Our mental body is the carrier of our thoughts. Most people seek access to truth through the linear thinking of the rational mind, which is based on the perception of the gross material levels of creation, but creation consists of much more than just the very small spectrum that our senses can perceive.

The conscious, rational mind is actually, among other things, (only) a human tool with the help of which he can create (manifest) his reality. For most people, however, the subconscious mind has largely taken control of thinking and creates their reality based on past experiences or perspectives.

From perception to thought

People gather information from the environment through their senses, which then travels directly into the subconscious mind without any noticeable delay. There, it is then checked to see if there is already information about the corresponding perception. If there is already information from the past there, then the perceived information is filtered (or distorted) by this past information and then ultimately comes into the conscious mind.

Here, the thoughts emerging from the subconscious operate as an almost continuous flow of sound. These thoughts have a strong magnetism and want you to constantly feed them with attention/energy. Most people are caught up in it almost all day without really noticing it, and so the views stored in the subconscious more or less determine life.

The process itself of 'checking' in the subconscious to see whether there is already information about something from the past is in itself useful and not a bad thing, but it can also lead to problems. Here is an example: If, for example, you once had an accident in which you were hit by a red car, then it might be that the view has formed in your subconscious that red cars are dangerous. As a result, whenever the senses perceive a red car, there might be a corresponding negative reaction in the body system.

Furthermore, a problem naturally arises when we identify with the thoughts that arise from the subconscious, as we get a false image of ourselves and creation. As a soul begins to open up more and more to the perspectives of the higher Self in the course of its evolution, the subconscious mind becomes more and more cleansed from old (distorted) perspectives.

The ego (=who I think I am)

I would label the ego as a fictitious personality generated by the mind, consisting of the sum total of what we have experienced and know about ourselves and the world from the past. We usually identify with this 'story' and our various bodies and are not aware that we are actually the consciousness that is beyond the bodies.

The unconscious, subconscious, conscious, and super-conscious mind

The unconscious mind contains the programs that structure our human life, such as how the body grows and physical laws such as gravity or atomic attraction. The subconscious mind, which is also largely located in the chakras, has stored memories from our past and an understanding of ourselves and the world. It is like a huge machine (shaped by all our past experiences) that forces us to implement its views. The extent to which it controls you is directly related to how conscious you are; the more conscious you are, the less control it can exert over you.
The conscious mind (which is perceived in the front of the brain) is concerned with our perception and understanding of the present moment. The super-conscious mind is the level at which our Higher Self resides and where our inner guidance comes from.

Our thoughts create our reality

The sum of all our beliefs (usually stored primarily in the unconscious and subconscious minds) forms the reality that we experience every day. The nervous system reacts to every thought, so if I think negatively about the future, I create a negative state in my nervous system. According to the law of attraction, we attract what we send out, and our stored beliefs constantly send a message into our environment that attracts corresponding experiences.

Conscious manifesting

We create our reality with our thoughts every moment (usually unconsciously). So if we want to create a different reality, we must consciously use our thoughts, feelings, words, and actions to manifest what we want. Furthermore, it is also important to constantly let go of unwanted thoughts until they lose momentum. Depending on what you want to manifest, you consciously create corresponding thoughts. It is best to think as if you have already received or achieved what you want, and!... also feel the corresponding feeling as intensely as possible.

When consciously manifesting, it is important that you not only consciously create the thought but also feel the feeling within yourself; these two aspects must fundamentally be present.

Furthermore, you have to choose the words you speak about the object or state of being you like to manifest accordingly and, finally, take concrete actions in order to anchor the wish on the physical level. It is also important to note that this process only happens within a foreseeable time frame if you do not nurture other beliefs (usually unconsciously) that counteract the desired manifestation.

Exercise

Here is a short, powerful exercise for it. Take a moment and write down the answers to the following two questions:

1. What recurring difficulties/struggles/conflicts do you have in your life?

Once you become aware of these situations, take a small moment and ask your Higher Self/Source/God to help you to stay present, kind, patient, attentive, relaxed,... (whatever is important to you) when such a situation arises in order to be able to consciously react in a better way.

2. How would you feel if you didn't have these difficulties?

Imagine and feel what your life feels like when you no longer have this difficulty. Imagine it so that it is already reality!

And now... say: Thank you, thank you, thank you! ..for allowing you to experience this new reality now. Do this exercise again and again; it will help you create a new reality.

About the control over our mind

One goal of yoga is that we learn to control our mind more and more over time.

Here is a well-known verse from the Yoga Sutras:

Sutra 1.2 "Yoga is the stilling of the thought waves in the mind."

In general, it is about getting into the position of observer and, from that position, creating thoughts that create the reality you want to create and letting go of thoughts that create a reality you don't want. This is exactly what the practice in the next section, '5. The causal body - and beyond it' is for - to get into this position of observer more often, for longer periods of time, and deeper, in order to then be able to consciously shape life the way you want it to be. This takes a lot of practice because the mind is used to simply taking our attention.

The practice

You can incorporate the exercise described above into your daily practice or just do it every now and then. But since we have already consciously worked with our thoughts in the practice of the emotional body, and we will also learn more about consciously perceiving and letting go of thoughts in the next section, I would like to not add any other technique for practicing here for which you should take extra time.

What you can still do on the mental level to further clear your mind more and more:

1. Read all the information on this website again and again and integrate new perspectives (that feel right to you) into your daily life.

2. Watch videos or read books and texts from spiritual teachers.
The more often you engage yourself with higher knowledge and integrate it into your life, the faster and better old perspectives will be dissolved and replaced by higher ones.

3. When you notice a negative emotion, if possible, look at what thought or view just created that emotion, and replace it with a true(er)/higher view that no longer creates a negative emotion in you. To dissolve the impact of already generated negative emotions, it is best to focus your attention on the physical sensation created by the emotion and stay with it until it dissolves, which usually does not take long, unless you feed it with further related thoughts.

What does science say about this?

Thoughts do not only take place in our brain, as is conventionally assumed, but are also emitted by the brain (and then attract the corresponding reality). This can be proven scientifically with a device called 'Magneto Encephalograph' - it can be used to measure thought energy outside the brain.

In the relatively new scientific branch of epigenetics, Dr. Bruce Lipton proved that our body cells and genes are influenced by our thoughts: The Biology of Belief

Furthermore, Dr. Masaru Emoto proves with his research (as already mentioned) that our thoughts influence water.

The phenomenon of the already-mentioned placebo effect also clearly proves that our mind influences matter.

And now we move on to part 2: III. Five Bodies Yoga - Part 2: SELF-knowledge