Do I Control My Brain, Or Does My Brain Control Me?

[Self-Mastery]

Hey guys,

I was thinking about the concept of "self". And, I came across this question in Quora. However, I did not find any of the answers given in Quora satisfactory.

This is my current hypothesis: Consciousness is what controls us. Brain creates a mental image of what is happening.

I'm just curious to know about it . Any thought?

Thanks!

 

 

[Prabhaker]

@Seyed  Only people who know how to be without the mind, are capable of using the mind, otherwise the mind uses them. You are being used; the mind has become the master of you, you are a slave, but the mind is very clever, it goes on buttressing you. It says, “I am just an instrument, you are the master.” But watch, look into the mechanism of the mind, how it goes on using you. You think you are using it. You can use it only when you know that you are separate from it; otherwise how will you use it? You are identified with it.

 

[FindingPeace]

8 minutes ago, Seyed said:

This is my current hypothesis: Consciousness is what controls us. Brain creates a mental image of what is happening.

This ought to be the other way around: The brain controls the body whilst consciousness creates an 'experience' out of the sensory and brain data.

To answer your question "Do I control my brain or does my brain control me?", what the the 'me' that doing or being controlled? The 'me' that you think you are is only a manifestation of concepts that the brain has created. The ultimate 'you' is the conscious-aware experience. Which has no control over anything. It is merely the observer of the experience that you call 'life'.

 

[Self-Mastery]

2 minutes ago, FindingPeace said:

To answer your question "Do I control my brain or does my brain control me?", what the the 'me' that doing or being controlled? The 'me' that you think you are is only a manifestation of concepts that the brain has created. The ultimate 'you' is the conscious-aware experience. Which has no control over anything. It is merely the observer of the experience that you call 'life'.

 

@FindingPeace This makes sense. Thank you!

[WelcometoReality]

 @Seyed Consciousness is what is aware of the body through the senses. Is something controlling the body? Think of everything that is happening within the body. The heart beating. The breathing. All the things happening on a cellular level, like cell division. Is something in control of that or is it just happening?

[Self-Mastery]

28 minutes ago, WelcometoReality said:

 @Seyed Consciousness is what is aware of the body through the senses. Is something controlling the body? Think of everything that is happening within the body. The heart beating. The breathing. All the things happening on a cellular level, like cell division. Is something in control of that or is it just happening?

I do not know! May be it's just happening. You are focusing on an involuntarily act. What about those acts that you do deliberately, such as making decision about a food. @FindingPeace @WelcometoReality Does consciousness make decision or your brain? 

Your thought?

Edited October 4, 2016 by Seyed

[FindingPeace]

57 minutes ago, Seyed said:

Does consciousness make decision or your brain? 

The brain is ultimately controlling the body. Even the heart and breathing functions. But much of that is being controlled by other parts of the brain that 'you' have no awareness of. But as for decision making, the brain makes decisions. The brain generates the thoughts, the concepts and the 'thought-stories' that are used to conceptualise and manifest a context, a choice and an ultimate decision. 'You' are just aware of this process happening. If you do meditation you become aware of how thoughts pop up and fade out. How 'stories' are created and how these stories seem to take on meaning and value. The ego is largely responsible for this. But 'you' are just the awareness that is observing this process. It isn't controlling it. There is no control.

The body and the mind is ultimately a process occurring within reality. Nothing 'controls' it. It just happens. Like everything else in reality. But there is this thing we experience, the consciousness, that appears to be an 'observer' of all of this. Like a movie screen on to which the senses and processes of the brain are projected. So think of the consciousness as the 'screen'. YOU are the screen. Or, perhaps you are the empty space in which the screen and projector exist. Herein lies the ultimate truth somewhere, waiting to be realized.

[Self-Mastery]

1 minute ago, FindingPeace said:

The brain is ultimately controlling the body. Even the heart and breathing functions. But much of that is being controlled by other parts of the brain that 'you' have no awareness of. But as for decision making, the brain makes decisions. The brain generates the thoughts, the concepts and the 'thought-stories' that are used to conceptualise and manifest a context, a choice and an ultimate decision. 'You' are just aware of this process happening. If you do meditation you become aware of how thoughts pop up and fade out. How 'stories' are created and how these stories seem to take on meaning and value. The ego is largely responsible for this. But 'you' are just the awareness that is observing this process. It isn't controlling it. There is no control.

The body and the mind is ultimately a process occurring within reality. Nothing 'controls' it. It just happens. Like everything else in reality. But there is this thing we experience, the consciousness, that appears to be an 'observer' of all of this. Like a movie screen on to which the senses and processes of the brain are projected. So think of the consciousness as the 'screen'. YOU are the screen. Or, perhaps you are the empty space in which the screen and projector exist. Herein lies the ultimate truth somewhere, waiting to be realized.

@FindingPeace I loved your answer! Thanks

[WelcometoReality]

3 hours ago, Seyed said:

I do not know! May be it's just happening. You are focusing on an involuntarily act. What about those acts that you do deliberately, such as making decision about a food. @FindingPeace @WelcometoReality Does consciousness make decision or your brain? 

Your thought?

A thought appears about which food to eat. That thought can be identified with and in that case no choice is made,  that thought just appears and the body takes the food in the thought. The same thought can also be observed without identification to it and be discarded or not, then there is choice.

Sometimes there is no thought or no chooser but a gentle flow and then there seems to be no choice again.

[Neo]

What if I do something, such as a crime, then use as my defence that I was destined to do it. Can it be refuted?

[AlwaysBeNice]

Consciousness is contrary to popular belief not an elaborate hoax created randomly by dead matter, quantum mechanics has long proven this. 

And further more, there is no evidence that indicates the brain creates consciousness, or free will, that also isn't evidence for it being a receiver.

And there is a ton of evidence for the brain being a receiver: PSI research, (verifiable) near death experiences, (verifiable) reincarnation testimonies, precognitive dreams, shared dreams, shared psychic experiences and most easily testable shared psychedelic experiences, either in hyperspace or while conscious here. Though a regular DMT or 5MeO breakthrough should make you open minded enough to be able to objectively look at the evidence from there.

Also practicing spirituality seriously will reveal life's wonders directly to you as well, constant synchronicity will eventually be the norm of the day. 

[Neo]

18 minutes ago, blazed said:

Someone asked Albert Einstein so what you're saying is criminals have no Free Will? and he said Yes... but they should still be locked up.

Yes, it was a "Devils Advocate" question, and as I typed it I realised that you still act according to your environment and a deterministic action does not mean a random one.

[Frogfucius]

The brain controls everything. If you were to physically tinker with someone else's brain, they may lose their ability to speak, move, conceptualize, it may change how the outside world physically appears to them, or it could change their whole personality all together.

But the brain itself isn't conscious. Rather, its complexity enables consciousness for you, that which can not be physically located. The visible is giving rise to the invisible. You're still a product of your brain's functioning, however. 'You' aren't in control of anything.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Frogfucius

[Self-Mastery]

20 hours ago, WelcometoReality said:

A thought appears about which food to eat. That thought can be identified with and in that case no choice is made,  that thought just appears and the body takes the food in the thought. The same thought can also be observed without identification to it and be discarded or not, then there is choice.

Sometimes there is no thought or no chooser but a gentle flow and then there seems to be no choice again.

Hmmm. Very good points. Thanks.

@WelcometoReality Is this identification process also predestined?. Based on what you said, this identification process seems to be predestined. In other words, it follows a very complex cause and effect pattern. 

@FindingPeace   @WelcometoReality The implication of what you said is very profound. It implies that we are all machine. And, we even don't have any influence to cease to be a machine! More importantly, whether we realize we are a machine or not is still a mechanical process. Whether we wake up or not is also mechanical

I understand that self or I is an illusion.

Edited October 5, 2016 by Seyed

[Self-Mastery]

8 hours ago, AlwaysBeNice said:

Consciousness is contrary to popular belief not an elaborate hoax created randomly by dead matter, quantum mechanics has long proven this. 

And further more, there is no evidence that indicates the brain creates consciousness, or free will, that also isn't evidence for it being a receiver.

And there is a ton of evidence for the brain being a receiver: PSI research, (verifiable) near death experiences, (verifiable) reincarnation testimonies, precognitive dreams, shared dreams, shared psychic experiences and most easily testable shared psychedelic experiences, either in hyperspace or while conscious here. Though a regular DMT or 5MeO breakthrough should make you open minded enough to be able to objectively look at the evidence from there.

Also practicing spirituality seriously will reveal life's wonders directly to you as well, constant synchronicity will eventually be the norm of the day. 

@AlwaysBeNice I don't take 5MeO at this time because I cannot gain valuable insights after that. I will go for 5MeO when the time comes. 

 

Edited October 4, 2016 by Seyed

[Self-Mastery]

I realized that what I need more are

• RADICAL openhandedness
• RADICAL honesty
• Being able to live with confusion
• Being able to embody paradoxes
• Move from Knowing domain to not-knowing domain and being Okay with it

Then, the question of will may not arise at all

Edited October 5, 2016 by Seyed

[30secs]

On 10/4/2016 at 2:48 PM, Seyed said:

Consciousness is what controls us. Brain creates a mental image of what is happening.

it's all one. What is "brain" "mental image" "the concept of me" , could it be consciousness constructed all this stuff? hmmm possible!