YOUR SEVEN SENSES

by
CLYDE WILLIAM ICKES III

C
1997

I Will Praise Thee

for I am fearfully and wonderfully made
marvellous Are Thy works
and that my soul knows right well.
-King David
Psalm 139:14

Chapter One

BALANCE

This good Earth, our home, is the one beneficent realm we know of amid
the cosmos. A place in the great, vast Universe where a human being can exist
and sense and know. All about us is a kaleidoscopic panoply of the
manifestation of matter and energy. There for us to experience and wonder.
Balance, the first of our seven senses, is related to one of the three basic
physical forces in the universe. These three are nuclear, electromagnetic, and
gravitational energies. All behavior of physical matter is organized by and may
be defined in terms of these forces. Spiral arms of Andromeda, geotropic growth
of roots, melting ice, all such forms and functions are guided by some power.
We are familiar with these energies. Nuclear power and electricity are very
notable in our technologically constrained society. Gravity is even more
pervasive, enabling us to keep our feet on the ground, the furniture in place, and
Frisbees from floating off into the heavens. Gravity is the power of numbers, the
sum of the energies of all the atoms in a celestial body. Whether star, planet, or
moon, each spreads forth this attractive aura.
Attraction is the main characteristic of gravity -- every particle of matter
being under the compelling influence of every other bit of matter in creation.
Such a power , operating through time, and space and matter, gives shape and
substance to the larger realities of nature. Galactic pinwheels, spinal curvature,
{the individual branching patterns of trees,} waves on oceans, clouds in the sky,
all and more owe their for to the regulating power of gravity.
 Gravity is a synthesizing energy, putting matter together. Bringing isolate
diversity into unity and harmony. And that is the aim of this book -- to show the
synthesis of seven senses unified into one Being. We are that being with seven
sense especially designed {attuned} for this body human on this planet Earth.
Compared to the other two forces, gravity is considered weakest. Yet it is
said that even light cannot escape the grip of black holes in outer space.
Compared to the other six of our senses, balance seems the least potent. Yet it
supports them. Though little recognized and much taken for granted, it is gravity
and balance which are the primary agencies for regulating celestial and living
bodies. Gravity provides us with a planet upon which to dwell, and balance helps
keep our body physically in harmony with this earth. Gravitational energy is the
basic stimulus for the sense of balance. This pairing of a physical energy with a
physiological sense makes the first of the seven senses.
That energy is important to all senses. Without gravity there would be no
planet upon which to walk, no matter to touch and taste, no atmosphere to
convey odors and sounds, and no sun to give light to see. Therefore gravity is
basic to sensory perception. It makes a world, and makes us a world. We are a
world, this body a dwelling for consciousness.
All creatures must maintain a stable relation to their environment. This is
a sign of life. This necessary physical stability is called equilibrium and exists in
three ways: positive, negative, and neutral. Positive equilibrium may be
illustrated by a pyramid solid and firm on its foundation. Negative, unstable
equilibrium is like an upside-down pyramid precariously positioned upon its apex.
And the neutral condition may be represented by a ball which always has its
center of gravity directly over its base so that no change of position renders it
unstable.
Sitting, walking, running depend on a balanced body. A sensory system
helps us know where we are, what's happening, where should that next footstep
be planted for safe travel. Now, since every atom of the human body in
influenced by gravity, it's necessary to have a widely distributed monitoring
system for the sense of balance. But before considering the specific sensory
receptors, we need to look at the basic architectural design of the human body.
A human body is built up in an orderly arrangement in seven levels. First
level is the atom. Of nature's 94 simple, stable elements of matter about one-
fourth are used in the construction of the body. Most common elements are
oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. These six make
up 99% of our body's physical substance. But atoms are merely the building
blocks for the next level. They are assembled into the form of molecules. In this
respect atoms are like the letters of the alphabet, which have greater meaning
and usefulness when composed into words.
So the second construction level is the molecule. A molecule is made of
two or more atoms combined. And, differing atoms bound together can take on
the aspect of a new creature. Gaseous hydrogen and oxygen properly united
become a liquid, water, and they give us thereby a whole kingdom of streams,
starry crystals, and showering droplets. And so molecules abound in greater
variety and versatility than do simple atoms, just as there are many more words
than letters. A few score atoms have become millions of chemical compounds.
Two-thirds of our body is made of three-atom molecules of water. And a sixth
consists of many kinds of protein molecules, each of which may have thousands
of atoms. Other molecular body constituents are fats, carbohydrates, and
minerals. These atoms and molecules provide the basic brick and mortar for our
body's architecture. The are the non-living foundation.
Next is the cell. It takes some 60 to 100 Trillion of them to make a human
body. Each cell is an intricate array of such molecular components as
chromosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, centrosomes, mitochondria, and
membranes. Molecules make up cells as words make sentences, a much more
meaningful whole is the result. Cells contain the various specifically organized
molecular parts, each having its own purpose, in much the same way a sentence
derives meaning from words. Cells may be thought of as "Bio-Atoms", the
smallest divisible units retaining the nature of life. And cells are further combined
to take on greater responsibilities in the body's next structural level.
Cells form tissues. This new unity requires uniformity. Tissues are usually
an assembly of similar cells, unlike molecules which may be made up of different
kinds of atoms. Tissues have four main jobs: to cover, to connect, to contract,
and to conduct. And each of these four basic tissue types is subdivided into a
variety of special kinds.
Covering tissue forms the outer skin surface of the body, provides
containing envelopes for most inner organs, and lines many sorts of tubes and
cavities. Connective cells make up ten kinds of tissues. One is fibrous which
makes ligaments and tendons. Other such tissue is fat, cartilage, and bone
which give our body much of its structure and shape.
Contracting and conducting tissues are the body's "labor and
management". They are the muscles which do the work, and nerves which
receive information and issue instructions. Muscles fill out a body with bulk and
power. The vast network of slender nerves is the heart of each sense, and is
responsible for what we perceive of the world around.
Tissues are to cells what paragraphs are to sentences, a greater level of
organization. Cells and tissues together form another brick-and-mortar stage in
the building of a body.
Now the various kinds of tissues must be put together to form organs.
Muscle, nerve, lining, and connective tissues combine to become an eye, a
stomach, a tonsil, a kidney, pancreas, biceps, lung and all the other body organs.
This may be compared to putting paragraphs together into the form of books.
Again, there is more organization and a larger whole which can perform greater
tasks.
Next, we have the nine body systems. A system is a harmoniously
interrelated group of elements. In this case, the parts are organs and the
systems are: skeletal, muscular, circulatory, digestive, respiratory, glandular,
reproductive, cutaneous, and nervous. Each of these systems is a union of
specially designed, complexly interrelated components. The respiratory system's
lungs mesh with the circulatory system's capillaries adding oxygen to blood
containing processed food materials from the digestive system's intestines which
were aided in their job by glandular enzymes. The interdependent unity of all
nine systems is like the making of many books into a great body of literature.
Finally, all the atoms which make up molecules which make up cells which
make up tissues which make up organs which make up systems -- all these,
intricately layered together and wisely built up, now become parts of a greater
unity, the ultimate level, the Body. This consequential formation may be likened
to everything from letters to literature making up a whole language.
This step-by-step process of composition makes a living physical body
which experiences and acts upon the world around, and all the while subject to
the gravitational power of earth. This knowing and doing requires a stable body
first of all. Two key systems, skeletal and muscular, give the body a capacity for
stability and movement.
Two hundred and six bones comprise the skeleton. They are made of
one-third soft organic matter and two-thirds hard calcium and phosphorus
minerals. Bones required for balance are in feet, legs, and back. Stability
depends upon a good foundation, and that is what two feet provide. Each foot
has 26 bones, with 14 of those in the toes, and is a sort of tripod. That is, the
heel, outer margin, and ball of a foot are three main points of contact with the
ground. A two legged chair obviously can't stand up, but a four legged one may
sometimes be wobbly, however the three-legged stool has been known for ages
to be the best for establishing a firm footing on uneven surfaces. Similarly, the
foot's three contact points give our body stability on all kinds of terrain.
But bones alone won't stay joined and certainly can't move about by
themselves. They are just the structure, the frame. The operation, action,
movement is the job of many of the 639 muscles attached to the bones. Working
together, bone and muscle adjust and maintain body position to keep balanced
and move effectively.
That's our body. Now, what is the sense of balance?
Once a body has been formed and is functioning, a way must exist to
keep things monitored and running smoothly. How do we know what position the
body is in? And how is it moving? And how can we know what changes should
be made in position or movement? It is the sense of balance that tells.
A sense is a combination of cells, tissues, and organs designed to detect
some aspect of the matter and energy in earth's environment. Our sense of
balance does not directly detect gravitational energy. Instead it notices the
relation of human body to planetary body. Since our entire physical body is
subject to earth's attraction, the gravity-sense monitors must be widely distributed
throughout our body.
First, special cells called proprioceptors are placed among the bone joints,
muscles, and skin. Scattered throughout the body, and mainly responding to
pressure, these cells detect the position of bones, the contraction of muscles,
and the weight placed on the soles of the feet and other body areas. With the
basic information this half of the balance sense gives we can tell roughly what
position our body is in, how we are moving, our weight distribution, and how
stable we are.
 These proprioceptors (the word is from "proprius" - one's own, and
"capere" - to take) give us a basic sense of being a physical body. We have an
awareness of flesh and bone standing on two feet walking upright.
To further refine the sense of balance there is a second part of this
sensory department, which resides in the head. In each inner ear chamber,
about 1" (2½ cm) inside from the skin surface, are three delicate structures: the
utricule (from "uter" - a bag), the saccule (from "saccus" - sack), and the
semicircular canals. The first two items are tiny oval containers. The canals are
three interconnected half-circle tubes which are aligned so that two are vertical
and the third horizontal.
All of the above containers and tubes are connected and filled with a fluid.
Inside, at the bottom of each, is a layer of cells with tiny hairs extending up into
the fluid. Slightly supported by a covering of jelly-like material, these hairs can
detect any movement of the fluid. Which of course would come from a
movement of the body or head. And because the hairs are connected to nerves
we can tell the position and movement of our bodies.
The utricle and the saccule have an extra feature that helps them pay
attention to a certain aspect of balance. Their jelly bottom layer containing the
hair cells is covered by many otoliths ("ear-stones"), also called otoconia ("ear-
dust"). This is crystallized bone matter -- regularly shaped, microscopically small
crystals of calcium carbonate. Such tiny particles shift about as a person moves,
and they touch and bend the sensitive hairs. Where the otoliths move and rest
helps tell us about the effect of gravity and the angular position of our bodies.
{DRAWING of three planes of space}
The semicircular tubes collect additional information of another kind. The
are parallel to three planes in space, comparable to the three flat sides coming
together at the corner of a box. Thus when movement of the fluid is detected we
become aware of our body's pitching, rolling, and yawing, that is, moving forward,
sideways, and around. However this part of the balance sense only indicates a
change in either position or motion. It doesn't function when a body is immobile
or moving at a uniform speed. So the fluid and hairs in these semicircular canals
actually respond to acceleration or deceleration.
Utricule, saccule and semi-circular canals provide a refined sense of
balance. Without them a ballerina would be as graceful as a stevedore.
Widely distributed body proprioceptors and the very localized equilibrium
apparatus are the receptors for the sense of balance. The layout of this sensing
network is logical. Since the entire body is under the influence of gravity, there
must be balance sensing cells throughout. Also, the more sophisticated three
types of organs in the head are in the best place to monitor the movement of the
whole organism. Just as a person perched in the crow's nest of a small sailing
vessel can feel the movement of the ship to a greater degree than those below
decks , so the equilibrium sensors notice the wider magnitude motions of the
head and upper torso.
Ultimately our sense of balance monitors every atom of the body, and is
thus tuned in to the relationship between every material element in the body and
the combined energy of every atom in the earth.
 So this is our most elemental human sense system. It must be considered
firstly because it is involved with the bodily foundation for all the other senses.
Yet we are vaguely aware that our sense of balance is functioning; after all, it is
not a very intellectual sense, it is the relatively unskilled labor with the job of
supporting and transporting us. It has usually been left out of consideration when
the so-called "five senses" were taught. Now no longer neglected, it can be
placed back in the important position it serves us in.
Perhaps balance was ignored because it is the last of the seven senses to
be developed enough to serve basic needs. A newborn baby can use all the
other six senses, but will not be able to stand or walk for many months. Later,
children very much enjoy the stimulation of the sense of balance. Jumping,
running, skipping, whirling, swinging, and sliding are often their main activity of
the day. Other pursuits dependent upon the sense of balance are dancing, most
sports, and such recreational activities as skiing, skating, cycling, skateboarding,
and surfing. All are vitally dependent upon a multitude of cells distributed
throughout the body, the two trios of liquid-filled semicircular canals, and the
utricules and saccules with their tiny crystals.
We have seen how our bodies are put together. Many parts make one
pleasing whole. Eye and hand and foot need one another. Balance may have
seemed to be a feeble sense, but it is much more necessary in the way it
provides for all the others. The whole body has been well-tempered together.
Each part caring for the other and all set in order. And on a large scale,
terrestrial fleshy bodies and celestial planetary bodies harmonize with one
another. One body sensing what the other provides. Earth, humbly under our
feet, steadfastly holds us subtily subdued within her domain. The balance sense
guides us to rise in each new day Earth's motion brings. and to stand and go
forth into this world for which we were made.
We shall see how all seven senses are placed together according to {one
masterfull} design.

chapter two

A GREATER CONTACT

Once the body begins to move about, sooner or later it will come in
contact with something. Such as another body, water, fire, ice, a thorn, a rock,
an apple, a tree. The sense of balance has only set the stage for a venturing
awareness. Now comes a building of the depth of perception, a gradual
increase in the human capacity to know the world of this planet.
Touch, the tactile sense, informs us of a type of electromagnetic energy
which is heat. This sense also give notice of the body's actual physical contact
with tangible substance. And, perhaps most significantly, our second sensory
ability provides important information about the integrity and well-being of our
bodies.
There are three aspects of tactual perception: temperature, contact, and
defense. {Protection}
A form of light is infrared or thermal energy. We perceive its presence in
relative terms. Energy is the motion of particles through space. Photons,
electrons, atoms, molecules, planets, suns, galaxies all move. The credit for
their change of position is given to energy. The energy of the Universe is
manifested in many ways. Temperature is only a tiny segment in the overall
spectrum of nature's energy.
Temperature is considered to be: "the average excitement of hundreds or
billions of molecules", it is the movement of matter measured on a vast scale.
From the total congelation at absolute zero, through being solid, plastic, liquid,
gaseous, then the fervid plasma of atomic ionization, and final attenuation in
explosive fission, matter fills many roles. And energy is the playwright. Simply
stated, temperature is a way describing how fast or slow some bit of matter is
moving. It is a concept uniting time, energy and matter.
On this earth our body is limited to a very narrow temperature sensing
range. Measuring scales have been devised to give number-names to varying
energy levels. So we hear of Kelvin, Celsius, and Fahrenheit (not a vaudeville
team {law firm}). Those differing number-scales are arbitrary and have no real
meaning, a rose is a rose and hot is hot, regardless of nomenclature. Anyway,
we are only sensitive to a tiny range of thermal energy which is in the infrared
band of the light section of the whole electromagnetic spectrum.
Temperature is a quality perceived in two quantitative forms, cold or heat.
The second part of the sense of touch is contact. This has more to do
with solid matter, A body meets a body. There is simple contact known as touch,
and there is more intense contact, or, pressure.
A body needs to maintain its integrity and wholeness and effective
functioning -- the good life. So the third tactile ability is a defense warning
system. This is known as the sense of pain. It provides a much more salient
variety of sensations and concerns a more critical aspect of our relation to our
environment.
Touch's nerve system is composed of many little cells, some simple,
others complex. They are scattered throughout the body. Complex sensors
have bulb-like endings or capsules which receive and transmit feelings of touch,
pressure, cold, and heat. The simpler cells are thin fibers with many
subdivisions. Ending in a vine-like network of fine branches, these fibrous cells,
also called free nerve endings, are very numerous in the skin. Most of them are
involved in the important job of sensing pain.
Our skin is the body's largest organ, being about 16% (one-sixth) of the
body's weight. It is the cutaneous system, a multi-layered complex of tissues and
small organs. It is our body's main contact area, or interface, with the
environment. This covering surface, also called the integument, is sized thusly:
on an adult man, 19.4 square feet (or 1.8 sq. meters; 2,8000 sq. inches; or
18,000 sq. centimeters), and an adult female may have 17.2 square feet (or 1.6
sq. m; 2,5000 sq. in; 16,000 sq. cm).
Skin is the main area for touching. Within it are several million sensing
cells. Over 500,000 are contact cells, and there are 150,000 cold receptors,
16,000 heat sensors, and 3,000,000 cells responding to pain.
As mentioned, the range for detection of temperature is limited. Absolute
zero is -459° F (-273° C) and a hydrogen bomb gives off 540,000,000 to
721,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit (300 - 400,000,000° C). Within that vast
stretch, our sense of temperature effectively covers about 59° F (15° C), that's in
a field from 54° F to 113° F (12° C to 45° C). { 1/7,000,000th}. Above 108° F
(42° C) protein in our body begins to break up, and there is also danger of tissue
damage at temperatures below 54° F (12° C).
We are more conscious of cold because there are more cold sensitive
cells, they have greater sensitivity and react faster than the heat detecting cells.
Most cold cells are near the skin surface and two-thirds are near sweat glands,
which put water out onto the skin for cooling purposes. (Interestingly, there are
no temperature receptors in the eyes). Since there is danger above 113° F (45°
C) and below 54° F ( 12° C) our sense of pain actually begins to register beyond
those boundaries.
Pain sensing cells are six times the number of contact cells, and fifteen
times as numerous as temperature cells. It is important that pain cells are in the
majority because they must serve to guard the body's welfare. Pain is a peculiar
sensation that becomes tied in with the higher senses. Pains come in greater
diversity than feelings of temperature or contact. They may be chronic, acute,
cramping, sharp, dull, spasmodic, burning, radiating, cramping, etc., as well as
prickly surface pains, and deep pains of inner organs and bones. But pain helps
more than it hurts. It's part of the touch sense and exists to help us live well on
this planet. It protects and educates by detecting danger or harm.
A rough average of the distribution of touch sense cells in the skin is: 161
contact cells per sq. in. (25 per sq. cm.), 45 to 84 temperature sensors per sq. in.
(7 - 13 per sq. cm.), and 645 to 1129 pain receptors per sq. in. (100 - 175 per sq.
cm.). Actually there is a wide variation over the whole body area. Some skin
areas have many touch cells, other places fewer.
The differences in distribution of sensory cells creates places with greater
or lesser sensitivity. Very sensitive areas are the tongue tip, lips, and tip of the
nose. Less sensitive parts are the fingers and hands, though they get more use.
The least sensitive area is the middle of the back. So when we turn our back to
the cold or wind for protection that merely means exposing the fewest touch cells
to hostile elements. Having greatest sensitivity in the mouth-nose area gives us
vital awareness for survival because that is the intake area for life-sustaining air,
water, and food.
Besides the skin and sensing cells, there is one more part of the body
important for contact with the world. The hand. This is a marvellous combination
of muscles (mostly located in the forearm), 27 bones, and many special parts
such as fingers, thumb, palm, nails, and differing patterns of skin texture. All are
united to form a hand, the agent of active touch. Not just a passive sensor, our
human hand is a tool enabling us to learn, work, communicate, and otherwise
manage the elements of the world. Our two hands, more than any other physical
body part give us dominion over this planet earth.
This second of the seven senses is one more outward step into reality.
Touch increases our sensory capacity and enriches our perceptions. More
importantly, we now have a greater ability to project our will upon the
environment.

Our sense of touch completes the first binary (two-part) sensory system.
The primary pair of senses are balance and touch. Note how these two are
similarly organized in the body. Each has its most sensitive cells in the head --
the tongue-lip-nose area for touch; the utricule-saccule-semicircular canals for
balance. Each depends upon a pair of appendages: hands and fingers for touch;
feet and toes for balance. The big toe is the secret to walking and the opposable
thumb is the key to handling. Overall arrangement of sensory cells is similar --
touch receptors distributed throughout the surface covering, in the skin; and
balance proprioceptors throughout the interior of the body.
Our primary binary sensory group provides us with hands and feet, tools
for adventure. And the capacity to touch and walk, handle and move, manage
the substance of nature and transport our bodies through the environment.
These are the most physical of the senses, and the two most directly related to
the earth. We perceive earth's elemental matter by touch. And we perceive the
fundamental gravitational energy through balance and are thereby able to
maintain position and move about in harmony with the resultant energy of the
massed atoms of the planet earth.
And it's a pleasant planet. Good place to get around on and keep in
touch with. A couple of basic senses are an indispensable aide for a walk to a
strawberry patch. Go uphill stepping nimbly from rock to rock along a row of
piled boulders. Then out of the woods to feel a flush of warmth from the sun.
Running across a hilltop, down to a small valley, then walking carefully along the
trunk of a fallen tree which remains several feet above ground. Here touch will
tell if any bark underfoot begins to give way. Up a steep slope, grasping the
pebbly smooth bark of a beech tree then the scaly firm bole of a choke cherry.
Finally into a patch of wild strawberries, which happen to grow very low to the
ground. All the better workout for a sense of balance -- standing, then bending
over, on one foot, then the other, squatting, kneeling, crawling in search of the
luscious edible rubies. Now and then a reminder from pain sensors: "you just sat
on a twig from a hawthorn bush!" All this time tiny crystals in the ear slide around
the floor of the utricules and saccules, canal fluids riffle tiny hairs; other cells are
pressed, heated, cooled, hurt; walking, touching knowing.
And a dish of berries.
Which brings us to the next sense.

chapter three
 A Sense Of Savour

Strawberries are for more then touching. Gravity and matter, walking and
touching soon become common and mundane. Now we come to a sense which
brings us into a much more refined contact with a select type of matter.
Taste, the gustatory sense, enables us to appreciate the chemical
characteristics of matter that we call flavors. This is not a strict chemical
analysis, however. We are not concerned with identifying a particular atomic
element or molecule such as mercury, argon, bismuth, yttrium, aluminum,
nitrogen, iridium, etc. Rather matter is more simply interpreted by the sense of
taste according to a four component sensory spectrum (five in China). These are
the flavors sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. (Fifth would be "burnt").
Each flavor does relate to a general chemical quality. Sweetness is
basically a property of organic compounds such as sugars and alcohols.
Saltiness is related to inorganic ions, which are electrically charged atoms found
in such materials as chlorides, nitrates, and sulfates. Hydrogen ions liberated by
acids cause a sour taste. And bitterness is a flavor quality of alkaloids,
glucosides, and plant extracts. Very simply, sweet is organic, salt inorganic, sour
acid, and bitter alkaline.
But of course chemicals are not what we are concerned with. There is a
practical need that must be met first.
Balance and touch have given us control over moving within and
managing the world. Movement of matter requires energy. Running, potato
peeling, and coal shoveling use up energy. So our bodies must have a source
for resupply. Energy is stored in matter and made available in a variety of forms.
One kind of electromagnetic energy is light which comes from a star at the center
of our planetary system. Unfortunately our body lacks the structural form and
cellular components necessary to retrieve and use direct solar energy. To do so
a person would have to be very large and flat, with specialized cells, tissues,
organs and systems {like a plant's leaves}.
Actually this job of collecting solar energy is the capability of {responsibility
of} other creatures in the Biosphere, plants. WE are not alone. Green plants use
light energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrate. Fat, sugar,
and starch are the basic forms of energy thus made and stored. That, along with
other nutrients (water, protein, minerals, vitamins), is what we must eat, digest,
and assimilate in order to live.
But why be able to taste? Tasting doesn't help us absorb any nourishing
energy. It would seem unnecessary for living. But there is a definite sense of
taste with special cells responsible for the sensation. So there must be some
purpose to be filled.
The organs and cells for our sense of taste are located in the mouth.
There is a papillae-studded, mucous membranes covered, bundle of muscles
and nerves, the tongue. Here is mainly where flavors are detected. The tip of
the tongue detects sweet and salty substances, the sides savor sour flavors, the
back of the tongue tastes bitter sensations, but there is not much taste sensation
in the middle. This is a good arrangement, for the tip is nearest to the opening of
the mouth where it can find the sweetness of energy containing foods. The sides
are next to the teeth which crush the flesh of berries and fruits releasing sour
juices. And the bitterness-sensing back is able to wait for any possible acrid
flavor which might come from anything ingested. This location is important
because bitterness may indicate harmful material and toxic chemicals. Being
near the back, this sensation can communicate through nerves to cause that part
of the tongue to close off the throat and prevent the food from being swallowed.
A three-part arrangement makes up the taste sense system. About
200,000 cells are inside 9,000 to 10,000 buds which are contained within a
hundred or so papillae.
These papillae are either filiform (thread like), fungiform (mushroom like),
or circumvallate (surrounded by a wall). A tongue is mostly covered by the
filiform papillae which give it a textured surface. But the other two kinds have the
tasting cells.
About 6 to 10 to 16 circumvallate papillae are found in a "V" formation at the very
back of the tongue. Each of them contains about 250 buds (giving them from
1,500 to 2,500 to 4,000 of the total 10,000 taste buds). There's one main job for
them -- to detect bitterness.
Papillae have the appearance of flattened, rounded bulbs. Buds are like
tiny round vases with their tops opening on the surface so that the papillae has
many pores, perhaps 100 or 200. When a molecule from mozzarella, a
conglomeration of atoms from an apple, or the juices of any other foods enter the
bud pore they contact the cellular messengers which tell us of the presence and
delightful personality of these substances.
Four to 12 to 20 cells are in each bud and have tiny hairs projecting up
through the bud pore. In order for us to taste, flavor chemicals must be in a liquid
solution and enter the pore to contact the cell. When that happens, a nerve fiber
at the bottom of the bud receives and transmits the particular information that
gives us the sensation of the four flavors.
That is the physiological taste pyramid: approximately 150,000 cells
inside 10,000 buds in 100 papillae.
And why are we able to taste? Well, why not? We do have to get energy,
and we've got to know about some of those millions of chemical because many
of them are needful for our survival. WE simply have to have some way to know
and distinguish what we're about to eat. A sense of taste that gave a unique
flavor to each of the 94 natural elements or the millions of kinds of molecules
would be too perplexing. So the simplicity of four flavors suits us well.
It is furthermore interesting that our tongue's sensory acuity, or detecting
ability, varies among the flavors. Some flavors are less noticeable. For example,
we sense sweetness less well than the other flavors.
Experiments with certain pure chemicals have given the following figures.
The human taste sense detects sweetness at a rate of one part in 200. That
would be equal to one cup pure sweetness in 12½ Gallons of distilled water.
Next, the tongue tastes saltiness at a ratio of one part per 400 (one cup in 25
Gallons). And sourness can be sensed at one part per 130,000 (one cup in
8,125 Gallons). Most notably of all, bitterness is noticed at one part per
2,000,000 (one cup in 125,000 Gallons). These statistics don't necessarily apply
to our everyday foods, but do show our tasting ability. It does indicate a
designed approach to sensing.
We are most able to taste bitter substances and least able to sense sweet.
High sensitivity to bitterness (10,000 times greater than awareness to sweetness,
5,000 times salt awareness, and 6 times that of sourness) is directly related to
the fact that many natural poisons have a bitter flavor. This particular sensing
ability is comparable to the many (3,000,000) pain detecting cells of the sense of
touch which provide basic physical protection. Here again, body defense is a
priority in protecting against dangerous plant alkaloid compounds.
Next, sensitivity to sourness (650 times greater than sweet sensing ability,
350 times salt; but 1/15th bitter) might also give some protection, but with more
interest and enjoyment. Salt detection (twice that of sweetness awareness,
1/325th sour, 1/5000th bitter) is more pleasing, and also helps to protect against
certain dangerous metals.

Sweetness, the least dangerous flavor, most related to needed energy, is

probably most enjoyable, too. Sensitivity to sweet is ½ that for salt, 1/650th of
sour, and 1/10,000th of the sensitivity to bitter flavors. The only danger might be
that the lower awareness could be responsible for overconsumption of high
calorie sugars. Few of us could survive eating 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of salt
each year, and certainly not that much bitter matter.
The diversity of flavors makes for interesting relationships. For example,
salt or sweetness will reduce the sour flavor of a food. A trace of sweetness
enhances the salty flavor, and a hint of salt augments sweetness. The order of
sensitivity in ability to detect is: bitter, sour, salt, sweet.
In addition to taste, the tongue and mouth have touch sensors which allow
the temperature and texture of food to become enjoyable aspects of eating.
Temperature has some effect on flavor, too. Heat reduces salty and bitter
flavors, while it enhances sweet and sour flavors. Cold lessens sweet and
sourness, but intensifies salty and bitter tastes. So, cold soup is "saltier", hot tea
less bitter, and warm ice cream sweeter.
Taste, therefore, gives us protection and pleasure while we are obtaining
nourishment.
It is noteworthy that each human sense becomes more and more refined
in ability, and more localized in the body. Each sense so far has a greater
perceptual spectrum, a larger range of sensations to detect. We thus gain an
increasing capacity to experience the diverse multitude of stimuli in the world
around
The perceptual spectrum for balance, the general body sense, included
sensing of position (as stability or instability) and movement (acceleration or
deceleration in three planes of space). Touch tells of contact (touch and
pressure), temperature (heat and cold), and pain. And the sense of taste gives
us four flavors (sweet, salt, sour, bitter). So our awareness expands through
each sense. Each accomplishes a transition to bring us into closer contact with
matter, to more intimate and meaningfull perceptions.
 chapter four

AIRY EMANATIONS

Matter occupies space. Driven by energy, it moves through space. The

nature of space, its permeability and capacity to fill and be filled, provides
wonderful potential for physical existence. It is the broad, deep, and lofty
expansiveness of our physical being and knowing. Space fills everything we
know, and everything fills some part of space, more or less. Space is very
accommodating, it allows us to be where we are and what we are, but moves in
quickly and quietly whenever we vacate either location or existence.
Planets are surrounded by special shrouds of space, their atmospheres.
All about this earth is a many-layered cloak, shells upon shells: Magnetoshpere,
Mesosphere with temperatures of 4,000º F 2,200º C, Ionosphere Where aurora
polaris show up, Chemosphere from 20 to 45 miles high (32 to 72 km),
Stratosphere with its ultra-violet shielding ozone layer - all these cover our planet.
The one final layer is the lowest and nearest to us. That is the Troposphere,
reaching up to 10 miles (16 km), where weather and air exist.
Air is a gaseous ocean of elements. There is oxygen, nitrogen, argon,
neon, water, carbon dioxide, ozone, methane, krypton, helium, hydrogen, nitrous
oxide, xenon, ammonia, strontium-90, and too much else. This air section of the
tropospheric (the "firmament") band of earth's atmosphere is what concerns our
fourth sense. Air lets solar energy pass through to the plants that make our food.
Air feeds us with oxygen to make that plant food usable. Air helps control
temperature by being a place to and from which water may move, carrying heat.
More important to our fourth sense, the sense of smell, air is a medium
allowing myriad tiny particles of matter to transport about. So, odors from good
cheese or bad fish are able to reach our node before the food is in our mouth.
Scents, parts of earth substance too small to have gravitational powers over us,
matter too tiny to touchy, these miniscule molecules in their millions each carry
their own identifying nature. Each was a part of something, and on being
released into the air is able to come to our bodies and communicate to us a
certain feature of that from which they arose.
The sense of smell is chemical communications. It seems simple, yet
powerfully affects our feelings of the world and people around. It is the first of the
exterioceptors, monitors of outer surroundings.
Venturing out from the body to seek those aromas is the nose. Here is
where the sensing cells are. At the upper end of the nasal passages, on the
innermost top and sides are ½ square inch (3 sq cm) areas of yellowish sensory
membrane. Two such areas contain about 1,000,000 olfactory (from "olfacere" -
to smell) cells. Most of the nasal passage is an air vent with a vital stream of
oxygenating atmosphere continually rushing in and out. However, the olfactory
membrane is at the very top inner area and is out of the way of the air stream,
with only 2% of the air entering this calm space.
 With a total area of only one square inch (6.4 sq cm), the smelling-sense
area is much reduced in size compared to the three previous senses. But while
physical size decreases, sensory capacity increases, as we shall see.
Within the two patches of olfactory membrane are a million or so cells.
The individual cell is spindle-shaped, tapering a little toward each end. At the
outer end are 6 to 8 hairs, and it is these filaments which detect odor molecules.
The hairs extend through the skin, and, since there are 6,000,000 to 8,000,000 of
them, the surface looks like a thick shaggy carpet. Making up this carpet, visible
only through a microscope, there can be 9,300 to 12,400 tiny hairs per square
millimeter. The bases of the cells send off nerve fibers which collect into 20
paths going to the olfactory bulb, and on to the brain.
The sense of smell, as taste does, responds to molecules of matter,
though with much greater versatility. Attempts have been made to classify odors
and define a perceptual spectrum. Through past centuries, odors have been
categorized, named, and renamed, all in the effort to form a list of basic
perceptions comparable to the groups of three touch sensations and the four
flavors. Thus we read of such terms as: aromatic, ethereal, sweet, musky, minty,
burnt, putrid, ambrosial, heavy, balsamic, honeyed, nauseating, repulsive,
sweaty, pungent, fragrant, resinous, fruity, spicy. One classification lists nine
scents: Ethereal - fruit, raisins for example; Balsamic - flowers and vanilla;
Aromatic - camphor, clove, lemon; Ambrosial - amber, musk; Alliaceous -
hydrogen sulfide, chlorine; Empyrematic - roasted coffee, benzene; Repulsive -
deadly nightshade, bedbugs; Caprylic - cheese, rancid fat; Nauseating - carrion
(dead animals).
One other system lists odors according to the supposed shape of the
particular molecule. This was from an effort to determine exactly why there are
different odors. So, ethereal molecules are thought to be rod-shaped; floral scent
is to be from a frying pan shaped molecule; camphoraceous is from a sphere;
musk from a disc; and mintyness from a wedge arrangement of atoms. Then
pungent and putrid aromas arise from a molecule lacking in outer electrons and
having either a positive or negative charge.
A person with a very good sense of smell could be able to detect 10,000
different odors. Though probably unable to find words to describe them.
Professional "sniffers" claim identification of 17,000 to 19,000 particular odors on
20 intensity levels. Not all things stimulate the sense of smell, carbon monoxide
is a notable odorless gas. Still, much in this world gives off aromatic ID tags
which float about through the atmosphere.
Sooner or later, tiny molecules from a rose or rat, spiced pear or sludge,
gasoline or incense waft along to encounter a nose. Hello, nose....

Here we have completed another binary sense duo. Balance and touch
were the primary sense pair. Taste and the nose make a second pair. Just as
taste is associated with the important body-sustaining functions of eating and
drinking, so the nose and sense of smell are involved in a more important role
than simply detecting odors. The nose is the inlet for air, a primary necessity for
our form of life. Air has oxygen, which is used to make food energy available in
our bodies. Both senses are helping by taking in solid, liquid, and gaseous
nutrients in the form of food, water, and air through the means of eating, drinking,
and breathing. The "Nurse and feeder" is what Shakespeare called taste in its
relation to the other senses. Though to taste or smell is not necessary for living,
the two can be considered our Sustaining Senses.
In addition, noses help to heat incoming cold air by means of blood
vessels in the nasal lining. Harmful bacteria, and dust, are caught in a mucous
blanket which continually drains to the stomach. And a large nose in a dry desert
helps to humidify the air. Ask a camel.
Flowers and odors are similar. They are more like an essence of matter.
While touch and balance are more concerned with actual substance and
conveying a more elemental aspect of nature. Flavors and odors have a much
greater emotional impact, and provide a little more awareness, and more
æsthetic appreciation of the environment than the feelings of the first binary pair.
The first pair of senses does work, keeps the body stable, manages the material
world. The second pair enables us to derive enjoyment and education from
essential qualities of a selected portion of the substance of creation.
Taste is limited to only four basic characteristics, and we taste only what is
in actual contact with the tongue. But the nose is a distance sense organ,
detecting scents from afar. Apple blossoms spread their fragrance to the wind,
but apple's taste must be on the tongue.
Peonies and pizza, sweaty feet and spearmint, new mown hay, turpentine
and apple pie, cheddar and chow-chow, there are many more odors than flavors.
And while taste is mainly concerned with eating, smelling may be used to judge a
wider variety of things from flowers to decaying meat, from spices to exhaust
fumes, and many inedible things. It is proper for smell to have such a greater
perceptual range, and thereby dominate over the sense of taste.
Without looking, tasting or touching it is possible to tell if a motor is
burning, a steak done cooking, feet are clean, soil is fertile, compost well rotted,
chickens and cows healthy, and the strawberries are ripe. And the greater ability
makes it possible to judge the quality of a possible food before putting it into the
mouth.
With the completion of the fourth sense, we see how our awareness
expands yet further into the world around. The purpose here being advanced is
the development of a fuller, more effective power to discern. These improving
abilities will lead to a greater sensory appreciation of our planetary home.

chapter five

TERRESTRIAL ANNUNCIATION

To sense is to know. Each succeeding sense takes in more of the world

around. Thus far we have seen a continuous, balanced increase in sensory
abilities. The preceding sense, the nose, allows us to sense chemicals in the
atmosphere. The fifth sense expands this atmospheric sensitivity in quantity and
quality.
Each of the seven senses is specially tuned to a particular kind of matter
or energy. The distance senses make use of information coming through the
atmosphere. This is where we humans live, rather than in the lithosphere (rock
and soil) or hydrosphere (water). When something, somewhere, moves it
transfers a part of that motion to the elements of the air. Flapping feathers,
waves of water, pounding pistons, chattering leaves of aspens, slamming truck
tailgates, and strummed strings of zithers all transmit a small amount of
mechanical energy into the sea of gaseous matter.
It just happens that oxygen and nitrogen molecules are already moving by
themselves. Those individual bits of matter vibrate at a speed of 1,000 miles per
hour (1,600 kph). They are moving in every direction, though only over tiny, tiny
distances. Because the air around us is already in very fast motion, though on a
small scale, energy given off by the shutting tailgate is picked up and carried by
the oxygen and nitrogen molecules. Air has been prepared for this work from the
beginning. Since the atmospheric molecules are moving in all directions at once,
the mechanical energy we call sound only travels 2/3's as fast as the vibration
rate of the two elements. That's because sound tends to move straightaway from
the sound source. So, the resultant speed of sound is 760 mph (1,222 kph).
the stimuli for the previous four senses are somewhat passively produced.
Gravity, touch sensations, flavors, and odors are not produced all that
intentionally. But hearing, our fifth sense, responds to sound -- dynamic
mechanical energy -- which must have some active cause. A tree must fall or a
baby burp to be heard.
A sound is described by three simple terms: intensity, frequency, and
quality. Sound energy travels in varying amounts in the form of vibrations. A
skier traveling downhill in a slalom curve will maintain a steady speed and leave
behind a wave track. Vibrations are also waves and enable energy to be
transmitted through matter in a balanced manner. Now the quantity of sound is
its intensity. This is measured by a scale of decibel units, Zero to 140db. Low
amounts are soft sounds, higher are louder.
Other sensations have more to do with matter, or energy, or space. Such
is the case with gravity, temperature, and odor. But Hearing takes place in time.
Time is a key aspect of sound. The patter of rain is here, and then gone. And a
bit of time is passing, too. The number of vibrations in a period of time is called
frequency. This creates the tone or pitch of a sound. Measurement is in cycles
per second. A cycle is the distance from high point or outer edge of a wave or
curve to the next corresponding outer point. Starting at Twenty going up to
20,000cycles per second is the range for human hearing. And it is said that we
can hear 300,000 individual tones. A few cycles per second are characteristic of
a low pitched sound, and many make a high sound.
The third nature of sound is quality. Called timbre or tone color, it is the
sum of all the details of wave movement. This aspect is related to the specific
identity of the sound source. By this we are able to distinguish between a voice
or a violin, a bird song or a waterfall, castanets or quacking duck.
 Once a sound is produced, it interacts with the environment. Transmitted
sound can bounce (reflect), bend (refract), turn (diffract), or be scattered or
absorbed. These behavior characteristics allow us to hear music from a faraway
orchestra, wind in a tree top, or a voice around a corner. And they cause sounds
to diminish and disappear.
A sound is much more than what meets the ear. Flavors and odors are
distinctive entities of and by themselves. Sound, however, is simply raw
mechanical energy. It is a stuff that may be fashioned into something else. This
trait sets sound apart from the stimuli of the lesser four senses. By its very
nature, sound is exceedingly useful as a means of communication. The sound of
a chicken travels much farther than the singular flavor of its egg. The thump of a
fallen apple meets the ear sooner than its scent arrives in the nose. Sound as a
tool, a vehicle for communication, relates directly to the superiority of the sense
of hearing.
The body parts that hear are two sets of organs at each side of the head.
Our left and right ears have just the size, location, and orientation to enable us to
hear. Most obvious is the ear flap, also called the auricle or pinna or concha.
Collecting mechanical energy from the air, it helps channel the sound into the
one inch long (2 cm) hearing passageway. This tube has a wax coating to repel
water, protect against infection, and help reflect sound. The inner end of this
channel is covered by a half-inch (1 cm) diameter membrane, the tympanum or
ear drum. Attached on the inner side of the drum is the hammer bone (malleus)
which is connected to the anvil bone (incus which is connected to the stirrup
bone (stapes). Holding these very tiny bones together are the smallest bones in
the body. This arrangement of bones conducts energy from the drum, and by
leverage is able to magnify it to 22 times more power.
One of the most marvellous pieces of body architecture is the inner ear,
the cochlea (meaning "snail", since its shape resembles the little mollusc's shell).
This is a fluid filled chamber with an attached coiled tube. The chamber encloses
the vestibule (and just happens to be attached to the semicircular canals of the
sense of balance. The rest of the cochlea narrows into a spiral, a 1¼ inch (3cm)
membrane-lined stubby bony cone.
The stirrup is attached to a tiny flexible "window" on the vestibule wall.
This window is one-thirtieth the size of the ear drum and has a membrane
"pane". When the tiny bones move upon this windowpane vibrations are created
in the liquid.
The narrowing length of the spiral cochlea is divided into three interior
passages. These are the vestibular ladder, tympanic ladder, and cochlear duct.
The last is smallest and contains sensory cells. This hearing sense membrane
layer with its cells is as indescribable as a Mandelbrot fractal fantasy. An
intriguing structure called the Organ of Corti has cells which have tiny hairs
sticking up into the channel's fluid and embedded in an upper membrane. Cell
bases connect into 25,000 to 30,000 auditory nerve fibers.
Actual hearing occurs when something produces vibrations (within human
intensity and frequency range) which travel through the air and encounter the
outer ear. Sound then goes through a short tunnel to the drum, causing it to flex
and transfer energy by three diminutive bones (smallest articulating bones in the
body) into a fluid-filled cochlea. Moving fluid ultimately affects sensory hairs, and
their cellular bases convert mechanical energy into electrical nerve energy.
Sound has so far gone through three forms of matter, air (gas), bone
(solid), fluid (liquid). Finally, nerves (cells connected to another sense) change
moving matter into energy carrying auditory messages to the brain to be
interpreted.
And sounds aren't really as loud or substantial as they may sometimes
seem. A sound is a very small amount of energy. It is really the much greater
vibratory power of air molecules that is primarily responsible for transmitting
sound. Then it's the ear flap, canal, drum, bones acting as levers, fluids, and
hairs that amplify sounds of the outer world. Total amplification by these body
structures is reportedly 180 times. Just as an apple we touch is less substantial
than earth upon which we walk, sound is a more ethereal sensation than the
stimuli affecting the preceding four senses.

Also, we humans cannot hear every mechanical vibration. There is infra

sound, which is below 15 cycles per second and can affect the body's physical
well-being. And ultra sound, above 20,000 cps, may be caused and heard by
plants and animals. Dogs and birds have much more sensitive ears than
humans. They and other animals can detect a wider range. Then too, women
can hear better than men.
Our ears are tuned to a specific range, only a part of all kinds of vibrations.
Thus we are unable to hear the sounds of inner body functions, or the growing
plants. And because sound goes only in the air of the troposphere part of earth's
atmosphere (sound will not travel through a vacuum, e.g. outer space) we do not
have to listen to the roar of the burning sun.
"Sentinel of the senses". the ear. Sophisticated, too. Lesser senses
provide for physical support and emotional enjoyment. Hearing develops a
deeper awareness. The Quest to know advances on infinitesimal ripples through
aerial oceans and alights upon the shores of the mind.

These wickets of the soul are placed so high,

Because all sounds do highly move aloft;
And that they may not pierce too violently,
They are delayed with turns and twinings oft.
For should the voice directly strike the brain,
It would astonish and confuse it much;
Therefore these plaits and folds the sound restrain.
That it the organ may more gently touch.
- Sir John Davies.

Very poetical. Also slightly off the facts. The "turns and twinings" and
"plaits and folds" (shape of the outer ear) amplify and carry onward the sound
rather than restraining.
 The ear tries words, as the mouth taste meat.
- Elihu; Job 34:3.

The senses pick and choose from all that is about. They are interpreters,
each with its own language to translate reality to our being. And they are editors,
compiling their separate views, a taste, a touch, a sound.
Our sense of hearing brings the power to penetrate beyond the grasp of
more limited feelings. Hearing is a doorstep to higher sense.
How shall we believe, except we hear?

chapter six

LIGHT OF THE BODY

"
Let there be light."
So said the Creator in the first recorded statement of the Holy Scriptures.
The primal necessity for light before all other undertakings in the Book of
Genesis witnesses to the superiority of this stimuli above the lesser five senses.
In the historical chronicle of humanity, in all enterprises whether lofty or
mundane, light and sight are preeminent prerequisites.
Stimuli for our sense of sight comes from a portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum. This energy system possesses a vast array of attributes. The whole
spectrum is a collection of many different kinds of energy, but all united into one
great assemblage. Actually, energy is the constituent substance of matter, it is
the stuff of which matter is made. And, therefore, matter is stored energy.
Nuclear bombs can convert matter into energy, and trees can convert energy into
matter.
Under varying conditions matter will give off diverse forms of energy.
Combustion allows wood to give off thermal energy. And the thermonuclear
hydrogen fusion taking place in the sun creates a whole smorgasbord of
energies. They are called electromagnetic, and make up a vibration range of 70
octaves. Included in this "key board" are sections of energy which have been
named Gamma, X, Light, TV, Infra-red, Ultra-violet, Radio, and Radar.
The first of our seven senses, balance involved energy from the earth
beneath. Now this sixth sense directs our perceptions upward and outward,
further into space. To our star, the sun. From it come the varied frequencies of
electromagnetic power pulsing throughout the solar system. This power is
transmitted at a rate of 186,000 miles per second (300,000 km p sec). It travels
along a spiral path in three-dimensional space (from the side this track has the
appearance of a two-dimensional wave). Different kinds and amounts of energy
travel in their own distinctive wave forms. Large quantities move in small waves,
while large waves carry small amounts of energy.
 Does light require or have a medium for its propagation? Or does it really
travel through an empty vacuum? We know that sound travels because oxygen
and nitrogen air molecules are already vibrating by themselves at a speed of
1,000 mph (1,609 kph) and they can boost and convey the mechanical energy
which later becomes known as sound. And the resultant speed of sound (760
mph or 1,222 kph) is 24% less than the speed of air molecules (or, molecular
vibration is 31% faster then sound speed).
With the above in mind, it could be that the reason no medium for light
transmission has been discovered is that it would have to be composed of
infinitesimal particles vibrating at speed greater than light's. About 245,000 mps
(395,000 kph). This so-called ether medium would have to be a substance of
great potency, density, infinity, and eternity. Our physical senses simply cannot
discover such a dimension.
Whatever the case, our sense of sight is tuned in to a limited part of the
broad electromagnetic range, that is, light. This is a narrow band only about
1/70th of the whole spectrum. Visible light stimulates visual sensory cells. But
we cannot see X-rays, and other cosmic radiation. Light itself is also a spectrum,
a unity of parts, a homogeneity of diversity. Light is made up of colors. Again,
here is an orderly plan with colors being a part of light which is a part of
electromagnetism.
Light may be described by the same three basic terms used for sound:
frequency, intensity, and quality. Simply put, the frequency of light waves gives
the various hues, or colors. The basic ones are red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
indigo, and violet. Human eyes are said to be able to distinguish 10,000,000
individual colors.
Intensity is the quantity (value, or brightness) of light, and goes from white
to gray to black; or, in colors, from tints to shades. We can detect some 500
shades of grayness. Quality (purity, saturation, or strength) means the hue's
weakness or strength. That is the amount of color (Intensity is the amount of
light), and ranges from pale to deep.

Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing

it is for the eyes to behold the sun.
- Solomon; Ecclesiastes 11:7.

With the five previously mentioned sense we are able to detect

characteristics which are more directly related (inherent) to the stimuli. Balance
and Touch put us in contact with the very obvious physical aspects of a thing. A
flavor or odor molecule is a distinct sensation all by itself. And feelings, flavors,
and sounds arise as a product of a particular material object. But the earth, an
apple, a violin do not produce the light which makes them visible. Light comes
from an outside source, it must be given. Light is a servant which must come to
present to our eyes a vision of the world.
As with sound, light exhibits its own host of additional characteristics when
its energy interacts with the environment. These features are secondary to the
basic attributes of frequency, intensity, and quality. First there is Transmission.
Light travels through objects which are translucent. Such transparent material
may be a solid, like glass, a liquid such as water, or a gas. Generally we are
familiar with light transmission through "empty outer space" and our earth's
gaseous atmosphere. In contrast, sound travels much better through a three
types of matter, especially liquid and solid. Sunlight may go through millions of
miles of outer space and thousands of miles of earth's atmosphere. It can
penetrate the oceans a few hundred feet, but will hardly enter the soil more than
a few millimeters. With sound it is the opposite. A sound can go only a few
thousand feet through the air before it is dissipated, but travels hundreds of miles
through the ocean depths as sonar or the song of the humpback whale, and it will
pass thousands of miles through solid rock as earthquake shock waves.
Moreover, the speed of sound increases when it is in a more solid medium. That
accounts for the tremors of mine blasting shaking a house a few seconds before
aerial sounds rattle the windows.
There are six more behavioral aspects of light. Reflection is when light
bounces off an object. This is seen as mirror reflections or the shining highlights
of smooth polished surfaces. A highlight is an image of the light source, for
example, a tiny sun or light bulb appearing on a piece of china or porcelain.
Refraction is the change of direction light makes when crossing the interface
(boundary) of two different substances. Light changes course slightly when
going from air through water, which accounts for the "broken" straw seen in a
filled beverage glass. This also causes the focusing produced by lenses.
Diffraction is a very slight turning of light waves when they strike a sharp edge.
This may break light into many colors. Scattering is the random reflection, or
dissipation, of light caused by very fine particles. Often scattering breaks light
into colors, and this apparently causes blue skies. When large particles of water
vapor scatter all light waves equally, the appearance is of white clouds.
Interference happens when a thin layer such as a film of oil interferes with light
transmission and splits and scatters the colors to produce an iridescent effect.
This is similar to diffraction, only instead of an edge, light encounters a surface
layer. Finally, absorption refers to the amounts of light taken up and/or given off
(reflected) by an object. If all light is absorbed, the object appears black; if all
light is returned, the appearance is white; is selected wavelengths are absorbed
and others reflected, then colors appear.
We can look back and see how each of the senses has a different range
of qualities. For example, the three aspects of touch or the four (5) flavors. And
the eye and ear have a similar scale of sensitivities. Light and sound may both
be described by three characteristics: frequency (color & pitch), intensity
(brightness & loudness), and quality (saturation & identity). And they share a
further range of comparable dynamic features -- transmission, reflection,
refraction, diffraction, scattering, interference, absorption. Compare the six
senses so far and notice how each sensory spectrum grows larger and larger.
Now to consider the organs and cells which give us sight.

What a curious workmanship is that of the eye,

which is in the body, as the sun in the world; set
 in the head as in a watchtower, having the softest
nerves for receiving the greater multitude of spirits
necessary for the act of vision.
-Charnock.

Two spheres create vision, the Sun, the Eye. The eye has several special
parts. First, is the cornea which is the outer layer of the eyeball and includes
three pairs of muscles. It has no temperature receptor nerves. Its clear
membrane in front slows and bends (refracts) the incoming light. Next is the
aqueous humour, a watery liquid also helping to refract the light. The entryway
for light is provided by the iris. This colored ring can change its inner diameter
and control the amount of light allowed into the eye. The small round entrance
formed by the iris is the pupil. Behind the iris, some 2,000 protein fibers make
up the lens, which is the major light refracting part of the eye. (The lens and the
cornea are the only truly transparent solid body tissues, and they are living
tissue). The interior of the eyeball is filled with a permanent, pressurized,
transparent jelly-like material, the vitreous humour. It maintains the shape of the
eyeball and also refracts light.

The eye hath euer bene thought the pearle of the face.
John Lyly, 1580.

Where light begins to become sight is in the retina. This is a layer of

nerve cells covering the inner part of the eye. As the other senses do, the eye
has specialized cells which are able to detect and respond to a particular type of
stimuli. Seventy percent of all our body's sensory receptors (sensing cells) are in
our eyes. These light detecting cells are of two types, rods and cones.
Each eye has 120,000,000 rod cells and 7,000,000 cone cells. The total
240 million rod cells give us a perception of the lightness or darkness of what we
see. To detect color, and provide more refined sensing abilities, we have the 14
million cone cells. Cone cells give better vision because each cell is connected
to a nerve, but four rod cells have to share a single nerve and so give a coarser
view. All these cells, a quarter of a billion, react in response to the energy waves
of the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. They convert that energy
to nerve energy which is sent along 1,000,000 optic tract fibers to the brain.
So the cornea, aqueous humour, iris, lens, vitreous humour, and retina
form the immediate portion of this sense. And the last part is the visual cortex in
the brain.

Our sight is the most perfect and the most delightful

of all our senses; it fills the mind with the largest variety
of ideas; converses with its objects at the greatest
distance, and continues the longest in action without
being tired or satiated with its proper enjoyments.
Joseph Addison.
 Sight is by much the noblest of the senses. We receive
our notices from the other four, through the organs
of sensation only. We hear, we feel, we smell, we taste,
by touch. But sight rises infinitely higher. It is refined above
matter, and equals the faculty of spirit.
Laurence Sterne.

Eyes not only receive, they give. Eyes themselves are the most
expressive of the sense organs.

That fine part of our constitution, the eye, seems as much

the receptacle and seat of our passions, appetites,
and inclinations, as the mind itself; at least it is the
outward portal to introduce them to the house within,
or rather the common thoroughfare to let our affections
pass in and out. Love, anger, pride, and avarice, all
visibly move in those little orbs.
Joseph Addison.

The eye speaks with an eloquence and truthfulness

surpassing speech. It is the window out of which
the winged thoughts often fly unwittingly. It is the tiny
magic mirror on whose crystal surface the moods of feeling
fitfully play, like the sunlight and shadow on a quiet stream.
Henry Tuckerman.

Of the six physical, "earthy" senses so far considered, the eye and sense
of sight are much superior to the other five. These are positioned high in the
body above the others, and are tuned in to the most potent and far reaching of all
the physical stimuli. Other senses are restricted to earthly realms, the eye is not
so limited, but is the only one which is very well usable in outer space. And with
its associated structures, the lids, brows, lashes, and nearby facial areas, the eye
takes on a personality of its own. Eyes not only receive the most information of
the outer environment, but they also communicate the most of our inner worlds to
other beings around us.

The eye is the window of the soul; the intellect and

will are seen in it. The animals look for man's intentions
right into his eyes. Even a rat, when you hunt and
bring him to bay, looks you in the eye.
Hiram Powers.

Eyes are bold as lions, roving, running, leaping here and

there, far and near. They speak all languages; wait for
no introduction; ask no leave of age or rank; respect neither
poverty nor riches, neither learning nor power, nor virtue, nor sex,
 but intrude and come again, and go through and through you
in a moment of time. What inundation of life and thought is
discharged from one soul into another through them!
Ralph Waldo Emerson.

As the language of the face is universal, so it is very

comprehensive. It is the shorthand of the mind, and crowds
a very great deal into a little room. A man may look a
sentence as soon as speak a word.
Jeremy Collier.

I am persuaded that there is not one single sentiment,

whether tending to good or evil in the human soul, that
has not its distinct interpreter in the glance of the eye,
and in the muscling of the countenance. When nature is
permitted to express herself by this language of the face,
she is understood by all people, and those who were never
taught a letter can instantly read her signatures and
impressions, whether they be of wrath, hatred, envy,
pride, jealousy, vexation, contempt, pain, fear, horror, and
dismay; or of attention, respect, wonder, surprise, pleasure,
transport, complacence, affection, desire, peace, lowliness,
and love.
Broke. (Rupert Brooke?).

The eye itself shows a spectrum of feelings. Eyes display the colors of the
heart and soul. The eye is a crowning jewel in the array of the senses. It can be
the most unselfish of the senses. Eyes do not merely take in and consume more
and more physical substance, eyes give. Eyes are the lucid panes through
which the light of our inner being travels outward to light and brighten beings and
hearts around us.

Lovers are angry, reconciled, entreat, thank,

appoint, and finally speak all things by their eyes.
Michel E. de Montaigne.

...Navarre is infected.
With that which we lovers entitle affected.
Why all his behaviors did make their retire.
To the court of his eye, peeping through desire:
His heart, like an agate, with your print impressed,
Proud with his form, in his eye pride express'd:
His tongue, all impatient to speak and not see,
Did stumble with haste in his eyesight to be;
All senses to that sense did make their repair,
To feel only looking on fairest of fair:
 Methought all his senses were lock'd in his eye,
As jewels in crystal for some prince to buy;
. . . .
But to speak that in words which his eye hath disclos'd:
I only have made a mouth of his eye,
By adding a tongue which I know will not lie.
Boyet, in Act II, Scene I,
"Love's Labours Lost"; Shakespeare.

A beautiful eye makes silence eloquent; a kind eye

makes contradiction an assent; an enraged eye makes
beauty deformed. This little member gives life to every
other part about us.
Joseph Addison.

A bride with beautiful eyes

` need not worry about her figure.
Hoshaia Zeera.

There is yet more to the sense of sight. There is another spectrum of

perceptions which the eyesight possesses. Besides the physics of light
(frequency, refraction, interference, etc.) and the physiology of the eye (cone
cells, cornea, etc.), there is the psychological aspect of perception.
Each of our senses has a differing capacity for awareness. An arbitrary
index of this perceptive capacity would rate the senses as follows (on a scale of
100 points): eyes = 90; ears = 75; nose = 25; taste = 40; touch = 30; balance =
10. This estimate gives an idea of how the senses compare to one another.
Eyes are used most of the day, observe more and have greater potential than the
lesser senses. The nose can operate all the time, but we usually apply more
attention to taste. Touch and balance are in continuous operation, though with
less apparent perceptions.
Sight and hearing account for most of what we learn. And one of the
reasons we have not realized that there are seven senses is because of the
limited ability, conscious presence, and our active awareness of the sense of
balance. Our sense consciousness increases from balance up to sight. Balance
is such an unappreciated physical action, and the body is so bulky an object
(compared to the eye, for example), that our sense of equilibrium must operate
mostly unconsciously. It is easier to acknowledge the higher senses. Trying to
concentrate on our sense of balance is difficult, and there is actually a special
organ in the seventh sense that relegates balance to an unconscious mode of
operation.
Some of the basic elements which form the spectrum of visual perception
are: Light, Color, Line, Form, Texture, Movement, and Perspective. Light is
the energy which comes from matter and in turn makes matter visible. Light is
the staple visual substance, it makes possible all these sight perceptions. Colors
are the components of light, the visual spice of sight. Almost each kind of tree
has its own color identity, and colors form tapestries of great beauty in the skies.
Line is the simplest, subtlest, perhaps most important aspect of a visible
object. Lines can exhibit the essence of a material form. Line is one-
dimensional and described as vertical, horizontal, diagonal, straight, curved,
regular, or irregular. Skin on hands, pencil sketches, river and stream drainage
patterns, borders of leaves create some very interesting lines.
Take a line, close it, and you have a form. Form is probably the most
familiar visual detail. A form may be two dimensional (a shape) or three
dimensional (a solid). Examples are an egg, mountain, silhouette, vase, and all
the variety of geometric and natural figures. Texture is a characteristic of an
object's surface, and is made up of the light, color, and line features. Texture is
defined by a variety of terms from rough to smooth, open to closed, coarse to
fine. It is t closely related to the sense of touch. Our hand's gripping power is
related to the skin's textured tread of hundreds of tiny ridges.
Movement (which can be associated with the sense of balance) is the
changing of position of matter within three dimensional space. It can be
described as forward/backward, up/down, left/right (in the context of linear
motion), [or, pitch, roll, yaw (in the form of axial motion)]; fast/slow;
accelerating/decelerating; laminar/turbulent. A closely related characteristic is
perspective, which is our perception of distance, size, and location of an object in
relation to its surroundings.
Finally, when all the aspects from light to perspective are put together, the
result is a visual composition. It is the sum of all we see.

It is wonderful indeed to consider how many objects

the eye is fitted to take in at once, and successively in
an instant, and at the same time to make a judgment
of their position, figure, and color. It watches against
dangers, guides our steps, and lets in all the visible objects,
whose beauty and variety instruct and delight.
Richard Steele.

Once we can see, we need not touch a sharp edge, smell a rotten
cantaloupe, taste a green persimmon, or walk on an icy path. Still, our eyes are
properly limited in their ability to see.

If the eye were so acute as to rival the finest

microscope, and to discern the smallest hair upon the
leg of gnat, it would be a curse, and not a blessing
to us; it would make all things appear rugged and
deformed; the most finely polished crystal would be
uneven and rough; the sight of our own selves would
affright us; the smoothest skin would be beset all over
with rugged scales and bristly hair.
Richard Bently.
 And many have noticed that the closer we look at the works of man, the
more imperfections we see. But the closer we look at nature, the more beautiful
design and excellence there is. Yet we do see more than we are aware of. And
our eyesight takes in much more than we can describe.

The eye is continually influenced by what it cannot detect;

nay, it is not going to far to say that it is most influenced
by what it detects least. Let the painter define, if he can,
the varieties of line on which depend the change of
expression in the human countenance.
John Ruskin.

This brief description of the first six of the seven senses is completed.
The real sixth sense is eyesight. (The commonly accepted, so-called "sixth
sense" that is related to ExtraSensory Perceptions is actually but a tiny part of
the seventh sense).
Once again, note that this is a third binary sense group. Balance and
touch, taste and the nose, eyes and ears -- each of these pairs forms a natural
combination. This last pair comprises the Intellectual, or Educated, senses.
Eyes and ears, light and sound, seeing and hearing account for the dominant
position of the third binary group. The hearing ear and seeing eye give our mind
a thrust and span beyond the body. These two make up the binocular (two eyes)
and binaural (two ears) senses.
Vibrations of sounds or radiation of light are not the sole concern of these
two. Rather, those stimuli serve to make audible and visible the environment we
live in. It is not the sound or light, but the things that make sounds and the things
that light reveals. These two senses and their cells and organs are marvelously
more sophisticated than the other four senses.
The eyes surpass the ears in perceptual ability.
Yet. . .

Of all our senses, hearing may be the most subtly

attuned. A sound, once produced, is gone immediately.
So, we listen more intently than we look. And we may
perceive more completely a sound that we hear unexpectedly
in a fraction of a moment, than we perceive a building we pass
every day, or a picture that hangs on the wall for years.
Nor are we trained to recognize visual devices as we
recognize verbal ones.
John Canaday, Keys To Art.

We learn more about language, speech, and music than about what can
be seen. But, still . . .

We credit most our sight; one eye doth please

 our trust far more than ten ear-witnesses.
Robert Herrick.

And, "a picture is worth a thousand words". Seeing is believing, most of

the time anyway.
Our ears can hear the 7 notes of the diatonic musical scale, some 1,500
psychological pitch steps, and 300,000 frequency tones. The eye can discern
100 basic hues, 500 shades, 10,000,000 individual colors, and the many
subtleties of line, form texture, etc.
Sound is molecular energy and travels about 760 mph (1,222 kph) through
the air. Light is the energy of sub-atomic particles travelling at a speed of
670,000,000 mph (1,078,000,000 kph). Hearing has a range of 200 yards (600
feet, 183 meters) for voices, and even 3 miles to 10 miles (5 to 16 km) or so for
other sounds. Sound can travel where light cannot (in caverns and through
walls), and light goes where no sound may (the vast Cosmos).
Hearing is limited to earth. But light! Seeing surpasses the lesser five
senses. Light's realm is the Universe, vision's boundary is Infinity.
With eyesight we have come close to the summit of physical perception.
Other sensations are as so mere dust when compared to the ethereal spectrum
of sight. Honey gives a sweet flavor, but what is a flavor compared to the visual
delights of 250,000 + kinds of flowers? Snow is cold to the touch, but no two
snowflakes have the same appearance.

All things are full of labor;

man cannot utter it:
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
King Solomon, Ecclesiastes 1:8.

Light and sight are a end and a beginning. A culmination of physical

earthy perceptions, but a preface to stimuli and perceptions, but a preface to
stimuli and perceptions of a greater sense which transcends even light and
vision. Guy Murchie, in Music of the Spheres, speaks of light,

...its immateriability is probably the most measurable

connecting link between the physical and mental worlds.

chapter seven

THE CAPITOL OF THE SENSES

The purpose of sensation is to create perception. To enable our

consciousness in this mortal physical body to be expanded outward into this
earth world, and beyond. Physical stimuli is the offspring from the surrounding
environment, and finds an audience in the form of special sensory cells and
organs. Our body and environment are matched as receiver and transmitter.
But gravity, heat, chemicals, and molecular or subatomic vibrations mean
nothing by themselves. The sensory stimuli are foreign languages to us. So the
specific detecting cells must transform the worldly messages into the bodily
understanding. Even when the skin, nose, or ears receive sensory data, we still
do not know that we have felt, smelled, or heard. These senses put all they learn
into the form of electro-chemical nerve impulses. Such electric pulsations are
then passed on to a greater sense, the seventh sense.
Emerging from a prism, light blossoms into colors. When colors are
reunited they then take on the nature of pure colorless light. The six lesser
senses are like colors. Each is different, possessing its own particular viewpoint.
Hands feel. Ears hear. What it learns the sense translates into nerve impulses,
the language of our seventh sense. Such sensory pulses from the six lesser
senses become the stimuli for the super sense. Just as colors may be put
together to make pure light, so all six senses amalgamate in one grand
perception -- Awareness. How? By the power and guidance of the seventh
sense.
{Physical sensation conveyed through physiological cell, organs, and
systems now conceives psychological perception. Actually it is our seventh
sense that activates the other six. The seventh sense supplies nerve pathways
to bring in the information the senses have gathered. The seventh sense truly
transforms a physical world around into the mental world within. The supreme
seventh sense brings into being and reality the varied kinds of merely material
and technically describable attributes of this world.
We've seen how each sense is tuned to its own appropriate and distinctive
spectrum. Taste, for example, responds to matter's chemical nature and discerns
an array of sweet, salty, sour, and bitter flavors. But here the feelings of balance,
touch, taste, smell, hearing, and vision become the ingredients for the stimuli
spectrum of the capital sense. And just as each of the previous six sensory
spectra have included progressively more and more parts, so, in a crescendo of
sentient powers, our brain's capacity transcends all lesser senses.
Balance is concerned with simple qualities, position and movement.
Touch has three basic attributes. Taste pertains to four simple flavors, smell to
thousands of fragrances, hearing to more thousands of sounds. And sight has
such refined ability as to be able to detect some ten million colors and many
other more esoteric phenomena as pattern, line, texture, etc. And so the brain
continues this increase in perceptual magnitude. Mental capacity and brain
function are immensely superior to other senses and their processes. Because
the seventh sense depends upon the other six as a tree upon its roots. There is
more to a tree than just drawing up water and storing nutrients. A tree has a
creative purpose of which roots are servants.
Each sense is unconsciousness. The eye does not see the ear does not
hear (and so on for nose, taste, touch, balance), till their own stimuli have
entered the Mind, the heart of the sensory system. It is the Mind/Brain which
sees and is conscious; within its own domain and in projecting consciousness
onto the outer world. The six senses supply their knowledge so that awareness
may come into fruition. The brain sits atop a vast intricate system unifying
divergent perspectives into the stream of comprehension.
In the realm of our seventh sense, information about the physical world is
only a part of our brain's concern. Unknown to our conscious minds, the brain
also monitors and responds to data from the body's inner world of reproduction,
respiration, fluid circulation digestion, cell growth, wound healing, and much
more. All these facets form a spectrum of subconscious sensations. And to top it
all off, a third dimension of our seventh sense is devoted to psychological,
intellectual, and metaphysical concerns.
For the moment, consider this, our seventh sense has the job of
synthesizing all the variety of incoming impulses from the other senses. They
are simply collection agencies, each one given a territory and something to
gather. But the brain is the only real sensory facility.
The brain puts together the responses of the eyes and creates a Sense Of
Vision. Two billion visual information signals per second come into the brain
through 2,000,000 optic nerve fibers each of which caries 1,000 bits of
information per second from our eyes' 254,000,000 receptors cells which have
detected multiple trillions of "particles" of light entering the eye. And we see.
Fifty to sixty thousand auditory nerve fibers convey to the brain their
responses to the movements of tiny cell hairs which were caused by vibrations of
cochlear fluid set in motion by a pair of three-bone lever arrangements connected
to the ear drums which move to the rhythm of the pulses of mechanical energy
travelling in waves through the surrounding atmosphere. Thus we hear.
We smell chemicals in the atmosphere when molecules excite the nose's
1,000,000 olfactory cells into sending messages through a series of fibers, bulbs,
tracts, and specialized areas to a sub-organ of the brain. Flavor chemicals
become taste when 150,000 gustatory cells in 10,000 taste buds send data
through three nerve lines which pass through the brain stem to a brain sub-organ
(the thalamus) and then into the brain proper.
Contact (touch and pressure), temperature, and pain are what the brain
deciphers from information sent in over an extensive network of nerve fibers
which bring in the feelings sensed by over 3,666,000 sense cells of several
types.
Position and movement are sensed through a diverse system of
specialized cells placed throughout the body. A trio of fluid-filled tubes in each
internal ear, four tiny egg-shaped containers whose fluid-covered microscopic
crystals contact minute hairs which send their responses, and, many other cells
located in muscles and skin -- all send their own messages to the brain's body
sense receiving area. Thus the movements of muscles, bones, fluid, crystals,
and hairs are interpreted to become the mostly unconscious but basic and
foundational sense of balance.
All of that comes to the brain. Sense information is to the brain what light
is to the eye, a stimulus. We cannot see, hear, smell, taste, touch, and balance
without the brain to receive that input. Each sense possesses special
components to monitor different environmental stimuli. The brain however needs
only to deal with the electrochemical nerve impulses sent out by the sense
organs.
The basic brain cell is the nerve. An average one has three parts. Its
headquarters is the cell body, the largest portion. Next, the axon is a long (few
inches to three feet), slim usually insulated fiber. This connects with other
nerves and carries data to the brain. Dendrites are delicate fibers branching off
from the cell, and are able to bring in more reports to be transmitted to the brain.
There are many kinds of brain nerves. Some send messages in to the
brain, and some carry information from it out to the body. Others convey data
between one nerve and another. These operational types of cells are called
Afferent (bearing in), Efferent (carrying out), and Internuncial (a messenger
between). It is mostly the afferent nerves that are related to the six other senses
by bringing in data about light, heat, flavor, etc. So only a part of the nervous
system is sensory. However, some outgoing efferent fibers are involved with the
sense of balance. They carry messages to the voluntary muscles which are
responsible for maintaining position and moving the body. These are the motor
nerves.
Over 100,000,000,000 cells (one for every 1,000 body cells make up the
nervous system. Most (90%) of these are support cells. Called Glia, they
surround, insulate, and feed active nerve cells. Active nerves do not take
nourishment directly from the blood, rather the glia intercept and pass on the
nutrients. They are dieticians of the nervous system, thus leaving the other 10%
of the cells to do the sensing.
Ninety per cent of the body's 10 to 14 billion working neurons are in the
brain. And every one is unique, no two the same, like sensory snowflakes.
Everyone has its extended dendrites arranged in a different pattern. The
neurons are like a dense primeval forest of leafless trees, their limbs and
branches threading through and across one another. Through their hundreds of
branches each cell becomes connected with 60,000 to 300,000 other neurons.
Each branch overlaps many others, or may end near another neuron. Where two
of these join is a Synapse. In the brain there are some five hundred trillion
(500,000,000,000,000) of these interconnecting terminals, the synapses.
The synapse is a narrow gap where information must transfer from one
cell to another further down the line. Sensory data is carried by electrochemical
impulses. At the synapse this impulse is carried by chemical elements across to
the other nerve cell. Two of three chemicals will travel together to deliver this
electro-pulse. The trio is potassium, sodium, and chlorine. If potassium takes
along sodium, then the other nerve will respond and transmit the sensory
message. But if chlorine and potassium go instead, then the nerve is inhibited
and does not relay the message. And only when the overall effect of several
positive impulses is sufficient does the receiving neuron send the information on
to the brain.
From throughout the body nerve fibers join 31 pairs of branch lines which
enter the spinal cable. This vast network of spinal nerves is mainly associated
with the senses of touch and balance. That's because the other four sub-brain
senses and their nerves are in the head. (Although, remember, the most
sensitive cells for balance and touch also are in the head, in the inner ear and
mouth-nose-tongue areas). The head has 12 pairs of cranial nerves, which
serve the ears, eyes, nose, and tongue. All 43 pairs of nerve lines form the root
system of our awareness, bringing in the raw material to be processed and
manufactured into perception. Like a river's vast watershed our body's sensory
tributary system gathers the many droplets of showering stimuli which impinge
upon its outer reaches.
The spinal nerve trunk enters the head and then branches upward into
several specialized organs and to the main receiving station of the seventh
sense, the cerebrum. The brain has several parts. At the lower rear of the brain
is the cerebellum. It is a non-conscious monitor and manager for the sense of
balance. The cerebellum maintains muscle tone, governs posture and
equilibrium, synchronizes muscle movements, and strengthens nerve impulses
for muscle contractions. Another special organ, the thalamus, receives and
processes most sensory information, except for that from the sense of smell. It
then relays the properly transformed data to the cerebrum. Each of the other
brain sub-organs (hypothalamus, pituitary, hippocampus, amygdala, pineal body,
and colliculi) performs its own special functions, passes on information tot other
areas, processes sensory impulses, and monitors vital conditions such as body
temperature, heartbeat, and many, many other body rhythms.
Some of the above mentioned organs team up with other neurons to form
two important systems. First, is the reticular activating system (RAS). It monitors
incoming nerve pulses and, like a personal secretary, lets through data which is
most important. By passing on pertinent information, the RAS transforms
physical consciousness into attentive awareness. So when it is necessary to
concentrate, in work, art, sports, or emotional involvements, we are able to do so
without knowing about distractions such as injuries, extreme temperatures, tight
shoes, and so on.
Then there is the limbic system, made of another grouping of organs. It
gives an emotional flavor to our awareness. Our limbic system creates desires,
feelings of comfort or discomfort, and a sense of time.
Man's study and description of the brain has been a long expedition
through the uncharted domain of our innermost being. Throughout history much
of this knowledge has been gotten by the anomalous procedure of damaging
certain parts of a brain and then observing what goes wrong. Destruction, drugs,
and disease have been the tools and learning arena of brain "science". Surgery,
electro-probes, and fearsome chemicals have been used on willing and unwilling
patients. Somewhat like removing the feathers of a bird to see what makes it fly.
In spite of it all the brain has been called "the most highly organized matter
in the universe" by Adrian Hope, who authored the LIFE magazine series on the
brain in the fall of 1971. He added, "It is possible that the brain may be governed
by principles too complex for it to grasp". Perhaps. But why are we able to be
aware of this mystery?
How is it that we are conscious of the complexity? What accounts for the human
ability to know that there is an Unknown? These questions might be answered in
the following chapters.
Back to physiology. The promontory of this bicameral capitol of the
senses is occupied by the cerebrum. This bi-symmetrical organ contains the
executive and decision making capacity and is the preeminent percipient body
organ. It is the main part usually thought of as being the brain.
The cerebrum's most important portion is the outer layer, the cerebral
cortex. The cortex is a one-sixth inch (4mm) thick cloak which makes up 80% of
the volume of the brain. This layer has been folded and convoluted into many
close winding smooth ridges. Certain subdivisions of this cortical geography are
the provinces of specific senses. The back contains the visual cortex, the lower
sides are concerned with hearing, and two ridges along the mid-sides govern
balance and touch. The frontal area is the location of nerve cells which mediate
consciousness, willpower, and judgment.
We need to realize that only the brain is capable of perception. Our brain
enables us to create Reality out of environmental stimuli and sensory impulses.
Perception is created within ourselves and derives from the application of the
senses and the assimilation of sensations. The seventh sense encompasses the
realm of conscious, semi-conscious (e.g. sleep), and sub-conscious (i.e.
physiology and psyche) being. And yet the brain portion of this sense is but the
outer chamber of a further sensory sanctum, the Mind.

Is the brain all there is to the seventh sense? Is this compound of cells,
organs, and electrical impulses the sole source for consciousness, personality,
and character? If so, which brain sub-organs could account for such qualities?
What can be learned from a physiological comparison of human brain with
animal brain?
Consider a group of brains from such creatures as: whale, elephant,
dolphin, man, chimpanzee, cat, and rat. These are in order according to weight,
with man in mid-position. Now the main parts of all these brains are the same,
except for obvious size differences. Each brain contains a cerebellum,
cerebrum, thalamus, hypothalamus, corpus callosum, cerebral cortex, and so
on.
The cell which makes up the nervous system, the neuron, is also present
in each of the seven selected brains. Each mammals neuron has parts similar to
man's. Man, however, does have the most complex dendrite branches. All
brains transfer information by electrochemical nerve pulses. And operation of the
neurons in each creature relies upon the same three chemicals. Each of the
nervous systems has similar sensory actions for the reception and transmission
of proprioceptive (balance), somesthetic (touch), gustatory (taste), olfactory
(smell), auditory (hearing), and visual (sight) stimuli.
These seven brains are also alike in the relating of certain organs with
important functions. For example, specialized areas of each cerebral cortex are
responsible for the greatest levels of awareness. Also, each reticular activating
system controls sleep and directs attention. The hypothalamus is in all seven
creatures an emotion center. The thalamus is the relay station. And the
cerebellum always coordinates muscle movements.
Why make these comparisons? Well, from these physical similarities
among the brains it would seem that humans are only slightly superior to
chimpanzees, dolphins, and whales. From the physiological evidence, that is,
humans seem like a part of the animal world.
But human behavior contrasts greatly with that of any animals. Consider

Man is in a class by himself, having produced automobiles

and astronauts, bridges and brushes, books and buttons
solemnities and societies, symphonies and soliloquies,
calumnies and calamities. Man knows that he exists; he
communicates symbolically; he inquires about himself; he
delves into his origin, his future, his purpose; he is aware of
beauty and order; he has written his history.
Robert L. Kuhn.

Does an "ordinary" brain account for such astounding abilities? Has

something been left out? Physiological studies go on and on trying to find a
physical explanation for the superiority of humans. Yet those attempts just do
not answer the questions. Can human brain explain the human mind? What is
mind? Is human mind really different from animal brain? What else is there?

The Brain is wider than the Sky --

For -- put them side by side --
The one the other will contain
With ease -- and You -- beside --
The Brain is deeper than the Sea
For -- hold them -- Blue to Blue --
The one the other will absorb --
As Sponges -- Baskets do --
The Brain is just the weight of God --
For -- heft them -- Pound for Pound --
And they will differ -- if they do --
As Syllable from Sound.
Emily Dickinson.

chapter eight

MIND - THE HIDDEN DIMENSION

 There is a difference between humans and animals. Humans are not
merely highly developed animals. There are qualities which make us uniquely
human.
Each human has the capacity to know that he or she is an individual.
Humans have the opportunity to develop completely unique personalities. Each
of us can through conscious determination form a special singular character. Of
course, animals do also have individual differences. Each puppy in a litter or
chicken from a clutch has qualities which distinguish it from its fellows.
But human mind allows a person to change thoughts and actions. Our
young can be trained to adhere to guidelines for behavior. We can teach and
learn a wide variety of cultural lifestyles.
While too often absent, patience, tolerance, and forbearance are witness
to the human ability to modify behavior. Human rage can be extinguished by
love, temporarily stifled by feelings of inferiority, or allowed to take hold and run
rampant. But human feelings can be controlled.
We can stand back and look at our lives, and see the self as a separate,
distinct entity. We see our selves inhabiting time as well as space. And we know
that there is a limit to this physical life.
Blaise Pascal wondered:

When I consider the short duration of my life,

swallowed up in the eternity before and after, the little
space which I fill and even can see, engulfed in the
infinite immensity of spaces of which I am ignorant and
which know me not, I am frightened and am astonished
at being here rather than there; for there is no reason
why here rather than there; why now rather than then.
Who has put me here? By whose order and direction
have this place and time been allotted to me?

Individual as we may be, much of our uniqueness depends upon the

coming together of individuals into a greater unity, the Family. We humans are
able to form, develop, design families. Our families -- from pueblo to palace,
from hogan to mansion, from igloo to A-frame -- they are the foundation of human
society. Humans are born helpless and remain relatively so for longer than any
kind of animal. Our infants require nurturing, discipline, and education in order
for them to physically, emotionally, intellectually, and morally survive. There is no
way for the human mind to properly develop without this care. Human mind
needs the family.
A vital tool in teaching and training the baby human and its mind is
communication. What explains human languages? Animals inherit their
language and use it predictably (mostly). But humans talk! Our languages are
manufactured and reshaped daily. We build systems of communication over
centuries, and add, subtract, modify or exchange parts and sections of a
language to serve our wants and needs.
 We have been able to create languages (vocabularies) for specific kinds
of work or play; we have our jokes and songs: we style our words so as to permit
the discussion of great ideas; whether it is necessary it is necessary to speak of
sewers or stars, we humans can create the terminology needed for everything
from ditch digging to space exploration. In this fascinating way everyone may
traverse the vast expanse of inner and outer worlds,, from ancient realms to
future fantasies, all through language. But how did we become endowed with the
ability to communicate? Susanne Langer queries,

If we find no prototype of speech in the highest animals

and man will not say even the first word by instinct,
then how did all his tribes acquire their various
languages? Who began the art which we all have to
learn? And why is it not restricted to the cultured races,
but possessed by every primitive family from darkest Africa to
the loneliness of the polar ice?

Yes, indeed, how did humans acquire language?

But what about the chimpanzees which have been taught to use sign
language? Is this a sign of some hereditary link between animal and human?
No. The key factor is that those animals were taught. Instructed by superior
beings possessing human mind. Another fact is that chimps have the suitable
brain and anatomical capabilities for such learning. (Ducks, pigeons, squirrels
have been taught or learned some surprising intellectual capabilities too!).
Chimps have hands and fingers to do the signing. So it is no great animal
accomplishment, but rather a human one. Showing the superiority of human
mind.
The nature of language is such that we may communicate on several
levels. For example, animals look upon plants as being food, homesites, or
material for some other needful purpose. But let a human look at a particular
flower, say, a Moss Rose. We can see more than just a rose. We can observe
the variety muscosa, species centifolia, genus Rosa, family Rosaceae, order
Rosales, class Dicotyledonae, division Anthophyta, sub-kingdom Embryophyta,
kingdom Plantae, form of existence Life. The human mind can traverse the
whole spectrum of meanings from generalities to specifics, from abstract to
concrete reality. And human mind can explore further to consider the idea of a
thing. What is a rose? Why is a rose?
Human mind can ask....
Human mind seeks to extinguish the darkness of ignorance with the spark
of enlightenment. The human creature seeks a quarry too fleet for animal paws.
A prize which never yields to lion's jaws. And sharp talons of eagles and hawks
can easier pierce and catch the clouds than carry to nest the prey of the soaring
searching mind.
Yes, a mind can wonder; W. H. Thorpe observes;
 I do believe that the quality of the human spirit which
is always aspiring to higher level and which, at its
highest, expresses the ineluctable obligation to seek
and know, to comprehend ever more perfectly, absolute
values, is something which far transcends anything we
have reason to believe exists in the animals. Here, in my
view, there is a dividing line indeed.

And man's mind can wander, untrammeled journeying across the

magnitudes of space and time, from the atom to the galaxy, through the fires of
the hottest suns, beyond the coldest, darkest depths of space, with a swiftness
speedier than light.
Humans seek the highest realities, and worship. Our mind can
seek a Source of Power beyond the reach of the six physical senses. A Reality
which can only be approached through the seventh sense.

Give me now wisdom, an understanding heart, and

knowledge to judge Your people, that I may discern
between good and bad....
King Solomon, I Kings 3:9;
II Chronicles 1:10.

Wisdom is the flowering, the beauty, of the human mind.

We can also appreciate beauty. Of course animals do too, in a way.
Animals usually reject what is "ugly", because it is often something that is out of
harmony with nature. Animals will seek beauty out of an instinctive desire for
harmony and preservation of their kind. Yet, the human mind can consider
beauty for its own sake, seeking to know the why of it, what are the elements that
make up loveliness. Such artistic awareness requires higher mental capacities.
This sense of beauty can reside in our minds.
Animals' lesser nature can be seen in the transformation of an animal's
behavior when it becomes the object of the sincere outgoing concern of the
human mind. Compare the nature of a dog or duck, cow or horse, cat or goose
which has the constant tender care of a human -- to the same animal without
such treatment. Their health is better, even yields of eggs and milk are
measurably greater from cared-for domestic animals that receive kind human
attention. A loving mental attitude has the power to change animal (and human)
life. Love cannot be technically described, but its existence and effects are the
greatest reality we can know.
Humans may comprehend the possibility of selfless love,

First and foremost one has to have a very deep love for
all the animals one comes in contact with, and coupled
with that one must be without fear. Animals can pick
up fear at quite a distance away, and their hearing is far more
accurate than a human being's.
 But things even less perceptible to us than small sounds
can make animals frightened. They seem to me to pick
up fear as a fear-thought enters the mind of the person
dealing with them.
I am absolutely certain that people send out waves of
love or confidence, fear or hate, according to their
circumstances, and that animals are accustomed to this kind
of communication between themselves, and it is quite
hopeless to try to fool an animal.
Barbara Woodhouse,
Talking To Animals.

So what does it all come down to?

Just what is a sense? Why does man have seven of them? We have
seen how the senses make a very orderly system enabling us to carry on our
existence in the world. Going from the sense of balance to sight we observe an
increasing range of sensory capacities. Balance has two simple aspects, touch
has three, taste has four. There are thousands of classified odors, a multitude of
sound characteristics, and millions of colors. From smell to hearing to sight the
quality of perception increases progressively. The eye and ear are much more
involved with the intellectual perception of stimuli, with communication, thinking,
and other mental processes. Sight and hearing are a bridge to the mind from the
perceived physical world. William Wordsworth spoke of "All the mighty world of
eye and ear, both what they half create, and what perceive". Alfred North
Whitehead compares them thus,

With the sense of sight, the idea communicates the emotion,

whereas, with sound the emotion communicates the idea,
which is more direct and therefore more powerful.

But is that statement by an eminent philosopher true? Would listening

bring more feeling than seeing? Consider what William Shakespeare said,

To see sad sights moves more than hear them told;

For then the eye interprets to the ear
The heavy emotion that it doth behold,
When every part a part of woe doth bear.
'Tis but a part of sorrow that we hear:
Deep sounds make lesser noise than shallow fords,
And sorrow ebbs, being blown with wind of words.

Both comments are correct. It depends on the manner of communicating.

Hearing a radio drama is more effective than seeing a cold news story, and
seeing a film of suffering people is more touching than hearing starvation death
statistics. Whatever the case, these two are the greatest of the six lesser senses
and they permit the mind/brain to have enhanced powers.
 The first three senses (taste, touch, balance) are basic, simple and more
closely related to our physical body. The higher three senses (eye, ear, nose)
are more refined and related to the external environment. The first three
generally involve some form of contact with an object (earth, an ice cube,
cheese). While the latter triad deal with more ethereal, tenuous stimuli (odor,
sound, light) that are conveyed through the atmosphere. So we see that the
senses and corresponding stimuli are in orderly positions and complement one
another in a beautiful harmonious manner.
And what is a sense? Simply a special perspective. An individual
viewpoint. As different people would, so the senses look at the world each in
their own way. Seeing what they have been designed to perceive. A sense is a
composition of atoms, molecules, cells, tissues, and organs which is "tuned in" to
detect a particular component of the environment. Matter and Energy provide
the signals. Just as a radio may be built to respond to a particular
station/frequency, so each sense is fine-tuned to pick up its own special sensory
wavelength. The eye is tuned to detect light waves but not X-rays or heat or
sound vibrations; balance is associated with earth's gravitational energy but not
its magnetism; ears notice a limited frequency and intensity range of mechanical
vibrations; temperature receptors are useful within certain degree levels; and the
nose and tongue sense some chemicals while others are odorless or tasteless.
Each sense is like a different channel on a radio. Or the senses could be
compared to kinds of instruments which detect electromagnetic radiation -- radio,
TV, radar, telescope, thermograph, compass., Each radio band (e.g. AM, FM,
shortwave), instrument or sense is prepared to observe a special part of reality.
The senses are like the spectrum of colors, each unique, but able to unite
perfectly with one another to form something greater. A spectrum is a diverse
array of distinctly different parts that make a harmonious whole. And, like the
many peoples of a great country, the mind is more than the sum of its parts.
Just as the other senses are on pairs, so this higher sense has a binary
nature. The mind and brain. Two distinct entities ally to decipher the data from
six sensory agents. Brain is the intermediary between the six senses and the
mind. Brain is the temple, mind the Presence dwelling within. More importantly,
it is mind which provides the spark, the impetus, to elevate physical brain
capacity. It is mind which makes human brain superior to animal brain.
Inadequate understanding has been the basis for past views that there
were only five senses. Lately a so-called "sixth" sense has been postulated, but
it is actually only a part of the seventh sense. Extra Sensory Perception does
exist. Exactly what is its cause, and how it operates, has yet to be discovered.
In The Brain Revolution, Marilyn Ferguson relates another perceptual ability.

Micro-waves create an auditory sensation in many

subjects. The sound may be a buzz, hiss, clicking,
knocking -- seeming to come from behind their heads,
regardless of their turning. Blocking their ears only
enabled them to perceive the microwave sound more
clearly! If the temples were shielded, no sound was
 audible.

If there is some very ethereal medium for the propagation of light, perhaps
there is one for thought too. Compare what Isaiah the prophet said, "And your
ears shall hear a word behind you , saying 'This is the way walk you in it' when
you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left". Interestingly, no matter
which way a person turns they hear a sound from behind! Coincidence? Or
indication of an only barely discovered mystery yet to be revealed?
There is a matter and energy of the mind, however undetectable by the
physical senses. The cruder six know nothing of the substance of the mind, "eye
has not seen, nor ear heard".... And the mind sees what eyes cannot, hears
what ears cannot.
Where did this mind come from?
Evolution?

I believe that there is a fundamentals mystery in my existence

transcending any biological account of the development of
my body (including my brain) with its genetic inheritance and
its evolutionary origin...but this theory [evolution] fails
completely to provide me with an explanation of my origin
as the person I experience my self to be with my
self-awareness and unique personality.
Sir John Eccles, The Human Mind.

chapter nine

WHY ARE THERE SEVEN SENSES ?

Now all seven senses have been described. But why do we have that
many? Aren't there really only five?
The number of senses, just like the number of planets or elements or
insect species or nerve cells, has been subject to revision. But to know that
there are seven senses is simply a matter of opening one's eyes and seeing what
is there. There has for along time been the attitude: "there are five senses, and
only five senses, and that's that!" This is the entrenched, dogmatic approach to
knowledge -- maintain the status quo and don't tell us anything we don't already
know. Opposite this is the agnostic view: "nobody knows how many senses
there are, there could be a million senses, who knows?"
Well, knowing is simple (understanding takes a bit of effort; wisdom....)But
first, look at some of the views that have been expressed over the years.

Aristotle found only five [senses], lumping many under

"feeling". Now we know that 25 is as valid a number as 5,
depending upon our system of classification. Nor are these all
 the senses, the organic sense located in the lining of the
gastrointestinal tract makes possible reports on hunger, thirst,
nausea, and a full bladder. Deeper within the body are systems for
detecting a large variety of changes in chemical and
thermal conditions. Again, all of these sensitivities do not rest
logically in the single class of "feeling" advanced by
Aristotle. In fact, the more we learn about each of our senses, the more
we note the great variety of types of receptor mechanisms
involved in knowing the world and safeguarding our lives. Not 5
nor even 25 are sufficient for the task of maintaining the
complex human organism.
Encyclopedia International.

Does it really "depend upon our system of classification"? Certainly the

body operates on many levels -- cells, organs, tissues, atoms, molecules,
systems. A white blood corpuscle can detect the presence of a bacterium, but it
is not a separate sense. Cells in the bladder wall detect its increasing volume,
but they are not some separate sense. Many parts of the body react to the
"variety of changes in chemical and thermal conditions", but that does not mean
that they are separate senses. They simply serve the seventh sense and are
part of its vast concern.
Systems of classification do not establish facts. They only describe a view
of those facts which are known at the time the system is established. Titus
Lucretius Carus (96 -55 B. C.) thought of four categories of senses: taste, smell,
hearing, and vision being a form of touch. Sir Charles Scott Sherrington (1861 -
1952) also classified four: #1) Proprioceptive - giving information about tissues
deep within the body; #2) Interoceptive - telling about the internal surface of the
body; #3) Exteroceptive - sensing what is happening on the exterior, skin surface
of the body; #4) Distance Receptors - responding to objects at a distanc4e.
The first group above by Titus Carus is a primitive explanation, the second
(Sherrington's) set deals with the location of the stimuli, not with the identification
of what the sense is. Then there is a so-called "modern classification" with four
more: #1) Special - specialized organs in the head; #2) Skin senses - touch,
pain, and temperature; #3) Deep senses - includes deep pain and pressure,
along with muscle, joint, and tendon sensations; #4) Visceral senses - organic
and visceral data. These are given in the Encyclopedia Americana. Again, this is
more of a map of where sense and stimulus may be found. Not an explicit
description of the senses.
Another way of making up four would be to count thusly:#1 is the
Mind/Brain, #2 is the audio-=visual binary sense pair, #3 is the chemical binary,
and #4 is the physical duo.
Moving right along, John Florio wrote in 1578: "These are the fiue [5]
senses of Nature, that is to saye, To See, to Heare, to Feele, to Taste, to Smell,,
but looke howe, when, which, what, and where." (Firste Fruits).
And Dylan Thomas (1914 - 53) mentions in a poem, "When all my five and
country senses see...."
 Lorus and Margery Milne write in The Senses of Man and
Animals3/15/1997 "Aristotle recognized these five, setting a pattern that has
been followed for more than two thousand years".
Speaking of Aristotle, Wilson Bryan Key says, in Subliminal Seduction,
"Aristotle initially explored the significance of our five basic senses: sight,
hearing, taste, feeling, and smell. His definitions ended up in the theological
dogma, and severely restricted Western man's view of himself for nearly 2,000
years. During the Middle Ages the concept of five senses was integrated into
scholastic philosophy...."
And, let's not forget Will Shakespeare,

But O, what banquet wert thou to the taste,

Being nurse and feeder of the other four!
stanza 75, Venus and Adonis.

In faith I do not love thee with mine eyes,

For they in thee a thousand errors note;
But 'tis my heart that loves what they despise,
Who in despite of view is pleased to dote.
Nor are mine ears with thy tongue's tune delighted
Nor tender feeling, to base touches prone,
Nor taste, nor smell, desire to be invited
To any sensual feast with thee alone;
But my five wits, nor my five senses can
Dissuade one foolish heart from serving thee.
Who leaves unsway'd the likeness of a man,
Thy proud heart's slave and vassal wretch to be:
Only my plague thus far I count my gain,
That she that makes me sin, awards me pain.
Sonnet CXLI (141).

Perhaps Evan Esar knows what he says, "The five senses are horse sense,
innocence, common sense, concupiscence, and nonsense".
But why stop at just five?

The five traditional senses were officially

considered man's complete repertoire -- and even
they seemed quite limited.
Marilyn Ferguson, The Brain Revolution.

From the very beginning of Western psychology,

special sense organs have been the recognized seats of
man's power to see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. Modern
anatomical and physiological investigations have discovered
additional sense organs and increased our knowledge of
 such organs as the eye and the ear. In consequence, the
traditional enumeration of the five senses has been
enlarged to include other modes of sensitivity.
Mortimer Adler, Charles Van Doren,
Great Treasury of Western Thought.

A "mode of sensitivity" is Not a sense. An organ, by itself is not even a

sense. A sense may have many sub-organs performing specialized functions,
but each of those sub-organs does not comprise a sense of its own. We will
need to understand the matter of the sensory spectrum, later in this chapter, to
see how all our various sensations are organized.

In Germany it has of late been attempted to be

shown that every man is possessed of a sixth sense.
J.M. Good, The Study of Medicine (1829).

William Rose Benét comments the following definition of this "sixth sense":
"A general sense assumed as the medium of perception in cases where none of
the five traditional senses seems to fit. This 'general' common sense is often
called the sixth sense. It is viewed as having the entire body as its organ or as
not being in need of a specific organ at all. Its name is a translation of the Latin
sensus communis. The signification 'good sense', 'horse sense' is a more recent
development. It seems to imply, on the basis of 18th Century philosophy, that
what is common to all human beings must be sound."
This is the well-known sixth sense of ESP fame. A mysterious ability to
know. Louisa Rhine says, "...the mind must have an ability to get information
without the senses . . . somehow the unconscious part of the mind can 'know'
items of information concerning the external world without the help of the senses.
...the physical answer about man is inadequate. It does not account for all of
him. Man's nature does include a nonphysical component."
Actually the "sixth" sense is part of the seventh sense. But we continue.
Let's see, four, five, six . . . ah, yes, seven. did anybody ever suppose there to
be seven peceptibilities? Of course.

You frighten me out of my seven senses.

Jonathan Swift, Polite Conversation (1738).

Huzzaed out of my seven senses.

Joseph Addison, The Spectator, (1711).

[She] was scared out of her seven senses.

Francois Rabelais, Book IV, ch 13, (1694).

I am almost frightened out of my seven senses.

Miguel Cervantes, Don Quixote, (1605).
 William Rose Benét in The Reader's Encyclopedia gives this explanation
of the above literary references: "According to ancient teaching, the soul of man,
or his 'inward holy body', is compounded of the seven properties which are under
the influence of the seven planets. Fire animates, earth gives the sense of
feeling, water gives speech, air gives taste, mist gives sight, flowers give hearing,
the south wind gives smelling; hence the seven senses are animation, feeling,
speech, taste, sight, hearing, and smelling."
Well, that's close. "Animation" would refer to body movement, which
requires the use of the sense of balance. And "speech", the offspring of hearing,
is a product of the intellect, the mind. So here we have a rudimentary expression
of seven senses. But it is not stated plainly, instead the senses are associated
with the planets ( we now identify nine), and with "properties", i.e. fire, water, air,
etc. This connection of the seven senses with other objects may have helped
keep the concept from being accepted by the intellectual establishment. Mainly,
though, it was "five" that became The number.
And, why stop at seven? John Pfeiffer thinks, in The Human Brain, "The
number of senses is not known exactly. It is certainly more than five and
probably somewhere around twenty." Don't stop there, remember the
Encyclopedia International: Now we know that 25 is as valid a number as 5....
Not 5 nor 25 are sufficient...." Could there be more?
Let Wilson Bryan Key tell us, "Ancient and primitive sensory concepts,
such as Aristotle's five senses, are still the basic orientation in most U.S. schools,
even universities. Teachers often rationalize that any mention of the thirty-seven
known senses might confuse children...."
Thirty-seven?
How plain it is. There are four senses. No, five. Well, maybe a sixth.
Possibly seven. Twenty, anyone? How about twenty-five? Surely thirty-seven!
There you have it All the word of experts in their chosen field.
Confusing? Don't worry, it gets worse.
In Book III of On The Soul, Aristotle said:

That there is no sixth sense in addition to the five

enumerated--sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch -- may be
established by the following considerations: If we have
actually sensation of everything of which touch can give
us sensation...; and if absence of a sense necessarily
involves absence of a sense-organ; and if (1) all objects
that we perceive by immediate contact with them are
perceptible by touch, which sense we actually possess, and
(2) all objects that we perceive through media, i.e. without
immediate contact, are perceptible by or through the
the simple elements, e.g. air and water...; and if of the
simple elements two only, go to form sense-organs...;
and if these sense organs are actually found in certain
animals; -- then all the possible senses are possessed by
those animals that are not imperfect or mutilated; so that,
 if there is no fifth element and no property other than those
which belong to the four elements of our world, no sense
can be wanting to such animals.

Obviously. Maybe the above is the gist of Aristotle's idea that there is not
another sense besides his five. the problem there is in trying to link the number
of senses to the number of other objects in this world, elements of various kinds.
Anyway, his incomplete (wrong) surmise became established.

The Jewish Encyclopedia gives an interesting definition of the

"five"senses, and shows a little of how scholars tried to establish knowledge by
relating, connecting, linking, and associating dissimilar subjects; trying to prove
that there are five senses because there are five of something else.

According to the Aristotlelian psychology, the human soul

possesses, besides the rational and nutritive faculties, that of
perceiving external objects, through the medium of bodily organs
which are adapted to produce the sensations of sight, hearing,
smell, taste, and touch. This theory entered into Jewish literature
with the introduction of Greco-Arabic philosophy. It was first
propounded by Saadia, who endeavored to show that the five
senses are mentioned in the Bible ("Emonot we-De'ot," ed. Slucki, p
7). Bahya ibn Pakuda ("Hobot ha-Lebabot," ix.5) pointed out the
Mosaic prohibitions that are connected with the five senses, to which
Ibn Gabirol attributed the twenty qualities of the soul (S. Wise, "The
Improvement of the Soul," p 17).
With the exception of certain writers, who regarded speech,
movement, etc., as so many additional senses, the absoluteness of
the number five was universally admitted in the Middle Ages; and
authors like Judah ben Solomon, Shem-Tob ibn Falaquera, and
Zemah Duran even endeavored to demonstrate the in admissibility
of more than five senses. Judeo-Arabic philosophy established a
parallel between the five senses and the faculties of the soul; and for
this reason the former were called "external senses" and the latter
"internal senses." The former were divided into two groups: (1)the
finer or intellectual senses, and (2) the coarser or material ones. To
the first group belonged sight, hearing, and smell; to the second,
taste and touch (Judah ha-Levi, "Cuzari," iii. 5). The superiority of
the first three is shown by the fact that their respective functions are
exercised from a distance and need not come in contact with their
object, while the last two must be in touch with it. Another mark of
superiority of the first three is that they are found only in the higher
animals, while the last two are met with even in the lowest animals.
The external senses perceive objects; but it is the internal which
observe their difference. It is, therefore, the fault of the latter if the
former err (Saadia, 1.c. vi. 98; Bahya, 1.c i. 10).
The senses develop in the child gradually. At the moment of birth
only the coarsest sense, that of touch, is present; after a while
comes the sense of taste; then, at various intervals, appear the
senses of smell, hearing, and sight (Bahya, 1.c. ii.3; Albo, "Sefer
ha-'Ikkarim," iii. 10). Death silences the senses in the inverse order.
The dying lose the sense of sight first, and retain until the last
moment that of touch. Sleep suspends first the sense of touch.
Gershon ben Solomon and many other writers of the Middle Ages
drew a parallel between the five fingers on each hand and the five
senses. Each finger, according to them, stands in a natural
connection with one of the senses: the thumb is attracted to the
mouth; the index, to the nose; the middle finger, to the skin, the
organ of touch; the ring finger, to the eye; the ear-finger to the ear
(Bahya ben Asher, "Shulhan Arba'," p. 8a, Lemberg, 1858). There is
a divergence of opinion between Aristotle and Galen as to the seat
of the central organ of perception, the former placing it in the heart,
while the latter locates it in the brain. With rare exceptions, the
Jewish writers of the Middle Ages sided with Galen.
The five senses were prominent in Biblical exegesis, in the
interpretation of the Haggadah, and in the symbolism of certain
Mosaic prescriptions. Thus Isaac Arama sees in the narrative of
Gen. xxvii. 18-27 the striving of Isaac to replace by the four
remaining senses that of sight, which had failed him (" 'Akedat
Yizhak," p. 62c Venice, 1573). Each of the five priestly prohibitions
(Lev. xxi. 16 et seq.) corresponds, according to Solomon ha-Levi, to
one of the five senses ("Dibre Shelomoh," p. 265c, Venice 1596).
Nathan ben Solomon finds in the "Shema' " ten elements, the first
five of them corresponding to the five internal senses, by which man
arrives at the knowledge of God, and the last five to the five external
senses, which serve him to carry out God's commandments (Mibhar
ha-Ma'amarim," Leghorn, 1840). The three bowls on each branch of
the candlestick in the Temple represented, according to Levi ben
Gershon, the three coarser senses; the knop, the sense of hearing;
the flower, that of sight (Perush 'al ha-Torah," p. 105b). Moses
Iserles sees in the five gates of the Temple a symbol of the five
senses: the western gate typifies the sense of hearing, which is the
symbol of night; the eastern, the sense of sight, which is the symbol
of day; the northern, the sense of touch, which is considered to be
the author of mischief among the senses; while the two southern
gates are symbols of the sun, which ripens the fruits and flowers
whence smell and taste draw their nourishment ("Torat ha-'Olah," i.
7). The five food-offerings are another symbol of the five senses
(Lev. ii.).
The quorum of ten (Minyan), which is required for the holding of
public worship, is, according to Abraham ben Shalom, a symbol of
the five internal and the five external senses. The former five are
 symbolized also by the five compartments of the phylacteries
(Solomon ibn Parhon, "Mahberet he-'Aruk," ed. S. G. Stern, p. 24).

This is a good reference, and deserves a few comments and corrections.

First, note the statements: "According to the Aristotlelian psychology...;" and,
"This theory entered into Jewish literature with the introduction of Greco-Arabic
philosophy." and, "...the absoluteness of the number five was universally
admitted in the Middle Ages; and authors ... even endeavored to demonstrate the
inadmissibility of more than five senses." So, Jewish thinkers simply accepted a
concept from another culture and made it into established teaching, uncorrected.
And all the rest of European culture held the same belief, which came from
Greco-Roman philosophy.
The philosophers made a simple mistake. And the scientists of 'today'
have gone to the other extreme in saying, "Who knows how many senses there
are? It all depends on classification." A common mistake of past ages was to
assume something was true simply because it resembled something else. Five
fingers does not mean five senses. Actually, the whole body can easily be
described as Seven parts (2 legs, + 2 arms, + 1 lower abdominal/visceral area, +
1 upper chest/heart/lung region, + 1 head, = 7) but that does not mean there
have to be seven senses. There are seven apertures in the head (2 eyes, 2 ear
holes, 2 nostrils, 1 mouth), and this doesn't require there be seven senses.
A few corrections to the above Encyclopedia article can be offered. There
are bowls on the candlestick grouped in three's but indeed seven branches on
the candlestick. In Genesis, chapter 27, Isaac was involved with all seven of his
senses: he was lying down (body - balance), he asked for food (taste), he felt the
goat skins on Jacob's arms and neck (touch), he smelled Esau's garment that
Jacob wore (nose), he said "The voice is Jacob's voice" (ears), he could not see
(eyes), he was thinking about what was happening and blessed his son
(brain/mind).
Also there is the "Shema" of Deuteronomy 6:4-9, which (surprise!) can be
seen to have seven parts, while Nathan ben Solomon finds ten.

1. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

2. And you shall love The LORD your God with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and with all your might.
3. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your
heart:
4. And you shall teach them diligently unto your children,
5. and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you
walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.
6. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall
be as frontlets between your eyes.
7. And you shall write them upon the posts of your house, and upon
your gates.

How many of the seven senses can you see involved here?
 Then there is the minyan, this is mentioned in the book of Ruth: "And he
took ten men of the elders...." (4:2). Yes, but it just happens that the man who
gathered the ten, Boaz, is the seventh person named in the book. There are
seven active people, Elimelech, Naomi, Mahlon, Chilion, Orpah, Ruth and Boaz.
There are lots of things in the Bible in all sorts of numerical arrangements,
but this does not have to prove that there are a particular number of other items
which thereby must be put into an arbitrary grouping. Although there can be a
fundamental design - similarity here. Even the Ten Commandments can be set
into Seven.

So we see where the idea of five senses came from, and that it was
passed along over thousands of years. Superstitious gullibility would accept any
number of senses , or any number of any things if they would correspond to
some mystical numeration. Scientific skepticism would reject any number, for the
sake of more conjecture and theorizing.
Well, we do have senses --special organs designed to perceive the world
around us. they all work together and complement one another, just as a
carpenter uses many types of tools, each of them different, to build a house.
With our seven senses we build the world , constructing a fabric of perceptions.
We sense stimuli (light, heat, chemical). But we perceive objects (flame, apple,
soft earth). It is this latter "objectification" that makes sensation very special. We
are able to set apart the elements of our environment and discern certain of their
qualities.
What if we consisted of pure mind with no body? then we would not have
the tools to perceive heat, light, movement, chemistry. How would a "pure
consciousness" ever be able to gain knowledge of anything of which to be
conscious? No, we are very well-made creatures for living on the Earth.
Consciousness needs senses to become aware. Our senses make Experience
real!

A final note on spectra. A spectrum is a Unity of Diversity, A coherent group of

different elements. An atom is made of protons, electrons, neutrons, and more; a
molecule is made of many atoms; light is made of many colors; energy is a whole
family of pulsations; matter is solid, liquid, gas, plasma, and the Periodic Table of
Elements; space gradates from the supposed Quark to the sand grain to the3
galaxy to the Universe, enough for all things of all sizes; time is nanoseconds,
the "twinkling of an eye", a day, a year, the life of a star -- all fitting comfortably
within the past, present, and future.
Our senses, too, are a sort of spectrum. They are several and diverse,
and they are in one body and know one world. they reach out different distances
in various directions. they comprehend the small and the huge. They can exist
now and hereafter.

chapter ten
 SENSORY ENRICHMENT

The concept of seven senses is not a theory or some occult idea. All of us
have always had them. And it is the mind component in the seventh sense which
sets us apart from and above forms of animal life. Beyond the fact that there are
seven senses, we must consider the practical aspect of the subject.
How does a person use one or more of the senses? How has the way we
sense our surroundings changed through time? What sorts of stimuli are there in
the environment? What is the quality of those stimuli? Our objective should be to
develop our sensory capacity, our ability to see, hear, and senses all aspects of
life. The goal is to become more aware, to seek quality and good in the world
around.
There are four sides to our sensory lives, two positive and two negative.
The two negative parts are Deprivation and Assault. Sensory deprivation means
there is very little or no sensory input. It may be because of the loss of one or
more of the body's senses, or a lack of the stimuli. Blindness and deafness and
anosmia are loss of the sensing abilities of the eye, ear, and noise respectively.
Monotonous architectural designs, bland food, and deodorized surroundings are
examples of the lack of stimuli.
Sensory assault is a flood of stimuli. Excessive food seasoning and noise
are examples of stimuli bombardment. One form of sensory assault is sensory
overload, and often occurs on vacation trips to unfamiliar places. A person is
then deluged by new and strange sights, sounds, odors, exotic foods, changed
time zones, and rapid or unfamiliar modes of transportation which may upset the
balance sense. Usually this overload of the senses diminishes after a brief
familiarization process. Still, many a traveler, arriving home after a "nine country
in one week" journey, may have a feeling of wondering not "where am I?" but
"where was I?"
There are two positive avenues for culturing the senses. They are
Awareness and Enrichment. Sensory awareness is a beginning point, it is
knowing that a certain sense exists and that there are environmental stimuli to
perceive. It is the discovery that one has eyes and that there are many, many
things to see.
Sensory enrichment is the nurturing and refinement of our sensing
abilities. Enrichment is the result of developing awareness. It is a learning
process. Knowing how to see, hear, etc. Understanding why there are certain
sights, sounds, etc. It is the main subject of this chapter, and of Life. So, we
ought to consider our sensory lives in terms of deprivation, assault, awareness,
and enrichment. This small overview is merely a first step. Further goals and
progress toward them are up to each of us.

BALANCE. First of our senses. It has been the forgotten sense. Our
sense of equilibrium and movement is mostly unconscious, and very
unintellectual. Few of us need to develop a well refined sense of balance such
as is the talent of circus performers. Athletes, ballerinas, gymnasts, loggers, and
hikers require many years and much experience and daily physical training. Yet
there are less strenuous possibilities in the development of a better sense of
balance.
But, first the negative news. Sensory deprivation is a somewhat difficult
situation to define. After all, if a stimuli isn't there, how do we know that we've
been deprived of it? How do we know what's missing? Our softly cushioned
automobiles shield us from actively experiencing travel, we don't walk much,
shoes deprive (even deform) the feet of the opportunity to move, to closely
sense the ground, things and machines take the place of body motions. In such
ways our sense of balance has been deprived.
Assault upon balance is quite varied. Hard walking surfaces, mechanized
means of travel, and poorly designed footwear. Human feet were not made to
walk on concrete. Trains, planes, and autos are upsetting to balance, too. "It
took all day to get the motion of the cars out of my head," said one
transcontinental train passenger. Many ill-designed shoe styles attack, cramp
and strain our feet. And there are the two extremes of high-heeled and negative
heeled shoes. They compress the muscles on the back or front of the leg while
straining the muscles on the opposite side. The position of leg and back bones
is thus altered and that throws the entire body slightly off balance. Unconscious
attempting to compensate, the muscles throughout the body strain to keep our
fleshly architecture on a stable footing. The result of a day in poorly fitted shoes
may be a slight, overall fatigue. People used to walk on soft surfaces, hay, snow,
earth, grass. In addition to the assaults, the loss of balance leads to millions of
accidents in the form of falls and sports injuries.
For the positive side, becoming aware of balance is limited by the fact that
this sense is mainly unconscious. We generally don't notice balance sensations
very much. And we can't control the body in so refined a manner as we do with
eyesight. So, it's necessary to become aware of what's missing and then begin
enrichment.
It is said that the best foot exercise is walking barefoot on uneven ground.
Walking is also the best exercise for the 100+ muscles moving and holding the
back. It's good for the feet to be free on a natural or cushioned surface. Walking
barefoot is good for our too often shoe-bound feet. It gives us much more
information about the ground and our relation to it Be realistic, though, because
unnatural concrete, gravel, sharp metal, glass, uncurbed dogs, thorns, stairs, and
slippery floors are dangerous A good alternative is a comfortable pair of supple,
well-fitting, low heeled shoes that allow the feet to feel more alive. Also, cotton or
wool socks, daily washing and massage are necessary.
Whole body exercise is involved, too, providing sensory enrichment for the
body sense. Fifteen to 45 minutes daily of moving the skeleton and
strengthening the muscles is the foundation of health. The resulting healthy
heart feeds the whole body, and a healthy body is the best physical home for the
mind. All the senses become more alive when we improve health through a good
exercise program. Bright eyes, alertness, a renewed appetite, and increased
sensitivity through a more pliant skin -- all can be the product of good health.
 Beware, however, of substituting sport for exercise. Few athletes depend
on their sport to provide a well-conditioned body. In fact, professional sports
often emphasize the least movement in the execution of a particular part of the
game. The great American game of baseball is a good example. Players are
sitting half the time, standing around most of the rest, or, very rarely, running
short distances. A sport can never take the place of daily intensive training or
exercise.
Nothing replaces enthusiastic energetic body activity free from the mental
stress of competition. Bicycles, skateboards, cross-country and alpine skiing,
skating, hiking, frisbees, dancing, and gymnastics provide much enrichment for
the sense of balance.

Being "out of touch" can be a serious deprivation of stimuli. Babies and

young animals have gotten sick or in extreme cases have even died where they
were denied the necessary physical contact with others. Many today are
insulated from people and the environment. We are missing many natural touch
sensations.
Sometimes whole cultures deprive their members of touch stimuli.
Modern machinery insulates people from many touch sensations. Years ago we
worked with hand tools, kneaded bread, washed and mended clothes, husked
corn, cracked hickory nuts, flailed wheat, knitted sweaters, groomed animals,
shelled peas, and lived at more natural (and a wider range of) temperatures.
Even used drugless pain relief. Today we're deprived and insulated, even from
pain. Not that we should want it, but pain is necessary, as Norman Cousins
notes:

No form of illiteracy in the United States is as widespread as

ignorance about pain -- what it is, what causes it, how to deal with it
without panic. It is not generally understood that many forms of
pain are natural and normal, that 90% of pain's symptoms are self-
limiting, that they're frequently the result of tension or stress or
insufficient sleep or overeating or poorly balanced foods or smoking
or excessive drinking or inadequate exercise or bad air or worry or
idleness or boredom or frustration or suppressed rage or any one of
a number of abuses imposed on the human body in modern
society, and that the surest way to eliminate pain is to eliminate the
abuse.
Norman Cousins, c. 1975, distr. by L A Times Syndicate.

Pain is simply a communication. Lack of response to communication just

prolongs the hurt. We need to listen to our bodies, and not treat them like
laboratory rats.
Assaults on the sense of touch come from crowding and shoving,
unnatural or synthetic fabrics, uncomfortable furniture, irritant chemicals, and the
temperature shock of going from artificial indoor climates to the much hotter or
cooler out of doors. More assaults come from acute, chronic or imaginary pain,
and from dermatitis. We have created a world of hard environmental objects and
surfaces which beleaguer the sense of touch.
Developing an awareness to touch is a personal (if not touchy) subject.
Each person is conditioned by culture and family, and tactile learning and
response is largely based upon experiences in infancy and young childhood.
Adult attitudes and responses to touch are basically determined by the early
years and are difficult to change.
Children need to be touched. And they need to touch things around them
in order to develop their capacity to perceive. The baby is enriched by the heart
to heart communication transmitted by hand through the skin. Cuddling,
handling, caressing, and petting are very important methods of sculpturing a
warm and living infant human being. Certain kinds of pets need touching and
grooming to be domesticated and kept healthy, too.

Flavors. The sense of taste is very much deprived in our overfed society. It is a
deprivation not of quantity but of quality. How can we know that our food has ben
deprived of its natural flavor? This is an important question. Sensory deprivation
limits Awareness. If a person has always eaten bland, flavorless (or even
artificially treated) food, then how can such a person possibly know what's
missing? Modern flour milling, sugar refining, preserving, canning, and other
processing deprives us of sensory experiences.
Taste is also very much assaulted. Sugared, oiled, salted, artificially
flavored and treated foods, fast foods, faster eating, and over eating -- all
constitute a gastronomic bombardment.
Becoming aware of good taste sensations requires a little effort,
investigation, and information. It might be impossible. In some cases we are so
deprived of flavorful foods that there is no knowledge of the true natural flavors.
Many don't know what a real tomato is supposed to taste like. In the past, foods
were often fresh and prepared in the home according to an interestingly wide
variety of recipes. Too, cooking and preparation methods were more
individualized and varied. Present day availability of good quality food is some
what limited. Nevertheless, awareness and enrichment of the sense of taste can
be simple to do and rewarding. Consider a few specific foods.
coffee. Instead of instant and freeze-dried, there are the freshly ground (or
whole bean) individual varieties. Tea. The tin of loose leaves provides a much
more flavorful drink than ordinary tea bags and many kinds to choose from.
Oolong, Darjeeling, Lapsang Souchong, Pekoe, etc. And don't forget the "herbs"
--chamomile, wintergreen, henbit, spearmint, licorice root, red clover, and many
mixtures. Along with juices of fruits and vegetables, it can be quite a change to
become aware of these different kinds of coffee and tea.
Fresh fruits and vegetables from home garden, orchard, or produce
market, and wild fruit from the country side are a world apart from the sugared or
salted canned kind. (Home gardening happens to be an enriching experience for
all the senses). Home-baked whole grain breads appeal to many of the senses
-- the texture, color, aroma, flavor, even kneading and waiting for the dough to
rise, all make a person more aware and provide a rich assortment of stimuli. In
addition there are some good bakeries which provide many well-made special
varieties of bread that are an enjoyable change from the deprived white bread.
A better substitute for the deprived white sugar is honey. The texture,
color, aroma, and flavors of orange blossom, eucalyptus, alfalfa, clover,
buckwheat, sunflower, avocado, etc. are a great improvement over the
impoverished pale sweetener. The consumption (80 - 100 pounds per year) of
white sugar is in itself a sensory assault. But enrichment of sense experiences
involves the appreciation of quality, not quantity. Look in nature and see that
sugar is found in tiny proportions. Our sugar is a refined material, not a natural
food. Smaller amounts of more natural sweeteners would be better for our
health.
Enriching the sense of taste means eating good food, not weird food, and
enjoying sensible amounts. Fresh blueberries in milk are infinitely better than
imported, canned squid. And a spoonful of wildflower honey has more beauty
than a ton of refined sugar. But it takes effort to search out the best, whether in
garden, market, or woodland and field. And good food deserves good cooking.
Cooking is the most elemental of the arts, and further enriches life when the
family is together around the table sharing food and fellowship.

What applies to taste also in many ways involves the sense of smell. Our
noses, too, receive their share of deprivation and assault. Odor deprivation may
refer to pleasing or to bad smells. Processed foods often lack their characteristic
aroma. The same may be said for foods served too cold or too dry. Odoriferous
assaults come from air pollution caused by our industrialized world, engines,
factories, crowding, chemicals, burning tobacco leaves, over use of scents....
Developing an awareness of good, pleasing smells might be difficult.
Because many fragrances have been eliminated from our civilized environment
or have been covered up by man made chemicals, they just aren't there.
However, the sense of smell can be educated through attention and use. We
can "stop to smell the roses". But only if the roses are there.
Reactions to olfactory stimuli are extremely personal. The odor of a
particular city or neighborhood, of certain cheese and foods, new mown hay,
peculiar fragrances of individual cultures, or a fertile soil may be perceived as
pleasant or offensive by different persons. In addition, odors have the strange
power to bring up memories that are specially one's own.
Enriching our perception of odors might involve wise selection of personal
fragrances, seeking the freshest foods, using herbs and spices, planting herbs or
flowers, and going out in the natural environs at times when nature's fragrances
are at their best (after or during a warm rain, on a sunny spring morning or
autumn afternoon).

Perhaps there is too little deprivation of sound stimuli. Almost everywhere we are
assaulted by a sometimes continuous barrage of sounds. Background music,
highways and airways, crowded parties, amplified music, the machinery and
tools of our trades, radio and TV programming that abhors a silence, and on and
on. If someone doesn't know what quiet is like, or what it's like to hear soft
sounds, then how can he know what's missing? Perhaps we are addicted to
sound, hooked on decibels, freaked-out on frequencies, requiring constant
auditory stimulation.
And we are not even safe from noise in our homes. Oddly enough, the
noisiest appliances are in the rooms which are least able to absorb that noise.
The bathroom and kitchen both have walls, floors, ceilings, and other fixtures that
are very strong sound reflectors. Hard smooth shower tiles, waterproof paneling,
steel refrigerators and stoves bounce back at us the whirring, humming, buzzing,
grating, rumpling, whooshing, and popping sounds of dozens of appliances.
With this sensory overload it may be difficult to develop an awareness for
sounds. It requires listening, and the removal of interfering noises. Listen to
people. Listen to their accents, linguistic dialect, rhythm of speech, vocabulary,
pauses and phrasing. Listen to their sighs and exclamations, and their laughter
and crying. Most of all, just listen. Speech has been called "the offspring of the
ear". and it a path to understanding. Understanding comes from perceptive
listening, not talking. True communication is from heart to heart by way of the
ears.
A further enrichment of the sense of hearing is in the pleasing experience
of music. Here we should seek out music with depth of quality. Too much
present day music is designed for the time limitations of commercial radio
programming. A 3-minute song may have little depth. Also, much "music" is
verbal commentary, opinions, not tuneful art. Developing an appreciative ear
takes time and effort. Find sources of good music, whether radio, recordings, or
concerts. And really perceptive listening needs to be built up through attention
and learning.
Try to listen to the sounds of nature. Birds, wind, falling and flowing water
provide an infinite and delightful variety. Birds change their songs according to
season, time of day, and their activities. Wind sounds vary when blowing through
the leafy boughs of different species of trees. And the change in sound through
the length of a stream or river has a very musical quality, as represented
artistically in Bedrich Smetana"s The Moldau, or Johann Strauss" Blue Danube.

Listening to the wild is to tune into the mood and rhythm of the
wilderness within which almost all creatures find a way to
communicate. To city and near-city dwellers, whose ears rarely
escape the onslaught of sound pollution, natural areas at first seem
strangely empty and silent. Yet out there, from every leaf, nest,
burrow, and thicket, a multitude constantly sends and receives
audible messages of joy and grief, love and anger, fear and
challenge, aggression, pain, and submissiveness. Once your "bush
ears" become seasoned, the throbbing humming, reverberating
burble of inexplicable harmonics emerges as a system of varied but
organised signals which scientists believe to be essential for each
species and each individual animal's survival within the complex
pattern of existence.
 As one listens and wonders, one becomes increasingly aware of a
new dimension, a new spectrum of Nature. to explore the kingdom
of the wild is to touch upon the very soul of the wilderness.
Sue Hart, Listen To The Wild,
South African Panorama, 1/77.

Now, our sixth sense, sight.

Helen Keller was deprived of visual experiences during almost her whole
life, being blind and deaf from age two. Yet her mind could perceive what many
of we sighted people miss. She once wrote of what she would most like to see if
she had her sight for three days.
She had begun in response to a friend who had just returned from a walk
in the woods, and told Helen that there was nothing to see. "How was it possible
to walk for an hour through the woods and see nothing worthy of note?" She
asked. "I, who cannot see, find hundreds of things to interest me through mere
touch. I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were
stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life.
Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight; silence would teach him
the joys of sound."
Helen Keller goes on to describe her hoped-for three days to see. "On the
first day, I should want to see the people whose kindness and companionship
have made my life worth living. I should let my eyes rest, to, on the face of a
baby, so that I could catch a vision of the eager, innocent beauty which precedes
the individual's consciousness of the conflicts which life develops. I should like to
see the books which have been read to me ... look into the loyal trusting eyes of
my dogs ... take a long walk in the woods and intoxicate my eyes on the beauties
of the world of nature. And I should pray for the glory of a colorful sunset."
Helen wished to see on the second day the sunrise, museums, and the
theater. On her third day, she would have taken a tour of the city. And not only
did she wish to see, but more, to perceive. She says, "Artists tell me that for a
deep and true appreciation of art one must educate the eye. One must learn
though experience to weigh the merits of line, of composition, of form and color.
If I had eyes, how happily would I embark on so fascinating a study!"
She adds this final advice, "Use your eyes as if tomorrow you would be
stricken blind. And the same method can be applied to the other senses. Hear
... Touch ... Smell ... Taste.... Make the most of every sense; glory in all the
facets of pleasure and beauty which the world reveals to you through the several
means of contact which nature provides. But of all the senses, I am sure that
sight must be the most delightful."
We, here and now, are deprived of much natural visual beauty by the
plainness and monotony of things made of plastic and metal. Our eyes are also
much assaulted by ugliness and the crowded, confused disarray of urban
landscapes. Television seldom lives up to its potential for providing visual
enrichment.
 As with all senses, we must be chiefly concerned with awareness and
enrichment. Seeing provides greater opportunity for sensory cultivation than do
the other senses. This because of the refined nature of our eyes and the greater
information carrying capacity of light energy. And, of course, there is much more
to see than touch, taste, or smell.
"We look, but do we see?" asked Sally Ingle of her ninth grade English
class. She gave the question as a composition topic. Each student then chose
an item from a cardboard box: a playing card, scissors, etc. The lesson was to
write and recite a short description of the object chosen, thus revealing the object
to others and exposing the student's perceptive abilities. It was a lesson in
seeing; and part of the foundation for this book.
Perception is not staring at something. Discerning seeing is a learning
process and must be diligently continued throughout life.

To observe means to study every detail lovingly, to dwell upon

these minute structures, not to be rushing from one thing to another
with a hasty glance as it catches the eye, in the way that the present
craze for pictures almost forces one to do, by throwing fresh masses
of them in front of us every day, like fodder in a trough.
Intensive absorption in the forms of living things discloses
unsuspected delights to the eye. How few people experience the
delight of the eye afforded by the loving study of leaf forms in all
their wealth of shapes, or of the changing colors of our plants, or of
the structures of seeds and fruits.
Adolf Portmann, Animal Forms and Patterns.

Nature provides more enjoyment for the sense of sight than for any of the
lesser senses. Look for the myriad forms of light in the sky. There are wonders
such as Glories and the Gegenshein, Haze and Haloes, Rainbows, Aureoles,
Sun Dogs and Sun Pillars, Sunrise, Sunset, and the Aurora Polaris, Mirages and
Haidinger's Brush, Coronas and Sun Crosses, Lightening and Twilight, St. Elmo's
Fire and the Fata Morgana, the Afterglow and Green Flash, the Alpenglow and
the Gloaming. All are free for the seeing -- for those who have eyes to see. The
earth too is filled with interesting sights. Such landforms as caves, craters,
barchan dunes, braided rivers, ridges, hogbacks, drumlins, and tomboloes may
be seen. Many earth features are easily and dramatically viewed from the
comfortable seat beside the window in an airplane
We too often let the weatherman, satellite, and computer be our eyes. But
anyone can learn to forecast local weather. It simply takes attentive observation.
Much weather lore has been compiled over centuries when most people lived
and worked out of doors. For example, "When you see a cloud rising in the west,
you say at once, 'A shower is coming'; and so it happens. And when you see the
south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You
know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky." (Luke 12:54 - 56).
Farmers and sailors used to cultivate a "weather eye" -- meaning to continually
be aware of clouds, wind direction, temperature, etc. Weather Wisdom by Albert
Lee, has much such knowledge.
Ever notice that in nature you almost never see a straight line? Nature is
curvilinear -- in light waves, pond ripples, sea waves, meandering streams of
water, rolling sand dunes. And spirals seen in sunflowers, sliced red cabbage,
rams' horns, pine cones, sea shells, and galaxies. There are graceful lines of the
human form, shapely flower petals, and the Appalachian mountains.
So much complex visual variety there is in nature, as John Muir states,

When a page is written over but once it may be easily read; but if it
be written over and over with characters of every size and style, it
soon becomes unreadable, although not a single confused
meaningless mark may occur among all the written characters....
Our limited powers are similarly perplexed and overtaxed in reading
the inexhaustible pages of nature, for they are written over and over
uncountable times, written in characters of every size and color,
sentences composed of sentences, every part of a character a
sentence. There is not a fragment in all nature, for every relative
fragment of one thing is a full harmonious unit in itself. All together
they form the one grand palimpsest of the world.
A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf.

All about there are mysteries, revelations, puzzles, and subtleties. And
once the eyes and senses begin to open in discernment there is no end to the
wealth of wonders. Those who have eyes, let them see..
Another observer of life tell us,

The voices of nature do not speak so plainly to us as we grow

older, but I think it is because, in our busy lives, we neglect her until
we grow out of sympathy. Our ears and eyes grow dull and
beauties are lost to us that we should still enjoy.
Life was not intended to be simply a round of work, no matter how
interesting and important that work may be. A moments pause to
watch the glory of a sunrise or a sunset is soul-satisfying, while a
bird's song will set the steps to music all day long.
Laura Ingalls Wilder

Sensory Enrichment means to cultivate awareness. It means to see and

feel in a better way. To be alive in all the seven senses. All of this deprivation,
assault, awareness, and enrichment ultimately affects the seventh sense, our
brain and mind. The brain's job is to sense. It receives and makes real the
stimuli from the physical world around. But the mind is the final repository of our
perceptions. Mind is the master control of awareness, and effective perception is
a power of the aware mind.
 Continual sensory attack comes to the seventh sense in the form of the
result of all assaults on the other six senses. Bad sights, noises, poor-tasting
foods, etc. affect the mind. But there are worse assaults on the mind/brain --
pressure, stress; coercion to join various groups and believe in their dogmas;
mind-shaping campaigns in the forms of slogans, advertisements, and
propaganda; media-induced fears, hatred, misinformation, distrust; and much,
much more.
The cure for these problems is in a determined effort to develop
awareness and improve the perceptive capacity of the mind. Child birth is not
too soon to begin sensory enrichment. Birth itself can be an enriching
experience -- moderate lighting, quiet or soft music, gentle careful handling, a
warm bath for the newborn, and an overall peaceful. environment have an effect
that lasts far beyond the beginning of life.
Natural feeding of the baby is another full-sensory experience. The eyes
of mother and child meet; the baby hears mother's voice, lullaby, or heartbeat;
babies recognize the smell of milk and enjoy its taste; and close contact and
bodily support are positive touch and balance stimuli.
Recently, certain "experts" have discovered a beneficial effect in an ages-
old practice. "Snuggling" is when the mother and newly born infant are alone
together in quiet, and in warm akin to skin contact for the first 45 minutes after
birth. The experts, checking health records, found that babies with mothers who
care for them in this manner will be healthier throughout childhood.
The first year of life is an important time for training the senses. Stimuli for
the young child should be of the best quality. Good natural food free of salt,
refined sugars, preservatives, and saturated fats. Musical masterpieces, simple
sounds of nature; carefully selected colors, patterns, textures and shapes;
appropriate exercises and toys; books and good art; all the foregoing lay the
groundwork for a very versatile, discerning mind.
Furthermore, the learning process continues this enrichment throughout
childhood. Education trains the mind to be awake, searching, and growing. An
Ontario, Canada schoolgirl once asked why she should get an education, and
she received the following as part of a reply from the Royal Bank of Canada:

Dear Nancy,

The main purpose of education, as we see it, is to teach on to think.

Education, when of the right sort, helps you to see things clearly. It
helps you distinguish between the essential and the trivial. It gives
you a frame of mind and system of thought and judgment that will fit
you into your place in life.
What we are after is the education that will teach you to think and
reason properly, which will improve your material prospects, which
will add to your poise and deportment, which will develop your
judgment, and, which, all in all, will round you out for a fully
successful and happy life.
 Education will open up to you the opportunity to follow the true, the
beautiful, and the good, and it will help you avoid the vulgarity and
false sentiments by providing you with standards by which to judge
values. It will enable you to decide what will contribute to your
happiness in life. Without education, how can you distinguish what
is good for you, what is right or wrong, what is true or false, or what
is lovely or ugly?
Education ends only with one's life. What you learn at school is
something to which you must add, year by year, and pass on to
others. It is astonishing how far even half an hour a day, regularly
given some objective, will carry one in making himself master of it. It
is easy to fall into the habit of dawdling away time, but it is easy,
also, to acquire the habit of putting every moment to use.
Finally, do not be content with half measures. A writer of sixty-five
years ago said: "The good is enemy of the best." Let's not be
content with a second best, though it be good.
c. Royal Bank of Canada.

Achieving the best is a life-long process. We take in much information from the
six senses to help accomplish that goal. But it is the seventh sense, mind, that is
the key to success. Our minds are repositories for all knowledge from the
senses. The other senses teach, our mind learns. Other senses diminish with
physical age, the mind develops through the years and endows us with
character.

If a man is primarily after wealth, the world can whip him; if

he is primarily after pleasure, the world can beat him; but if a
man is primarily growing a personality, then he can capitalize
anything that life does to him.
Harry Emerson Fosdick,
Physical Culture, June, 1931.

The pursuit of solely physical pleasures through the senses will not bring
lasting satisfaction. It is the mind which retains all the lessons learned through
life. Even when that knowledge is acquired through mistakes. And it is the mind
whose development can guide each person in the proper use of the lesser
senses. Therefore we must seek for the enrichment of the seventh sense.

chapter ten

PATH OF THE MIND

We ar conscious of our life upon this earth Six physical senses, the brain,
and mind traverse the interface between reality without and perception within.
Consciousness is not some exalted state of mind. It merely means to be alive, to
have seven functioning senses, and to dwell in a perceivable dimension.
Sleeping or waking, consciousness is the idling, warming engine of our
sensitivity. It provides simply the vehicle for the beginning of a long journey
which the mind must travel.
Consciousness basically derives from physical readiness for perception, a
healthy living body with seven open channels to the world around. Even asleep,
the mind is conscious -- of dreams, cold feet, a baby's cry. One-third of our lives
(and human history) passes by unseen behind the dark curtain of somnolence.
Sleep will turn out to have been one of the major determinants acting upon the
course of our social development. Slumbering babes, weary napping soldiers,
drowsing judges, and nocturnally abandoned factories, fields, and palaces have
been part of a great "balance wheel", a weight that has measured the pace and
progress of humanity's war, work and thought.
Consciousness is the first step out of another darkness, Ignorance -- "the
night of the mind". Ignorance is "to not know that we do not know". Born under
this shroud, too many content themselves to remain safe within its protective
confines till they end as the shrivelled remains of a worm in a never-breached
cocoon. So much the better to die safe, than to risk tearing a wing in flight to
new worlds where await tastes of Elysian nectars.

Do any human beings ever realize life

while they live it -- every, every minute?
Emily, Our Town; Thornton Wilder.

Physical consciousness and intellectual ignorance are where we begin.

Once the conscious mind starts to receive and respond to sense information,
once we begin to know that there is something outside of us, then we become
Aware. Awareness is the open door to a pathway leading beyond mere temporal
consciousness. But awareness is not necessarily greater than consciousness.
Whenever a sentient being experiences something, the brain is conscious of
100% of entering stimuli. the brain then edits this information through its reticular
activating system (RAS) so that a person is subsequently aware of only the
tiniest portion of data supplied by the six physical senses.
Looking at a forest, we are conscious of all the colors, shapes, lines,
movements, sounds, smells, etc. that can reach the corresponding sense. But
we may be unaware that each tree species has a different color, branching
pattern, bark texture, odor, and even a different sound when the wind passes
through the leaves. Bark, wood, seed, sap, limb, twig, petiole, root, leaf, flower,
and bud all have their distinctive color, texture, flavor, or odor. Trees syncretize
thousands of diverse entities -- minerals, rare earth elements, symbiotic
mycorrhiza, hundreds of possible gall wasps and thousands of other associated
insects, and animals in need of nest, perch, shade, or food. And yet, while all
that and more is there, we who have eyes made for the light look at the forest
and see darkly.
 When hearing a symphony, a person can be conscious of all the sounds of
the orchestra, but is likely to be unaware that a particular sound may be coming
from a bassoon, or cornet, or viola, or oboe. And that listener may be even more
unaware of such musical elements as overture, ritornello, sonata, or concerto,
rhythm, key, tone, coda, and so on.
We are conscious of all the available sensory stimuli. But not fully aware.
This is as it should be, since being aware of every stimuli would overload our
sensory capacity. When the many people of Israel brought their problems to
Moses, his father-in-law advised him to appoint other able men to deal with small
matters. Jethro the Midianite told Moses to judge the important cases, and
thereby not be wearied. So it is with our senses and brain, the "conscious" eye
sees all but the brain grants only the least of it entry to awareness. Rather than
be bothered by every leaf, word, color, tune, or aroma we can with the editorial
supervision of the brain concern ourselves only with those things which matter
most to us.
Sometimes awareness comes in a flash of Enlightenment. As a lightning
bolt may illuminate a dark road, so perception may rarely arrive at a higher level
in the mind by means of fleeting awareness. "Many men stumble across the
truth, but most pick themselves up and go on as if nothing had happened." So
often do we turn from the light.

Attention. A person may be conscious of a forest, become aware of the trees, be

enlightened (educated) to the fact that there are different kinds of trees, then give
attention to distinguishing qualities of a particular species or individual tree.
Attention means to aim awareness toward a goal. It is the commitment that
leads to enrichment of the seventh sense. Consciousness is the "house",
Awareness a door, Enlightenment the opening of that door, and Attention is the
direction of the pathway leading onward. The effort of paying attention applies
our mental energy to some object, problem, idea. Like limbs gendered by roots,
attention is the natural outgrowth of consciousness.
Our minds begin to move by undertaking the process of thinking.
Movement requires the application of energy. But, "To most people nothing is
more troublesome than the effort of thinking," said James Bryce. And movement
does carry the risk of going astray; which must be measured against the
inevitable mental fossilization resulting from immobility. It's easier to do nothing;
or to do anything but think. "There is no expedient to which a man will not go to
avoid the labor of thinking," said Thomas Edison. The big question is, do people
want to think?
Too often the seeker of answers accepts the report of another who has
"been there and seen it all". Too often we accept substitutes for thinking --
slogans, jingles, chants, catechetical dogmas never proven, the traditions, the
traditions of the establishment. And so the mind may halt its journey in the first
steps. "A few people think, many people think they think, and the rest use clichés
so they won't have to think," says Evan Esar. Thinking's no coin in a wishing well
either, it's a single footstep in a long walk; insignificant, but it gets you
somewhere. As Albert Einstein reviewed, "I think and think for months, for years;
ninety-nine times the conclusion is false."
Thing helps to get us where we're going, but we need to consider where
we came from -- what's our Point Of View? J. Ortega Y Gasset thinks, "The
choice of a point of view is the initial act of a culture." But do people or societies
really choose their point of view? Or merely inherit? Why doesn't every child
grow up to be totally unbiased and open-minded? Particular viewpoints tend to
restrict thinking. Our point of view may be related to cultural background, social
standing, religious belief, philosophical perch, ideological persuasion, political
bent, economic level, scientific knowledge, military background, occupation,
personal history, geographical locale, sex, race, age. These varied aspects put
us in a special relation to the world around, giving us perhaps the vantage of an
eagle or the dense horizon of a mole, a bias, a slant. What's your angle on
things?
Point of view is not blindness, just a certain way of seeing things. What
Wilson B. Key calls "culture sets", established ways of perceiving. It can be a
highway or a rut. Highways can be built and maintained. Ruts just wear away
beneath the feet till they're too deep to escape.
A point of view provides a perspective that may be lofty or base, broad or
narrow, free or restricted. The danger is in taking up an opinion without
searching it for flaws. The danger comes from our own habits, prejudices, and
emotions. The danger is in the form of the prestige of the "expert" or the power
of the crowd. The danger comes from the form of the statement: repetition, faulty
logic, highly abstract information, facts out of context, lies covered up by piles of
meaningless details and facts and figures.

The human understanding when it has adopted an opinion draws all

things else to support and agree with it. And though there be a
greater number and weight of instances to be found on the other
side, yet these it either neglects and despises, or else by some
distinction sets aside and rejects; in order that by this great and
pernicious predetermination the authority of its former conclusions
may remain inviolate.
For what a man had rather were true he more readily believes.
Therefore he rejects difficult things from impatience of research;
sober things because they narrow hope; the light of experience from
arrogance and pride. Numberless are the ways and sometimes
imperceptible, in which the affections colour and infect the
understanding.
Sir Francis Bacon.

Well, the remedy is, simply ... think. An open mind is needed to remove
the blinders of a narrow point of view. But a mind shouldn't be open as a hole in
the wall, to let in every gust and storm from without. Rather, have a ring of
windows for the seventh sense to clearly see outward all around, with solid
safety. That window is guileless skepticism -- a "prove [test] all things, hold fast
to the good" approach. And when light enters, the mind grows. "The recipe for
perpetual ignorance is: be satisfied with your opinions and content with your
knowledge," said Elbert Hubbard. So, use the seven senses, get the facts, "get
wisdom, and with all your getting get understanding; buy the truth, and sell it not".
It's simple country house-cleaning -- let in the light and fresh air, and scrub with
pure clean water.
This Enlightenment is to know what we don't know.

A man doesn't know what he knows

until he knows that he doesn't know. - Evan Esar.

It is worse still to be ignorant of your ignorance.

Jerome.

To be ignorant of one's ignorance

is the malady of the ignorant. - Amos Bronson Alcott.

Developing a healthy mind is increasingly becoming a nearly desperate

impossibility. Try questioning every to find the truth. Try to find out what are the
subliminal messages in advertising, politicians' rhetoric, or sermons. It's too
much.
It's too easy to accept the bombardment of thousands of advertisements,
dozens of divergent, contradictory religious doctrines, shovelfuls of political
propaganda, news and statistics from everywhere and about everything. So an
open mind could be like a hole in a boat's hull. We are swamped.
But keep thinking anyway, it's the only way to muddle through. And get rid
of ignorance, first by admitting it's there.

The man who confesses his ignorance shows it once;

the man who tries to conceal it shows it many times.
Japanese Proverb.

A sometimes helpful ally of thinking is conversation:

...whosoever hath his mind fraught with many thoughts, his wits and
understanding do clarify and break up in the communicating and the
discoursing with another: he tosseth his thoughts more easily; he
marshaleth them more orderly; he seeth how they look when they are
turned into words; finally, he waxeth wiser than himself; and that more by
an hour's discourse, than by a day's meditation.

...a man learneth of himself, and bringeth his own thoughts to light, and
whetteth his wits as against a stone, which itself cuts not. In a word, a
man were better to relate himself to a statue, or picture, than to suffer his
thoughts to pass in smother.
 It was well said by Themistocles to the king of Persia, that speech is like
the cloth of Arras, opened, and put abroad, whereby the imagery doth
appear in figure; whereas in thoughts they lie but as in packs.

That was said by Francis Bacon who lived from 1561 to 1626. That was
when conversation was a major communicating medium, taking the place of
television, radio, books, newspapers, and even schools. Talking was a learning
tool. Today, a large portion of our information and education comes through
impersonal electronic or paper media where the talk is simply in one direction.
Minds need to grow, and conversational interaction with others is a good
opportunity. While percentages are probably widely variable, more and more
people are finding out what's going on through the non-human appliances of
modern technological culture.
If talking is a complement to thinking, then listening is the counterbalance
to speech.

One thing which makes us find so few people who appear reasonable and
agreeable in conversation is, that there is scarcely anyone who does not
think more of what he is about to say than of answering precisely what is
said to him. The cleverest and most complaisant people content
themselves with merely showing an attentive countenance, while we can
see in their eyes and minds a wandering from what is said to them, and an
impatience to return to what they wish to say; they do not reflect that it is a
bad way of pleasing or persuading others, to be so studious of pleasing
oneself, and that listening well and answering well are among the greatest
perfections that can be attained in conversation.
Francois La Rochefoucauld.

Whether mouth or mind is most preoccupied, the more important

distinction is between intelligent conversation and idle chatter. Someone said
that little minds speak of things, middling minds talk about people, great minds
discuss ideas. Somewhat true, except we are human, and the social dimension
is very important, so we naturally prefer to talk about others and ourselves. And
things are simply easier to describe, to label with facts, while the language of
ideas tends to be more abstract, more dependant upon education, deep thought,
and extraction of essential principles.
How little quality there is for quantity, how little light in a sea of night, so
little honey in a blossom (about 0.09 milligram of sugar in a floret of fireweed;
according to Bernd Heinrich, "The Energetics of the Bumble Bee", Scientific
American, April 1973; vol. 228, no. 4, pp 96 -102). It's hard to find good stuff;
"clever men are as plentiful as blackberries, but good men are scarce" - . . . . . .
Women, too, "Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a
thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found", -
Solomon. And La Rochefoucauld continues, "As it is the characteristic of great
wits to convey a great deal in a few words, so, on the contrary, small wits have
the gift of speaking much and saying nothing." King Solomon knew, "In the
multitude of words there lacks not sin; but he that refrains his lips is wise. A fool
utters all his mind; but a wise man keeps it in till afterwards. He that has
knowledge spares his words...."
Idle talk is aimless, verbal wool-gathering.
Remedy: Concentration.
Whether thinking or talking, focus on the goal, pursue it.

I believe that the clue to his mind is to be found in his unusual powers of
continuous concentrated introspection. His peculiar gift was the power of
holding continuously in his mind a purely mental problem until he had seen
straight through it. His pre-eminence is due to his muscles of intuition
being the strongest and most enduring with which a man has ever been
gifted.

Any one who has ever attempted pure scientific or philosophical thought
knows how one can hold a problem momentarily in one's mind and apply
all one's powers of concentration to piercing through it, and how it will
dissolve and escape and you find that what you are surveying is a blank.
I believe that Newton could hold a problem in his mind for hours and days
and weeks until it surrendered to him its secret.
John Maynard Keynes, Newton The Man.

Concentration is high-powered attention. It means looking at something

from all possible points of view. It is viewing all characteristics: time, space,
substance, parts, wholes, actions. Concentration must have a purpose, a target
at which to aim the attention, a prize for the mind to capture.
There are many forms of concentration. Take one subject, look for its
various manifestations. A leaf, a shape, footwear, barbed wire fencing postage
stamp cancellation marks, the color blue, stars; any of those has hundreds and
thousands of distinct forms. A single leaf has many colors: when it's budding out,
in early summer, mid-summer, autumn, when dried; the color of the top, bottom,
and the color of light which shines through the leaf in bright sun; its color in
shade with a dark blue sky or a sky of puffy white cumulus clouds overhead; the
color of a diseased leaf; the color of every square millimeter. A single leaf may
have dozens of colors. Each leaf has a unique shape, and there is a primary
veining pattern, a secondary, and a further minute reticulation which may enclose
tiny polygons giving the appearance of suburban housing tracts. A leaf falls to
the ground with a distinct motion. An oak leaf has many lobes and a petiole
which act as rudder, wings, ailerons, fins, stabilizers, and elevators of an aircraft.
Leaves fall to the ground with a flight pattern characteristic of their species. Each
leaf drips raindrops differently. And sings its own special song in the wind.
Concentration is the shortest and most vital path between mind and
object, Therefore, a goal is of prime importance. Consciousness, awareness,
attention, and thinking are of no value unless they are directed (concentrated)
toward some purpose. It has been said that of the requirements for success, two
most important are a definite objective and a limited time. John Kennedy said of
the manned lunar landing space project, "We choose to go to the moon in this
decade, not because that will be easy, but because it will be hard -- because that
goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills."
Concentrate, set goals and time limitations -- "there is a time to every
purpose; whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might".
"To overcome is to live," said Captain John Smith, Virginia colonist. And to
live means overcoming -- solving problems.
Problem Solving. The first problem is to recognize that there is a problem.
Though problems can be ignored, for an afternoon, or for thousands of years.
Tight shoes, soil erosion, energy shortages, and illiteracy are problems which
have been successfully ignored by people everywhere. As with enlightenment,
there comes a time when we realize something needs to be done.
So what kind of problem is it? Is it real or imagined? The problem could
be in a person's head, in a way of perceiving, or a personality quirk. Is it positive,
a challenging opportunity, such as the choice of education? Or is it negative, a
penalty, like how to remedy the sickness from overeating?
Is the problem an idea, a person, or a thing?
Set out to discover the problem and its solution.
1/ Data Search. Gather information that applies to the present dilemma.
Figure out what the problem is made of, what are the elements, parts? Look for
key parts: the hole in a leaky boat, the loose shingle on a leaky roof, the worn
washer of a leaky faucet. Then what are the principles (laws)? Find out which
laws apply: drying time for a painted room, interest rate on a loan, waiting period
for marriage license.
What is the problem's structure (skeleton, architecture)? How are the
parts positioned, put together? This may refer to the location of a fouled spark
plug, or the location of a company's regional vice-presidents who have to attend
a meeting. Then, what is the operation (function, actions, dynamics)? How do
(did) things work? Yeast makes dough rise, honesty makes shoplifting
disappear. But how much yeast, and where does honesty come from?
Quantity -what amounts are important? What measurements can be
made of the problem? Tire air pressure, blood pressure, and skill level of a
replacement worker can be measured and lead to solutions (fuel economy,
health, productivity). Quality represents the value of something, its worth.
Determining quality is much more difficult than measuring amounts. It's easy to
find out how high or low a person's blood pressure is, but not as easy to learn the
quality of life that is the cause, or remedy.
2./ Get Information. Accumulate written material, your own ideas, and the
experience of others. Record this information by pen and paper, tape recorder,
camera, and best of all by memory. There are all sorts of methods for storing
knowledge in the human mind. There is analogy-making, for example. In
Chapter One of this book the structure of the body is compared to the parts of
language. However, there is one important aspect of memorizing. Interest.
Being truly, selflessly, interested in people. nations, animals, minerals, speech
patterns, is the most effective way to remember names, countries on a map, the
birds, rocks, language rules, etc., etc.
 Really caring is the best way to solve a problem.
3./ Discuss The Problem. A lot of problems will diminish when we have a
friend to talk with. Someone said that talking with a compassionate friend
doubles our joy and halves our woe. People problems, especially, need
communication. But now we have another problem. Clear, sensible speech is
endangered by electronic and print media, working mothers, incompetent
schooling, mental laziness, demagogic politicians, incredible repetition of ads and
commercials. A child's parents are the primary source of good speech
communication. Pregnant women talk to their unborn babies (and the little ones
hear), and a talking -reading - spelling mother (or father) will do the most in
leading a person to good verbal skills.
Talking can lead us to see other views of our problem. It can bring
information. Or it can waste a lot of time. Be wise: "a fool utters all his mind; but
a wise man keeps it in till afterwards." Speak enough to keep the problem-
solving conversation going, stay on the subject, and listen.
4./ Translate. Put the problem into numbers, or a picture, a drawing, an
outline, or a three-dimensional model. It's easier to plan a menu on paper that to
actually do all the cooking for a week's meals. It's better to design a model of a
car, plane, statue, or building before actually doing the construction. Using
symbols, drawings, and other abstract representations allows our minds to test
many possible solutions before being committed to the task.
5./ Turn It Over. Look at the problem from another point of view, or try a
different approach. Suppose the problem is being in a long line. A person
looking forward sees only all those people in front of him. But if he turns around
and looks behind, he sees that he is part of the problem for all those following.
And maybe putting grocery items price up, or doing other preparation to be ready
will help move that line along. Suppose another person is in a hurry and driving
fast. If he considers the pedestrians, other drivers, police, he may see that he is
causing them problems. Looking for other points of view may not solve a
problem but can put it into a sensible perspective. Often our own careful
immersion in our own problems is a problem to others about us.
6./ Ask Questions.
7./Don't Jump to conclusions.
Problem Solving is a common activity in life, and the way to begin is to
learn basic principles. And learn them early. Learn: principles of arithmetic and
mathematical formulae so you'll be able to calculate quickly and accurately; rules
for healthy living; principles of grammar and punctuation and composition to be
able to communicate effectively; survival skills (just in case); rules of etiquette;
the laws of society. Laws and principles are what govern the way things happen.
We should learn as many true and relevant principles as possible early in life.
Hear what Solomon said: "My son, forget not my law, but let your heart keep my
commandments: for length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to
you. Hear, you children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know
understanding. For I give you good doctrine, forsake you not my law. Get
wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my
mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve you: love her and she shall keep
you. Take fast hold of instruction: let her not go: keep her; for she is your life. My
son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not the law of your mother:
bind them continually upon your heart, and tie them about your neck. When you
go, it shall lead you; when you sleep, it shall keep you; and when you awake, it
shall talk with you. for the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and
reproofs of instruction are the way of life."
In addition to basic principles, find out what other tools you need to solve
the problem. A tool could be an idea, a machine, a special instrument such as a
ball-peen hammer, money, colander, spading fork.... It is important, however, to
realize that tools do not solve problems. A new idea or gadget does not insure
success. More money and machinery will be a handicap to those who think
solutions cannot be bought or manufactured. In our over-commercialized
cultures, the acquisition of "tools" is an overpowering pursuit in itself. Research
and development, patents, new and improved formulae, and this season's
catalogs all promise us answers. (In fact, many tools eliminate personally held
skills).
But the use of tools does help solve problems. And it is the wisdom that
comes into a human mind that teaches how. It is better to know how, than to
have a machine. It is better to be thrifty than rich. Better to know how to add and
multiply than how to punch calculator buttons.
Next, what people are involved in the problem? And what help is
available? There are many agencies, (be aware of "Action Lines", Help Centers,
Consumer Hot Lines, government and business offices), experts, counselors,
teachers, which may give advice. Or they may simply refer to some other source
that doesn't have an answer. But be careful about following advice from
"experts". Don't surrender your responsibility and ability to deal with your own
situation. Still, try to find out whether someone, somewhere, sometime has
already encountered and solved your problem, baked your ;cake, or invented
your wheel before you.
Time. How much time do you have? How much time will a solution take?
Set up a practical schedule and assign parts of the problem to certain time
periods. When does your mind works best? There is a natural, normal cycle of
mental attentiveness which is approximately 90 minutes long. There are times of
the day -- morning, afternoon, evening, night -- that may be better thinking times
for different people. There is a 33-day biorhythm cycle of intellectual
effectiveness, with high and low periods and critical days. And there are times in
life when a person is better able to solve his or her problems. Know these things,
if you can.
Rest. Relax once in a while. Leave the problem, and let your
subconscious mind cook up a solution. Putting the right information, facts,
principles, experiences into the mind can then develop into a new perception.
sometimes the answer just comes to us.
Maybe things get snagged. Is there an alternative way to solve the
dilemma? Has something been overlooked? What if things stay stuck? Can you
adapt to the problem? Live with it? Wait it out? Ignore it?
 How about letting the problem solve itself? As in letting a forest fire burn
out the thick dry undergrowth that helped cause the fire in the first place. And, is
the "problem" really a problem? Or is it just ignorance, or fear, or frustration, or
impatience, or greed. Maybe the "catch" is stupidity, laziness, cowardice.
Now get down to business! Propose a solution, make a definite decision,
figure out exactly what measures you are going to take within a certain time to
resolve the difficulty, and then act.

The ability to Question is one of the important characteristics separating man

from animal. It is the proof for the existence of mind. Unfortunately, though, our
questing mind is too often stifled in the bud of childhood innocence and wonder.
Youthful minds are precious; we ought to encourage and answer a child's
questions.

I had six honest serving men who taught me all they knew;
their names were Where and What and When, and
Why and How and Who.
Rudyard Kipling.

It is better to know some of the questions than

all of the answers. - James Thurber.

We need to know how to question with the right approach. A questioning

attitude should arise not from doubts but of a sincere, open-minded desire to
seek and know the truth. Questioning can be healthy for a person and society --
or it can be deadly dangerous. It is a skill to be developed.

No man really becomes a fool until

he stops asking questions. - Charles Steinmetz.

Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.

Voltaire.

Formulating and wording a query is like baiting a fishing hook, use the
right kind and size, properly phrased, and you catch the prize answers.
Questions are a critical element in culturing the mind.
Too often we go along never thinking that there are questions which
should be -- must be -- asked. We are on this planet to explore; adventure is the
finest form of curiosity. Someone said "death is the ultimate question". Not so.
Death is a physical certainty, life is the question. Who are we? Why are we
here? What will we do? The tzaddik and the inquisitor, the child and the
congressman, the wise person and the fool, the judge and the convicted, all ask.
Knowing when and about what to ask, that separates the keen minds from the
dull ones. Ask and the pathway will open. But first, have the proper question-key
that fits the door.
 Thinking, Concentration, Problem-Solving, and Questions are all involved
with the getting of knowledge, the prime quality of which must be Truth. What is
actual, pure, exact, and right -- that is to be sought out and built into the structure
of a well-endowed mind.
The harvest of this mental venture is first, Perception. To perceive is to
know, to make inherently your own the truths garnered by thinking, concentration,
problem solving, and the asking of questions. Ignorance was when you did not
know that you did not know; awareness helps you to know that you do not know;
and, perception is to know, and know that you know. It is the fulfillment of
enlightenment.
A concentrated, incisive form of perception is the "microscope of the
mind", Discernment. Perception is a basic form of mental sight, it means to see
what is explicit, overt, or obvious. But discernment (which is keen insight, or the
"mind's eye") sees what is within, covered, or implicit. For example, we may look
with our consciously aware and attentive physical eyesight and perceive a
collection of circles. But we can look still further by thinking, concentrating,
questioning, problem-solving and with the mind's insight we can discern "pi r
squared". We can look at trees and discern the Fibonacci Sequence
(1>1>2>3>5>8>13>21. . . .), related to the Golden Section, and Universal Spiral
of Dynamic Symmetry. We can put tiny sand grains on a vibrating metal plate
and see them organize into a spiral form, then look into the heavens and, seeing
a similar form in the galaxies, discern the Great Sustaining Forces which give
order to the Universe.
Discernment seeks the underlying principles and strives to answer not the
question "what?", but the question "why?"
When we have acquired this understanding. When we have achieved a
full apprehension of all the stimuli, data, thoughts, and principles. When we have
met obstacles, and have overcome them, while learning to think and question.
When we have obtained the long-sought goal, then comes Comprehension.
When it's all put together, we can not only know and understand, but can
believe. As a mordant binds dye to fabric, so belief is the fixative which makes
Truth a part of us. To learn and not believe is like swallowing but not digesting
food. Belief is the personal assimilation of knowledge.
This journey from consciousness to comprehension, may seem a lofty
one. But there are so many people who are aware of little beyond ignorance,
who think little and concentrate less, and all from their own point of view, who ask
no questions, solve only the easy problems, and believe what is most
comfortable.

How lightly is every man enclyned to his owne desyr.

Chaucer, 1387.

Poisons may be digested by the stomach as easily as evil or lies are taken
up by the intellect. Food for the mind must be examined carefully before it is
believed.
 Just as there must be a change of mind in going from ignorance to
awareness, so inevitably there is sure to be some mental transformation in order
to finally arrive at the state of Comprehension. And it requires quite a bit of effort.
Listen how this man strove,

I remember how, when a mere child, I used to get irritated when

anybody talked to me in a way I could not understand. I can
remember going to my little bedroom, after hearing the neighbors
talk of an evening with my father, and spending no small part of the
night walking up and down and trying to make out what was the
exact meaning of their , to me, dark sayings. I could not sleep,
though I often tried to, when I got on such a hunt after an idea, until
I had caught it, and when I thought I had got it I was not satisfied
until I had repeated it over and over, until I had put it in language
plain enough as I thought for any boy I knew to comprehend. This
was a kind of passion with me, and it has stuck by me, for I am
never easy now, when I am handling a thought, till I have bounded
it north, and bounded it south, and bounded it east, and bounded it
west.
Abraham Lincoln.

Now, Stage Three in Mind Enrichment. Æsthetic endeavors.

Imagination, the master builder of the seven sense. It fashions our
desires and draws the blueprints for success. It is the "eye of the soul" (-Joseph
Joubert), and the "creative function of the intellect, by which separate elements of
experience are synthesized into a new whole differing from and transcending any
of its original parts" (William Rose Benét).
Imagination is the first of the qualities of mind that are uniquely human.
Certain proof that man is not an animal. But these supreme qualities are no
garden of delight, there is much to be cautious of.

It [the imagination] is that deceitful part in man, that mistress of error

and falsity, the more deceptive that she is not always so; for she
would be an infallible rule of truth, if she were an infallible rule of
falsehood. But being most generally false, she gives no sign of her
true nature, impressing the same character on the true and the
false.
This arrogant power, the enemy of reason, who likes to rule and
dominate it, has established in man a second nature to show how all
powerful she is. She makes men happy and sad, healthy and sick,
rich and poor; she compels reason to believe, doubt, and deny; she
blunts the senses, or quickens them; she has her fools and sages;
and nothing vexes us more than to see that she fills her devotees
with a satisfaction far more full and entire than does reason. Those
who have a lively imagination are a great deal more pleased with
 themselves than the wise can reasonably be. They look down upon
men with haughtiness; they argue with boldness and confidence,
others with fear and diffidence; and this gayety of countenance often
gives them the advantage in the opinion of the hearers, such favor
have the imaginary wise in the eyes of judges of like nature.
Imagination cannot make fools wise; but she can make them happy,
to the envy of reason, which can only make its friends miserable; the
one covers them with glory, the other with shame.
If the greatest philosopher in the world found himself upon a plank
wider than is actually necessary, but hanging over a precipice, his
imagination will prevail, though his reason convince him of his
safety.
The imagination disposes of everything....
Blaise Pascal.

On a more encouraging note, there is Marta Beckett, who says, "How can
anyone be lonely when you have an imagination?"
These eminent qualities of Imagination, Intuition, Reflection, etc. can be
described as easily as one can take a picture of the wind, or explain a smile.
They have to be known and experienced.
Intuition is a sort of mental X-ray vision, which sees the essential hard
facts and discerns the meanings and solutions. a way of coming up with the
answer without knowing exactly the question.
Dreaming is akin to imagination in that it is an unstressed procedure. It is
imagination elevated/magnified, it is freer, unshackled by care. Day-Dreaming is
usually misused, and often confused with mind-wandering. But it can be a
valuable tool. It can be used to build ideas, dissect answers, examine
alternatives, and to wonder, hope, and plan. Dreaming is rightly taken in small
portions, as it is powerful, and can be the master of the weak mind, or the
servant of the mighty intellect.
Then there are three forms of mental rejuvenation. First, we can take the
day's happenings and perceptions and hold them up to the mirror of our minds.
And Reflect. This is an experience oriented consideration of past personal
events and trauma. It is a balancing, a putting in perspective. Reflection is not
looking directly at the past events, but rather seeing them mirrored in our own
selves. As with a body of water, the ability of the mind to reflect depends upon
mental depth, clarity of thought, and most of all placidity of disposition. Just as
deep, clear, calm lakes show the best reflections, so the mind must be at peace
in order to show the best reflected image on our thoughts.
Reflection is best undertaken in the evening of the day. Then is the time
to consider the day's happenings. Were they just happenings? Or the result of
planned, purposeful intentions? Did "things happen to me", or do "I happen to
them"? (-A. E Lahart). Did we live the day, or just let it occur by chance? And
how do the experiences of the day weigh out in the sum of our lives?
To reflect well requires memory. A recall of things and events. Forget all
the mnemonic books, ideas, and techniques. Remembering is simple. It needs
only interest, attention, relation, and repetition. You'll remember what you really
care about and pay attention to. Try to connect things in a sensible way, and
rehearse them. There is a difference between memory and memorizing. We all
have minds with built-in memory capacity. It's a natural human ability. But
memorizing burdens us with rote learning techniques and pressures. It is
possible to make oneself ignorant through a "good" memory -- because it gives a
false sense of knowing and encourages a neglect of further efforts to learn. It is
possible to remember facts but forget meaning. If you want to remember, then
get to know the people, trees, rocks, birds, states, presidents, kings of England,
counties of Ireland, books of the Bible. Learn their character, what they're really
all about. And if you still can't remember, just write it down!
Next, a thought-distilling procedure will be of value. This may be called
the prism of the mind, for, as a prism separates the colors in light, this activity
draws forth the essentials of what we have perceived. It is another unstressful
mental re-creation.

Meditation is that exercise of the mind by which it recalls a

known truth, as some kinds of creatures [cows] do their food,
to be ruminated upon till all valuable parts be extracted.
George Horne.

One of the rarest of all acquirements is the faculty of profitable

meditation. Most human beings, when they fancy they are
meditating, are, in fact, doing nothing at all, and thinking of
nothing. Andrew Boyd.

It is not some trick, or ritual, or monotonous pastime. Meditation is the

"intellectual crock pot", the mind's slow cooker. And what comes out depends
upon what goes in. It absolutely requires some real substance.

Meditation is the nurse of thought,

and thought the food for meditation. -C. Simmons

Both physical and mental nourishment come from digesting and

assimilating. These are real, living processes. Something we do. We are not
rightly sustained by merely swallowing a processed, prepackaged food, or
thought, or idea given to us by others. We must examine and draw out the good.

It is not the number of books you read, nor the variety of sermons
you hear, nor the amount of religious conversation in which you mix,
but it is the frequency and earnestness with which you meditate
these things till the truth in them becomes your own and part of your
being, that ensures your growth.
Frederick Wm. Robertson.
 Not hasty reading, but seriously meditating.... Not the bee touching
the flower, but abiding for a time, and drawing out the sweet. Not he
that reads most, but he that meditates most.
Joseph Hall.

Meditation is simple and productive, but...

It is easier to go six miles to hear a sermon, than to spend one

quarter of an hour in meditating on it when I come home.
Philip Henry.

"Meditating on it", he said. That means doing something! That means

turning the subject on its many sides, looking at it from many angles and
viewpoints and in many lights, dwelling on it, and steeping out the essentials of
meaning. Meditation is a natural quality, like sunlight. there are those who would
take the light from us and later sell back part of it as a gimmick. Others take our
natural mental talents and sell them back to us in the misshapen form of religion,
cultism, or pseudo-science. Meditation, belief, awareness, dreaming are not for
sale. They are the property of every human mind sensible enough to keep and
use them.
The third form of mental sight here being considered is Vision, the
"telescope of our imagination".On the past we reflect, in the present we meditate,
but through vision we look into the future. Vision is the ability to apply our
understanding to things and events and people. When we have learned the
whys and wherefores of the world and human nature, then we can forecast what
will happen and how people will behave. We can be prepared, and forewarned,
and avoid trouble.

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law,
happy is he. - King Solomon, Proverbs 29:18.

Laws are what govern the actions of things. To know key principles
enables us to foretell how events will take place. Our future is very much
dependent upon how well we apply right principles in today's life situations. By
knowing what are the relevant laws and how they work, we can project the likely
outcome of a particular course of action. Vision is light and life.

This lengthy venture from ignorance through consciousness, awareness

and attention; involving thinking, concentration, problem solving, questions,
perception, discernment, and comprehension; while we partake of imagination,
intuition, dreaming, and reflection, meditation, and vision -- all this arrives at the
first step in another journey. This thoroughfare of man's mind comes to a new
beginning, the state of mind called Creativity.
Consider the Tree. We are born Ignorant of the true meaning of what a
tree is. All humans now are Ignorant of what a perfect tree is like. We become
Conscious of trees through our senses. We then become Aware that the lifeform
"tree" exists on this planet with us. They are the largest and oldest of Earth's
living inhabitants. We can start to pay Attention to this type of plant life which
rises from the earth's soil. Then, Think, and learn facts about trees. Consider
how a tree appears from your Point Of View or any one else's. Concentrate on
the tree -- itemize, analyze, list, and study. What are the quantitative aspects of
trees, qualitative, structural, and operational characteristics also. Trees have
color, weight, height, parts, life spans, parents, offspring, enemies, friends, and a
reason for being. Ask Questions about trees, find out what problems trees have
or cause or can help solve. Perceive -- begin to acquire an understanding of
what a tree means. Continue through time and experience, to deepen
Perception till it becomes Discernment. Round out and balance your knowledge
of the tree so you will have Comprehension and can assimilate all experience
into Belief.
Then, Wonder. Use Imagination, Intuition, Dreams. Reflect on a tree
you've encountered; what did it mean to your life. Wood and food. Shelter and
sustenance. The protection of soil, water, air. This - trees have given freely to
us. Meditate on what it means, the why of trees. In James Fenimore Cooper's
stories, what did Chingachgook mean when he said that he'd rather sit down and
look at a tree than go into town with his companion to partake of the villagers'
social life? And what is the future of trees and life? Will mankind someday
partake of the long-withheld Tree Of Life? Finally, Create. Plant a tree.
Creation, new life, is our ultimate goal. All these stages in the path of
mind enrichment must provide for and lead up to it. Creativity gives substance to
imagination. It creates new awareness expands consciousness, crystallizes
mental energy into reality. But meanwhile, we're stuck with our feet in the mud of
physical human existence. Still a lot more dumb than divine.

Yes, now you know. Now you know! That's what it was to be alive.
To move about in a cloud of ignorance, to go up and down trampling
on the feelings of those . . . of those about you. To spend and waste
time as though you had a million years. To be always at the mercy
of one self-centered passion or another.
Our Town, Thornton Wilder.

We can enrich and develop the special gift of our mind. But not alone. And not
fully here and now. We dust of the earth have much in common with the stars.
But no one truly believes it. Philosophers are blind. Religions glory in the bricks
and rocks they have piled together by their own hands. Schools teach
ignorance, and lower the passing score to accept those who haven't enough of it.
No one wants to wake up and see the light.

All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,

All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,
But nearness to death no nearer to God.
Where is the life we have lost in living?
 Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
The cycles of Heaven in twenty centuries
Bring us farther from God and nearer to the Dust.
T. S. Eliot, The Rock.

chapter eleven

SENSORY SYNTHESIS

It's now easy enough to see that every human being has been designed
with seven special distinct, and harmoniously interdependent senses. While our
bodies and minds have been analyzed and measured by generations of
scientists, artists, and philosophers, it is no great detraction from their efforts that
they have never discovered that there are seven senses.
More analysis can serve little good. Analysis is a process of dissection,
taking apart; and dissection takes place on a dead body. What we need is not
more psychoanalysis but psychosynthesis. Putting it all back together. We
originated (were born/created) put together. Humans have too long measured
"progress" by how much they take apart nature or society. Peoples and animals,
cultures and land have been examined, defined, analyzed, categorized, and
compartmentalized.
And so we have monoculture agriculture. Very specialized plants and
animals are raised in artificial, chemically sustained environments. And there is
specialization in health care, with the body too often treated in parts rather than
as a whole. then there is disunity in society, division of labor, and competing
factions throughout every area of human endeavor.
It is a sign of some progress to see the expansion of the science of
ecology, a study which seeks to put back together what was together before
humans took it apart. Some health care servants have begun practicing a more
holistic form of therapy, an approach with the emphasis on maintenance of good
health and prevention of disease. farmers and gardeners in growing numbers
are using methods in harmony with nature, an "ecological agriculture" (natural
farming, organic gardening) which seeks a synthesis of soil, plant, animal, man,
and weather. And others are establishing themselves in lifestyles of wholeness,
of unity with nature and harmony with humanity.
In keeping with thee need for unity, harmony, and wholeness, we should
also try to find activities which involve all the senses. We can continue the
enrichment of sensory perceptions, and nurture our natural abilities to see, hear,
feel, etc. How? And Where? At home, on the job. at school or play, in country or
city. Each person must write his or her own book on the enrichment of the
senses. That book becomes the sum of our experience and understanding of
life, and grows into the form of our character.
 An archaeologist or policeman, prospector or teacher, gardener, physician,
farmer, or parent -- all will profit greatly through developing their seven senses.
One of the most perceptive American adventurers describes one kind of aware
person:

A very different man, seen now and then at long intervals but
usually invisible is the free roamer of the wilderness -- hunter,
prospector, explorer, seeking he knows not what. Lithe and sinewy,
he walks erect, making his way with the skill of wild animals, all his
senses in action, watchful and alert, looking keenly at everything in
sight, his imagination well-nourished in the wealth of the
wilderness, coming into contact with free nature in a thousand
forms, drinking at the fountains of things, responsive to wild
influences, as trees to the winds. Well he knows the wild animals
his neighbors, what fishes are in the streams, what birds in the
forests, and where food
may be found. Hungry at times and weary, he has corresponding
enjoyment in eating and resting, and all the wilderness is home.
John Muir, Steep Trails.

Everyday life becomes fuller and more rewarding by improving our

awareness. And it applies to anything and everything. the child just learning to
balance and walk, the aged person putting a final polish on a well-cultivated
mind, and everybody and everything in between may be dealt with in terms of
one or more of the seven senses.

What activities could be classified as "whole-sensory"? What about an

exercise program for the development of each sense?
One example: lunch or tea in a Japanese garden (colonial garden, or
other well-designed rock/tree/flower gardens). Walk along winding paths, steps,
stairs and bridges (balance); varying surface textures and changing areas of
temperature and humidity (touch); well prepared food (taste); incense, flowers,
trees (smell); music, falling water that drips, pours, splashes, and the changing
acoustical climates and sounds of breezes in the trees (hearing); shapes, visual
texture changes and contrasts, colors, proportions, designs (vision); and the
peace of mind resulting from an enjoyable time spent in such surroundings --
these give a very rich whole-sensory experience.

Balance. A simple exercise program, a daily plan, whether calisthenics in

the morning, an evening run, lunchtime stroll, or a session with a TV exercise
class -- make it satisfying and consistent. Learn to take a walk. A real walk. Not
rushing to work or school or shopping, or even to complete another round of
"exercise". But a walk. Easy, unstressed physical motion of the body. It's an art,
that can bring all the senses alive. Other balance recreations are dancing,
skiing, skating, bicycling, etc.
 Touch. Learn about the beneficial effect it has on babies. And realize that
young children need what's called "active touch". That is, to actively grasp and
feel objects in the world, not just see pictures or graphics. This experiencing of
textures, shapes, and weights is very important in developing the child's
perceptive abilities. It is even important for a child to hold three-dimensional
alphabet shapes in order to learn to read and write. Infants have a need to be
touched. "Scientists" have removed young animals from their mother's care and
deprived them of post-natal grooming/petting/licking. The deprived young were
more sickly than they should have been, and some died. Early touch care is
important. Touching, caressing is the most effective method of showing love for
the child. After all, the other senses are not so well developed. Babies do not
understand language, don't know what they're looking at, can't walk, can't
partake of varieties of flavors and aromas. But their soft, tender skin -- that is
their most immediate link with the new world. Touching is possible during
feeding, washing, dressing, playing, grooming, etc.
It helps all of us to have daily skin care. A bath or shower with a brisk rub
by towel or soft brush is very helpful to the skin. This has a surface cleaning
effect, and a deeper cleansing results from the stimulation of blood and lymph
circulatory systems. The feet also need daily washing/brushing (especially in
winter) after being encased in nonabsorbent, synthetic fiber hosiery and encased
in leather of plastic for 8 to 12 hours.
Pain can be relieved or moderated by non-drug methods, perhaps
massage, diet, rest, music, warm or cold baths, etc.

Taste. Try a new recipe, cooking method, fresh vegetable or fruit.

Develop your own creative cooking talents. This takes time and involves learning
from (and eating) your mistakes. Good cooking doesn't have to be extravagant
or exotic. Plain and simple edibles. Jay Jacobs, in Gastronomy, says, "The
essence of true cuisine is thrift -- the talent for parlaying a few ingredients from
dish to dish, and meal to meal, investing each along the way with its maximum
potential for nourishment and enjoyment." Many good cooks and true home-style
food came out of poverty. When people were forced to make the best of what
was at hand. Grandmother's beloved home cooking came from simplicity,
necessity, and a kitchen garden more than from boxes, cans, artificial flavors,
and appliances.

Aroma. The nose takes part in much of the above. Spices and herbs, a
garden, a special window plant help. But it is difficult to develop the ability of this
sense in a culture that tends to suppress olfactory stimuli.

Hearing. Lesser of the two intellectual senses, ears love music. Finding good
sources is the problem. Is it possible to listen to one really good musical
performance each week. Can we easily listen to different styles and kinds : folk,
jazz, advertising jingles, Blues, Dixieland, big band, acoustic; guitar, lute, tuba,
zither, tambourine, castanet, harmonica, jug band; symphony orchestra, chamber
quartet klezmer band.... There are myriads of musical melodies to muse upon.
 More importantly, listen to people. Especially the young; and the old; and
the in-between. "Nobody listens" is a common complaint. Which is odd, after all
we have two ears and one tongue. One of the main topics in King Solomon's
book of Proverbs is speech, for example:

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and
health to the bones. Death and life are in the power of the tongue.
The lip of truth shall be established forever: but a lying tongue is but
for a moment. The heart of the righteous studies to answer: but
the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. A soft answer turns
away wrath; but grievous words stir up anger. Where no wood is,
there the fire goes out: so where there is no whisperer, the strife
ceases. In all labor there is profit; but the talk of the lips tends only
to penury. Whoso keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul
from trouble..

We can even listen to the wind, raindrops, thunder, birds, cicadas,

crickets, katydids, or a mountain stream. A tool for the ear can be a tape
recorder; used to collect sounds urban or rural, noises, accents, animals, people.
Try putting together a melánge of sonorous events from dawn to dusk. This
could be made into a game by putting together short recordings of sounds, and
then guessing the identity.

Sight. Learn the elements of beauty: proportion, color harmonies, design

principles, etc. Read an art appreciation book (such as Art and Nature
Appreciation by George Opdyke). Then, pick a specific subject to observe.
People, architecture, paintings, theater, a color, lines, whatever. Really see
something. Line, for example, what kinds are there (straight, curved, smooth,
crooked, vertical, diagonal, horizontal), which are most beautiful. Look for a
particular color. What objects are yellow? Lemons, schoolbuses, soapdishes,
dandelions, baby ducks, egg yolk, embroidery, paint and paper. Why are things
the color they are. What if they were a different color? Cameras, a microscope,
magnifying glass, binoculars, telescopes, or a sketch book to make drawings can
help develop a seeing eye.

Seventh Sense. Last but not least, the mind is the lasting sense. When
the eyes grow dim, when the ears pall of hearing, the nose and taste dull, touch
numbs, and balance becomes inert and supine -- then the mind may still live on
and grow. The lesser sensual perceptions are helpful in this earthly life, but their
purpose is to serve the mind.
If a government wants information they sometimes assign a spy to
observe a particular person or country or situation. When a political party wants
to know the views of a certain segment of society they appoint a member of that
group to head a committee which will report those special interests. Similarly,
our conscious mind employs six other senses to inform us of special aspects of
this earthly environment. Each sense reports back to the brain, where the
knowledge thus supplied can serve to edify the higher sense. And our Conscious
Aware Mind is the director of this intelligence gathering team, this "Sensory
Intelligence Agency".
Because the mind/brain is involved with all activities we must seek to
enrich the mind through all endeavors. In this respect, projects should be sought
which will culture our higher sensibilities. We can learn to think and wonder,
search and ask. Just as the body must be fed and exercised in order to grow
and be in health, so the mind must constantly be nurtured throughout life. Each
mind is unique, and mental development is a personal responsibility. So
everyone needs to find the best way to build his or her mind. Realize that this
does not mean only intellectual development. Just as with all the other senses,
so the mind has a varied range of capability. And, being the chief of all the
senses, the mind has the greatest spectrum of the most wonderful attributes.
While the brain is responsible for helping us to see the colors in light
entering the eyes, the mind has the capacity to create the colors of our
personality. As the mind grows and develops, we improve awareness, learn to
understand.

Who but man possesses the awareness of ecstasy, the ecstasy of

love, the love of beauty, the beauty of accomplishment, the
accomplishment of inspiration, the inspiration of creativity, the
creativity of wisdom, the wisdom of humility, the humility of humor,
and the humor of himself?
Robert L. Kuhn.

It is the mind element within us that gives birth to such qualities of

character. And because we have mind, we are able to propagate the higher
virtues of human character -- patience, kindness, loyalty, faith, temperance,
hope, and love. This book can give only imperfect information for these areas.
Character comes from living. Each of us must write that living volume in our own
thought and action.
Some have tried out personal development and written of their
experiences. One, Dorothea Brande in Wake Up and Live! , says, "we must
make our minds both keener and more flexible. We should first take stock of our
minds and put them through their paces so that we can get the maximum use
from them." Like physical conditioning, this requires evaluating strengths and
weaknesses. In what are we strong -- attention, seeing things from another's
point of view, questioning, meditating, perseverance, loyalty? And where are we
weaker -- mind-wandering, one-sided thinking, gullibility, lack of vision,
antagonism, inconsistency? Dorothea Brande gave some simple suggestions:
#) Try spending an hour each day without saying anything except in
answer to direct questions. This is to learn the value of silence, and to think
before speaking.
#) Write a letter without using the words "I, me, my, mine"; talk for fifteen
minutes without using the words "I, me, my, mine"; write a letter in a positive,
healthy tone; keep a new acquaintance talking about him/herself while showing
genuine interest; talk exclusively about yourself without complaining, boasting, or
boring others.
#) "Learn to think for half an hour a day exclusively on one subject." This
is practice in directing the mind toward a single objective.
#) Plan two hours of a day, and live according to that plan. Learn to make the
best use of time. Architectural blueprints establish the limits of the space we
inhabit and schedules define the borders or our chronological domain
#) Put yourself in new situations -- use a different form of transportation than
normally, go without food for 12 hours, stay up all night and work. These
suggestions she makes are for the purpose of developing mental resiliency. So
we keep our minds flexible, alive, and able to change and grow.

Benjamin Franklin also tried such a study. Ben had the goal of arriving at
"moral perfection". He listed 13 virtues:

1) Temperance - eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation; so as to

procure the necessary coolness and clearness of head for constant
vigilance.
2) Silence - speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid
trifling conversation; knowledge is obtained by the use of the ear rather
than of the tongue.
3) Order - let all your things have their places; let each part of your
business have its time.
4) Resolution - resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail
what you resolve.
5) Frugality - make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; that
is, waste nothing.
6) Industry - lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off
all unnecessary actions;
7) Sincerity - use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly; and, if you
speak, speak accordingly.
8) Justice - wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are
your duty.
9) Moderation - avoid extremes.
10) Cleanliness - Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.
11) Tranquility - be not disturbed at trifles or at accidents common or
unavoidable.
12) Chastity.
13) Humility - imitate Jesus and Socrates.

Read of Franklin's quest in his Autobiography. He tried to give "a week's

strict attention to each of the virtues successively". He made a chart of these
virtues, and kept a record of progress. His chart was a sort of diary where he
noted how well he was learning to live by those principles. He summed up,
saying, "But on the whole, though I never arrived at the perfection I had been so
ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was by the endeavor, a better
and a happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it.
In this piece it was my design to explain and enforce this doctrine, that vicious
actions are not hurtful because they are forbidden, but forbidden because they
are hurtful. ...it was, therefore, every one's interest to be virtuous who wished to
be happy even in this world."

It would be fascination to try a sort of development exercise using a list of

the senses or intellectual attributes, etc. Take questioning. Give that some
attention for a week. The ability and tendency to inquire is an important human
trait. In some societies questioning is severely restricted. People are told to
accept the condition they are in, and never mind why. In many historical
situations, great changes (for better or worse) have been brought about because
one person asked a question. So why not try it. Make a list of teen or twenty
questions. Real questions. Then set about answering them. Examples:
1- What is beauty?
2- How do birds know to migrate?
3- Whatever happened to . . . . (a former schoolmate)
4- Where did life come from?
5- What is music?
6- Why are women/men the way they are?
7- Does God Exist?
8- What are five good reasons for smoking (or any bad habit)?
9- Will there be a World War III (or IV, or V)?
10- How could all those people in Dealy plaza in Dallas have heard a
gunshot from the grassy knoll?
11- . . . . .
12- . . . . .

Vision; can you learn to develop this mental power Write 5 or 10

predictions based on thoughtful examination, and see what happens
Points Of View; how many different p-o-v's influence your life? Who are
the people whose opinions affect how you live? Make a list: father, mother,
sister, brother, daughter, son, husband, wife, employer, IRS auditor, minister,
foreman, salesman, union official, reporter, editor, author, fashion designer, TV
network president, FDA bureaucrat, OSHA inspector, special interest lobbyist,
medical school curriculum planner, janitor, advertising copy writer, Kremlin
nuclear strategy adviser, etc., etc., etc. It is conceivable that a single person can
be related in a vast complexity of unseen ways to literally Millions of other people
on this planet. Think about it! The intricate interweaving of trade, philosophy,
politics, religion, communications, aggression, and migration through time and
space means that each of us is in touch with every other human being. The
saying "no man is an island" is an understatement. We are all interrelated in
many dimensions.
Another point-of-view exercise is to pick a subject, then look at it from six
or eight points of view. How would a man, woman, baby, teenagers, bureaucratic
regulator, taxpayer, atheist, Jew, Nazi, manager, union member, mercenary,
pacifist, truck driver, ... look at: a bicycle, a matzo ball, UFO, real estate tax
deduction, proof that the book of Daniel was written before 400 B.C., a nuclear
test by Egypt in the Libyan desert, a nuclear test by Germany in the south
Atlantic, a nuclear "test" by any nation in the downtown area of another nation's
capitol?

Franklin and Brande developed their own personal growth projects. There
have been adventuresome people who set out on various pursuits after deciding
what goals they want to accomplish in this life, and others who get by with a few
New Year's resolutions. What novel, down to earth, stimulating, reasonable,
rewarding, simple, achievable, revolutionary projects could we try?
@Investigate the local geography; what rocks are under foot; what
interesting landscape features are nearby.
@Plant a tree
@Read a good magazine on an unfamiliar topic -- boxing, shortwave
radio listening, treasure hunting, brides, Blacks, writing, science,
monsters.
@Learn about a peculiar subculture -- sheepherders, homeless
men/women in big cities, polo clubs, Russian street-sweepers, book
editors.
@Climb a mountain (or a low hill)
@Prove at least one thing that's always been taken for granted; really
prove that it's true.
@Get rid of one fear.
@Learn a folk dance
@Build a bridge (a board across a puddle, or a friendship between
people).
@Paint a picture (or, draw a rough sketch).
@Learn one good thing about a despised person or group.
@Get rid of another fear.
@Do some of the things suggested in this book.
@Create a new and tasty recipe.
Growing, maturing, and building character is what it's all about. Sensory
enrichment can be an enduring adventure which seasons and matures the
individual and nurtures those whom he or she dwells among. And this need not
be expensive, or exotic, or strange, or abstruse, or esoteric.

At long last I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple

things of life which are the real ones after all.... I believe we would
be happier to have a personal revolution in our lives and go back to
simpler living and more direct thinking. It is the simple things of life
that make living worth while, the sweet fundamental things such as
love and duty, work and rest, and living close to nature.
 Notice the faces of the people who rush by on the streets or on our
country roads. They nearly all have a strained, harassed look and
anyone you meet will tell you there is no time for anything anymore.
The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes and
surely it is in the everyday things that the beauty of life lies.
Surely the days and nights are long as they ever were. Why should
we need extra time in which to enjoy ourselves? If we expect to
enjoy our life we will have to be joyful in all of it, not just at stated
intervals, when we can get the time, or when we have nothing else
to do....
A feeling of pleasure in a task seems to shorten it wonderfully and it
makes a great difference with a day's work if we get enjoyment
from it instead of looking for all our pleasure altogether apart from
it, as seems to be the habit we are more and more growing into.
Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Every day gives every person an equal amount of time. Too often that
time gets filled with things, instead of being filled with our own lives.

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under

the heaven.
Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat
and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he takes
under the sun all the days of his life.
All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not
filled. All things are full of labor; man cannot utter it: the eye is not
satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
Whoso keeps the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise
man's heart discerns both time and judgment. Because to every
purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is
great upon him.
/vanity of vanities, says the preacher; all is vanity.
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep
His commandments: for this is the whole man.
King Solomon, Ecclesiastes.

chapter twelve

A BETTER WAY

We human creatures have ben designed with seven senses. This has long gone
unrecognized. The so-called "five senses" are easily noticed of course. Yet it's
not that difficult to see that we have a definite, well organized sixth sense,
balance. And the brain, too, is a sense. It represents the seventh system and
receives all physical sensations. Its functioning actually creates perceptions. We
could not use the six physical senses without the master control brain. The brain
is to the senses what ecology is to the sciences. Ecology is the sum of all the
sciences -- biology, chemistry, geography, mathematics, astronomy, physics all
put together. Similarly, the brain relies upon the data acquired by all the lesser
senses. Yet it is obviously a greater, and separate, entity.
This concept of he even senses is no strange, theoretical, occult, or
contrived idea. It is a simple, plain observable fact. Something we all can know.
The six senses and the brain are responsive to physical energy -- thermal,
light, mechanical, electrical, or gravitational energy. From the earth beneath, to
the sun and beyond, waves of energy pass through matter and space, organizing
and revealing the wonder of creation.

The flow of energy through a system acts to organize that system.

Harold Morowitz, Energy Flow In Biology.

Our senses are tuned and set in the body like so many different radio
frequency bands. Each responds to a different set of energy signals. And each
sense is a channel which gathers in a different kind of information. The resulting
perceptions make up all we know of this planetary world. What we are and what
we know is very much dependent upon that information, which, ultimately, may
be thought of in terms of energy.
All these forms of energy are flowing according to definite and absolute
laws. According to principles which govern the interrelationship between energy
and matter. A law may be thought of as a statement defining and describing the
behavior of matter and energy. A law may also be considered to be a force which
causes the particular behavior. And a law can regulate the performance and
interactions of matter and energy. It is because of laws that we are able to see
different colors, hear a variety of sounds, and walk over the land in perfect
balance.
Human mind is superior to anything of the sort in animals. Yet human
brain is only a little greater in comparison. But we humans, of all earth's
creatures, are not in harmony with nature or one another. What is the
explanation for the difference? Why have we such a greater mental endowment?
Why so obviously set completely apart from and above other creatures? Well,
simply because the mind is the extra dimension that raises the mental capacities
of human brains. Mind imparts the intellectual faculties to each person. Mind
amplifies consciousness, and preserves memory, and develops and maintains
character.
It is mind which distinguishes humans from animals. Mankind has
problems which are different from any difficulties animals may encounter (the
most serious problems facing animals today are caused by people). That is so
because human nature has an element setting us apart from animal nature. War,
hate, ingratitude, pollution, envy, vanity, drunkenness, immorality and impatience
in the human world far outclass any similar manifestations among lesser
creatures. And it is in the realm of the mind where a search must be made for
the answers to human problems.
Each of the senses functions according to physical laws. Laws of energy
transmission regulate what light and colors of the visible section of the
electromagnetic spectrum we can see. More than that, there are higher
principles relating to the sense of sight, for example, perspective, proportion,
design. And the greatest of these would be the laws of human visual perception.
There are laws of light, laws of seeing, and laws of how the mind
comprehends. How a person perceive a particular visual scene is a very
individual experience. A cloudy sky, will be seen differently by different persons.
One will not even notice the sky; another will merely see the physical lights,
colors, and objects; another sees the aesthetic, or artistic, or emotional aspects
in the beauty of the forms of the clouds and lighting effects; still another might
perceive the weather message of the sky --whether a storm is ending or
impending and whether it might bring wind, rain, hail, or snow.
Every level of sensory activity is regulated and guided by various
principles, be they physical, physiological, psychological, or philosophical. What
needs to be considered now is the action of the mind. It is mind which makes us
human. The question is, how does mind operate? And how can mental powers
be improved? The better side of human nature, and the solution for the troubles
which plague us are well known. It is not so far away that we need send
someone to get it. It is not so hidden that we need to search long and hard, it is
not so foreign that we cannot understand (although there is a Translator). Simply
peace, love, thankfulness, cleanliness, humility, temperance, faithfulness, and
patience. While our sense organs may in some cases be inferior to those of
certain animals, and our brain is slightly superior physiologically to that of other
animals, it is the mind and its good and evil aspects which set us apart.
This mind is not a separate being, but rather a component part of us which
imparts mental power to our human physical being. And just as each sense is
governed by and operates according to laws, so the mind's behavior may be
defined by higher principles.
But why is the inner nature of man so often deceitful and wicked/ "The
heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?",
said the prophet Jeremiah. And, "those things which proceed out of the mouth
come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed
evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man." So spoke Jesus of
Nazareth. We must face this matter. Animals do not suffer as much from
immorality and the various attendant vices. Because they do not have our minds
which tie a being into a relationship with ethical laws. There is a force of good
and a force of evil, and the mind is able to be responsive to those energies.
Wrong-doing begins with a corresponding causative thought in the mind.
As James the Apostle wrote: "From whence come wars and fighting among you?
come they not hence even of your lusts that war in your members? But every
man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when
lust has conceived, it brings forth death." And so where we must stop evil deeds
is at their source from wrong thoughts. We must master our own minds, bringing
thoughts under the influence of benevolent intentions. It is a real struggle to hold
our thoughts to the proper course. Abraham Lincoln and Isaac Newton diligently
put their mental powers to work solving mundane problems. And it requires ads
much, and more, effort to confront and deal with the problems of the spirit.

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what

I want, but the very thing I hate. When I want to do right, evil lies
close at hand. I see another law at war with the law of
my mind and making me captive. Wretched man that I am!
Who will deliver me?
Apostle Paul, Romans 7:15-25.

"The idle mind is the devil's workshop", said Benjamin Franklin. It requires
effort to obey laws that are moral in nature. Our minds must not set idling, going
nowhere. Energy needs to be applied to move the thoughts in the right direction.
The physical desires naturally gravitate towards lusts for wrong behavior. But
because we are not animals, there is a higher way of life open for us. That way
is governed by spiritual principles, and the spiritual aspect of the mind connects
us to a relationship with those nobler ethics. Man's human spirit is responsive to
spiritual force just as the physical senses are related to physical matter, energy,
and laws of gravitation, thermodynamics, acoustics, etc.
Spiritual energy does not force us into a pattern of conduct. But it does
attracts us, to one way, or toward the opposite. We decide whether to follow. In
is the Mind, governing the brain and body, which must conform to spiritual
principles. Those spiritual impulses may be good or evil. Our human mind,
however, is sadly constrained more by the inferior, contrary forces

We are shocked when we discover that great men were weak and
petty, dishonest or selfish, sexually vicious, vain or intemperate;
and many people think it disgraceful to disclose to the public its
heroes' failings.
There is not much to choose between men. They are a
hodgepodge of greatness and littleness, of virtue and vice, of
nobility and baseness. Some have more strength of character, or
more opportunity, and so in one direction or another give their
instincts freer play, but potentially they are the same.
For my part I do not think I am any better or any worse than most
people, but I know that if I set down every action in my life and
every thought that has crossed my mind, the world would consider
me a monster of depravity.
Somerset Maugham, The Summing Up.

The human mind is subject to death, decay, and degeneracy. As Apostle

Paul wrote to Roman Christians, "They that are after the flesh do mind the things
of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the spirit. For to be
carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." We are
subject to war, hatred, envy, strife, immorality, greed -- all characteristics of this
lower nature. It is necessary to have another mind helping us, in order to be
partakers of a diviner nature and so escape the corruption of the world. A Nature
that is fuller, more complete, and perfect in dimension. A Mind which will enable
our human minds to be in harmony with other humans and with moral laws.
It is quite a struggle, and not enough to merely cease from evil ways. We
need to depart from evil and do good. These two efforts -- putting away the bad
. . . put on the good -- go together. It is necessary to put good in place of the
expunged evil nature, thoughts, and practices. The technique is to "overcome
evil with good" (Romans 12"21).
Nature abhors a vacuum. A mind empty of bad thoughts is a blank mind
that cannot express anything either positive or negative. So a life cannot be
merely free of evil. It absolutely needs to be filled with the opposite sentiment --
good. To accomplish this, choices must be made hourly, daily, throughout life.
Choices between life and death, good and evil.
We who are weak in our physical nature must put on what we do not now
have. First, we purge what is unwholesome.

Put to death what is earthly in you: immorality, impurity,

passion, evil desire, covetousness.... Put them all away:
anger, wrath, malice, slander and foul talk.
Apostle Paul, Colossians 3:5,8.

Then promptly put on good behavior.

Put on . . . compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness,

patience, forebearing one another, forgiving one another;
. . . and above all these put on love, which binds everything
together in perfect harmony.
Put on the new nature which is being renewed in knowledge
after the image of its Creator.
Apostle Paul, Colossians 3:12, 13, 14, 10.

We need not wait for good thought to pop into the mind. And don't wait for
a physical or emotional feeling. Just do good. The attitude will follow. We must
do good because it is necessary, and the action will help to build the right
attitude, a state of mind which will grow into goodness.

Long ago a forest was buried in a great flood, buried beneath the
sediment and silica-bearing water. Slowly the physical organic parts of the trees
were replaced by the minerals from the water. The result we see today is
petrified wood, a hard, beautiful, enduring rock. The process of character
formation similarly requires time, a life time, and experiences which change and
mature us. The product in our future . . . is an enduring vibrant being.
 The fact is, we humans did not evolve. There are no satisfactory
explanations to prove evolutionary doctrines. The fossil record shows only the
leftover debris of a series of floods. Atoms and molecules are not alive, yet cells
which are made up of molecules do live. And cells are wonderfully complex, with
some creatures existing as single-celled entities, and other creatures made of
trillions of individual specially designed cells. Something separates the molecular
and cellular levels. Life. Where did life come from? Sow did just the right kinds
of molecules come together and become enlivened? Evolutionary science
cannot tell.
Compare the dead atoms and molecules to the lifeless planets of our solar
system. Planets other than our earth, and the asteroids are inanimate
desolation. And look at the devastation on our own moon. It is so near to the
earth. How could our planet ever have escaped the showers of hurtling
fragments which caused the terribly shattered lunarscape? Our earth is like a
cosmic cell. But it could not have avoided the catastrophe that hit the moon and
other planets. The earth at some time must have been a devastated wasteland,
a seething world of roiling turbid seas, and vapor clouds many miles thick. But
look now! We see a pristine, verdant and azure, cloud-dappled sphere. At some
time in the past something happened to cause the Renewal, the Regeneration,
the Revivification of this planet.
And we human beings? We came from a vastly more Superior Mind. One
which designed us and produced us, and put us on this earth for a purpose. It is
a law of nature that Life begets life, kind begets kind. And now Mind begets
mind.
Mind is what gives us our human abilities and makes us susceptible to the
feelings that make up human nature. But mind is not bound blindly to material
forces. Mind has a free will -- ability to choose, to consider, evaluate, weigh
evidence, and receive instruction from outside sources. YET HUMAN MIND-
NATURE IS INCOMPLETE. We need another Nature from beyond, and
additional Mind element, as Apostle Paul says, "Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2:5). That is "the spirit of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind" (II Timothy 1:7). Then we will have help to set out
toward perfection.
This all takes time and experiences, which are helpful to us, as the Apostle
James said, "Count it all joy when you fall into various trials; knowing that the
trying of your faith brings patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that
you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." (James 1:2-4). It is a pathway
to travel "in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a
perfect man" (Ephesians 4:13), to acquire a whole mind in a whole body. It is a
life study, for which we have a guide book: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto
good works." (II Timothy 3:16,17).
Now, what form of energy is it to which the mind can be re-tuned? It is the
law of the seventh sense;
 I will put My Law in their inward parts, and write it their
hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My People.
Jeremiah 31:33.

The way of good, love, truth.

Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore

love is the fulfilling of the law.
Apostle Paul, Romans 13:10.

In effect, then, love is a law. It is a way of living and giving which is

practiced by an aware mind.

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word,

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Apostle Paul, Galatians 5:14.

It is helpful to learn to use the senses. We need to walk, handle, taste,

smell, hear, see, and think. But the learning and practice should be directed
toward right uses. Our senses should be exercised by use, so that we can
distinguish good from evil. What value is it to be able to walk, but in the wrong
path? No matter how attractive the taste or aroma might be, there is no merit in
eating that which is unfit. The right use of our seven senses brings enjoyable
experiences that are uplifting, constructive, beneficial. And it is the condition of
the seventh sense, our mind, that determines the goodness of our experiences.
Take eating, for example, as King Solomon discerned: "Better is a dinner of herbs
where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith." The nobler nature of the
mind when in the right attitude can give satisfaction to the simplest of sensory
experiences.
Proper usage of all our senses is in separating good from evil through a
maturing, growing process during this physical, earthly life.

But strong meat belongs to them that are full of age, even to those
who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil
Book of Hebrews 5:14

The "strong meat"or "solid food refers to righteous principles. The better
ways of living that develop character. Spiritual nourishment. And the growth and
cultivation of right character is the purpose for living and using our senses.
Character is the product of the refinement of the seventh sense. Character may
be defined as a person's ability to obtain knowledge of the truth, then make a
decision to choose the right way, and use self-discipline to actually do what is
right. This is an everyday process.
And how do we first begin to develop character?

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts;...
 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways...
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than
your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:7-9.

Reject wrong deeds and ideas.

Perhaps character may sometimes result from living the hard way and
learning by mistakes. But to have a worthy lasting character requires developing
the mind correctly. Our minds sum up all the experiences and lessons of a life
that has been lived on this earth. Laura Ingalls Wilder observed:

We lay away the gleanings of our years in the edifice of our character,
where nothing is ever lost. What have we stored away in this safe place
during the season that is past?

The enduring harvest of life is preserved by the Renewed human mind.

And that harvest is not an end but a better beginning. Character is a pathway, a
conviction to live well, to go the good way.

I stand aghast at young men who bust themselves with

introspective thoughts, full of argument of whether they can do this
or that. Wasting their time. Instead of saying: "God put me here for
some purpose. I am going to realize it."
Once we are convinced of that single fact: that we are put here for
a purpose: that the seed of divine energy has been given us and
that it is for us to cultivate it to its fullest bloom, the way will be
shown us. It is our part to make the effort and to put the fullest
force and integrity into that effort.
Edward W. Bok, Scribner's Magazine, Oct. 1925.

The necessary environment for the development of persons of character is

Freedom. We must be able to choose between right and wrong, even though
that carries with it the possibility of making the wrong choice. We must have the
freedom to choose. Societies-cultures-nations without freedom cannot possibly
develop individuals with character. Now this may not be apparent at first. It
would seem that totalitarian dictatorships have well-behaved citizens while
democracies contain a;; sorts of unruly peoples. But this can be understood.
Authoritarian regimes simply give their people no choice. In a free country, there
is opportunity for the exercise of free will. And that means there is the continual
possibility of doing wrong, making mistakes, hurting and being hurt. More
importantly, though, there is always the freedom to seek out what is right, to use
the mind, to question, to strive for truth, to exhort and help others to do good and
follow right ways. Freedom provides infinite possibilities to develop character.
Still, freedom needs the strengthening afforded by law.
 Suddenly she had a completely new thought. The Declaration [of
Independence] and the song ["America The Beautiful"] came
together in her mind, and she thought: God is America's King.
She thought: Americans won't obey any king earth. Americans are
free. That means they have to obey their own consciences. No
king bosses Pa; he has to boss himself. Why (she thought), when I
am a little older, Pa and Ma will stop telling me what to do, and
there isn't anyone else who has a right to give me orders, I will have
to make myself be good.
Her whole mind seemed to be lighted up by that thought. This is
what it means to be free. It means, you have to be good. "Our
father's God, Author of liberty --".The laws of Nature and of Nature's
God endow you with a right to life and liberty. Then you have to
keep the laws of God, for God's law is the only thing that gives you
a right to be free.
Laura Ingalls Wilder,
Little Town On The Prairie, pp 76, 77.

We can go beyond enriching our physical lives through physical

sensations. Seeing, hearing, tasting, etc. can be good, but only when guided by
a mind in tune with the force of good. Let us seek out and provide the best food
for thought just as we would provide for our sense of taste. Let us have stable
minds to build up our character just as our sense of balance guides the
movements of our physical bodied. The mind is a sense which must be used
and developed. exercise the mind and feed it good attitudes from a right spirit,

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any
excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Apostle Paul, Philippians 4:8.

This is simply a mental dietary plan. A recipe for the spirit. Just as a
person would go out and raise food for a recipe or special diet so we do the
same for the mind. The mind is sustained by spiritual energy. And there are
good and bad kinds of spirit just as there are helpful and harmful foods. A mind
won't just grow by itself, any more than our bodies would grow without
nourishment.
Take the above ingredients. The true, honorable, just, pure, lovely,
gracious, excellent, is worthy. Fed on them. (But first, find them. If you have to,
make a scrapbook collection of clippings and pictures and notes illustrating these
concepts.) Look for these in the world around, and think about them, and . . . . .
act them out -- do some things true, honorable, . . . .

The earth is the cradle of the mind.

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.
 Here, on earth, is where we are brought up. When fully developed, our
minds will be new creations. At birth our physical hereditary material is like a
complete printed volume of information (contained in chromosomes, genes,
DNA.). King David said, "Thine eyes didst see mine unperfect substance, and in
Thy book were all my members written," Psalm 139:16. At that same beginning,
(birth) the mind represents a volume of blank pages. The two are
complementary -- a finished physical book, and a clean, unmarred, open and
ready, lesson book of life, the mind. we write our lives on the pages of our mind.
This new information, gathered throughout a lifetime, thee knowledge not of
physical details, is, moral character, etched into and absorbed by the mind.
Our present material existence is for the purpose of making a
transformation. We must be changed, transformed by the renewing of our minds,
renewing the spirit of our minds. So here we have been put, to develop good
character in and by our minds.
We will mature, growing now as embryos. We are but seeds in the natural
world, sown in perishable, physical form. This body is only a prototype, subject
now to physical constraints, and ultimately it will die and decay. But through the
mind there is hope. Our body matter is under the control of material forces, but
since we have minds, we can come into association with a greater, life sustaining
and renewing Force.
Then we shall be in harmony with an unseen world and invisible energies.
The enrichment of human mind by a diviner nature brings forth a crop --
character. the growing season of the year produces plants bearing seed for latter
harvest. Human life is a season for the cultivation of character. At the end, the
mind-seed will be substance for yet greater potential growth.

Mind has been implanted in us. And we have ben planted in this world, as
an awesome creative enterprise. We have seven senses because we are
modeled after the perfect design of a greater being. In the image of our Creator.
These seven senses enable us to be -- to exist in this world. With each sense
specially attuned to a certain characteristic of the physical environment, and the
brain linked with all the six lesser senses, and the mind as an intermediary in
contact with a higher form of energy. Our Seventh Sense, The Mine connects us
to our Future

Faster than the speed of light,

Able to lap vast galaxies in a single bound;
Stronger than all the forces of darkness.
Piercing to the heart of the most profound perplexities.
Sentient to the finest imperceptible energies;
Discerner of visions beyond the sight of fleshly eyes.
The Mind ---- Seed of Eternity.

CREATIVITY
 The culmination of the whole spectrum of mental characteristics reaches
fulfillment in this one quality: Creativity. The act of creating is the harmonious
composition of elements. "Elements" can be things or thoughts; composition is
the work of putting together; harmonious means the overruling presence of
principles.
How to create: first get the facts. Then find out what laws will affect the
production and development of the creative endeavor. And, of course, choose a
media, something with which to create. Finally, practice
Since creativity comes at the end of all the mental attributes, it is
necessary to learn and grow in all those previously mentioned ways. So, get rid
of ignorance, wake up, become Aware; overcome doubt, discouragement, and
fear; and do away with prejudice. Acquire the best knowledge on whatever
subject is being dealt with. Above all, try to Understand why, or at least how,
things/events happen, that is, what principles govern the relationships of various
things.
Next, choose a proper method or substance for creative efforts. This
could be a musical instrument, an industrial or craft material (wood, fabric, clay,
stone, paint, paper, etc.), ideas. And then, do, create!
Actually the fullest expression of Creativity is through the medium of the
seventh sense, through its personal, moral nature. Then the result (all that we
are striving for) would be the creation of Righteous Character.
Marilyn Ferguson (in The Brain Revolution) says this about the
characteristics of the creative thinker,

The creative person is playful. He entertains wild ideas and feels no need to
pass immediate judgment on them. He is a one-man brainstorming session. He
asks questions unceasingly. He is not satisfied with pat answers and has a
minimal respect for "established facts". Offered two alternatives, neither of which
seems quite satisfying, he may devise a third. Even if he is a painter, poet, or
composer, he does not think of his work as invention but rather as discovery.
Drawing indiscriminately from chance observation and from outside his field, he
is eclectic, always synthesizing and integrating.

She adds, "Nearly all the characteristics of the creative mind are present
in young children! The child explores the environment, coins words, synthesizes
phrases. He relishes surprises and copes with a challenge. He daydreams,
discovers, asks questions unceasingly. His perceptions are fresh, strictly his
own" Wonderful. But where have all the children gone? And what happens to
the child's creation-sense?
Albert Einstein, too, wondered,

It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction
have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry, for this delicate little
plant, aside from stimulation, stands mostly in need of freedom; without this it
goes to wreck and ruin without fail. It is a very grave mistake to think that the
enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a
sense of duty.

So what is character development? The finest form of creativity. First of

all there is a difference between character and personality. Personality is a
person's inherent nature, something everybody has. It is formed early, is
relatively static and unpliable, and is socially manifested. Personality is who a
person is. Character is developed, through living. It is the responding to life's
experiences with self-discipline, applying effort to develop maturity in every
situation. It is the Ultimate Value and Worth of each man and woman . . . what
we become . . . what we forever will be. Character is what a person is.

Character Development.
1. Character grows in a separate free being, culminating in Maturity. Through
free-will, we dynamic living beings are capable of growth, change, development.
Without freedom there can be no growth.
2. Character is instructed and developed by Spirit. Guided by spiritual qualities,
a person is continually renewed. The "bread and butter" (nuts and bolts?) of this
aspect of growth is to stop doing what's wrong. Then continue, step by step, in a
way such as Apostle Peter described: "giving all diligence, add to your faith,
virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to
temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly
kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity."
3. Character continues to be refined through experiences. A living being can
develop only through activity -- doing something that is planned to guide the
growth of definite aspects of character.
4. Character takes time. For every purpose there is time. A beginning, progress
and development, then an end/culmination which is the level of maturity.
Character occupies time. Character is the essence of human maturity -- to be
human is to live -- Life is Time . . . time to grow.
5. Character is preserved by Mind; it is not lost, it becomes a possession, part
and whole of one's very being. The medium of character preservation is the
human mind. Character is something we can take with us, as it is something we
become. The mind learns, thinks, reflects, meditates. The mind acquires true
knowledge, discerns the right values that produce the good life. The mind
remembers. It remembers Us.

The Seven Aspects Of Character

1. Love. This is not a thing, a postage stamp, a sculpture, candy; not a song or a
slogan; not for sale; not a movie, a book, a new idea; it does not need speeches
to represent it, does not require a great intellect for its manifestation; does not
depend upon sacrifice of property, giving great gifts, or suffering physically. So,
what is it? It can't be described. It isn't an object to be dissected, analyzed,
measured. But love certainly can be known, and so to be known, must be
experienced. Love is experience -- the experience of living well.
Love is enduring, like good character. Love is pleasant, content to be just love,
just itself Love is plain simplicity, it's decent. Love lets others be. It sheds insult
and assault. Its thinking is beauty and light. Love is joyfully true. It endures
throughout all . . . . It makes truth a part of its self, assimilates whatever is true.
With Eternal Destiny at heart and in mind, Love always looks forward on the
sunny side. It gives support. It is forever.
2. Loyalty to right principles. There are good ways and bad ways of living.
Character development means sticking firmly to the law that is a lamp to our feet,
the precepts that lead to enduring life.
3. Character comes into being by way of the success approach. Living the good
way will succeed at last, since success is the product of a law-abiding life
4. The process of character development is the never-ending adventure of truth-
seeking. As Wisdom is quoted as saying, "Unto you I call -- be of an
understanding heart, receive my instruction for wisdom is better than rubies; and
all the things that can be desired cannot be compared to it. I love them that love
me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honor are with me . .
. I lead in the way of righteousness . . . that I may cause those that love me to
inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. Now therefore hearken unto me,
O you children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be
wise, for whoso finds me finds life." (Proverbs 8).
5. Character develops in a comprehensive mind. Which is simply a liberal,
unbiased, open mind. To have a comprehensive view requires freedom from
prejudice. Character is the result of a whole life lived well.
6. Character development leads to (and is lead by) the acknowledgment of a
Higher Source of wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and true righteous
character. "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep
His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
7. The final aspect of character development is the simplest: the Will to Do. Any
amount of good character is better than none. And to acquire it requires action;
do something, do anything, whatever will lead to life.

Sow a thought, reap an action

Sow an action, reap a habit
Sow a habit, reap a character
Sow a character, reap a destiny.

Following is Blaise Pascal's view of mankind's endeavor at character

building.

All men desire to be happy; to this there is no exception. However diverse the
means they employ, they are all seeking this goal. What causes some to go to
the wars and others to stay at home is this same desire, which they all have in
common, accompanied by different views. Our will never makes the slightest
motion except towards this object. It is the motive of all t he actions of all men,
even of those that hang themselves.
And yet, after so great a number of years, never without religion, has anyone
arrived at this point toward which all perpetually aim. All complain: princes,
subjects; nobles, plebians; old, young; strong, weak; wise, ignorant; well, sick; of
all lands, of all times, of all ages, and of all conditions.
A trial so long, so uninterrupted, and so uniform, ought indeed to convince us of
our impotence to attain to happiness through our own efforts; but example
teaches us little. The old case is never so like the new that there is not some
delicate difference between them, and it is because of this difference that we
expect our new dream will not fail us as did the old. And thus the present never
satisfying us, hope lures us on, and from unhappiness to unhappiness conducts
us even to death, which of all unhappiness is the eternal consummation.
What, then, cries out to us this eager desire and this powerlessness -- if not that
there was formerly in man true happiness, whereof there now remains to him
only the void it has left. This he tries in vain to fill up with all that surrounds him,
seeking in absent things the help he does not find in things present, but to no
avail, because the infinite gulf can be filled only by an object infinite and
immutable, that is to say, only by God Himself.