Personality Development - Lesson: 16

How and when to use our Mind or Intellect?

In the previous lessons we saw human beings are blessed with 5 input devices, two processors and 5 output devices. The 5 senses act as instruments to capture the information (stimuli) from the phenomenal World and pass on to the processors namely "Mind" first which responds with a feeling and decides the actions. The instructions of the processor (mind) is executed by the 5 output devices namely hands, legs, vocal chord, genitals and excretion systems. For example when some one shouts "Oops there is a snake!", we tend to run fast because the Mind receives the stimuli of sound through the ears, responds with a Fear (feeling) and instructs your feet to run! The information in this case is not at all referred to the "Intellect". If it would have been referred, we would have judged whether it is a fun or real from the way someone is trying to make fun out of us!

In this lesson we will see how the quality of the decisions will vary when we use the two processors options we have namely 'Mind' and 'Intellect'. We saw earlier the 'Mind' can only 'Feel' but the intellect can 'Think' and also we saw the qualitative difference between 'Feeling' and 'Thinking'.  

Whenever we come across any situation in life it fits into two categories - 'Pleasant' and 'unpleasant', the former makes us feel good and tells us to sustain where as the later makes us to get away immediately. The 'Mind' is the first receiver and processor of the information (stimuli) and it can only respond with 'Feelings'. Invariably with feelings we cannot judge whether our response is right or wrong! For example if you pull the tail of your pet it will bite you because it responds with its feelings from mind. 

As human beings we have another faculty called 'Intellect' with which we can evaluate 'right' and 'wrong'. Whenever we respond after referring the stimuli to the Intellect, the quality of our judgement will always be better. But if we respond from Mind we will be invariably wrong as feelings have no rationale. For example whenever we are given a negative feedback from our seniors, we sharply react and feel like putting up our papers. But when we apply our rationale using the intellect we often find an opportunity to improve our skills.

Remember if you want to grow in life you need to understand every time whether you are responding from 'M' or 'I' (Mind or Intellect). If its is from Mind, take a long breath, postpone your actions and refer the matter to your intellect. Then you may find the quality of your decision would be better.

 

Love

NC