Beyond the mind's eye

"There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it."

~ Dale Carnegie. American writer and lecturer, the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills.

No human has been able to grasp the full meaning of what 'mind' denotes. At best, and for all practical purposes, it is defined as the aggregate of conscious and unconscious processes originating in and associated with the brain, especially those human faculties, pertaining to cognition, intelligence, and intellect. Consequently, when one uses the word, it may imply any of a variety of meaning such as brain, consciousness, disposition, instinct, intellect, intelligence, reason, sense, soul, spirit, understanding, thought and so on, dependent upon the ability, grasp, and knowledge of the user.

However, most people not only, not use their mind to benefit; but also mind not the mind. The mind is at the seat of mental activity by the brain. With the power of the mind, one imagines, thinks, and forms ideas. Thoughts are, created in the mind.

The thought process is the basis of all emotions, desires, and sensations. It is because of the mind of a person that, in an instant, thoughts reach anywhere; a memory is re-lived, and the feeling of happiness or sadness is experienced. Hence, the metaphysical mind should not be, confused with the heart - the physical organ that maintains blood circulation - even if some say it is the seat of feelings; and that the heart rules the mind.

The beauty that addresses itself to the eyes is only the spell of the moment; the eye of the body is not always that of the mind. The senses reveal much; and yet they reveal nothing at all.

They tell only part of the truth of the real world, but not it all. They do not show us the path to truth and wisdom, whereas in the eye of the mind, a fractal is a way of seeing infinity. What we perceive through the physical eye only makes us prisoners of our senses. The eye of the mind helps us to go beyond the immediacy of the sense experience and access the true reality revealed by the intellect. The modern man is, characterised more by individualism than anything else.

As such, only we feel our pains, our pleasures, our hopes, and our fears: immediately, subjectively, from the inside. Other people only see us from the outside, objectively; and, hard as we may try, we can only see them from the outside. No one else can feel what we feel, and we cannot feel what is going on in anyone else's mind.

When we think of it, the only thing we ever perceive immediately and directly is ourselves and the images and experiences in our mind. Each of us is, trapped within our own mind, unable to feel anything but our own feelings and experiences.

In a world where science has opened up and laid bare many a things such as the nature of subatomic particles, far-away planets, and the workings of our very own bodies and brains; we on the other hand, remain as ourselves, hidden from the objective view of science. Thus, we are an island of subjectivity in an otherwise objective world.

To go beyond the mind's eye, we must first answer the question what is the "mind's eye." To be honest, the biological foundation of the mind's eye is, not fully understood by scientists, and researchers.

They are still working on solving the problem. However, as far as common usage is concerned, the phrase "mind's eye" refers to the human ability for visualization, for the experiencing of visual mental imagery.

Thus, as humans, we have the ability to see with the mind's eye - to have a perceptual experience in the absence of visual input.

However, the use of the phrase mind's eye does not imply that there is a single or unitary place in the mind or brain where visual consciousness occurs. Yet, some scientists dispute this claim and say that the brain's electromagnetic field is consciousness itself, thus causing the perception of a unitary location. Though confusing all this might be to the general reader, suffice it to know that when we refer to the 'mind's eye,' it is about one's ability to "see" things with the mind.

If that be what is implied, in so far as the minds eye is concerned; what is it that lies, beyond the mind's eye? To begin with, to go beyond the mind's eye, one must be possessed of an intellectual curiosity, and enter the world of philosophy.

One must be committed to bringing philosophy back to its Socratic roots in ethos, in the way of life of people. It is this conception of philosophy as self- knowledge that becomes something that human beings do, as a condition of living the examined life. You do indeed only get the one life.

Does it not make sense, then, to examine that life and ensure that it is well lived? As we think, so shall we live is the adage.

Thus, it is in the world of philosophy lies the path to truth, knowledge, and freedom: freedom of the mind. Philosophy develops the intellect. The intellect shows the true reality, the reality seen through the eye of the mind.

When one perceives true reality, one attains wisdom and enlightenment and sees the light of the sun in the real world, outside the cave of illusion. Thus, enlightenment and wisdom are the twin benefits of going beyond the mind's eye; but to attain it, one must go through the eye of the mind.

Most people dwell in the blissful ignorance of partial knowledge that leads human beings to live unfulfilled lives.

Partial knowledge, at best, only leads to partial freedom, and partial lives: far cry from the human potential we are born with.

There is a saying that implies that most people lead lives of quiet despair. As a result, there appears to be a case of collision between the ignorant and the enlightened, each trying to tempt the other into a different way of life. Except that I think, a life of blissful ignorance is not a way of life at all, it is the way of sleep, of existing by the senses alone, being driven by purposes and imperatives which are external to oneself.

Of course, the contended do not see the problem at all. If they did, there would be no need for philosophers showing the path to enlightenment, goading people into using their rational faculties.

To many people, philosophers seem to be an odd, fractious, and frankly cantankerous bunch. If there is a hair to split, one can be sure that some philosopher somewhere will be splitting it.

Thus, those living in the blissful ignorance of sensory contentment are genuinely nonplussed by the philosopher.

'Why do you keep questioning?' they ask. In fact, Einstein is the one who insisted that the important thing in life is to keep asking questions. Those genuinely baffled by a philosopher's approach to the world say 'You only get one life'; so why not enjoy it instead of philosophising.

Such a person really does think - if they think at all - that ignorance is bliss. They are content in being absorbed in the world of the senses and cannot understand the philosophical quest to reveal a world of greater, richer possibilities far beyond the immediacy of the senses.

Seeing the light and living by it may take courage, but it offers an alternative to a wasting of life.

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