The question is who is "me?"
We often identify our body and mind with self.
First, is mind different from body?
Mind, I would say, is part of the body. After all, what is mind? It is amalgamation of thoughts, past and present aided by memory. The memory is physical space that stores information just as in a computer. Thoughts are the result of electrochemical interactions in the body. So thoughts and the mind are just manifestations of bodily processes.
If we accept mind as part of the physical body, is there something else that I could characterize as real "me"? Some people may call it the soul. I want to call it the consciousness.
Have you noticed the noun "consciousness" doesn't have the plural. Is it an omission on the part of grammarians or is consciousness really universal and a single entity? I would think the latter. So, your consciousness is the same as my consciousness. I would contend the real me is my consciousness. So, I am you and you are me.
In yoga, we talk of mind-body connection. It should really be body-consciousness connection. But, body-consciousness is hard to say, so mind-body will do for the understanding.
The "enlightened" person is one who has connected at some time with the true self. Is there a method for ordinary beings like us to accomplish this connection with the true self? That apparently is very hard. The next best thing to do is to focus on or being aware of what our body and mind are doing. Never squelch your thoughts, just be aware of the thoughts that materialize. When you do that, surprisingly, the thoughts diminish and eventually disappear. It is like a small animal which moves around freely but freezes when you look at it. Being aware is like separating the doing and the doer. When we do this, gradually, the doer moves towards the true self. "Being aware" is the key. If that is difficult, just focus, concentrate on something, like your breathing or a small object or a mark on the wall. Our mind is not a very good parallel processor, and when you concentrate on something, it stops generating thoughts and you just focus on the task at hand.
We often identify our body and mind with self.
First, is mind different from body?
Mind, I would say, is part of the body. After all, what is mind? It is amalgamation of thoughts, past and present aided by memory. The memory is physical space that stores information just as in a computer. Thoughts are the result of electrochemical interactions in the body. So thoughts and the mind are just manifestations of bodily processes.
If we accept mind as part of the physical body, is there something else that I could characterize as real "me"? Some people may call it the soul. I want to call it the consciousness.
Have you noticed the noun "consciousness" doesn't have the plural. Is it an omission on the part of grammarians or is consciousness really universal and a single entity? I would think the latter. So, your consciousness is the same as my consciousness. I would contend the real me is my consciousness. So, I am you and you are me.
In yoga, we talk of mind-body connection. It should really be body-consciousness connection. But, body-consciousness is hard to say, so mind-body will do for the understanding.
The "enlightened" person is one who has connected at some time with the true self. Is there a method for ordinary beings like us to accomplish this connection with the true self? That apparently is very hard. The next best thing to do is to focus on or being aware of what our body and mind are doing. Never squelch your thoughts, just be aware of the thoughts that materialize. When you do that, surprisingly, the thoughts diminish and eventually disappear. It is like a small animal which moves around freely but freezes when you look at it. Being aware is like separating the doing and the doer. When we do this, gradually, the doer moves towards the true self. "Being aware" is the key. If that is difficult, just focus, concentrate on something, like your breathing or a small object or a mark on the wall. Our mind is not a very good parallel processor, and when you concentrate on something, it stops generating thoughts and you just focus on the task at hand.
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