Mainstream
science says that the universe is made of matter and energy. We are saying that it is made of matter,
energy and consciousness. – Edgar Mitchell
All matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration. We are all
one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There is no such thing as
death, life is a dream, and we’re the imagination of ourselves. – Bill
Hicks
I remember a conversation
that took place with a student of one of my yoga classes in the early eighties. I had recently returned from a three-month
stint at the ashram in India. I was
babbling on about the importance of “consciousness” and she stopped me to ask,
“Consciousness of what?” I don’t remember
exactly how I replied because it seemed so obvious to me that I was talking
about awareness itself regardless of any particular object.
Consciousness in and of
itself is a hard concept for many of us to grasp. Like any valid concept it points to something
real beyond the word, beyond the symbol.
It refers us back to the immediacy of experience. We have no experience, no knowledge, no
thought nor emotion without being conscious of it. Consciousness is a primary ingredient of any
experience, even a scientific experiment.
I just recently returned
from the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) conference. IONS takes the study of consciousness
seriously and supports research based on this new paradigm of a conscious
universe. This includes Dean Radin’s
research on parapsychology, Bruce Lipton’s on epigenetics, Lisa Rankin’s on a
more holistic approach to medicine, J. Ivy’s use of poetry to open new
awareness, new findings and theories in physics, as well as traditional wisdom
as presented by Toltec teacher Don Miguel Ruiz and West African Priestess
Luisah Teish. The basic idea is that
scientific methodology and the mystical methodologies of consciousness exploration
can compliment each other. The overall
energy of the presenters and participants was so high that I kept slipping into
states of meditative ecstasy.
There are different ways of
approaching the study of consciousness. The
yogic or mystical approach is the most direct.
Its methodology is to dissociate from mental and sensory objects to
experience a state of transcendent oneness.
Unfortunately, this approach is so entirely beyond the scope of ordinary
scientific endeavor that the two cannot be connected. This might be best illustrated by the
experience of Dr. Eben Alexander who had a spontaneous mystical experience
facilitated by a seven-day, near death coma.
Dr. Alexander went into a reality of beauty, joy and unconditional love
that completely overwhelmed his mind.
Because such experiences are beyond our usual realm of perception they
are often relayed in terms that seem nonsensical. They’re not so much nonsensical as
non-sensory. Materialist pundits such as
Bill Maher have gone out of their way to mock certain elements of his
description of his experience. Mockery
and demeaning however are simply the techniques of bullies who fear that their
territory might be in threat.
Another approach is that of
Radin’s who does serious research on parapsychology, i.e. the effects of
consciousness upon matter and energy.
Actually it goes beyond that to evidence the existence of a collective
mind-energy which influences our experience.
There is serious evidence that telepathy (mind to mind communication
across space and time), remote viewing, psychokinesis, etc. actually
exist. Unfortunately this area of
research is underfunded and subject to ridicule from establishment bullies. It seems to pose a serious threat to the
Newtonian-Cartesian paradigm.
Yet another approach is neuro-psychological. We can study the effect of spiritual practices
on brain functioning and human behavior.
Multiple studies have shown the positive effects of meditation practices
on brain functioning. Unfortunately this
leaves out the essential ingredient of consciousness. True meditation is about recognizing and resting
in consciousness itself. However we can
measure to a certain extent whether meditation practice has a positive effect
on psychological development. There is a
great deal evidence to support this.
Meditation practice “catalyzes development” in the words of Roger Walsh
MD. It improves health, slows aging and
supports cognitive functioning.
Unfortunately many people think that meditation is something difficult
and foreign. Meditation is really about
enabling us to relax into our own essential being.
Thinking can be difficult
and even exhausting at times. Meditation
is simply disconnecting from thought in order to reset and reboot our mental
and physical energy. As Richard Miller,
Ph.D. suggested, perhaps we should divest of this whole mystique of “meditation”
and simply talk about “resting in being.”
Unfortunately, whatever words we choose there is an enormous room for
misconception. Being is so simple, so
present, so easy to overlook that we often miss it in our everyday
preoccupations.
