We are quietly completing the information age. The quantities of information available for us to absorb, compute, qualify and relate has gone way past the scope of any one individual. The mechanism we use for dealing with all this information, our brain, is so completely tied up working on information, that we are becoming destabilized in our lives. In the West, more and more people are turning to drugs, meditation, yoga, massage and other forms of stress relief, just to be able to maintain some kind of lifestyle.

In this article, we explain the workings of the brain through the vantage point of Design. We examine the pressures that cause us to think, the thinking process itself, and also examine the end results of our thinking process, when we speak out, or act on what we have thought.

In the closing part of the article, we examine the Designs of Bill Clinton, the recent President of the USA, and Fidel Castro, the President of Cuba, perhaps two of the most unique and nimblest "thinkers" of our time.

The Head Centers

In Design, there are two centers which we relate to the thinking process, The Crown Center, the place of IN-spiration, and the Ajna Center, the place of cognition and resolution. The thought process finds expression at the Throat Center..

The Crown Center is shown in the chart as being partly in the body and partly outside. Our IN-spiration is drawn into us, through one of three "Gates" in the Crown Center. From Inspiration, at the Crown Center, to Ex-pression, at the Throat Center, there are 4 steps or "Gates," through which the sequence passes. In the diagram, these gates represent Inspiration, at the Crown Center, Cognition, at the top of the Ajna Center, Identification, at the bottom of the Ajna Center, and Ex-pression at the Throat Center.

There are 3 different "thought" processes, or sets of "Channels" that are traversed before Ex-pression takes place. These three thought processes are Logic, Sense and Knowing, and in the diagram, it can be seen that Logic and Sense both start on one side of the brain, from the Crown Center to the Ajna Center. They then traverse to the other side, to find Ex-pression at the Throat Center. Knowing, is In-spired at the Crown Center, at the #61 Gate, and continues straight down the center through the Ajna Center to the Throat Center.

Sense

The process of "making sense," commences in the #64, the Gate of the Infinite Diversity of possibilities, and a potential for confusion. It can be likened to looking up to a star filled sky and trying, mentally, to make sense out of it all, and probably feeling overwhelmed at the scope of possibilities.

The "sense" process continues through the #47 Gate, in the Ajna Center, where the possibility of Realization takes place. This part of the process can be likened to waking up in the middle of the night when one suddenly "gets" something which has been on one's mind for awhile. "Ahhhh!" Then one can chuckle and go back to sleep again. The significance of this is that the realization comes in its own time but always after the events with which it was concerned, and allows for the possibility of the pressured mind relaxing once it has had the realization.

The "sense" process traverses the brain to the #11, the Gate of Ideas, also recognized, in Design, as the Left Eye. Here, the inspiration/realization goes one step further, and enters in to a mode that relates to the 3rd dimension, and the reality that we perceive through our eyes.

From the #11, the "Sense" process gets Ex-pressed at the #56, the Gate of Stimulation, with a voice that sounds something like: "I believe that this makes sense.." It is a voice that relates to a process of reviewing everything over time. In expanded terms, it is the voice that describes our belief systems, religions and historical views of life. It is a mental description of our experiential world.

Logic

The mental "Logic process" commences at the #63, the Gate of reviewing for the possibilities of changes, or the inspiration of doubts. The logical mind constantly attempts to keep abreast of the changes in our life, trying to find loopholes in our old understandings, so that we are not caught off guard, if and when the changes affect us.

The "Logic process" continues through the #4, the Gate of Formulation and solutions. The brain latches on to a doubt or a potential complication, and comes up with an instant solution: "Try this!" with varying degrees of success. The #4 comes up with a formula but not necessarily a lasting solution.

Logic proceeds to traverse the brain to the #17, the Gate of Opinions, recognized in Design as the Right Eye. The inspiration of doubt has been given a formula, and now becomes related into the world through what is seen as our reality.

From the #17, Logic finds Ex-pression at the #62, the Gate of Details, through the voice of: "I think this is right and is what is going to work." It is a voice of defining a mental review of the likelihood of things to come. It relates to the future through a mental examination of doubts, formulas and opinions evaluated over time. It is a mental description of our experimental world.

Knowing

The mental "Knowing process" draws inspiration through the #61, the Gate of Inner Truth, the place of our innermost sincerity towards what we know to be true. It is a Gate through which we are pressured to know the mysteries of life, and death. It is a Gate that is pressured to know the unknowable.

"Knowing" comes to Rationalization at the #24, the Gate in which IN-spiration is looped around and around and around in the mind, until there is a personal resonance or cognition, which settles and becomes a rationale. This particular process can be exhausting, since the mind never rests until the rationale is found.

The "knowing" passes from a form of rationalization to the #43, the Gate of Breakthrough or Insights, and where the rationalization arrives as a sound. This is quite unlike Sense and Logic, Past and Future, which are interpreted into the world through sight. Anyone who has the #43 in their Design chart will know that an Insight for them is mostly like hearing something inside themselves that comes in a sound akin to some long forgotten language. The challenge for anyone expressing their "knowing" at the #23, the Gate of Assimilation, is: can they translate the sound into language which someone else comprehends?

The voice at the #23 Gate is the voice of: "I know!" Not, "I think that I know," or, "I believe that I know." Just, "I know!." Consequently, if one is attempting to impart knowledge to others through the #23, and has not made a complete translation of the inner sound to outer language, there can be great misunderstandings for all concerned.

What the "I know" is expressing, is a potentially new thought form, neither related to the "Sense" and historical context of things, nor the "Logical" futuristically oriented spectrum of things. And as we know in this world, new thought forms are met with much skepticism until they are expressed eloquently, and accepted generally as factual. The "knowing" voice is one which expresses from the realm of how something "sounds" to one individual, and relating it into the consciousness of others.

Summation of the mental processes

The mental expression of "Sense" relates to the context of how things have been, and how that has looked for us in the past. It is a means of sharing information, particularly through tradition, stories and lore, with which everyone can feel their sense of inclusion through relating experiences.

The mental expression of "Logic" sifts through our reality with a critical eye, to see what goes well, and what might be improved. It is the means of sharing information through formulas, debate and opinions that align us to the details of our lives with which we experiment, in the interests of providing for an assured future.

The mental expression of "Knowing" straddles the void between personal knowledge and personal ignorance. It operates through the medium of sound, vibration and waves of a different length than light waves. When an inner sound is heard, that sound is relayed to the Throat Center to be expressed through language. The "Knowing" expression is potentially transformative in that it takes the audience into a thought form they have not had before. Anyone who has this particular form of expression in their Design will have to be accomplished with speech skills if they are going to succeed in this world, otherwise, they will find themselves constantly misunderstood.

Whereas the "Sense" and "Logic" mental expressions can be shared for the elucidation and satisfaction of all, the "Knowing" mental expression is giving out a purely personal knowing, that either empowers the audience or perplexes them.

The Practical View

Bill Clinton and Fidel Castro have to be two of the canniest people alive. They are real political survivors and it would seem that this could be related to their thinking processes, but let us see.

Looking at Bill Clinton's chart, it is evident that he has no definition in the mental area at all. Far from meaning that he is empty-headed, it means that more than perhaps anyone else, he is open minded. Remember, that Bill Clinton was a Rhodes scholar to Oxford in England. He has always been an incredibly powerful thinker, but he manages this through his open-mindedness. Open-mindedness has no limits in terms of what can be employed in the way of thinking. It can be oblivious to the concepts that "rational" people take for granted, and sometimes be experienced by others as "spacy."

When Bill associates with people who have defined minds in their Design, he can clarify whatever it is they are thinking about. It is most likely that Bill can read people's thoughts just by standing next to them, and so in bargaining or mediation situations, he has a natural comprehension of the mood of the thoughts of those around him, regardless of what anyone is saying.

He has a defined Spleen Center, (the brown triangle center on the lower left of his chart) which is the center relating to the realms of Intuition, Instinct and Taste. Bill is someone who "thinks on his feet," he is naturally alert to situations of which the brain has no inkling, but of which his intuition or instinct have instantaneous warning. Instinct and intuition work in the present instant and are not reliant on a thought process that drags on through time. Provided Bill acts spontaneously, according to the instincts and intuitions he gets, he will always stay healthy, alert and he will survive whatever obstacles are placed before him.

Fidel Castro has a very different mental process, in that he has two definitions between the Ajna (Mental Awareness) Center and the Throat Center. He is someone who can always speak his mind, regardless of what anyone else might think.

With two defined channels from mind to Throat, he has two different thought processes going on and available for expression at any one moment in time. From the #4 Gate, across to the #17 Gate and down to the #62 Gate, is a large part of the "Logic" process, which can find a solution for just about anything, and explain it in thoroughly logical and obvious terms. Anyone listening to Fidel speak, would feel themselves foolish for having ever considered another possibility than the one Fidel expounds. They would feel completely swayed by the sheer logic, opinions and details that are being expressed. Maybe later, when they reflected upon his speech, they might consider another side to be argued, but while Fidel speaks, there would be an almost natural agreement to the type of logic being presented. Logic is persuasive.

Fidel also has the "Knowing" connection from the Ajna to the Throat, from the #43 Gate to the #23 Gate, through which comes the expression of Insights in the language of: "I know!" Using this expression, he can shatter anyone else's concepts of discussion with the sheer power and persistence of just how much better he "knows" than they do. He can go to amazing lengths, talking for hours at a time on just how well he knows, and just how logically he can present what he knows.

The other definition that Fidel has is the connection from his Spleen Center to his Throat Center. This is the channel of "Talent." There is no question that he has an enormous talent, in that he is the world's longest surviving head of a communist regime. Again, as with Bill Clinton's chart, a defined Spleen Center points towards the need for the individual to be very present, living spontaneously in the moment, to ensure health, stability and well-being.

In conclusion

The mind is a wonderful device, able to categorize and distill myriad possibilities that are presented to us in our lives. We have become so enamored of this device, that our tendency has been to let it run our lives. Mind has all but taken over as TV's "Talking Heads" portray. And yet, when you consider how mind works and what it does, we recognize that it is simply a device to keep us informed of various possibilities, from visible and audible realms. It takes its time to process information and often produces information ready for discussion long after the events it is describing. It never really knows where our life is taking us, but it can provide a description of where we have been, or postulate perhaps where we might go.

When it comes to making decisions in life, there is a huge tendency to want to trust our minds to "figure it all out," but we know from our experiences that any decision made with the mind has no lasting satisfaction. Because it is the nature of the mind to be busy, it is still processing updated information. Consequently, we can expect no lasting peace in our life if we rely on mind's decisions.

Please recognize that despite mind's insistence, each of us has another way of making decisions, and this can be shown directly from your Design chart. If you want to find clarification in your life, you can now do so, through recognizing and following the specific "authority" in your Design, which is your natural inbuilt guide in life.

Next month: Willpower, as seen through Design.

 © Chetan Parkyn, March 2002