier and simpler stages of development, allowed humans then to live as deer live today: hunt/forage/find food for survival; interact; take actions that are self-defensive and self-constructive; and procreate in order that the species will survive. As more and more humans walked the planet, the simplicity of existence would be lost as the simplicity of the brain was lost.
Complications resulted because of an increase in human interactions (and an increase in both individual as well as tribal interests and agendas). The brain began to evolve in order to compensate, and eventually areas that could store memories came into being. At that point, the mind and the brain worked in tandem and in harmony to contribute to the survival of individuals and the species. The mind came about as “memories” began to be stored. As a part of the defense mechanisms for survival of the species, the mind had its role and played it “properly” (naturally) for thousands of years.
For example, if a caveman remembered that his companion fell from a cliff and died as a result, the caveman might avoid falling from cliffs. The original process was as follows: over a period of evolution, the brain expanded to include a cerebral cortex and a hippocampus. Afterwards, when an event happened (such as a human falling off a cliff) or when someone learned something (such as, “falling off a cliff can kill you”), the brain placed the memory of that event and the related knowledge acquisition in its “memory files." That is all the mind was: a collection of memories filed away in those "newer" parts of the brain.
The memory of both old and new happenings would be processed and stored away in different areas of the cerebral cortex, or the "gray matter" of the brain. The hippocampus would process the memories. (As a side note in that regard, a disease receiving considerable attention nowadays—Alzheimer’s—comes about when the hippocampus is damaged, resulting in...what else...memory loss. Is it not interesting that one who might have been a fighter for years and who loved chaos suddenly becomes peaceful when the ability to tap into dualistic memories is lost? Witness the way that the ability to remember dualistic concepts and dogma are now the curse of the planet, relatively speaking.)
Over a period of time, language developed which allowed controlling men with hidden, personal agendas to dream up concepts and teach those ideas to others who could—by that point—remember them. The overabundance of dualistic concepts and beliefs and dogma (which were destructive and separatist in nature) began to outnumber the earlier class of memories that were survival-related.
It was one thing for the caveman to “feel bad” if the fish that was going to feed him and his family that day happened to get away. Such feelings are natural. It is quite another thing when modern persons—as a result of living under the auspices of a warped, dualistic “mind”—truly believe that they should feel “bad” when they do things that are also natural, such as...
Over a period of time, language developed which allowed controlling men with hidden, personal agendas to dream up concepts and teach those ideas to others who could—by that point—remember them. The overabundance of dualistic concepts and beliefs and dogma (which were destructive and separatist in nature) began to outnumber the earlier class of memories that were survival-related.
It was one thing for the caveman to “feel bad” if the fish that was going to feed him and his family that day happened to get away. Such feelings are natural. It is quite another thing when modern persons—as a result of living under the auspices of a warped, dualistic “mind”—truly believe that they should feel “bad” when they do things that are also natural, such as...
This is an excerpt from the book
THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS “PEACE OF MIND”
(There Is Only Peace if You’re Out of Your Mind)
For information on the book, visit http://advaitavedantabooks.blogspot.com/
To order the book, visit
http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm
(You can use the Special Message box)
THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS “PEACE OF MIND”
(There Is Only Peace if You’re Out of Your Mind)
For information on the book, visit http://advaitavedantabooks.blogspot.com/
To order the book, visit
http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm
(You can use the Special Message box)
Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be continued]
