UniVerses

Communion

We take for granted the process we call thought.
The mind’s a foaming hive of churning nerves
that somehow store what we’ve been taught
and collate that with episodes observed.
We translate our ideas into words
subliminally formed, the stuff of dreams
an unreal world where limbic shadows lurk
creative arts reflect subconscious streams.
Beneath the words we tap another force
A synthesis of every life that’s been
our mind’s a portal to an eternal source
a power transcendental and serene.
We’re tantalized with love and mystery
that draw us to our cosmic destiny.

We have learned a little about how the mind works. We can name the neurons and other cells and study the chemical signals that connect nerve cells.

We have learned that certain chemicals affect our feelings, from alcohol and cocaine we can alter the machinery of the mind by changing the way the signal molecules between cells work. That understanding is the basis for Prozac, which affects the turnover of a signal molecule called serotonin. 

One reason we overeat is because eating also changes serotonin behavior subtly, giving us a subliminal “high.”

The sensations emitted by our limbic system influence our behavior in both small ways and in very important ways. How we “feel” drives our behavior. We entertain ourselves by constructing situations that produce desirable sensations, such as competition, social behavior and procreation. Likewise we learn to avoid unpleasant sensations, such as fear, sadness or inadequacy.

Some of us entertain ourselves by evoking misery or pleasure in others.

But these insights into the way the brain works barely touch the surface of its complexity. Nothing we know begins to address how the transmission of impulses can turn into an idea.

Since the time of Homer poets have invoked the Muses to explain their creativity. When I write I float in and out of a tide twixt awake and dreams and I, too, feel as sthough I'm tapping into a current that's outside myself, as though I am a portal into something vast.

At the beginning of this journey I proposed that the sense of wonder we feel gazing  at the night sky is more than a sensation. The delight we feel at natural beauty or music or art is not just whimsy. it is a part of our psyche that connects us with the entire universe. 

The mind is an expansive force and we have not begun to learn its power.

We gain some insights into how the brain works from brain disease.

If you have comments please contact us.