The complex mind

Two aspects of mind

The third-density mind is unique in that it is divided, split, made complex. 79.42 The free flow of information is interrupted by a built-in handicap, at once the great virtue and the great handicap of third density, Ra says. That is the rational/intuitive mind. 19.13

A complex is a combination of interwoven parts. To be complex is to consist of more than one characteristic element or concept, in Ra’s terms. 79.19 In Ra’s statement above, 19.13 rational and intuitive refer to the two aspects of the complex mind which may also be described as separate and connected, conscious and unconscious, or as the ego and the authentic self.

Our mind is composed of these two aspects, however they are identified. Ra characterizes this complexity as the fundamental necessity and primary requisite 19.11 of the third-density body. Ra 83.19 and Q’uo describe the splitting of the mind as an effect of the veiling:

This formative event is that which defines your journey within the third density, and that is the implementation of the veil of forgetting, In more relevant terms, this implementation of the veil may be said to be the making complex the mind, allowing for the potential of a conscious and unconscious portion of this primal aspect of the self. 2021

The chart below compares the two aspects of mind. Examples are simplified for clarity:

Seth addresses the split mind in several books. We are indeed dealing with two entirely different approaches to reality and to solving problems, Seth narrates through channel Jane Roberts in The Magical Approach, referring to those approaches as the rational method and the magical one. P.9

Rational/ intuitive

The literal meaning of intuition is an interior observation or contemplation — insight. Intuition is direct cognition, a download from the universal mind, communication with intelligent infinity. Plato describes intuition as a phenomenon by which one becomes conscious of knowledge residing in the soul of eternity.

Meanwhile, rational has to do with calculations, counting, separations, finity, as seen in the related words ration and ratio. Historical concepts of reason shed light on the apparently unjustified association between rationality and reason: the earliest meanings of reason, dating to c.1200, are the intellectual faculty that adopts actions to ends and statement in an argument, statement of explanation or justification — not the intellectual rigor with which we associate reason or rationality today.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the rational mind or the separation between the two aspects. The split is necessary, as channel Ramón Stevens explains in Spirit Wisdom:

There must be a barrier, a wall, between these two selves, for your conscious mind must first concern itself with maintaining your security and translating thought into action — it cannot simultaneously converse with your reincarnational selves and bake a cake. P.159

Laitos, an L/L Research consciously channeled source, associates the rational and intuitive minds with the focusing and defocusing of attention. Intuition vanishes upon attention and advances upon a relaxed peripheral view, Laitos states. Those who see intuitively see without focus and speak without hindrance. 1987 In this description, it is evident that in each moment we act from a single aspect of mind. Proper function of the mind requires both expansion and compression, to borrow Walter Russell’s terms.

Emissary as master

The quandary is that the rational or separate mind is, by default, dominant — whether by design (according to Ra and Q’uo), confusion or ignorance (Advaita), necessity (Spirit Wisdom), choice (Seth), or corruption (Gnosticism). Our own belief is that the dominance of the separate mind began with Yahweh’s declarations and actions as free will was handed down (the mechanics of which will be explored in another study).

Regardless of the cause, the result is that rather than acting as the assistant to the intuitive or connected mind, the separate mind holds the reigns. And the rational by itself, without aid of the intuition which connects the incarnate individual to its greater self and to the universe around it, can and often does lead one astray, 2021 Q’uo states.

In the following quote from Seth Speaks, Seth describes the separate mind:

The ego is a jealous god, and it wants its interests served. It does not want to admit the reality of any dimensions except those within which it feels comfortable and can understand. It was meant to be an aid but it has been allowed to become a tyrant. P.12

The emissary has been allowed to become the master, in the language of psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist. Balanced use of the split mind requires, instead, that the rational defer to the intuitive. McGilchrist referenced these roles in the name of his book The Master and His Emissary. Q’uo expresses a near-identical sentiment:

As we speak to you, your peoples have become most fascinated with the intellect and the fruit of intellectual thought and we are often called to those who are starving for the fruits of intuition which have been obliterated by overuse of the intellect, for the intellect can be slave or master and it is well that the intellect be a disciplined servant of the self and not a master. 1988 1996

In Seth’s humorous description, You know intuitively. Sometimes you must wait years for your intellect to catch up with what you know. And sometimes you must wait centuries. 1969

Our culture chides and even demonizes intuition, associating sanity with rational thought and insanity with the irrational. By common consideration and by definition, intuition is irrational (or perhaps more accurately, non-rational), since it is not derived from reasoning or evidence, nor can intuited information be proven.

Effects

In Spirit Wisdom II, Stevens describes the consequences of this conditioning which suppresses the intuitive mind:

When a culture is steeped in a mystical atmosphere of dreams, visions, and a world swarming with spirit, the barrier between waking and higher selves is elastic and permeable. Where rationalism holds sway, and dreams and visions are regarded as hallucinary fragments, the barrier is rigid and impenetrable. This cultural norm sets the standard for interdimensional communication, atop which each individual either tightens or loosens the barrier. P.102–103

According to the mainstream view, the rational, empirical Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment (The Age of Reason) lifted thought from the ignorance and error of the Dark Ages, ushering in the modern era. This narrative is challenged by the work of Seyyed Hossein Nasr, the aforementioned Iain McGilchrist, and Jill Bolte Taylor, scientists with varied backgrounds and perspectives who independently recognized the essential importance of both rationality and intuition, while positing that the rightful place of the rational mind is in service to the intuitive mind. It is no coincidence that Nasr, McGilcrest, and Taylor share an authentic and profound sense of the sacred.

These scientists’ interpretations are consistent with Ra’s statement that the intuition is of the nature of the mind more in contact or in tune with the total beingness complex. 30.2

Uniting the mind

How do we reunite the mind, or utilize our mind in a more balanced manner? Western culture glorifies the rational mind and suppresses the intuition. Instead, we must utilize both the rational (analytical) and the intuitive, the conscious and the unconscious (or subconscious). As Ra states:

The rational mind must open to and trust in what you may call intuition. 38.4

Spirit Wisdom II offers complementary advice: The point is that you recognize that the ego’s wants — Perfect Love, Perfect Health, Perfect Wealth — are irrelevant to your life's deeper purpose, Stevens writes. Since the ego always has the upper hand in communication with the higher self, it can concoct infinite diversions to block hearing its subtle messages. To truly breach the barrier, one must convince the ego to relax and open to wisdom flowing from the higher realms. P.103

An existence under the control of the rational mind is a constant struggle. The rational mind can operate only in the illusion, by attempting to manipulate appearances. In contrast, when the mind is reunified, we allow indigo ray, the formmaker, to come into play. At that point we become a conscious co-creator. Life becomes effortless. Choices are divinely guided. Not knowing becomes okay. There is no longer worry or struggle. Instead of trying or striving or rationalizing, one can simply be. The more successful the artist, seeker or mystic is in creating an intelligible manifestation, Q’uo states, the more smoothly the two faculties have learned to work together. 1988