The Brain or the Mind
Is it the brain or the mind where the self is conscious?
Though it is the brain that thinks, it is the heart that is moved.
We think and act using language in our daily lives. The cerebrum plays a leading role here, and it is supposed to think and act while comparing information from the sensory organs with memory. However, when we see a scene and feel a moment of excitement, we are not moved by thinking of the word that the scenery is wonderful. we have the impression that we are directly shaken by the scenery that enters my eyes. When we hear music and it moves me, it seems to work directly on the mind. Being moved is not something that we think about and react to in our brains, but we feel it directly in our hearts. When you read a book and feel the heartwarming fulfillment of the actions of a great man, the process of reading and understanding the book is a function of the brain, but it seems to me that the sense of fulfillment is received elsewhere. As for the impressions I receive, it is better to imagine them in my heart rather than in my head with words.
Our perceptions cannot be explained simply by processing information from sensory organs such as our eyes and ears with our brains. This is because when walking down the street, you may feel that someone is watching you from behind, or you may be aware of other people's presence. At this time, rather than perceiving it with my brain, I feel that my consciousness receives it directly in an instant. Is the consciousness that I feel there reside in the organ called the cerebrum, or is there a realm or entity called the mind that becomes my consciousness? Certainly, when we recognize an object, we perceive it in the cerebrum via sensory organs. However, even if I perceive it in the cerebrum, is the consciousness of me who intend to see this object also in the cerebrum?
Where is the heart?
It is said that humans are a collection of many cells, but the complex tissue aggregates that make up me are able to act as myself while sustaining the vitality of life. I get the sense that there is a holistic view of everything I do, bringing together a complex and diverse organization. The body may react directly when it suddenly perceives some kind of danger. And the emotion comes suddenly without thinking. And when I am moved, I feel that my heart is satisfied, not my head. According to the teachings of biology, our bodies have a brain and nervous system, and information from each organ is appropriately processed to control the entire body. However, apart from that, there seems to be a realm encompassed by my consciousness, even if the brain controls the body in a way that our consciousness does not perceive. It seems to me that the cerebrum does not control the entire existence of me. Now, I think that what controls and organizes all my cells is "the realm of the mind that my consciousness encompasses". Then, thinking is in the cerebrum, but where is the mind and consciousness? Is there some area where the whole cell resonates and it functions as a mind?
The assembly of cells that make up our bodies is an organized structure consisting of many organs with complex functions. And we are taught that there is a nervous system that governs the movement of that collection of cells as a whole. Within each cell, various chain reactions are subtly balanced and repetitive. And the aggregate that has become one with life goes beyond the collection of cells as parts and acts as a whole. In other words, even if the matters that make up the parts are gathered, the whole is made up as one. The collection of individual cells constitutes the organization that encompasses the individual organism, and although it is the function of the brain that controls the body, there is my consciousness at the center of the collection of matter that is me. I feel that consciousness is in the realm of the whole including my mind and spirit.
The cerebrum is just one of organs
One of the mechanisms in the evolution of life is that male and female organisms are separated and a life thing begins as a single fertilized egg cell. So, where is the information written in a fertilized egg about which organ each cell will become when the cell of one egg is differentiated? The DNA in the nucleus of the cell is only information about protein production. And at that time there should be no nervous system, no brain, no memory area. After a certain amount of growth, the nervous system and brain are formed, and the mechanism that controls one complex collective called living organisms is completed. However, a fertilized egg is a single cell, and it divides into many cells, and various functions are differentiated. Where is the information written that the cells that are divided there will have different functions? It would be quite strange if some directive were not another realm encompassed by time and space. And the same can be said for the mechanism by which living cells are able to sustain their activation.
Even single-celled organisms move in the direction of living as a whole. At this time, I think that the direction of uniting the whole is necessary for activities to sustain life. In other words, it is essential that the whole resonates as one. Looking at human beings at the stage of infancy, they are not yet conscious of the self, but as a whole they become one life through resonance of all cells. And as infants grow up, little by little the awareness of the self emerges at the center, and the realm of the mind is constructed. I think that even the cerebrum is in the resonance that encompasses the whole, and shares the function of that part.
My mind controls my thoughts
On the other hand, let's think about thinking that has arisen in humans. In this sense, thinking is the trial-and-error combination of verbal memories in the language region of the brain. However, in the cerebral area at that time, it is not the language itself that is exchanged, but the cooperation between cells through electrical signals and chemical reactions. The language we hear and see is not hardwired into the cells of our brain. So where is the subject that manipulates language when thinking? Manipulating language in the cerebrum means that there must be a subject of consciousness that makes its own decisions when interconverting language into cellular signals. Consciousness as a subject in the individual called me, judges actions based on memories of the past, predictions of the future, condition of the body, strength of motives, and emotions towards the object.
Therefore, the consciousness that makes me the subject is responsible not only for the structural coordination of the nerve cells of the brain, but also for the actions of the whole including the area surrounding me. It seems to me that my consciousness is a higher area that can control all organs including the cerebrum. As we communicate using words, there are moments when we feel that there is something inside us that cannot be expressed in words. Like a momentary flash of inspiration or a feeling of fulfillment, there are parts that can be understood without thinking, not through words, but within the self. There is a feeling that there is a side that provides past memories that are the basis of emotional fulfillment and a side that is impressed. Then I can think of an area of the mind that is closely related to my consciousness.
Areas that form the mind and spirit
Even if we try to motivate ourselves with our own words and try to do it mentally, we have had the experience of not being able to move our bodies. It is not just the cerebrum that understands the meaning of words, but it also means that there is an inner understanding that is accompanied by all-directional cooperation regarding inner fulfillment due to the consciousness of "I". Another area that integrates the functions of the brain is the consciousness of “I”, which transcends time and space and brings together everything I am from the past to the future. And it's grown into my heart or my mind.
The fact that the words I think in my brain can turn my mind forward or backward involves my consciousness judging and accepting them. In the expanse of its inner fulfillment, the consciousness of me should be able to control the cerebrum and take a step deeper into the perception of time and space. The fact that human beings acquire language through the development of the cerebrum and think and reflect on it means that there is more to come. In other words, to deepen the mind is to train the mind or spirit, not only to accumulate knowledge in the cerebrum, but also to grasp the direction in space and time.
Summary
In the mechanism of life, there is an organ called the brain that developed based on the nervous system, and in humans, it became an organ called the cerebrum. Human being has developed as a tool for linguistic transmission and communication, thinking, and introspection. However, even if we accept that organic explanation, we cannot ignore the mind, soul, or spirit. Therefore, here, we believe that the area of the mind and the function of the cerebrum coexist within a single human being.
We use language unconsciously in our daily lives, and it feels like everything we do is understood by the cerebrum. However, in reality, there may be some discrepancies between what the brain recognizes and what we consciously understand. Even if I receive sound or written information recognized by my sense organs such as my ears and eyes, my consciousness may not accept it as words. Also, even if I accept and understand it as words, my consciousness may not be convinced. It is clear that thinking uses language, but we do not know how the stream of thoughts is translated into signals in the brain. However, since I am conscious of myself as a subject and think, it is clear that somewhere there is a mind that encompasses me. First of all, there is an all-encompassing mind, and human beings developed the brain and came to think in language because there was a clear self-awareness there.
When aiming for the future beyond that development, I feel that there is a limit to deepening understanding only by associating in the memorized language. From the stories of great men in the past about liberation and enlightenment, I think that deepening the spirit requires understanding with the heart that goes beyond thinking with words. In other words, deepening the mind has to do with the realm of the mind that goes beyond verbal thinking. The inner understanding that lies beyond language requires not only recognition of the brain through language and senses, but also the development of the diversity of one's own mind or spirit.
The language that conveys one's will to others becomes the language for thinking, and there is a life flow that nurtures the spirit. Just as cells come together to form a controlled individual, it is speculated that there is a region of the mind where the parts come together and resonate as a whole to nurture the spirit. What led to the development of the cerebrum in the evolution of life is what life in this universe is designed to do. It is certain that this mechanism has influenced the course of the development of the mind and spirit from the formation of the nervous system and brain, and is still working today.
I believe that the awareness of introspection for the fulfillment of the inner side of the mind will lead to the expansion of the spirit and the deepening of the mind. How the cerebrum will develop in the future of humans must have a deep relationship with how we are conscious of it. Moreover, in the evolution of life, there is a direction in which it gradually becomes more complicated as generations change, and there is something that gives it a variety of directions. We cannot forget that we are the ones who choose that direction.
Wrriten by Ichiro, 07/07/2023,