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The State of Being Conscious
In human beings, consciousness manifests as awareness. This is also
true of plants and animals but their expressions of awareness are
different from those of humans.
For instance, plants show their awareness by responding to music
with improved yields of fruits, flowers and crops. Humans also have
this awareness in abundance.
A person is said to be conscious when they can be aware of what they
are sensing, including processes such as thinking, seeing, hearing,
feeling and imagining. When a person is conscious, they experience
their surroundings. An absence of consciousness is observed when a
person is in a deep coma: all voluntary physical and psychological
activities have ceased, there is no alertness, no response to
outside stimuli, the brain activity is minimal and they can remember
hardly anything after regaining awareness.
We experience heightened brain activity when we anticipate danger or
threat; it is a prime quality of being conscious. However, we cannot
be in this state all the time. Nevertheless, although we may not be
aware of it, we are also responding and reacting subconsciously.
According to some modern physiologists, the degree of consciousness
results from the activity in a special part of the brain, called the
‘Reticular Activating System’. At any given moment, this determines
whether a person is drowsy, asleep, awake or highly alert and
conscious.
In a deep experience of Dhyana you may appear to be unconscious in
the physical sense, but internally you remain subtly, yet profoundly
conscious. You understand and respond at a higher level and it is
possible to find solutions, answers and guidance that can be
remembered after returning to the normal state of consciousness.
Humans can feel their existence profoundly when they are in a state
of full awareness and consciousness. This awareness becomes
re-established only when a person is able to understand and feel the
presence of other living entities. This gives birth to ordinary
intellect, which is common sense combined with basic awareness. This
develops so that it becomes refined intelligence built on logic and
experience, which rationalises events and actions. The cultivation
of rational and logical approaches sharpens our intelligence, which
gradually becomes one of powerful faculties of consciousness that
can perceive, assimilate and acknowledge abstract concepts and
ideas. Overall expansion of consciousness is possible by spiritual
practice, self-reflection and meditation.
The deep-seated unique core consciousness of each individual impels
humans to search for truth, love, meaning and deeper experiences of
their purpose and potential.
Consciousness, energy, matter, time, space. This is everything. Is
there any entity or element that is not comprised of, or bound by,
these things? Only consciousness embraces all of these things;
therefore you can think of consciousness as the ultimate superior
unit that everything is merely a part of. Consciousness recognises
itself and distinguishes itself from energy, matter, time and space.
Consciousness experiences pain and pleasure only through matter.
Consciousness acquires experiences and eventually aims to achieve
enlightenment in the mind, which is simply an extension of it. When
that consciousness dissolves, it will merge with the universal
consciousness. Without consciousness an entity cannot exist in the
cosmos. We have life because we have consciousness and we are
conscious of our existence. Since we do not see biological
activities and responses in non-living entities we consider them
purely non-conscious or non-living. However, non-living entities
have subtle consciousness in them.
When you go to the depth of any entity at the microscopic or
macrocosmic level, you encounter intelligence and consciousness.
That is why you see some built-in guidance or a kind of energy of
information in them.
Consciousness and the Brain
The human brain is unique. It can decode complex information
processed by its different subordinate centres. Advanced development
of the cerebral cortex distinguishes human beings from animals.
Cortical function is impossible without the co-ordination of
sub-cortical centres. Diseases of these centres interfere with the
transmission of impulses – and this in turn will be reflected in
disorders of the mind. Consciousness makes it possible for an
individual to be aware of what passes through his own mind.
The brain is a bio-chemical machine, so when this chemistry is
disturbed, the immediate effects are mental symptoms. Yoga postures
and meditation can help to alleviate these.
Although everybody has a clear consciousness and the ability to
judge right from wrong, we often make mistakes, unwittingly
overpowered by the senses and the mind.
Medical science may not know exactly where the seat of consciousness
lies, yet it is believed that the main centre for mind-consciousness
is located in the reticular function of the brain. As most of our
activity is subconscious, this could also be called the ‘subliminal
mind’.
When emotions, thoughts and feelings are compressed, creating
pressure, they settle at the bottom of the subconscious mind. Some
thoughts later resurface in dreams or when one is intoxicated or
treated with affection. If they are not released, they may cause
severe damage to the cells, tissues and nerve centres, which could
lead to a nervous breakdown, mental disorders or result in the
harmful secretion of histamine or other chemicals.
One way to relieve emotional pressure is to create counter-emotions
and thoughts that can dilute the effect of those thoughts that are
causing great concern.
If you want to reach the core of your soul, you have to leave the
realm of reasoning and gracefully let yourself soak in beautiful
experiences of innocence, purity, and oneness. Then, your senses and
thoughts become less obtrusive and you are able to perceive the
world through your deeper feeling-consciousness and glide into the
timeless, intuitive and emotional valleys of your infinite inner
being.
Consciousness as an Entity
Consciousness manifests through the physical matter. It has no
bounds, can take any form or shape and emerge under any harsh
condition as in the case of the bacteria that we see in high
temperatures and can survive even though there is a lack of oxygen.
In spirituality, consciousness is mainly a non-physical, yet
powerful, entity that is the pivot of all life and activates the
senses in every living being. It is highly responsive and expressive
and has many levels, especially in humans:
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M1-Consciousness: Mind is the first level, which
manifests on the surface of the cerebral region. As it becomes
sharpened by the cultivation of learning, it evolves into a
faculty called Intellect.
-
M2-Consciousness: The second level, which is below the
surface mind, is the subliminal or subconscious mind. We are
unaware of its potential and capabilities, which may seem
incredible to the surface mind. Much of your daily activities
are run by your sub-conscious mind.
-
H1-Consciousness: The third level is the feeling mind.
This feeling-consciousness generally prevails in the heart area
and can thus be called the Heart or Heart-consciousness. It
includes an emotional faculty called intuition. Almost all
mothers have this faculty naturally available and readily
accessible to their intense needs about her children and people
she cares about.
-
H2-Consciousness: The fourth level is the deeper heart
where you feel emotions with even greater intensity. This can be
called the spiritual heart, or your inner consciousness. The
presence of the surface mind is reduced but the presence of the
subliminal or subconscious mind is enhanced. It is formed by
impressions gathered through all you have learned and
experienced, along with the memory of your personality.
-
H3-Consciousness: The fifth level is between the deeper
heart and the ultimate essential being (soul). Here you
experience inner-space, mystical universes, where the laws of
physics start reversing and lead you to experience many
alternate realities and possibilities that give access to your
own soul. Here you become more connected with nature and the
forces of the universe.
-
S1-Consciousness: The sixth level is core consciousness.
This is the very essence of your whole presence and of
everything that you feel, think and do. It is addressed as the
Soul or Self.
In between these, there are many other levels that may be
impossible to explain, as our vocabulary is limited. As you
descend deeper from the surface mind, the experience becomes
increasingly metaphysical and even mystical.
The different levels of consciousness within can be experienced but
it needs much dedication to explore one’s inner self.
The reason for undertaking the process of re-experiencing the purity
of our consciousness is to endeavour internally to reverse the
evolution of all that has happened to us from the time of our birth
to the present. We travel from the mind to the heart to deeper
consciousness. This can be called ‘The Journey from Rational Mind to
Emotional Heart to Pure Consciousness’.
Who undertakes this internal journey? It is our ‘I–Conscious
Awareness’ or Ego, which is the hub of the memories and emotional
impressions that form our personality. We recognise this as a
consistent personality from the day we become aware of our
existence.
This journey leads to self-discovery and realisation resulting in
personal enlightenment. This is a state of heightened consciousness,
which brings clarity, inner peace and the ability not just to
understand the deeper meaning of life, but also to feel it. As your
heart blossoms, you experience increased compassion and empathy with
awakened, unconditional love and intuitive wisdom. |
