[Below
are a series of short essays on how living an inner life, in the depths of one's
being enables one to obtain infinite knowledge, skill, accomplishment, success,
and joy in life.]
Moving to the Depths
Within
We can move the focus of our consciousness
away from the surface of life, from the bubblings and churnings of the
outer existence, to a deeper poise within. Stationed in this deeper
poise inside ourselves, we are able to shift our consciousness from
preoccupation with the sense data streaming into our minds from the
outside through our five senses, to a clearer and more rational state of
mindfulness. As we move our concentration from the surface to the
depths, not only do we withdraw our consciousness from the bombardment
of surface visual and audible sense inputs to the clear rationality and
logic of thought, but we move away from our ego sense, of our sense of
separateness from others and the environment. As a result, we develop a
wider view; and we are able to embrace the multiplicity and right
relation of life unfolding around us, enabling perceptions of the true
truth of the life before us. This in turn leads us to perceptions of the
possibilities before us, which provides choices, out of which we can
make the right decisions, resulting in actions that end in perfect
success.
Let's take an example. An individual who is living in his surface
consciousness is listening to a conversation that others are having. He
picks up on one point that is particularly striking to him, which is to
make sure that he downloads the latest updates to his virus protection
software. The rest of the crowd responds loudly in agreement. This
information is very helpful. However, had he truly listened to other
aspects of the conversation; had he had the inner wherewithal to sense
the deeper meaning between the words, he would have perceived other
critical issues being addressed; issues so important that it could have
changed the course of his career. If, through meditation, inner
concentration, or other means, he had established a deeper poise
within, he would have had the ability to perceive issues
that were critical to his life. Thus, we see
that establishing apoisethat is untouched by the perturbations of the
surface, centered in the quietude within enables
us to have an even greater grasp
of the unfoldings of life outside ourselves. We thus access a great
power, as we are able to continually have more knowledge, which allows
us to make better decisions, and thus take to the right actions that
lead to great success in life.
Moving Within
Only when
you have begun to break the never-ending link of our consciousness to the
surface of life can we move within. Only when we are able to move the
focus of our thoughts away from the constant input of the five senses to
rational thought, or even beyond that to silence in the
mind, can we break the connection with the surface.
We begin this
process of bringing the spiritual Being into the Becomings of our lives by
first moving into the depths of our being, away from the surface of
life. We move from mind preoccupied with sense data to mind centered in
the silence of the depths. Then we can move further within to the deepest
depths where we discover the Inner Being, the personal evolving soul.
We move into the
depths within, develop an inner poise, discover the silence there. Then,
if we are lucky, we go further within and find our evolving souls, and
bring in this spiritual power into our daily lives, changing ordinary life
into infinite life.
Living within, you are
more in harmony and unity with the environment, with others, with the
emerging truths in the atmosphere.
Connecting within will
enable you to have a deeper sense of what is unfolding around you at any
moment in time. From that inner poise you will be far more in tune with
others, with the environment, to the moment to moment unfoldings of life.
This will enable you to have better ongoing understanding and knowledge,
which will enable you to develop keener insights into what is
happening around you. As a result, you will make better decisions; you will
take actions that are based on truth, which means they are far more likely
to end in success and achievement. In other words, you will have
the inner poise that can enable vast knowledge, accomplishment, and
happiness in your daily life.
The
Miraculous Power of the Inner Life Over the Outer Life
There is a continuum that ranges from living on the surface of life, i.e.
on the outside, to living in the deepest depths within oneself, centered
in our personal evolving soul. When one is centered on what is on
the outside, the surface, one is stuck in ego and separateness, limited to the
slow moments of time, to the finite possibilities, to suffering, to
Ignorance of the merging truths unfolding in life, leading to lack of
accomplishment and results. As one moves within, to the inside, there is
a movement away from ego, toward unity with the environment and others,
toward the greater possibilities and truths that are emerging, to
timelessness, and the movement of the past, present and future into the
Now, all of which enables infinite possibilities, vast understanding,
insight, and action, which enables infinite accomplishment and results. It
is the secret of how we can instantaneously and abundantly affect the
outer existence from within ourselves.
To move within, just
withdraw your consciousness, your mind from the input of the outer senses, and focus within. In that
depth feel the withdrawal from the surface, and sense an inner existence.
Station yourself there. One day you may meet your soul there, the spark of
the Divine, and further still, your personal evolving soul, from which you
can instantaneously and miraculously move life without yourself moving. It
is the great power of the within to effect the without. In fact, you
perceive that the without is actually contained in the within; that
you can move the outside abundantly, instantly, and positively by any
thought or willed action from that inner status. It is the great secret of
how the inner can move the outer, contradicting our whole view of
existence that only the outer (action) moves the outer life.
What Does it Mean to Live in the Depths?
If you have
been following this A New Way of Living area of Growth Online you
probably have noted our reference to the importance of "living
within" or "living in the depths of our being" instead of
on the surface of life. But what does that really mean? What do we
actually know and sense and feel when we live our daily existence centered deeply in
the inner being within? Here are some of our experiences of what
it means to live in the depths:
-When you live within in the depths, you feel very calm and peaceful. There
is a stillness, even when you are moving.
-When you live in the depths, you are very much in tune with what's around
you.
-When you live in the depths there is a feeling of softness, and at its
best a feeling of sweetness, even of an inner bliss. We experience the
inner joy and delight of existence. This is the key experience!
-When you live within in the depths, you have a heightened sensitively to
the feelings, thoughts, and actions of those around you. You perceive them
in a far more positive and empathetic light.
-When you are stationed within, there is a kind of patience that envelops
you. That patience and equality gives you the steadiness that helps life
point you in the right direction, so you know what are to the right
actions to take, enabling you to do your very best, with perfect outcomes.
-When you live in the depths, there is an awareness of more of what's going
on around you; more awareness of the possibilities, the multiplicities,
the truths, and the subtleties and complexities (and the simplicities!) of
all around you. You become the surveyor of life around you; enabling a
great knowledge, insight, and wisdom at any moment.
-When you live in the depths, you connect with the subtleties of life that
life is presenting at every moment, enabling us to have a great power of
awareness, knowledge and action that we normally wouldn't have. Our
heightened radar of consciousness is now able to pick up
on the various subtle, "low frequency" signals life is
presenting us, helping us understand what we
should do next or in the near future; or even what not to do.
-When you live within in the depths, you live your greatest "efficiency" in
life. Your efficiency is your ability to create great results with the
least amount of effort in the shortest period of time.
-When you live within, you sense life continually responding in a positive
way around you. You experience these startling miracles on a very regular
basis. You also sense what actions to take to invoke your own life
responses, and you are continually amazed at the instantaneous, miraculous life
responses that occur around you as a result of your inner movements of
consciousness and your right outer actions and initiatives.
-When you go to the greatest depths within,you connect with your personal
spirit and soul. You experience it there just in the chest behind the
heart. There, you sense the very deepest meaning and purpose of your life.
There is no greater sense of security and meaning in all one's existence!
Over time your personal spirit and soul becomes an inner guide that is
aware of your foolish or wrong outer attitudes, perceptions, opinions and
actions. It steers you in the right direction; and all the while you feel
the joy and bliss of this connection.
-When you live in the inner soul being you connect and extend outward to
the universal forces and powers in the cosmos. You have a global,
universal sense of things. You feel connected more deeply with others,
with all forces, movements, emergences that are occurring on earth and beyond.
Further still, if you are lucky, you connect with the ultimate source,
power, energy, and spirit of existence; i.e. with the Divine Reality, the
source of all existence and delight in life.
In
the Depths of the Horizontal, Elevates One in the Vertical Scale
There are two scales
of human consciousness; a vertical scale that that contains our physical
bodies, our vital being, our mental being, and the spiritual being above
that. There is also a horizontal scale that ranges from an outer
consciousness to an inner consciousness in the depths of our being
within. When we move away from the surface of life, with its surface
bubblings that preoccupy our five senses, and into the depths (along the
horizontal scale) we move closer to our True Selves. In the depths we
are not only able to function better, are more in tune with the
surroundings, but we connect to forces of the universal plane. As a
result, we experience descents of knowledge through light and intuition
through our minds. In other words, the deeper we move within along the
horizontal scale, the higher our center of consciousness on the vertical
scale, as we move into the higher, spiritual realms of mind when
knowledge enters into our being through silence, light, and intuition.
Problems Created by
Living on the Surface of Life
We live on the surface of life. We are too outer, reacting
to everything around us. From such a poise we are constantly reacting,
rather than being rooted in calm and silence and peace. When we live on
the surface of life, our bodily ego is constantly asserting itself. When
we live on the surface of life, our bodily ego is constantly asserting
itself. That sense of "I", of
"me" is out front, creating a separateness
that disengages us from the totality and wholeness of what is happening
around us. When we live too close to the surface of life we see things
through a haze of our own needs, our own wants, our own prejudices and
inclinations; not the full, moment-to-moment emerging true truths,
multi-sided truths around us.
The
Inner Consciousness
As we move ourselves from the surface of life, we move into the
depths of our being; from the outer physical, mental, and vital
consciousness to an inner consciousness; an inner mind that is more in
touch with the truth of things. At these depths we are in touch
with the inner being, the subliminal
of the inner mind, vital, and physical realm.
Deeper still within the subliminal realmwe come
to the psychic being,
the personal soul. There we are open to the greater cosmic, universal forces,
with its greater truths, understanding, wisdom, power of effectivity
As we move further within, we gain powers to affect the world around us. As
we touch our psychic being, withdraw into a stillness, and call in the
spirit, the Force, we can literally change the world around us from
within.
As
we move into the depths we begin to see that we come in contact with
planes of consciousness that have greater subtlety, power, and effectivity
for creating results on the outside. As we open ourselves to these greater
planes the fixities of cause and effect, space and time give way to
spacelessness, timelessness, and infinities of potentials, possibilities,
results.
Benefits of Living
Within
-When you
move within to the depths the perceptions of division, duality,
contradiction begin to be replaced by interrelatedness, unity, and
oneness.
-At its greatest
depths one perceives the spirit emerging in every aspect of life, which is
the birth of Brahman consciousness in the individual.
-The deeper one
lives, the greater the possibility of understanding and Understanding the
unfolding around one's self.
-To the degree one
lives within, one's own limited sensibilities are overcome.
-When you move
within to spirit you move from reliance of one's own capacities and skill
to a Higher Consciousness and Capacity.
-Living within is
concentration. Opening to the Force "without" is consecration.
Consecration enables better (i.e. deeper, more frequent) concentration.
Results and benefits of greater consecration can energize one to live even
more within and its ever-accelerating benefits, including the potential to
burst through to one's personal evolving soul.
-When you are
centered within your interests tend to move towards others and away from
self. Accomplishment at any or all levels (money, success, happiness,
productivity, profits, new opportunities, etc.) will certainly follow. It
may even take the form of life response in another related area of
life, challenging our normal perceptions of cause and effect, space and
time.
-When we center
ourselves within in our daily activities we reduce the tendency to drink,
take drugs, smoke, overeat, to be tense, to seek intensity, etc. What
could be more immediately practical?
The Inner Oneness of Life
The relations we experience
on the surface of life are actually an expression of inner oneness, unity,
and harmony.
We see separate and apparently individual
actions and people on the surface, but underneath there are movements of a
common force and one consciousness expressing through multiple forces and
forms.
That which moves from one person to another or one event to another
is a force or vibration of a single underlying being and intention, social
or spiritual, just as the different words and actions of an individual
emanate from the same being.
Likewise the connection
between external events exists because division is only on the surface of
life, consciousness and existence. Beneath the surface, there is oneness
of consciousness and being.
If we live on the surface of life we will miss this unity and oneness of
life. If we live in the depths of our being or otherwise move to an inner existence
we see the absolute marvel of oneness; the symphony of
inter-connectedness; the pageantry of underlying, unifying purpose. At the
level of oneness we experience a profound unity with others, we perceive a
plethora of insights, possibilities, solutions, courses of actions instead
of just a few; we open the gates to infinite accomplishment because we now
have deeper insight, knowledge, and harmony of purpose with others and the
world around us.
So when will we move our center of consciousness from the surface to the
inner being to reap such staggering rewards?
Availing
Ourselves of the Myriad of Subtle Truths Around Us
At any given
moment do we really know what is going on? Do we really
know the full truth of that instant? Or do we have
a very small understanding; perceiving it to be the ocean of
truth, when it is a mere inlet of thought? What if there are dozens
of things that life is presenting us at that moment to help us know,
sense, or act in ways that would be of
great benefit to us.
What if life is presenting a number of helpful flags to us at
every moment, but we simply don't have the subtle level of
consciousness to perceive them all, save perhaps one or two? Surely,
we would
be living from the least possible efficiency in life. We would
miss all the indicators and clues on how to act, what to do; we
would be missing out on a myriad of opportunities to achieve, succeed,
accomplish, and be happy in life.
Let's take an example. An individual is listening to a
conversation that others are having, and listens to the various
points being made. He picks up on the point that is particularly
striking to
him, which is to make sure he downloads the latest updates to
his virus protection software. This is good and very helpful.
However, had he truly listened to that conversation; had he sensed
the deeper meaning between the words, he would have perceived
that a number of other very important things were being said
that could have benefited him; things so
important that if he had perceived them it could have changed
the course of his day, or the course of his career, or even his life. Living
in the deeper consciousness within would have given him this
added level of mindfulness.
So how does one have that level of perception where one is
sensitive to the subtle suggestions that are being presented to
us by life at every moment, but go undetected by our limited radar of consciousness?
The answer is to move our center of consciousness from the
surface of life to the depths of our being, to our inner self.
From that center of consciousness one lives continually in a state of
heightened awareness,
where one's radar of consciousness is vastly enhanced, enabling
us to pick up the subtle signals that are coming in; which are
suggesting what is truly important at any moment; which
are indicating in what direction we should move and how to act.
When we live on the
surface we are caught in our ego, in our separateness, in our limited view and vision of what is around us and taking place.
We are merely reacting to the stimulation of the outer world as experienced
through our senses. On the other hand, when we live within, in
the depths of our being rather than on the surface, we are
distant from this outer noise; we experience a vastness, a wideness of consciousness
where we are sensitive to the subtle flags, hints, and nuances of
life.
It is somewhat analogous to Jodi Foster's character in the
movie Contact where she is deeply sensitive to sounds from outer
space. Only we need to similarly become sensitive to the subtleties of
inner
space. We can do that by shifting our center of consciousness
from the surface of life to the depths.
As we begin to experience more of these subtle nuances that life
throws up at each moment, we begin to shift from our normal human consciousness of ignorance,
falsehood, and partial truth to a higher spiritual-like
consciousness and status of insight, intuition,
and full truth. We, in essence, begin to move from our
limited human nature to a kind of supernature, where we are able
to perceive a number of subtle suggestions from the environment at
any one time. With those insights within us we have the wider,
deeper knowledge and understanding that can enable us to take actions that
result in vastly higher levels of accomplishment, success, and
joy in life. In that way we have the insights to enable the greatest efficiency of life; which is the ability to create the
most results with the least effort in the shortest period of
time. Also, by perceiving the myriad of subtleties in the environment,
we enable the infinite potentials and possibilities in
life, putting us in touch with forces that defy all of our
normal perceptions of space and time.
Using Mind and Inner
Life to Release the Infinite
Potentials of Life
Most of us live
our days habitually; repeating the same routines over and over
without much change. There is little
freshness and dynamism in those acts. However, if we wish
overcome the dullness of habitual repetition, to consciously bring new freshness into our
daily routines, we can do so by organizing
ourselves to a higher level of functioning. We can do that my
using the higher mental capacity of conceptual thinking. By utilizing
this capacity of mind we can consciously
conceive of new approaches and strategies to make the day more dynamic. By utilizing
the power of thought to conceive new possibilities and
approaches we can make our daily existence more alive, fresher, more dynamic, more effective.
For example, we can begin by thinking about such things as "how can I make the
day better;" or "what can I do to improve my life,
myself, to make things better around me." Then
through this conceptual power of mind to self-conceive new
possibilities for ourselves, we can devise creative strategies
to do the same things in a new way, bringing in new energy and freshness,
enabling new
possibilities to burst forth from life. We can also use this
self-concepting power of mind to further our long term direction
in our lives, by developing a vision of what we want in life,
establishing our priorities and goals, and then carrying them
out through well thought out strategies. In all these cases we
are self-conceiving that which we wish to be by using this dynamic
power of self-conception of the mind.
We can even go further. There are also levels of consciousness that we can reach that
may require us to use powers of mind that are even higher than
this conceptual power of mind. We can learn to tap into a wider
consciousness, enabling us to tap into the infinite
possibilities and potentials of life; where we can gain
knowledge and understanding directly and intuitively. To do
this we must go beyond even the conceptual and logical powers of
mind, and come in contact with greater powers of mind that
border on the spiritual.
For example, one can learn to move away from living on the
surface of life, and instead learn to live in the depths of our being,
where we encounter a wider consciousness that provides us
greater insight, knowledge, and possibility for accomplishment. When one
moves from the surface to the depths, from the outer life to an inner
life, one moves away from a mere mental existence that is tied
to the input of
the senses, where we live a reflexive and impulsive type existence,
where we are centered in our limiting habits, opinions, and attitudes,
at the level of the pushing and pulling of
the surface. As we learn to live in the depths, we experience
a wider calm; our consciousness expands, as we perceive a wider
reality around us, as we discover greater possibilities of choice, greater
insight, knowledge and comprehension in every act and situation. We feel one with others,
with the environment, with the unfolding of events and
circumstances.
This is true because when we go within we move away form our ego-sense; the sense that separates ourselves from others and the
environment; a status that tends to reduce our field of
awareness, of what is possible. As we move into the inner being
we move away from the ego that
hardens us to our own opinions and attitudes, to our limited
perceptions and our limited claims to the truth.
As we touch the inner being, even down to the very essence and soul of our
being, we open ourselves to the great expanse, where everything
is possible, where life cooperates, where knowledge and
understanding seems to descend into our being in our silence, as
light of vision, as intuition. Stationed in the inner being, we
open the floodgates to the potentials of infinite
accomplishment, success, and joy in life. We stand at the threshold
of our higher nature.
In summary, the logical and conceptive aspect of mind can be used to conceive our world anew, to break old
habits, and enable new ways of living our lives. This is the
organizing and conceptual power of mind to help us grow and
develop. At a further point mind can be withdrawn by moving into
the depths of our being to enable deeper, wider comprehension, possibilities,
truths, to fill up our moment to moment existence. This is the
connection to spiritual mind above the normal functionings of
mind. Here we touch the infinite powers of creation, and thus
the infinite possibilities in our lives.
Formula of
Discovering the Spirit Within
Concentrate your focus
away from the surface of life and move to the depths within. A new inner
poise, as well as a calm and peace will gradually get established. Once it
is established, consistently consecrate act, events, and situation by
opening to the Force, which will enable abundant life response around you,
leading to accelerated results, achievement, and success.
This will amaze you, and greatly energize you. It will also have the
effect of opening the pathways to the deepest parts, the Inner Being, the
True Self, the evolving soul. Then if you are lucky, you will actually
move through this wider opening within and really experience the Inner
Being, the personal evolving soul on a more continuous basis, which is, in
essence, the first great opening and stage for an individual on the road
to one's ultimate evolutionary possibility.
The Personal
Evolving Soul (The Psychic Being, the True Self)
Each person
has a soul, which we can think of as an inlet of the great ocean of the
Divine spirit. The soul is in essence a spark of the Divine in each of us.
This soul extends
itself to something we call the personal evolving soul,
otherwise known as the Psychic Being or the True Self. This personal
evolving soul has been moving from one body to the next seeking its own
progress and evolution, accumulating experiences along the way to enable
its growth. When this personal evolving soul enters or develops in you as
an extension of soul, it is seeking yet additional progress through
your own growth and progress.
When we go into the
depths within, and discover our personal evolving soul, we have made the
decisive movement that will enable a never-ending progress in life so that
we can overcome the divisions and dualities in life; not through the slow
and painful method of Nature, but through the power of connecting to our
inner spirit, our personal evolving soul, our True Self.
The psychic being is
our True Self, the personal evolving soul, the Inner Being.
Just as the unknowable
Divine evolved a Spirit state called the Being, our souls evolve a
personal evolving soul called the Inner or Psychic Being.
Just as the Divine
Being came about from the unknowable Divine in order to begin the process
of creating the universe, we can connect with the Inner Being to enable
ultimate creative capacities for accomplishment and joy in life. The
Divine Being is/was the creator of the infinite universe. We can likewise
be the creators of an infinite reality for ourselves and the world.
Our purpose is to
bring the spirit, the spiritual Being into the Becoming of life. We can
begin this process by finding our own spirit, our evolving soul within.
The Psychic Being
(the Personal Evolving Soul)
The great secret of
evolution is for the individual to find his personal soul guide, his
psychic being, and live from that inner pose. From there he can master all
of life; see the widest truths around him, know what actions are the right
one, be one with others, their inputs, and knowledge; and be one with
environmental, and that which is unfolding around him.
To live from this deepest
inner soul, this psychic being is a continuous delight and bliss.
When you live in the psychic
you tend to enable illuminations, visions, and intuitions of knowledge
into your being. You begin to know the object of knowledge less from
thinking but from "knowing," as the objects of knowledge that you wish to
know simply enter you. Thinking to derive at an understanding, conclusion
ends as the knowledge simply enters you.
This inner, psychic being,
also becomes your Guide. Because of its influence you are better able to
see your mistakes, perceive wrong movements, and do the right things. You
see false movements of the mind, which tends to see a part of the truth;
it sees the false attitudes, opinions, and judgments of the vital and
mind; and it perceives the fixidities, rigidities, and one-dimensional
views of the physical consciousness. Stationed in the psychic being one
tends to want to change as a person because stationed deep within the
Guide points out one's defects quite clearly, and centered in the psychic
and its profounder view of one's life one tends to want to implement the
changes!
For
additional Growth Online thoughts on the power of living in the depths, click
here.
Additional
Information:
-To read
a Growth Online interview "Discovering the
Spirit Within," please click
here.
-To
learn how to acquire an Integral Knowledge that enables
vast success, click
here.
-For more on the parts and dimensions of the
individual, including the inner being which contains at its center the
individualized, evolving Psychic being, click
here.
-To discover yet another
power of consciousness -- the power of opening to the Force before
undertaking an activity so that life will suddenly and abundantly
respond positively in kind, click
here.
