10 LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

I found this and thought I'd share:

Ten Levels of Consciousness

Credit goes to Marriah Star:)



There are 10 levels of consciousness between identifying with (internalizing) your environment or choosing to transform from within by heart.
At the first level of consciousness you identify completely with your environment whether rich or poor, peaceful or warlike, cruel or loving
At the 1st level of consciousness you accept your social and physical environments as they are: You internalize their values and become them
At 1st level of consciousness if you are wealthy you define yourself in terms of your salary, your net worth, your property and rich friends
At 1st level of consciousness, if you are poor you accept that you’ll always be poor. You believe all efforts to become successful will fail
At the 1st level of consciousness, if you live in a peaceful environment you believe that everyone you know lives among peace and prosperity
At the first level of consciousness, if you live in a war zone, you believe you must constantly fight other people for survival or else die!
At the 1st level of consciousness, if you grow up with parents who physically, sexually, and emotionally abuse you, you in turn abuse others
At 1st level of consciousness if you grow up with parents/friends who give you love, support, and affection, you give lots of love to others
At 1st level of consciousness you have no original thoughts or creativity inside you because you are a complete reflection of your community
At first level of consciousness you cannot adapt to changing environments that operate under different principles. Thus, you become limited!
At first level of consciousness you think dreamers and idealists, advocates and change-makers, are fools who have lost their grip on reality
You make your transition from the 1st level of consciousness to the second level of consciousness when you become disillusioned with reality
You begin to enter the second level of consciousness when you realize that the physical and social reality you have internalized is not real
When you enter 2nd level of consciousness you’re surprised by your attraction to being alone so you can think instead of being around people
At the 2nd level of consciousness you identify with your physical environment 90% and become aware that you have an internal environment too
At 2nd level of consciousness you define yourself by your family, your friends, your job, and your property, but you glimpse your creativity
At 2nd level of consciousness you are surprised by the fact that money and shopping no longer make you happy but that giving now thrills you
At 2nd level of consciousness you find yourself attracted to books about people instead of books about things: You want to learn about Self!
At the second level of consciousness you are shocked to realize that if you lose your job today and the money that goes with it, that is OK!
At the second level of consciousness you find yourself wanting to listen to a greater variety of people than just always talk about your job
At the second level of consciousness you begin to realize that a big house is just an empty home, lots of awards are just meaningless titles
At the second level of consciousness you realize that sex is not love, money and power are not influence, your job is not who you REALLY are
At the second level of consciousness you face a choice: Abandon your temporary physical and social illusions, or transform them from within!
When people reach the 2nd level of consciousness some of them quit their jobs, sell their houses, divorce their spouses, go search for Truth
When people reach the 2nd level of consciousness, some of them embrace their current physical reality and place it on spiritual foundations!
You make the transition from the 2nd level of consciousness to the 3rd level when you decide to take time to develop your mind and heart now
At 3rd level of consciousness you identify with your physical environment 80% and start to feel and think for yourself, creating your heart!
At third level of consciousness you become very sensitive to the energies in your body, your heart and your mind. You start cultivating them
At 3rd level of consciousness you allow yourself to cry, feel joy, experience pain, entertain strange thoughts, and see all of life’s beauty
At the third level of consciousness you start developing your artistic sensibilities, your empathy, and your need for spiritual connections!
At the third level of consciousness you begin to put your time and energy into exploring the different sensations of life: You eat and think
At the third level of consciousness you start to explore your physical appetites, your sexual energies, your creativity, and your intuitions
At the 3rd level of consciousness you can sense when people are happy and sad: You can console them and relate to them through communication
At the 3rd level of consciousness you shift from being merely a colleague at work and a neighbor to being a true friend when people need you
At 3rd level of consciousness you shift from being a well-trained employee, living in your mind, to being a human being living in the heart!
At the 3rd level of consciousness you stop reacting to people and events around you. Instead you start acting based on your values and ideas
You make the transition from the 3rd level of consciousness to the 4th level of consciousness when you begin to see that you influence life!
You make the transition to the 4th level of consciousness when you realize that training crushes your personality. You develop unique gifts!
At the 4th level of consciousness you identify with your environment 70% and start focusing more on your unique Spirit, changing who you are
At the fourth level of consciousness you decide what kind of person you want to be regardless of the kind of person you have been or are now
At fourth level of consciousness you decide what your lifestyle will be, what kind of friends you will have, and what resources you will use
At fourth level of consciousness you change your thoughts and emotions to match who you want to be: You practice being mindful and attentive
At the fourth level of consciousness you realize that each second of consciousness counts because every thought you have defines who you are
At the 4th level of consciousness you systematically examine your own thoughts, emphasizing those that are healthy and eliminating the rest!
At the 4th level of consciousness you examine your emotions, feeling in full those that give you joy and eliminating those that make you sad
At the 4th level of consciousness you feel your body, choosing to eat only foods that make you healthy, eliminating the rest from your diet!
At the 4th level of consciousness you look at your daily routines: You keep the routines that make you happy and change routines that don’t!
At 4th level of consciousness you study your habits: Keep habits that are good and remove bad habits from your life to avoid self-judgments!
You make the transition from the 4th level of consciousness to the 5th level of consciousness by discovering your spiritual self within you!
You enter the 5th level of consciousness when you successfully maintain your health + balance. You now have abundant love, energy and ideas!
At the 5th level of consciousness you identify with your physical environment 60% and start spending more time with your true spiritual self
At 5th level of consciousness you’ve entered the 5th dimension: You have expanded from point, to line, to object, to being in time, to being
At the 5th level of consciousness you stop living for other people and you start living for yourself: You offer service based on your spirit
At 5th level of consciousness we spend most of our leisure time meditating, praying, singing, composing, loving, caring, rejoicing, thanking
At 5th level of consciousness you choose to live instead of forcing yourself to live. If you have a job you have a renewed sense of purpose!
At the 5th level of consciousness you make compromises with people so that you can be your true, Higher Self more and your other selves less
At the 5th level of consciousness you stop taking every job that will make you money and start taking only jobs that match your spirituality
At the 5th level of consciousness you apply your abundant love and energy to making a concrete difference in other people’s lives every day!
At the 5th level of consciousness you generate ideas for turning your spiritual being into physical changes and your love into relationships
At the 5th level of consciousness you get your greatest joys from being around people who enhance your loving energy and natural creativity!
At the 5th level of consciousness you dig into yourself deeply in a never-ending quest to know your true, Higher Self, then manifest reality
You make transition from 5th level of consciousness to 6th level when all physical reality starts running parallel to your spiritual reality
You enter the 6th level of consciousness when you put all of your energies into spiritual development and physical realities derive from you
At the 6th level of consciousness you identify with your physical environment 50% and start living a double life, in the world but not of it
At 6th level of consciousness you are in the world, not of it: You show people the physical realities they know, not the true spirit inside!
At 6th level of consciousness you are bridging between spirituality and physical realities: You are a dual ambassador, a great double-agent!
At 6th level of consciousness you are constantly translating between spirituality and various social and physical realities, creating fusion
At the 6th level of consciousness you spend half the time physically manifesting inspiration, and half the time interpreting spiritual signs
At 6th level of consciousness you are a person of many masks, many social roles and identities, but only one true, Higher Self: YOU ARE LOVE
At the 6th level of consciousness you play many games, you learn the rules of systems, and you adapt to each one so that spirit lives in you
At the 6th level of consciousness you identify the right time, the right place, and the right person to receive a spiritual message from you
At the 6th level of consciousness you meditate while working so that you can mediate people’s conflicts and help humanity move toward Heaven
At the 6th level of consciousness you have parallel thoughts in your mind, parallel emotions in your heart, because you are a spirit bridge!
You make transition from 6th level of consciousness to 7th level when you are no longer a spiritual bridge because everyone is now spiritual
You enter the 7th level of consciousness when you create Heaven on Earth with each thought, feeling and action every single day of your life
At 7th level of consciousness you identify with your physical environment 40% and start living from your heart, mind, spirit and soul daily!
At 7th level of consciousness you live from your heart, mind, spirit, body and soul, all simultaneously, as a complete, balanced human being
At 7th level of consciousness you live from your heart by connecting with people, animals and plants emotionally, communicating with energy!
At the 7th level of consciousness you sense what is inside people’s hearts, what hurts them the most, what gives them joy, and you heal them
At the 7th level of consciousness you live from your mind by connecting with people psychically, reading their minds, knowing their thoughts
At 7th level of consciousness you see the thoughts that motivate every action and you help people change those thoughts so they have clarity
At 7th level of consciousness you live from your spirit, connecting with people, animals, plants and energies over vast distances and times!
At 7th level of consciousness you see people’s spiritual paths, their deepest yearnings, and you help them to stay connected to spirituality
At 7th level of consciousness you live from your body, hugging people with warm, overwhelming embraces and touching their emotional centers!
At the 7th level of consciousness you live from your soul, knowing intuitively how the human race is evolving and taking actions to help it!
You make transition from 7th to 8th level of consciousness when you expand your spirit to connect with all energies around you every second!
You enter 8th level of consciousness when you become symbiotically connected to every person you meet, animal you touch, and every vibration
At the 8th level of consciousness you identify with your environment 30% but connect within yourself, with other people, and other energies!
At the 8th level of consciousness we realize that all feeling, thought and action is based on greater and lesser degrees of vibrating energy
At the 8th level of consciousness you learn how to change your vibrations to match the vibration of each form of energy you communicate with
At 8th level of consciousness you are able to sense intense vibrations from very far away: You know when people are in pain or feeling loved
At the 8th level of consciousness you communicate with people and other forms of energy through your dreams and spiritual exercises each day
At 8th level of consciousness you know immediately when you must stop everything you are doing to send spiritual messages to someone in need
At 8th level of consciousness you can influence other people’s actions with your vibrations, somewhat like the Jedi mind trick in Star Wars!
At the 8th level of consciousness you are a servant of Spirit: You use material resources as needed to serve the purpose of awakening others
At the 8th level of consciousness you sense the spiritual needs of each energy in your environment: Their energies enter you, you enter them
You make transition from 8th to 9th level of consciousness when your thoughts and feelings become so strong that they transform every person
You enter the 9th level of consciousness when you walk into rooms and everyone instantly feels pure love, changing their feelings and being!
At 9th level of consciousness you identify with your physical environment 20%. You are becoming pure energy within and you transform others!
At 9th level of consciousness you transform people you meet and communicate with, improving their lives by raising their spiritual awareness
At the 9th level of consciousness you develop a powerful presence that penetrates the being of people you know: You overwhelm them with LOVE
At the 9th level of consciousness your mind, heart, body, spirit, and soul are fused together in a constant state of meditation and praying!
At 9th level of consciousness you no longer see yourself as mind, heart, body, spirit and soul because you are connected with universal love
At 9th level of consciousness you lead social movements, start religions, transform communities, and raise people’s energy levels constantly
At 9th level of consciousness you are a healer, a mystic, a clairvoyant, a psychic, a seer, a prophet, a magician, a fortune teller. Spirit!
At the 9th level of consciousness you generate so much love that people and animals make existence effortless. Work is replaced by pleasure!
At 9th level of consciousness you have millions of “children” from thousands of spiritual partners, people you have inspired with pure love!
At the 9th level of consciousness you spread love, joy, and peace everywhere, creating peaceful communities wherever you go and ending war!
You make transition from 9th to 10th level of consciousness when you no longer have to be in a place for your loving existence to be enjoyed
You enter the 10th level of consciousness when you dream and people’s lives change; you talk and people act; you write and the world changes
At 10th level of consciousness you identify with your physical environment 10%. Your spirit absorbs so much that you feel/act through others
At 10th level of consciousness you can perform seemingly amazing feats of physical and mental activities because love makes you super-human!
At 10th level of consciousness you live in your own spiritual universe: You move and everyone moves with you. You accelerate your evolution!
At the 10th level of consciousness your total being integrates with other people to form a collective spirit: When you act, you act together
At the 10th level of consciousness you communicate with all beings, all energies, on all levels of consciousness simultaneously in pure form
At the 10th level of consciousness your total being absorbs the universe, focusing infinite divine power on all things around you to create!
At the 10th level of consciousness you become God’s magnifying glass: Wherever your attention focuses you spread the fire of inner lightning
At the 10th level of consciousness you are not only a constant enhanced version of yourself, you enhance other people with your loving mind!
At the 10th level of consciousness you project so much energy that the foolish become wise, the poor feel rich, the hungry feel full inside!
At the 10th level of consciousness you can share your love with all sentient beings on Earth, from those in poverty to the rich and powerful
At 10th level of consciousness you become aware of your spiritual mission on Earth: You focus on completing your mission, then transcending!
Once you reach the 10th level of consciousness you can stay connected with the 10% of your physical environment, or you can leave and travel
At the 10th level of consciousness you complete your soul’s purpose for being in physical form. You confront a choice: Leave Earth, or stay?
At 10th level of consciousness, if you decide to leave Earth you enter the 1st level of cosmic being; if you decide to stay you guide Spirit

WHO IS IN CONTROL OF YOU?

Below I've attached a video from a BBC Horizon documentary about the subconscious mind; how much of it is responsible for what we do, what we see with our eyes vs. what our mind 'sees' and how we react to the things of this material experience that send our lives in this direction or that.

There is a definite path to uncovering your subconscious mind and aligning yourself with the seemingly chaotic universe (multiverse) we exist in. This I will tell you from experience, my friend. Once you connect with the sub-text of your life, amazing things will happen.

Please enjoy the documentary:

My question to you, my friend, is this... If we are really driven by our subconscious and are largely unaware of it most of the time, then who or what creates the subconscious urge that manifests itself into a conscious thought and action as a result? Is it really YOUR ACTION that results? Have you ever been watching television and when someone takes a drink on the screen you feel thirsty and reach for a drink yourself?

The trouble with the subconscious is that it's easily influenced through suggestion. The additional problem occurs when the person who's thought naturally becomes the action is not capable of seeing the connection, the origin of the subconscious seed that's been planted. This causes such a person to truly believe the thought is their own and, as such, justifies the action taken as a result.

Most in this society are not capable of seeing the forest for the trees through years of conditioning. Aggressive and manipulative advertising techniques were a part of my life since the day I was born for example...

It takes a shattering of the barriers that have been created in order to make those connections, to clearly see the origin of our potential actions and make decisions based on that understanding. We can always think before we act, but without the understanding of the origin of the urge that leads to the action, we are in a perpetual MINDLESS state as opposed to a MINDFUL STATE.

The next question is, without an external influence on our subconscious, who or what is planting the seeds that ultimately lead to our thoughts and actions? If we have the urge to buy the latest electronic gadget, for example, I'm not sure that seed was planted by the creator. But, I can tell you from experience. Once the hypnotic spell you've been under has been broken, you will find those urges will vanish into thin air. You will have a clearer understanding of the origin of your thoughts and actions by allowing the connection you already have to the creative source to be accepted as fact.

At a certain point in my life, I knew that regardless of what I did along the road to clarity, to awakening, even if it meant the end of this mortal coil, as Shakespeare referred to it, I would make it my intention to have joy and not sorrow at the core of who I am. I then identified every single thing that had at it's end, a sorrowful result such as angry feelings toward myself and others. I set out to understand those feelings, to pacify them and to know those feelings and thoughts as a permanent part of this vessel in which I'm traveling on this journey.

What I discovered in the end was that a joyful existence didn't mean killing some evil part of myself or denying myself anything. It was simply an understanding that nothing is either good or bad, it just is. 

WE OURSELVES, through external influence on our subconscious mind, color our perception of this experience. Cut the bonds of that influence and the clouds will part. All the guilt, and pain and suffering, all the anger,  jealousy and more is present due to a lack of understanding. Find the urge at it's source and it's power over you will be no more.

Seek first to understand this mortal and material experience through your five senses. Once that's occurred, other senses already present will naturally reveal themselves to you.

SICK OF BEING SICK

I don't need to tell you that being sick sucks. Especially when you feel sick all the time. My question to you, my friend, is why do you deliberately make yourself FEEL BAD and perpetuate those bad feelings by doing the very things that cause you to feel bad in the first place? Whether it's eating foods that ultimately make you feel bad, drinking too much alcohol that eventually makes you feel bad, getting not enough movement in your day, subjecting yourself to repetitive bombardment of negativity in the form of twisted television and skewed news media leading to fearful,  judgmental ways of thinking and acting and on and on and on...

I loved being sick. Well, not consciously. I was addicted to it and I hated myself like you hate yourself, again, not consciously. How do I know you hate yourself? Of this I'm certain... You hate your future self. Otherwise you wouldn't be doing to yourself now what will negatively affect the FUTURE YOU. Like pulling the pin on a hand-grenade and throwing it into the lap of your future self, the excess alcohol consumption will result in a hang-over and vomiting, unprotected sex could result in an STD or a baby, over eating and under exercising results in health problems down the road etc. None of these consequences manifest themselves in the moment. They are like seeds planted in the moment that germinate over time without any thought of the effect it will have on the future you.

"Future me?", you say. But I'm the same person. Sorry, you're not. Our bodies are constantly changing, shedding dead skin cells, healing itself from injury, and generally replacing most of you within about a year. Yes, studies have shown that it takes approximately 11 months for you to be a new person from the inside out. We are constantly changing and evolving, both physically and mentally meaning that we are literally not the same person from moment to moment.

The most difficult thing for me to do was to first admit that I was the cause of my own ills and the only one responsible for turning the tide of my own health and happiness. I was, like many, caught up in the medical system, the treadmill of medical care for ailments that were made to  seem more than they really were. 

So I was on this perpetual conveyor belt of GPs and specialists for a list of life threatening (sarcasm) illnesses like the flu, pneumonia, bronchitis, laryngitis, stomach pains, headaches, stress, depression and more that no one could seem to diagnose. One specialist diagnosed allergies, one diagnosed back problems causing phantom stomach pains, one told me it was my diet, one my inability to handle stress, one IBS, one acid reflux etc. And each and every one wanted to prescribe some form of medication that I believed would be the magic bullet, the cure-all. What did it all do? It made me more stressed out, more depressed, and more sick, not to mention addicted to all the meds I had been legally prescribed. It got to the point that I literally sat in a clinic one day, shaking my finger at the doctor blaming her for making me that way.

During my initial period of awakening which lasted from about September 2007 to May 2008, I underwent one massive epiphany after another. What is an epiphany? In the simplest terms I would say it's like that pesky math problem you just can't seem to understand. Why this formula? How did they come up with that answer? You just can't seem to get it to stick in your brain. That is, until someone puts it into terms that you can FULLY UNDERSTAND and suddenly, as if the clouds part, the whole thing makes perfect sense. For me it felt like I had burst out of the water after almost drowning, gasping for that fresh, life-giving oxygen I'd been deprived of for so long. What a sense of relief! You have that, "Oh my God, that is so simple, why didn't I see that before?" feeling of absolute clarity.

One of the epiphanies I had after suffering greatly in the last moments before pacifying my ego, was to realize suddenly that I was SICK OF BEING SICK. I'd had it. I'd finally decided to take responsibility for my own health and happiness. I remember the exact moment... It's now 4 years later and I've been to see a doctor once for a complete physical which proved that I'm in fantastic shape for my age. Sure I've had colds since, but trust me, they are a lot less painful and disappear sooner when you pay little attention to them and allow your body to do what it's designed to do naturally.

Many have asked me since then what the diet was I started, or what plan I was on to quit smoking cigarettes after almost two decades, or how I've managed to stay at 160lbs for 4 years despite eating anything I want. The only thing that changed was the firm decision I made to no longer live in a sick world. Period, end of story. From that moment on, every choice I was faced with that would easily allow me to fall back into that way of thinking, was now met with the clarity I had rediscovered from the Light Inside. No guilt, no feeling bad, just choices based in clarity, not to mention love and respect for my future self. You, too, have the power to make similar choices which will literally change your future from that moment on.

Choose wellness, choose wholeness, choose life...

A LOVELY THOUGHT

Here are some wonderful words from a wonderful man who's writings I admire:

"We few who are brought together by providence to work hand in hand for the divine Message,
are entrusted with the most sacred duty
to spread the Message with selflessness and unshakeable trust
in the ever present Spirit of Guidance".

These very important historical statements certainly refer to the responsibility of each,
in as much as one's attunement to the Message is in harmony with the original word,
without drifting away from the Goal.

Years have passed since our Master offered these significant words,
but his luminous presence is as bright as ever before,
shining as a stream of inspiration,
silently guiding our steps,
and helping us to discover the spirit of the Message,
which is gradually shaping human thinking
in the direction of freedom from dogmatic limitations.

On Visalat Day pilgrims from all over the world come to the holy shrine in India,
offering their devotion and gratitude to the bringer of the 'Message in our time',
whose historical proclamation known as the "Unity of Religious ideals"
has so deeply moved the hearts of thousands, over the years.

Each religion strikes a characteristic tone,
and if all would come together,
alike a religious symphony,
one would then encounter the possibility of a unity of all original ideals,
beyond the boundaries of cultural differences.

As one proceeds onward through the darkness of human ignorance,
steadfastly displaying the torch of "Spiritual Liberty"
one may perhaps discover
that Truth could be interpreted as being an invitation
to incorporate the great ideals of Love, Harmony and Beauty,
when communicating with each other
- in each one's language -
and holding fast to the only secret which there is on the spirituality path,
which is to be sincerely in attunement
to the Divine Spirit of Guidance. 

Hidayat Inayat-Khan

ZEITGEIST

I watched the first of the Zeitgeist movies in 2008 shortly following my own awakening. At the time, the film had only been out for a year. Since then, there have been two additional movies released as follow-ups, not to mention a growing movement connected to the recent Occupy Movement associated with the peaceful warriors of Anonymous.

In addition, a new installment has been announced for 2012 called, 'Beyond the Pale'. These movies are free! They are privately funded and available to anyone. To me that's the true measure of altruism and compassion.

This series of movies is like Michael Moore times 1000. Call it what you want, but regardless of being labeled a conspiracy film, it will definitely make you see things differently once you've seen it. The original Zeitgeist is broken up into different parts. It goes into 9/11 theories, facts about the origins of the Christian faith, the facts behind the war in Iraq, the US Federal Reserve and more. 

I'd recommend it to you, my friend. Watch it with an open mind and it will make you question your own uninformed opinion of many things. If nothing else, it will make you want to go out and try to prove these theories wrong... If so, make sure this is the start of questioning everything you've simply trusted on the 'NEWS' and in the 'PAPER'...

Here is the original Zeitgeist:

The second installment is a bit more out there with talk and an actual plan by the filmmaker, Jacque Fresco, for a system of living based on his own utopian ideals. His plan makes perfect sense, however, it would require such a radical and complete shift in the way the world really works, that it would take generations starting from now to make it happen. I believe we're too far gone for such a plan to be effective.

Here's the full movie for Zeitgeist, Addendum:

The third installment (2011) goes into the science of brainwashing. It describes to the viewer in stark detail how we as a collective society have been brainwashed in a scientific and psychological way since most of us were born. Again, watch it with an open mind and I guarantee it will change the way you think.

Here's the full version of 'Moving Forward':

For the skeptics (that should be us all) here's someone who's made a film debunking the debunking of the original Zeitgeist in the religious section:

There's films are all over the web on every side you can imagine. The key is to watch as many as possible in order to make your own decisions. The best part? When you've read and watched enough, you'll discover the common theme in all of it. That it's the same thing; us as conscious matter trying to figure out what this all is and what it all means.

The sheer multitude of ways we express those questions is what makes us all one. I tend to think of the multitude of ways we express and reaffirm our connections to the creator like those who are slaves to the pharmaceutical industry, popping one pill after another. 

If one particular company that markets a pill had a product that worked, there would be no competition for them because they would have found the definitive cure to that particular disease (dis-ease). 

As it stands, there are just as many companies selling pills as there are believers in a particular pill to provide them with a cure. And of those CHEMICAL CONCOCTIONS we're putting our faith in to 'keep us alive', how many of them CURE you?  If they cured you, those companies would no longer exist which goes against the mandate of the very corporations that manufacture the pills you're taking. We'll talk more next time about the black hole of the Medical System...

QUESTION EVERYTHING YOU'VE NOT DISCOVERED YOURSELF THROUGH RESEARCH OF MULTIPLE SOURCES.

BARAKA AND THE QUATSI's

If you haven't see these movies yet, they are a must see for any spiritual traveler. The first is a 1992 movie by Ron Fricke that's a visual and as a result, an emotional journey from start to finish. Here's a brief definition of the word Baraka and it's origin according to Wikipedia:

Barakah

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

In Islam, Barakah (Arabic: بركة : also Baraka‎) is the beneficent force from God that flows through the physical and spiritual spheres as prosperity, protection, and happiness. Baraka is the continuity of spiritual presence and revelation that begins with God and flows through that and those closest to God. Baraka can be found within physical objects, places, and people, as chosen by God. This force begins by flowing directly from God into creation that is worthy of baraka. These creations endowed with baraka can then transmit the flow of baraka to the other creations of God through physical proximity or through the adherence to the spiritual practices of the Prophet Muhammad. God is the sole source of baraka and has the power to grant and withhold baraka.

Baraka is a prominent concept in Islamic mysticism, particularly Sufism. It pervades Sufi texts, beliefs, practices, and spirituality. Sufism is a movement within Islam that emphasizes the importance of esoteric knowledge and the spiritual union with God through the heart. Baraka symbolizes this connection between the divine and the worldly through God's direct and intentional blessing of those that are most reflective of Him and his teachings.

Baraka is not a state, it is a flow of blessings and grace. It flows from God to those that are closest to God, such as saints and prophets. Those that have received baraka are thought to have the abilities to perform miracles (karamat), such as thought-reading, healing the sick, flying, and reviving the dead. However, according to Abd al-Karīm ibn Hawāzin Qushayri, a prominent Sufi mystic, the use of these miracles and the actual possession of these abilities are not indicative of a saint's status, however, the performance of these miracles by prophets is important to establish credentials.

Below is the trailer for the film:

In addition to this great film please check out Powaqqatsi:

Koyaanisqatsi:

And finally Naqoyqatsi:

WHAT MAKES A WISE MAN?

One of my favorite stories tells of a great teacher who once visited a hermit who lived alone on an island. The great teacher rowed across the water and met with the hermit who was waiting for him on the shore. The great teacher was invited to have tea with the hermit. While having tea, the hermit began chanting the one and only mantra he knew and had been meditating on for many years.

At one point, the great teacher stopped the hermit in the middle of his chant. He pointed out to the hermit that he was pronouncing his mantra wrong. He informed the hermit that if he was able to correct the mistake, he might be able to make great strides in his practice, lamenting that the hermit might have been further along in his practice if only he'd pronounced it correctly in the first place.

The hermit was extremely grateful for the great teacher having corrected his mistake. He recited the mantra again with the great teacher correcting him until he got it right. The two eventually finished their tea and the great teacher excused himself. He returned to his boat and bid the hermit farewell as he set off for the mainland feeling he'd successfully imparted his great wisdom on the hermit.

As he rowed toward the mainland, the great teacher suddenly looked up to see the hermit running across the top of the water to meet his boat. The hermit stopped at his boat with a big smile. He apologized for taking more of the great teacher's time as he stood on the surface of the water next to the floating boat. He then asked the great teacher one more time what the correct pronunciation of his mantra was, adding that he wanted to make sure he got it right so as to make the best of his future practice. 

Dumbfounded, the great teacher recited the proper pronunciation. The hermit then thanked the great teacher with a low bow before playfully skipping back across the top of the water to the shore, turning and waving to the still awestruck man in the boat.

My point is, this practice is yours and the only way it's going to work is if it means something to you at a core level. Use your 'great teacher'; your guru as a sign post, as a resource. Beyond that, YOU are the only one who can feel what you truly feel and think the thoughts you think. It's your journey. It's your quest. It's you who is the savior of your soul. You are the guardian of your true spirit, the light within.

There are a great many people who see the world in a multitude of ways and you are one of them. No one see's the world the way you do. What sets you apart from your 'teacher'? You do. An insight is an insight and does not need to come from anywhere but within you. I submit to you that if you successfully open your own consciousness to be aware of goings-on outside of your selfish bubble, teachers can be found in many more places than a church or monastery.

The benefit of you tailoring your practice to your own feelings and inspirations (an extension of your spirit's will) is that there are no rules for you to follow. There are no precepts, but the ones you decide to follow. Well, no rules except one. If it makes you happy, if it puts you in touch with joy, if it keeps you in a world where there's no difference between tears of joy and tears of sorrow then keep doing it...

This man is a good resource. His name is Thich Nhat Hanh. He wrote a book that I once read called 'No Death, No Fear'. He sees life in a unique way and I found the video below to be a perfect example of that. 

Enjoy!

WHAT IS REAL?

I came across this very cool video of holographic technology. It shows someone manipulating 3D shapes like balls and cubes; rolling them on pieces of paper, stacking the cubes etc. Check it out...

Now here's the million dollar question. Is it real? For that matter what is real? Because we can see it, does that mean it's real? Because we can only see it, is it any less 'real' than those things that we are able to detect with more than one sense? You may say that everything in this world is real, but most of it you can't smell, touch, taste, hear or see and even if you can see it, none of our other senses can sense whatever it is.

So if our sight is the only sense that is able to sense what's in front of us, is it real? The next big question is, if none of our senses can sense a thing of this world, does it exist? It's the old Buddhist philosophical question, 'If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around to hear or see it, does it exist?' Take that further. Is what is around the corner and out of our view still there? Even further, does the world still exist when we close our eyes?

Of course you say. I can still hear the birds outside (or traffic, depending on where you live). I can still feel the floor beneath me. I can smell the baking coming from the shop down the street. So it's definitely real. Right? So what if we take those away? What if we subject ourselves to sensory deprivation? If we deliberately cut out as many things that trigger our senses then what's left. What's real?

What's real is what you give meaning and attention to in any given moment. A flower is not a flower until we make it so. Without the name we've all agreed to call it and our individual experience with this particular thing, what is it?

Similarly, without the name they've agreed to give you and the individual experiences that you believe define you, what or who are you? In this world, this dimension, this experience we're having, we are essentially defined by everything we've done to create the life we have now combined with the various experiences we've had along the way, like rocks in the stream that caused us to change our course.

So year after year of adding the things of this world to your life and changing course more times than can be counted, where have you ended up? Certainly not feeling like the real thing that you are which is pure energy, light and part of the essence that makes up everything in the universe.

I once live in a very noisy downtown environment. I used to walk a friend's dog occasionally. The dog was normally very obedient, very loving and always attentive. But, every time I would take her out for a walk in downtown she would be the exact opposite. She was hard to control, extremely nervous and fearful. I realized after paying attention to her reactions outside vs. inside, that her senses were being bombarded, thus creating a completely different dog on our walks. The most telling thing, however, was when I would walk out of downtown to a peaceful park. She instantly would go back to being calm, loving and obedient. Even with squirrels, other dogs, distractions etc., she was back to being her attentive loving self again.

So I began looking at myself in the same way. I started observing the sheer number of stresses I had willingly added to my life over the years. Where I chose to live, the career I chose, the car I drove, where I chose to drive, where I chose to walk, the tv shows I watched, the radio I listened to, the type of music I listened to, the clothes I chose to wear to express to the world who I wanted them to see etc. All the things I added to my life in order to define myself as a 'real' person and most importantly understanding that if I had chosen certain things to this point, then I could certainly choose other things from this moment on. So I started looking at how I felt as a good gauge. Observing myself as I watched 'Disco' the dog.

I decided that if FEELING BAD upset the balance in any way, I got rid of what was causing it or changed it. Day after day, step by step chipping away at the matrix my choices had created. I canceled cable, stopped listening to mainstream radio (listening to music that neither sticks in my head nor is attached to selling me something or gossiping/judging others), stopped going to the movies, stopped going to malls, stopped going to bars and restaurants, took public transit more, gave myself more time to get places so I'm not feeling pressed, took walks alone in peaceful environments, reminded myself to look up, breathe and so much more on a daily basis. All just different choices leading to different results that literally changes the future!

Without as many distractions, I then subjected my SELF to as much sensory deprivation as possible. However you decide to do this, it's up to you. For me, I've found lying down works best, but not if I'm feeling sleepy. There's no reason you need to listen to those who say you need to sit this way or that or breathe in a certain way or visualize anything at all. In fact this is the exact opposite. You don't want to have any preconceived notions or expectations. You want to be available for what comes naturally.

Rather than setting out to achieve something by doing this, your goal is to pear down to nothing and ALLOW whatever comes to come. I would (and still do) cover my eyes with a sleep shade and put noise cancelling headphones on with generic music that won't cause thoughts or emotions to arise. In fact, I created my own meditation music with programs available to everyone for free and would more than recommend trying it. The key is to make it as generic as possible, even if it's one note for 10 minutes. Your goal is to derail your mind from it's habitual patterns.

I would suggest starting with ten minutes so you don't fall asleep (also, if you do tend to fall asleep then sit up). The more you practice, the better you'll get. The main purpose of this is to wipe your mind of thoughts, stop you from listening to anything your mind can identify with, stop you from seeing things that have meaning attached to them and to literally focus on nothing. If a thought comes, you recognize it and let it go. Like a sign on the highway that comes and goes to a route you've no intention of taking. It comes and goes, then back to nothing. 

I'll talk more next time on breathing and how important it is to life. That may sound silly, but we've forgotten to breathe. Let me just say this. Getting to nothing also involves the ability to ALLOW your body to take in and process oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. Naturally and without you trying. Early on, let's just say that every time you feel yourself being swept away by your mind, take a breath, stretch tall to allow your spine to stretch and your nervous system (the source and transit system of your energy) to flow unimpeded, and relax the tension from your body until you can't feel any of it.

So now let me ask this. Once you wipe your mind of thoughts, can't see or hear anything that means anything to you, and have relaxed every part of your body so you can't feel it, what will be? What will you be? What will you see in your minds eye? For that matter without thoughts, sounds and visions that create obstacles to your true self what thoughts will come when they come? 

Will they have anything to do with the YOU you thought you were? For me, after a few years of daily sessions, my thoughts were becoming more profound and epiphanies about life and the universe and my place in it were coming every time. My view of the world changed and the things I focused on changed. By wiping clean the cluttered chalk-board of my life, what was left over was so much more PURE and I knew it had come from within me without external influence.

Make this your intention and you WILL change what you've convinced yourself is real. As a result your life will change to reflect those new thoughts and realizations. I guarantee it. Once this happens, you'll find and be able to maintain your connection to the source of creative energy in the universe. At this point, even if you've never written or painted or made music, photographed or created anything before, you will FEEL the connection you have lost (but know is there) and you will be urged to express that creativity in ways you never though possible.

Make it a point to see as many creations as you can that help you realize that whatever it is, it was created with a divine connection, a link to the creative force that connects everything and KNOW you are a part of this force. 

Without fear, make it your intention to allow this connection to once again be felt.