What actually is the mind?

[Onecirrus]

What is its substance? If it is not localized in space where do thoughts and concepts occur? How can something totally intangible have such incredible influence on us? How did it emerge and why? Why does it seem like only humans posses it?

[Bodhitree]

It is a bundle of thoughts caught in memory and triggering emotions as awareness wanders through them. Occasionally a new thought comes along, but not often. 

[Leo Gura]

What is anything?

How can anything be tangible? What does "tangible" even mean?

[SQAAD]

@Onecirrus

1 hour ago, Onecirrus said:

What is its substance? If it is not localized in space where do thoughts and concepts occur? How can something totally intangible have such incredible influence on us? How did it emerge and why? Why does it seem like only humans posses it?

So far the best answer i've come across is that the substance of everything is undefined.

I remember one time when i became conscious that the banana i was about to eat was made out of nothingness.

I don't think it matters a lot what labels you attach to nothingness/god. 

I think the banane just IS, and you can't go below ISness.

[WaveInTheOcean]

It doesn't occur anywhere. Nowhere. That nowhere is God.

Just God.

"Mind" isn't something you posses. Everything is mind. Consciousness.

Everywhere you go, every sight, sound, emotion, thought, it's just the ?-dream of God. Which is You.

Yes, relatively speaking, you - as a human person / dream character - have a so-called "inner life" of thoughts and emotions.

But it turns out that everything you call 'outer' -- such as objects, animals, other persons, the ? -- is actually also 'inner'. That is, the so-called 'outside world' is made of the same substance as your emotions and thoughts. Consciousness. Infinite Mind. LOVE. God.

[StarStruck]

6 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

What is anything?

How can anything be tangible? What does "tangible" even mean?

Something that can be touched. 

[VeganAwake]

Seems to be a survival tool run rampant and became an entity unto itself.

[Corpus]

Mind is a concept , a linguistic construct, used to signify the source of, or repository for, the very same linguistic conceptualising. If you had no inner dialogue then the concept would be redundant. In a very real sense, mind does not exist.

[Megan Alecia]

@Corpus if your mind doesn't exist, how are you able to write that statement then?

[LastThursday]

@Corpus I agree. Except for the bit about inner dialogue, even without it you still have a mind, you could just use your outer dialogue as a surrogate. Have you ever used your mind to complete a jigsaw puzzle? Did you have to talk to yourself about it?

[WaveInTheOcean]

48 minutes ago, Corpus said:

Mind is a concept , a linguistic construct, used to signify the source of, or repository for, the very same linguistic conceptualising. If you had no inner dialogue then the concept would be redundant. In a very real sense, mind does not exist.

inner dialogue is also a concept.

To say mind doesn't exist is also a conceptual idea.

:-)

[Corpus]

24 minutes ago, LastThursday said:

@Corpus I agree. Except for the bit about inner dialogue, even without it you still have a mind, you could just use your outer dialogue as a surrogate. Have you ever used your mind to complete a jigsaw puzzle? Did you have to talk to yourself about it?

The OP framed his question of "mind" with reference to thoughts and concepts, and my reply was geared towards that. To perhaps equate "that which completes jigsaws sans inner dialogue" as being "mind" is still conceptualising of a more subtle nature, which again, as per the above, pre-supposes a mind. Once language is established, "mind" follows. Perhaps mind could be considered as immanent Intelligence? 

[Corpus]

49 minutes ago, Megan Alecia said:

@Corpus if your mind doesn't exist, how are you able to write that statement then?

If "I" don't "exist", then to whom could mind possibly belong?  

[LastThursday]

@Corpus I was just expanding the definition of thought subtle or not. If thought is not tethered to dialogue then thought can't be said to be about language. The word "mind" is obviously a language construct, so to give a definition of mind and it's substance as the OP wants, you can't get away from using words. The word "substance" also has it's own definition in language. Naturally words can explain things that are not words but only by reference and pointing. But that's all just mansplaining.

@Onecirrus

So what is the non-verbal part of the substance of mind? To find that you need to sit and examine your own mind, nobody else's mind will do. You need to examine the boundaries of mind and if it is actually just thoughts and conceptualising or more than than all that. How far does mind push out to? Is mind everything in it's extreme?

[Nahm]

11 hours ago, Onecirrus said:

What is its substance?

Infinite Mind. 

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If it is not localized in space where do thoughts and concepts occur?

The lens of the finite mind. A magnifying lens makes things seem magnified, and the experience is magnification. Through the lens of the finite mind non local experiences locality, infinity experiences space, infinite intelligence experiences thoughts, infinite potentiality experiences concepts. 

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How can something totally intangible have such incredible influence on us?

By appearing convincingly tangible. 

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How did it emerge and why?

You’re being ‘it’, to experience. Like having a dream at night and noticing you’re nowhere to be found... and realizing it’s because you’re being the dream. When the dream is over, it’s clear it was your dream. This is why awakening is called awakening. How could there be awakening if you were not first asleep? And if you are asleep, that means you’re dreaming right now. Awakening would be realizing this...real...I...is...this. 

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Why does it seem like only humans posses it?

Thought attachment. The thought ‘human’ is not perception, but we get accustomed to believing our thoughts literally label separate things. Like watching a movie, the actors would be talking about ‘things’, but you’d be aware the actuality of the whole of the experience, is actually the appearance of a screen. Nonduality means not two, such that there is not one thing which possesses a second thing. Mindfulness is noticing the difference. There is the thought ‘mine’, but there is no actuality of separation.