I Am Not My Mind

We’re all familiar with the famous philosophical dictum “I think, therefore I am.” Translation: Questioning my own existence proves that there’s an actual being (aka, me) doing the doubting. But have we ever stopped to ask ourselves where “my” thinking comes from? We learn to speak, to walk. We take in information, ideas, etc., from outside sources. From the time we’re born, our minds get filled with input. As Dr. Michael Gottlieb, founder of Royal Way Spiritual Center, writes, “Your mind is not your mind. There is very little in your mind that is yours. It is filled with baggage from your parents, from your teachers, from your priests, your ministers, your politicians, your brokers, your entertainers, your newscasters, etc., etc. There is so little in your mind that is really yours.” 

Whose Mind Is It Anyway?

Let’s break it down a bit further. We each have a brain that houses the mind. For the sake of discussion, then, the brain and mind are interchangeable. So are we our brains? The brain is an organ—and an amazing one at that. It’s beyond a supercomputer. On the sensory level alone, the brain processes about a billion bits of information per second. But like any computer, it only processes the information it’s fed. Unlike computers, there are no virus or malware filters available for our minds.

It’s not that our parents, teachers, et al., are untrustworthy or have bad intentions; it’s that their minds were developed in the same way. From whom and where did they get their information? And from whom and where did those people get their information, ad infinitum. Over time, information can become completely distorted. Think about the implications of that dynamic on a worldwide scale.

The Marvelous But Limited Mind

The mind is a glorious manifestation emanating from the mystery of God and creation. It’s the proverbial Swiss Army Knife of existential functionality. However, in the big picture, it’s a tool, and like any tool, its benefit or detriment depends on how it’s used. Abandoning the mind is not where it’s at.

Michael writes, “That would be foolish, unnatural, and self-destructive. The mind is sharp and powerful. Like a knife, it can serve us well in many ways. But what do we do with a knife when we are not using it? We leave it alone. We ignore it. We engage in other pursuits.”

Michael created Royal Way to facilitate an experiential knowing of God—even when we use the mind constructively, it can’t bring us to our divinity. For millennia, scholars have attempted to explain creation, existence, life, death, and God. Every explanation only produces more questions. Michael teaches that these mysteries can’t be explained because they’re not in the realm of the mind—they’re beyond it. Michael poses the question, “Can a piece of furniture tell us about the carpenter? Can a computer tell us about the engineer who created it?”

Real Knowing Comes From the Experience

If we can’t explain what God is, then how can we ever know God? What we do have is our own experience. Michael writes, “Knowing comes only from inside the experience. You can see it all, and devote your mind for many years to analyzing what you saw, and still be in the dark. The light of knowing comes from the experience itself.”

Think about love, which, not surprisingly, is a manifestation of God. Millions of websites, and essays are devoted to love—dissertations about the significance of love, seminars and workshops on how to find love—and not one of those sources can provide us with the experience of love. Yet we experience love, don’t we? There’s no debate, belief, or proof needed. We have the indisputable knowing, the deep knowing that love exists, because we have experienced it.

Drop the Mind—Don’t Lose It

It’s important to note that dropping the mind, dropping our identification with the mind, is not losing the mind. Dropping the mind identity means letting go of old attitudes, prejudices, criticisms, doubts, projections, etc., that hold us back from connecting with our divine nature and God. In other words, drop those things that aren’t really us to begin with. “Drop all that,” Michael writes, “and allow something new to enter into your heart.”  Then we can truly know what life is all about.

But how do we drop our minds?

Meditation Is the Key

Our minds are like Saran Wrap, clinging to everything they touch. That’s why the practice of meditation is so vital to the experience of our divinity. Meditation helps us shift away from our identification with thought. The very definition of meditation is “away from thought.”

The wonderful irony is that when that happens, the mind becomes clearer, sharper, and a more capable tool. When guided by our innate divinity, it becomes a beautiful instrument playing an exquisite melody rather than a broken record repeating the same old song.

True Quest

Through Royal Way Spiritual Center workshops, retreats, and other happenings, we engage in meditation and other practices that help us drop identification with the mind and enter a space where real knowing is cultivated through our own experiences. We are then free to pursue higher consciousness and discover who we really are. We are not our minds!

Michael writes, “The only quest leading to eternal bliss is finding your eternal self—going behind the mind and finding your true self. That is the true quest.”