MIND EXPANSION! IS LITERALLY STRETCHING YOUR MIND - YOUR ENERGY FIELD! SO COME DO YOUR STRETCHES! 

Those who follow the path of inquiry realize that the mind which remains at the end of the inquiry is Brahman." ~ Sri Ramana Mahrishi 

Discourses, books, workshops, spiritual mails and other mind expanding material is all around us these days and yet most of us are unaware ‘HOW’ knowledge/gyan really helps; ‘WHAT’ it truly does within; ‘WHY’ it translates into enhanced states of being; what is really happening on the path of gyan?! Most of us think about mind expansion in abstract ways, and today I want to show you how it is about literally stretching the mind - to extend into and merge with vaster and higher and finer aspects of the one universal mind - and ultimately to take us beyond our personal mind/energy field/self into becoming one with consciousness!

Firstly let’s understand that the mind is not the BRAIN! The brain is only the physical counterpart- the apparatus through which the mind interacts with the body - an interface if you like! In analogy: electricity (the mind) comes into the bulbs (of your body) through the circuitry board called your brain. Usually when asked where our mind is we point to the head/brain area - thinking it to be ‘up there’ because this is where this interaction takes place!

In fact the mind is not PHYSICAL at all. It is pure energy vibrating at the different frequencies of your many thoughts, feelings and beliefs! We all have thoughts of different frequencies through our day and they make up what we call the lower mind, higher mind, intellect etc! Thus your mind is actually your energy field! More importantly - as ‘energy’- the mind is not a segregated fixed section delineated from the rest of your energy field, and thus even though it is not physical, it is contained in or operates through your body. Your mind is in your toes, in every organ, every cell, and every particulate- and indeed as energy permeates all that is - your mind is not limited to your physical body but extends forth infinitely!

And as you expand your ‘mind’, what you are really doing is expanding your ENERGY FIELD - literally extending your personal energy field (mind) to blend with higher and finer energies - all the way to universal consciousness itself, the one mind, god if you choose! And as these universal/finer/purer energies (universal consciousness) start to become part of your personal energy field - indeed become the frequency of your thoughts feelings - do you increasingly and naturally find your self in sync with all that is immanent in universal consciousness - love, wisdom, abundance, bliss and its paradoxes of empowerment& surrender, dynamism activity & rest & silence; all thingness and no thingness! As you extend expand your energy field into universal consciousness its qualities become yours... easily and naturally... non-judgment; forgiveness; thankfulness; acceptance; non-resistance; awareness, witnessing and the like! And thus does one 'automatically' grow in the journey of self to Self through gyan yoga -the path of mind expansion! Indeed as you expand and extend your mind, at some point, your personal energy field merges with universal consciousness and the separate you cease to be! Your mind at it deepest… takes you beyond itself... beyond your personal separated self into the beingness of universal consciousness!

Indeed mind expansion implies expansion at the HEART centre too! Again we do not refer to the physical heart! One always think of the 'heart' as separate from the 'mind', but now you will grasp the importance that if the mind is contained in (or operates through) the body, then your heart is also part of your mind - or both are aspects of your energy field! Thus mind expansion implies expansion at the heart centre too! Indeed mind expansion is not merely a cerebral path as often thought, but automatically encompasses bhakti and love well within its purview! Just as the brain is merely the physical counterpart of where the larger mind (vaster energy fields-awareness- universal consciousness - Shiva) meets the body - the heart is the physical counterpart of where pure consciousness (love – beingness - Shakti) meets your personal energy fields! Thus over time- ‘mind expansion’- the path of gyan too - implies merging your personal energy field into pure consciousness - and what can only be described as Unconditional Love.

This understanding was a big eureka for me - I understood for the first time why ‘mind’ expansion leads to an automatic ‘change’ in heart! Why one automatically becomes more compassionate, accepting and non-judging; why one automatically begins to feel centered, joyous and at peace; why one indeed increasingly moves into finer and purer ways of being… into rest and surrender! Why gyan leads to spontaneous bhakti! For true mind expansion is not devoid of heart expansion - or bhakti! Indeed love in all its nuances- towards self, others, and the divine - happens automatically on the path of gyan! And the seemingly two paths become one!

More importantly, the heart centre is part of what we call the SUBCONSCIOUS MIND because though we are aware of our feelings, we remain mostly unaware of the host of thoughts that give rise to these very feelings! There can however be no feeling without the critical mass of beliefs that give rise to them - but as these are unobserved, they become part of the subconscious mind. And this expansion of the subconscious mind becomes vital, as it is a moment-to-moment energy signature that you are unknowingly emitting and thus drawing towards you as your reality and its relationships and events! Thus your day-to-day life is also enhanced! And the path of gyan does not remain an abstract endeavour but brings about a change in your day-to-day life too!!

And there is more! For mind expansion/the path of gyan- goes even deeper! Now having understood that your mind is your energy field, you will better understand that your CHAKRAS are also part of what you call your mind. Indeed just like the brain and heart are physical counterparts of where your mind meets your body, the chakras are an etheric interface. Each chakra is related to a certain frequency, a certain range of ‘thoughts’, and describing what each chakra symbolizes is out of the scope of this article, but if you know what each chakra stands for - you will understand that thoughts that correspond to each chakra are thought from 'that' part of your mind! For example when you think about material security it’s through your root chakra, if you are thinking about your power issues it is from the solar plexus. And thus, what is interesting in reference to this article is that with mind expansion-which now you have understood to be the expansion of your energy field- you are cleansing, balancing and expanding your chakric system…! Your kundalini is rising! Without any direct energy manipulation- meditations pranayam or kriya the process has begun! Indeed your centre of operation moves to higher (and higher) chakra’s - and again, what is really happening is an automatic movement from (ego) personal separation based consciousness to I am universal consciousness! Thus on the path of gyan- call it mind expansion or the expansion of your energy field - you are indeed removing the veils! Merging back with source!

Thus mind expansion/the path of gyan is not some abstract endeavor! Thus does it help in PRACTICAL ways! (Positive energy fields attracting like wise) thus it also brings about bhakti! And spontaneous kriya or expansion of your energy field! And thus does it become a 24/7 spiritual service - for as you vibrate at a higher frequency than critical mass human consciousness - you are like a radio station emanating those frequencies from wherever you are - be at work or play or asleep! You become a ‘light worker’ automatically! Your consciousness impacts all that’s around it!

Indeed this is why being around MASTERS AND GURUS enables you! Their vast energy field mingles with yours! Their higher finer purer vibrations seed yours! Indeed in analogy it is almost like Gurus leave behind bits of their 'mind' in yours! This is why, SILENCE is as if not more effective than satsangs and discourses- when in the company of those who Have expanded their minds and are one with universal consciousness - for their energy field/consciousness permeates you directly through your energy field! Energies mingle easily! Their frequencies help raise yours! Their gnosis unravels within you in energy terms! In discourses your limited mind can come in the way but in silent communion even that barrier is removed! This is also seen when you attend talks of those who 'speak' from experience- as their 'truth' is part of their energy field and directly permeates your energy fields - so it is really not their words but direct communion from energy field to energy field… a direct mingling...and you feel you have somehow 'got' what they were conveying!! Those who speak from intellectual knowledge can impress and make a fine speech but as it is not their energy frequency it doesn’t really become your truth and remains a concept for you to make real! Thus the importance of the Indian tradition of darshan! Seemingly no words, no gyan, yet a silent direct communion with your guru's... energy field!

At its deepest mind expansion/the path of gyan takes you beyond the mind itself…! Because having accomplished its purpose for the Whole to experience Self through ‘you’/your mind… it then self abdicates…! You can say it expands or dissolves into universal consciousness... the two might sound opposites but they imply the same… till one day there is only universal consciousness and no separate you! Ofcourse this is a process... and this process is the path of gyan!

And for those of you who sometimes wonder where does all this growth and expansion lead? Where does it all ‘end’?  May you now understand that there is no ‘end’?  Universal Consciousness is a kinetic dynamic state of beingness - ever expanding - and thus there is infinite scope for our energy fields to extend; for our beliefs, thoughts, and feelings to evolve and thus for us to create better and better realities, ad infinitum, ‘outside’ us!  In our personal lives yes, and in the world at large, but even more, as we continue to expand our energy fields do we get a larger and larger canvas in which to create advanced realities till we indeed become creators each, of a unique universe itself…and ultimately abide as pure awareness!

(The mind is a large topic and this is just one angle to understand it through - with the focus on how gyan the path of mind expansion works in spiritual growth! The above writing is only an attempt to show us how the path of gyan works! This arose because I deeply mulled on the subject when i began my own journey… my path was firmly gyan… understanding… and I often wondered how just reading or listening or understanding concepts led to such a spontaneous and what I called smoothly automatic change within me! I also wondered how far gyan that seemed devoid of love and bhakti would take me in the long run! Ultimately this spontaneous discourse was triggered by someone who regularly attended my talks and voiced what I always wondered: “Divyaa” she said, “all these talks and gyan is so very interesting but how does it help me? How do we really bring about changes in life? How do we become more loving? How do we evolve through knowledge... however profound??”)