The Brain and The Mind: One or Separate?

Ever since the dawn of time, man has striven to understand his own mind, his thoughts, his emotions, and especially, his dreams. I share in this exploratory mission, and have in such an exploration stumbled upon a rather curious thought:

The "Brain" and the "Mind" seem to be separate entities all to themselves, while still being unquestionably linked together.

Is this the case, though? Can it be possible to be one, and also separate? Do they even intermingle at all? Is one dominant over the other? Are they equal to one another? The answers to these questions I will attempt to find as we go along. A daunting task for a mere mortal such as myself, but I shall continue, in earnest, to try.

Can two things be One and also separate?

First things first, can it be possible to be intrinsically linked together as "One" and also be separate from one another, each being "One" individually? We must find the answer, I think, in a simpler example and then see if it applies to the more complex. I would like to present the idea of a human hand to you, and myself. "One" hand is comprised of many smaller parts, each part comprised of other, even smaller parts, so on, so forth. Can we say that the "One" hand is a single unit all to itself? I think we can assert that as a truth. The one hand encompasses within it's Being all the smaller parts of the whole, and I think this as well can be asserted as a truth. The one hand has smaller parts, as we've already established, comprising it's whole. Fingers, for example - four of them, and one thumb - comprise a set of smaller pieces of the whole one hand.

Is each finger a "One", all to it's own, and able to stand alone? I would have to say yes, because a finger is still a finger if it is cut off the whole one hand and lay separate from the whole. It is recognizable as a finger, and is known to be a finger, whether it's attached to the one hand or it's not. Can the finger perform a function without the hand, though? I would have to absolutely say no to this, because without the hand's ligaments and the muscles within it to move the finger to perform any kind of function, the finger is useless. It maintains the appearance of a finger only, but cannot perform the function of a working, operational finger.

Likewise, without the finger, the hand cannot function properly. It requires all it's smaller parts of the whole to perform as the one hand. Afterall, a hand without fingers is not really a hand, as we can understand a hand to be - it is an incomplete mass of flesh which has no function or quality to it. With all the ligaments and muscles it has within it, the hand cannot use those ligaments and muscles to grasp an object without fingers with which to do so. It is still recognizable as a hand, but without it's fingers it is useless.

So let's take this example and slap it onto the ideas of Brain and Mind, shall we?

I would suggest that for this example, we understand that the Mind is the whole, which has many parts within it with which to function properly. It is, in essence, the Hand. The Brain, likewise, is a part of the whole, and is for this example akin to the fingers and thumb.

Taking the above example, and applying it here, we can easily say that "One" Mind is comprised of many parts making up it's whole, including the "One" Brain. Taking the Brain first, we can understand now, rather easily, that it is a separate entity, recognizable as a Brain with of without the Mind attached. A Mortician would be able to tell you this were true, as a corpse's Brain can be observed as a Brain, simply inactive. It is recognizable, but cannot possibly function on it's own separate, without being connected to the Mind. It cannot perform any function, or serve any purpose detached.

Likewise, the Mind must follow suit in the example above, and be understood to be a Mind even as the Brain is taken from it. It would appear as a Mind, be able to be recognized, but couldn't function properly without the Brain being a part to it. Without the Brain, the Mind would be a shadow of it's former self, in this view, and while still able to Be, wouldn't be able to perform any remarkable function, or serve any purpose anywhere near what it could while having all it's parts intact. Just as a Hand without Fingers could serve a small purpose - possibly by being something to lean on, or push open a door with - the mind in this capacity couldn't perform it's originally designed function, and be MUCH less useful in this state.

Do the Mind and the Brain intermingle at all?

I believe by using the above examples, we can assuredly agree that the Mind and the Brain do, in fact, intermingle with one another intimately. They are both separate entities, as we found, but are intrinsically connected to one another to the point which without one, the other would suffer tremendously. This question has been answered to my satisfaction by the examples above, and I hope to yours as well - if not, find the comment box below!

Is the Mind or the Brain dominant over the other?

Again using the example already supposed above, I can say at this point that this question becomes rather clear to me. The Brain, while being an integral part of the whole Mind, cannot even exist other than in appearance on it's own, much like the Finger - it simply dies apart from the Hand. Thus is the fate of the Brain - when separated from the whole of the Mind, it simply dies, and cannot live on by itself. It cannot stand alone and perform any function whatsoever.

The Mind, however, seems to have the ability to survive and function - even on a much more limited scale - on it's own separate from the Brain. Much like the Hand would live on, but be simply crippled, without the Fingers, the Mind would seem able to survive in some form without the Brain at all. It's abilities would be severely lacking, and desperately wanting, but it would survive - I believe - and continue on in whatever state it's left in.

Conclusion:

The Mind seems to be the encompassing "One" to the whole between itself and the Brain, and the Brain merely a smaller, but sufficiently important, part of that whole. The Brain, while intrinsically connected to the Mind, is not required for the Mind's survival, but is necessary for the Mind, as a whole, to function properly and serve an expected purpose.

Thanks for reading, and I hope your BRAIN doesn't hurt, like mine does right now ;)

A Diatribe On Evolution In Terms Of Reincarnation

I was on my way home one day recently and as I was mindlessly driving along, a thought smashed into my mind - as they tend to do when my mind is idle (this isn't often). It was so profound a thought that I instantly wanted to explore it further and try to gain some understanding on the concept. The thought was as follows:

"What if evolution is nothing more than the reincarnation of minds, creating an automatic advancement in understanding with each reincarnated being?"

Well, upon pondering it for a short while here and there, I have decided to write down my further thoughts on the matter for observation - in the hopes that others might find this document and either refute it or add to it. So, first things first; initially, I found myself contemplating this simple statement and extrapolating on it a bit with the following. A few things, though, must be stated as already understood concepts by me personally, so that we're all on the same page.

Firstly, it must be understood to continue with this thought that as time has passed, assuming for just a moment that time is anything at all, all life forms on our planet we call Earth have slowly but surely become more and more advanced - both physically and mentally.

Secondly, the advancement of intellect has far and wide skyrocketed in the past few hundred years as far as human beings are concerned. If this were to be drawn on a chart, the inclining curve would have slowly but steadily risen at about the same ratio for hundreds of thousands of years, and then suddenly - for no particular reason - turned upwards at an astounding pace. Upon writing this very statement the thoughts hits me that the curvature of the line would appear to follow precisely the Fibonacci Series of numerals. Notice how the curvature at the outermost region is slow, but steadily increases to a tighter, swifter curve as it progresses.

Thirdly, it is apparent to I think anyone that the following statement is true: Human intellect has with each generation progressed at an astounding rate of speed. The greatest minds of the 14th century couldn't have dreamed up a Hadron Collider on their best day, but now it's second nature for almost everyone to understand what it is and what it can accomplish. There is no doubt in my mind that the concepts of the great Stephen Hawking will be mere child's play in a few hundred years.

Lastly, it is documented and understood that certain human children are able to recall places, events, and even family members from previous lives. There are no adults who exhibit this amazing talent, only children. This is center of all sorts of debates in itself, which I will leave, for now, alone entirely.

So let us move into the ponderings, shall we?

Human Into Human Reincarnation

I believe that this will be the simplest to put into words, as it was the first direction my mind wanted to wander as this thought came to my attention. It should also be the simplest to understand, as the traditional way of understanding reincarnation is the same as this would be, only that the formerly human mind would return to this plane of existence as another human.

Take, for example, the idea that if I were to die and be reincarnated - in whatever manner isn't going to be debated here - and I would return as a human, just the same as I was before. My "being" as it were (or if you prefer "soul" just use that instead) would retain the vastness of information I had collected in my previous go-round on this Earth. However, having collected certain types of information and knowledge previously, I am struck with a form of amnesia - I cannot readily call forth that information, but it is stored somewhere for safe-keeping nonetheless.

I, personally, am artistic, interested in Philosophy and Theoretical Physics. I have a strong moral and ethical compass, and an affination to outer space and ancient anythings (Cultures, Dinosaurs...). Now, if the reincarnated "me" were to become an astrologer it wouldn't be surprising, and it also wouldn't be surprising if this version of myself were to come up with new, ground-breaking ways of studying the cosmos. The reason I say this is that if this thought be correct, that the collective knowledge of all humanity is reincarnated with each generation, it would be EASIER for my next life's mind to comprehend the things I already understand now. In other words - studying the cosmos would almost seem like a natural thing for this person.

The reason I take the time to say the previous bit is this: if it be simple and second-nature for my next life's mind to study the cosmos, chances are that the basics of this would be understood and learned at a very young age, and into adulthood this person would most likely stretch the bounds of human understanding of the subject, thus pushing the envelope of human understanding and coming up with new and better ways of thinking about things such as space, time, and bodies in space. This would certainly match the concept that a previous life had assisted in this person's understanding and eventual advancement of the subject.

Therefore, a human to human reincarnation would advance the collective understanding and intellect towards a particular topic by leaps and bounds, drawing on the fact that it be simple and easy to understand the current knowledge on whatever subject, this person would have a supreme advantage in that field and be able to expound upon everything, including previous life's experiences without even realizing it, and create a quantum leap in understanding.

Animal Into Human Reincarnation

This pondering is fairly easy, as it pertains to the process of what a human being would be like if it's previous life were an animal of some kind. I believe it would be clear what the results would be, and rather easy to point out in the real world we live in as well. I can think of a few individuals right now that I might put into this category as possibly having happened.

The mind of an animal would obviously be centered around basic instinct - or a knee-jerk reaction based thought process, or no thought process at all and only basic emotion and reaction instincts. I can imagine racism being something that still lingers in our society because of this type of reincarnation happening. Spousal abuse, child abuse, rape, murder, etc...I can imagine all these human actions being the result of the mind of an animal being born into a human body, and it's animalistic, completely irrational behaviors being prevalent.

I'm not certain what else to add here, because I didn't have to think on this idea very long to come to the above conclusion, and I think it sums the concept up rather simply.

Human Into Animal Reincarnation

I think this will be somewhat more difficult for me to put into words my thoughts, but I will give it a go anyway. If you can follow me through the mess of trying to write down this madness, I applaud you, and will look upon you with shock and awe, my friend.

Basically, the idea here is that a human mind who has passed from this physical realm into wherever else there may be, would either be placed by an intelligence, by complete chance, or by choice into the body of an animal. I'm going to simply use the animal of African Lion for this little bit, just to try and make things as simple as possible in an impossibly unsimple thing. 

Let's say, for another example using the same animal, that I upon physical death awaken as a Lion. I have the same selective amnesia as in the previous example, and do not actively recall anything of my former life as a human. The Lion's physical brain is simply incapable of expressing thought process on the level of a human being, and with that, my "being" (again, insert "soul" if it makes you feel better) would be extremely limited in capacity, but as a retainer of vast amounts of knowledge, I may be a very clever Lion, as far as Lions are concerned.

Chances are, my new Lion self will be able to recognize dangers more quickly than my other Lion counterparts, and have a distinct advantage in the game of survival. I may, if a male Lion, be able to win dominance battles easier than other Lions due to the fact that my mind in trying to function on a completely higher level - only restricted by the brain capacity of my physical body. It wouldn't be obviously apparent that I were anything super-special outwardly, but in the end, I would most likely have the highest chance of producing offspring and controlling a Pride as my own than other Lions who hadn't had a previous existence as a human being as I had been.

As a result, my influence on the Lions around me, and my direct offspring, would be cleverness which they could copy and try to match, and eventually as generations pass, Lions in general would appear to become more clever as a whole because of the influence my formerly human mind had on them while I was in that physical form.

This is a hypothetical, and in no way do I think I'm some kind of super-human super-intelligent person and that if I were to be born again as a Lion I'd single-handedly cause an evolutionary process to occur. At the same time, though, I somehow think that if a human were to be reincarnated as an animal of any kind, this would be the result.

Human Into Animal Into Human Reincarnation

This will be quite possibly the most difficult to explain my thoughts on as I have pondered it, and the hardest to follow as I will probably fail to make any sense at all, but regardless I will try, as always.

So this concept that a human would die physically, and by some process be reincarnated as an animal, and then again physically die and be reincarnated again back into the form of a human being is quite interesting to me, for many reasons. First of all, there would be a very large gap between the first life as a human and the next, as an entire (or possibly multiple) animal life/lives is/are between them.

Let's imagine Leonardo DaVinci having been reincarnated multiple times into animal form; possibly that bluebird that visits your front porch every morning and sings a glorious song, or that elephant who would paint pictures! Wouldn't that be an interesting thing to find out, but at any rate, let's say after a few lives in animal form, his mind is finally reincarnated back into a human body. What might this person be like?

This individual would probably be excellent at classical art, and be able to restore old paintings that have lost their flavour due to age and fading. This person would most likely also be excellent at fine arts, and push the envelope in the art world to the very limits of what humans think possible. Is this work possibly an example of DaVinci reincarnated? Who knows, but if this idea be true, then I think it's very likely that whomever first came up with the concept of 3D Sidewalk Art was most likely the reincarnation of an ancient renaissance master artist.

This concludes my thoughts on this most interesting concept - as always, think for yourself and don't even believe my own words! Come to your own conclusions, and please leave a comment below!