human freedom of choice is reduced to the primitive stimulus-response pattern of behaviour. The role of sensory information is an underpinning of contemporary diversion-oriented and consumer societies, in which choice expresses itself largely in terms of stimulations and material goods. Arguably the Western viewpoint has given rise to the restricted meanings of the words consciousness, mind, and intelligence. According to some scientific views, these manifestations are accidental by-products, or epi-phenomena, of matter. Inevitably, the materialistic, reductionist, approach has produced a mechanistic society, which, like a machine, functions only until its parts break down. A computer is a computer and will never have a soul! On the contrary, ancient traditions regard humans as spiritual beings who have constant interaction with their Divine Cosmic Source. The human being, as archetype, was assumed to be directly in touch with Infinite Reality. The life goal of the manifested human being was to achieve a direct relationship with his or her true Eternal Being. Similar beliefs were common to ancient India, Egypt, China, and to Western mysticism. The ancient concepts of consciousness, mind, and intelligence refer to the very Essence of the infinite and eternal Divine Cosmic Mind. The notion of the Essence of the eternal and infinite Cosmic Mind transcends the theory of a simple physical big bang but does not necessarily contradict the physical sequence of manifestations at the beginning of this universe. The human attributes of intelligence, consciousness, and mind are worldly aspects of cosmic powers. The holistic concept regards life as movement, creation and destruction; and again, creation and destruction unending, an infinite and eternal wheel. Life is giving and receiving with supreme benevolence and joy. Existence, consciousness, and joy: these are forever and ever, given and received, according to deeply rooted human traditions. Many ancient human cultures declare that the superior goal of the human being is to elevate and purify his or her vibrations to gain full contact with the subtle vibrations of our Home. If we train our brains correctly, at the same time that we nurture our physical body, we become able to express concepts that are of a non-physical naturemore subtle and abstract. Concepts are not gross physical objects! We know that we expand infinitely our human consciousness when we project these sublime concepts into eternity. According to various ancient traditions such as Mysticism, Yoga, and Alchemy, the goal of evolution on our planet is to transmute the manifested gross vibrations into subtle ones. They teach that humans are intrinsically Divine Energy manifested on the terrestrial plane with a precise task: to act as channels for the sublimation of vibrations. Brief Survey of Modern Definitions In order to explore and contrast the modern versus ancient meaning of concepts of mind, several modern dictionaries have been consulted. The definitions of the word consciousness as provided in these sources are similar: Awareness of surroundingsthe state of being awake and aware of what is going on around oneself Ones mind, ones thoughts Shared feelings and beliefs; the set of opinions, beliefs of a group Awareness of particular issuefor example, health consciousness.