In this weekly wisdom, Gurudev shares how the mind and consciousness are interconnected, and how we experience both of them.
Mind and consciousness
What is the difference between the mind and consciousness? Where is the mind and where is the consciousness?
Mind is just a wave of consciousness, which is the very ocean. Mind is a particular function of consciousness. When we perceive through the five senses, we say the mind perceives.
That which looks through the eyes, hears through the ears, smells the fragrance or foul smell, and tastes, that we call mind.
We can experience our mind as thoughts and feelings. How do we experience consciousness?
The experiencer is the consciousness. Who is experiencing? That’s consciousness.
The waves of thought and feeling can’t be there without the ocean of consciousness.
Like being in space, you’re in consciousness. The entire existence is full of consciousness. You can’t get out of it.
When all other experiences are subdued, pure consciousness remains. We call this satori, nirvana, emptiness, or moksha (liberation). We attribute many different names to it.
You are not the mind
I know I’m not this mind. Why am I still ruled by it?
The first step toward being free from the grip of mind is to realize that you’re not the mind. And then you realize it’s gripping you. The third stage is being a witness to it, when neither do you try to get out of it nor do you indulge in it. The next step, taking things as they are, helps you be a witness.
Then you find that your mind is working. You say, “All these thoughts are coming into my mind.” Thoughts hover around, coming and going. But you know you’re not that.
This is a stage when you’re blossoming into your higher self, one of several stations that you pass through.
What’s stopping us from becoming one with consciousness? How do we overcome it?
It’s a lack of awareness. You don’t have to do anything to realize that you’re part of the universal consciousness. Just drop everything!
When you drop all cravings and aversions and relax, you’re already there!
You simply have to let go and let be! That’s when meditation will come to you! Meditation is the biggest and most effective tool for you to be who you really are.
The mind after death
What happens to our mind and consciousness when we die?
Energy can neither be destroyed nor created. In the same way, our consciousness can never be destroyed.
But the impressions that have come as memories can be erased. That happens through spiritual practices like meditation, SKY Breathing, etc. The mind goes completely blank. After you do SKY, you feel a such stillness in the mind.
But consciousness stays, and nothing whatsoever can happen to it. Consciousness is like space. Your mind is a cloud, but you’re the sky. Keep this in your awareness.
Close your eyes and feel that you’re the big space behind you, in front of you, and all over. You suddenly find that your restrictive identity, body, thoughts, and ideas vanish. A new dimension opens within you.
Many experience fun glimpses of the feeling, “I’m much more than what I think I am.” If you haven’t experienced this, you can anytime. Meditate. Drop all past baggage.
See the entire past as a dream. When you say goodbye to memories, something simple yet phenomenal happens inside you. But you have to remind yourself, in the beginning, several times to see it that way.
Know that the future could be a dream. Question the present, “Is it a dream?”
On the days when you’re really excited and happy, you say, “Am I dreaming? Is this reality?” You wonder whether the present is a dream. That’s your true state.
Editor’s note:
To learn more about our pillar program, SKY Breath Meditation, check out our free breath and meditation online session with a live instructor. SKY has helped millions of people around the world improve all aspects of their lives. Learn how you too can benefit from SKY.
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