102,800
edits
Changes
From Nordan Symposia
Jump to navigationJump to searchno edit summary
Locke's influence upon the concept can be found in [[Samuel Johnson]]'s celebrated Dictionary, in which Johnson abstains from offering a definition of "consciousness," choosing instead to simply quote Locke.
Locke's influence upon the concept can be found in [[Samuel Johnson]]'s celebrated Dictionary, in which Johnson abstains from offering a definition of "consciousness," choosing instead to simply quote Locke.
stub: Higher consciousness, also called super consciousness ([[Yoga]]), Buddhic consciousness ([[Theosophy]]), cosmic consciousness and God-consciousness ([[Sufism]] and [[Hinduism]])--to name but a few--are expressions used in various spiritual traditions to denote the consciousness of a human being who has reached a higher level of evolutionary development and who has come to know reality as it is. [[Evolution]] in this sense is not that which occurs by natural selection over generations of human reproduction but evolution brought about by the application of spiritual knowledge to the conduct of human life. Through the application of such knowledge (traditionally the preserve of the world's great religions) to practical self-management, the awakening and development of faculties dormant in the ordinary human being is achieved. These faculties are aroused by and developed in conjunction with certain dispositions of character such as patience, kindness, truthfulness, humility and [[forgiveness]] towards one's fellow man – qualities without which higher consciousness is not possible.
==Concept==
The concept of higher consciousness rests on the understanding that the average, ordinary human being is only partially conscious due to being under the sway of inferior impulses and preoccupations. As a result, most humans are considered to be asleep (to reality), even as they go about their daily business. [[Gurdjieff]] called this ordinary condition of humanity 'waking sleep' an idea gleaned in part from ancient spiritual teachings such as those of [[gautama buddha|the Buddha]]. In each person lie potentialities that remain inchoate as a result of the individual being caught up in mechanical, [[neurosis|neurotic]] modes of behaviour where the correct use of energy for personal spiritual development has not been understood but is squandered in unskillful ways. As a result of the phenomenon of [[psychological projection|projection]] the cause of such a person's suffering is often seen to lie in outer circumstances or other individuals. One prerequisite for the development of consciousness is the understanding that [[suffering]] and [[alienation]] are one's own responsibility and dependent on the mind's acquiescence (through ignorance, for example). Traditionally, both in the Eastern and the [[Abrahamic]] spiritual traditions a person who sought mind-body transformation came under the tutelage of a Master ([[Rabbi]], [[Shaykh of Sufism|Sheikh]], [[Guru]], [[Acarya]], etc) who would oversee their progress. In the past, as today, this education would often involve periods of retreat in communities ([[ashrams]], [[monasteries]], meditation centers etc.) whose sole purpose is the cultivation of [[bodhi|awakening.]]
==Ordinary consciousness as projection==
In the spiritual traditions of India, consciousness is understood to be obscured by defilements ([[sanskrit|Skt]]: [[Kilesa]]) which are compared to clouds covering the sun. These defilements are the result of [[conditioning]] ([[sankhara|Skt:samskara]]), accumulations in the [[Unconscious mind|unconscious]] caused by past actions ([[karma]]) . As a result, what any individual perceives as reality is a picture of the world at one particular moment filtered through his unconscious conditioning – a ‘reality’ that western psychology calls ‘projection’ (i.e., of the contents of the unconscious). Every individual human being has their own store of conditioning based on their unique past experiences. The goal of spiritual practice ([[buddhadharma]], [[shariah]], [[yoga]] etc) is the transformation and higher integration of these contents so that any practitioner following a spiritual path comes closer to reality as the causes of [[delusion]] are dissolved. Enlightenment (also called [[salvation]], kaivalya, [[moksha]], [[theosis|Union with God]],etc) furthermore, involves the complete dissolution of all the causes for future becoming so that reality is seen, finally, as it is, rather than through the veils of projected unconscious contents. It may be protested that the mere possession of an apparatus such as the mind and body of a human being with its [[genetics|genetically predetermined]] structures prevents the possibility of unconditioned consciousness (Skt: asankhata-nana or [[nibbana]]) but the testimonials of numerous [[saints]] and mystics throughout history bear witness to the contrary.
==The spiritual path==
The path of cultivating consciousness requires the adoption of certain self-imposed rules or vows. These are generally concerned with exercising restraint with respect to actions of body, speech and mind. Examples include the [[The Five Precepts|five precepts]] of Buddhism. The effect of this restraint is to begin to contain energy and prevent unskillful actions that cause ongoing harm. Over time changes in the moral disposition of the aspirant are accompanied by physiological changes in the brain and nervous system opening up the energy channels ([[nadis]] or [[meridians]]) present in the subtle bodies which are thereby activated. Critical (indeed central) to development of one’s latent spiritual faculties is the practice of meditation. After moral restraint, [[meditation]] is the most important tool in the purification of the mind.
==Consciousness: spiritual approaches==
Spiritual approaches to consciousness involve the idea of altered states of consciousness or religious experience. Changes in the state of consciousness or a religious experience can occur spontaneously or as a result of religious observance. It is also maintained by some religions, religious factions and some scientists that the universe itself is consciousness.
In shamanic practices, changes in states of consciousness are induced by activities that create trance states, such as drumming, dancing, fasting, sensory deprivation, exposure to extremes of temperature, or the use of [[psychoactive drugs]]. The experience that occurs is interpreted as entering a real, but parallel, world. In many polytheistic religions a change in emotional state is often attributed to the action of a god; for instance love was ruled by Aphrodite and Eros in Ancient Greek polytheism. In Hinduism the change in state is induced by the practice of yoga. Yoga means "union" and is intended to produce a state of oneness between the practitioner and the divine. In Islam and Christianity, the change of state can occur as a result of prayer or as a religious experience.
The change in state of consciousness in Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam is reported to be quite similar. The pursuit of yoga and the Buddhist Jhanas involve feelings of oneness with the world that give rise to a state of rapture. This is also reported by those undergoing some forms of Christian (or Islamic) religious experience; for instance, James (1902) provides the following report:
"I cannot express it in any other way than to say that I did "lie down in the stream of life and let it flow over me." I gave up all fear of any impending disease; I was perfectly willing and obedient. There was no intellectual effort, or train of thought. My dominant idea was: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it unto me even as thou wilt," and a perfect confidence that all would be well, that all was well. The creative life was flowing into me every instant, and I felt myself allied with the Infinite, in harmony, and full of the peace that passeth understanding. There was no place in my mind for a jarring body. I had no consciousness of time or space or persons, but only of love and happiness and faith."
Meditation is used in some forms of yoga such as Raja Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Transcendental meditation, the Buddhist Jhanas, the Buddhist Immaterial Jhanas (there are several versions of the jhanas in different types of Buddhism), in the practices of Christian monks and Islamic scholars such as Sufis. Meditation can have a calming influence on practitioners, as well as changing the state of consciousness. Theravada Buddhism views the Jhanas in a similar way that some yogic practices view the early stages of meditation - as a preliminary, in which it is demonstrated that states such as rapture are delusions (see The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation: "With the fading away of rapture, he dwells in equanimity, mindful and discerning"). In most types of Buddhism, serenity meditation is followed by a philosophical "insight meditation" that focuses on the idea that the universe is consciousness only, one that is perhaps indistinguishable from Monism.
==See also==
* [[Nirvikalpa|Nirvikalpa Samadhi]]
* [[Nirvana]]
==Further Reading==
*''The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution'', [[P.D. Ouspensky]], [http://www.livingstonemusic.net/Psychology%20of%20Man's%20Possible%20Evolution.pdf Online Version]
*''The [[Dhammapada]]'', trans. Harischandra Kaviratna, [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/dhamma/dham-hp.htm Online Version]
*''Discourses of Rumi (Fihi Ma Fihi)'', trans. A.J. Arberry, [http://www.omphaloskepsis.com/ebooks/pdf/discour.pdf Online Version]
*''The Evolution of Consciousness'', [[Robert Ornstein]]
*''The Degrees of The Soul'', Shaykh Abd Al-Khaliq Al-Shabrawi, Quilliam Press
==External Links==
* [http://www.HigherCons.com/ HigherCons - Social Networking for Higher Consciousness]
* [http://www.theosophy.org/ Theosophy.org]
* [http://www.swamij.com/index.htm swamij.com]
* [http://www.dlshq.org/ The Divine Life Society]
* [http://www.godconsciousness.com/quotes.htm Quotes on God consciousness]
* [http://www.imprint.co.uk/Wilber.htm Ken Wilber's Integral Theory of Consciousness] from ''Journal of Consciousness Studies''
* [http://www.encyclopedia-of-religion.org/consciousness.html Consciousness] from Encyclopedia of Spiritual Knowledge
[[Category: General Reference]]
[[Category: Consciousness]]
