For centuries, scientific or rational thought has coexisted,
sometimes uneasily, with spiritual or metaphysical thought.
Science regards as valid only that which can be perceived
with the human senses or measured with instrumentation, but
metaphysical thought revolves around the idea of an
invisible, immeasurable spirit.
As a writer and someone exposed to public scrutiny, I have
sometimes been frustrated by the inability to explain myself
adequately to rationalists or “realists” –– many of them
family members, friends, or co–workers –– or to counter
their arguments when they demand “proof” of the claims that
consciousness is spiritual (non–physical) and not
biologically based. To those of us who have been spiritually
awakened, such an idea is ludicrous. But I have been
realizing more and more that for many “practical” people,
the assertion that consciousness is some etheric,
immeasurable nothingness is equally absurd. I understand now
that their objections are perfectly reasonable and
legitimate, and that understanding has helped me to better
reach them with my spiritual message.
How do you raise awareness of those who just don’t get it
yet? How do you convince someone that his or her basic
nature is something immeasurable and invisible?
In a nutshell, the fundamental dilemma in consciousness
raising is that a person who believes he or she is a body
simply cannot conceive of themselves as a spirit.
The scientific method, and common sense, tells us “I’ll
believe it when I see it.” This immediately invalidates
spirituality, for a spirit cannot be seen or measured! I
have found that when people get into trouble in their
personal lives, a turning away from their spiritual side is
at the root of their problems. Moreover, the mischief-makers
on our planet are always those who do not know who they are.
Some of the major players in our own government (United
States) simply do not have a clue about their spiritual
side. However, the idea that a human being is fundamentally
spiritual is very scary to these people! That’s because such
a person views a spirit as blind, deaf and dumb. Think about
it. To those who do not understand that a Native State being
perceives far more broadly and brilliantly than an
incarnated human, such an existence must be terrifying, for
a spirit has no eyes to see, nor ears to hear, or sense of
smell or taste. For these people, death (and spirituality)
is a horror to be avoided at all costs!
Underlying all fears and negative emotion is the idea that
death is a truncating or snuffing out of perception and
awareness.
I have found that the most effective way to introduce
spiritual concepts is to begin with the idea of life after
death. This idea has become generally accepted throughout
society. After all, Christianity teaches us that Christ
ascended into heaven after his physical body passed away.
Eastern religions teach us about incarnation and
reincarnation. The concept of life after death reaches deep
inside even the most hardened skeptic, for it expresses the
fundamental truth of our divine and immortal nature. It
immediately short–circuits mental machinery and pushes the
Truth Button!
Why do people believe in the biological basis for
consciousness anyway? Essentially, it has to do with the
incarnation process and the relationship of the spirit and
the physical body.
Focusing
Incarnation is the focusing of awareness into a physical
container. Actually, every cell in the body is conscious;
the spirit and the physical container exist in a symbiotic
relationship. The consciousness of the incarnated spirit and
the consciousness of the body must be tuned to each other,
and to the vibrational frequencies of the earth environment.
The human senses filter and interpret the universal
bandwidth into narrow ranges: 4 x 10^14 Hz to 7.5 x 10^14 Hz
for the human eye, 20 to 20,000 Hz for the human ear, etc.
The human body, by design, limits and intensifies
experience. Imagine a vortex of energy, like water flowing
into a bathtub drain. Around the vortex there’s a lot of
water serenely lying there, doing nothing, but the energy
that goes into the vortex moves very rapidly, becoming
funneled into a very small area.
The human body is like that vortex of energy: the
incarnation process itself focuses a broad, non–physical
consciousness into an itty–bitty human body!
In my experience, the human spirit, when first coming in
contact with the body, needs a lot of time to adjust to it.
If you have ever bought a nice looking but tight fitting
pair of shoes, you know that you have to “break them in” a
bit before you feel comfortable wearing them! It’s no
different for a spirit and a body.
The baby spends a lot of time out of the body, entering and
exiting and getting used to its new “home.” After about
three years or so, the newly arrived spirit begins to
perceive using the body’s senses full time (most of us do
not have clear memories before the age of three; this is not
because our brains were not fully developed, but because the
experiences we had out of the body are not recallable).
Why does it get harder and harder to exit the body as time
goes on?
Well, for one thing, the intent of the incarnating spirit is
to have a physical experience. The intent is to associate
ones self fully with the body and perceive the world
primarily through its physical senses.
Moreover, it is often a lot harder to get out of something
than it is to get in! The guy who takes off work to go
golfing, ignoring an important client, finds it much easier
to hit the links than to extricate himself from all of the
inevitable complications.
Thirdly, one simply gets used to using the human senses;
like a crutch, we become dependent upon our faithful
interpreters to automatically filter our experience. We can
no longer even imagine what it is like to perceive outside
the body.
And the main reason is that it feels good to be in a healthy
human body. The body becomes more and more attractive to the
incarnating spirit as it matures, strengthens, and grows.
In short, the body is designed to funnel and limit
perception and awareness into narrow ranges. As we become
immersed in a physical experience, our “spiritual sensors,”
like a muscle that is not exercised, atrophy.
Chaos Theory and Spirituality
For many people there is little incentive for spiritual
growth. People are used to hearing expressions like “when
you die, you’re dead.” Beliefs are powerful things and serve
to guide thought and action. Childhood imprints are also
very powerful; if parents believe that spiritual knowledge
is irrelevant, the child’s own beliefs will form around
these ideas. Once a vibrational proclivity becomes
established, it entrains thought, belief, and action toward
it. That is what has been occurring on earth for the past
5,000 years! Even the silliest ideas, once entrenched,
become very difficult to move off of (like the idea that
fighting a “war on terrorism” will somehow reduce the
probability of terrorism).
We are approaching the end of a planetary cycle. With a
population of over 6 billion, the consciousness of the human
race is approaching ‘critical mass.’ We have, for a short
time, a unique window of opportunity to change the current
paradigm of thought on our planet.
In chaos theory, a physical system can oscillate too far in
one direction or the other, reaching a chaotic state where
it will react unpredictably.
In such cases, nobody has a clue about what the system will
look like after it settles down. Biological mutation may be
a result of chaotic oscillation. Sensitivity to initial
conditions, or the so–called “Butterfly Effect” –– where the
flapping of the wings of a butterfly in Brazil may
eventually effect weather patterns halfway around the world
–– has gained more and more acceptance. (For a graphic
explanation of how systems can diverge widely depending upon
initial conditions, see the
Afterword). It states the principle that in chaotic
systems –– which occur often in nature, weather being an
example –– individual actions, no matter how small, may have
a profound effect on the system as a whole. This tells us
that spiritually aware persons may have important effects on
the future direction of the human race. But in order for
that to happen, we must not hide our light. We must take
every opportunity to share our spiritual knowledge and
wisdom.
I believe that the consciousness of the human race is
approaching just such a chaotic state.
It is no longer possible to sit on the fence and dither.
Each one of us is being forced to make a choice: Do we
simply accept that the basic nature of humankind is savage
and barbaric, and that peace is merely an interval between
wars? Do we accept the status quo, with hierarchical
societies that concentrate power at the top and the masses
struggling and disempowered? Or do we rise above the
primitive, lizard brain mentality and create societies and
personal lives based on the idea of abundance and prosperity
for all?
Many people who have chosen to ignore their spiritual side
are having great difficulty at present, and some in
positions of power, in their fear of the coming changes, are
causing great difficulty. People fear the spiritual
primarily because it reminds them of their own mortality.
For persons who believe in the biological basis for
consciousness, death is the ultimate horror, for it means
the complete snuffing out of their own self awareness.
Such a primordial fear –– even though false – leads to a
profound inner anxiety and a mad scramble to accumulate
wealth, resources, and power.
In consciousness raising, we have to be aware of these
factors, and also be aware that vibrationally, there may be
a wide gap between where we are and the where the person we
are speaking to is. We have to understand that people have
legitimate reasons for being frightened, or disinterested,
even if it is obvious to us that our friend or family member
or co–worker is in need of spiritual awakening!
It is the job of spiritually awakened persons never to
neglect an opportunity to raise consciousness. I don’t mean
bothering and haranguing people you think need fixing up,
but noticing genuine opportunities to gently step in and
offer your knowledge and wisdom on spiritual subjects.
Tips
Tips in talking with people about spiritual matters:
Accept where the person is at, and that that place is
perfectly OK. If you are trying to “fix” somebody, you won’t
be able to raise their awareness.
Understand that a person can only be aware within his or her
vibrational range. It is critical to be aware of the scale
of emotion/vibration and bring them along slowly but surely.
Remember that emotions are the key to where a person is
vibrationally; people will always find arguments to match
their emotional tone.
Reach the person emotionally first. Talk to them and get a
feel for where they’re at. Remember that they wouldn’t even
be talking to you if there was not already a vibrational
connection. Only after an emotional/ vibrational bond has
been established, can you use facts to persuade. Truth is
not data. For each and every human being on earth, the Truth
with a capital T is that he or she is an immortal spirit.
That truth is something that must be felt.
Remember that people have legitimate reasons for being
frightened or disinterested in spiritual matters.
If you don’t know where to start, begin consciousness
raising by bringing up the idea of life after death. I don’t
know of any topic that more accurately and immediately
determines a person’s spiritual awareness, for it instantly
hits the Truth Button.
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Afterword
The Grebogi equation (x t+1 = 1.9 - x2t
)
xt (spoken as "x of t") is the
value of x at time t, and x t+1 is the
value of x at some interval (day, year, ...) later.
Look what happens when the
initial value of xt
is 0.5:
Now look what happens when you change
xt from 0.5
to 0.5000000000001, difference of 1 in 10 trillion: after
about the 50th iteration, the system behaves much
differently:
The red lines are what happens when
xt is
changed ever so slightly. You can see that the system
looks much different after only 50 time periods!
What this shows is that it is impossible to predict what
will happen when a system changes even slightly. It is
important to realize that the future can look much different
than the past –– even if the outlook is bleak right now ––
if we will only work to change the system in the present!
________________________________
Reference: “Chaos in
Discrete Systems,”
Josep Sardanyés Cayuela
ICREA - Complex Systems Lab
http://complex.upf.es/~josep/Chaos.html