Mysteries of our Mind (ePub)

Mind constitutes an important part of our body. Its properfunctioning is important for survival. The mind is also referredto as the set of various cognitive functions such as perception,thinking, consciousness, language, memory, and judgment.The state of the mind can be very well explained through theconcept of Mental Health. It is defined as the state ofwell-being in which the person realizes his/her own potential, isable to deal properly with the stresses of life, is able to workproductively and fruitfully and is able to make effectivecontributions to his/her community. It is accountable for theemotional, psychological and social well-being of an individualand greatly influences an individual's process of thinking, feelingand the way he/she acts in its surrounding.The study of the relation of mind to that with the brain hasalways been a complicated one. Many theories and studies havebeen idealized for the same. The older studies havecontemplated the concept of dualism and idealism according towhich the mind was considered to be non-physical. Themodern studies, on the other hand, lay importance over theconcept of physicalism and functionalism according to which themind is considered to be roughly identical with the brain.The Conscious, Subconscious and the Unconscious Mind formsthe three levels of the mind on which several studies havebeen conducted by the famous Austrian psychologist, SigmundFreud. These studies just have a theoretical basis as it is verydifficult to prove these scientifically.Everything works on basic fundamental principle or law. This isimportant to ensure that the working mechanism of anyparticular object is fine or not. Similarly, to keep a check overthe normal functioning of the mind the laws have been devisedwhich needs to be followed by the mind.SummaryThe presence of mind causes one to have subjective awarenessand intentionality towards the surrounding environment. It givesone the ability to perceive and respond to the stimuli presentwithin the environment through the means of some kind ofagency. Living beings with the mind are conscious of theirenvironment and are capable of thinking and feeling.Different culture and traditions perceive the meaning of minddifferently. In some cultures, the mind is perceived as an entitythat has been developed exclusively for the human beings whilethe other notion states that the properties of the mind areascribed to non-living entities like animism and panpsychism, toanimals and to deities. There existed some other theories aswell that linked mind to live after death and ascertainedcosmological and natural order reasons to the existence ofmind.