Assume the mind is a virtual environment constructed by the brain to act as an interface between the physical form and the consciousness- a conduit between our four-dimensional world and the realm of other dimensions. This construct can be considered as a framework hosting the collection of virtual entities, such as concepts, ideas, perceptions, and perspectives about things, events, and people. In other words, a framework that hosts directories of files of all formats, non of which has a physical existence. The brain has the mechanisms to receive, process and store the data obtained through senses, such as images and audio, which have real and physical origins in real life and are stored in organic memory centers of the brain and can be recalled as required. However, the contents of the mind are virtual and have no origin in the physical realm, and were created by the person- the observer. For instance, the observer had an experience and created an interpretation of that experience in their mind, subsequently creating a perspective/perception related to the experience, all of which are virtual and can vanish when the brain dies or if the person chooses to omit them. For simplicity, I refrain from the distinction between perspective and perception in this article.
The mind, as described, depicts a framework of constructed entities by an individual’s brain through their life experiences. These virtual entities replicate the nodes of a sophisticated and complex network. For instance, a person’s interactions with their parents decades ago have formed an ever-evolving set of perspectives and perceptions that have influenced and may continue to affect their current relationships and are the nodes on a complex network in their mind and their relationships with other nodes are the edges of the network.
Considering the construct as the interface between the brain and consciousness makes it significantly integral to both ends of the interface. If the mind is the conduit by which our physical self can communicate with the non-physical aspect, the consciousness, we can assert that not only the contents of our mind affect our life in this realm but also affect and shape our existential path in another realm, non-observable for now. Such a complex and vital role of the brain in the architecture of the mind necessitates having a mechanism in place to monitor, organize, remove, replace, and maintain the contents of the mind. Meditation is one of the recognized mechanisms. However, there are many schools of thought on the subject of meditation regarding its objectives, format, efficacy, methodology, and scope of impact. In other words, one can get caught in a web of convolutional and confusing ideas about meditation. My advice is to view it and practice it as simply as possible and let it evolve with you organically.
In the context of this article, my objective is to present meditation as a practice to observe and maintain the content of the mind. We know we are dealing with loads and loads of ideas, concepts, perceptions, and deep-rooted belief systems. We recognize that some of them are garbage to go, some of which we are too attached to let go of. Some are self-constructed, and some are imposed on us. Some of these entities are too tangled to see the connections in between, and some appear independent, but in fact, they may be the underlying mechanisms for others, such as the effects of an isolated sexual trauma on all proceeding relationships. In other words, we are dealing with a network of made-up nodes and edges with growing complexity- a jungle of screaming baboons.
The simplest form of meditation is to stay relatively still and uninterrupted and minimize the activities of thought processes. For instance, sitting still in a quiet place and lowering all brain activities, such as intentional and unintentional instances of thoughts. To facilitate the process, one can focus on breathing patterns. In this method, one has two things to manage, breathing and thoughts. What is the least intrusive and non-biased method to manage them? Observation. One can start by observing the breathing pattern in and out and gradually move on to observing the thoughts. Simply by observing the thoughts generated from the brain (memories) or the mind (e.g., interpretations), whether they came up unintentionally or intentionally. The act of non-biased, non-judgmental observation of the contents of brain activity, such as those stemming from memory, enables the observer to see the origin and destination of the thoughts. In other words, the clarity that results from observation allows you to see the connections between the thoughts, events, people, and your perceptions of all of them. In other words, the observer observes the rise and fall of thoughts and the probable cause-and-effect relationship between them.
Assume you have thousands of files randomly distributed throughout your computer disc. You would need an algorithm that can organize them for you. The algorithm must be able to view (observe) the content of the files, identify to what category they may belong, move them to their predicted category(directory), and iterate through the process over and over until all files are in their correct category. Then you can go through each file and decide whether to be kept, discarded, or modified. You would be able to see the connection between files and directories, the timestamps and chronological hierarchy, and possible connections between the contents of the files; for instance, does the interpretation file that you have on your father affects the interpretation file that you have created on your partner? The observational style of meditation helps us create clarity, and disentanglement between the contents of the mind, subsequently enabling us to gradually reconstruct the mind with unbiased, constructive, and healthier content.
Another format of meditation that I regularly practice is creating and sustaining a blank state of mind/brain where no thoughts are generated, intentionally or unintentionally. Reaching this state on a regular basis is relatively easy, and its duration may vary from time to time. However, this practice is extremely helpful in achieving mental rest and creativity.
Finally, I also use a focused and objective approach when I need to address a particular matter. Examples would be a tangible matter, such as income, relationship, health, or an old perspective causing emotions that one may find undesirable or disruptive such as chronic grief or episodes of depression. My approach is to find a place where I’m not interrupted for as long as needed, and I start the meditation by observing the stream of random thoughts, moving on to the state of clarity from all these random thoughts, and gently starting to observe the one issue that I want to work on. I let myself dive into the matter and go as deep as possible with the least effort. For instance, going as far in time and as deep into the issue as possible. Take a relationship, for example, and start observing every component about self and the other party as unbiased and relevant as possible. Observation would lead to clarity and clarity to probable understanding. The critical point in this practice is that you may never understand why, how, or what happened. You may never forgive yourself or the other party. You may never forget the involved elements. However, one thing you can and have the ability to do is to let go.
You don’t need to try to forget or forgive. You don’t need to accept what happened and why, but you can accept that it has happened. You can let go of what happened without the endless effort to forget or forgive. This practice of objective and focused meditation has helped me a lot in recent years, especially during the Covid isolation when I had plenty of time to go deep in and examine specific contents in my mind. In each session, you are the patient and the therapist. Each session may take time to get deep enough to start observing things and their connections to the subject of interest. And most importantly, it may take many sessions to start seeing things with a healthier perspective. I like to mention that things may feel worst in the beginning and even contribute to unwanted emotions. You have to get through them.
I like to use the analogy of weight loss for this. When we accumulate toxins in our body through time, one of the places that toxins get trapped and stored is body fat. Consequently, as we gain weight, we accumulate more toxins stored in the fat. When we start losing body fat, whether through activities or diet, we start feeling crappy and sick for a while; the reason is the release of toxins into the body as we lose the body fat. Gradually, things will get better.
My experience with meditation has been a personal endeavour. For no particular reason, I have rarely attended group sessions. In addition, owing to my extensive background in physics, I always wanted to explore my way around meditation and figure out what works for me and modify it accordingly. Therefore, I suggest to anyone interested in a healthy mind to try meditation, starting simple with no ambitious expectations and letting the experience and the outcome evolve naturally and organically.
I acknowledge that the mind is a space distinct from the organic brain in which we create, adopt, and modify virtual concepts that construct a framework of conceptual entities such as perceptions and belief systems. Each individual is the primary architect and the end-user of this framework; however, the individual empowers external factors to contribute to and be affected by this architecture. The contents of the mind are constructed through years of life experience and are in a highly complex web of interconnections. Every entity affects others, and collectively they affect the physical world and the world to which the consciousness is connected. Therefore, it is imperative to maintain the contents of the mind in a manner that ensures its healthy state. What constitutes a healthy state of mind can be a vague definition, but in simple terms, a healthy mind is a transparent and evolving framework of concepts and perceptions. A framework that evolves beyond the rigidity of bigotry and absolute truth. A healthy mind inspires its physical form to live a life of grace and harmony with others and the environment, a life that transforms its environment into a harmonious and welcoming place to live and improves the quality of life for those around it, a life that transcends prejudice and exclusion.
Payman Janbakhsh, Ph.D.