by Richard Dance

Created on: February 22, 2007   Last Updated: May 11, 2007

Mind Games

Plato taught that there are four activities of the mind. The least sophisticated activity he called imagining, not the creative sort, but random mind-darting, when your mind jumps around haphazardly. This happens by default and goes on unconsciously all day: "I need to get upI forgot to call Susan yesterdayDo I need more toothpaste?When am going to quit this damn job?I sure love my new chair." Research shows that human beings have about 60,000 thoughts per day, and 90% of them were the same ones we had yesterday. Mind-darting wastes energy, is rarely useful, and creates worry and fear. Plato likens it to the world of shadows-very fleeting and impermanent.

The second least sophisticated mind activity is forming beliefs and opinions. These may be necessary steps along life's road, but to enter into deeper self-knowledge, beliefs and opinions must eventually be released. It must be realized that a point of view only has meaning and value relative to another point of view. Hot defines cold, immoral defines moral, etc. One has no meaning and cannot exist without the other. Plato likens beliefs and opinions to the world of tangible objects, such as a house. This world appears solid and real, but like the shadow world, it is quite impermanent-houses change and wear out over time. Likewise, we've all had viewpoints that have changed or faded over time. Also, most of our beliefs and opinions come from others: "Little Jimmy's just like his daddy."

The next highest activity we can do with the mind is thinking, following a series of thoughts through to some conclusion that forms the basis for conscious action. Sticking with our house example, the architect sits down and listens to the expectant homeowners describe the house they desire-how many bedrooms, square footage, style, etc. Through reason and logic, the architect formulates their descriptions into a set of blueprints for the physical house. So thinking is like a set of blueprints.

The highest activity of the mind Plato calls contemplation, but not in the ordinary sense. Plato says we (incorrectly) perceive that our reasoned thinking is what works and struggles to create an idea. To the contrary, thinking only shapes the already-existing idea, and we must let go of thinking and reason to reach pure creativity and originality. He is referring to an almost mystical activity, contemplating what he calls the Realm of the Forms with the intuitive essence of the mind, as described in the Phaedo:

"He attains to the purest knowledge of the Forms who goes to each with the mind alone, not introducing or intruding in the act of thought with reason, but with the very light of the mind in her own clearness searches into the very truth of each [Form]."

For Plato, this dimension is only accessible through the intuition-it cannot be tapped in any other way. Using our house example, lying within the blueprint of a house (and ultimately, within the mind of the architect) is its perfect Form, the essential Idea for the house, which has always existed. Whether he was aware of it or not, at some point in the design process the architect's intuition touched the Realm of the Forms with the highest (or deepest) part of his mind.

Of course, there are a variety of techniques to help unfold the intuition and access these creative zones, this Realm of the Forms. Regardless of what methods you may use, remember Plato's idea that to be truly original, you must rise above mind-darting, believing, opinionating, and even reasoned thinking.

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