Mysteries of the mind

Mind: the wonder of evolution, or of creation, or of whatsoever other means by which it came about, remains a mystery. Words cannot fully describe it; we know not where it truly resides; no one has seen it.

Yet we are conscious of it, for consciousness it is. It is accepted, that the human brain is its architect; its place of dwelling; however, no one has come across the designer, nor been to its abode; neither had physical contact, except with the brain - that enlarged and greatly modified portion of jelly like matter residing within the cranium: the skull. Still for all; you, me, and everything in the universe we perceive, is the creation of the mind.

It contains within it, the past, the present, and the future of every individual the mind has created, the self. Without a mind, you are non-existent. Even the mad and the mindless, have a mind. Hence, in a metaphysical sense, it is either larger than the universe we behold; or is the universe itself. Whatever be it, one cannot turn one's mind off the mind.

Intellect, intelligence, sense, thought, understanding: everything resides in the mind, originates from the mind.

Of all the known objects in the universe, the human brain is the most complex: There are as many, or even more, neurons in the brain, as are stars in the Milky Way galaxy; which, it is said, contains between 200 and 400 billion stars. So it is no surprise that, ­despite the glow from recent advances in the science of the brain and mind, we still find ourselves squinting in the dark somewhat. Nevertheless; we are at least beginning to grasp the crucial mysteries of neuroscience and starting to make headway in addressing them. Even partial answers could restructure our understanding of the roughly three-pound mass of gray and white matter that defines who we are. Much of what we do and do not understand about being human is simply in our heads.

The brain is a befuddling organ, as are the very questions of life and death, consciousness, sleep, and much more. What is the mind? There are many, some contradictory, definitions. According to Buddhist and Hindu philosophy, when you come into being, the mind also comes into being. Mind is the consciousness of individuality, and it is present in every living thing. Even an atom has a kind of mind. It will not allow disruption of its individuality by any kind of external interference; it maintains a self-identity.

The nucleus of the atom, around which electrons revolve, constitutes the atom's individuality, and that distinguishes one atom from another atom, as one person is different from another person, as one thing is different from another thing. The Buddha said: "The mind is everything. What we think we become." The Mind-Doctrine, or Buddha's teaching on Mind, is the heart of his message. It is the sum of human wisdom. It does not deal with something foreign, far, or antiquated. It deals with that which is common to all humanity. The Dhammapada, the popular Buddhist scripture, opens with the words: "All that we are, is the result of what we have thought: all that we are, is founded on our thoughts, and formed of our thoughts."

Whereas Buddhist and Hindu philosophy has understood the subject of the mind, and have grasped its intricacy; western science is still struggling to unravel the mysteries of the mind.

Below are some western scientific thoughts on this subject excerpted from Live Science:

Consciousness: When you wake up in the morning, you might perceive that the Sun is just rising, hear a few birds chirping, and maybe even feel a flash of happiness as the fresh morning air hits your face. In other words, you are conscious. This complex topic has plagued the scientific community since antiquity. Only recently have neuroscientists considered consciousness a realistic research topic. The greatest brainteaser has been to explain, how processes in the brain give rise to subjective experiences. So far, scientists have managed to develop only a great list of questions without answers.

Nature vs. Nurture: In the long-running battle of whether our thoughts and personalities are controlled by genes, or environment; scientists are building a convincing body of evidence that it could be either or both! The ability to study individual genes points to many human traits that we have little control over, yet in many realms, peer pressure, or upbringing, seem to heavily influence who we are and what we do.

Mortal Mystery: Living forever is the stuff of Hollywood. But why do humans age? We are born with a robust toolbox full of mechanisms to fight disease and injury, which we might think should arm us against stiff joints and other ailments. But as we age, the body's repair mechanisms get out of shape. In effect, our resilience to physical injury and stress declines.

Theories for why people age can be divided into two categories: 1) Like other human characteristics, aging could just be a part of human genetics and is somehow beneficial. 2) In the less optimistic view, aging has no purpose and results from cellular damage that occurs over a person's lifetime. A handful of researchers, however, think science will ultimately delay aging at least long enough to double life spans.

Brain Teaser: Laughter is one of the least understood of human behaviour. Scientists have found that during a good laugh three parts of the brain light up. A thinking part that helps you get the joke, a movement area that tells your muscles to move, and an emotional region that elicits the "giddy" feeling.

But it remains unknown why one person laughs at your brother's foolish jokes while another chuckles while watching a horror movie. Laughter is one way of signalling to another person that this action is meant, "in fun." Though reasons are still unresolved, one thing is clear: Laughter makes us feel better.

Memory Lane: Some experiences are hard to forget, like perhaps your first love. But how does a person hold onto such memories? Using brain-imaging techniques, scientists are unravelling the mechanism responsible for creating and storing memories. They are finding that some part within the brain's gray matter, could act as a memory box.

But this storage area isn't so discriminatory. It turns out that both true and false memories activate similar brain regions. To pull out the real memory, some researchers ask a subject to recall the memory in context, which is more difficult as the event didn't actually occur.

Mission Control: The biological clock residing within the brain, programs the body to follow a 24-hour rhythm. The most evident effect of this rhythm is the sleep-wake cycle, but the biological clock also impacts digestion, body temperature, blood pressure, and hormone production. Researchers have found that intensity of light can adjust the clock forward or backward by regulating the hormone melatonin.

The latest debate is whether, or not, melatonin supplements could help prevent jet lag, that drowsy, achy feeling you get when "jetting" across time zones.

Slumber Sleuth: Fruit flies do it. Tigers do it. And humans can't seem to get enough of it. We are talking about sleep, so crucial we spend more than a quarter of our lives at it. Yet the underlying reasons for sleep remain as puzzling as a rambling dream.

One thing scientists do know is, sleep is crucial for survival in mammals. Extended sleeplessness can lead to mood swings, hallucination, and in extreme cases, death.

There are two states of sleep: non-rapid eye movement (NREM), during which the brain exhibits low metabolic activity, and rapid eye movement (REM), during which the brain is very active.

However, the benefits derived from each type is still unclear. So, as of now, it seems there are more questions than answers to the mysteries of the mind.

See you this day next week. Until then, keep thinking, keep laughing. Life is mostly about these two actions.

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