Beyond

One popular way to describe the difference between brain and mind is to compare with television. The brain is like the television set and mind is like the television program. The set and the program are of different categories. A person who can make a television set is not necessarily good at making television programs. It is impossible to draw any conclusions about the programs from knowledge about the construction of the set. If we want to know the time for the children program and for the news we have to look in the paper. It is no use to take the back of the set and look at the motherboard. This is the problem for the modern brain research. Knowledge of brain does not necessarily say anything about the content in the mind reactions. But on the other hand, what we see on the television screen is a direct effect of the signals sent to the set. The set can display any signals. And it is in a similar way in the brain-mind complex. The normal brain products – observations, thoughts, feelings and memories – are made aware by mind. The brain prepares the neurons in one way if we see a football and in another way if we hear “Twist and shout”. The mind tries to read the neurons as exact as it can. So far this analyze is in line with common sense. But what do we find when we take the next step, the step beyond the comparison with television? Mind has the unique ability to create awareness. Usually this ability is used for making the content prepared by the brain aware. The television does not have the ability to be aware. A television can display impulses on a screen, but the television is not aware of the meaning. The television can even show “Casablanca” without starting to cry. We humans have the ability to create awareness. If we use this ability not to read the ready-made neuron structures in our brain but to focus on something without thoughts and feelings, what do we find? The first we find is that awareness exists independent of our brain constructs. The brain has no power over awareness. The brain is advisor rather than dictator. The awareness is free in relation to any content proposed by the brain. If we put the hand in a fire we should notice it and take away the hand, but we can withdraw awareness from the brain impulses if we absolutely want to. For example if we are accused of being a witch and thus being burned to death. The second thing we might notice if we look into a mind free from thoughts and feelings is another level of reality. It is a subtle reality which normally is hidden by the brain processes. The brain is supposed to make important issues obvious, but in doing so it blinds out large parts of reality.