Beyond the Normal State of Consciousness

Normal consciousness can be said to be that state of wakefulness when you know you are alive, embodied, and thinking.  Consciousness may also include being asleep; both dreamless sleep and dreaming sleep.  These points can be argued but for sake of non-arguing let's move on.

 

The state of consciousness when you are awake has four different levels of consciousness, which you can discover for yourself by simply observing yourself throughout the day.  The levels are discussed in the previous post on this blog.  

 

To go into and stay in the higher states of consciousness requires practice and effort.  You might go into the highest state, awareness, for a few hours or even maybe a few days but eventually you will find yourself back in the lower levels.  Why is that?  

 

 Why can't we stay in the higher levels?  It is basically because of distractions.  And the ego has a lot to do with it too.  Just about the only way to stay in the higher states is to become completely isolated from society and all of its distractions.  But the normal, average person can't do that.  We must be engaged and active in the world if we want to experience what life is all about.  Can't we be engaged and active in life and at the same time aware?

 

 To be continued on the next post.    

Go Beyond Mind and Body

The OM symbol reminds us that we live in the illusion of thinking we are consciousness and the only way to merge with the higher Self is to go beyond that thinking. 

So, how do you go beyond the thinking mind?  First of all you have to be able to quiet the mind and second of all you must be able to recognize the different states of consciousness your mind is in during different times of the day.  Third of all, you must practice staying aware, in the moment, merged with the ALL.  It's that easy - - -NOT EASY!  No one ever said it was easy.

Step 1 - Meditate on your thoughts and allow the thoughts to come and go without trying to control them.  See your thoughts for what they are; packets of energy.  Allow them to appear as you watch them dissipate and float away into nothingness.  After some time of sitting and observing you will be sitting in a sea of tranquility.  Now you have quieted your mind.

Step 2 - While you are going about your daily activities stop every-so-often and ask yourself  "what state of consciousness was I in one second ago?"

There are four normal states of consciousness:  waking sleep, absorption, attention, and awareness.

Waking sleep is when your body is doing one thing and your mind is thinking of something else, like walking down stairs and thinking of having a conversation with your boss.  Or, driving to work and thinking about what you did last night.

Absorption is when you are completely immersed in an object and you are not aware of your self.  Examples would be: watching an intense ball game, listening to your favorite music, reading an interesting book.

Attention is when you are observing something and you are slightly aware of yourself.  Activities and objects around you are evident but you are still focused on what is being observed.  A good example would be sitting in class, paying attention to the teacher, and taking notes. 

Awareness is the experience of being aware of yourself (the self) while at the same time aware of things going on around you.  You are in the moment - mindful of what you are doing and what is happening in the immediate environment. 

Step 3 - Once you are able to stay in the state of awareness (see above) for some time, allow your consciousness to expand out further and further into the universe.  In the beginning you may have to do this while sitting quietly by yourself.  Later on you might try walking around outside and then when you get real good at it try talking to someone while being in this expanded state of awareness.  This expanded state of awareness is called pure awareness - beyond the normal states of consciousness.

Step 1 - learn to observe thoughts and quiet the mind.  Step 2- Be able to recognize what state of consciousness you were in one second ago and practice staying in awareness. Step 3 - Allow your consciousness to expand beyond  normal states of consciousness. 

Master of Your Mind

Thoughts, at times, are random and come as a complete surprise.  When thoughts are not who you are or who you think you are: negative or even destructive, turn them into positive ones.  That is the power of yoga; the ability to change one's thoughts from negative to positive. 

You have the free will to change your thinking just as you have the free will to go right or go left.  All it takes is knowing your mind.  That is where meditation comes in.  By sitting in silence and observing your thoughts you can learn how your mind works.  From there you can learn to control your thoughts.  Be the master of your mind not the other way around. 

Logic

There never seems to be enough time to get everything done.
  
Never is a long time, enough is sufficient, and everything is a lot of stuff.  So, a long time is sufficient to get a lot of stuff done.  That seems logical.  If it is true, then the opposite - a short time is not sufficient to get a little done, is also true.  But that doesn't seem logical.  If the latter is not logical then the former can't be logical either.  Therefore, neither is logical.  

Does that seem logical?

Stay Strong and Healthy

The body and the mind operate in concert like an orchestra.  When one is out of tune the other suffers.  Keep your body strong and your mind healthy and the concert will always be in tune. 

A strong body means not only being able to carry one's own weight with ease but also being flexible in both movement and attitude.  A healthy mind is one that maintains a positive outlook. 

Keep your body strong with exercise and eating healthy foods.  Things that pollute the body will make it weak and inflexible.  With all the information available today there is no excuse for not knowing what to and what not to put into your body.  Ignorance is no excuse. 

Keep your mind healthy by exercising it as well.  Be creative in everything you do.  Work on puzzles.  Be active and participate in group discussions.  Always look toward the positive side of life.
Meditate regularly. 

A healthy mind will make for a strong body and a strong body will make for a healthy mind.  Stay strong and healthy.

The Stranger

Who is this stranger living inside me?
How do I get to know him?   
When all is quiet and I search deep inside
there seems to be no one home.  
Yet that person calls out - 
from where, I do not know.

The "me" and "I" will never know
as long as  we continue searching,
for the very act of searching
prevents him from emerging.  

Who is that?

Who is that
looking over my shoulder?

It's not my brother
or my sister.

It doesn't seem to be
anyone I know.

It seems to be
a stranger.

My god!
The stranger is me.