"The mind sees and the mind hears... the rest are blind and deaf..."
(Epicharmus, Greek poet from Kos: 530-440 BC)
INTERPRETATION: The mind is what essentially sees and hears! And the autonomous bodily senses, without the mind, are blind and deaf...
How does the 'mechanism' of human perception work...? Is it a matter of autonomous or cooperative process of the senses and the brain? In the perceptual process, which functions are carried out consciously... and which unconsciously? The mind (the 'mental energy' of the soul, not the brain) as the main supervisor of every spiritual action, is involved in this whole process? How do the 'aesthetic reflexes' of our soul work when the sensory receptors of our conventional senses record 'challenges' and create 'feelings' of high quality...? What determines the mental attention of our soul and how much is it affected by conditions of urban everyday life: i.e. social crowding... environmental noises... biotic turmoil... and 'mechanical' management of the senses...?!
Such (and other similar) dilemmas… were the ‘reason’ for the organization of a social experiment by one of the largest newspapers in America (Washington Post), in collaboration with the University of Washington, a few years ago (2007). That journalistic research, of high anthropological interest, was codenamed: “Stop… and Hear the Music!” having as its ‘scene’ the ground floor central station of the Washington Metro. [ 1 ] The said ‘social experiment’ consisted of holding an informal violin recital… and in detecting the ‘aesthetic reflexes’ of the people, who come and go with a buzz, like bees at peak work hours…!
A poorly dressed 'street musician' entered the Metro station and sat down shortly after the entrance. He took an old violin out of a worn case, and left the case open in front of him... perhaps to accept tips from the listeners. He began to interpret various musical harmonies for the violin, with unparalleled passion and art. He seemed to 'live' the music he was interpreting, and seemed indifferent to the response of passers-by. However, he continued to play... hoping that he would 'catch' the interest of the listeners! Crowds of people passed by him while he was playing, and left... aesthetically 'untouched' by the event. No one knew that some hidden cameras from the newspaper were filming...
That informal recital lasted about 45 minutes. During that time, the cameras 'counted' about 1.000 people who had passed in front of the traveling musician, hurrying past him and heading to their destination. Everyone seemed indifferent... abstracted... and absorbed in their personal concerns. No one stopped to listen... or even slowed down a bit to enjoy the pulsating music, except for a few and only for a moment. Some, without stopping their hurried walk, 'threw' their obol into the open case. Perhaps, as a sign of gratitude for that magnificent music... or as an act of compassion for the 'image' they were seeing...?!
After 45 minutes of continuous reverberation of that musical feast, the poorly dressed violinist stopped playing. No one noticed that he had stopped… just as no one had noticed when he had started playing. No one applauded, nor showed any sign of recognition or reward, except for a young woman who approached and spoke to him, expressing her admiration! In the open case of the violin, approximately $30 had been collected, [ 2 ] an amount… which, of course, did not correspond to the ‘value’ of that recital! It revealed, however, the degree of sensory attention and aesthetic perception of people… at rush hour, when the social ‘beehive’ of rational bees is buzzing with activity…!
The newspaper's social experiment had just been successfully completed! The researchers' cognitive questions about people's psycho/mental perception were awaiting answers from the analysis of the recorded sensory/aesthetic 'reflections' of the crowd. A crowd of... about 1000 people, who literally 'paraded' indifferently (!) in front of an 'artistic event' that was great, but... 'unadvertised' by the media! Because, if the great artistic event in the Washington Metro had been advertised (as it was a few days ago at the Boston Music Hall) [ 3 ] it would have changed the data of the people's 'attitude'... as 'details' would have been presented that would have guided them to 'behave' differently...!
The 'details' that those passing by on the Metro were unaware of were that:
a) The 'poor' violinist was the famous Joshua Bell [ 4 ], a musical genius, one of the most talented violin virtuosos in the world!
b) He performed, with unparalleled artistic mastery, some musical compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach and Franz Peter Schubert, some of the most difficult and beautiful ever written for violin!
c) He played a STRADIBARIUS 'red violin', a handmade instrument of top acoustic quality, and of enormous historical and collectible value: made in 1713 by the hands of the same manufacturing genius -Antonio Stradivari- with an objective value of approximately $3.500.000 dollars!
Taking as a basis the above fact and the admittedly surprising findings made by that journalistic investigation… it would be worth seeing the conclusions, beyond the conventional field of phenomenological 'truth': in the broad light of Orthodox theological anthropology. Because, Orthodox anthropological knowledge is a different approach and understanding of the mysteries of God, which remain hidden from fallen human logic… until Divine Grace reveals them! Because they concern the spiritual 'specifications' and the hidden human possibilities, which stem from his… 'god-related' origin, as a creature, i.e. one who is created "in the image and likeness of God"!
The conclusions drawn from the social experiment consist of the following serious findings: a) That, in an environment of dense social gathering, circulating noises and stressful haste... people seem 'incapable' of distinguishing (they hear... but do not perceive, because they do not pay attention!) the possible 'qualities' of a high aesthetic offered around them... b) That, even if they distinguish them... they are 'insensitive' to desire them, being absorbed and occupied exclusively with their personal problems... and c) That, even if they wish to enjoy them... they are unwilling to slow down the haste with which they have been spoiled to live, never calming down... but wasting their entire worldly life with 'frenzied' anxiety, like hunted wild animals!...
This apocalyptic conclusion is not at all unknown in the Holy Fathers' experience. In fact, the conclusions of the Washington Post confirm retrospectively... what the Ascetic experience of the Neptic Fathers and Mothers of the Orthodox East has recorded many centuries ago, with divine illumination, as 'anthropological knowledge'. That is, the selfish 'isolation' of man, directed from the outside inwards..., as well as his careless 'diffusion' from the inside out... betray that he is subject to a mental disorder! Subject to passions, he has become disorganized between mind-heart-senses, and is unable to perceive what is 'happening' within him and around him... which is why he cannot communicate (in a meaningful way) with God and the people who surround him, nor even simply admire the Beauty of Creation that surrounds him!
We are amazed - and rightly so - by the fact that a world-famous and brilliant musician offered a 45-minute, free, cheerful recital of musical perfection in front of passing crowds, without managing to capture, even momentarily, their interest! Because, each of those who passed by that musical feast indifferently... was mentally isolated in his own egocentric 'microcosm' and captive in the 'invisible bonds' of his mental passions! This 'slavery' of inner freedom deprives him of any contact with the events 'beyond the EGO'... so that it is impossible for anyone to perceive and desire to enjoy every aesthetic Beauty that is offered for free next to him... but very 'far' from him!
Passing by this great musical talent indifferently… along with the aesthetically qualitative event of the Metro's musical performance, the crowd behaved in a way that was detrimental to itself… and insulting to the famous violinist (who nevertheless remains a mere mortal…)! Analogously, what should we say about the Incarnate Son and Word of God, Who for 33 whole years (the length of His earthly life) performed with the people of His time… and they did not recognize Him! And not only did they not 'see' in His dazzling divine-human form, the supernatural idioms of a 'hidden' God… but they did not even 'recognize' in the radiant beauty of His face the one "more beautiful than all men"!
The unoriginate and infinite God, although undivided (not participating) in His uncreated Essence… is by Grace participating (participating) in His uncreated Energies! All the supernatural perfections of the Universal Creator, hidden 'by economy' behind His human form, quietly infiltrated with Him into the life of humanity, during His incarnation. However, from the multitude of people of His time, who saw and heard Him… few followed Him! And from all subsequent (diachronic) humanity until today, and until His Second Coming, few believed in Him and will believe in Him. Most of those invited to His Kingdom did not accept the honor, indifferently and disdainfully rejecting His eternal invitation…! [ 5 ]
When man is spiritually united with the God of Love - the Source of Life and Joy - he feels within himself that he COMMUNICATES with everyone and everything, according to the poet's enlightened verse: "Alone, and all one... with everyone and everything..."! On the contrary, when man chooses the communicative disconnection from his Creator... he is automatically separated from all his representative surroundings, and from all living creation! Even if he gathers with rational people, and is surrounded by the irrational creatures of God's Creation, he is unable to communicate with them, having 'imprisoned himself' in a selfish loneliness... which makes him completely helpless, perhaps even 'incapable' ultimately, of surrounding himself...!
But if this is the case, it means that: our supposedly 'autonomous' choices are not free and are not ours! They do not express us, i.e. what our soul desires, but something else... which is 'imposed' on us dynastically by our sworn enemies (the evil spirits), as they act 'for us... without us'! And then, indeed, we should be concerned... because the autonomous power with which God adorned us has fallen into the hands of unknown 'occupying forces' beyond our own control. A dynastic superpower... which 'rules over' our mind, heart and senses, as sad slaves! At the same time, it robs our life of all its godlike 'property', and leaves us empty and hopeless...
The psyche of our fallen nature, until it is healed from the passions, is in a state of incessant internal conflicts… which make man literally mentally ill! The body, together with our entire sensory system, is subject to an invisible, cruel, relentless and torturous captivity… which tyrannically rules the 'Temple of the soul', imprisoning it in the "law of sin..."! [ 6 ] Thus, living this psycho/mental captivity of ours: while we see worldly/earthly lights… we are blind to the supramundane and inexhaustible conceivable Aurora…! While we hear earthly sounds… we are deaf to heavenly melodies…! While we smell the stench of corruption… we are unable to smell the myrrh of incorruption…! While we savor languid pleasures, which end in disgusting aphrodisiacs... we remain ignorant of the spiritual Superfood of the Angels...!
Only in the 'People of God' (named and anonymous) who have been healed - by Divine Grace - from psycho/physical passions, their inner world is unified... and spiritually united with God! From this spiritual union with their Creator, the 'People of God' acquire - in addition to the conventional ones - other, unconventional senses... with which they can feel in a godly way: to see the unseen... to hear the inaudible... to smell the odorless... unerringly detecting all the qualities of the sensible and supersensible world. They distinguish goodness... from wickedness, the light of virtues... from the darkness of passions, the beauty of humility... from the ugliness of arrogance, the fragrance of purity... from the stench of lust, without being deceived in the least by the phenomenological 'truths' of earthly senses...!
Indeed, every time we stand sensibly/mentally before the Beauties of God's Creation (but also every other Beauty... that man creates artistically, with the inspiration of divine Grace), we 'must' feel within us a stirring of enthusiastic joy and godly erotic attraction towards the Creator of universal beauty and harmony! If this is not the case, then the supposed 'spiritual life' that we 'live' constitutes a huge LIE... which we must replace with a corresponding experiential TRUTH...! An empirical truth (real, not fictitious...) that certifies the authenticity of our spiritual life, in Christ... and can lead to our union with God!
If our soul were spiritually healed… like that of the Saints, and functioned unaffected by our internal captivity (passions) and external influences (demonic energies), our behavior would be completely different. Every time we would behold the Beautiful… there would be within us an 'earthquake' of joy and an 'explosion' of doxological and eucharistic gratitude to God! But the bodily senses are… foolish, vulnerable and slippery! As 'bridges of communication' of the soul with the world that surrounds us, it is necessary that they be protected by the 'anti-evil' protection of prayer, and the unassailable security of Divine Grace! Because, without divine protection, our sensory system becomes… a 'vehicle' of demonic energies (!), with all the dangerous and destructive implications that this entails!…
For the doxological 'automation' to begin to function within us... it is necessary to train our mind, heart and senses... so that, with the Grace of God, together with our struggle for virtues and against passions... we may always be in a state of prayer! To think/act in prayer... to be silent/conversate in prayer... to rejoice/sorrow in prayer... to laugh/cry in prayer... to get well/get sick in prayer... to feed/eliminate in prayer... to sleep/wake in prayer... to study/write in prayer... to work/rest in prayer... to live/die in prayer with vigilance... until we grasp the 'secret' of the Saints: "Remembered by God rather... or breathed!" [It is more necessary to pray to God… than to breathe!…]
Our God-created souls have been structurally 'programmed' to exist-function harmoniously & perfectly, with one basic condition: God-communication (prayer), together with dense participation in the Mysterious life (Confession and Holy Communion...) of our Church. 'Communicating' with the living God... we are surrounded by His Divine Grace and absorb His vital Energy, which animates our existence! It strengthens it to remain faithful and devoted to His Love, sober from passionate flatulence and free from mental captivity! Thus, under the active protection of Divine Grace, the soul safely receives the sensory pleasure of immersion in the aesthetic Beauty of the world... automatically and continuously reflecting to the Creator of Beauty, the due Eucharist & Doxology of creatures to the Creator!
Our prayer to the living God is carried out… either by the desire of our heart to worship His Goodness… or by the need of our soul to ask for forgiveness for our fallibility! By cultivating an ‘uninterrupted’ prayerful turning of our mind towards Him… the ‘front’ of our spiritual impact and our sensory attention is kept firm and unified… against sins and passions, in the invisible war we wage against the forces of darkness! [ 8 ] Thus, our mental attention is restrained from ‘leakages’ and our vulnerable existence is shielded by the ‘anti-evil’ shield of Grace, protecting our senses from slips and falls! On the contrary, if/when prayer ceases… our soul is exposed completely unprotected to the deadly influences of demons…!
Our outer sensory system of the five physical 'bridges' (sight-hearing-smell-taste-touch) that support our communication with the environment, although it seems... are not absolutely 'autonomous'! In order to function smoothly and perfectly, it must cooperate with the inner senses of the soul, and even... give them the 'strategic' lead! This 'spiritual management' of the physical senses... orchestrates the supernatural capabilities of perception-understanding and operational action-reaction of man, which is managed by the mind (the mental energy of the soul...) and not, of course, our earthly brain!
Faced with the 'challenges' of the surrounding Beauty (both the natural, of Divine Creation... and the creative, of human art...) the Christ-worshippers find in prayer... a godly 'way of managing' their senses! A way... so that both their mind and their heart, as they are surrounded by so many enviable beauties... are not distracted even for a moment from their main focus and immersion in the supreme and incomparable Beauty of the "Crucified All-Love"! And, when this 'prayerful management' of our senses is put into consistent application... not even the surrounding beauty can any longer distract the soul from the mental contemplation of God... nor can prayer hinder the doxological/eucharistic enjoyment of every pure beauty... that surrounds us!
REFERENCES-FOOTNOTES
[ 1 ] A snapshot from the Washington Post's social experiment, titled "Stop… and Hear the Music," can be viewed by clicking on the web link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOPu0_YWhw
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[ 2 ] The violinist of the Washington Metro, in different conditions (e.g., the Concert Hall with the presence of thousands of music-loving listeners), is paid almost $1.000 per minute to present each of his concerts! So, in the case of the Metro, he should have earned, for the 45 minutes of music of that performance, approximately… $45.000!
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[ 3 ] A few days before the social experiment at the Washington Metro station, that same artist (…), under different circumstances, with a different appearance… packed the Boston Music Hall!… Impressively bright… carefully groomed… expensively dressed… in his silken white tailcoat, he attracted tens of thousands of music-loving listeners, who came to enjoy that same magnificent concert, in a performance… for which the ticket prices per person were between $100 and $150, while the seat had to have been secured and purchased many months ago!
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[ 4 ] The violinist who participated in the Washington Post's research was the famous violin virtuoso, Joshua Bell. That social experiment was carried out in the context of a special journalistic report (which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize) on the 'recognition' and acceptance of artists and art by the social environment. The great artist was recognized by only one woman, out of approximately 1.000 subway passengers, despite being famous worldwide, and having an impressive resume with hundreds of concerts and recitals all over the world. To date, Joshua Bell has 'swept' countless international distinctions, while his discography includes many recordings!
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[ 5 ] “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him… He came to the world, and they themselves did not receive Him… But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name…” (John 1:10-11)!
INTERPRETATION: He lived in the world that He created, among the people that He created, and no one recognized Him… He came close to His creatures, and His creatures did not welcome Him with joy. However, to those who received Him with worship and believed in His name, He granted the supreme honor and authority to become Children of God…
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[ 6 ] “I see… another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members…” (Rom. 7:23)!
INTERPRETATION: I see another 'law' dominating my bodily members (…), which opposes the innate law of my rational mind, and captures me in the 'law' of sin that invaded my nature, through the fall…
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[ 7 ] “The senses, without prayer, become ‘passable’ by demonic energy…!” (Philokalia of the Holy Niptikes)
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[ 8 ] “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood… but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places…” (Eph. 6:12)!
INTERPRETATION: Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of the darkness of this age, against the wicked and unclean spirits, who are scattered in the heavenly places…
