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Shahriar Shahriari |
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The Pump
The heart, we are told is an incredible organ. It is the only organ in the body that works constantly and continuously from the moment we are born to the moment we die. We are told that the heart muscles are made of a unique and special fiber tissue which never tires. The heart muscles are indefatigable.
We also know that the function of the heart is to pump blood throughout the body. In other words, the heart is the organ that pumps the vital life energy contained in our blood, in the form of food, oxygen and whatever else we need. It also retrieves much of the waste that is produced by our body and delivers it to the appropriate places.
But the functioning of the heart itself is regulated through the electrical impulses generated by our nervous system. And this last point is very significant.
The heart is simply a pump, without the autonomy to make its own decisions. It is an instrument that obeys the orders of its regulator through the electrical impulses it receives. Furthermore, the heart is oblivious to the quality of the blood that it pumps. The heart is not aware whether it is pumping highly vitalized and nourishing blood, or blood that contains much waste and little sustenance.
The mind of the regulator is what determines whether the heart should beat faster and re-vitalize the blood more, or whether it should slow down and reduce the stress on the heart and the rest of the body. There is a mind that is not in the heart, but contains and regulates it.
Similarly, we are told that our mind is constantly thinking; that it follows one thought with another, whether in wakeful consciousness or in dreaming and sleeping. That the functions of our body are constantly regulated through our autonomous nervous system, even when we are in a coma. And this signifies that our mind is constantly working, whether we are conscious of it or not. Even in the case of meditation our mind is still constantly working. In fact, the role of meditation is to quiet the working of the conscious mind to an extent that we can open the floodgates of inspiration.
But the mind, much like the heart, is completely indifferent to the quality and kind of thoughts that are going through it. The mind treats all thoughts simply as that, just thoughts. The mind is a pump of mental information and energy.
What really regulates the working of our minds and the quality of what is pumped through it is something that transcends the mind. It is our true Self. Call it soul, spirit, the higher mind, the small still voice within, the Self.... they are all one and the same thing. The transcendent regulator of the mind.
But we also know that thoughts have creative power, much like the blood has sustaining power. So it is the next logical step to deduce that the heart is the sustaining pump, while the mind is the creative pump. In other words, we are truly created in the image of God, God the Creator and God the Sustainer. And the instruments or devices that we use are the two pumps, the heart and the mind.
Does this have any implications in our daily lives? The answer is an emphatic "Yes". We easily recognize the heart as a physical pump of blood, the fluid that circulates nourishment and sustenance in our body. In the same way, we should recognize the mind as the pump of mental energy, the invisible energy that creates our physical state of being and environment.
Just as the nervous system, and not the heart itself, is what controls the workings of the heart, the true Self, and not the mind itself, is what controls the workings of the mind. Just as the regulator of the heart will direct its operations and effectiveness, the regulator of the mind will also direct its processes and accomplishments.
The nervous system has the choice to speed up or slow down the heart, mainly automatically, but often it can accomplish the same results through the conscious choice of the owner of the heart, as has been documented in many experiments in biofeedback. Similarly, we should recognize ourselves as the real chooser behind the workings of our minds, even though currently, the majority of humanity seems to simply and automatically react to external circumstances.
When we learn through the metaphysical teachings of the ages that we can use our minds to change our circumstances, we are simply being given the understanding that we choose how our minds, this pump of creative mental energy, works. Simply choose, and have the faith that the mind will deliver, just like when we run, we simply choose to run, having unspoken faith that the heart will deliver the necessary food and oxygen.
But how do we choose, if not through our minds? Who chooses? It is not the mind that chooses, but the operator and the owner of the mind. And the best way we can approach this is by tuning our minds to the Infinite, the God mind, and then through inspiration, intuition, or simple guidance of our conscience, our true Self, our soul by any other name, we know how and what to choose.
Our true Self has always been there to guide us in making the right choices. All we need to do is to ask and listen. We are also given the tools to transform our dreams and choices into physical reality. The Pump is that tool, that servant, that gift from our Creator. We are the operators of these tools, and we can choose to use them to our benefit or otherwise.
© Shahriar Shahriari
February 1997
Vancouver Canada
© , 1997-2005. Vancouver Canada, & Los Angeles, CA
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This page was last modified on Monday, November 01, 2004.
