(Preamble: Of course, the word is not the thing, the map is not the territory. In fact, words, ironically, are the impediment to understanding the mind. Nevertheless, words are necessary to communicate and so this is a guide only to dictionary definitions that enable that communication. All the definitions below are thus given to aid understanding of the meaning of various terms; the definitions are primarily derived from the website OneLook Dictionary Search, in addition to a few from Dictionary.com. Word origins, where applicable, are from the Online Etymology Dictionary. See also, The Phrontistery, a compendium of difficult and obscure words, with pronunciations and many other related word lists.
It should be noted that most of the words below have multiple definitions; the closest definition to the contextual meaning of the terms referred to in the discussions in the site is therefore given. In reading these definitions, it is always understood that certain words in the talks have a wholly different meaning from both the dictionary definition and our common acceptance of what words mean - one example among many in this category is the word: "action".)
~~~~&~~~~
The Mind / Brain …
Mind : · Noun: that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason
· Noun: knowledge and intellectual ability
· Noun: attention
· Noun: recall or remembrance
· Noun: your intention; what you intend to do
· Noun: an opinion formed by judging something
· Noun: an important intellectual.
Brain : · Noun: that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason.
(See The Mind and the Brain)
Thought / Thinking: …
· Noun: ‘the organized beliefs of a period or group or individual; the content of cognition;
· Noun: a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty;
· Think: ponder; reflect on, or reason about; recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection.
The Self / The Ego: …
· Noun: ‘your consciousness of your own identity’
Consciousness:
· Noun: an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation;
· Noun: having knowledge of
Conditioning: …
· Noun: ‘a learning process in which an organism's behavior becomes dependent on the occurrence of a
stimulus in its environment’ - from the definition of conditioned.
Insight: … {Origin/derivation - c.1200, "sight with the eyes of the mind," mental vision, understanding," from in + sight.
Sense shaded into "penetrating understanding into character or hidden nature" (c.1580).}
· Noun: clear or deep perception of a situation
· Noun: grasping the inner nature of things intuitively
· Noun: the clear (and often sudden) understanding of a complex situation
· Noun: a feeling of understanding
Awareness / Attention / Observation: …
· Noun: the act of noticing or paying attention
· Verb: ‘watch attentively’;
· Verb: ‘discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of’
· Verb: ‘observe with care or pay close attention to’
Integrity · Noun: moral soundness
· Noun: an unreduced or unbroken completeness or totality
Negate / Negation: … (Synonyms: denial, rejection, renunciation)
· Verb: prove negative; show to be false; deny the truth of ; be in contradiction with; make ineffective by
counterbalancing the effect of.
· Verb: turn away from, give up (renounce).
~~~~&~~~~
Spiritual / Spirituality: …
· Adjective: Concerned with sacred matters or religion or the church of or pertaining to the spirit or soul,
As distinguished from the physical nature: a spiritual approach to life. (D.com Unabridged)
of or pertaining to sacred things or matters; religious; devotional; sacred. (D. com Unabridged)
Enlightened / Enlightenment: …
· Noun: People who have been introduced to the mysteries of some field or activity; "it is very familiar to
the initiate" (WordNet, 2006, Princeton University)
· Adjective: Having knowledge and spiritual insight (ibid).
Philosopher/Philosophy: …
· Noun: any personal belief about how to live or how to deal with a situation
· Noun: the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics
~~~~&~~~~
Understanding: …
· Noun: the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination
· Adjective: characterized by understanding based on comprehension and discernment and empathy.
Unconscious/Subconscious: …
· Noun: The part of the mind below the level of conscious perception.
Truth: …
· Noun: a fact that has been verified
Logic: …
· Noun: reasoned and reasonable judgment
· Noun: a system of reasoning
· Noun: the principles that guide reasoning within a given field or situation
Reason: …
· Noun: the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination;
· Noun: a fact that logically justifies some premise or conclusion;
· Noun: an explanation of the cause of some phenomenon;
· Noun: the state of having good sense and sound judgment.
Emotion: …
· Noun: any strong feeling
Psyche: …
· Noun: The immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
· Noun: That which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason
~~~~&~~~~
Arduous: …
· Adjective: difficult to accomplish; demanding considerable mental effort and skill
Abstraction: …
· Noun: a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance
· Noun: preoccupation with something to the exclusion of all else
Holistic: …
· Adjective: emphasizing the organic or functional relation between parts and the whole
Concept: …
· Noun: an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances
Communion: …
· Noun: sharing thoughts and feelings
Contradiction: …
· Noun: (logic) a statement that is necessarily false
· Noun: opposition between two conflicting forces or ideas
Diligence:
· Noun: conscientiousness in paying proper attention to a task; giving the degree of care required in a
given situation; persevering determination to perform a task.
Premise:
· Verb: take something as pre-existing and given
Coherence (Coherent): …
· Noun: logical and orderly and consistent relation of parts
Analysis: …
· Verb: ‘break down into components or essential features’
· Noun: the abstract separation of a whole into its constituent parts in order to study the parts and their
relations
Cognition: …
· Noun: the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning
Intrinsic:
· Adjective: belonging to a thing by its very nature
Premise:
· Verb: take something as pre-existing and given
Examination: …
· Verb: ‘observe, check out, and look over carefully or inspect’;
· Verb: ‘consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or
meaning’
· Verb: ‘question closely’.
~~~~~!~~~~~
It should be noted that most of the words below have multiple definitions; the closest definition to the contextual meaning of the terms referred to in the discussions in the site is therefore given. In reading these definitions, it is always understood that certain words in the talks have a wholly different meaning from both the dictionary definition and our common acceptance of what words mean - one example among many in this category is the word: "action".)
~~~~&~~~~
The Mind / Brain …
Mind : · Noun: that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason
· Noun: knowledge and intellectual ability
· Noun: attention
· Noun: recall or remembrance
· Noun: your intention; what you intend to do
· Noun: an opinion formed by judging something
· Noun: an important intellectual.
Brain : · Noun: that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason.
(See The Mind and the Brain)
Thought / Thinking: …
· Noun: ‘the organized beliefs of a period or group or individual; the content of cognition;
· Noun: a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty;
· Think: ponder; reflect on, or reason about; recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection.
The Self / The Ego: …
· Noun: ‘your consciousness of your own identity’
Consciousness:
· Noun: an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation;
· Noun: having knowledge of
Conditioning: …
· Noun: ‘a learning process in which an organism's behavior becomes dependent on the occurrence of a
stimulus in its environment’ - from the definition of conditioned.
Insight: … {Origin/derivation - c.1200, "sight with the eyes of the mind," mental vision, understanding," from in + sight.
Sense shaded into "penetrating understanding into character or hidden nature" (c.1580).}
· Noun: clear or deep perception of a situation
· Noun: grasping the inner nature of things intuitively
· Noun: the clear (and often sudden) understanding of a complex situation
· Noun: a feeling of understanding
Awareness / Attention / Observation: …
· Noun: the act of noticing or paying attention
· Verb: ‘watch attentively’;
· Verb: ‘discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of’
· Verb: ‘observe with care or pay close attention to’
Integrity · Noun: moral soundness
· Noun: an unreduced or unbroken completeness or totality
Negate / Negation: … (Synonyms: denial, rejection, renunciation)
· Verb: prove negative; show to be false; deny the truth of ; be in contradiction with; make ineffective by
counterbalancing the effect of.
· Verb: turn away from, give up (renounce).
~~~~&~~~~
Spiritual / Spirituality: …
· Adjective: Concerned with sacred matters or religion or the church of or pertaining to the spirit or soul,
As distinguished from the physical nature: a spiritual approach to life. (D.com Unabridged)
of or pertaining to sacred things or matters; religious; devotional; sacred. (D. com Unabridged)
Enlightened / Enlightenment: …
· Noun: People who have been introduced to the mysteries of some field or activity; "it is very familiar to
the initiate" (WordNet, 2006, Princeton University)
· Adjective: Having knowledge and spiritual insight (ibid).
Philosopher/Philosophy: …
· Noun: any personal belief about how to live or how to deal with a situation
· Noun: the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics
~~~~&~~~~
Understanding: …
· Noun: the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination
· Adjective: characterized by understanding based on comprehension and discernment and empathy.
Unconscious/Subconscious: …
· Noun: The part of the mind below the level of conscious perception.
Truth: …
· Noun: a fact that has been verified
Logic: …
· Noun: reasoned and reasonable judgment
· Noun: a system of reasoning
· Noun: the principles that guide reasoning within a given field or situation
Reason: …
· Noun: the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination;
· Noun: a fact that logically justifies some premise or conclusion;
· Noun: an explanation of the cause of some phenomenon;
· Noun: the state of having good sense and sound judgment.
Emotion: …
· Noun: any strong feeling
Psyche: …
· Noun: The immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
· Noun: That which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason
~~~~&~~~~
Arduous: …
· Adjective: difficult to accomplish; demanding considerable mental effort and skill
Abstraction: …
· Noun: a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance
· Noun: preoccupation with something to the exclusion of all else
Holistic: …
· Adjective: emphasizing the organic or functional relation between parts and the whole
Concept: …
· Noun: an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances
Communion: …
· Noun: sharing thoughts and feelings
Contradiction: …
· Noun: (logic) a statement that is necessarily false
· Noun: opposition between two conflicting forces or ideas
Diligence:
· Noun: conscientiousness in paying proper attention to a task; giving the degree of care required in a
given situation; persevering determination to perform a task.
Premise:
· Verb: take something as pre-existing and given
Coherence (Coherent): …
· Noun: logical and orderly and consistent relation of parts
Analysis: …
· Verb: ‘break down into components or essential features’
· Noun: the abstract separation of a whole into its constituent parts in order to study the parts and their
relations
Cognition: …
· Noun: the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning
Intrinsic:
· Adjective: belonging to a thing by its very nature
Premise:
· Verb: take something as pre-existing and given
Examination: …
· Verb: ‘observe, check out, and look over carefully or inspect’;
· Verb: ‘consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or
meaning’
· Verb: ‘question closely’.
~~~~~!~~~~~
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
“Has truth an abode, or is truth a dynamic, living thing, and therefore without a resting place?”
{Collected Works and Later Talks, Vol V, Poona India, 6th Public Talk, 3rd October 1948}
{Collected Works and Later Talks, Vol V, Poona India, 6th Public Talk, 3rd October 1948}
{Page last updated on May 2, 2008}
Certainly, the word is not the thing. Yet we need words to communicate, and words
have certain common connotations. So it is the essential feeling, the spirit,
behind the contextual use of the word that is all important.
have certain common connotations. So it is the essential feeling, the spirit,
behind the contextual use of the word that is all important.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |