Symbol Ritual and Consciousness
The Pearl The Next Step One, Two, Three, and More Dimensions Limiting Factors
Becoming Conscious Ways to Be Spirit Walk Warrior or Dreamer Inner Silence
Living Awake Global Realization Ascent of Consciousness
I was watching TV - nothing
special. For several minutes I had sensed an energy or a movement on the other
side of the room. It was almost like heat waves - something, but not really
anything. I easily brushed it aside in my mind. Then, inner awareness shook me.
Fool! This is something you need to pay attention to. Turning off the TV, I did.
My first sensory experience was of a profound and exquisitely beautiful light. My left brain logic said, "Of course, people always see 'the light', it is the perfect metaphor for what can't be easily explained." My inner knowing chastised me and said to stop thinking and analyzing. Just experience. As my thoughts quieted the light energy became more existent, more real. My awareness sharpened without having to have conceptual thoughts.
I quieted my thoughts and I felt it come nearer to me. The closer it was the more I felt the embracing gentle power of sacredness, a divine being. It floated as a clear white wisp of fog might move. Watched, it might appear one second and disappear the next. I had my physical eyes closed but my intuitive vision watched it close the space between us and I delighted in the beauty of the apparition.
For a time it remained separate from me. There was an other and there was me. This other, which I can conceptualize only as an angelic being, came to my side permeating the environment around me with sensation something like liquid sunshine, without heat and without wetness. I felt embraced by bliss emanating from this being. The sensation of quiet ecstasy was being spread over and around me with movements of what might have been arms or wings. The spreading sensation was over me, under me, and throughout me. The movements caressed my skin as the brushing touch of the softest breath feather. It might have been brushing away the last remnants of ordinary experience or it might have been healing my less than well body. I could feel it as it touched my skin but it was so soft as to be thought a gentle breath. There was an almost sensation of color or perhaps the color contained in white light but visible only when broken into separateness by a prism. Smell, the sweetness of spreading fragrance, was there also, but it extended beyond ordinary sensory input. Sound was perhaps the most exquisite part of the visit. It was a non-audible sound originating deep in my head but from a place deeper than the centermost point. It was not a melody, but it had the flow of a kind of rhythm of the universe resonating someplace inside as well as far beyond my head.
I melded with the energy where only pure being, pure consciousness exists. There was no "I" to have a body or bodily awareness, no me and no other to talk about. "I" existed only as and in that "Be-ing-ness." There was nothing else, no other existence. Everything I ordinarily knew had ceased and I simply was.
A moment might have passed or lifetimes might have been lived. It didn't matter. I had no desire of any kind, no expectation, no past, no future, and no awareness of a present state. No words of wisdom were given to me. There were no secret teachings, or earth changing messages. However, I had an experience that alters understanding of reality forever. I continue to explore how my defined reality has been altered.
In actuality, an hour and a half of clock time had passed since I recognized that I needed to turn the TV off and pay attention to another level of consciousness. I have since re-called the memory of that experience many times over the past few weeks. The sweetness and bliss is always there with me but I can't yet reproduce the totality of the experience. It remains a part of me as one of those moments in time that changes your life forever after even if you can't understand how anything at all has changed.
There is one change I am beginning to become aware of. Since the time of my awakening I have sensed global events. When there is a world situation that is threatening to the peace we on the earth are striving toward, I feel it like a physical blow. This often manifests in physical pain and/or illness. As I was experiencing the divine entity brushing my body I had an almost thought that it could be healing. The closest I came to a message from that being was that I was being released from some of the suffering of the pains of the earth. I had the feeling of giving back gratitude. In the weeks since I had the mystical experience there hasn't been a global event to know for sure but I have been healthier and more free from pain than I have been in more than two years.
I am just now beginning to try to think about how I might translate the sensations into words for others to read. When the experience first began, I began to think, "How am I going to describe this experience, what words am I going to use?" Those thoughts caused the experience to slip more distant from me. I would chastise myself, "Stop thinking" and then it would begin once again. After several thinking - non-thinking mind shifts I moved deeply enough to simply experience. I had to remain in the outer silence and the inner silence, the place of no place.
From my more ordinary consciousness, I have thought about it for a few weeks now. Any concrete thoughts diminish the experience. Still, I remind myself that if no one points out the possibility of experiences no one will awaken and be aware enough to "see" those things outside the ordinary. No one will step beyond our usual ordinary consciousness. If no one attempts the description there will be no experience to relate to and compare against. That acknowledgement leaves me with attempting to describe the indescribable. And that is followed with attempts to understand what it was that happened, how it happened, and how does it relate to ordinary life?
Spiritual emergence, spiritual awakening, and spiritual consciousness are some of the many terms we use for events which fundamentally challenge our beliefs about reality. Upon waking up, all that was no longer is. We experience a movement beyond ordinary, consensual, three-dimensional reality. Through a transcendental experience ... through moving toward a consciousness of oneness ... we discover an awareness where all things and events, while remaining perfectly separate and discrete (unique), simultaneously are only One. Duality both is and is not, both is form and is emptiness (the void).
Human beings are transitional beings bridging past and future in evolutionary process. The present moment is the gateway ... the past is only a memory, the future remains an unresolved, illusory possibility. This moment allows us (beings), as a whole, to create future consciousness. We bring spirit and physicalness into an energy which enables us as animated beings to exist in either and both realms simultaneously.
The gateway is the opening into all realms ... into consciousness ... into super-consciousness ... into our evolutionary future ... into other dimensions ... into all that exists beyond ordinary busyness of life. This gateway brings a fullness of extra-ordinary experience into ordinary life. Our objective is to bring spirit into physical matter rather than wait for the body to expire to allow movement into spirit. The two exist simultaneously in more than one dimension.
Ordinary reality, this agreed on definition of three-dimensional reality, is where we live, think and function. It is our objective reality. It is our consensual reality ... the reality we have each agreed to function in. For many of us it is the only reality or level of which we are conscious. For eons of time there have been the few who recognize and strive toward knowledge of that which exists beyond ordinary reality. Philosophers, clerics, shaman and mystics have known of a higher order ... of alternate realities ... of a great beyond, of the fullness of the Totality we call by many names and descriptions.
Each and all of us can become aware of the “Great Mystery”, that which exist beyond this sensory/earth reality. Our task as ordinary people is to real-ize (to make real) and to Become all philosophies and religions through our own unique expression. Our task is not to follow after any single aspect to the exclusion of others but to embrace the sacred energy in all aspects and beyond all aspects. All paths lead to the same source.
We in our human form have the need for a three-dimensional construct, a described boundary to contain our understanding of the totality. God, Jehovah, Allah, Yahweh, Creator, Great Spirit, the Great Mystery ... and many other names are what we call the Source from which all that exists emanates. This source encompasses the unknown, the unshown and all that is beyond understanding. Just as our physical eyes cannot see themselves, our spiritual seeing cannot clearly see its divine self in its Oneness.
After naming or attempting to name the Totality, we humans then build the constructs, the framework, the box, to describe and contain our understanding. We call these constructs our religion, our belief, or our philosophy. The matrix then becomes our individual foundation for existing. It also establishes a framework, a climate, a set of rules, limits, laws and boundaries of and for living. Once this construction is complete it has a tendency to be set in stone, unyielding and impenetrable. This fortress can provide a place of safety and security. It can serve to keep out danger and malevolent forces. And it can isolate or insulate, by setting up limits and boundaries to keep one away from anything viewed as different. Different becomes opposition rather than distinctiveness. Different is then viewed as something to avoid rather than being examined for possible inclusion or something to be enjoyed for its difference. When this happens our self-created receptacle of walls, floors and ceilings becomes an enclosure, a box. Our tiny box becomes the entire world and no longer has life and growth. We see only what is contained inside the box.
Carl Jung says, “It is a matter of indifference what the world thinks of religious experience; he who possesses it has a treasure, the source of life, intelligence and beauty, lending the world and humanity a new awareness.” That remains true until we squeeze the life from the experience by putting it into the narrow, rigid confines of a constructed 'box’. It remains true until we call it an ultimate truth and expect others to live 'the way’ as we have defined out truth box. To continue to grow and to move forward, we must take down the walls or at least expand our constructs.
Where is it we are going and
growing, we might be tempted to ask! For some, there is no acceptable answer.
There is no view beyond the present box. If answers are already ‘set in
stone’ with no room for tolerance, growth, change, or flexibility of any kind.
If our box has no windows or doors, we see nothing beyond its walls. For through
the tiniest crack in the walls we see a myriad of possibilities. Possibilities
we ‘might’ see beyond the limits of our box include a fuller consciousness
‘here and now’ in this time ... and
human evolution!
What realms of evolved being could exist in our future? Who might we become with a few more tools of awareness and consciousness? What veils between worlds might we rend? What flow might be freed?
All beliefs, as we now understand them, address the past; past errors, past joys, past learnings and past processes. Each also examines present reality, present learning and experiences, and then foretells predictions of the future ... a future beyond this life. Prophecy reveals possibilities for impending unfoldings. It provides a set of laws to address the here and now and to keep us in line with the established way.
Gnostic scriptures tell of cycles of life with the ultimate purpose of bringing together spirit and body into unity and wholeness. A Gnostic practitioner does not believe in swallowing somebody else’s opinion but in gaining personal access to the source of immediate knowledge. A higher mental state is necessary to have these revelations of direct truths given. It is a balanced union of body, mind, emotion and spirit that gives access to higher consciousness.
Hopi and Dine’ Native Americans, each in their own way, tell of moving into the fifth world. Lakota speak of prophecy and living toward the seventh generation. The Christian Bible speaks of end times and coming changes. When core truths of these unfoldings are examined we find forward movement in evolutionary process. We find movement toward ‘God-likeness’. Each and all speak of new times beyond our ordinary comprehension. Many Far Eastern traditions speak of similar focus, of discovery of Nirvana, of enlightenment. Tibetans refer to Shambhala, a society who all became enlightened and moved to a ‘higher’ plane of existence, of a tathagata path where those who have experienced as it is-ness are willing to walk the path of awakeness. There are many books, many stories, and many oral and written histories that relate similar information.
In each of these tales, this movement from world to world, or realm to realm, happens because we misuse and destroy the one in which we live, we ‘use it up’ and have to move elsewhere. This movement is also viewed as process of evolution to higher states as we climb up our beanstalk or our cornstalk, or walk over our rainbow bridge, or climb into the fifth world. We move more and more upwards from dark pits toward the heavens, as from Plato’s cave. Many systems tell of joining physical and spiritual realms into one realm ... one of learning to see and of evolving as living beings and living as evolved beings.
There is an ancient Gnostic story that tells of one individual who forgot where they came from and why they came to this realm. This story helped me remember when I was being pulled from my path and forgot my possibilities of return to full consciousness.
The
Hymn of the Pearl
A paraphrase of an ancient Gnostic story from the Acts of Thomas
When I was young and innocent I lived in the distant East in the kingdom of my parents, "a child of the royal family." I was nurtured with love, the fullness of spirit, wealth, and the splendor of my home and my family. Luxury surrounded me and "I was happy and content in my kingdom home."
"They took off of me my glittering robe of glory which in their love they had made for me." They removed the mantel "that was measured and woven to my stature" and fit me perfectly.
"And they made a covenant with me, and inscribed it" on my heart that I might never forget it. "If you go down into Khem," the dark earth country of the West, and "bring back the lost pearl with scattered sparks of light, which is in the midst of the sea" of corruption and surrounded by the devouring serpent-dragon, then you shall return to us. You will again put on the glittering robe of glory and contentment. Your mantle of stature will again be placed around you. And "you and your sibling of us will sit in honor in our kingdom."
I came out of the light of the East by a difficult road. I was young and unfamiliar with my travels and I was fearful in those dangerous lands. I was accompanied by "two royal envoys," guardian guides, my parents had provided me.
I and my companions crossed many borders and passed through unfamiliar and dangerous lands. We traversed Northern and Southern lands, harsh lands of burning stones and flowing lava, and cold lands of frozen waters and deep crevasses.
But, "when I arrived at the border" of Khem, "my companions departed."
"I went straight to the serpent-dragon. I dwelt in his abode." I established myself there in an inn. It was my intention to wait for the dragon to sleep so that "I could take my one pearl from him" and return to my kingdom home.
I met there in that distant place, one of my people, freeborn with grace, familiar, and a descendent of royalty, an anointed one. I made him my friend and companion with whom I shared my treasures and my journey. "I warned him against consorting" with the people of Khem or partaking of the fruits of their land, for they were unknowing of our ways and were profaned to us.
I was a stranger there in that land and wished not to be recognized as a foreigner, there only to take the pearl from within the sea of the serpent-dragon. I did not want them to "arouse the wrath of the serpent against me." I disguised myself by taking on their dress and their ways.
I do not know how they discovered that I was not of their land. "But in some way or another they found out that I was not one of their countrymen". They learned that I was from another place.
With great deception, they enticed me to join them in food, drink, and life. Having yielded to their enticements, I forgot who I was and where I had come from. I forgot my kingdom, my covenant, and my purpose. I forgot the lost pearl I had come to retrieve. "I fell into a deep sleep."
My family in my forgotten kingdom "perceived all this and grieved deeply for me." They sent out a "proclamation" for all elders "to come to the gates of the kingdom." They summoned and met with all the wise ones of the light of the East. Together they created a plan on my behalf that I would not be abandoned in the darkness of the West. They wrote to me signifying their resolve. And, "every noble signed his name to it."
"From thy father and thy mother; from all thy relatives; from the wise elders of the kingdom... to our kinsperson in Khem: Rise up. Awaken from your sleep. You have 'come under the great yoke of bondage.' Hear the words we send you. Remember that you are a child of the kingdom.
Remember your pearl for whose sake you have journeyed into Khem, 'remember the lost pearl' with its scattered sparks of light 'for which you have been sent.' Remember your glittering robe, your royal mantle of stature 'which you shall once again wear and with which you shall be adorned' on your return. Remember who you are, 'that you are a child of royalty' and remember the home awaiting you."
My parents, the rulers of the kingdom, sealed this message against the interference of any treacherous influences. "It flew as in the likeness of an eagle, the king of all birds, to my side and lighted down beside me where it became all speech." I heard its rustlings and its words. At its voice and the feelings of it, "I started and arose from my sleep" that held me unaware. I awoke, "took it up, kissed it and I began to read it." It awoke memories of all that had been inscribed in my heart.
I remembered everything. I remembered my kingdom, my royal family, "that I was a child of royal parents and my noble birth asserted itself." "I remembered the one pearl for which I had been sent down" to Khem of the West. I remembered the loud breathing serpent-dragon and the sea where it resides.
I began to chant the names of my father, my mother and my kingdom. "I charmed and overcame the terrible creature. I hushed him asleep and lulled him into slumber." I plucked the one pearl from the lair of the beast and turned to return to my distant home, to my kingdom in the East. I stripped off the accoutrements of the dark earth, and "left it there in the country" leaving it all in Khem.
"And I took myself straight to come to the light of our home in the East."
On my return to the light of the East I again found the message that had been borne to me on the heart of the eagle as I slept the unknowing sleep. "And as with its voice it had awakened me, so too, with its light, was leading me." It now guided me with the light of the kingdom. With the vision of my royal garments before me, and with love and the fullness of spirit drawing me forward, with "it that dwelt in the palace, it gave light before me with its form." "And with its love drew me on and encouraged me to speed."
I passed again through many regions, labyrinths, and dangerous lands. I went forth and again passed through heat and cold, North and South, through lies, ignorance, and hate.
However, "by the hand of" the two guardian guides my parents had provided for me, and "who in their truth could be trusted therewith," had brought me my splendid robe and royal mantle.
"I remembered not the brightness of my robe" and did not recall the perfect fit of the mantle that had been woven to my stature, "for I was yet a child when I had left it" in my palace home. But, suddenly I saw the garments that had been made for me. "When I received it, the garment seemed to me, to become like a mirror of myself." "I saw it all in all."
I saw the garments on me and I knew and saw myself through them, "for we were two in distinction and one in one likeness." I saw myself through it, that we had been divided asunder, being of one; and again, we were one in one shape. The distinction between it and myself melted away.
"The treasurer-guardians who brought it to be, I saw in like manner." They that had been two, now "had one shape upon them." "One royal sign was on both of them who had restored to me" my glorious robe and mantle, "so skillfully worked in our home on high."
I observed my robe still more in all its splendor, variegated with glittering color, adorned in gold and jewels, its seams sewn with threads of adamant, fastened with diamonds. Wisdom of ages was "embroidered and depicted in full - all over it." Also, "all over it the instincts of knowledge were working" and "I saw too that it was preparing to speak."
And I heard it speak. "I heard the sounds of its tones which it uttered," saying, "I am the one that acted on behalf of my parents in whose kingdom I was reared." "I perceived myself, that my stature grew in accordance with my work." "And in its movement it poured itself entirely over me."
"And it hastened, that I might take it. And I ran to meet it and receive it, it reaching out from the hand of him, unto the hand of him that would receive it."
"And I stretched forth and took it," and "adorned myself with the beauty of the colors," and the "flow of motions and instincts of knowledge." "The rippling movement of Gnosis spread through me." "In my royal robe excelling in grace, beauty, and stature, I arrayed myself wholly."
"And when I had put it on, I, in my robe, ascended to the gates of salutation and adoration, to the gates of the kingdom," the gates of the palace of peace, contentment and homage.
I bowed my head and worshiped the fullness of the source which had sent it unto me.
"And that which had been promised was fulfilled."
I entered the gates of the kingdom I had left as a child -
with my gifts and my pearl and returned into union with all that reside there.
From: The Hymn of Judas Thomas the Apostle in the country of India.
This story touches some deep inner knowing in each of us even before we begin to think about what it means. It strikes bells of familiarity at our very core. Even without attempts at understanding, it reminds us to remember who we are, and why we are here. It reminds us that we have a personal, deep and often hidden purpose.
We begin to analyze the tale and
to look at how it relates to each of us as individuals and our personal
development spiritually and egoistically. We can easily see that the kingdom is
where we felt safe and had all our needs met. On a still deeper level we can see
that it is where the soul originates, the fertile void, the absolute source of
existence. It is where we identify with the archetypal psyche. In order to gain
personal self-consciousness, the ego must leave the fullness of psychic
primordiality. It must leave its source. So the innocent and content child is
sent away on a mission.
The parents send the child on its journey fully provisioned with power, with distant memory, with everything that might be needed and light enough that it might be easily carried. The parents also establish veils of forgetfulness ... "They took off of me my glittering robe of glory which in their love they had made for me." They removed the mantel "that was measured and woven to my stature" and fit me perfectly.
Khem, an early designation for Egypt, means dark earth. Therefore Khem/Egypt was the symbol for earthly life and all the darkness and negative aspects of earthly life. In the story it symbolized the darkness of the unknown, the unconscious. Through the descriptions we recognize feelings of alienation and isolation. We recognize ourselves and suffer over our estrangement from the love and acceptance we imagine that others have in abundance. The soul/ego is a stranger to its fellow travelers. It is fully in the midst of existential alienation.
In the midst of alienation we sometimes find a kindred spirit. We find a familiar person, someone we know from our homeland, another soul who shares the path of a spiritual quest and mission. This was true of Khem traveler. He found, "one of my people ... an anointed one." He as we often developed a relationship. They, like us, share "treasures and journey" as well as warnings about the dangers of the land. Then we fall prey, we are seduced by the locals, the customs, and we are fed food and drink that causes us to slip even more deeply into forgetfulness, into a sleep of ignorance.
In examining the serpent-dragon, the sea, and the pearl; of course the pearl is our lost self, our existential self. It is the wisdom we know is "out there" for us if only we could discover and retrieve it. It represents the iridescent beauty surrounding the grain of sand we feel we are at our deepest core. It is the transcendental, transformative state we seek. It is our fire of life and it is being hidden from us within the sea of corruption and the veils of forgetfulness. The chaos of the sea itself isn't enough to keep us from what we seek, it is also guarded by a serpent-dragon, an ultimate personification of every enemy. It symbols everything that keeps us from attaining our goals.
Meanwhile, those special beings of our homeland recognize that we have lost ourselves. They "summon and meet with the wise ones of the land" who gather and prepare a message. It is signed, sealed with the seal of the Parent, "against any treacherous influences, and it is sent in a mystical magical manner. The message speaks to us through our deep sleep and rouses us to wakefulness and memories of purpose. "It flew as in the likeness of an eagle, the king of all birds, to my side and lighted down beside me where it became all speech." I heard its rustlings and its words. At its voice and the feelings of it, "I started and arose from my sleep" that held me unaware. I awoke."
On awakening, action is elicited and the lost one sets out to retrieve the pearl. It is with pearl in hand that "I stripped off the accoutrements of the dark earth, and "left it there in the country" leaving it all in Khem. Wisdom is regained one more time after a long period of forgetting.
It is then that envoys arrive with our robe of glory of individuated selfhood. The robe restored reinstates our mystical state of consciousness of all that exists beyond the "triviality of everydayness" (Heidegger). It elicits the visionary experience through the grandeur and "the rippling movement of Gnosis ... (so that in) my royal robe excelling in grace, beauty, and stature, I arrayed myself wholly."
And we return to our soul's home. "And when I had put it on, I, in my robe, ascended to the gates of salutation and adoration, to the gates of the kingdom," the gates of the palace of peace, contentment and homage.
The
Next Step
The next question? What is spirit and where is spirit? Science is looking to the farthest domains of the universe and, equally to the deepest realms of quantum physics. We
anticipate, we hope for a clear ‘western thought’ answer. Perhaps then we can contemplate merging spirit and matter. The concept of bringing spirit and matter together calls forth questions of how and why and when. How, why, and when is not important. Readiness to awaken and be aware is important. This is a time of transition, of movement ... a time of new ways of perceiving reality.
Visions, revelations, angelic visits, memories of ancient time and places, seeing deities ... demons ... spirits, prophecy, flashes of light and color, spasms, anxiety attacks, hearing voices, and other breaks with reality may be symptoms of psychosis. Psychiatric help may be needed. However, more and more frequently these experiences suggest a spiritual emergence and need no external care or need care of a very different kind. In past times prophets, saints, mystics, and holy people had similar experiences and were recognized as agents of God ... more worthy than ordinary persons of direct contact with the divine.
Today more and more average, ordinary individuals are having these kinds of experiences. The event may be a divine awakening but few mental health care sources have recognition of any distinction between mysticism, mental illness and spiritual awakenings. Therefore, there are few resources available for assistance. Conventional western mainstream psychology does not acknowledge that many great spiritual traditions regularly pursue higher consciousness and the benefits that are part of higher states of consciousness. Expanded awareness, altered states, spiritual and physical healings, visualizing and conversing with holy people may be considered (in this dominant culture) as mental illness rather than sacred pursuits. However, Native American cultures and aboriginal cultures as well as many of the Eastern beliefs consider these and other alternatives not only normal but view them as desirable options.
These experiences may be psychotic breaks with reality, learned spiritual practices or they may be an evolutionary crisis ... or what has come to be called a spiritual emergency ... an awakening of spiritual consciousness. Sometimes this is so dramatic in its challenge of previous beliefs and life styles, that our stability ... our homeostasis is threatened. There are some spiritual leaders, guides and teachers to assist people in these breakthroughs ... but they remain relatively few in number. This difficulty in breaking through to a higher level of consciousness has been the reason for the necessity of a guru in the past. The path was so treacherous that it could not be undertaken without guidance. During this time of transition, this time of evolution ... this time of new ways to perceive reality, we discover new ways to step into spiritual consciousness that are less crisis oriented and less threatening. The guiding hand of a leader who has gone before is less necessary but the path remains full of pitfalls.
As we walk our path, one of many lessons is to remain mindful. We must be mindful of the ever-present pot holes and pitfalls. We must remain mindful to the joy and beauty which surrounds us each and every moment of life. Additionally, we must learn and remain mindful of the very ordinary. The ordinary can be as much a peak experience teacher and can the sunrise of a new dawn, as can the skinned knee of the soul after a fall from the windhorse.
One,
Two, Three and More dimensions
Humanity is in a process of movement from a one dimensional point (origin), through a two dimensional shape (outline), past three dimensional form (structure) ... which is our currently defined reality ... into a multi-dimensional being traveling in a multi-dimensional reality. This leap requires full-consciousness, allowing spirit or the intangible aspects of us, to merge with physical matter of this reality. This process of movement is evolution.
Until we become evolved beings able to live as fully conscious spirit/matter beings, we must continue to live as we do now, in our physical bodies in this three dimensional world. Spirit continues to exist as something apart from physicalness, something to be aspired to, something consigned to the realm of the heavens. We can barely begin to understand our three consensually defined dimensions. How can we possibly begin to comprehend multi-dimensions? How can we create a picture of a dimension of spirit? ... or dimension of universe? ...or dimension of God? ... of multiple dimensions? We begin very simply.
One dimension has only one point.
One dimension is the dot on the page. It is not the page. It is not inside nor is it outside. It has no volume, no depth or no width. That very simple concept of one-pointed-ness is almost incomprehensible to us. We cannot understand that one point is, so how can we perceive that one point can be both empty (nothingness) and everything? With two dimensions, lines can go in any direction on a flat plane.
In the case of two dimensions, we still tend think in terms of more. Is the object or shape separate from the page. Is the page one or two dimensions? They are tied together on one plane by a boundary. They are the same thing ... they are paper. They are part of a page of a book, a symbol for something. Part of the page has more ink than another part, but all the page is still one flat plane, two dimensions. The inside and the outside of the circle, the square, and the triangle remain on the same plane and are both comprised of the same components, paper and ink.
The third dimension has depth and volume.
Three dimensions can be expressed or visually portrayed, on a two dimensional surface. This depiction requires assumptions, representations, and a common understanding of consensus reality. We interpret each of the shapes as having volume as well as an inside and outside. Still this can be expressed on a two dimensional plane. We think we understand what this physical realm is and our first question seems answered.
Fourth, fifth, sixth ...
dimensions? Multi-dimensions are beyond simple pictures. We cannot come up with
a representational concept. We cannot create a model of fourth dimension to show
in a three dimensional world. We can understand one, two and three dimensions
but our mind cannot conceive of moving into fourth, fifth, sixth ... dimensions,
much less many other unseen realities, including; micro dimensions, macro
dimensions, spirit dimensions, unnamed possibilities, and God dimensions. We
become quickly overwhelmed with the inconceivable and cease to think.
Limiting Factors and the Contrary of the ‘Truth’ ... Duality
We live in our body, with our body the emotional center of the universe around which everything revolves ... Me, Myself and I. We are egocentric beings with every thought and action undertaken to gratify self in some way, even those experiences we describe as unpleasant. Mankind takes upon himself this endless burden ... refusing to let go of anything ... holding on endlessly. We clutch tightly at every past experience, holding it tightly to our bosom as a treasure. We wallow in our angst, relishing our delicious, well deserved suffering. We justify every characteristic of ‘self’, saying ... “I am who I am” “because of alcoholic parents ...”, “because of rigid religious views ...”, “because of childhood abuse ...”, “because my mother committed suicide ...”, “because I was adopted ....”, “because I had an abortion ....” “I am trying to live the fairy tale.” We “because .....................”, endlessly to defend who we are and how we are in the world. We recognize our tendency toward addictions, then we become addicted to our addictions. We become our addictions and our excuses, spending more time on our pity pots than interacting with the world. We give our power to our “poor me” issues. We adopt the role of victimization. We feel we have been victimized by life and its forces. As victims we are disabled and ineffective with a comprehensive repertoire of excuses.
We can choose to continue this path of self suffering or we can consider the uses of adversity. We can thrive in spite of ... or indifferent to our difficulties. We can see adversity as an integrated part of the whole. We can see that adversity and bountiful blessings each define the other.
We can become self responsible. We can accept the teachings of life's hardships and adversities. We can choose to reject the victim role. We can choose to stop suffering over the suffering. We can become awake and emotionally whole individuals. We can seek an alternative.
The alternative? Leave it all behind and move on, make room for something new. If need be, examine each incident, recapitulate it, re-live it if you must, process it if necessary, but find some way to stop living in the midst of it. Cease being fixated on the past or on the present residue from past pain. Resist the temptation to hold on to long gone events. Dump it. Burn those bridges. Self discover ... find out, “who am I”? Define life purpose.
First, discover and accept on a conscious level ... Self. Second, dis-identify ... gain freedom from past influences. Clean out preconceptions, limiting beliefs and thoughts, assumptions, premises, handcuffs and blindfolds. Make room for new aspects of self. Third, center yourself. Psycho-synthesize yourself. Become a conscious ‘I’. Self realize, acknowledge, integrate, resolve and accept self ... as is. Fourth, define personal beliefs, values and ethics. Fifth, discover concepts of self actualization, transcendence, and the transpersonal. Develop consciousness and real-ize connections with life, nature and spirit.
There are many therapeutic processes, many paths of growth and development to accomplish these goals and objectives. There are many ways of healing old wounds. This book is about what comes beyond therapy, beyond emotional whole-ness, beyond well adjustment. Once we have accomplished this task of sane stability ... when we begin to live empowered, there may be a tendency for old familiar habits to return. We might be tempted to return to the old unhealthy patterns, or to build a new tight little box to contain the new something that we have so newly discovered ... to hold on tightly once again. We might be tempted to find a comfortable, safe, little home box. We might forget to continue to move forth. Squelch that desire. Leave room for an ongoing new growth, for continuing new perspectives. Examine the underside of the boxes, take off the box-top, put a window in the bottom, look at the outsides, explore other boxes, stack them differently, see how the boxes are alike and how they are different. Re-examine the definitions of truth. Perceive ‘truth’ through the eyes of someone else. Never admit a truth in the mind without simultaneously keeping the mind open to the contrary of that truth (Aurobindo). The result of that action? The prestige of the intellect is gone. When our intellect releases attachment to ‘the truth’, then we can begin to see possibilities, to examine options, to appraise alternatives, to look toward a future beyond rigid intellectual barriers. We have begun to move past our personal history. We become free to pursue beyond the limits of thought and beyond past truths. We can begin to think beyond thinking.
When physical reality and our personal history ceases being our main center, our entire focus, we can shift into a fuller consciousness. We begin to have an inner life independent of physical circumstances and physical life. We have the ability to live free of physical controls and past annals. Life changes. Life broadens to include more. There is room to look to future mysteries, to seek new answers, to find the mystic within ourselves.
Why would the world need another mystic? ... another set of answers? ... another viewpoint of answers we have already defined? ... another piece of the puzzle? Perhaps the world does not, I do. After thinking about some of these comments you might decide to seek a peek at options and alternatives, too. I need a new model, a new perspective, a cohesive construct, with flexible walls or freestanding, wide open spaces. The old limited representations stopped working for me long ago.
However, this new construction, this new model, must not become a prototype for another ‘ultimate’ answer. The world has no need for one more “one and only” religion. This model can only be viewed as a set of signposts, of guidelines for each individual to use in locating their own personal concept of path. A personal conception of spirit may be part of a conventional religion or a unique alliance between an individual and the Great Mystery. We ... I reach to a concept of fuller consciousness. I seek a connection, a personal partnership with Source as I personally and privately understand it.
Humankind has entered a time in this evolutionary process when each individual can seek a unique path ... for in truth, all paths end in the same Source. The time of requiring an intermediary to intercede on our behalf is past. We now become our own savior, our own priest, our own rabbi or lama, our own medicine man or woman ... we become our own holy person. We reach toward consciousness, toward fuller awareness of the Universal Totality for ourself. We reach toward a unity of spirit and matter through our expanded consciousness. We quest for the Supreme. We evolve in the direction of ultimate oneness; an infinite, all-pervading and all-embracing Consciousness. A totality where all things and events remain separate and discrete and simultaneously are only One, a place beyond and encompassing ordinary duality.
Never
admit a truth in the mind
without
simultaneously
keeping the mind open to the contrary of that truth
Sri Aurobindo
What is this Consciousness spoken of as if it were at our fingertips and as if all we need do is grasp it? Are not we each and all conscious? Conscious ... attentive ... cognizant ... aware? Kant’s, “I think, therefore I am”, becomes insufficient. We are more than our thoughts, more than our bodies, more than our emotions, more than attending and more than ordinary awareness. We experience awareness beyond thought and consciousness beyond awareness. All the words and definitions used in the past, become insufficient to discuss these new levels of evolutionary knowing.
Consciousness, through the expanded definition of evolutionary process, allows us to remain focused on our goals, our path. We remain impeccable, genuine and fully aware in our behaviors and our actions. Consciousness encompasses a new component, trust ... trust in process ... trust in knowing beyond our ordinary conscious. Consciousness is comfort in the mystery of not knowing on an intellectual level what will happen next. Consciousness is knowing everything in our Oneness and not needing to know in our separateness. Consciousness is a new kind of sensory awareness beyond our five familiar senses. This ‘not knowing’ is sanctioned as one of the great joys, a joy requiring constant focused surrender to expanded Consciousness. This kind of Consciousness requires that we live more fully, savor our emotion, keep our Chakra (energy) centers clear, sense the divine in every action: that we maintain clarity in who ‘I’ am, in every situation. Consciousness requires that we live in the moment and live fully. Consciousness becomes an alertness and a knowing through recognition, through simultaneous ‘being with’ everything that exists. Consciousness rewards us with mental, physical, spiritual and emotional connection. In combination we become the gestalt. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Becoming Conscious
How do we begin to be conscious of Consciousness? Our beginning task is to become conscious in every way possible at this ordinary reality level of daily busyness. This must occur before consciousness at other levels of being can begin. Consciousness at all degrees of universal existence, in ourself, in others, in all things; in waking, in sleeping, in awake behaviors, in dreaming behaviors and ultimately in what we know as death. The extent of our consciousness in life is reflected in the extent of our consciousness in dreams and in death. Consciousness carries us forth into the infinite All, beyond life, sleep and death. Consciousness is not just a way of thinking or feeling, it is an energy, a power for contacting the myriad degrees of existence, visible or invisible, sentience or essence, source or outcome, form or void.
Before awakening Consciousness we are products of our intellect, our emotion, our sensory interpretation, our delineated physical body. We define our world through those limits. As we become more aware and awakened we recognize alternatives. We adopt and examine a perspective. Perhaps we pause and contemplate other concepts as distant possibilities. We may attempt to blend and assimilate. However, to discover new native lands, we must first leave the old one behind. Not even a synthesis will suffice. We must reach toward authenticity, we must reach toward originality ... and we must reach forth without trepidation. This freedom from trepidation and consternation is also called fearlessness (not foolishness). Courageous forward movement, having moved through fear is fearlessness.
To begin to reach toward consciousness, in this beginning task, we state our intention and our commitment to constant surrender to whatever is our highest path. We vocalize it with verbalizations such as: “I am willing to walk my personal, spiritual, path; I am willing to respond to the light of consciousness, to let go of fear, to let go of artificial clarity; I am willing to let go of the idea that I know what is happening and how things work; I am willing to let go of the thought that ‘I’ am in control.”
We achieve personal, emotional
wholeness through self-knowing. We
discover our true nature, our true name, our true path, our manifestation in the
world which we know as our personality. To
discover cosmic Consciousness we must look existence, joy and pain, in the
face. We must ... if our aim is to
arrive at a ‘right’ solution whatever that solution may be.
We must face it all equally if we strive toward consciousness.
To look existence in the face is to look God in the face, for the two
cannot be separated ... and the higher order is the truth of the two.
Truth is the foundation of real spirituality and courage
(fearlessness) is its soul (Aurobindo).
This chaos of life is where we have to act, to face things, to Become. Physical, material reality is the moment we live in. It is here we must learn to Be. It is here we learn to be mindful. To step into the ‘more’, into Consciousness, we must learn to be fully conscious in the ‘here and now’. Without ‘Being’, our ‘Becoming’ is scattered in the prevailing chaos. We cannot pass into the place where the individual, the cosmic and the transcendent are part of ultimate, infinite, Consciousness until our becoming is pulled into Being.
WAYS
TO BE
... Being,
a true name and a true path
There are many ways of Being
in the World. To create a new way
of Being, we must be awake and emotionally
whole. This
is the objective of psychotherapy, of self help programs, of thousands of books.
It is a life goal for many. This
treatise will not discourse on that particular subject.
This disquisition begins at the point of psychological or emotional or
mental wholeness. Past wholeness
there are many beginning places. One
of those “ways” is to enter a Circle of Movement, a Circle of Life, a Life
Path. This may consist of a
philosophy, a religion, a culture, a belief, a life style, or we might call it a
Medicine Wheel ... from the Native American traditions.
Naming it isn’t important. The
walking, the movement, the growth ... the path is momentous.
It is critical. It
determines personal self actualization and contributes to the evolution of
humanity.
Your true path and your true name ... how you want to be recognized ... are requisites, they are first step discoveries. You can discover your true path by noticing what ‘lights you up’ and keeps you ‘lit’. Ask, “What is it I am doing when I feel most alive and in the universal flow?” “How do I want to be remembered?” “What legacy do I choose to leave behind?” “How do I contribute to the world ... to humanity?” The answers to these questions become path options. Teacher, student, parent, mate .... worker, protector, guide, an intellect ... all and more are paths to walk. It is up to you to ascertain your personal pathway.
Your true name creates an
awareness of internal resonance. Ask, “Who do I want to be known as?”
“What labels do I want to be associated with me?”
Healer, mystic, teacher, cleric ... artist, sage, server, priest ...
scholar, leader, listener, and speaker are names you might hear.
When you are called by one of these terms (or others) and you smile with
recognition deep inside ... then you know your true name.
You know who you are. What
sounds resonate
your name?
You may know already who you are and the path you follow or you may spend time and/or meditation in the discovery. You may ask friends or family their vision of you and your path. Prayer may provide your answer. But, seek and find you must.
“I freeze on this new level because I am faced with the death of this new level. I have found a higher self only to see it threatened globally by the skull of death which grins in again. There is now the possibility of new and higher Eros (self-actualization), but it necessarily brings in its wake the terror of new and subtler Thanatos (death and transformation) ... I have found a total self, only to face total death. It is then impossible for me to orient meaningfully to life’s future because I am terrified of life’s present .... (Maslow)”. Maslow discovered what he called the Jonah Syndrome ... the fear of greatness. This fear also includes our fear of being unworthy, incapable and less than what was expected of us. Maslow found this fear to be the greatest barrier to self actualization (fulfilling one’s potential). We become fearful of possibilities. Fear of discovering Self immobilizes us. We find ourself doing ‘nothing’ in order to avoid failure. It is the greatest barrier to walking our personal path and answering to our true name. Modern psychology has also named this the “impostor syndrome”. It is the fear of being discovered as far less than what we present ourself to be. “What if they see me as I really am, rather than what they think I am.” We must move past fears, become fearless ... become courageous and find our path. Finding our true path has been most clearly presented in conventional psychology by Abraham Maslow.
Maslow, rather than studying individual deficiencies and abnormalities, examined the excellence in the world and those individuals who live in excellence. Maslow presents a hierarchy of needs with self actualization being the highest accomplishment. As a humanistic psychologist, Maslow and others recognize that we are each unique individuals, with morals and values, with a basic goodness, and a desire to reach goals that have value to us. This hierarchy is generally presented as a pyramid, the smallest point at the top being self actualization. I prefer to think of it as building blocks with each forming a foundation for the next layer. Any removal or threat to the lower blocks and we fall to the level of the block that was in danger. Then when stability has been restored, we quickly return to the top. This is what Abraham Maslow calls the self actualization process. Perhaps there is Consciousness, Super-Consciousness and MORE and MORE above self actualization.
MORE,
MORE, MORE, MORE, MORE, MORE
Super-Consciousness -
Consciousness
Transcendent-
self-actualization
self-esteem, self-esteem
love, love, love, love, love
belongingness, belongingness
safety, safety, safety, safety, safety, safety
survival, survival, survival, survival, survival, survival
Ordinary teachings from Maslow stop at the level of self actualization, which is
the peaking beyond ego states. His
theory does carry us beyond this level but is considered too extreme for was
most textbooksl. This book is about
reaching beyond, beyond what we have previously seen as our limits.
There are many paths we can select from, an unlimited number of paths. Many of the many paths available have been in existence for centuries. Some of these are included in this primer on Consciousness for your examination. If none of these fit you, your name or your path comfortably, find others to explore.
Seek
your own true ‘way’.
PATHS ... Hindu yoga paths,
Tibetan paths, Psychology
The yoga path is the Hindu-wisdom path to find health, happiness and peace of mind ... not in some future post-death place but in the here and now. This can be achieved through union with the higher self ... a mind-body union. The objective of this union is to manifest divinity within through controlling internal and external natural impulses and behaviors. Breath and physical postures are an integral part of this path. According to Hinduism and revised and modernized versions of Hinduism (some might say misbegotten versions) there are different forms of yoga a teacher presents his students with. These are paths of movement through the world which encompass our true name. A teacher will watch his students and say, this is a person of devotion, this is a person of work, or this is a person of mind, this is a person of mysticism, this is a person of service. In recognizing our nature they will give a practice based on that nature. In this culture we must seek this knowledge ourself. Knowing our personality allows us to interact more effectively with self as well as with others. None are better, or worse, merely different. We say things like “If I were only ...............” It doesn’t matter what we do, just so we do it well.
Vivekananda addresses four main yogas, Karma Yoga - the path of action, Jnana Yoga - the path of knowledge or philosophy, Bhakti Yoga - the path of devotion, and Raja Yoga the path of control of the mind. The most commonly known yogic path in North America is a physical yoga known as Hatha Yoga. Yoga paths are generally divided into three Buddhist vehiecles; Hiiniyana, Mahanayana, and Vajrayana. These three paths include the yogas of 1) Hatha Yoga, 2) Karma Yoga, 3)Yama/Niyama Yoga ... (Samjna), 4) Bhakti Yoga, 5) Raja Yoga ... (Vignana), 6) Jnana Yoga ...(Vedana ... Samskara/the rounds of birth and death), 7) Laya Yoga, 8) Yoga, 9) Tantra Yoga, 10) Kundalini Yoga, 11) Yantra Yoga 12) MantraYoga, 13) Japa Yoga, 14) Siddha Yoga.
1) Hatha Yoga focuses on
breath, postures (asanas), mudras (hand gestures), and muscular locks (bandahs)
to achieve union by bodily mastery. "Ha"
means sun - "tha" means moon. The right nostril is sunbreath and the
left nostril is moon breath - giving health of nervous system, glands, and vital
organs.
2) Karma Yoga is action
and service based. It stresses God-realization through selfless service. For
benefit to occur it must be action performed without expectation of outcome,
reward, or even acknowledgement "selfless service performed with
skill".
3) Yama/Niyama Yoga ... Samjna. Yama and Niyama are
aspects of or extensions of Karma yoga.
Yama yoga is union through
conduct toward other. Purity within can overcome the enemies within ... greed,
anger, lust, pride, and jealousy which lead to lying, killing and stealing.
Purifies the mind.
Niyama Yoga pursues union
through conduct with regards to self, self service. This includes outer and
inner cleanliness, contentment (harmony), chasity (moderation), study, and
devotion.
4) Bhakti Yoga is union through
love and devotion - rites and singing of songs of praise, love, devotion, and
worship ... in love of the One (Hindu - Krishna). The sweetness of the
"Beloved" is seen in all things.
5) Raja Yoga ... Dhyana Yoga (Vignana) is union by mental mastery, tapping latent energies, mastering consciousness, stilling thought, and becoming ruler over mind. It stresses concentration and meditation as methods of attainment. It includes sensory mastery as well as subtle counterparts; clairvoyance, clairaudience, and clairsentience.
6) Jnana Yoga ...(Vedana ...
Samskara) is union through knowledge, study, and meditation. It is spiritual
knowledge and wisdom. Intellect penetrates veils of ignorance that prevents one
from seeing the true self. It stresses God-realization through knowledge and
discrimination.
7) Laya Yoga is union by arousal
of latent forces. Laya yoga includes breath suspension, stable posture, and
release meditative concentration to awaken latent forces.
8) Kriya Yoga literally means an
activity performed with awareness. The goal is to develop awareness and
"see things as they really are" free of ordinary perceptions.
Discipline or sadhana incorporates many components of the other yogas; breath,
posture, devotion, and control of the mind. Kriya yoga utilizes massage
(internal control) of internal organs and glands to stabilize the physical body.
9) Tantra Yoga is union of
polarity or duality, of masculine and feminine, of the yogi and Yogini, through
actual or visualized union. It is a physiological discipline.
10) Kundalini Yoga is union with
the goal of arousing latent dormant psychic and vital forces which lie coiled at
the base of the spine in the form of a serpent. Chi or energy awakens through
movement from the base chakra through all chakras to crown - enlightenment.
Prayanayama (breath control) is one of the important skill leading to breathless
state of samadhi.
11) Yantra Yoga frees one
through meditation on a symbol - frequently a mandala of specific forms and
shapes.
12) MantraYoga or Nada Yoga is
union through sound. Mantra (think and protect or free) is to free oneself from
habitual and limiting tendencies of thought and awakens the internal intellect..
It replaces "I" centeredness with God centeredness.
13) Japa Yoga is another form of
meditation with the use of mantra to bestow peace, bliss, illumination and
consciousness.
14) Citti (subconscious / unconscious) or Siddha Yoga (perfection) is union through work with supernatural powers ... yogic miraculous powers.
1. Hatha Yoga - As
stated previously hatha yoga focuses on breath, postures (asanas), mudras
(hand gestures), and muscular locks (bandahs) to achieve union by bodily
mastery. "Ha" means sun -
"tha" means moon. The right nostril is sun breath (heating) and the
left nostril is moon breath (cooling) - giving health of nervous system, glands,
and vital organs. Through the strict and correct discipline of
Hatha practices, postures (asanas), seals (mudras), locks (bandhas),
kriyas (cleansing practices), and pranayama (breath control) the
practitioner merges the pranas (forces) through the pingala (right channel) and
ida (left) nadis which merge and flow through the sushumna (central channel).
When the energy rises to the crown chakra (sahasrara) bring Self-realization /
God realization.
2. Physicality, Karma Yoga means action. Karma Yoga takes action as the way to conscious living and follows the idea of work for work’s sake. It is a collection of precepts rather than only a system, for those who live in the world in an active physical way. The ideal is the active life as praised by the Bhagavad Gita, the beautiful Indian holy book, “Action alone concerns you, never its fruit, stability in success or failure, the balance is called Yoga.” This concept incorporates the philosophy of non-attachment to outcome. Only ‘work for work’s sake’ utilizes the path of consciousness living. Attachment brings fixation, concern over recognition, ‘success/failure’, rewards of the work ethic. You serve eternity, humanity, yourself, your children, your lover ... through your work. You clean house, paint the house, pick apples. You engage the physical body. So ... you may work setting up a new elementary school, working in politics, running countries, or refugee camps ... you may create businesses or build highways. Your expressions of service to a higher purpose is one of physical interaction with environment and with others. Kaarma yoga is union by action and servicce, selfless service without reward.
In Tibetan Buddhism this would be Form, Rupa, the realization that the Self is an entity in the external world. The external world provides us with information in the form of five senses. This sensory way of experiencing environment in relationship to self is one of Carl Jung’s four ways of being in the world. Western psychology would describe this way as behavioral and biological in origin. Movement in the world is one of physical action.
3. Service, Yama -Niyama Yoga, an aspect of Karma Yoga is concerned with conduct toward others. Concentration on the idea of purity and service can overcome the enemies within ... greed, anger, lust, pride, and jealousy which lead to lying, killing and stealing, and other ‘sins’, Yama Yoga is concerned with conduct toward others. Any ‘enemy’ thoughts are to be replaced with a new and contrary thought, i.e. service and good action toward others.
Many people are inspired by service ... nurses, doctors, counselors, paramedics, government workers, community workers, hospice workers. This service is pursued for the sake of higher purpose not for personal outcomes. For many people on any form of a spiritual path, the heart chakras ... our loving heart energies, benefit greatly through giving light to someone other than self. This can be accomplished through service as previously discussed or any kind of unselfish service to others. Allow light to flow through you, give light to someone else. This might be expressed as simply as offering to work in the garden of an elderly friend ... or give regular visits to ‘stay-at-home’ elders or volunteer time at a nursing home. Do something you believe in ... do something beyond self-serving activities. This does not mean being taken advantage of. Expressing through service does not mean allowing yourself to be used as a doormat. Hold great dignity in the heart. Serve because of heart-felt caring. If you confront criticism, say, “I’m serving the highest good for all concerned, I hope you are also (Beth Hin).”
A counter part of Yama Yoga is Niyama which is concerned with conduct with regard to self, self service. This includes outer and inner cleanliness, contentment (harmony), chastity (moderation), study, and devotion. Signs of accomplishment are contentment and joy. Implementation of Karma Yoga, both Yama and Niyama are through carrying the basic goodness or selflessness through daily activities and living.
Perception, Samjna an
active reaction to the external world, corresponds to Yama Yoga in Tibetan
thought. Jung’s ‘feeling’ way of experiencing the world fits most closely with the
service path of Yama Yoga and perception of the Tibetans.
This is accepted in conventional psychology as phenomenological,
humanistic or person centered
practice in the world.
4. Devotion - Bhakti Yoga follows the path of feeling ... of affirmation, of synthesis. It is the path of heart. Bhakti followers intensify emotions and the power of love as levers to attain super-consciousness. “.... love suffers long, and is kind; love envies not; love vaunts not itself, is not puffed up, does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own ... (Saint Paul, I Corinthian 13:4-5)”. You are individuals who get all excited about romantic things, a picnic in the neighborhood, a surprise dinner for a friend, random acts of kindness. You are very effusive and emotional. All the emotions you feel in your soul teaches you how to be in the world. Many mystical poets, sources of many holy books, in Persia were Bhaktii. If this is your path, your name, if this is your nature; it is important that you create strong form in your life so that your heart can waft back and forth like a river where the banks are diffused with flexible riverbanks ... like a great delta. Learn to allow love to flow freely. However, make sure you know the delta, don’t get lost ... overworked. With individuals of devotion, heart is everything. They may be easily buffeted around in the world and tender in feelings. They survive by facing the fear and doing it anyway. They may express the feelings ... and say ”you broke my heart”... then having expressed the pain go on. Bhakti yoga is union by love and devotion through rites of songs of praise, love devotion and worship ... in love of the ONE (Hindu ... Krishna).
Feeling, Vedana, instinctive, intuitive reaction to the external world by Self is the Tibetan Buddhist correlation. Maslow’s Self Actualization, self-theory would correspond to living through ‘intuition’ ... or devotion as presented by Bhakti Yoga.
5. Mysticism - Raja Yoga - Great Dance of God, the royal path. Raja Yoga is the path of realization, for which all others were preparation. It combines the practices of the others. “Raja Yoga leads to the realization of the Absolute through concentration and meditation ... (Ramakrishna)”. This means you listen to eternity and live according to moods you assess in your life. Use your mind to transform, use the heart to be devoted, use your mind to be of service, use your body to do work ... and you are bringing into unity a tremendous magical quality. For those of you who think that being mystical is being in touch with the heart of the world, sometimes it does. More often it means dealing with the ordinary tasks of daily life in an extra-ordinary manner. Listen to eternity through the ordinary. Raja yoga is union by mental mastery. It is tapping latent energies, mastering consciousness, stilling thought and becoming ruler over mind.
The point at which Self becomes its own world, and the universe becomes a reactor, a responder, to the stimulus of the Self is the Tibetan Buddhist understanding of Consciousness, Vignana. Enlightenment comes when the individual recognizes a dissolution of self into One Mind. This is a product of inwardness. Through the discipline of meditation and the development of psychic powers and mind control, Self discovers all the world in Mind. When human mind can merge with ... develop Consciousness of the One Mind, it is complete and total.
6. Mind - Jnana Yoga, the yoga of discrimination through conscious reasoning follows a path of negation, of analysis, of scholasticism. Jnana Yoga seeds the secret of what moves us, the secret of what we call the soul but seeks through rational thought and logic. All the tools of our consciousness are examined one by one, and it is recognized that I am not this, nor am I that. Senses; touch hearing sight taste and smell, are contrasted by five acting senses, breathing, evacuating, digesting, feeling and thinking. At last we arrive at the core of our being, recognizing it as the ‘I’, the spirit, the soul. This is more difficult than the path of Love (acceptance) but it fits the ‘western thought’ more fully than the others. These individuals use the mind to address their path. This is the person who is very “intellectual” ... criticizing everything ... analyzing everything ... putting forth the ‘shoulds’ of life ... “I know that but he doesn’t.” “I keep my checkbook perfectly balanced.” This person likes everything in form and organized, taking pride in action. These persons must use the mind to create something that has integrity around it. Mind without virtue, honor and morality is destructive, non-productive at best. And if these mind individuals ‘do’ with integrity they are likely to have great happiness in the world ... their mind is engaged. A person with a mind focus must do something to it ... like keep it very focused. Jnana yoga is union by knowledge, through study and meditation. It is spiritual knowledge and wisdom where intellect penetrates veils of ignorances that prevent one from seeing the true self.
Tibetan Buddhism refers to Concept,
Samskara as a combination of intellect and emotion in which the
distinct personality of the individual is defined. Thinking, mind, cognitive
theories, social learning would all be comfortable in the Jnana Yoga
concept. Western thought would be
most at home with this path.
7. Laya Yoga is union by arousal of latent psychic nerve forces through Hatha yoga, breath suspension, stable posture and intense meditative concentration, to awaken serpent power coiled at the base of the spine through all the chakras from the base chakra to the crown chakra. This produces enlightenment or samadhi through meditative practices leading to the absorption of the mind into the Self by listening to the inner sound.
8. Kriya Yoga is a physical or subtle- mental, emotional - purification movement. It occurs as a result of the movement of the awakening the Kundalini. The body and nervous system are purified and strengthened so that the seeker can endure the higher states of consciousness.
9. Tantric Yoga is
a physiological discipline. It is a
union of male and female energies. This
may be as yogi and yogini and either actual or visualized.
Tantric yoga is an awakening into enlightenment.
It is an aspect of Vajrayana yoga.
10. Kundalini Yoga
11. Yantra Yoga is union by vision and form. Sight and form together provide a design with power to influence consciousness. these might include a picture, a visualization, a design of a temple, or a mandala. Yanta yoga and tantra yoga are sisters.
12. Mantra Yoga / Nada Yoga is union by voice and sound/vibration. Mantra is sacred word or cosmic sound invested with the power of God. It is God in sound form. Consciousness is influenced by syllables, words, phrases and sounds. Rhythmic repetition of mantras are called japa. Nada is divine music or sounds which are heard in higher states of consciousness
13. Japa Yoga is the repetition of a mantra, usually silently, to take one to higher states of consciousness.
14. Siddha Yoga is also known a Maha Yoga. Also see Kundalini Yoga. It encompasses the physical asanas of hatha yoga, the love of bhakti yoga, the meditation of raja yoga, mantra yoga, laya yoga, and jnana yoga. A goal is the awakening of the Kundalini. when the Kundalini is awakened all the other yogas occur automatically. Muktananda states through awakening the kundalini, all the other yogas take place spontaneously. The process begins to happen when we receive Shaktipat and is called Siddha Yoga (perfect yoga) or Maha Yoga (great yoga - encompasses all other yogas). He states that we cannot possibly know which asanas, mudras, bandhas, and pranayamas are good for us. We are told that Kundalini (the inner guru) knows our past, our future and what is best suited for us as individuals. Hearing inner sounds, perceiving divine tastes and smells, and/or having visio