Mental body
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The mental body (the mind) is one of the subtle bodies in esoteric philosophies, in some religious teachings and in New Age thought. It is understood as a sort of body made up of thoughts, just as the emotional body consists of emotions and the physical body is made up of matter. In occult understanding, thoughts are not just subjective qualia, but have an existence apart from the associated physical organ, the brain.
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[edit] Vedantic Philosophy
In eastern vedantic philosophy, the words "mental body" and "mind" almost never refer to an entity independent of consciousness, certainly never in Advaita Vedanta in which consciousness is all that exists. Rather such terms generally speak only of the thoughts, impressions, or memories themselves and there is no distinction from consciousness. [1] A good example of this for instance Meher Baba writes, "It is well to remember always that the beginning is a beginning in consciousness, the evolution is an evolution in consciousness, the end, if there be an end, is an end in consciousness." [2] Thus any references in such works to the mind or "mental body" refer strictly to a class of human experiences. In this sense they mean something more equivalent to a western phrase like "He began to consider his entire body of thoughts." In such teachings any reference to a 'mental plane' refers to a state of consciousness and not a metaphysical 'place.' Here a person focuses more on thoughts and emotions than upon gross objects available to his five senses.
[edit] Theosophical and New Age conceptions
According to Theosophists C.W. Leadbeater [3] and Annie Besant [4] (Adyar School of Theosophy), and later Alice Bailey, the mental body is equivalent to the "Lower Manas" of Blavatsky's original seven principles of man [5]. But the New Age writer Barbara Brennan describes the Mental body as intermediate between the Emotional and the Astral body in terms of the layers in the "Human Energy Field" or Aura [6].
The mental body is usually considered in terms of an aura that includes thoughtforms. In Theosophical and Alice Bailey's teachings, it corresponds to the Mental plane.
[edit] The mind in the Western Wisdom Teachings
According to Max Heindel's Rosicrucian writings [7], the mind is the latest acquisition of the human spirit and is related to the Region of Concrete Thought, which is the lower region of the World of Thought. It is not yet an organized body and in most people it is still a mere inchoate cloud disposed particularly in the region of the head. It works as the link or focus between the threefold Spirit and the threefold body [1], in a reversed reflexion manner [2]: the mind is like the projecting lens of a stereopticon, it projects the image in one of three directions, according to the will of the thinker, which ensouls the thought-form.
His writings, called Western Wisdom Teachings, give a clear description on how the man's inner Spirit perceives, from the world of thought, the lower worlds through the mind: " We ourselves, as Egos, function directly in the subtle substance of the Region of Abstract Thought, which we have specialized within the periphery of our individual aura. Thence we view the impressions made by the outer world upon the vital body through the senses, together with the feelings and emotions generated by them in the desire body, and mirrored in the mind. From these mental images we form our conclusions, in the substance of the Region of Abstract Thought, concerning the subjects with which they deal. Those conclusions are ideas. By the power of will we project an idea through the mind, where it takes concrete shape as a thought-form by drawing mind-stuff around itself from the Region of Concrete Thought. " [8].
He also states that to the trained clairvoyant there appears to be an empty space in the center of the forehead just above and between the eyebrows and it looks like the blue part of a gas flame, but not even the most gifted seer can penetrate that veil, also known as "THE VEIL OF ISIS".
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Ramakrishna "Gospel of Ramakrishna", Nisargadatta "I Am That"
- ^ Meher Baba, "God Speaks," Dodd Mead, 1955
- ^ Leadbeater, C. W., Man, Visible and Invisible, 1902
- ^ Besant, Annie, Man and His Bodies, 1911
- ^ Blavatsky, H.P., The Key to Theosophy, 1889
- ^ Brennan, Barbara Ann, Hands of Light : A Guide to Healing Through the Human Energy Field (Mental body), Bantam Books, 1987
- ^ Heindel, Max, The Rosicrucian Mysteries (Chapter IV: The Constitution of Man: Vital Body - Desire Body - Mind), 1911, ISBN 0-911274-86-3
- ^ Heindel, Max, The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception (Chapter III: Man and the Method of Evolution), 1909, ISBN 0-911274-34-0
[edit] Further reading
- Powell, Arthur E. The Mental Body
[edit] MIND
The MIND, in all capital letters to differentiate this abstract term which refers to a subtle energy body simultaneously existing with the physical body, but consisting of a vibrational energy that exists within a separate plane of existence, from the term "mind" which is used interchangeably with the term brain by those who do not know any better, cannot be perceived by the physical brain, nor experienced by the brain or accessed via thinking.
To know ones MIND, one must do so as an experiencing of another plane of existence, and this is not something the physical brain is capable of doing... since it is limited in its experience to the physical plane of existence. Therefore, as long as the Attn Aspect of ones Apapsyche [a recent term created from apas (Sanskrit for work/working, and psyche, Greek for self, soul, and mind), and referring to the Operational Energy of the Soul] remains fixed in the brain, one is unable to shift ones Attn Aspect into the MIND realm where one is able to exercise Direct Esoteric communication with ones MIND.
The problem with "verifying" the Esoteric realms within Man in cognitive ways acceptable to those who do not have access to the Esoteric realms within themselves is that it cannot be done. That is, by simple reasoning, to insist that... which does not exist on the physical plane of existence... be demonstrated, or made "verifable" to those whose lack of Esoteric access prevents them from possessing the Knowledge necessary to "Know" what is being referred to via abstract terms or symbols, is an exercise in Clinical_Denial, or a demand enginered by the MIND to prevent exposure of the Esoteric..... by inference.... since inference is the only way the Esoteric may be referenced on the physical plane of existence to those who lack the requisite Knowledge to intuitively comprehend the physical plane reference.
In other words, the Esoteric is called the "Esoteric" precisely because it does not exist on the physical plane of existence, and cannot therefore be known by the brain or physical senses. To Know any Esoteric element within Man, one must first discover and experience that precise Esoteric element within oneself. This personal experiential Knowledge can only be acquired while ones Attn Aspect of Apapsyche is located within the Esoteric realm being experienced. There is simply no possible way for the physical brain to experience [to Know] that which does not exist on the physical plane of existence.
More importantly, eventually, the intellectual who believes there is nothing of substance to learn outside of what his/her brain can perceive must face the fear of leaving the "safety" of the brain and of moving into the Esoteric [and "unknown"] realms within his/herself. The term "initiation" used in most definitions of "Esoteric" refers to the fact that no one can convey an Esoteric Knowing to another... except that the other receive that Knowing from within that other's own corresponding realm of Esoteric consciousness.
This reality may be debated by those who lack Esoteric Knowledge, but for those possessing Esoteric Knowledge, there is no debate, no argument, and no misunderstanding. The factual reality is that those locked in the Left-Hemisphere of their brains seeking to discover the Esoteric via the brain will be unable to do so. This fact is not open to debate, except by those who have not accessed Esoteric Knowledge from within themselves.
B.F. Skinner, in the early 1900's, was ignorant of the MIND realm within himself, and was thus sure of his statement that "neither mind nor consciousness can be meaningfully known or studied."[Webster's, 1979, definition of behaviorism"]. The result of his ignorance regarding the Esoteric MIND and consciousness, and the natural non-conscious fear that drove others to agree with him, has been a century of denial of the Esoteric realms within Man.
[edit] References
Perhaps the best reference on the MIND and other Esoteric dimensions within Man is "Path of the Masters", by Dr. Julian Johnson... available in many libraries. Various writings regarding the abstract term "Apapsyche" can be found via a Google search.
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