Introduction to the Book of Brain by Stephen Gislason MD

Book of Brain

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The brain is the organ of the mind. Therefore, molecular influences on the brain are manifest as mental influences. A few micrograms of LSD, for example, will profoundly alter an individual's reality. Food is the major source of molecular influences on the brain and, therefore, on mind states.

There are many words that point to the mental experience of human beings. Each culture, each religion has its own terms and symbols. Psychology and neuroscience have added a new lexicon of concepts and terms. Popular culture has evolved another descriptive vocabulary. We might think that some terms and symbols are better at revealing the universal truths than others. Some language is rooted in local customs, preferences, prejudices and traditions and tends to limit the access of the user to greater, more universal understanding. Other terms and symbols are too abstract or metaphysical and may fool the user into thinking that the mere use of fancy words proffers big understanding.

One approach to life is to focus on externals. You can argue that humans suffer because the world is not right. We have busied ourselves with the task of conquering the material world; however, by our own criteria, we have done a poor job and are now worried about the uncomfortable consequences of attempting to make this a more comfortable place to live.

Another approach can be found in Buddhist philosophy, which looks at the nature of the mind as the cause and potential solution of suffering. We suffer because our mind tends to configure experience in a fragmented and dualistic way. We set up our own suffering because of the way we think and react to world events. We suffer because we are not well. We eat improperly. We pursue impossible goals. We do not take time to look inward and find the root cause of our own distress.

To begin our discussion of the practical determinants of mind, let us clarify the use of a few essential words and concepts.

Mind

This term mind is the most inclusive word, embracing all human experience, thought, perceptions, knowledge, feelings and beliefs. Mind could be thought of as an all inclusive container which tends to expand and contract. Little mind is local and personal. I can refer to my mind as distinct from your mind. We have many terms and phrases that refer to the condition of mind such as mind as clear or unclear, decided or undecided. Many refer to the mind as if they were outside of it, using phrases such as “I made up my mind” and “I changed my mind.”

The term "Ego" has been used to describe the "I-self" who assumes more and more personal characteristics, develops boundaries, habits, skills, values, preferences and limitations: " I am the kind of person who..." The value of individuation is celebrated in our society and people are encouraged by pundits to “know yourself; become your own person; stand up for your rights, express your feelings; and to seek your own truth.” The Ego, however, tends to shrink into a reactive mind. Survival is difficult. We interact daily with other humans who challenge us. Everyone wants something from you. Everyone has opinions about you. The more you are involved with other humans, the more you become defensive. You react more and more to the aggression of others to defend your boundaries. You get caught in behavior loops that you did not choose, do not like, and cannot control. You thought that individuation was a path to freedom. But now you are becoming less free. What is wrong?

The worldly tendency of the Mind is to shrink to accommodate the survival needs of each practitioner of mind to focus on local conditions. The spiritual tendency of Mind is to open up, to expand beyond the limiting specific and local conditions. This spiritual tendency generates a tension between the limiting needs of daily existence and the deep and persistent call to expand beyond local conditions, to open up to the universal essence of mind.

Albert Einstein suggested: “The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mystical. It is the power of all art and science. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, which our dull faculties can comprehend in their most primitive forms - this knowledge, this feeling is at the center of true religiousness. In this sense, and this sense only, I belong to the ranks of devoutly religious men. A human being is part of the whole... he experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated form the rest - a kind of delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves form this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but striving for such an achievement is, in itself, a liberation.”

Consciousness

Consciousness is the monitor in the mind. At every moment you and the world are revealed in consciousness. The world appears to be out there and you appear to be the center of the world. You may have a vague sense that it is all happening inside your head; however, you have a greater conviction that is all happening out there, independent of you.

Psychology may be been viewed as a the study of and a subset of mind, a collection of observations and ideas about the tendencies of mind as expressed in human thought, behavior, and values. Brain science is a subset of mind which views mind as a product of the biological function of brains. The best thoughts of brain scientists do not explain mind, or consciousness, but do give us some strategies for understanding the tendencies of mind and gives us some tools for working with our own experience. These strategies, based on biological understanding, can alleviate suffering and promote the expansion of each person’s consciousness toward the big integrated mind, which is the goal of spiritual practice.

We now know that much, if not most, brain activity occurs without the benefit of consciousness. Psychoanalytic and other metaphysical descriptions of the mind invented the “unconscious” or the “subconscious” to try to explain some of the more peculiar aspects of human behavior. Often consciousness and the subconscious were set apart as adversaries in a subterranean battle of mind. Modern neuroscience would suggest that all brain activity carries on below the surface and only a glimmer of this continuous brain processing is projected into consciousness as a monitor image.

Our brain has built in strategies for dealing with the world and innate rules for the kind of monitor images that come into consciousness. These built-in rules are modified by experience, but no learning is powerful enough to replace innate programs. Dreams give us a glimpse at inner brain-processing which goes on during sleep each night. We only become aware of the briefest moments of this activity as we wake up. The collage of events and associations in dream recollections may be interesting because dream contents are jumbled and odd associations appear that would normally be excluded in waking consciousness. The idea that dreams deal with standard symbols that can be “interpreted” using standard stories is as popular as it is wrong. Dream content is a mix of old impersonal themes that appear to be universal and independent of autobiographical reference, fragments of memory that were recorded during the previous day, and old memories that may or may not relate to recent experiences. Dream content is remarkably consistent in a large sample of people of different, ages, sex and cultures.

The Book of Brain refers to the Alpha Nutrition Program that can be used to generate a healthy diet. The program can be adapted to a variety of disease conditions where diet and nutrition play a role.

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