THE PURPOSEFUL MIND - PART 2

 THE PURPOSEFUL MIND – PART 2

Earlier, we looked at the place of the mind. The mind being an adjoining bridge between the body and the Spirit; and how after the fall of man, the mind became open to interferences whether good or bad (the Spirit-connection left man). But today, we will look more into understanding the nature of the mind.

Let us understand that the mind that became opened after the fall, is made up of two important parts: the internal being the subconscious mind and the external being the conscious mind. The internal mind also called the SUBconscious mind is that part of the mind that is not consciously perceived; one’s innermost thought. Let’s borrow from this illustration: Have we ever seen an iceberg. It’s almost like we see all of it from the eye point of view but if we see its reflection over the water, we see there is a part we are missing. This just describes the conscious and subconscious state of our mind-the same mind but in two states; that which we see being the conscious and that unseen being the subconscious. Let us note that both the subconscious and conscious aspect of our minds can be influenced, but most times the conscious controls the subconscious. It is what we have learnt to consciously do over the years that just appears to us subconsciously. What the word sub-conscious means is “beneath our consciousness” or “below our consciousness”. So we do not just act these things by ourselves, they just find their way into play. 

An illustration is here below:

If you are asked to wash a plate; you can be consciously doing something, say chatting with someone and subconsciously washing the plate. All you see is that after a while, the plates are washed. This is our “subconscious” in action. But, let us also understand that the subconscious do not just appear, it’s all the work of our consciousness but now due to repetition or familiarity, that action has graduated into the level of we not just thinking before doing it, but appearing unconsciously. Another good example is learning how to ride a bike- a conscious effort at first; you learning the ropes and all, then later you just become a natural at it- your hands know where they ought to be, your legs take shape where they are wanted.

 After the fall of man, God’s spirit left him and his mind both the subconscious and conscious parts was exposed to either the good or the bad. This is why you can hear the word he is a natural at stealing, lying OR he is a natural at keeping his words. After the fall, as we have rightly said, the whole mind became subject to our senses and in turn affected the body-spirit connection. Therefore, once your soul thrives well, your spirit does so and vice versa. Man became unholy after the fall, both spirit and soul (Apostle Paul talked about the renewed mind (Romans 12:2) and also the regenerated spirit (Titus 3:5)). Because of this fragile nature of the mind and Spirit after the fall, there was need for man’s access to instructions in order to nurture his mind and as well as his spirit. Since man was more subject to his senses, he had to now receive the instructions from God through them-see them, hear them, speak them.  In 1Chronicles 16:25, we see ourselves being admonished here “Be ye mindful always of His covenant; the word which He commanded to a thousand generations”.  Our access and obedience to the word is what determines the conscious and the subconscious parts of the mind. You will always move in the direction of your most dominant thought. These commandments are to serve as a meditation unto us. They form the core of our minds. Hence we see the Bible in the book of Joshua 1:8 paraphrased “this book of the law shall not depart from thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate there in day and night”. 

TO BE CONTINUED.

The Men That Lead

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