Vinaire's Blog

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The human mind is not physical but it exists within a physical environment. The mind is actually a reflection of the physical environment. We may say that the mind is made up of perceptions and it stores perceptions of the environment.

The environment is best represented as a matrix type structure. A matrix is made up of nodes where each node is in some relationship with every other node. The environment is made up of objects where each object is related to every other object by distance, gravity, etc. These objects are the nodes of the matrix of the environment.

Being a reflection of the environment, the mind also is a matrix in which the nodes are perception of objects. These perceptual nodes are related to each other by the properties perceived for these objects. For example, in an animal mind, these perceptual nodes may be related by their property of being safe and edible.

The human mind is more complex than the animal mind. It is much more perceptive of properties of the objects. Such properties may be expressed as being part of a scale. For example, the property “red” may be expressed as part of the color scale. Thus, nodes in the human mind become more discriminative, abstract and numerous. We may call them “perceptual elements”.

Thus, in the human mind, perceptions from the environment get refined rapidly as patterns of perceptual elements. They are related to each other by means of scales in infinite number of ways. This makes the matrix of the human mind extremely refined and complex. Errors creep in only when perceptions do not get refined and assimilated into this mental matrix.

The mind is a matrix made up of elements derived from the perception of the environment.

The present work proposes this “matrix” model for the mind. Looking at earlier models, we find Freud’s model of conscious and unconscious mind proposed in 1890s, and Hubbard’s model of analytical and reactive mind proposed later in 1950s.

In the matrix model, the greater is the refinement of the perceptual elements and relationships among them, the higher is the consciousness. Thus human consciousness is much higher than the consciousness in animals. When perceptions from the environment are not refined into patterns of perceptual elements they are just lodged into the mental matrix as “unassimilated nodes”. The person is not conscious of such unassimilated experiences. This describes the concept of “unconscious mind” proposed by Freud.

In the matrix model “consciousness” is the depth of refinement of the perceptual elements and relationships.

Thinking is the activity that associates information according to some logic to come up with conclusions. In the matrix model, thinking takes place when patterns of perceptual elements interact with each other. The logic of the mind comes from its ability to generate associations within the matrix such that continuity, harmony and consistency are maintained at all times throughout the mental matrix. The creative aspect of the mind originates from the fundamental principle of “chaos to order”. That is where its faculty to imagine and to make projections comes from. And that is also the source of intuition, which goes beyond ordinary logic. In a refined and well assimilated matrix the thinking is rational, or analytical. However, as more “unassimilated nodes” are activated the thinking becomes irrational and reactive. This describes the concept of “reactive mind” proposed by Hubbard.

Thinking is a creative activity that originates  from the fundamental principle of “chaos to order”. The rationality of thinking depends on the perceptual patterns activated.

The “binary” models of Freud and Hubbard imply that perceptions are stored “as-is” in the mind. However, the “matrix” model describes the storage of perceptions as patterns of perceptual elements well assimilated within the mental matrix. Since same perceptual elements may be utilized many times in different patterns, the “matrix” model provides a more efficient way of storing perceptions in the mind. A “memory” is a pattern of perceptual elements that is activated by attention. Memory is clear and precise when its pattern is made up of refined and well assimilated elements. It would be difficult to recall a memory if it contains “unassimilated nodes”.

A “memory” is a pattern of perceptual elements that is activated by attention.

With the matrix model of the mind it is easy to see the difference between the animal mind and the human mind in terms of how finely the perceptions are broken down as discriminative perceptual elements. This property defines the intelligence of the mind.

Intelligence of the mind depends on the refinement of the perceptual elements and relationships.

These perceptual elements are connected within the matrix in infinite number of ways by means of scales. Thus all patterns of perceptual elements are continuous, harmonious and consistent throughout the mental matrix. The better assimilated the perceptions are, the more powerful is the mind.

Power of the mind depends on the assimilation of perceptual elements within the matrix.

The mind is hard-wired to the body through the brain and the nervous system. As perceptions are received from the environment, they are continually assimilated into the mental matrix. This continually generates impulses in the body to bring appropriate responses from the endocrine, respiratory, muscular and other systems. These impulses are sensed as emotions and sensations.

Emotions are the impulses generated by the mental activity. Sensations are the response of the body to these impulses.

This determines the health of the body internally and actions of the organism externally. The external actions then bring changes to the environment.

As the chaos in the environment impresses itself upon the mind through perceptions, the mind assimilates them in its refined perceptual matrix, thus converting their chaos into order. This generates impulses that motivate the body to implement order in the environment. Thus we have a continuous cycle, which operates from the environment through the mind-body system back on the environment, thus converting chaos into order. This explains the role of living organisms in the universe.

The whole purpose of the living mind-body organisms is to speed up the evolution of the universe by bringing changes to its immediate environment.

The basic animal mind can be observed to operate entirely on automatic assimilation of perceptions from the environment into its coarse mind. This assimilation takes place on a continual basis. We may call this assimilation “free association”. Please note that this free association is not same thing as the “technique of free association” in psychoanalysis.

The refined and complex human mind augments free association with its powerful ability to think. Human thought, operating with free association, then brings deeply complex and far ranging order to the environment.

The human mind acts as a powerful catalyst for the evolution in nature.

The mind is continually observing the environment and bringing greater order to it. But the mind is prone to error when it encounters disorder beyond its control. The errors introduced into the mind are then reflected through sickness in the body and aberrations in the conduct of the organism.

The introduction of errors into the mind is taken up in the next chapter.

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[Revised February 9, 2017 by Vinaire]

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Reference: Mindfulness Approach

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The fundamental principle of the universe is that there is precipitation of order from chaos. This order is continually being added to the universe. In fact, this universe is the manifestation of the cumulative order. If that were not so, there wouldn’t be a universe.

Maybe this order is also converting back to chaos; but there is more order precipitating from chaos than order converting back to chaos. So, there is a net increase in order that is irreversible. It is this irreversibility of increasing order that provides the idea of time.

The fundamental principle of “chaos to order” is driving the creation of this universe. We don’t know where this principle comes from. So, this is where science comes closest to acknowledging God.

This work does not question whether God exists or not. It leaves the origins of chaos open to investigation. The ancient texts of the East hint that this universe is forming and dispersing cyclically; but that is also considered beyond the scope of this work. The purpose of this work is to look at the human evolution in the context of the present universe.

The order precipitates from chaos as a pattern. This pattern grows and evolves into more complex patterns. Thus there is a sequence in which the order precipitates and grows. We see a very early rendition of this sequence in the Bible as “six days of creation”. It starts with light on the first day and ends with mankind on the sixth. The whole sequence is as follows.

• Creation of light from darkness
• Creation of firmament from waters
• Creation of earth and plant life from the seas
• Creation of regularity in terms of day, night, year and seasons
• Creation of sea life in water and fowl on land
• Creation of higher animal life and humans.

The above sequence ends here because “God rested on the seventh day”. So the evolution rests here per the writers of the Bible. Coming forward to the modern scientific era, we, however, think that evolution is continuing after having gone through the following stages.

1. From electromagnetic energy to matter
2. From matter to animation
3. From animation to life
4. From life to thought

These stages are studied by the various subjects as follows..

• Stage 1 is the domain of COSMOLOGY & PHYSICS.
• Stage 2 is the domain of CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY.
• Stage 3 is the domain of BIOLOGY & PROGRAMMING.
• Stage 4 is the domain of AWARENESS & MINDFULNESS.

The fundamental principle of “chaos to order” never rests. The fundamental directive of this universe is,therefore, EVOLVE! However, this seems to contradict the popular belief that “God rested on the seventh day”, which then shows up in the belief that the fundamental directive of the universe is SURVIVE! But survive is flanked by birth and death, which are natural. The desire to survive for ever is subjective. The cycle of “birth, survive, death” is the objective reality of evolution.

The fundamental directive of this universe is EVOLVE! Relative to this the fixation on “SURVIVE” is subjective.

Presently, thought is evolving toward some goal. Complete awareness of earlier stages is needed to understand that goal. For this purpose we need to see things for what they are with full awareness of all assumptions. This is the basic intention underlying the idea of mindfulness that was developed by Buddha 2600 years ago.

According to the fundamental principle, if we let the mind freely associate all thoughts without suppression then some order is bound to precipitate. Realization of order helps us resolve confusions. Resolution of confusion brings clarity to thoughts. This is how the thoughts evolve.

When we look at Stage 1, we find that the electromagnetic spectrum is flanked by space on one side and matter on the other. This is obvious when we look at the structure of the atom, which extends from nucleus out into space. Thus, there is continuity from matter to space through an electromagnetic field.

When we look at Stage 2, we find that animation comes about with the evolution of RNA and DNA molecules. These complex molecules have enough electrons to form programmable circuits. There is a whole range of motion among atoms and molecules of matter, and there is harmony from the smallest to the largest atomic and molecular structure.

When we look at Stage 3, we find that life begins with naturally programmed motion at the level of cell. It is able to reproduce itself with continuity and harmony. It is able to grow into infinite and complex varieties of organisms. Furthermore, in spite of that complexity, life manages to remain consistent throughout. We see that in all ecosystems nurtured in nature.

When we look at these first three stages of evolution we find that this universe is continuous, harmonious and consistent at a fundamental level. These, then, are the characteristics of order.

Matter provides a structure that lends itself to animation. The animation provides life organisms, which lend themselves to programming. The ability of programming evolves into the formation of the mind within the organism. The mind perceives the environment and responds to it by directing the activity of the organism to bring more order to it. The order extends beyond the individual organism to a whole ecosystem of life .

There is disorder at higher levels visible as discontinuity, disharmony and inconsistency. Such disorder is there around us and within us. We are trying to sort it out every moment of our lives. It is as if the universe is trying to evolve toward higher levels of order through us. This is the activity going on at stage 4.

Thought is the self-directed effort of life to bring order at higher levels of the universe.

Thus, thought is on a mission to resolve chaos, disorder, misalignments etc., wherever it finds them. When the mind is resolving disorder, the fundamental principle of “chaos to order” manifests itself in the form of free association. This is the natural thinking of evolution.

Free association may be observed readily in the simple minds of animals. It also occurs naturally in the complex human mind when it is simply observing without consciously thinking. Conscious human thinking is most efficient when it is consistent with natural free association.

The free association operates in an unbounded, universal context when nothing is suppressed. This is the “thinking” in animals, which allows them to become part of a natural ecosystem with other life organisms.

Free association is objective in nature because of its universal context.

The human mind is capable of highly complex thinking. This thinking is totally objective when it is in sync with free association in a universal context. However, the flaw of human mind is that it can get overloaded with chaos. When that happens; then parts of the mind get suppressed and  thinking occurs in narrow, bounded contexts.

When thought is not allowed to associate freely in a universal context it becomes subjective.

This is an outline of the evolution up to the current level of thought. In subsequent chapters we look closely at the human mind, which forms the seat of thought.

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[Revised February 5, 2017 by Vinaire]

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