A Step Further

I am fully aware that there are a significant amount of avid "mirror-gazers" out there already. Yesterday's post wasn't exactly the "news of the day". I felt that I needed to explain it however, just in case.

Today, I want to move ahead, a step further into a concept that may not have been explored even by those incredibly dedicated people on the path of self-discovery. If one takes a moment, to let review pass - yes, this is a time when the past comes in handy - you can take a look at everything that had an impact on your life. Look at little things that pop spontaneously into your mind. And most of all, look at the common denominator of all these past experiences you see today. If you look at the surface of these experiences, they may look like very different incidents. However if you strip the outer layers, the "how, when, with whom, the what was I wearing and OMG, what hairdo, did I really wear glasses that big?"- bits, you will find underlying the outer drama of each incident to carry a subtle, yet persistent energy. It was either pleasurable, or painful. It can take forms of pain that you may not even experience as pain, but they are pain if you look one layer deeper, for pleasure or pain (not love and fear as is commonly believed) are the base polar opposites in my opinion.

You may find "trapped and powerless" to be your pain, or "helpless and vulnerable". You may find "victimized" to be your pain or "trampled on". There are no real limits to what your personal experience of pain is. Do look for the other side too though. Look for the "free and powerful" moments, the "helpful and strong" bits, you know to balance things out and to avoid deep dark depression over all these painful memories you carry... No, it's not about pushing you into your worst nightmares and letting you sink into the dark abyss. It is about the opposite, about searching for a way to really change what you experience, for I bet, once you have found that common denominator running through all your experiences, be it in the negative, painful way, or in the positive and pleasurable way, you have knowledge that is key to altering things if you so choose.

Deepak Chopra says: "If you wish to experience a different reality, you need to shift your consciousness". I will try to explain what my understanding of this consciousness shift is. As I said above, there are no doubt many experiences in one's life holding the very same energy. Quite repetitive that whole stuff, isnt' it ? - Well I'm always one for change, but I have to admit that amidst the many changes I have initiated and followed through in my life, nothing has really changed, for the pain and pleasure I experience is still the very same as before. It has the same flavor. Mind you, some of you may like the flavor they are living with - nothing wrong with that. I am not telling anyone what they should be doing with their particular flavor. What I am saying is, if you do not like your particular flavor of pain and pleasure, then you have the means to change that. What I am also saying is, you cannot change that which you are not aware of. You cannot shift a consciousness away from one point to another if you do not know where you shift from, even though you may have tons of ideas on where to shift to - at least I do.

The actual consciousness shift is a simple exercise of training your mind  (which ideally has been quieted by meditative practices) to think differently, step by step. In fact, once you are aware of your base pain/pleasure you will begin to see it in every new experience you are making and from there you can shift your consciousness each time into a new "flavor" of experience. Over time, your intent to experience something in a different way will no doubt result in a different experience. Which, you may or may not like in the end, but know that you can always repeat this shift in consciousness and thus try out the new flavors until you find one you really like. I for one never really know what I truly want, so that is a bit problematic, but in my belief, everyone can experience anything they set their heart/mind to and so I experience at least this kind of freedom to always try a new thing.

For those readers that feel my words are "cryptic" and not tangible, I must say that all I offer here is a fishing pole - not the caught fish - for each person has a different experience (type of fish to catch) and needs to go fishing for themselves if they feel like it. :)

The "fishing pole" can be summed up as follows:

1. Most or all your life experiences have a common energy at their base (pain or pleasure)
2. Find out what that experience/energy is, name it.
3. Identify this to be your main belief about life/this world and know that this is what shapes your experiences.
4. In order for you to experience a different reality, a shift in consciousness is necessary. The above identified belief is the point you shift FROM.