The chilly night air seemed to bring clarity as I walked. I had been exploring some questions about the nature of consciousness. Was consciousness something you could measure or rate? What causes consciousness to expand? I was asking these questions because it seems to me the world is in need of more consciousness if we are going to have peace. I wondered if some people were more conscious then others? Then a light went on and I had a very interesting insight. That insight is even getting clearer as I write this. What I now understand is that we all have unlimited consciousness available if we access it. This consciousness is the same consciousness of the Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad, Rumi, the Dalai Lama and many others that have graced the planet. That got me excited thinking about it.
So how do we access this expanded state of consciousness? The profound part of my insight was that we can access it anytime by entering into awareness of that consciousness. Explaining this part of it is more difficult unless you have spent time meditating or doing some other contemplative practice. What I can explain is that when we quiet the mind and open to seeing beyond our ego and personality then we are entering into a state of awareness much more expansive then our normal state of being. This expanded state allows us to access the collective consciousness of the planet. When we are in consciousness then we are one with the infinite wisdom of the universe, with the higher nature of all things.
As far as I can understand this - awareness is the key. The more we spend time in awareness the more access we have to the vastness of consciousness. Being in awareness is something we normally do with intention. We sit, walk and move quietly with the intention of being in awareness. Meditation, prayer, tai chi, yoga and other practice can take us into awareness. When in awareness people have a variety of experiences. My experience is: I feel expanded beyond myself; I sense the light around me is different an almost golden white; I experience the beauty in all things I see; I feel connected and in unity with everything; I feel my heart is open and there is a deep sense of peace and quiet joy. There are many writings about these states of awareness and consciousness particularly in the East and in Western contemplative practices. These readings are validating but the true experience of awareness and consciousness is almost beyond words.
There is much to explore here. I am very interested in practicing ways to be in awareness throughout my day. I have a hypothesis I want to experiment with and that is: the more in awareness I am, the more I can shape my reality to create the results I want. This will be an interesting experiment. I will keep you informed along the way.
A simple practice for awareness is to go through you day being aware of your breath and its flow in and out of your body. See how your breath changes throughout your day? See what happens when you deepen your breath?