Human beings are of course animals, but animals that have evolved in body, mind, spirit and other powers so as to be distinct from the rest of the animal kingdom. The evolution of the human mind, evidenced in self-awareness, speech and language, signs and symbols, the depth of the unconscious mind and the technological heights of the scientific mind, all contribute to expanding the gap between the human person and other animals. In fact, the distinctive aspect is that of personhood itself.

What is a person? We know from experience the difference between a human being with whom we are familiar and a dog, that qualitatively while we may love both, there is a marked difference in the way we relate to each. We may cynically say we would prefer the undivided camaraderie of a dog to a lover, but most of us really desire the complexity of communion that only another human being can bring. The human is a unique combination of body, mind and spirit that is different in quality from that of a canine.
The difference in quality seems to be distinctively centered on the spiritual aspect of the human. The mark of spirituality is personification itself, which is rooted in consciousness, both of others and of one’s self. The Greek word for “person” means mask or face, and its meaning infers the idea that we derive our personhood through the awareness of others and a relationship to others that demands we “interface” with them. This face is our humanness, and it is the chief quality of the human spirit, manifest in the soul and produced through the complexities of the human mind.

Other animals do not share this attribute. They do not put on a “face” in order to commune with each other, develop layers of conscious thought, and plough through the unconscious mind to root out psychopathologies, or develop a scientific mind in the pursuit of progress or deeper understanding of themselves or the world around them. Animals have souls (if a soul is body, mind, but not spirit), but they are not spiritual creatures precisely because they are not personal creatures. Their interaction with us and with each other is governed by instinct and other genetic or innate qualities.

Other animals are nevertheless valuable because as living organisms they have an experience of mind, but one that is unlike the human mind. They have no unconscious mind. They have no scientific mind. But they suffer, they foster various emotions, they are privy to desire. As sentient entities, they have intrinsic value even if they are not spiritual beings. The human spirit – an evolutionary addition – marks our species as one that can summon the idea of God, and as persons that have the opportunity to relate face to face with divinity, contemplate an afterlife, paradise, and eternality; and it is that attribute that may carry us forward into such realities. This is not the case for other animals, which seem to manifest essence absent individual personhood.

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There are many mysteries implicit in the psyche of the human animal, unknown regions of the subconscious mind, and uncharted parts of the brain with innate functions yet to be exercised. Some people who practice a science of the mind claim to have the ability to perform what seem to be supernatural feats, but which ultimately have a rational explanation, even if it is beyond human reason.  The art of telekinesis, which is an aspect of psychokinesis, is the apparent ability to move objects (including oneself in the case of levitation) without using physical force, to exercise mind over matter by channeling energy from the mind, body, spirit and soul from the point of the body’s own centers of energy to influence the physical world around them.

Among these are those who claim to possess the power to bend spoons or read cards by merely manifesting the intent, and art or science of the mind that in a benchmark of parapsychological research.  Skeptics often allege that such feats are the product of sleight of hand, parlor tricks, and clever magic tricks that can be reproduced in a similar environment without controls, and definitely not an example of mind over matter. Believers, however, persist in their claim that the phenomena is real, that the subconscious mind retains innate powers that most people have merely failed to develop.

Such assertions are not the sole property of self-named psychics, paranormal celebrities, or even, indeed, magicians, but have an ancient root in many of the world’s religions. Some of the powers in that context include clairvoyance or telepathy, the ability to know the thoughts and intents of another person’s heart, communication with the dead, levitation, turning objects into living creatures or vice versa, and multitudes of other claims. In the Old Testament, Joseph interprets dreams and turns staffs into snakes. In the New Testament, Jesus is resurrected from death, and a later believer is baptized in one location and comes up out of the water in another, hundreds of kilometers away.

The science of the mind that can produce such feats as mind over matter, whether it arises from the subconscious mind or is a concerted effort of the mind, body and spirit, also is evidenced in numerous claims of healers, both in conventional religion and in animist or shamanic practices. Healers influence the physical aspect of the human body by casting out disease or miraculously generating new cells – in elaborate cases, bringing the dead to life. Modern practitioners sometimes refuse medical attention because they would see it as a denial of their faith in the power of the mind over matter and in God.

In any case, there is a connection between modern claims to psychokinesis, telekinesis and religious faith in the supernatural, although people in the latter category often critical and skeptical of the former. One might, however, consider the whole basis of spiritual life as a paranormal claim, the notion that there is more to existence than physical reality.

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Contrary to popular belief, it may be possible that everyone has potential psychic abilities and the power to literally read each other’s mind. Hogwash? Maybe.

But the fact is there are ancient traditions in nearly every religion that are coming into clear focus in the ever-changing world of modern science, where it seems to be less clear from a genetic basis where one person end and the next begins. Sure, it seems clear to us as individual people, where the differences are noticeable, but genetic scientists would affirm that from the perspective of an alien visiting the planet earth from a genetic viewpoint there is only one human being, and the differences and variation in genetic disposition is really very minor to the point of irrelevance. Moreover, if this is the case, all human beings are essentially united; we all share the same essence and are therefore all a part of the same living, organic, system. Karl Jung built upon this idea when he theorized about a “collective unconscious” filled with archetypes and mythic configurations which are genetically transmitted and manifest themselves symbolically in our dream states.

This being the case, it isn’t a far jump to conclude that having psychic abilities is not only possible, but probable. Psychic abilities may even play a role in the experience of empathy, or the almost manic thrill of being in love, wherein many couples have claimed the ability to read each other’s minds, know how the other is feeling, and experience the beauty and thrill of existence through the subject of one’s love.

Such an idea is not unfamiliar to the world. Kundalini Yoga, for instance, uses its varied positions of Tantric sex, as a method for mutual communion and the awakening of the energy centers of the human body, which are thought to enhance psychic abilities as well.

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To say one has a mind like a steel-trap is an idiomatic way of paying a high compliment. It is claiming that a person is able to gather and process information very quickly, come to conclusions, and appreciate subtle differences and definitions. Even though some people are born with this kind of mental disposition, many of us are not. Training your mind to be able to think quickly, clearly and effectively, however, is possible for everyone, no matter what your I.Q. or status in life.

Training your mind is both a science and an art.  It is a science in the same way that physical training follows certain biological laws and rules, and there is a right and a wrong way to go about it. If you work weights you can build up a bicep, and eventually become top-heavy with spindly legs – not very attractive or healthy. But if you have a personal trainer, he can guide you in how to optimize the workout to achieve your premium physical powers. The same is true of training your mind. You need some guidance from those who have gone before you, and can lead you into the world of logic and reason.

Learning to think takes practice, and that’s where the art comes in. Anyone who learns to play a musical instrument, for instance, usually does not sit down and begin playing like Chopin. The same is true in training your mind to think clearly and effectively. You must exercise your mind daily, nurture it with rational games, feed it with books, dwell on puzzles and problems. The more you work out, the stronger your mind will become, until you also are thinking at your maximum potential, clearly, effectively, rationally and like someone who has a mind like a steel-trap!

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