On The Mind And Soul
I have so many fond memories of writing various contradictory ideas of how, and in what ways, the Mind and human soul exists and functions. The most memorable was from a weekend spent learning Butoh; a dance form originating from Japan that centres around the themes of Death and Disease.
My teacher at the time described various functions and components of the Mind, in relation to the moving / dancing body; most poignantly, for me, was his metaphor of the Mind as a steering wheel – the body being the vehicle of which the Mind’s sole purpose was to steer…
So here we have the Mind as master, or at least ‘chooser’, of the next moment to be lived.
If the Mind can really choose, through such abilities of conscious ‘Free Will’ then what place, if any, remains for the Soul?
The Mind, objectively speaking, is merely a word. With the correct analogy and understanding it might play almost any conceivable role. The same can be said for the Soul, the Body, the Spirit, so on and so forth.
We need only to look at a few recent, and heavily used, terms involving this concept of ‘Mind’ to emphasise this point:
Meditate: to reflect upon oneself / to ponder over something / to observe one’s breathe and/or thoughts
Mindfulness: a modern term given to a whole umbrella of practices designed to sharpen, focus and/or relax the body and mind
Empty Mind: an often misinterpreted term taken from Ancient Buddhist teachings; it’s intended use is to describe a spacious, compassionate, alert and aware state of being
Monkey Mind: popularised by certain Gurus from the East, this term relates to the distracted, wasteful and erratic ways our mind can run in unhelpful thought loops, and contain repetitive fears and anxieties over and over again
If ‘Mind’ is indeed the steering wheel then it’s function and properties are therefore largely dependent on the vehicle’s intentions, goals, wishes etc. The Mind whilst working a nine-hour shift must cultivate, and use, itself in a different way than when preparing to sleep, or to shower, or to eat, for example.
These above mentioned attributes, or ‘functions’, of the Mind offer various possibilities to consider, but none of them ‘in itself’ even begins to explain the entire nature of the human mind.
To simply avoid the ‘Monkey Mind’, or deliberately practice ‘Mindfulness’, is not enough when considering the full spectrum of situations we find ourselves in throughout the course of even a single day.
One cannot formally practice yoga, or breathing exercises, whilst speaking in front of an enormous crowd, or being attacked by an armed stranger, no more than one can ever entirely ‘Empty’ one’s mind of itself and expect it not be refilled with garbage again shortly after.
Whether the mind is simply old robotic routines, a proactive and deliberate steering wheel, or something else entirely, its (higher, or perhaps further) purpose is at least as relevant as its methods with which it uses to get there.
And so Mind-fulness is equally mind-lessness; the mind being simultaneously action and reaction; user and used; empty and full. It is a blank space to be filled as much as it is a programmed authorativie machine…
Herein lies the paradox of the Mind, and its partnership with the human Soul. For what else but that mysterious thing called ‘soul’ could even begin to fill such curious gaps in our understandings of ourselves?
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