The Thought Process

“At any rate we then know that the greatest danger threatening us comes from the unpredictability of the psyche’s reaction.[1]”

All thoughts are processed this way:

1.  Consciousness- The object of thought reaches consciousness

2.  Perception - The mind instantly scans itself for collected data to derive the ‘proper’ response

3.  Sensation - The body responds via electrochemical messaging that manifests itself physically

4.  Reaction - The mind ascertains whether this is pleasant or unpleasant, wanted or unwanted, but we do not react only with our conscious. 

For instance, if there is a spider on your shoulder, and you don’t know it, it has no effect on you. 

But once you’re (1) conscious of it your mind instantaneously experiences:

      2) perception

      3) sensation

      4) reaction. 

Your reaction is based on your past conditioning.  That past conditioning may cause you to to have a frightening sensation, while another person may experience adoration, because they love spiders.  Next, you have a reaction of whether you want the experience to continue or not continue.  Another example would be if your ex-wife walks into a room.  I don’t know her, so I don’t have a reaction, but you will.  When her presence makes contact with your consciousness, your mind instantly scans itself for data, makes an evaluation, and then without your conscious input makes a decision of what is the most appropriate way to react.  The selected reaction causes feelings, which originate in the mental realm and manifest in the physical realm, sending signals to the Hypothalamus[2], which produces chemicals that are rushed out through the body to chemically express the matter side of mind[3], and the body responds to the stimuli of pleasant or unpleasant, wanted or unwanted.

The categories of true and false are, of course, always present; but because they are not binding they take second place.  The presence of thoughts is more important than our subjective judgment of them.  But neither must these judgments be suppressed, for they also are existent thoughts which are part of our wholeness.

This (happens repetitively),(infinite repetition), occurs without end, and windows of ‘moments’ are grouped together in experiences to create – interpretations of memories, like movies edited by different people, even being in the same place/occasion – everyone has a different interpretation according to their functional mechanisms. 

With a new window of time your (non-local) mind takes this experience, re-evaluates all of the details (data/info) and ...

In step 2 (reaction), during a fear based situation the mind between the conscious and perceiving functions experiences this path:

1.  Thalamus receives stimulus and shunts it to amygdala[4] and visual cortex

2.  Amygdala registers danger

3.  Amygdala triggers fast physical reaction

4.  A clear image is sent to the conscious brain for considered response.