Winning Over Your Mind

Life expresses itself through the body and the mind. Yet there is something more—an invisible principle which is the ultimate source of the body’s energy and the mind’s awareness. Itself motionless, it seems to play no part in human affairs. It is therefore ignored, either unconsciously through ignorance of its presence, or consciously through disbelief or indifference.

All the same, this deeper principle turns out to be of immense relevance to every aspect of our life. For one thing, it is what we really are, and hence is called the ‘Self’ (Atman). For another, it transcends those factors in our development that are subject to change, including death. It is sometimes called the Spirit, to indicate its non-material nature. Being one with the immortal principle behind all appearances, it is called Brahman, meaning the one reality which is great, perfect and absolute, indicating its universal nature. To have direct experience of Brahman as Self is to achieve the final purpose of life and to realise supreme peace and eternal freedom.

When we explore these teachings with care, we open ourselves to a new dimension of self-help. This help is derived from the ever-present source of our being itself. It is not that the true Self actively comes to our aid; it ever remains transcendent. But it appears that our mind assumes an especially receptive mode, where the natural bliss and peace of the Self is noticed, and this ‘noticing’ is all that is necessary to dispel negativity and infuse our mind with energy and inspiration to go on.

For our life to be worthwhile, what can we do? We need to cultivate a deeper quality of experience, which is blissful and beautiful in itself, and free from the limits of transiency and mortality. Where do we look for this illumination? We have to view our mind in a new way and win it over to our higher quest.