M is for Mysteries of the Mind

When you think about it, the mind seems more invisible than mysterious but there are moments when we become aware that our mind is functioning independently.  For example, you're driving home from work and as you approach your house you realize that for the past several minutes you weren't paying any attention to the turns you made, the lights you stopped at, or the scenery you passed.  I know, scary hu?  But we've all done it, it's like we're on auto-pilot while our mind takes off on a little journey of its own.

And who hasn't experienced that odd feeling that you are reliving some experience from the past?  You know, you walk by a house you've never seen before but something about it tugs at your memory.  Or you have a conversation with someone and you get an odd feeling that you've had this exact conversation before.

Or how about when you are stumped by something during the day, something you just can't remember, like the name of a band who sang some obscure song.  Eventually you give up and go about your business right?  Then wham, it comes to you in the middle of the night and you wake up and go, "Oh yea, so and so sang that song."  It's as if your mind was on a mission to search and retrieve and even though you weren't consciously thinking, it continued to percolate behind the scenes until it found what it was looking for.

All these experiences are pretty common but they do suggest that the mind is separate and distinct from the brain.  Here is where the mystery comes in.  Where does the mind reside?  Is it physically real?  When we "talk" to ourselves how does that work? I know, I know, it's a pretty weird topic but it does make one think.  But do those thoughts come from the mind or the brain?  Gottcha!