The nature of mind
The word “mind” is used in many ways. Sometimes it is used to speak of the “brain,” or the “intellect,” or man’s “thinking/feeling” ability. The concept of mind that we use is broader than this.
We first distinguish between the universal mind and the individual mind. Just as the individual soul is an individualization of the universal spirit or Divinity, the individual mind is an individualization of the universal mind. The universal mind forms the structure that contains all the patterns of the universe, the structure in which everything is contained. It is self-conscious and therefore omniscient and omnipresent.
The conscious, the subconscious, and the supraconscious.
The individual mind can be divided into three sections: the conscious mind, the subconscious mind, and the supraconscious mind. The supraconscious mind is located at the finest and subtlest levels of the individual mind. The barrier separating the supraconscious mind and the universal mind is thin and transparent. All the light of the Divine bathes the superconscious mind, and the supraconscious mind is fully conscious of that universal force. The supraconscious mind is the center of our being and our true essence.
The subconscious mind is made up of layers and layers of impressions or samskaras that have been imprinted upon the existential cycle of the individual soul. What psychologists call the subconscious is only the upper layers of the subconscious mind, which contains the impressions stored during our current lifetime.
The conscious mind is the active, rational, “decision making” level with which we are in a relationship during our daily life. This section of the mind is governed by the subconscious mind and by the proportion of supraconscious mind that can be filtered through the subconscious mind.
The nature of thought
Most thoughts that fill our mind are born of the subconscious mind and are conditioned and shaped by our impressions. We think that we think, but most of the time we are not really thinking, for pure thought comes from the supraconscious level of the mind and is always creative. It arises from the depths of our inner self and is a continuous process of expression of our own essence. These thoughts emanate from the supraconscious level like bubbles that are released from the bottom of a lake. When they reach the surface, they are known to the conscious mind. How many of these bubbles reach the conscious mind depends on the level of clarity and balance in the subconscious mind.
