We are what we are because of our minds. Mind models can help us understand our mystery minds, and maybe reach Mind Mastery. We are what our mind is, yet our unraveling of the mind is akin to an out-of-the-world mystery box for most of us. Mind is our constant companion, and can be our best friend, but also a dangerous enemy.
The vagaries of the mind can make life difficult, whereas its mastery can make it beautiful. Understanding the nature of the mind can help us in our personal growth. We can look at why the mind is a like a mystery box, and review some mind models that can help us understand our minds. Ultimately we can take some of the learnings, change the way we look at things, and make life even more beautiful than it already is.
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Understanding Mind for Mental Growth
With each birthday, we grow in our physical age. As a child, we experience physical growth and look forward to being grown-up adults. When we are old, contrary to our youthful experience of growth, it is a period of de-growth in both physical and mental functions.
Some people are mentally sharp even in old age. Good health and well-being in older people are attributed to their mental health. For good mental health, it is important that one pays attention to the underlying mind that can make life beautiful.
Earlier one pays attention to mind management, and early can one learn to be happier.
Mystery Mind
We all talk about the mind, but do we really know what we are referring to? To demystify the mind, let’s first begin with understanding what the mind is and what it is not. Let’s try to understand the mind first eliminating what the mind is not.
What Mind is Not?
- It is not an external object.
- It is not any particular organ of our physical body.
- It is not a physical object at all.
Mind vs Brain
We experience the effects of our mind/thinking in the body, so what’s the connection? The mind is not the physical brain or the nervous system. However, we experience the effects of our mind in the body through the brain and the nervous system which in turn affect our entire body.
What is the Mind?
At the mental level, our feelings, and our thoughts change depending on the situation. These may be situations that affect us bodily or mentally. The mind is our instrument of experience whether external or internal. The mind can be also considered as the set of faculties responsible for all the mental phenomena that we experience.
Faculties of Mind
We commonly experience some of the faculties of the mind as
- Our thoughts
- Memory
- Imagination
- Will Power
- Sensations
We experience our perceptions, pain/pleasure, sense of right/wrong, desires, intentions, and basically all of our mental phenomena through the instrument of our mind. As we begin to understand and learn to influence the nature of mental phenomena, we get better control over our minds.
3 Mind Models – Paths from Mystery Mind to Mind Mastery
To understand the mind, we need to shift our attention to what is going on within. Closing our eyes and observing our breath are helpful ways to shift our attention toward the mystery box. Mind is very subtle and self-awareness helps us understand our own minds.
Our outer world has developed through science and technology, yet our mind is essentially the same as it was thousands of years ago. The sacred knowledge of the mind that is available to us is still very much applicable today, as are the laws of nature. We can learn from these wonderful models of the mind. We can also learn from more modern models of the mind.
1. Antakarna Model – 4 Important Faculties of the Mind from Hinduism
As part of a study of Vedanta, we often come across the use of the word Antahkarna which is used to describe the total mind. Antaḥ means ‘inner’ and karaṇa means ‘instrument’, or, ’cause’. Therefore, the word Antaḥkaraṇa can be translated as “the inner instrument” or “the inner cause” as per Hinduism.
Antahkarana consists of four parts:
- Manah (mind) – Impulsive Mind – Source of Sensory, Feelings, Emotions,
- Buddhi (intellect) – Desicive Mind – Functions of Thinking, Logic, Analysis, Decision Making.
- Chit (memory) – Influencing Mind – Store of Impressions, memories, and experiences
- Ahamkara (ego) – Attached Mind – Due to false identification or “I am-ness” or ego
This inner instrument is the cause of all our experiences. Besides the feeling mind, it includes the thinking faculty, the sense of I-ness or individual personality, the memories, and the discriminating faculty.
Mastery is about developing the discriminating faculty called Viveka. The idea is to sharpen it so that one can distinguish between what is real and what is unreal. As we are tied down by attachments to what is not our real self, we sabotage our own growth. Through Viveka or discrimination faculty, we have to learn to rise above, the false attachments to the unreal self.
Mind mastery happens when self-awareness transcends, the limitedness due to the I-ness of the mind by merging with the universal mind. This is when we experience the real Self for the first time. The Vedanta path to this astounding self-discovery involves the study of scriptures passed on through spiritual masters, reflection on their meaning and developing rational understanding, and realization of the truth as direct experience in meditation.
The mastery happens only after a direct experience, until then is still a concept with varying degrees of conviction. Until this wonderful, self-realization happens, one may experience varying degrees of attachment in life, leading to pleasure and pain. Hence it is recommended to keep up the practice of study, reflection, and meditation to remain on the path.
2. Skhanda Model -5 aggregates of experience from Buddhism
The five aggregates of Buddhism are the five components that make up a person’s experience of reality. They are:
- Physical Form (Rupa) -Physical Existence of the material world including the human body comprising of the 4 elements – Earth, Water, Fire, and Air.
- Feelings (Vedana) – Pleasant, Unpleasant, or Neutral feelings experienced by the human mind
- Perception (Samjna or Concept) – Colour, Shape, Sounds, etc experienced by our minds.
- Mental Formations (Sankhara) – Volitional – thoughts, emotions, habits, etc
- Consciousness (Vijnana) – The awareness of an object
According to Buddhism, when we look within, we realize the impermanent, unsatisfactory, and “not self” nature of these 5 aggregates. If we cling to and crave these impermanent objects, we suffer. When we realize the true nature of these aggregates we can overcome attachment to them, and the associated suffering. This is the path to mind mastery and meditation is important to gain insights and reduce the attachments to the 5 aggregates.
3. NLP Communication of the Mind
Neuro-Linguistics Programming or NLP is a pseudo-scientific set of tools developed in the 20th century. The tools and techniques help one focus on what they really want and help overcome the self-sabotage tendencies of the mind.
The NLP communication model is a model of human perception which help us to understand factors influencing our thoughts, emotions, and feelings. Using NLP tools and techniques, we can literally program our minds to achieve what we want.
Conclusion
The goal of these models is to master our minds so that we can excel and live to our potential. Some of the similarities and differences in these models are tabulated below.
| Skhanda’s Buddhism | Antahkarna Vedanta | NLP Neuro-Linguistic Programming |
|---|---|---|
| Rupa Physical Existence- Name & Form 4 elements | Panchikarana Matter 5 elements | World Name & Form External Situations & Behavior |
| Vedana Feelings Pleasant, Unpleasant, Neutral | Manah Feelings Let Go of Cravings & Aversions | State Feelings Manage /Change |
| Samjna Perception & Memory – Color, Shape, Sounds | Chit Memory & Perception | Internal Representation Sensory Perception -VAKOG |
| Sankhara Mental Formations -Volitional – thoughts, emotions Let Go the Will | Buddhi Intellect Discriminate & Detach (Be Selfless) | Conscious Mind Will /Choice /Decision Get What You Want |
| Vijanna Consciousness Awareness of temporary nature of name/form, feelings, perceptions, and mental formations | Ahamkara Ego – I ness Awareness leading to transcendence from False Identifications | Filters of Perception Individual’s Uniqueness Awareness & Will lead to Change |
| Self-Realization | Self-Realization | Realize Personal Growth |
All the models are focused on helping you get what you really want.
The NLP communication model is focused more on material wants. The focus is to help you want to achieve. Some of the NLP patterns like Neurological Levels of Alignment attempt to align with personal spiritual belief systems for more fulfillment in life.
The Antahkarna model and Skhanda models are fulfilling the spiritual void. The real seeker of truth is required to let go of all material wants to realize the true nature of existence or self-realization.
Intellectual understanding of the models does not lead to the transformation of personality. These models work in conjunction with their associated practices or techniques to bring about a gradual transformation of the personality. All these models also have associated precepts that help develop values and associated thoughts to get what you want.