by David Roberson

Created on: June 30, 2007

Those moments in life when we are confronted with a new concept or idea can be life altering, seemingly setting the mind free to roam a new and undiscovered country or even knocking the world completely off its hinges. Sometimes that can happen even with just a new word or concept for something we've had an inkling of all along. In some cases, it is more like getting hit in the head with a brick and realizing that this strange and wonderous idea has been staring us in the face for so long we have actually gotten in the habit of ignoring it. In its time, evolution was one of those occasions. Even today, recognition of the existence of the mind is also one of those occasions.

Coming forward to speak about the evolution of a new, mental context for existence, we have the option of latching onto the concept of the Noosphere, or we can cling to older conceptions like the Spirit, the Astral Plane, or any permutation of the Afterlife. We also have the option to proceed in terms of philosophy, literature, legend, myth and dreams. Finally, we could simply focus upon the singular and individual mind each of us possesses, and consider all the factors that contribute to a mind's creation and evolution. Like most of the great mysteries, we find ourselves starting out right in the midst of it, so any contemplation of what might progress from here we need to being by looking for any indication of progression contributing to where we are.

We can, without upsetting any of the popular assumptions about the nature and significance of the mind, begin by observing the mind as we experience it in our selves. Fortunately, the mind is somewhat predisposed to self-examination. A mind has one distinct and notable boundary, or context from which it is excluded. We call this exclusion "Reality" and each of us contains our own reality, the sphere of "Reality" is unique in imposing severe limits upon the mind's influence. The prevailing belief is that the existence of the mind is grounded in and based upon a foundation in Reality. It is worthy of note, however, that outside the sphere of reality contained in the mind, the mind is entirely without limits except those that it imposes upon itself.

The scope of the mind is limited only by its own imagination, and that imagination can be stimulated to degrees that defy reality. The compass of the mind ranges from the real, through the ideal to the utterly surreal. Freed from the limits of mass, matter, energy, entropy, time, space and dimension,

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