I used to say to people “You know how I’m sure the mind is not in the head?”
Then they’d say “How?”
I’d tell them “Whenever I’m tired of thinking and I want to clear my head, I shake my head. Very hard.”
I’d let the suspense build. Some of them think I’m just stupid and they just want to indulge me, but still they’d say “And?”
Then I’d say “And nothing happens. I’m still thinking shit.”
The joke is kinda old and I’m tired of telling it. But it makes a point. The brain and the mind; they’re two different entities. They do two very different things but they come from the same place; the brain.
Our brain controls all the shit in our body that we can’t control ourselves. Imagine if you had to control your blood flow, your breathing, your urination, your digestion and all those little things. You’d have gone mad. You wouldn’t be able to talk. Every minute you’re trying to monitor your breathing and your blood and some motherfucker is asking you “What’s one plus one?” You can’t do all that shit at the same time. You need a CEO for your body. You’re the Chairman; you own the shit. However, you need someone to monitor the day-to-day activities of your body. That’s where the brain comes in.
The mind though. The mind is yours and yours alone. It’s the tool that gets you the majority shareholding of your body. Your mind is why you’re the chairman. You have control of your mind, and you have control of your body. That’s why you’re the chairman of your body; because you own the mind. Ever wonder why a junkie is a slave to that drug? Wonder why he itches when he can’t get the needle? Wonder why every minute of every day of every month of every year that junkie lives for that drug? It’s because his mind is no longer his own. There’s been a hostile takeover. His mind is now controlled by the drug and therefore, that’s all the body wants now.
The scientists tell us that our brain is what sets us apart from the common animal. No, my friend. It’s the mind. It was the mind that invented electricity. It was the mind that created civilization. It was the mind that created language and country borders and maps. It was the mind that created peanut butter. The mind is the key component of the human being. Without it, we are but animals.
Sure the brain is a factor in this. Our brains are the largest not because we are the most complex species in the world, but because we have minds. We need a big ass generator to monitor our bodily functions and support the mind. This is why I think the brain and the mind are in the same place. The brain is the base of the mind, but the mind is not tissue or physical. It’s abstract, intangible and it takes a big ass power, namely our big ass brain, to generate something so elusive; something we can’t see. Something so intangible but yet something that has more power over the tangible. Our brain generates that very thing that we’re all looking for in religion. That thing we can’t see but yet affects all. Our brain generates that kinda shit. Our brain generates in us all little Gods.
So you see, Einstein didn’t have a marvellous brain; he had a marvellous mind.
Our brain is the gift because it gives us the mind. The mind is a beautiful thing because it gives us all these beautiful things. It showed us how to turn an ugly rock into something as beautiful as a gold ring. It showed us how to build houses and create cars. It showed us how to use a useless chemical like Neon and make our cities beautiful. It gives us all these beautiful things. But the mind is a curse because it also invented the nuclear bomb. It invented guns, and tanks, and knives. It showed us how to take a perfectly peaceful chemical like arsenic and use it to kill our fellow man. It instilled in us greed, hate, and destruction along with virtues of charity, love, and creativity. The mind is a curse because it showed us how to destroy ourselves.
The brain keeps us alive, but if we let it have its way, the mind will kill us. It is a counterproductive symbiotic relationship. Only those who have mastered their minds survive. Only those who have superior mastery over the mind come out on top. This is why all those years ago, the white man conquered the black man easy as if it was a war between human beings and ants. The white man had greater mastery over his mind, and that is why he won.
The mind brings all sorts of trouble to us human beings and that is its nature. The mind is an evil being by nature. Perhaps that is where the notion of original sin comes from. A human being must tame his mind and put it in a cage if he/she hopes to survive in this life. Every “good” human being in this world has willed himself or herself to be good, because they were originally “bad.”
My brain can reason for me. My brain can do arithmetic and process logical statements. My brain can keep a vast vocabulary and memorize the periodic table. My mind is the one that asks “Why the fuck am I doing arithmetic?” “Why the fuck do I want to know the periodic table?” “Now that I know it, what can I use it for?” It is the mind that brings all these thoughts into being.
Pretty young thing just left your room. You’re broke. You haven’t caught up with school work. You don’t know what career to choose. These are all facts that your brain provides. But the mind tells you “Dude, you’re not the only one she’s fucking.” “Dude, you’re gonna be broke forever.” “Dude, just leave the school work; you were gonna fail anyway.” “Dude, just forget about it all. This career thing is overrated.” It is the mind that brings all these thoughts into being.
All these thoughts that creates a headache. All these thoughts that cause physical pain. All thoughts. The mind creates all thoughts. Just because there are a few good thoughts, like the pretty young thing that just left your room and the sweet nothings she whispers in your ear. Or the optimistic “I can do this!” thoughts. Or the thought that God is with you and you will never want. Just because these thoughts are possible, does it justify living with the other thoughts?
I’d rather have none than have both.
The brain does great things and the mind fucks up those great things. A gift and a curse.
The brain has no bias; the brain is a machine. The mind is biased towards evil; it is a living being. A gift and a curse.
You have to fight the mind to survive. First question is “Did you know this?”
Second question is “Is life worth the fight?” Ask yourself.
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