Living With Regret - How to Transform This Negative Emotion

How to handle negative emotions is one of the most controversial topics in the self-help movement-particularly such emotions as "regret."

"The [desire to change one's ways] that is according to the will of God, produces a repentance [change and amends] but without regret." (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Regret is an emotion that might very well control us more than any other. Since it is also an emotion that we often try to ignore or repress, it tends to do its damage beneath the surface of our conscious mind. Some of us allow such negative emotions to exist because we assume that we "deserve to have regret" as a punishment for the "poor choices" we've made. Others take the opposite approach and try avoiding regret by brushing it aside, never taking responsibility nor attempting to improve upon themselves. The former of these can be a statement of being a victim; the latter can be a statement of pure arrogance.

There is another option. Regret can serve us for good in that it can remind us to refrain from repeating the same mistakes. However, this could imply that our fear of experiencing the negative outcomes of our past errors will make us "behave" our way back into God's good graces. This is simply not so. It is not enough for human beings to simply "behave themselves," if such "good" behavior is motivated by guilt or regret. We have learned that there is a part of us-the Christ within-that is so pure it needs not to be "frightened into behaving" or "scared straight." The Christ within is pure Love, and where pure Love is, fear cannot exist. Besides, God already sees us as perfect and sinless.

Regret is also a form of self-condemnation, created by our ego as a means of keeping us in a state of un-forgiveness. When we use regret to keep us from doing something "wrong," we are trying to tell God that we've got our own plan for correcting errors. We think we will not need God's plan for release-known as "forgiveness of self." Self-condemnation is also our ego's way to keep us from learning and healing-our only two reasons for being here on earth. This, in turn, keeps us from being liberated and free. Instead, for us to heal our regrets, we have to confront them-head on-by processing them and then coming to peace with them!

So how do you know if your regrets are valid and that your awkward feelings about previous behaviors are valid or not? One way to know is to ask yourself if you would repeat the past behavior in the present time of your life. If not, then it probably wasn't for your highest good in the past. If you are still uncertain, you can ask yourself if what you did choose in the past is something you would recommend to others-particularly someone you care about. If you wouldn't recommend certain choices and behaviors to others, then why in God's name would you try to justify that it was okay for you?

Which of the following do you most often choose for dealing with regret?

1. "I have no regrets." This applies to people who refuse to own that they've made mistakes. They might deny or minimize their behaviors but all are merely aspects of denial or avoidance.

2. "I live with constant regret, guilt and shame." This applies to people who cannot seem to forgive themselves for their errors.

3. "Regrets serve no purpose in my life." This can sound suspiciously similar to the first option, but the difference is that the reason you now have no regrets is because you know what you thought you did never actually occurred.

It's easy to say you prefer and choose the third option. However, it is much harder to actually understand it and unless you understand it, you cannot actually choose it.

When we reach a heightened level of Christ Consciousness, we find no purpose in having regret for a couple of reasons: For starters, in the ultimate sense, whatever is in the past no longer exists. Second, when you are "born again" into a new level of consciousness-Christ Consciousness-you find that it was not the new you who committed the errors but instead, it was the old you-a part of you that exists no longer. As the Bible puts is, "There is now no condemnation for those who are [newly born into Christ Consciousness]." (Romans 8:1).

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." (Galatians 2:20)

As with all things, there are a few ways to deal with regret. 1) You can ignore it and hope it goes away-pretending you don't feel it. 2) You can allow it to destroy you-always shaming yourself and your actions, which can then paralyze your abilities to move forward. 3) You can take an honest look (self inventory) at whatever it was that you've done (past or present) and learn from it-learning what made you choose that decision, what part of you the decision served (your ego or your soul), and even how you can choose differently next time. But the fact is that you need to do something with it. It does not serve you to pretend you are above it or that you simply don't feel such emotions.

Of course this does not imply that you need to shame or guilt yourself into making more "spiritual choices." Instead, the goal is to teach yourself about YOU and what makes you tick. Once you "know thyself," you will make different choices, but not out of fear or attempting to "be good." Instead, you will make different choices because you understand why you made your previous choices. Therefore, you can now make more educated, self-aware, and healthy choices.

It is not God's will for you to attempt to heal your soul through self-abasement. Making yourself feel bad for things you've done "wrong" is "ego-centered." Attempts to improve oneself through such means are simply not real nor are they long lasting. No amount of regret will ever correct your soul nor will it make amends for your past behavior.

"The anger [regret and self-condemnation] of man does not achieve the righteousness of God [a new self in a state of purity]." (James 1:20).

A Course in Miracles explains that errors are merely illusions that are not yet seen for what they are/were-they are actions or reactions that stem from a misperception of who we are. Therefore they are actions that are rash, unfounded, and misdirected, which means they have no foundation in reality...therefore they are not real. When truth enters the picture, the illusions disappear, "leaving not a trace by which to be remembered." This, in part, is referring to the fact that when you heal wounds from the past (which includes regret), your mind and brain will literally be re-wired in a way that unplugs the past (leaving no trace) and gets re-wired with new thoughts and belief-systems.

What then, can we do, to come to heal our regrets on the soul level? As with all things that are negative, or outworn, we can recycle them and allow them to be put to a new use (teaching us about ourselves). Then we can bid them farewell entirely. One such means of transforming regret into a miracle of healing is as follows:

1. Recognize there is a problem. Do a self-inventory to see if there is anything you can recall in your life (something you did or failed to do) with which you are not at peace. Look closely to make sure you are including things you would rather not think about.

2. Allow yourself to come to accept that there are far deeper issues than you had previously been willing to acknowledge. Once you have some memories or scenarios arise, ask yourself what the other people involved got from you and what you might have got from them. Be honest with this step, as it is sometimes hard to believe that we could get anything from some of our past events (such as abuses). Also, from these regrettable events, are there positives you can integrate or negatives from which you can learn? For example, if I regret not taking a job that was offered to me, I could choose to integrate into myself, and into my own life, whatever positives I liked or admired about that business. Then, I could also choose to learn from the negatives by perhaps owning that I may not have felt good enough for the job or maybe I allowed my fears of change to get the best of me. Now, seeing this, I can choose to never again allow such self-sabotage.

3. Prayerfully choose to surrender the entire experience to God, including the people, lessons, and emotions (such as regret).

4. Ask instead, that the previous space that this job (the people, the emotions, and so forth) took up in your mind, now be replaced with new thoughts and beliefs. The more self-inventory you did in the earlier step, the more room you have now created for God to move in and become a more active Force in your mind and soul.

5. Close your self-healing process by giving thanks that you have bravely bid farewell to so many deep layers of your past and that you have chosen to replace the previous, wounded guide in your soul, with a new, Divine Guide who has only your highest good in mind.

Imagine there are three rooms set in a row but connected by a door between each. The first room is a room where we experience bliss and pure love. We can call this room, Heaven. A Course in Miracles makes reference to the first room as follows: "Try to remember when there was a time...when nothing came to interrupt your peace; when you were certain you were loved and safe." This room still exists somewhere in our mind but needs to be rediscovered.

The next room is the room where we began to believe that we were separate from God. It is here that we gave birth to the effects of our mistaken choices. This is the room of guilt and regret.

The last room is where we live now. This is the room of outcomes. This is the room where we try to "get by" and ignore what we chose in the second room-in hopes that it was just a bad dream. What most people don't realize in the third room, is that even though you think you feel better than you did in the second room, you haven't really dealt with any of the choices and beliefs made in the second room nor the negative emotions, such as regret. Also, the room in which you now live is, in fact, one room further away from Heaven or the Real World of God. Therefore, the only way to repair this dilemma is to set your course (focus) on the first room (God) and then walk with commitment and conviction through the second room until you reach your destination-the first room--Heaven.

There are NO shortcuts. You cannot escape yourself. Instead, all parts of you that you perceive as flawed must be looked at square in the eye and healed. Each of these healings (miracles) gets you closer to the first room-Home. There are simply no other routes but straight through your own heart and soul.

"Lay judgment [of self] down, not with regret but with a sigh of gratitude. It was all illusion and nothing more." -A Course in Miracles

Michael Mirdad is a world-renowned spiritual teacher, healer, and author. He continues to tour extensively around the world leading church services, workshops and Sacred Sites Tours, as well as being a keynote speaker at some of the largest conferences in the country on Spirituality and Metaphysics.

Learn more about Michael Mirdad by visiting his web site at: http://www.grailproductions.com

What Does It Mean to Live in Non-Duality? - The Little Prince Series

Daily Spiritual Insight from the Story of The Little Prince

When the Little Prince talks about good seeds and bad seeds that sprout on his planet, someone responds, "But he is judging. It's a judgment to say something is good or bad. We are supposed to move beyond duality into nonduality, in which nothing is either right or wrong, good or evil."

If we live beyond duality, in the oneness of being, do we no longer differentiate between things? Do we no longer taste something as either sweet or bitter, or conclude that something is harmful to us instead of beneficial?

Does nonduality mean we transcend a recognition of some things as good and some as bad?

I can tell you, I judge it not smart to eat arsenic. I judge it not smart to fail to wash my hands before preparing food after using the bathroom. I judge it bad for me to eat something that gives me food poisoning.

But does this make arsenic evil in and of itself? Does it make harmful bacterial morally wrong? Not at all.

It's a common conception that moving beyond duality means we see everything as neither good nor bad, beneficial nor harmful. Well, the Little Prince wants us to know it's a serious misconception.

To live free of duality doesn't mean we no longer differentiate between things. We continue to identify someone as male or female. We recognize that daytime is different from nighttime. We acknowledge that some things are soft, others hard; some things sweet, others bitter.

To live beyond duality isn't to deny the multifaceted nature of reality. Rather, it means we embrace the whole of reality as a seamless fabric, everything part and parcel of everything else.

This enables us to approach life without attachment but with full involvement. We don't cling to some things in our life while resisting others.

Nonduality is about acceptance of everything in our life, grounded in the recognition that ultimately nothing but God exists.

To be nondual is to see that everything is an evolving expression of the divine Presence. There are not two powers, one good and one evil. There is just the one reality, which is an evolving reality that is at different stages of development.

In nonduality there is no clinging and no resistance. There is just acceptance of the whole of our life experience.

Living beyond duality doesn't mean our experience of the vast array of the textures of life disappears. It doesn't mean we vanish back into the no-thingness of the Void.

To live a conscious life isn't to plunge back into unconsciousness of all the different aspects of life we experience each day. Nonduality isn't a rejection of variety.

On the contrary, to become so conscious that we live in nonduality is to become aware of everything, instead of screening much of life out as most people do, especially its more painful or unpleasant aspects.

To express this in Eastern terms, nonduality is the experience of mindfulness.

To be mindful takes us beyond duality because there is nothing we are shutting out, nothing we are pretending doesn't exist.

Mindfulness involves consciousness of everything. It's when we are aware to this degree that we begin to see the entirety of life as a seamless garment.

In a dualistic state we are like people strolling through the aisles of a supermarket, picking up one item, ignoring another, rejecting another.

In a mindful state-a nondualistic state-we are present to everything and therefore open to be taught by all of our experiences, not just the ones we enjoy.

We learn to discern what's to our advantage and what's to our disadvantage. We judge some things helpful and some things detrimental.

David Robert Ord is author of?Your Forgotten Self Mirrored in Jesus the Christ and the audio book?Lessons in Loving--A Journey into the Heart, both from Namaste Publishing, publishers of Eckhart Tolle and other transformational authors.

Join us in the daily blog Consciousness Rising for an in-depth understanding of how we become conscious, truly present in the whole of our life. http://www.namastepublishing.com/blog/author/david-robert-ord.

Also, for an in-depth understanding of the message of The Little Prince, see the Namaste Publishing audio book Lessons in Loving-A Journey into the Heart.

The Landscape of Consciousness

Mind

Most of us make the mistake of taking consciousness for granted as we do so many other things. The act of taking things for granted can have really bad consequences because it effectively limits the possibility of achieving a deep understanding of a given subject because we simply don't investigate the things we take for granted. One of the consequences of taking the landscape of consciousness for granted is the shallow superficial world we live in today.

How many of us even give a moment's thought to the idea of consciousness? We assume that we are conscious if we have thoughts, perceive the world around us, perform actions and are not knocked out and rendered unconscious. Scientifically, mind and consciousness are little understood and currently these concepts are only clearly perceived through the means and methods of mediation.

Exploring the Unknown

Even without getting into the world of meditation, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that the average person today isn't very enthusiastic about exploring the reality of consciousness. It's almost as if we intuitively know that this is scary ground, and given the fact that we are a civilization long accustomed to self deception and denial, then exploring our consciousness could easily reveal the mechanisms that underlie our strategies for avoiding personal responsibility. Exploring the unknown territory of our mind means risking self realization and an encounter with the truth about ourselves and our world.

This kind of activity is not likely to become a popular event at the Olympics, the possibilities are much too scary. But even though we work hard to avoid becoming aware of our weaknesses, we occasionally somehow accidentally encounter moments of clarity in which we suddenly see ourselves as we truly are, and it is during these moments that we are presented with an opportunity to make a different choice. Instead of flight, we can choose to stand our ground and fight for ourselves and our freedom from the tyranny of fear and ignorance.

Consciousness

When we do find the courage to take a stand, one of the first things we discover is that we don't have a clue what mind and consciousness are about, which also makes us aware of the extent of our ignorance of these matters. Once we get passed the idea of how scary it might be, exploring the idea of consciousness is fascinating. For example; we begin to realize that there are different levels and types of consciousness. In a typical meditation session where the person is focusing all their attention on the experience of breathing, certain question may arise, such as "if I am aware of the feeling of breathing, is this consciousness or direct experience? Who experiences our experiences? And once we are thinking thoughts about the experience, is this consciousness? And who is able to be aware of the activities of the mind such as thinking about what we are experiencing as well as the sensations of our experiences?

I am conscious of the experience of the physical feeling of my breath going in and out of my body through my nose. I am now conscious of the thought of breath and breathing. I am now conscious of being conscious of the thoughts regarding the sensation of what I am conscious of experiencing. Time is involved in the types of consciousness as well. I can be conscious of what I am experiencing in the present moment and suddenly, often without realizing the shift, I am now conscious of thoughts related to the future such as what I must do later today, or the past as I rerun the experiences that I had earlier today.

The Present Moment

The truth is that there is only one time and place where the real world is just that, real and actual. That time and place is right here and right now. The Buddhist philosophy calls this the present moment and holds it in high regard. Any consciousness can only happen in the present moment, but if we are now, in the present moment, conscious of thoughts of the past or future and we are not conscious of what our mind is actually doing, then we will fall under the oh so common delusions that our minds are susceptible to and we will no longer be experiencing life in the present moment, but a conceptual representation of reality created by the thoughts of our mind, and usually designed to distract us from being aware of what we need to be aware of in the present moment.

Developing conscious control and discipline over our mind is not a high priority educational goal in today's civilization and in fact, there are forces in our world that would not find such an agenda in their best interests. However, this is a personal life goal and is associated with the knowledge and skills of personal power. The choice of whether to travel this path depends on whether you want to continue to be a slave to the random activities of your own mind or set yourself free from the tyranny of a life that is not really experienced because there is no real consciousness with which to do so.

Want to dig deeper into personal power? Get the blockbuster e-book Success Failure and Power

Robert Darby is a self change and personal development specialist who writes for many organizations including The Agenda Of Life Foundation He focuses on developing personal power since that is usually the cause of all Human problems. Robert takes a practical approach in that he looks at the various tools and techniques out there that are designed to help us achieve our mental, spiritual and emotional goals.

How to Live a More Environmentally Conscious Lifestyle

You know it, and you definitely have heard it on the news some point in your life that the planet is struggling to cope with the damage that we are causing it. The problems of global warming and other environmental issues are on the rise as the years pass and is something that is getting more of a concern for the people and the planet.

You must realise that we are the cause of all the different environmental problems that are happening to our world and that if you really want anything to be done about it, or if you want to see change then we as a people are going to have to live a life that is more environmentally friendly. There is no choice about this, really if you want to be a part of the damage that is being caused to this planet then continue what you are doing right now and keep on damaging the planet. But if on the other hand you are willing to make positive sacrifices so that the planet will be in a better condition then you are going to have to consider living a lifestyle that is more environmentally conscious.

Number 1 thing that you need to do, is to get rid of the car that you own. The car is something that an average American spends about 8 to 10 thousand dollars a year on, and is something that really costs a lot of money to maintain and causes a lot of damage to the environment. Get rid of it and you are going to be doing your pocket and the environment a lot of help.

Number 2 thing that you need to do to live a more environmentally conscious lifestyle is to spend less on consumer products. You really do not need to be spending so much money on things that you do not need. Really what is the point in purchasing things that you do not need or really particularly desire. All you are doing is contributing to the damage of the planet. So stop your excessive spending today to help make a positive difference to the world today.

Number 3 thing that you need to do, is to live a more minimalist lifestyle, one in which you are not an excessive spender or and excessive consumer of things but instead leading a lifestyle that is more pleasing to the environment. One in which you take regular walks instead of taking the bike etc.

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Living in the Power of Now - Practice Silence & Become Empowered Living in the Power of Now - Part 4

As you quiet the mind and the body you're allowing power from the Infinite Source to empower you from within. Silence in the now is where great power resides. The still small voice speaks loudly in the silence. Wisdom emerges out of the silence. Confidence comes to you as you're strengthened in the silence. You overcome fear and become courageous in the silence. For silence is the dwelling place of the Universal Mind and Universal Power.

But this time of silence does not come to you unless you truly desire and consciously set the time aside for it. Only then will you be empowered living in the now as you practice silence.

5 Steps to Practice Silence

Step 1 - Schedule a time everyday where you'll not be disturbed and you can still your mind and body, preferably first thing in the morning to set the pace for the day and at night before bedtime so you can cleanse the mind and rejuvenate the body.

Step 2 - Speak peace to your mind. Say, "Peace, calm, relax." As you give this instruction to your mind, it will immediately pick up this vibration and send it also to your body causing it to relax. Repeat this as many times as necessary for you.

Step 3 - As you relax, become conscious of and allow the presence of inner peace, inner joy and love to emerge from within. I use the word presence because you'll feel this energy within you. The deeper you go into this the stronger this energy will become and the more peace, joy and love you'll experience. The warmth of your inner sun will begin to shine brighter and brighter dispersing the clouds that shade it.

Step 4 - Release all thoughts that come into this space. As thoughts come to you, look at them directly with your inner eye and consciously release them and re-enter your inner sanctuary of peace.

Step 5 - Become conscious that you are now in the presence of the Universal Mind - God, where all power, all knowledge - the All-in-All dwells and that, and this is very important, you are one with this Universal Mind. Be conscious that this Power Source now runs in and through you. Bask in this consciousness.

This is where I release you to have your own personal experience. Follow the inner guidance. You'll develop your own unique personal encounters and come out feeling energized and empowered to go out into your day. And as your day begins, continue to practice living in the power of now so that the flow of the Universal Energy is magnified into your daily activity.

The more you allow this energy to flow through you into others - releasing love, joy and peace to those around you - the more power you'll experience in your life. This energy multiplies by usage and you'll become a great power source through which the Infinite Mind of God can be expressed on the earth.

Changing your life may seem like an overwhelming frustrating process. But it doesn't have to be if you're given simple doable step-by-step strategies that will get you from where you are to where you want to be and experience a transformed life. To get access to daily life-changing tips, steps and quotes go to http://www.facebook.com/changinginsideoutnow.

Expanding Consciousness

What does expanding consciousness mean? Expanding consciousness is the act of consciously seeing reality in new ways. You see things that you could not conceive of before. Old philosophies and religions suddenly appear naive and give way to a far more profound understanding. Most religions and philosophies are stagnate precepts. Expanding consciousness promotes a profound transformation in our consciousness, in our way of understanding and interacting with reality.

"No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it. We must learn to see the world anew." - Albert Einstein. A Nobel Prize winner, Albert Einstein's scientific theories transformed the world's understanding of the universe and its workings. No doubt these words come from Einstein's personal experience and helped him to explore both science and life itself. He offered us many examples of what can be learned by looking deeply into nature to reach a deeper understanding of all life and by following our ideas to their logical conclusions in our minds before acting upon them in the world.

When we apply the act of expanding consciousness to our lives, we can see that we cannot create abundance by staying in a consciousness of poverty, nor can we gain a sense of power in our lives while identifying ourselves or acting as a victim. Situations precipitated from anger or fear can have little chance of reaching a state of peace and trust unless those involved can conceive of that possibility and act upon it. We need to step outside of our limited understanding in order to seek a bigger picture. One way to do this is to shift our perspective to see the situation from another's point of view and ideally the perspective of all others involved. Even if we can not truly know another's motives, by imagining what they might be, we open ourselves up to numerous possibilities and an expanded vision. This alone can shift our feelings of anger to compassion and the desire for a positive solution.

When we have opened our mind to greater possibilities, we can connect to our higher self for inspired solutions. From the peace at our center, we gain distance from our emotions to connect to intuitive wisdom that offers us understanding of the underlying causes and the inspiration needed to guide our steps in a new direction. Albert Einstein showed us the impact that can be made when we raise our consciousness and allow ourselves to imagine the possibilities. Imagine the possibilities.

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, Life Coach, Hypnotherapist, Author, "101 Great Ways To Improve Your Life." Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Physical/Sexual Abuse Prevention and Recovery. As an inspirational leader, Dr. Neddermeyer empowers people to view life's challenges as an opportunity for Personal/Professional Growth and Spiritual Awakening. http://www.drdorothy.net

Relationships Are More Fulfilling When We Integrate Higher Awareness Into Our Lives

Many relationships can come to a time where there's a gap and we probably look to outside sources to fill that void. When we look to outside sources to fill in that gap we also walk away from our personal evolution. The voids we experience are supposed to challenge us to look within to see where we can grow to inspire a new spark to our relationship.

Looking within means to connect with ourselves, understand our higher consciousness. There's a lot more to life than living day to day and looking forwards to free time and entertainment. There is energy all around that surrounds us and connects us, we live in a universe that is constantly changing and evolving. In other words, there is a bigger picture to look at and the best way to connect with it is to connect with ourselves first.

This wakes up our consciousness which opens many doors to living life on a much wider scale. Living with this purpose also inspires our relationships to be much more fulfilling. All we have to do is to open ourselves up first and this will inspire our partner to follow. Once this expanded consciousness catches on, it could be either one of us that inspires each other.

Applying this to our relationships will bring us much closer to each other. The connection grows much stronger that we are more fulfilled and focused on each other. This can reduce a lot of the insecurities that cause problems and give room to each other to work on insecurities. Working on our insecurities is one of the ways we can really connect with ourselves and our higher consciousness. Working on them gives us purpose and bring us closer to our dreams. This is the bigger picture.

We have been conditioned in our society to avoid looking at these things or talking about them. That fear has been conditioned in us, therefore we have to learn to overcome this fear. This fear doesn't have true value for its existence and we have to realize that. Why are we afraid of seeking our true potential? Everybody knows that no one is perfect and that we all have problems. Working on them is what makes us better people. Yet, many of us are conditioned to get defensive when we are confronted about the symptoms that our problems create. These arguments create very little progression and personal evolution.

When we connect with ourselves with the desire to become better people, we can develop the compassion and understanding that inspires other to change as well. When we are not afraid of the fact that we are here to learn and become better people, we allow others to open up towards constructive change. This compassion and understanding takes people away from their defensive reactions.

When we are open about growing out of our fears and insecurities, we can connect more and more with our higher consciousness. We can see that there is so much more to love and life that what we were conditioned to understand. We can really bring the best out of each other and evolve towards true happiness. It's all about freeing our minds.

The last thing that can hold us back is not knowing how to overcome our fear. That can be a very difficult task to do when we look in the wrong direction. We look the wrong way when we use our minds to try to overcome our fears. It is like trying to love with our minds where we feel love through our hearts. It is best to resolve fear at the source which is within our feelings and our bodies. We are best at overcoming our fears and insecurities when we let go of our egos. The best way to solve these is to feel and use the energy to take us towards the source.

My work is about having a system to overcome our fears very quickly and efficiently. Knowing how to do this will bring harmony to everything in our lives, especially our relationships. Having the ability of overcoming fear will also allows us to learn to have a peace of mind.

Visit my website at [http://www.evolvetofreedom.com]

The New Planet Earth Series Part 2- Unity Consciousness

7/21/2007... This is an appropriate day to write this article. It is a 1 day, 7+2+1+2+7 adds up to 19 which becomes 10 which is 1. One in numerology is unity. The concept that we as humans are one with each other and all things.

An easy statement to make but a difficult one to explain and equally hard for us to truly, in our hearts and souls, believe. My explanation could fill a book but in this article I will share with you my journey to the place of knowing that we are one. My intent is not to convince you that unity consciousness is real but to merely pass on my experiences and perspective so that you may take what may resonate with you and leave the rest. In one article all I can hope is to create an impetus for you to examine how oneness may or may not make sense to you

The unity concept is the foundation that gives clarity and understanding to the other concepts I will discuss in this series, so needless to say an essential aspect of our journey to creating a new planet earth.

Right Brain and Left Brain Dominance There are two types of personalities in respect to brain dominance. Right-brained and left-brained. We all have both sides of course but I am speaking of one side or the other being dominant. This right or left brain talk is one more characteristic of the duality consciousness we are in now.

Right brained people look at things from the emotional, artistic, creative perspective. This is also described as the feminine aspect, although certainly not reserved to the female gender. A person that looks at things from a left brained or "masculine" perspective will want things to be logical, analyzing all questions, needing answers backed up with scientific proof.

It is much easier for right-brained people to understand this concept as they are the caregivers, the nature lovers, the artists and musicians. The people that can easily feel the love for all things. They can see that all things are connected much clearer than left brained people because they are motivated by feelings rather than reason. They have less need of a logical explanation of things and therefore can grasp the concept of unity because they have felt it with their children or their art or their music. The idea of unconditional love for all things comes more naturally, mainly because they do not need proof that it is real, they just feel it.

Throwing around all these nice words like "unity" and "love for all things" and "we are all the same" may be alright for the feminine aspect of our selves but I can hear left-brainers saying "show me". I know, because for the majority of my life I looked at things from a left-brained perspective. It wasn't until I woke up in 2000 after a life changing event that my right brain woke up also making it easier for me to understand the idea that we are one with all things.

In this series I will be referencing the term right and left brain dominant because in duality there is a need to address both perspectives. I will be paying particular attention to left brain information as this kind of person needs the most validation.

Unity Consciousness Even though we are in a consciousness of separation, unity is one thing that we as humans have ingrained in us from birth. Starting literally in the womb where mother is connected to child with the umbilical cord. This connectedness carries on with us into the unity of marriage, then family, then extends to race or religion. We can easily feel and understand this concept when we go that far in our description but once we start talking of things outside of that is where unity usually ends.

It stems from the fear of the unknown. From the lack of understanding and knowledge about a race or nationality. From seeing people as different if they have different skin color or have different customs or beliefs. Fearing them. Or judging them as not normal or possibly a threat to our families or way of life. When we are introduced to a culture or person that is different from us we quickly recognize that there is no difference. How many of us has had that happen? Our idea of oneness is then extended to them. Taking away the ignorance of not knowing them immediately eliminates the fear.

This is the first step in expanding our consciousness out from our immediate sphere of experience. Factors that are accomplishing this result are the advent of global travel, mass media, and of course recently, the world wide web. We can quickly and easily obtain information about different countries and people which is eliminating the fear of the unknown and allowing us to understand that the human race is all the same. Having basically the same experiences in life and because of global communications we are now able to reach out and interact with people all over the globe.

It has just been in the last century that this ability to connect globally has begun and I believe an essential part of us creating the new planet earth that I am discussing. It has been called mass consciousness and in history because of the lack of technology has been reserved to people inhabiting the small area in which they lived.

Now with mass communications it is possible to experience things from a global consciousness making the idea of unity consciousness much easier to accomplish. There is a scientific explanation for this phenomenon. It is called a grid or web that surrounds the earth connecting all of us together. Have you ever had the experience of being with a group of people and you all had the same thought at once. We like to chalk those times up to coincidence but is there really any such thing as coincidence? If you have ever noticed in nature how a species seem to practice non-verbal communication, seeming to know what the other is going to do. They do this because each species has their own web that they tap into that relays their intentions to each other.

Humans are at least as advanced (well, maybe) as any other species so why would the concept of a grid to precipitate human communication be so hard to believe. It has been known since the 40's of a geo-magnetic grid encompassing the earth that was there for unexplained reasons. This is the web that connects us together; the web of love. Funny that the Internet is also called a web as really the concept is the same. There are actually three grids of consciousness that surround the earth: primal, duality and the christ grid.

After my awakening in 2000 when I was completely turned around to being right brained dominant. I totally believed that we were one with all things yet if asked I could not give any kind of scientific explanation fro my belief. As time went on and as I examined the unity concept my old habits of left-brained analyzing kept creeping in. Then I found two sources of information that quieted my left brain tendencies and gave me a clear understanding of unity consciousness. One was Drunvalo Melchizedek 2 volume series called The Ancient Secret Of The Flower Of Life.

The Flower Of Life Drunvalo gave me an extremely detailed scientific explanation of the creation of all things. His book goes into a detailed dissection of the sacred geometries of the flower of life. That in this symbol is the blueprint for all of creation. Explaining the Genesis pattern, showing me how all things in the universe were created from the same beginnings. That we are all made from the same stuff. Perfectly logical explanations for why we are one and how we came to be.

He also gives a detailed look at Leonardo Da Vinci's canon and a canon drawn by Vitruvius, a Greek engineer 1600 years earlier, which illustrated the creation of all things and the levels of consciousness that humans have been in and are going to. How all things in nature followed these patterns of creation with using the Fibonacci series as there guide. How the geometric ratios that are in our bodies are replicated in nature, in the ratios of the pyramids in Egypt, the earth, the moon, the orbits of the planets, in all things. Lots of pretty huge concepts but amazing left brained stuff.

Drunvalo also gets into the creation of the three grids of human consciousness. The first grid or first dimension being the primal grid or aboriginal grid. The second is the duality grid of which we now use even though their are still native cultures that use the first grid as their perspective on being. The duality grid's geometry is male oriented which is the reason for the male dominance of our cultures throughout our recorded history. The third grid is the Christ grid or unity grid which is a balanced grid of male and female influences or simply put unified. That's is where we are headed.

The primal consciousness believes in the concept of oneness with all things. This makes it a harmonic grid, in harmony with all things. The duality grid is disharmonic. Where the prevalent belief is separateness. This consciousness breeds wars and destruction which has been a common theme throughout our history. Where we cannot see the connectedness of all things. This aspect makes it disharmonic. The third grid or Christ grid is where humanity returns to the concepts of unity, cooperation, universal love. Returns to a harmonic existence. Possessing the knowledge of our oneness.

Anyone who knows music knows that firsts and thirds are harmonic. These descriptions of each grid are not judgmental, just an explanation of attributes of each level of consciousness. This is a huge topic in itself but this article is long enough as it is so I will leave it there.

It was all I needed to satisfy my analytic brain. These are not books that everyone would enjoy. Especially you right brainers. It also helped that I was approaching this with a pretty solid belief that the unity concept was real. But if you can get through it there are so many topics discussed that I am sure there would be something in them that would help anyone in their understanding of unity consciousness.

The God Code The second source that was instrumental for my understanding of the oneness of all things was the book by Gregg Braden called The God Code. Gregg had a career as a senior computer systems engineer in the aerospace and defense industry. How's that left brainers? He has written many books and is a New York Times best-selling author so his credentials are pretty main-stream.

He worked for 12 years to come up with this information with the intent of furthering people's understanding of the oneness of all things. He unearthed a remarkable discovery that he shares with us in this book. He applied the biblical alphabets of Hebrew and Arabic to a modern chemistry analysis of our DNA to reveal a code that gives us a clue to the mystery of our origins. Using the elements that form our DNA: hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and carbon or as the ancients called them fire, air, water and earth, matching their numeric values to the values of the letters in these languages Gregg showed that there was a message encrypted into every cell.

The message reads God/Eternal within the body. Expanding the translation it means humankind is one family united through a common heritage. Preserved within each cell of every human being, this message is repeated regardless of race or color or religion or ancestry. This code is so universal that the identical message can be translated into Hebrew or Arabic, the two oldest present day languages and obviously the two peoples that have the most to gain from accessing this message of unity.

Gregg says "The discovery of God's name within the essence of all life demonstrates that we are related not only to one another, but also to life itself, in the most intimate way imaginable. From a single blade of grass, to the vast expanses of uncharted rain forests; from a fruit fly peering at us through the many facets of a compound eye, to the piercing stare from our nearest primate relatives-any logic that preys on our differences ultimately dissolves with the evidence that all life is made from the chemical equivalent of a single name. With such a common bond, we are given a reason to look beyond the issues that may have separated us in the past."

The End Of The Journey That has been my journey of discovery to truly believing in the oneness of all things. As I said this is the foundation to adopting some of the other concepts that will follow in this series. Knowing that I am God also is rooted in the knowledge that God is in all things. Releasing judgment becomes easy when I know that you are me and I am you. That I am the same as that fly on the wall or the flower on the stem. How can I judge knowing this. I have discussed the concept of unity in respect to things outside our selves but I have not mentioned the most important part of unity consciousness.

The unity of one's self. The harmonizing of all parts of ourselves. The knowing that we are not right brained or left brained or that our body is separate from our mind or spirit. That all pieces work in harmony and co-operation. That we are neither male nor female. Just like god who is neither male nor female. That we are not broken up into separate parts battling each part for control over the other. That the mind is an integral part of the whole and not to be judged as the controller of actions and therefore viewed as non spiritual compared with actions from the heart. When the concept of competition is released from our consciousness it includes any competition within ones self. One entity working with love and compassion for the good of all.

That is the essence of unity consciousness. That is the result of us remembering who we truly are and how we relate to all things. The time for this remembering is right now, in our lifetime. We are creating a new planet earth. A new world. And as Louis Armstrong once sang, "What a wonderful world it will be."

Seth Garrison is a certified Overlight Facilitator and creator of the energy healing system called "Back to Perfection". Overlight is a spiritual psychology that is designed to identify the root source of their dis-ease, be it mental or physical, and create a space for them to feel comfortable enough to heal themselves. More topics from Seth can be found at [http://www.thesourceishere.com]

New Revelation - The Golden Age of the Christ Consciousness

The word "Christ" has been used for many centuries by Christian religions to refer to the historical Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus did in actuality attain full Christ consciousness while on Earth and subsequently ascended to the spiritual heavens, becoming an Ascended Master in the process.

Yet as Jesus stated in the Bible, "what I can do, you can do also". And as elsewhere stated in the Bible: "Let this mind be in you [the Christ mind] that was also in Christ Jesus". So we can see from these two statements that Jesus came to set an example that the state of Christ consciousness was not only achievable and attainable for Jesus of Nazareth, but for all souls embodying on Earth.

The essence of the information I will impart to you now has been channeled by Ascended Masters of the Great White Brotherhood of Light, including the Ascended Masters Jesus, Mother Mary, and Maitreya.

There are two types of consciousness that presently exist on Earth. One is the Christ consciousness and the other is the anti-christ consciousness. The Christ consciousness is a state of mind of knowing you are one with all others - and that each soul is part of the One Body of God. From this Christ mind state, you see no separation between yourself and any other part of God - any other soul. You recognize the Divine God Light in each soul - regardless of their own limited state of mind and way of behaving - and you show love and compassion and tolerance to each and every part of God. Many people on Earth have attained some degree of Christhood and treat others with respect and kindness and compassion and tolerance.

The anti-christ consciousness is a state of mind of "believing" you are separate from all others and / or God; it is a belief that we are not parts of the One Body of God, and acting in a separatist way, that includes being arrogant to others, prejudiced to others, violence and disrespectful to others, feeling superior and elitist towards others, and judging and condemning others in thought, word, and action. The anti-christ consciousness is rife on planet Earth and is strongly present to some degree in most people on Earth.

To help you understand the relationship between the Christ mind and the mind of anti-christ, visualize an empty glass in front of you. The glass being empty represents full Christ consciousness. If you add water into the glass - which occurs each time you act from the mind of anti-christ - then your state of Christ consciousness becomes less, and your state of anti-christ consciousness becomes more. If you stop acting from the mind of anti-christ, and begin acting "only" from the Christ mind, gradually the water will evaporate from the glass and you will gradually achieve full Christ consciousness. Yet in order to stop acting from the mind of anti-christ, you must first uncover and release all "hidden" anti-Christ feelings and thoughts within your subconscious mind to achieve this full Christ mind state, which requires a great deal of inner work. It is not enough just to "act" Christ-like on the surface, you must remove the beam in your own eye - the beam being all impure thoughts and feelings of anger, hate, jealousy, prejudice, violence, superiority, inferiority, intolerance and condemnation.

This is no mean feat, when you consider the anti-christ consciousness has infiltrated society at all levels, including religions - where separatism and elitism are commonplace, in schools - where you are rated as better than or less than your peers, and in the media - where competition, pride, and intolerance are encouraged. For this reason, you see souls with a wide variance of either Christ or anti-christ consciousness within their make-up. Consider it is like a spiral staircase. At the top of the spiral staircase is full Christ awareness, and at the bottom is full anti-christ living. Which step of the spiral staircase are you on?

Earth is currently going through an ascension process and it is linked to the number of souls on Earth achieving Christ awareness. For the Earth to ascend, 144,000 souls on Earth need to have achieved a very high degree of personal Christhood. This is happening and the Earth ascension process will begin from the year 2013 and will mark the beginning of the New Age of the Golden Age of Christ Consciousness. Souls who choose to "remain" in the mind of anti-christ and not embrace the Christ mind will choose to leave the Earth through natural disasters, chronic illnesses, and suicide. This process has been happening since 1982, as a result of a concentrated mass of Christ energy sent into the Earth's atmosphere by the Ascended Masters - called the Photon Belt Christ Energy.

From the year 2013, only souls who are of the Christ mind will be allowed to reincarnate on Earth and there will be a 1000 year grace period of peace on Earth to enable souls to achieve full Christ consciousness. Souls choosing to remain in the mind of anti-christ will not be permitted to return to Earth and there only option will be to reincarnate onto another planet that still allows for this state of separatism - this state of anti-christ consciousness - to exist.

Glen Russell is a Spiritual Counselor and Medium for Spirit. To uncover more about the teachings of Maitreya, the Christ Consciousness and the Return of the Christ Energy visit http://www.maitreya-teachings.org.

Near Death Experiences - A Form of Illumination That Changes Lives

When most people think of the enigma of near death experiences, they conjure up images of someone floating out of his body and going through a tunnel, of seeing a brilliant white light and meeting an angel or heavenly guide.

An Awakening

But the most amazing part of a near death experience (NDE) is what happens after the person returns to life.

In this article I will show you how near death experiences are similar to sudden spiritual illuminations - illuminations which may tell us something about this world and the one beyond.

For most people, a NDE leads to an awakening that shows them how to transform themselves, solve problems and improve their lives in powerful ways. It is almost always a life-changing event that accelerates their efforts toward personal transformation.

Although I have been studying NDEs for years, I have just recently realized the average NDE has much in common with the remarkable enlightenment experiences of mystics and spiritual seekers.

Transcendent Illumination

In 1901 Richard Bucke, M.D., published a book about people who had undergone extraordinary inner illuminations. It was the first book of its kind. And, today, over a hundred years later, Cosmic Consciousness is still in print!

Cosmic Consciousness studied the nature of transcendent illumination. Bucke wrote about the experiences of famous individuals, such as Pascal, Thoreau and Francis Bacon, whose spiritual eyes had been opened by means of amazing inner experiences.

What do near death experiencers have in common with recipients of cosmic consciousness?

Similarities

Both groups tend to report similar outcomes: the loss of the fear of death, an overwhelming sense of joy and attunement with the cosmic universe, intellectual and moral quickening, a newfound sensitivity to others, an enhanced intuitive capability and a deep reverence for life, among other things.

In both groups the experience is unforgettable.

And life-altering.

Jacob Boehme

Richard Bucke wrote about the life of Jacob Boehme (Behmen), the German philosopher, who had his first illumination in the year 1600. Jacob had a total of three major revelatory events, the last being in 1610. In the end, Boehme, like the other individuals about whom Bucke wrote, found himself radically changed by his strange encounters with enlightenment. He was left with no fear of death, a profound sense of joy, and a new, incredibly rich view of the world.

Boehme, a simple, uneducated man, went on to write about his experiences and live an extremely productive and inspired life. He found considerable fame. Many learned scholars met with Boehme to discuss his philosophy, and Boehme's ideas influenced the thinking of philosophers for years to come.

Questions

The lives of many near death experiencers have been touched in similar ways. Their accounts of extraordinary journeys into the unknown sound much like those of the historical figures featured in Bucke's famous, one-of-a-kind book.

Although NDEs are not glamorous experiences (quite far from it), they often result in a type of illumination, which can alter a person's life in profoundly positive ways. Others can draw inspiration from these amazing accounts, and find new ways of enhancing their lives.

For example, by embracing your relationships more and seeking the hidden beauty in every moment, you can apply the wisdom of the NDE to your every day life. You may endeavor to see the old experiences with new eyes -- mundane experiences like walking or gazing at the architecture of clouds.

And, I believe, these illuminating events can teach us much about the nature of reality and what it means to be human. No one knows for certain what happens upon dying, but NDEs seem to suggest people retain consciousness after clinical death. Certainly, by studying the stories of people who have undergone a NDE, and those who have had flashes of cosmic consciousness, we can come to a greater appreciation of the hidden realities within and without.

Most of all, we can ponder the riddles of existence and ask those questions which most need to be asked.

Richard Hamon is a dynamic coach and therapist with 30 years of professional experience. Richard helps people to solve their relationship problems, enjoy truly extraordinary marriages and find exceptional success in all areas of their lives.

You'll find all kinds of articles on how to spice up your relationships and lead a happier life at Richard's website, Happy-Relationships.com. Find out about personal coaching programs to assist you in quickly reaching your loftiest goals. Discover eBooks, relaxation CDs and other informative products, such as a free relationship quiz to help you assess your relationship.

For more information on conducting state-of-the-art relationships, the latest research on true happiness, and Richard's products and services, please go to: http://happy-relationships.com

Metaphysics 101 - The Sea of Consciousness

When you are studying a deep subject such as philosophy or the evolution of consciousness, any explanation that cuts to the heart of what you are studying and reduces it to simple terms is very welcome. I prefer to use analogy and/or metaphor. As we study this series on metaphysics I will continually refer to humanity as being asleep in matter within a Sea of consciousness. It is so easy to think of Universal Consciousness (philosophically the Creator) as an absolute primordial soup of un-manifested potential. The act of Creation (by a Creator) expresses some part of that potential as physical reality. It does not matter if the Creator simply thought or blinked physical reality into existence, spoke "The Word" or waved whatever Creators wave when creating. We will probably never know, but guessing stretches the mind. On some unknown command of the Creator the physical universe manifested (think Big Bang) and is therefore the expression of that original Universal Consciousness.

The manifest universe is that which was created whether it was done by a creative principle or simply exploded into being as scientists postulate. From this primeval event to this modern version we call "civilization" and "intelligent" the manifestation of that act of creativity is expanding, evolving, growing, becoming on so many levels of being and doing and in such diversity that we probably will never have a clue of its immensity. That is okay, we are going to school to learn.

Creation exploded into reality out of what existed at that moment, the un-manifested primordial soup of potential (nothing concrete). So creation itself had to be manufactured or blinked into existence out of what existed at that moment of creation, the Creator itself. Something, the unmanifest universe, scientifically called the singularity, exploded into manifestation at some point in history, for some unknown reason. Obviously something must have been present to cause that to occur but with our limited consciousness we just don't know what that something might have been. To the science community it is not a being. To the religious community it is God by whatever label.

A metaphysician will refer to this all-ness as Universal Consciousness, a sea of possibility. We are all droplets of what we call Universal Consciousness, with the potential of all that is Universal Consciousness. Each drop of the sea has the potential of the whole sea inherent in its makeup. However, the drop is not the whole of the sea, but the sea as a whole is composed of its droplets, indivisible. In addition, as children of the Universe, we are the heirs to the kingdom called the universe. That means that all of it is both a personal and a collective ours.

The best metaphor/analogy I can think of for this Universal Consciousness and our individual place within it is an iceberg. In your mind's eye think of a freshwater iceberg floating in the sea. A massive ice peak lies above the water and an even more massive ice body lies below the surface. Ten percent is visible, 90% is hidden beneath the surface of the sea. Think of your conscious, analytical, visible mind as the 10% that is above the level of the sea. Think of your subconscious or unconscious as the 90% that is below the level of the sea. We tend to believe that the whole of your personal and available mind is a combination of your conscious and your unconscious. However, that is not all the mind that is available to you.

The iceberg originally came from a freshwater ice shelf that floats in that salty sea. The sea itself evaporates into the air surrounding the planet, condenses, and then falls to earth as rainwater or snow, a cycle of renewal. The ice shelf itself, vast as it is, came from that sea and floats itself in that sea. As it breaks apart and melts into nothingness, it returns to that sea.

Our potential mind is not limited to our personal conscious and unconscious minds. We have the vastness of the whole of the iceberg, the sea in which it floats and which created the iceberg, plus its full series of manifestations. Metaphysicians call this concept of the whole of the Sea of Consciousness as the super-conscious mind.

We live in our conscious minds and only occasionally get in touch with our unconscious mind. When we are able to work with both constructively and progressively, the marriage of the two can give us access to the larger mind called the super-conscious. It is potentially available to all of us. It is to be earned by our personal effort in uniting the parts of our minds under our personal control.

We are all part of a much larger mind. What we do and achieve benefits all the other minds in that universal Sea of Consciousness and the universal consciousness itself. Why? What would be the point of a universal consciousness unless it had the potential of becoming more itself? What others do and achieve benefits each of us just as our efforts benefit them. We are in this effort together, whether or not we are aware of it or responsible to it.

Marilyn Muir, author, "Presidents of Hope and Change: Bringing Hope to our Future by Reaching into our Astrological Past."
How astrology predicts our nation's future by reaching into our past.

Jefferson, Lincoln, Kennedy, Obama... The Lineage of Hope Using the influential and interwoven cycles of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus and Pluto to predict issues and trends up to 2012 and even beyond to 2025, Ms Muir leaves us with the clear message of hope as she depicts the future of President Obama at the helm of the USA ship of state.

Read the first 36 pages (PDF) including the charts of all four Presidents - you'll get hooked!
http://www.marilynmuir.com

Is Mind Activity Consciousness?

Recently, I watched a short video presentation by Dan Dennett, a modern Western Philosopher, who considers himself a Philosopher of Consciousness. He indicated that other modern Philosophers look down on him with scorn, because they believe there is no such thing as, "human consciousness."

In his presentation he quoted an idea of another modern Philosopher, to the effect that, "All philosophy is based on rational arguments." Professor Dennett then went on to explain that, in actuality, what people consider to be their consciousness is a, "bag of tricks."

These statements, made by modern Philosophers, came as little surprise to me. I also consider myself a modern Philosopher, and, based on this short video, have decided that I am also a Philosopher of Consciousness. I, however, do believe that there is such a thing as human consciousness; that it is real, and that it is achievable. I have come to the conclusion, however, that normal brain activity has nothing to do with becoming conscious, and is, in fact, a hindrance to achieving consciousness..

That modern Philosophy, as all other forms of modern Scholarship, is an outgrowth of the ideal of rational/scientific thought has been obvious to me since I began to understand the role Programming and Indoctrination play in all of our lives and our resultant lack of true Consciousness. One of the primary underlying Beliefs of Western Science and Philosophy is that Humans are physical, and nothing but physical entities.

Professor Dennett went on in his video talk to explain, and demonstrate, with examples, why in actuality humans are not capable of consciousness, but are, rather, vehicles animated by hundreds-of-trillions of robotic cells, which themselves do not have consciousness either. (This is another example of, "the blind leading the blind" which are rampant in this modern-day world!)

According to Professor Dennett, what humans consider to be consciousness is only made up of strong opinions on anything and everything about which they have no expertise, i.e., accurate knowledge. And, additionally, that everyone believes him/herself to be an authority on their own consciousness. Unfortunately, this is true of the vast majority of "modern" humans.

As an example of brain activity, (equated by him and other, modern "thinkers" with consciousness), he gives that, when the human brain is presented with something or other, it goes off into a stream-of-consciousness, rather than information processing.

Unfortunately, this is actually, relatively, true about the average human brain/mind. When presented with: a new idea, individual, image-of-something, experience, etc., etc., the human brain/mind proceeds to go off into an uncontrolled stream-of-consciousness about whatever it has been presented with, rather than evaluate whatever it has experienced as a new thing, unique to itself. Much of this stream is made up of our Belief System's contents.

There have been some individuals who have come to realize that they cannot even see/remember whatever new thing it was that they had encountered, because of this how-the-brain-functions problem.

Most modern, Western and other, humans' Awareness Systems are being continually bombarded with self-inflicted, and otherwise, stimuli from morning until they go to bed at night. This is true, "in Spades" of the, "younger" generation. Do not think this is, "accidental," or a byproduct of modern life, it is not.

I have named the human ability to feel, see, observe, experience and remember, the "Human Awareness System." While this System is incapable of being overwhelmed, it is certainly being kept occupied with our continual bombardment of it with constant irrelevant input.

Those scientists and others, who purport to think about the human brain's functioning, even Philosophers, pay no attention to this major aspect of human existence, primarily, because it is not considered an aspect at all. In actuality, I believe it is there that true Consciousness may reside! By removing oneself from outside-of-the-Self distractions, to any degree, one can begin to tune in to this major System of awareness and memories. Without doing so, it is unlikely that one will achieve even a modicum of true Consciousness.

Having failed to recognize the existence of the Human Awareness System as a major, if not the most important, part of human existence, it has been possible to hoodwink humans into believing that the brain is the, "seat of consciousness." As a result there exists the "Scientific" squabble over whether there is even such a thing as Mind, as opposed to The Brain, at all.

The Human Awareness System is vast, being partially made up of what is called the five, "senses"--sight, hearing, feeling, smell and taste. This System also includes what has been called a sixth sense, which, because it has no physical base, is debunked as existing at all. Another aspect is the awareness of feelings--happiness, sadness, grief, fear, humor, exasperation, etc., etc. Additionally, the Human Awareness System incorporates a record of everything we have ever done, seen, experienced, felt, dreamt, etc., etc. This has been well established through the use of hypnotic regression techniques.

It is my tentative opinion that the Human aspect, which has been called, "mind," as revealed by such hypnotic regression techniques, may in actuality be an aspect, or outgrowth, of the Human Awareness System. In other words, the Human Awareness System is the key to understanding Consciousness. Consciousness itself has many aspects, the first being: becoming aware, moment-to-moment, of what is being experienced; the second can be expressed as, "becoming aware of what exists beyond the physical," (something which is also denied existence by Western Science and Philosophy). Through what is called, "metaphysical" readings, one learns that even greater awareness' are accessible; these have been called, "Peak Experiences," by the Psychologist Abraham Maslow.

It is, therefore, my conclusion that the physical brain is not the seat of, consciousness, but that consciousness can begin to be achieved through a process of, firstly, becoming aware of what one's mental activity consists, then practicing certain techniques, such as meditation, and other methods now available, for example, the ever expanding field of biofeedback and brain hemisphere balancing, to begin to expand ones Awareness System.

My self-educational background has been in learning, and writing about, why people do what they do. My educational background includes the study of established Belief Systems in the field of Psychology, ranging from Freudian theory through Abraham Maslow's work on fully-functioning individuals, as well as Art. My BA is in Human Services, and my Masters is in Art Therapy--MA-AT.

In the 1970's I wrote a manuscript, (unpublished) called: You in the Process of Becoming; A Guide to the Self. In it I outlined a systems approach to understanding human behavioral dis-functioning. My current writing and thinking is an outgrowth of the understanding that, if an individual wishes to be able to think, "critically," i.e., originally, clearly and without contamination from Consensus Belief Systems, it is essential for that individual to thoroughly understand their own underlying Belief System.

This approach can be used in understanding an individual's problems in dealing with everyday situations and problems in relationships. In discovering how one's underlying beliefs shape personal behavior, and examining where those beliefs came from, can do much to change the resultant behavior.

You can access my blog at http://www.ruminationsonresponsibilities.blogspot.com/

The Good Takes Active Consciousness, The Evil Takes Lazy Default

Goodness takes active consciousness and evil is just being lazy, I begin this article with the real honesty I should be ending this article with a flourish using. But I wanted to start with the most real statement of fact in life and existence there is or can be. Think about this, it takes consciousness to be good, and it takes the most genuine of laziness to default to evil. Let me explain: Dishonesty itself is a default to laziness and game playing when you really come down to the crux of the real situation in every genuine way and sense. Think about it, is that not what all dishonesty, evil intentions and game playing comes down to, genuine, pure and real laziness.

In short, I can use one word to describe this type of laziness: "Default". No other word can put it better or worse. Nothing is less questionable than that fact. Nothing. To not be in default is to put effort, honesty, and all reality (good and bad) into your life. Life is only as good as you actively make it without masking the reality of the situation from yourself by sublimation and denial.

Indeed, in thought, what is active in consciousness is right, what is passive or in lazy default of consciousness is wrong. Unconsciousness is nothing but unconsciousness, it is neither right or wrong. Although that lets animals off the hook, they still take their instinctive survival actions -- thus they live by a collection of here and now specific facts and not by consciousness, reality or default and laziness. The only effect that these actions have is on genuine awareness. Unconscious or lazy people or animals can overpopulate. Due to the reality of effort, expansion and the nature of work and the genuine good, conscious or good people can never overpopulate, in fact as long as there is work to be done, and things to be developed, we need ever more of conscious people, and what is good in existence. Indeed, activity and expansion is always needed, laziness and loss are never needed. They may be tolerated or grown past, but, they are never needed in any way.

Good and bad on that note can only exist to consciousness and reality as a tandem, what is unconscious or dead minded, cannot experience anything. If you are unconscious of it, can you experience it? That is the question that should be asked in any realistic situation.

Indeed, this article seeks and develops the conscious goodness that is a natural development to all people along with rational survival and rational effort. That is reality and that is what counts as a whole. Anything else is other than what genuinely counts, including evil. Sure I could end this article with an ending that plain and simple, but, reality and survival, even thriving is what counts in life and existence. Anything else is commentary and even more mundane than the collecting or buying of current postal stamps instead of valuable past or old stamps that are rare and worth collecting. So, this article now goes beyond just the good to concepts of the heroic and supremely honest. So, I repeat what I said in the third paragraph: Evil and laziness may be tolerated or grown past, but those conditions are never needed in any way. Really think about that statement in full, now. That is what it all comes down to, right? You can bet all the gold bullion you want on me being wrong on that one, but, my concept of good and evil, survival and all related subjects are where the rubber meets the road, and reality is admitted with the ticket of honest thought with genuine honest action backing it up in every genuine way and sense.

My name is Joshua Clayton, I am a freelance writer based in Inglewood, California. I also write under a few pen-names and aliases, but Joshua Clayton is my real name, and I write by that for the most part now. I am a philosophical writer and objective thinker and honest action taker.
I also work at a senior center in Gardena, California as my day job, among other things, but primarily I am a writer. As a kid I did construction work with my Dad which taught me many things like plumbing, hard labor and electrical systems, and I took notes for my Dad's home poker games at my Uncle Johnnie Gilmore's house, so I have a lot of life experience, sure. But I went to Cal State Dominguez Hills College, UCLA, and El Camino Junior College and learned a lot, but never got around to getting a degree, just lots of money spent, good grades and some credits. So, here I am currently freelance writing and working at a senior center for a living.
But enough details of my life, what I do is not what I am. So here is what I enjoy, I enjoy reading, listening to music (everything from Beetoven, Strauss and Bach to The Meters, ELO and The Band and Dylan/Garcia and The Grateful Dead also, when they were the Grateful Dead. Well, as you can tell by SOME of the music I listen to, I am a very eclectic person. I am also a deep science fiction fan and as said before, a lover of books. If I were to go into everything it would take thousands of words and I only have about three hundred words here, of which I have used 290 of already. Well, I end here. Thanks. Joshua Clayton.

Consciousness - The Creative Force Of The Universe

When you avail yourself of the creative force of the universe, you can solve any problem, step out of any dilemma, and resolve any conflict. The creative force is invincible. It can easily cut through any Gordian knot. What is infuriating and baffling to the mind, it considers child's play.

They are many levels this creative force works on. It can be an insight that arises from the depths of consciousness in the middle of the night. It can be a law of attraction practice such as visualization, affirmation, or creating a vision board that results in serendipidity or synchronicity. It can be a heart-felt prayer.

Ultimately, this creative force is consciousness itself, also known as super consciousness, quantum consciousness, the Self, the Atman, or God.

When we call upon this creative force, we realize the presence of an unsullied and pure consciousness within us that is omnipotent. It has not been affected in the least by all the peregrinations of your life. It is undismayed by the consistency of your errors. It stands ever willing to help you. It is the epitome of love and consideration. Your limitations are not its limitations. Your imaging of what is possible are not its shortcomings.

In any situation you find yourself in, it is possible to avail yourself of this force. Once you do, you have to let go of how your solution will manifest. Clinging to an outcome, clinging to your imagined sense of control, will prevent it from acting as surely as a dam wall can hold back the mighty power of a huge lake. The solution, when it comes, is always a surprise, and, ironically, it shows up in a very natural and easy way.

The creative force of the universe is the spiritual power within and around us. How we address it is a matter of personal preference. Our mentations about it are not important.

What is important is that we ask for what we want rather than suppress it.

Therefore, choosing to align with the creative force is also choosing to align with the spiritual path.

Those who align with the spiritual part are of four types:

Those who are ill in mind or body. They have tried all the conventional cures and nothing works. If they ask, they will receive.

Those who have a social problem. They are in the wrong relationship, keeping company with those who bring out their worst, or they are unable to earn enough money to meet all their needs. The spiritual path works well for those seeking to improve the quality of their lives.

Those who understand that the spiritual path is of supreme value. They seek deeper understanding of their own real nature and seek to be in tune with the highest level of consciousness. Those who seek, will find.

Finally, there are those who have discovered that they are more than their personalities, and more than their minds and bodies. They are in a state of awareness of their real nature as unlimited consciousness. They do not seek the spiritual path, or ask anything more of life. They epitomize spiritual wisdom. Spirit is their reality.

If you visualize and affirm, you will manifest what you desire. If you pray, your prayers will be answered. However you address the creative force of the universe, it will respond to you. However you comprehend the creative force of the universe, it will reveal itself more to you. When you open yourself up to it, it will guide you; it will be your friend, your ally, your protector, and your supporter. All you have to do is ask and be open to receive and everything in your life will fall perfectly into place.

Saleem Rana would love to share his inspiring ideas with you. Hunting everywhere for a life worth living? Discover the life of your dreams. His book Never Ever Give Up tells you how. It is offered at no cost as a way to help YOU succeed. http://www.theempoweredsoul.com/enter.html Copyright 2004 Saleem Rana. Please feel free to pass this article on to your friends, or use it in your ezine or newsletter. It's a shareware article.

Spiritual Enlightenment - Understanding Consciousness

You have probably already heard all of the Spiritual Enlightenment sayings like "Consciousness is all there is," And "Advaita means - not two."

And although all of these things are true, the words themselves filed away as knowledge, don't get you any closer to Spiritual Enlightenment.

So in this article, I am not only going to help you understand consciousness, I am going to give you the direct experience of consciousness, so that by the end of this article you will be able to experience a state of nondual consciousness which can lead to Spiritual Enlightenment.

Then all that is left for you to do is practice staying in this state of consciousness, or rather, practice stopping yourself from leaving your natural state. There is nothing complicated about it. Once you have the direct experience of consciousness then it is up to you to grow in nondual awareness through practice.

First, before we go any further, I would like you to forget everything you know about spiritual enlightenment, consciousness, nonduality, advaita and all other spiritual knowledge you have tucked away. Throw it all out because it is useless for what we are going to do.

You can have it all back after this article if you want it. But if you want spiritual enlightenment, you have to learn to experience this moment fresh and new, without relating it to what you know. Because it is what you know that stops you from experiencing pure consciousness.

And rather than getting into some intellectual advaita essay on spiritual enlightenment, let's get our feet wet and experience pure consciousness:

Right now, in this moment, take about 20 seconds, close your eyes, and notice your thinking. You are not to change your thinking or seek a certain thing out, you simply are to close your eyes and notice your thinking. Do this now.

On the surface, it seems that you cannot notice the process of thinking, because you are the one thinking the thought. The thought arises about what you had for lunch and suddenly you are re-living having lunch. There is no noticing happening.

So when you try and notice your thinking, thinking either stops, or you get involved with the thinking and there is no noticing.

On the surface, you could conclude from this observation that you are the thinker of your thoughts.

But in truth this is a false assumption. Look closer.

Close your eyes again and notice the thought arising. Start in a space of no thought and watch the thought arising.

Do this now.

If you practice this and really allow the thoughts to come and still remain noticing the thoughts, you will see that thoughts arise by themselves. You are not thinking the thought, the thought arose by itself. You were noticing no thought, a thought arose and you noticed it arise. Another thought arose, or many thoughts arising at once and you are noticing it happening.

You are not doing the thinking. The thinking is happening by itself.

This in itself is a state freedom. It is the beginning of Savikalpa Samadhi. It is when thoughts arise and you remain completely detached from any involvement with them- a state of witness consciousness.

What usually happens when you are not conscious is that the thought arises and instantly you identify with that thought. Instantly you claim "I thought that thought, it is my thought, it defines me." And then you make the thought important and are involved with it.

The thought arose, you took responsibility for it and you defined yourself by it. The thought is about you, your life, what you saw on TV, what you read, what you know, what you did. The thoughts are personal. You are identified with the thought. You think "I am sad" and sadness becomes your identity and it becomes your reality.

But once you learn to watch the thoughts, the thoughts become impersonal. They no longer define you or bind you. You are free from the involvement with them. They can arise and disappear and you remain as consciousness in a state of unconditional peace. Very blissful.

I do not expect you to see this immediately. But at some point in time if you do your best to try and notice your thinking, you will come to a point where thoughts arise and you realize "I did not pull that thought up myself, it arose by itself." You will have some thought come out of left field and it will become clear. "I did not just think of purple pigs, that thought came all by itself."

Sounds silly but this is a huge step towards spiritual enlightenment. Because suddenly you no longer define yourself by your thoughts. You see you exist completely free of the mind. Thoughts are arising all on their own without your involvement.

If you are interested in understanding consciousness, this is a very important point. Because if you see thoughts arise by themselves, then what are you? You definitely are not the thinker of the thoughts, but you were conscious of your thoughts. You were aware that thoughts were happening.

Try this now: Close your eyes and don't have any thought. Just for a second, don't have any thought. What is there?

Do this now.

So what is there? If there was no thought, your eyes were closed, you were just blank? But you were aware of the blank, yes? You were there, noticing that blank.

So you see the same conclusion comes from watching thoughts, or watching no thought. Whatever the situation, you were conscious of it.

And in fact if you really look, there is no you there being conscious, there is you as consciousness! Consciousness and the sense of "I am" are one and the same, they cannot be separated.'

To go one step further, you cannot separate, you, this moment and consciousness.

So forget understanding consciousness, you are consciousness!

Now it does no good to believe this, to file this away in your knowledge of spiritual enlightenment. You have to practice it. You have to in this moment and in every moment, remain as consciousness,here and now. To be aware of consciousness itself.

The only time you will feel you are not consciousness, is when you are identified with the happening, you are identified with the thoughts arising. You are personally involved in the thought.

You have to look closely here. Because consciousness has not stopped when you are involved with your thoughts but the action of identification with the thoughts distracted you from the essence that is always here, consciousness itself. Because if consciousness was not present, you could not remember, "I was identified with my thoughts and emotions."

And a side note here: It is not that you should not have thoughts or emotions. It is very important that you allow whatever is here to be here. Trying to control the thoughts and emotions will only lead to stress. So allow it all to come and go.

In this allowing, you are conscious of it. It does not mean you have to identify with it or become involved with it. You can watch it arise and disappear without ever holding on to anything.

It is not about some cold experience of advaita consciousness where you separate yourself from what is happening. It is allowing life to be as it is in this moment and being aware of it, and as you grow, being conscious of consciousness itself.

So whatever is here, allow it to be here and notice it. And be aware of the noticing. Because really if you look, you are not noticing it, noticing is happening. Just like thoughts are happening or not happening.

You can remove the thoughts, you can remove the emotions, you can even lose identification with the body, but the noticing cannot be removed. You can see whether there is thought or no thought, you still exist. Consciousness always remains. Resting in this state of pure consciousness will lead you all the way to spiritual enlightenment.

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Consciously Allow Yourself to Grow

There are times when others tell us something about ourselves or about life in general or maybe about their own personal experiences that could prove invaluable to us in our self-development journey. But often we tend to ignore the message because our egos raise it's ugly head and we take offense at what is being said or we look at it as well that person lived a traumatic life so his/her message has nothing to do with me. We may be right. That person's traumatic life did not happen to us, but who better to talk about how emotional issues can affect our lives? Unfortunately we live in a society that influences our minds to think that a person who was abused is not all together there in their minds. How sad that people have that mentality. Matter-of-fact, someone who has gone through major difficulties in their lives is the one that have the best opportunity to grow and have a deeper understanding of themselves. Wouldn't it be foolish if we disregarded these individuals as nutcases rather than learn from their experiences? We may not have had a traumatic life as the person did, but didn't it take courage and strength for that person to speak about his or her life? Also, this person has overcome major self-esteem issues, lack of confidence and self-worth and they have risen from the ashes to triumph forward. We all need courage and strength to face the realities of life. Do we have it or could we cultivate more of it inside of us? Someone once said, "Ignore the messenger, but take the message". We can all learn something from each other, but if our egos are stuck on the exact experience of another we will fail to see the lessons behind their experience.

By cultivating listening skills to not only hear what is being said, but also to understand the eexperiences behind it will help us to tap into our issues. We need to ask ourselves, is my life working for me? Am I happy with where my life is heading? The ultimate goal is to have a life that works for us. One that we are not making sacrifices, but is living an authentic life that makes us a hundred percent happy. Sometimes others will say things to us maybe about our behaviours and we take offense. Our ego's rise up and we get angry or we cut that person off thinking how dare they say something to us when their lives are not even perfect. While the other individual may not have a perfect life it would be foolish to ignore what they say because of our egos. What if they are right and some of our behavioural traits are less than exemplary? By ignoring the individual due to their background would prove detrimental for us. We have just missed an opportunity to grow within ourselves. There is a saying that says, "Do not cut off your nose to spite your face". As mere humans with egos, fears and insecurities, we have a tendency to cut people off or cut them out of our lives because they may say something we don't like or we feel that they are stressing us out. However that only comes about when we are resisting the opportunity to grow. Once we consciously allow ourselves to grow and use those around us as the means by which we look deeper within, we are able to handle those individuals in our lives. Sometimes we need to step back, listen and analyze ourselves in the situation to see what we are being taught before moving forward. So, instead of being quick to cut people off, it would serve us to look to see what the lesson here is for us. To obtain a deeper understanding, we need to ask ourselves, "What am I being taught, but I'm missing because I'm resisting it? Remember that what we resist persists. So if we resist the lessons that are being presented to us, the lessons will get harder and harder until we stop resisting and open ourselves to receiving the lessons. Hopefully, we don't wait too long to learn the lessons that are being presented to us.

None of us are perfect so there will never be a perfect home. That does not mean that our families were bad, but if we look closely we will see the dysfunction that exists within our families. The family that is being referred to includes our parents and our siblings. Our parents are our first caretakers and it is from them we receive our conditioning and programming. Our parents did not always have the necessary emotional tools that were needed to guide us along and as a result we grew up dysfunctional. It is no longer enough to say we will not live the life of our parents but then we do nothing to create our own individual life-path. Living a life opposite from our parents is not really living an opposite life. The truth is we want a different life from that which we grew up in and from the one our parent's grew up in. Maybe it's time we examine ourselves and see what areas of our life need to be worked on. It is not conceivable to work on all area at once, but if we start on one area at a time, it is amazing to see the changes that will automatically take place in other areas of our life.

Due to the conditioning that we have all received from birth through society by way of our parents we are all left with emotional issues that need to be worked on. Whether we are from a traumatic background or not there are things within us that still need to be work on. None of us are immune to the cultural, societal, religious conditioning that we receive. It is during our childhood that we absorb these messages like a sponge and we carry them over into our adult lives. Many have traveled the road before us and they have learnt various lessons. Learn to listen to others. We may not take everything they say, but it would do us well to "eat the chicken and leave the bones". Take what we need and leave the rest. Now this is not referring to using people. Instead, not everyone will be able to offer us all the life lessons that we need. While there are things that we will learn from others, some of what we need will come in the form of our life experiences and the rest will come from our own intuition. However, if our intuition is not finely tuned we can miss the lessons being offered through others and through our experiences. This may sound like a contradiction, however it's not. It is important that we trust ourselves and how we feel so that when we are listening to others we know what to take away from the conversation. If at any time during the conversation we feel ourselves resisting what is being said, then that is an opportunity for us to look deeper within ourselves and analyze why the conversation bothered us that much. Is it our insecurities rising to the surface? Is it some past hurt that we never dealt with? Are we having issues with our family that we have ignored because we don't want to think negatively about our families? These are some of the questions that we can ask ourselves whenever we feel that someone has offended us or their conversation has made us feel uncomfortable. Something can be true, but not necessarily true for us as an individual. We should not accept things blindly just because our mentor said so or because we read it in a highly acclaimed book written by an also highly acclaimed author. What is true for one person may not be true and necessary for another. Also repeating what someone else said does not make it our truth. That would simply be regurgitating what we heard.

Here are some of the key points of listening:

1. Hear what is being said.

2. Feel how what is being said affects you.

3. Analyze why you feel that way

4. Understand why you feel that way

5. Ask yourself, do I want to feel or be that way?

6. Be quiet and allow your feelings to come to the surface

7. Allow yourself to consciously grow and expand in spiritual consciousness.

It is often said that we are not our brother's keeper. Nothing is more further from the truth. We are not on this planet alone. We are all co-dwellers and co-creators on this planet and we all have a responsibility to help ourselves as well as others and we do this by listening and learning from each other.

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Trudy-Ann Ewan is a Spiritual Life Design Coach, Motivational Speaker, Author who is passionate about helping individuals create their passionate life. She motivates and educates individuals on how to fall in love with themselves and create a balanced and (w)holistic life by developing a better relationship with themselves without judgment. Sign up for the free Create Your Passion Newsletter at: http://www.createyourpassion.com/FREE-Newsletter.html and where you can also join her coaching program. You can join her on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/createyourpassion

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