Science has come such a long way in understanding the human body, how it functions. It has also come a long way in understanding the origins of life and its development. And the more I learn about the more amazed I am of the complexity of life, our bodies, in fact the whole universe.
Some things, however, science has not yet been able to determine. What is consciousness? How did it come into being?
Without our consciousness we would not be where we are today. We would be like most of the other living creatures on this planet. It is consciousness that sets us apart from other living things. Yes, I know that many animals, and especially the great apes have a form of consciousness, but it is not as developed as in humans.
And the funny thing about consciousness, when we study it, is that it is the only thing that studies itself … When we study our body, physics, the stars or microbes, we are studying something outside ourselves. When we study consciousness, it is the consciousness studying itself.
In personal and spiritual development we talk about different levels of consciousness. Here is one perspective on levels of consciousness and some descriptive words to help identify the differences:
not conscious – instinctual, follower
sub-conscious – habitual, robotic, reactive
conscious – aware, intelligent, conceptual, reflective
super-conscious (or higher) – intuitive, guiding, truthful, loving, universal
What I have found worthwhile is noticing at what level of consciousness I am at, as I go through my day. There are things I do on the non-conscious level, such as walking, my bodily functions. I am grateful for that, because my conscious mind would be totally overloaded if I had to think about it, and not leave me time for more important things.
The sub-conscious level is more problematic. That’s the one I really have to work on. It continually amazes me, how many things I do, ways I think and feel, because that’s the way it has always been done. That’s being a robot. Even writing here to some level is a mix of the three first levels, mingled with the fourth level.
I used to think that because I was conscious of something that I was aware. There are so many imprints and paradigms in our brain that make us think that this is the way things are or have to be. But is that really so? Many of these imprints just make it seem to have to be so.
So I continually ask myself questions such as: Why do I feel this way? Why do I think like this? Is this way of being in line with who I really am? Is this really my feeling, my opinion, my thought, or did I pick it up somewhere along the line, because it fitted in with my environment? Does thinking like this serve me?
Can we change the way we feel? I once thought not, but I have learned better since. When I control the way O think and feel, I am in much greater control of my life.
Utilizing the conscious mind to direct the sub-conscious mind to enter into communication and harmony with the universal mind is the secret of personal power.
