Directed Consciousness: The resonation of material expression

Right now, everything is fine. Peace pulsates at the center. The radiance of calm and well-being exudes an aura of golden stillness.

This is not so because life is perfect. It is not because things are either good or bad. The reason has nothing to do with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, the trials and tribulations of life. The reason has to do only with the fact that living in the Now creates a mental and spiritual space of presence and awareness. It is the total concentration of attention on the Present. It is the living consciousness of complete awareness.

This is not to say that engaging memory or considerations of the future do not occur. Of course they must, as the processes of living require them in order to navigate life and the world. As an example of directed consciousness, the recapitulation process is a mandatory practice in the resolution of a lifetime. This is also not to say that the emotions are stilled immediately, as they are connected to memory and considerations of the future and often arise spontaneously as the mental imagery and habitual sub-vocal discursiveness engage patterns of chemical release in the form of neuro-peptides cascading from the hypothalamus into the cells of the body, resulting in the bodily expression of mental stimuli. But as the habit of living in the Now evolves and deepens, the neural network begins to reflect the mental changes and the synaptic connection between axons and dendrites that form the network associations we call personality and the memory-based, experiential triggers and self-regulating emotional patterns, resulting in a qualitative rarification process that streamlines the physical structure of the mind in response to the new pattern of the thought processes.

The personal experience of this phenomenon may seem curious and improbable when compared to the typical pattern of emotional addiction and mental chatter that typifies the normative lived experience. But it is the natural evolution of directed consciousness and steady insistence upon mental and emotional control. The ability to direct consciousness and regulate attention is concentration. Everyone does it to a certain extent. Through the practice of physical and mental tasks that develop concentration mind control is facilitated. Art, music, sports and academics all require the development of the concentrative faculties in order to excel in these practices. Since most people have participated in any one of these exercises the states of presence and awareness that often accompany their successful and skilled expression may be somewhat familiar. The reality of living in a constant state of presence and awareness is the reality of living in the Zone.

No matter the state of mind, emotion or body, every moment is perfect. Sometimes it takes a conscious effort to realize this. Ceasing the constant mental chatter to access the infinite space of presence and awareness that underlies all and looking at situations and the world through eyes bright with the epiphanic wonder of directed consciousness reminds the limited personality construct that our default perceptive modalities are only a pale rendition of what is possible.

In the Now regrets fall away into oblivion, as do worries and fears. It becomes readily apparent that such are the illusions of imaginative dwelling, fed by the emotional maelstrom that becomes the personality construct’s default mind-state due to the habitual avoidance of the present moment. Societal forces are in large part responsible for the individual’s preoccupation with the external reality to the detriment of the internal reality. Societal norms and pressure from kinship and peer groups enforce conformity and adherence to patterns of behavior deviating only minimally from standard medians of expressive measurement.

A Comedy of Errors: True responsibility versus the social compact

People use the word responsibility all the time. Some times in reference to things that they feel that they have to take care of and other times in reference to other people and their lack thereof. The word can be comforting or it can cause pain. It can be a weapon or a healing balm. It’s use and meaning can vary over time and space. To different people, it can mean different things. In different parts of the world it can mean different things. And yet, for such a powerful term, it is curiously unremarked upon.

re·spon·si·bil·i·ty (r-spns-bl-t)

n. pl. re·spon·si·bil·i·ties

1. The state, quality, or fact of being responsible.

2. Something for which one is responsible; a duty, obligation, or burden.

If you break the word down into its component parts it looks something like this:

re·sponse  (r-spns)

n.

1. The act of responding.

2. A reply or an answer.

3. A reaction, as that of an organism or a mechanism, to a specific stimulus.

a·ble (bl)

adj. a·bler, a·blest

1. Having sufficient power or resources to accomplish something: a singer able to reach high notes; a detergent able to remove stains.

2. Usage Problem Susceptible to action or treatment: The brakes were able to be fixed.

3. Especially capable or talented.

 A duty then. A burden, an obligation to respond, reply, react or give an answer and being capable or having the resources or power to accomplish it.

We are responsible according to our own personal choices to self, family, friends and society to varying degrees. We each have examples in our lives of things that we feel that we are responsible for. Responsibility is a choice.

It is a choice to respond and the ability to do so. To react to a situation in a capable manner.

Individually, we are each responsible for our own thoughts, words and actions. Because the mind can be controlled, every thought that we have is a choice. Because the muscles that move the body can be controlled, every word we say and action we take is also a choice.

We don’t have to think certain things. If we choose to and practice, we can turn off the constant running chatter of thoughts that passes through our brain. Dwelling on the past and the future is not necessary. Dwelling on thoughts of people and situations that give rise to feelings of jealousy, avarice, hatred, passion or even love is a conscious choice. It is a choice that takes us out of the moment, out of the Now, and into the indeterminate space of contemplation, removing us from our outer environment and immersing us within the inner creative environment of imagination and emotivity.

The thoughts we allow our minds to entertain are always of the imaginative variety as none of them are based in reality in any way other than containing a cast of characters based upon real people, or a series of events based upon what we think are potential occurrences given the information that we possess at the time. How we recall the past, how we create the future with our thoughts is totally constructed by the series of synapses and connections within our neural nets and the emotional content that the images give rise to and that we use to determine which potential path holds the best possible outcome for our current emotional state and belief system.

None of it is real until we attempt to make it so. We remember selectively. Our perceptions are bounded by our capacity to process information and our knowledge bases, which limits our ability to understand everything going on around us. Often, things did not happen in the past in the manner that we envisioned, nor did the events hold the emotive weights to others that we might have given them at the time.

When we think about current events, our perceptions fail us as well. We do not have all of the information, and yet we attempt to forecast other people’s actions, or how situations will play out. None of it comes to pass outside of our minds and in the ‘real world’ in exactly the manner we had envisioned it either because there are other actors involved. Other people who are acting out the plays they’ve also envisioned in their minds. The Comedy of Errors that our lives then become is in direct correlation to the lack of clarity and knowledge that we bring to the table in each circumstance and instance of interaction with other sentient beings and the natural world.

The interplay of multiple consciousnesses engaged in personal, mental dramas upon the sound-stage of 3D reality is life as we know it. Our engagement with the social system and our interpersonal connections to others comprise our levels of responsibility. The social compacts that we agree to as we mature within the different cultural realms of production across the world determine the nature of that responsibility.

As individuals living within greater systems that integrate ritual and belief in a criss-crossing interweaving of institutions and interactions, lesser and greater forms of coalescence around ideologies and material manifestations of such in all areas of people activity including capacity limitation, intellectual bounding, moral culpability, interpersonal interactivity and individual and collective responsibility, we make the conscious choice to maintain the system with our acquiescence and our mental and physical support. We become the system and uphold the system as an agreement with others within the system.

Our responsibilities are then determined by outside forces that we have internalized. Our choices are then bounded by a complex of ideas and formulations that limit our capacity to respond creatively to life and to the unlimited potentialities that surround us because of this mental encapsulation that we subscribe to and represent in our words and actions, if not our thoughts. We become beholden to family, to friends, to society. We limit our thoughts, our words, our actions based upon what others think of us or because of our fear of the potential ramifications of going beyond the boundaries and the imposed responsibility of societal production.

Responsibility in the cultural sense often has to do with the continued propagation of society. Inter-generational societal production. It is almost as if cultures were alive, thinking and conscious entities comprised of countless individual souls who live and die within them much like cells within organic bodies. They are born and die without remark but the body lives on. Humans engage different processes of societal production during their lifetimes, acting very much like cells and we often attempt to pass on our roles to our children, who then pass them on to theirs. We re-create what are often outdated memes as we are conditioned to do even as the world changes around us. Culture must conform to the world within it is expressed, response must be commiserate with ability.

At a certain point, those who seek freedom through spiritual practice come to recognize the limitations of societal responsibility and make different choices. It becomes possible to recognize personal responsibility and to cast off imposed structures that are not necessary for one’s own progress in life. But the ramifications of such are not without consequence. Social censure and castigation, banishment or disowning, disapproval, anger, disappointment and every other form of emotional and physical punishment available, even unto bodily harm and death, are the potential costs an individual must pay for their mental and physical freedom.

The higher notions of philosophical and spiritual responsibility of collective involvement and interactivity is bolstered by the quantum realities of entanglement and superposition. Everything and everyone is connected in a web of consciousness and choice is a matter of perception and attention resulting in the collapse of the wave function into a pattern of lived reality corresponding to personal knowledge or belief. We are individuals acting within a collective, affecting it but possessing our own unique perspectives. We engage others’ perspectives and enter into and exit different time-lines and realities with the course of each series of thoughts, words and actions. This is the real nature of responsibility: to be true to ourselves and, by doing so, being true to the whole.

The only physical responsibility we are born with is to ourselves. Whatever we do is our destiny; is the way it is supposed to be. The only spiritual responsibility we are born with is to our own  evolution of consciousness. However we individually evolve is of benefit to the All, is an expression of exactly how things are supposed to turn out. Everything else that we pick up along the way that cause us to doubt ourselves, to self-flaggelate and to entertain worry and regret is to misunderstand the nature of incarnation and life and to misappropriate time and energy upon pointless recrimination.

Life is not designed to be thought out, it is designed to be lived. Taking it as it comes, immersing yourself in the Now opens up the vistas of possibility unto the infinite, releases flows of energetic potentiality that expand human ability beyond dreams and material limitations. Choose your responsibilities wisely and make the choices that lighten your soul instead of those that increase the burden. Accept where you are and what you can do based upon your options in the Now. Be prepared for immediate change by keeping your mind clear and open and watching for the synchronicities that lead you upon your soul’s perfect path.

But mostly, do what you have to do. Own your thoughts, words and actions without regret. It is our most pressing responsibility in life.

Practical Enlightenment: Processing the emotions of other people

One of the most important things that happens directly after a kenshō  experience is the loss of personal emotions. At least, that is what it seems like. But it is not actually what happens. The actual experience of kenshō  results in a virtual wiping of the synapses within the brain’s neural network. Memory remains intact, as does the ability to feel emotion. What has occurred is that the emotional ties that were once held in common with certain memories and states of being have been severed.

Things that happen to you that once would have had you seething with anger no longer do so. Memories that once had you crying rivers lose their potency. People whom you once detested you are no longer bothered by. A state of equanimity sets in, that, at first, may be unsettling. You may wonder to yourself, have I lost my emotions? Can I love anymore? Can I hate?

All of these emotions remain accessible. But it has now become your choice whether or not to honor them. Whether or not to bring them forward past satori into your new state of BEing.

One of the consequences of this slate-cleansing process is an intensification of experiential awareness. As the state of Enlightenment becomes part of the lived reality, old patterns of thinking, of responding, or acting that have been stripped of their emotional power remain, but are no longer fueled by neuro-peptides coursing through the body in support of the thoughts and their potential actions. Previous meditative practice resulted in the ability to clear the mind of thoughts, but this state of BEing actualizes; it becomes the default state after satori. But, as mentioned, old patterns still remain and, as they come up, they must be dealt with. Because they are no longer fueled by emotions it is a relatively simple task to let them go when they do not serve the new personality construct.

One pitfall that seems to be a part of this process but actually is not, is when dealing with other people. Whether realized or not, the chemical expression of emotions is also an energetic expression. When we feel emotional, our bodies actually reflect those feelings which can be measured on instruments of different kinds. Energetically speaking, emotions are energy that can be detected through kirlian photography, aura-reading and energy work. When emotions are experienced, they also emanate from us as a field and other people can feel them. The stronger the emotion, the larger the field. If the emotion is directed at a certain person, then that person becomes the focal point of those emotions. If the emotions are directed at someone who has experience a kenshō event, then – and because of that event  and the resultant ultra-sensitivity to physical and astral environs – that person experiences the emotional state as if it were her own.

This can be very confusing at first, but grows easier to handle in time. The emotions gleaned from others, which have rushed into the vessel of the enlightened one, can fuel responses commiserate either with old patterns of thinking and feeling or they can be processed and released. Effectively, they can pass through without catching hold. For the newly awakened, there remain old patterns that it is possible for the energy of the emotions to catch hold to, drawing the individual into the conflict which results in further confusion and inner examination. This is why it remains necessary for individuals who have experienced kenshō  to continue in their meditative practices as well as designating time to the recapitulation process as a method of self-clearing and re-attunement.

The choice to remain involved in the world and with other people is the choice of service-to-others. The fallacy of seeking in the process of spiritual elevation as a function of egocentric tendencies of mind to the detriment of spirit are difficult to surpass as the ego’s grasp upon consciousness is often seemingly all-pervasive to those so encumbered. But the passage through the morass is ever-present. Its deceptive simplicity actually contributes to its difficulty as a “that’s it??” response often occurs after being told what seems to be an easy prognosis of quieting and controlling the mind. The actual process itself, once instigated, builds upon itself, which leads to a steady-state resonance that allows the individual to ground himself in a manner previously impossible. To be present during the daily grind and able to effectively project all of herself into whatever it may be they are engaged in. Even after all of this practice, the actual satori experience is an experience of grace that is transmitted through a spiritual teacher that may be present in the physical world or upon the astral planes. Therefore no one can predict exactly when Enlightenment may occur for anyone, or how.

Despite these pratfalls, it is not possible for a person who has experienced kenshō  to un-experience it. To forget the experience or to return to the state of Maya. There remain no ties to the material world and its effects and all personality traits expressed thereafter become purposeful tools designated for specific tasks; the achievement of life-goals – of the spirit, not of desire – being paramount among those. Since the world of the senses holds no further attractions, those life goals must of necessity be spiritual in nature. And once kenshō  has been experienced, the only spiritual goal worth achieving is helping others to move beyond Samsara as well.

The Enlightenment Series

The Great Gathering

Practical Enlightenment: The aftermath of Kenshō

The End of Forever

Practical Enlightenment: Living in the World

Practical Enlightenment: Processing the emotions of other people

Practical Enlightenment: The vale of tears

Practical Enlightenment: Dealing with instant karma

True Awakening: The conservation of energy

Humor and spirituality: Let go and let God

Oops, my karma ran over your dogma.

How do you make God laugh? Tell him your plans.

Q: How much “ego” do you need?
A: Just enough so that you don’t step in front of a bus.

Dear Lord, protect me from your followers!

Life is long but time is short. We take ourselves way too seriously far too often. Sometimes, the injection of a little humor into a situation can result in a lessening of tension not only for others but for ourselves as well.

The quieting reflex is an exercise that consists simply of alleviating your stress by relaxing, breathing deeply, smiling and saying a little mantra that can shift your mood from one of anger and annoyance to one of calmness and peace in as little as 6 seconds. That can be the time it takes you to stop yourself from saying something you might regret or stopping a stressful situation from becoming worse than it has to be.

The phrase, “Let go and let God” is not necessarily connected to one religion or one spiritual practice, it can be applied to any concept of a greater good outside of or inside of one’s Self, something larger that one can invoke in order to allow one’s self to release the energy of tension that is built up during the processes of fear expression and its symptoms, anger, depression, regret and worry. These processes often become ingrained into our daily behavior to such an extent that we are not even aware that we seem stressed or tense, while, to others, it is as plain as the grim expression on our faces or the lack of emoticons in the words we write.

Let go of the stress in the moment, caused by that situation, people or person that upset you. Breath deep and smile. Consciously attempt to manifest the exact opposite emotional state to that which you are currently experiencing. In life’s situations or as you are reading this, allow your face to relax, your body. Smile. Don’t be critical. Laugh, if you can.

Make the choice NOT to be ruled by your emotions. Recognize that it is possible, that it truly is a choice.

In life, as you go about your days and nights, choose to internalize the habit of quieting yourself in moments of stress before responding. Choose not to take offense. Choose to apologize or end the fight. Choose to find some kind of compromise or choose to walk away altogether. Wait till later or don’t respond at all, the world won’t end if we take the higher road.

All of this said in recognition of the reality that measured and controlled aggression can indeed sometimes be the correct response to a situation. Just not all the time.

Time is long but life is too short to fight ALL THE TIME. You’ll find your lifespan much shorter than it should be and the quality of it much lower than it should be unless you make the conscious decision NOT to take yourself so seriously.

The Volcanic Eruption of Disfunction

True love is unconditional, but love as we live it is not. It requires Commitment and Truth, Expectations that are met, Responsibilities upheld. It requires an acknowledgement of Choice and Obligation, as well as a full accounting of one’s Actions and Motivations. To withold this accounting is to hold a part of one’s self back from the relationship, reniging on the agreement to become One from its conception.

Life’s stresses and situations create our personalities, and we live our lives oftentimes stuck in the past, oftentimes unconsciously reliving past relationships in our present ones. If those past relationships were of a negative nature, then we consciously or unconsciously attempt to protect ourselves by not being vulnerable in the same ways, which limits the possibility of the present relationship accordingly. In other words, our ability to truly unite and become One disintegrates beneath the weight of our own disfunction. When we finally realize this, it is too late to save that present relationship, as the seeds of our witholding bear withered and poisonous  fruit.

Childhood relationships with parents and siblings, traumatic emotional events, the lack of love or attention, all affect these later, adult relationships, forming layer after layer of fear and doubt over our core Self, obscuring the truth of our souls even from ourselves. Successive dark nights of the soul lead to increasing inner work that results in the clearing of these layers, the recognition of their effect in our lives, revealing the shadow of a Self that we’ve long forgotten existed, that we haven’t seen since the laughing, shouting, playing days of early childhood. Exuberance and innocence mark the paths of the young and the young at heart, while fearful frailty and timidity are the hallmarks of the old and the old in experience.

Holding onto pain cubes experience, divides love in twain, split between I and me. The addition of another to the equation leads to a multiplication of disfunction squared, the remainder being a dimunition of both variables, the inevitable outcome of a zero-sum game. And yet, we continue to play, subjecting ourselves to the whims of fate and fortune, happily subjecting ourselves to the Unknown in our quest to find a Soulmate, aTwin Flame, a Significant Other.

We cannot find another till we find ourselves.

If we do find that Other, rest assured that our Self will attempt to rise through the detritus of pain and heartache. Self will attempt to fight through the negativity and fear of past experience, causing all of that to bubble to the surface in the form of renewed doubts and revisited insecurities that lead to some inevitable expression on the gross material plane, often in the form of acting out, or reverting to character, or attempting to find solace in the effects of illicit drugs, heart-numbing sex or the obliviousness of alcohol. If we didn’t do these things, we’d have to actually deal with the issues, which are often to painful to even acknowledge consciously, let alone seek after some internal form of conflict resolution.

So we percolate painfully, stewing in our own juices, presenting an even veneer to the world, hoping against hope that our internal insanities are successfully hidden from the view of others, when, so often, they are not. In fact, they form the very topography of our expressions, affect the gaity of our gaits,  crease our smiles, bend our backs, wear down our joints. We become our concerns, our fears become our smiles of shocked disbelief, the quaking tone of our laughter, the subdued sullenness of our joy.

Until we choose freedom. Choose to confront the Volcanic Eruption of Disfunction, the spewing forth of pain and heartache, the closeted wail of grief and terrific anger, the unconscionable dejection of our inner rejection, pent for so long to be finally released and explored, past the dark night of the soul and into the new dawn of the spirit’s awakening. True love of another is only possible when we can truly love ourselves, and too many of us pretend we do, when we really don’t. Too many of us can remember, uncomfortably, the times when we couldn’t look at our reflection in the mirror. The times when another’s words of praise were like knives in our eyes, our weak smiles and frail acknowledgements the best we could offer in the face of such obvious lies. Standing at the pinnacle of success knowing that we are unworthy, cursing ourselves within as the accolades pile up without, the material facade of wealth a golden buddha’s masking of an inner emptiness that yawns and consumes our souls like miniscule fish within the Gulf of Innocence Lost.

Those who love us are hiding the same things that we are. Different details, perhaps, but the end result is the same. Two disfunctional individuals tearing at each other’s masks, until the underlying truth, or some facimile thereof, is exposed. And once that exposure occurs, either the relationship ends, or begins anew, under new and revised terms. One thing is certain: There is no Truth like an Inner Truth, and my truth is your truth is our truth. There is no difference, qualitatively, between the ways that we, as human beings, react to devastating emotional turmoil in our lives. Although, quantitatively, there is no question that we each receive our own quotient of experiences, of natures peculiarly designed to hone our individuated consciousnesses. Finding some middle ground and coming to an agreement with another soul on the same journey, therefore, is a miracle of happenstance that belies the casual acceptance with which we interpret our intimate relationships with others.

We ought to be greatful for each other. If you love someone, give them a hug and a kiss today, and tell them so. Love them while the loving is good, and thank Divinity for the chance to do so, knowing full well that when your relationships are tested, it will be your own intestinal fortitude that will be seared on the crucible, and the way that you react will reveal the depths of your love, and whether or not it was and is a true, unconditional expression thereof, or something lesser, and more human. And if it is lesser? Let it go, knowing that each experience brings us closer to the Ultimate, sends us soaring higher into the ranges of the Divine, experientially sober and desirous of that which we all yearn to know, a true and abiding expression of True Love, faithful and unconditional.