If you have not yet seen The Sixth Sense episode of, "Through the Wormhole" on Science Channel - narrated by Morgan Freeman, I recommend you immediately find it and watch it! The episode explains some of the scientific proof for psychic abilities - and how scientists are continuing to research that area in different ways. I do not want to ruin the experience of you watching it, but one part of it discusses the research of consciousness, and how this area of research is looking for the boundary between conscious awareness and subconscious experience. It is an interesting idea to consider how consciousness can be explained in physical terms. The spiritual exercises and practices we do to develop our natural psychic abilities, are all aimed at helping us discover where the boundaries are between our own conscious and subconscious experiences. And maybe, therein we can form a "physical description" of consciousness. In addition, the exercises help us push that boundary further outward, so that we become aware of many experiences that we used to not notice. By expanding our consciousness in this way, we are better able to live in the flow of life - to respond more effectively to our experience, not get swept away by the emotional states that effect us when we feel confused or fearful about what is going on in our lives, and to generally feel more peace and joy.
This brings up another idea to consider: if we focus our conscious attention in one particular area, that area of our lives will carry more importance, and form our life experience. So if we are concerned about what kind of house we live in, and all the details around that idea - then we will notice houses, we will think about all the ways we want to change or improve our house, we will talk to people about houses and when we meet someone we might consider the house they live in, etc. It in effect, becomes our experience in at area of our lives. Using spiritual practices to expand our consciousness, allows us to live life in a more balanced and complete manner - in our example, instead of thinking of what kind of house someone lives in when we meet them, we will be aware of the person as a whole - allowing us to experience the relationship in a broader way than has been our focus. We might still have certain focuses that form our experiences, but they are broader, and not as "locked in" as when we live in a more narrow band of consciousness.
Try this exercise: Take your journal and, thinking back in your life, think of some times in your life when you had very predominant focus points - maybe it was getting into college and all the preparation for that - when I was looking at, and trying to decide what college to go to, I knew soooo much about colleges - it seemed so important then, and while it was, I know other experiences in my life did not matter as much - during that time, my identity became about being what college I got into; Perhaps it was getting ready for your wedding, everywhere you turned you saw wedding ads, or dresses, magazines, ideas. Maybe it was your first big job - all the effort and desires that went into that formed your experiences - or having children - when I was having and raising young children, everywhere I went, that's what I saw, that's what I talked about - now where my children are somewhat older, my focus has shifted to their older ages, and I do not "see" that many babies or young children - even though I KNOW they are there! It may be difficult, but think about what you are focused on right now? Do you have some area of your life where it is a predominant focus? Think about what else is going on in your life that is not getting as much attention - something you used to enjoy, or focus on? How does it feel?
This brings up another idea to consider: if we focus our conscious attention in one particular area, that area of our lives will carry more importance, and form our life experience. So if we are concerned about what kind of house we live in, and all the details around that idea - then we will notice houses, we will think about all the ways we want to change or improve our house, we will talk to people about houses and when we meet someone we might consider the house they live in, etc. It in effect, becomes our experience in at area of our lives. Using spiritual practices to expand our consciousness, allows us to live life in a more balanced and complete manner - in our example, instead of thinking of what kind of house someone lives in when we meet them, we will be aware of the person as a whole - allowing us to experience the relationship in a broader way than has been our focus. We might still have certain focuses that form our experiences, but they are broader, and not as "locked in" as when we live in a more narrow band of consciousness.
Try this exercise: Take your journal and, thinking back in your life, think of some times in your life when you had very predominant focus points - maybe it was getting into college and all the preparation for that - when I was looking at, and trying to decide what college to go to, I knew soooo much about colleges - it seemed so important then, and while it was, I know other experiences in my life did not matter as much - during that time, my identity became about being what college I got into; Perhaps it was getting ready for your wedding, everywhere you turned you saw wedding ads, or dresses, magazines, ideas. Maybe it was your first big job - all the effort and desires that went into that formed your experiences - or having children - when I was having and raising young children, everywhere I went, that's what I saw, that's what I talked about - now where my children are somewhat older, my focus has shifted to their older ages, and I do not "see" that many babies or young children - even though I KNOW they are there! It may be difficult, but think about what you are focused on right now? Do you have some area of your life where it is a predominant focus? Think about what else is going on in your life that is not getting as much attention - something you used to enjoy, or focus on? How does it feel?
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