Why Is the Human Mind Mortal?
Session nr 3, April 21, 2026 – English translation – original Dutch.
Location: Mezzaverde, Belgium.
Study-presentation written by Wivine.
Why is the
human mind mortal? This is a question that has long preoccupied me. There was
also the role of the seven
adjutant mind-spirits,
precursors of the human mind, which I never
fully understood. The Urantia Book doesn't give us
any clear clues either. When I decided to delve deeper into the subject, my
meditations led me to "science." This resulted in a very long,
difficult, and exhaustive study before what follows could emerge. It has been
more than fifty years since I left school, and what I learned then is long
since obsolete, especially with the new sciences, such as the neurosciences in
biology, physics, genetics, and quantum biology. All of this opened a
fascinating world to me.
My
presentation begins with the seven
adjutant mind-spirits and ends
with the answer to my initial question: why is the
human mind mortal?
Wivine.
The Seven Adjutant Mind -Spirits.
A Bridge to Science.
The Urantia
Book (1935) describes seven adjutant mind-spirits that play a role in
the development of the human mind starting from a single-celled living organism,
to plants, fish, animals, mammals, and ultimately, human beings. These seven
mind spirits are named as follows:
1)
The Spirit of Intuition – quick perception, reflexes, sense of direction, and
other qualities that promote survival.
2)
The Spirit of Understanding – the impulse toward
coordination, the spontaneous association of ideas, the coordination of
acquired knowledge, quick thinking, and the ability to make rapid judgments to
reach a decision in no time.
3)
The Spirit of Courage – the gift of fidelity – the foundation for the
development of character strength, moral integrity, and spiritual courage,
allowing faith to be maintained while evolving intelligently and independently.
In other words, it is about mastering one's own behaviours, thoughts, and
emotions, while having the courage to free oneself from a false or outdated
belief, or from the opinions and judgments of others.
4)
The Spirit of Knowledge – the source of curiosity and discovery, the
scientific mind; guide and faithful collaborator of the ‘spirits of courage and counsel.’ The impulse to
channel courage toward useful paths of progressive spiritual growth. For it
takes courage to break ranks.
5)
The Spirit of Counsel –
-is at the origin of the gregarious instinct – which is a natural and
innate tendency that drives individuals of the same species, animal or human,
to gather, live in groups, and adopt similar behaviours, often without
consultation.
-It is this basic animal instinct
that has evolved in humans into a social instinct,
which is the gift of collaboration, the capacity for consultation, and the
ability to live and act in harmony with one's fellow beings.
6)
The Spirit of Worship – the religious impulse, the primary inner need that
creates a fundamental difference between humans and animals. Through the spirit
of worship, humans are clearly distinguished
from animals. Thanks to this, with spiritual guidance, they can develop
a soul that opens the door to eternal life, that can spiritualize itself to a
level comparable to God. This is unique to humankind and is not the case for
animals, which lack a human soul.
7)
The Spirit of Wisdom– is the innate human tendency to evolve spiritually
and progressively. It is the most precious of the seven adjutants, the
coordinator that connects the work of all the other adjutant mind spirits.
Wisdom is the goal of an intelligent and moral
existence. A wise person demonstrates foresight, prudence, and common
sense. A wise person is reasonable, thoughtful, discerning, sensible, balanced,
prudent, and philosophical. A wise person shows maturity and moderation in
their actions.
The Urantia
Book does not give a precise definition of the nature of these adjutant mind
spirits. They cannot be conceived simply as “spirits” or ‘powers.’ It is better
to perceive them as forms of intelligent influence, a gift emanating from a
higher spiritual, divine reality.
What is clear is that these seven
adjutant mind spirits connect only with living,
biological life.
They do not operate within
matter, like machines or artificial systems. While artificial intelligence can
offer impressive performance and even influence human thought, it lacks the
living foundation upon which this form of mind can emerge.
The mind, as we know it, is
linked to life. It encompasses the capacity to perceive, think, learn,
remember, and adapt. Living matter always strives to perpetuate itself and
constantly evolves to better survive.
Thus, from simple life forms,
such as single-celled organisms, life evolves into increasingly complex
structures like plants, animals, and ultimately, human beings. As organisms
become more complex and acquire a more developed nervous system and brain, the
capacities to develop the human mind also grow.
In this process, one can imagine
the gradual activation of the seven adjutant mind spirits. In simple life
forms, only a very limited mind form is present. As complexity increases, more adjutants
can "connect" or exert influence.
At a certain level of
development—namely in the precursor of humankind—the first five mind
adjutants will be at work. It is only when the adjutant of worship and wisdom become active or connect that
one can truly speak of a human mind.
Since the human mind is closely
linked to biological life, it will cease to exist in its present form upon
physical death. This would signify the end of development, or expansion of the
human "personality."
The Urantia Book describes the presence of
spiritual influences—such as a God Fragment, the
Spirit of Truth, and the Holy Spirit—that might offer the possibility of
eternal life through the spiritual development of a soul
during earthly life.
This soul, regardless of its
level of development, will continue to exist beyond physical death and evolve
into higher forms of existence, both morontial and
spiritual.
It is this second vehicle, this morontia body with its morontia mind,
that will serve the eternal spiritual expansion of the human "personality."
Science
speaks of "cognitive abilities."
It speaks of "cognitive
abilities" rather than adjutant mind spirits. The word
"cognitive" refers to the process of acquiring knowledge, intuition,
understanding, or the processing of sensory perceptions by the brain.
The term is used in all
neurosciences as well as in branches of psychology that draw on the discoveries
of neurobiology to understand human behaviour.
Science distinguishes different
cognitive abilities that develop as life becomes more complex. These cognitive
abilities bear remarkable similarities to the seven adjuvant mind spirits
described in The Urantia Book.
Among other things, we can
distinguish:
1) Perception
and attention: the ability to perceive stimuli and react quickly →
comparable to intuition.
2) Memory and
learning: the storage and processing of experiences →
linked to knowledge.
3) Emotion and
motivation: reactions such as fear, courage, and the impulse to
act. This corresponds to the adjutant of courage.
4) Executive
functions: planning, reasoning, and decision-making. This
corresponds to the adjutant of understanding and
wisdom.
5) Social
cognition: understanding others and collaborating. This
corresponds to the adjutant of counsel.
6)
Self-awareness and metacognition: reflection on oneself and one's
existence → possibly a scientific approach
to what is described in The Urantia Book as the adjutant
of worship.
Although this scientific
classification is based on biological and neurological processes, and the adjutant
mind spirits have a spiritual origin, the two systems seem to describe the
same line of development: a gradual growth from a simple reaction to a complex,
self-aware, and meaningful existence.
Science speaks indeed of mind and
consciousness but cannot yet fully explain them.
Science describes the mind
primarily through cognitive processes, without acknowledging a spiritual
origin.
It describes the evolution of
single-celled organisms up to the emergence of humanity. It describes
increasing complexity and links also mind and consciousness to biological life.
Although science does not
recognize a spiritual origin, its discoveries bear striking similarities to the
description in The Urantia Book.
One could argue that:
-intuition corresponds to perception and quick reaction;
-knowledge and understanding are linked to learning and memory;
-courage is linked to emotion and motivation;
-counsel aligns with social intelligence;
-adoration,
the worship of God, can be linked to the human quest for meaning in life and
connection with others;
-wisdom corresponds to the capacity for integration and
insight.
Both approaches essentially
describe the same development: an evolution from a simple reaction to a
complex, conscious, and meaningful existence.
The difference lies in the
interpretation:
- Science describes its
functioning.
- The Urantia
Book ascribes a spiritual significance to it.
Why is the human mind mortal?
Science states that the mind and
consciousness result from:
- brain activity
- neural networks
- electrical and chemical
processes
Thus:
a) If the brain ceases to
function, all activity ceases.
b) If all activity ceases, mind
and consciousness cease. Because there is no longer a support.
This is why science states that
the mind is mortal because it depends on a biological system that dies.
The Urantia Book also states this, in a sense.
However, it establishes a crucial distinction.
The Book speaks of two things:
1. The human mind
(the intellect)
2. The soul,
as an entity to be cultivated, in constant spiritual evolution, and immortal.
The human mind is mortal because:
- it is linked to the brain
- it constitutes a temporary
field of activity
- it serves as an interface or
aid to the development of the soul.
The human mind is
not an end. It is the process by which something can emerge.
The following comparison can be
used to illustrate this:
The brain = the soil
The mind = the growing plant
The soul = the fruit
If the soil disappears, the plant
stops growing, but the fruit (soul)
can continue to exist.
Your ‘personality’
flourishes. Your mind is constantly evolving, your thoughts change, your
memories become distorted.
The human mind is mortal because
it connects with a biological brain and depends on it. It is a temporary space
where experiences, choices, and intuitions can develop.
What might become permanent is
not the human mind itself, but what might emerge from it: the soul.
The human mind is closely linked
to biological life. Although it is a spiritual gift, it functions and develops
thanks to the brain, to which it is intrinsically connected. If the body dies,
it loses its support and disappears as well.
In short:
The human mind can be considered
a temporary space where human beings construct their experiences, intuitions,
and choices. From this process, something new can emerge: the soul.
According to The Urantia Book, this soul—nourished by truth, beauty, and
goodness through faith in God—has the potential to survive physical death
because it is of a different essence. It is not physical, but morontial.
The morontia mind
and the morontia body of the soul are part material, part
spiritual. It is a state between the physical and the spiritual. Human souls are not subject to physical limitations,
but neither are they fully spiritual. They are an intermediate stage between
the material and the spiritual.
The human mind bound to a
physical body disappears, but what has developed within it—the soul—can
continue to exist eternally, provided it has developed, even if it’s just a
little bit.
Science describes how the mind
emerges and functions within the brain. The Urantia
Book gives this a deeper meaning and direction.
These two approaches are not
necessarily contradictory; together, they can offer a broader view of what it
means to be human: a being who lives, learns, grows—and might become something
more —to exist eternally.
The End.
MEZZA VERDE
GROUP.
For
more explanations of the words in blue see The Urantia
Book.