Mind
and Conscience
A conscience is the sense of right
and wrong that governs a person's thoughts and actions. It is one's best
judgment, in a given situation, on what here and now is to be done as good or
to be avoided as evil. Mind is the human consciousness that originates in the brain and is manifested
especially in thought, perception, emotion, will, memory, and imagination.
Social consciousness is the consciousness that is shared
inside a society. It can also be explained
as social awareness, which is to be conscious of the trouble that different
communities face on an everyday basis. A subject with an acquired social
consciousness derives his or her viewpoint from the mainstream culture. In a
religious discussion, it may be thought of as the ‘voice of god’, speaking
within the individual, and even as a direct revelation from god. In the New
Testament (Romans 2:15) conscience is described as the witness to the
‘requirements of the law’ being written on the heart. The implication of this
would seem to be that, through following their conscience, everyone can follow
the requirements of the divine law.
According to the
second Vatican council, in forming the consciences,
the faithful must pay careful attention to the sacred and certain teaching of
the church. For the Catholic Church is by the will of Christ the teacher of
truth. It is her duty to proclaim and teach with authority the truth which is
Christ and, at the same time, to declare and confirm by her authority the
principles of the moral order which spring from human nature itself.
A key to awakening is being
clear on the differences between mind and consciousness: mind tries to work
things out using comparison and judgment – consciousness simply knows (and that
knowing is received via intuition). Mind is loud and often confusing –
consciousness is silent and clear. Mind is about me and my interests –
consciousness is about the good of all beings, nature, and the planet. Mind
sees a divided up, separate world, us against them – consciousness sees only
one, wholeness, the totality. Mind operates from lack and fear. Consciousness
operates from abundance and love. Mind is an illusion (it only exists to
itself!) – Consciousness is all that is and is what you are.
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