The Mother of All Analogies

The mother of all analogies is the analogy between what we experience and what is happening.

For example, it refers to our idea that a system is doing computation and what it is "actually" doing (Searle).

It refers to our idea that what is "really" happening in the world is the intention of God versus what is "really" happening in the world.

It is the difference between Tao and the Tao that is named.

The brain (and, by extension, the "mind" it creates) builds an electro-chemical analog computer based on this - to map sensations from the real world into analogous mental phenomena. This mapping is called "intentionality."

So far, most of our discussion of the mind has concentrated on consciousness. This concentration might give the impression that the mind is essentially a self-enclosed arena of subjectivity. But, on the contrary, the primary evolutionary role of the mind is to relate us in certain ways to the environment and especially to other people. My subjective states relate me to the rest of the world, and the general name of that relationship is “intentionality.” These subjective states include beliefs and desires, intentions and perceptions, as well as loves and hates,

Searle, John R. Mind, Language And Society (Masterminds) (p. 85). Basic Books. Kindle Edition. 

I often think of the intimate connection between the "real world" and mental phenomena in terms of a tree rooted intimately in the soil. From this point of view, they are one "thing." There is a connection between the idea and the thing in the way there is a connection between the leaf and the root.

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See also my remarks on the brain as a VR machine here.