In the last episode, we looked at some of the basics of the Higher Mind Training and we observed that our intelligence can be divided into two components – our Ordinary Mind and our Higher Mind.           We also looked at the famous NASA study from the early 90s that showed that an astounding 98% of us are born geniuses and we stay that way through the age of five. Then it starts to wane and by adulthood, we have only about 2% left. But it's not gone for good. It's still within us. We just become overidentified with the makeup of our Ordinary Mind, which for many of us has become negatively tainted, with significant Self-Sabotage.           Now, let's go back to that genius self of ours: Our Higher Mind. This is actually our real self, our authentic identity, and it's not based on our identifications at all. This is about our being, not about our doing. Our identifications, like the roles we play in the world, our likes and dislikes, our concepts, opinions and ideas we have about ourselves and others, are all products of our neural template, which is in the domain of our Ordinary Mind. And don't forget, our Higher Mind existed before our Ordinary Mind even began to form, and it's is far more powerful.           Here is a simple and easy way to get in touch with a very basic part of it. What happens if you put an adult human being in a room with a very young baby and it's just the two of them, alone together. No one else in the room - just the two of them. And by the way, the baby doesn't even need to be a human. A puppy or a kitten would be just fine. If the baby is happy and content, what do you think is going to happen?           Well, sooner or later, no matter how hard-boiled the adult may be, it's going to be affected by the sweetness and innocence of the baby. And eventually it will start interacting with it. But it will do it in a very specific way. Its voice will become higher and softer, with a happy, lilting sing-song pattern to it. The person's facial expressions and overall demeanor will become kinder and gentler, as a feeling of true caring comes over it.           Even if it lasts for a very short time, there are a few things about this phenomenon that are important to understand. First, it's been proven that this is universal human behavior, spanning all times, cultures and geographic locations. If they do not have to be bonded to negative role identifications, all humans behave this way. And second, this behavior is neither taught nor learned. It is an instinctual component of this remarkable side of our inner awareness, which is our true nature.             We've all experienced this and we all know that it's true. It's so normal and natural that we take it for granted. But what does it tell us about ourselves? It actually tells us quite a bit. Authorities from the wisdom of the ages through to advanced neuroscience say that it is indicative of the very essence of our being, which, to use a five-thousand-year-old Sanskrit term, exists in a permanent state called, "Sat Chit Anand," which simply means – truth, consciousness and bliss.  According to them, this is the essence of our consciousness. In the training, this is what we call our Higher Mind. Now, rather than calling it the Higher Mind, many traditions just call it "the heart" because it's the home of love, compassion, kindness, gratitude and appreciation, along with countless other noble human traits we all admire. Indeed, this is the home of what Lincoln called the better angels of our nature and all of our highest and best human traits are there. And from the perspective of our intelligence, this is where our intuition, our wisdom and our logic work hand in hand together, forming the basis of the genius side of our awareness. And whether we're in touch with it or not, like our breath, it's always there.           So, to sum things up so far, our intelligence has two parts, our Ordinary Mind and our Higher Mind. The negative aspect of our Ordinary Mind is the root of self-sabotage, the source of all our suffering and pain.  And our Higher Mind, which is our genius consciousness, is the source of all our happiness and joy.  The road of life lies ahead of us. So, which way are we going? Well, obviously, it all depends on who's behind the wheel. Prem Rawat, a renowned authority on human potential, as well as a UN global peace ambassador, had a great analogy for this. He once said that if you're standing at a light on a street corner and you see a man driving a station wagon and he's got a cage in the back with a monkey in it, you don't think anything of it. It's probably some guy from the zoo or something. But if you see a station wagon going by with a monkey driving the car, and there's a cage in the back with a human being in it, you're going to call the police immediately because sooner or later, there' going to be a major problem. In the same way, due to our over identification with the negative aspects of our Ordinary Mind, we often find ourselves stuck in a cage. Now although this is a simple, rather comical analogy, it runs far deeper than it may seem. Life would be very different for us, both individually and as a society, if we can put the Higher Mind behind the wheel. Again, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the monkey, which represents our Ordinary Mind. We need it to survive. It should be cared for and made happy. But it just should never be driving the car. The idea is to re-connect with our Higher Mind and let it start driving the vehicle of our life. At that point, we are able see things from a higher perspective, where we can turn our obstacles and hurdles into stepping stones leading to our larger self, which is our greater potential. Even though it may be a gradual process, everything changes because unlike Our Ordinary mind which is a purely finite tool, our Higher Mind has the capacity to experience the infinite source of creation and all the good that it inspires. Here's an easy way to picture this infinite nature of our Higher Mind. First, consider how much real suffering and misery can you stand? The answer is – as little as possible. We just plain don't like to suffer. We may feel we need to for some unfortunate reason, but we really don't like it. On the deepest level, it just doesn't feel right. It's not in line with our inborn inner instincts.    On the other hand, how much true happiness and joy can you stand? The answer is that it's limitless. It's infinite. We can take as much real happiness and joy as we can ever have. And even if we become unable to do the things that bring us joy, we still keep the innate ability to enjoy ourselves. That never leaves us. Our ability to be happy always stays within our consciousness and we always have an infinite capacity to receive it. Now this may not sound like much, but the fact that we have an infinite capacity for happiness, contentment and joy is a powerfully significant fact. Can you imagine really connecting with this deeper part of ourselves?  Can you imagine living in that level of perception, where you can experience infinite clarity, elevate your problems into learning experiences and transform your suffering into wisdom and your pain into joy? Wow. So how can we make this change? The first thing to understand is that it is absolutely critical to use the right tool for the right job. We all know this. You don't scrub your floor with a toothbrush and you don't wash your car with steel wool. In the same way, you don't want your Ordinary Mind to be in the primary position of running your life. That's just not what it was made for. It's far too limited and unstable. Instead, we want to put our Higher Mind in the lead position and harmonize our entire intelligence behind it.           But you want to be careful here because there's a high likelihood that the Ordinary Mind has become habituated to control and we don't want to create a war between our own states of consciousness, because whenever you're at war with yourself, one way or another, you always lose.             Now, there are ways to do this and that is the essence of the Higher Mind Training. If we gently, but continuously prioritize our Higher Mind, we can create a United States of Consciousness, which is the ideal way for our awareness to function. Our intelligence becomes harmonically balanced and it's finally in tune with itself. And we all know how important being in tune is. You can have the greatest orchestra in the world, with the best musicians playing the finest instruments, but if they're out of tune, the only sound they're ever going to make is just plain noise.           But, in the state of harmonized intelligence, there is no limit to the beauty and majesty we can create, both for ourselves and for the world around us. The prison of self-sabotage becomes the freedom of self-empowerment and this changes everything. Your intelligence is no longer out of alignment and its former state of static interference evolves into the pristine clarity of harmonic congruence. Oh, sure, you still may run into challenges, but now you're calm, focused and facing the target. Your bow is drawn and your quiver is full of the sharpest of arrows.  Well, this is all certainly a lot to consider, so let's finish the episode here. As always, keep your eyes, mind and heart opened, and let's get together in the next one.

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