The Mind and the Intellect
There is a fundamental difference between the mind and the intellect. They both have a specific function, but merge as a cohesive state of integrated intelligence when aligned with the source of original knowledge. People think and rationalise as an exercise of mind for most of their life; but behind the screen of thoughts and movement is the still and unwavering presence of the intellect.
The mind is a product of time which, at birth, exists as a field of potentiality only. When a basic memory pattern develops through the repetition of experience, the mind is then able to understand and make assessments in the sensory world where everything takes time to happen. But when the mind applies the same rational understanding of worldly experience to the invisible realm, it’s completely out of its depth. This is because the mind is subject to the laws of cause and effect, which apply solely to the physical world. As an effect and not an original cause, the mind is an instrument of time and always a fraction behind the immediacy of the moment.
Unlike the mind, the intellect is not a product of time and therefore not subject to cause and effect; it’s the superior intelligence within the body and the timeless portion of our spiritual identity which has always been here. The difficulty is that the mind has no knowledge of any other source of intelligence. This is because the subtlety of the intellect can only be perceived in stillness when the mind is quiescent. Since most minds are continually active as aimless thought, worry, imagination or speculative thinking, there’s usually little inclination in people to probe beyond the surface awareness into the depths of inner space within the body.
Nevertheless, the power and simplicity of the intellect, although defying description in conceptual terms, is a reality in everyone’s living experience. People are in touch with the intellect when engaged in any creative activity that gives pleasure and fulfilment. The fisherman who sits by the stream all day in peaceful solitude invokes the intellect’s timeless quality and freedom, as does someone who loves to gaze at the pristine canopy of stars in the heavens without a single thought.
The most universal connection with the intellect is the state of being in love. When in love, the heightened sensation and beauty is the direct experience of reality being mirrored by the physical form of the beloved shining through the intellect. When the mind interprets love by reflecting on past memory impressions, it creates a personal world which has no reality whatsoever. There’s no love in the mind while the thinker is able to corrupt and upset the equilibrium of the intellect.
To surrender the thinker is an action of humility which negates the position of the personal knower or self. To access the superior intelligence of the intellect, it’s imperative to separate from the identification with the thinking process as a continual background vibration. An effective way to do this, when reminded, is to look at the space between objects as a mirror of truth. When space is perceived in the absence of any objective form, time is bridged as a barrier to the energetic reality behind the formal appearance of the world.
As external space is made conscious through acknowledgment of its ubiquitous presence, inner space becomes purified of self to some degree and the mind begins to slow down. The effect of this induces a minute time change within the inner space of the body. A compensation of energy usually projected outwardly is retained. This creates an aperture within the field of mind which swivels like a photographic lens of higher magnitude to perceive with a greater depth into the psyche.
Today we embody both the timeless state preserved within the intellect, together with the momentum of thousands of years of the mind’s progressive drive into matter. The spiritual task is to somehow unite these dual aspects of perception as an integrated system of intelligence. This is by no means an easy undertaking as progress can be severely hampered by the interference of the emotional body. Emotions are the powerhouse of the self and fuel the momentum of the mind.
The dissolution of emotional blockages is a necessary process in the purification of inner space to realise the point of existence. As the idea of the point becomes illuminated within people drawn to this teaching, a more direct experience of reality will become a greater possibility.
Absolutely, so absorbing piece.
Sounds bliss and messed up by the interfering mind.
Dear, Lance: Thank you for another exquisitely true and poignantly timed insight. “The dissolution of emotional blockages is a necessary process in the purification of inner space to realise the point of existence. As the idea of the point becomes illuminated within people drawn to this teaching, a more direct experience of reality will become a greater possibility.” There it is! The, metaphysical fulcrum that awaits the perfect impetus of the refined intellect. My mind – and I assume countless others – vividly depicts endless reasons why it is imperative to survival to sustain these emotional blockages. It is so skillful at this subterfuge that it overwhelms that moment of truth – the mirror between the objects – with the formidable power of fear. There seems to be an unspoken allusion to meditation in this discourse as a technique for this – is their a specific modality/practice you find particularly effective? You mention the creative process, and I’m intimately familiar with that wonderful space for dissolution of mind, but I am looking for a way that can be integrated and refined in every single moment, not just the the highs of my artistic endeavors. Currently, I am not very good at sitting meditation – could you suggest other specific techniques? This is something I really desire to change in my life so I can experience and share more pure love and joy.
It’s clear from what you say, Richard, that you serve the impersonal principle of love as pure creativity in your artistic role in the world. This indeed is a wonderful gift. How to integrate this every single moment in the whole of your life and ‘share more pure love and joy’? By examining your relationship with the loved ones who share your life. You’ve been unable to be still in meditation because, I suspect, there’s something troubling you closer to home.
The spirit is extremely practical. As I attend to the practicalities of living by getting things straight in the outer world, the mind automatically becomes more still and receptive to the subtly of the inner being. This, of course, demands courage and a searing honesty to life. As I’ve said to you before, it’s the areas of the life which have yet to be resolved that create the restless movement of the mind.
It’s the action of consciousness in facing any fear which changes the life for good. Then, what needs to be done unfolds in a right sequence of events. The two most practical steps in the spiritual process are, firstly, to be grateful for the good in my life and secondly, as mentioned, to address the external circumstances of the life so as not to be emotionally disturbed in any area.
This is a moving teaching, which I’ll be continually modifying in accordance with the consciousness of the people who come to me. I want to keep the space of this teaching free-flowing and uncluttered with techniques as much as possible. I’ll be guiding people to the greater possibility of a direct experience of reality, which negates the need for going into the emotional areas of people’s lives as before. This has all been lived through by all those who’ve transcended their outdated concepts of spirituality and the emotional baggage of the past. This means there is a new resource of spirit now available and waiting to be realised by a certain portion of the earth’s population. What I’m endeavouring to bring into the world is this new consciousness.
Thank you, Richard, for being receptive to my work. Everything will become clearer as we proceed so that I’ll be able to communicate the idea of the point of existence in ever finer detail. All that’s required is to be willing. But I understand that questions will arise and I’ll be increasingly available to help those who ask as the teaching becomes more established in the world.