I believe to find an acceptable “What” to “a Mental state” definition, we need to start at the base roots of the very words allocated by human language to give understandable or sensible meaning. This has been separated into three distinct words.

Definition of “a”
A Relevant speech/language counterpart of orthographic “a”

Definition of “mental” – All found in Merriam-Webster

Of or relating to the mind; specifically: of or relating to the total emotional and intellectual response of an individual to external reality
• mental health
Of or relating to intellectual as contrasted with emotional activity
• mental acuity
Relating to, or being intellectual as contrasted with overt physical activity
• made quick mental calculations
Occurring or experienced in the mind: inner
• mental anguish
• a mental breakdown
Relating to the mind, its activity, or its products as an object of study: ideological
• mental science
Relating to spirit or idea as opposed to matter
• the distinction between physical things and mental ideas


Definition of “state” - relevant

Condition of mind or temperament.
• in a highly nervous state
Condition of abnormal tension or excitement.

Thus deducting from the aforementioned definitions “a mental state” would be time dependent due to the probability of change thus making the whole condition a variable of a specific frame of reference point, relating to the total emotional and intellectual response of an individual to external reality. An objective measurable state of emotional mental faculties can only be observed and calculated from an external point of view. An unknown amount of emotional dependencies exists subjectively within the individual that is impossible to measure by any means from the external, thus portions are extracted relating to the known thus giving limitational parameters constructed by the collective psychological views on Emotional and mental faculties of the mind. These together with the Time parameter is used to create a referenceable state that could be used in therapy when psycho analysing the origins that gave rise to the referenced.

Good Day. I am new to the forum. Below my humble opinion.

God by nature of recorded history and still largely followed by masses has always been either a termed “being” or a “state of being” that relates to an inherent connection to stimulate the human mind towards a direction of “wanting” and this forces retrospection as this would be the destination of the library of references to form understanding for the self that makes sense. The reference to “God” is the very scapegoat vehicle human psychology is using to bring “deeper understanding and meaning to the ever drive to search enlightenment to make sense” in terms of delving deeper to the highest and deepest rooted frames of references to which definition can be allocated just to make some sense. Questioning towards the idea of believe, relevance and religion is to challenge the limits of the internal frames of reference that makes up the existence of consciousness. Thus the definition of “God” is the internal limitations in the interpersonal frames of reference that makes sense, even if any concepts of “Omni-“be applied or adopted. The very existence of the Omni- concepts in your frames of reference make it part of the existent limitations in frames of reference own to your consciousness.