Most people are familiar with the belief that there is a sub-conscious and a conscious mind. These two states of consciousness make up what we can call the 'ordinary' mind. Meditation has revealed to some that there is also a higher consciousness which can be called the 'Universal Mind.'

Nearly all of our problems, confusion and suffering stem from the probability that we do not understand the nature of our ordinary mind and are unaware that we continually possess the power of the Universal Mind.

The ordinary mind is an ingenius mechanism. We are given it at birth. If we allow it, the ordinary mind will spend all of its time trying to convince us that we are 'it' and that if we do all 'it' suggests 'it' will make us happy.

All day every day this ordinary mind operates, filling us with outrageous notions which require all of our energies and attention. We faithfully undertake to do everything it tells us, because it has hypnotized us into believing that if we listen to it and follow where it leads us, it will eventually provide us with the peace and contentment we seek.

But the ordinary mind is actually very similar to a machine. It selects and processes data and then interprets that data in a very particular and limited way. We make a mistake if we believe this machine-like mind is unlimited and that it is capable of making the right judgements to deal effectively with every situation that arises.

We tend to listen to what the machine-mind tells us, because we have faith in its ability to lead us down the path of peace and fulfillment. We chase after its empty promises, hoping to successfully complete that business deal, build a house, buy a car, meet that special someone, travel to that country, attend that school etc., all with the belief that doing these things will finally bring us contentment.

As the years pass we may indeed gain many of these things, but the ordinary mind continually invents new desires and 'necessities' and that having satisfied the previous desires has not brought us any closer to real peace or happiness.

We must recognize that the ordinary mind is by its very nature greedy and insatiable. It can never be satisfied and as long as we identify ourselves with it neither can we.

The nature of the ordinary mind is so pre-occupied, so distracted by the things of everyday life, of day-to-day existence, it is unable to convey to us the true mirror of the world and of ourselves in relation to it.

Our ordinary mind has more or less convinced us that we can solve our problems through its 'logic' and 'reason' and that there are no situations or circumstances in which the logical thinking of our mind is not the most important factor.

Our ordinary mind tends to reject almost anything it cannot explain or explore through the aid of the senses and think about logically. It is quite typical for the mind to blame 'external circumstances' as the reason we have failed to secure any real peace within ourselves.

The fact is that we have never understood our problems in their correct perspective. We do not realize that the ordinary mind creates our problems and then, in its own good time and way, attempts to solve them. It enjoys this game and will continue to play it as long as we allow it.

This ordinary mind, along with the senses and the emotions (which it uses as its cohorts to help play its games), has succeeded in creating the idea of a seperate 'ego' so that each of us has the impression that he has, and is, a seperate self; that without it he would lose his identity and in some way or other cease to exist.

The real tragedy of the dream of the self is that it prevents us from knowing our true nature, that of the Universal Mind. In many of us the higher consciousness tries to make its presence felt, but the ordinary mind would have us look upon these 'mystical' experiences with great suspicion. It makes us reject anything that does not fit into its habitual patterns of thought and analysis.

The ordinary mind is also a mechanism for creating doubt. All thinking involves doubt. If you think you have a problem, you do! If you asked your friend how they are and they answered "OK, I think", would you be inclined to believe them?

Not understanding the nature of either the ordinary mind or the Universal Mind, we live our lives, forever victims, forever suffering and unfulfilled. We have never been shown how to become the master instead of the slave; how to relegate the ordinary mind to its proper place, which is to take orders and not to give them.

We can never be successful in finding peace of mind and spirit if we seek these things with our ordinary mind, regardless of what philosophy, mind-science or self-improvement methods we try. The mind cannot be controlled completely but it can be educated to receive orders instead of giving them.

This effort has proven successful for those who have been able to recognize and realize the eternal presence of the Universal Mind. Armed with this knowledge they have allowed the Universal Mind to take over more of their lives. Indeed, it is the ultimate surrendering of our life, the 'letting go' of our ego, which constitues real liberation and enlightenment which is the basis of happiness and joy.

There can be no 'understanding' of Love, God, Spirit etc., they can only be 'experienced'. Realization of the Universal Mind and the experience of love, brotherhood, peace and truth are the same thing.

You can begin to see the difficulty in attempting to explain what the state of realization of the Universal Mind is like, for in order to do so, the explanation must be directed toward the ordinary mind, which is the very thing we are attempting to transcend.

No intellectual understanding of the Universal Mind enables one to escape the tentacles of the ordinary mind. You cannot attempt to reason and understand the super-consciousness. You can only experience it!

One way to investigate the nature of the ordinary mind is through the act of observing it. During our waking hours become aware of how the ordinary mind is needlessly sapping our life-force through its endless thinking. Note how we are allowing it to run wild, without control, how it binds us more and more to the wheel of empty promises and endless desires.

One tell-tale indication of when the ordinary mind is in the drivers seat can been seen when we observe, in real time, our thinking. Because the past and future do not exist in the ever-present now, whenever we find ourselves thinking about either you will know your mind is in control and you may be wasting precious time and energy.

In your attempt to do nothing but focus in the moment, you will notice your mind will struggle with you because it is not needed and so it will resist. This is one reason many abandon their attempts at meditation. This is the perfect opportunity to realize that you are not your mind! You are part of the Universal Mind which is currently observing your ordinary mind struggling!

The mind will provide you with alternate ideas, provide the energy and inspiration to do anything but keep it relegated to the back burner while you meditate. As a result the would-be practitioner who abandons their practice may have a very clean house but they soon realize they are no closer to finding the spiritual peace and contentment they sought.

It has been said that the strongest ability of the mind is concentration and that patience is concentrated strength. Knowing how to concentrate will open up new faculties of the mind and give us an insight into how to accomplish what we must with a minimum of effort. Developing our power to concentrate will provide us with seemingly unlimited amounts of energy.

During our leisure hours, notice if the mind is cluttered with idle day-dreams, wishful thinking, repetitious thoughts of the past and fantasies of the future. Such workings of the mind sap our life-force and lend substance and reality to the illusionary way in which we see the world and ourselves in relation to it.

By periodically observing our mind we will become aware of how much our thoughts include useless concerns, false anxiety and foolish daydreaming. It requires a great amount of life-force to think yet much of what floats through our mind during the day, which is beyond our notice or control, is simply not worth this expenditure of vital energy.

Whenever we catch the machine-like, ordinary mind playing the same record, distracting us, filling us with useless thoughts, order it to stop! Tell it in no uncertain terms that you are not interested in these superfluous, meaningless thoughts and that you do not want them to arise again.

If we issue this order whenever we observe the ordinary mind involved in its antics, it will eventually stop forcing our attention upon these things. We must persevere if we are to prevail.

The more the ordinary mind is stilled the more we can become increasingly aware of the presence of the Universal Mind and the less stress we should encounter in our lives.

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'We only grow when we are alone.'

'The longest path is the journey inward.'