Conquering the mind is key to masterful living

Photo by Olimpo Ávila Salazar on Unsplash

Takeaways

- the split between Spirit and Matter is an example of duality. In fact, they are two sides of Oneness

- the mind is not a substance that is separate from the body. Nor, however, is the mind just the brain. Our sense of being is more than the processing of chemicals and electrical signals in our brain

- self-mastery, or the battle to control our mind, is both shaped by, and shapes our lives

“By conquering the mind, conquer the world” (Guru Granth Sahib: 6). This battle for self-mastery has a social dimension. While we are oppressed or exploited in our personal relationships or wider society, we cannot fully express ourselves. Without self-mastery, the life we are living is a pale reflection of the desires and needs of others and not the expression of the self that the One has chosen to take birth in and share life through. All of this is a matter of common sense. I mean common sense in the ordinary way that everyone must use it. It is what all humans know as conscience, as the part of themselves that they must face and cannot deny. It is also the part of ourselves that knows that the external world is real, that we are beings and that other beings are persons. To use the terminology of Western philosophy this…