Can Expanding our Consciousness Change Everything?

Let’s be honest, most of us don’t think about being conscious—it’s simply part of us.  However, in a discussion about Consciousness, two questions may arise.  First, is it possible there’s more to consciousness than we currently know?  And second, if there is, what would cause us to want to know more?  The goal of this article is to answer those questions.  

In terms of thousands of years of human history, the life span of a human being equates to the blink of an eye.  From the perspective of our modern world, it’s hard to appreciate what life was like for our ancestors even a few centuries ago.  The point is, while we can read about life in former times, our experience of reality is limited to this life.  This life is the foundation on which our conscious awareness is based.  The amount of change created by humanity over the last 350 years is unprecedented.  However, it was only a few decades ago that the accelerating rate of change fully entered our conscious awareness.  Through direct experience, we started becoming aware of the ill effects of rapid change.  The pace of change continues to accelerate despite the destabilizing forces it creates.  Which should prompt questions like: Where are we going?  And what legacy will we leave for future generations?  But the limited perspective of our present consciousness makes those questions difficult, if not impossible, to answer.  And yet, from this limited perspective we create the future of tomorrow—through the actions we take today.   

We are rapidly reaching a turning point.  When the limitations of a sensory based consciousness will no longer sustain humanity in an environment of well-being.  The driving forces of modern society—bigger, better, more of everything—are not sustainable.  And the cracks evidencing the strain are everywhere.  On a global scale, we continue to witness tensions among geopolitical ideologies.  People are increasingly divided within their own countries.  This division has seen a trend toward electing “strong-man” leaders around the world.  People want strong leadership but misplace their trust in self-absorbed individuals. With time, the self-serving agendas of these “leaders” will only serve to impoverish the lives of their followers.  The present world has become largely money centered.  Enticed with the notion of deserving more, people are indentured by large amounts of debt.  Meanwhile economic inequality is rising rapidly—as wealth becomes concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer.  We face monumental challenges from global warming and climate change.  This holds potentially dire consequences for humanity.  While the solution of Green Energy is exhibiting its own limitations and consequences for the environment.  Fear is widely used to manipulate our thoughts and motivate us to act.  This stems from news that is inherently negative and focused on the ills of our societies.  The effect heightens individual stress and anxiety—often without people even being aware of it.  The combination of these present conditions contributes to a decreasing sense of well-being common to humanity worldwide. 

So, what’s the answer?  It’s simple to say, but not as simple to do—we must teach ourselves something new.  Most human beings are unaware of the inherent, untapped potential within their consciousness.  For thousands of years, limited numbers of human beings have been exploring and documenting this potential.  However, for most of humanity the ability to expand one’s consciousness has gone undiscovered.  If we look at human history, there’s a pattern that keeps repeating itself over and over.  This pattern arises from a conscious awareness that’s limited to the perception of the world around us.  The future depends on learning that conscious awareness is not limited to our physical senses.  

As individuals, each of us must make choices.  However, we often don’t realize our choices are limited to what we know.  Whenever we encounter information that is new to us, it’s perfectly natural to raise our guard and question the value of that information.  This is what prompts us to ask questions like—what and why.  For instance: what’s in it for me?  We may also be asking for proof.  In the case of: Why expand my consciousness?  There’s a subtext to the question that’s essentially asking for proof.  These underlying, and often subconscious, questions are connected to our reliance on external sensory input.  What we can see, hear, touch, taste and smell, constitutes the information on which we base reality.  When we are presented with new and unknown ideas the underlying expectation is to be provided with some means of tangible proof.  That’s the intention of this article—to provide common sense explanations and methods that you can use to experience what I’m sharing—for yourself. 

Early in my journey, I heard this quote: “The quality of your questions determines the quality of your life.”  As my path unfolded, the power of questions was proven again and again.  I experienced firsthand how better questions changed the quality of my life.  When we allow ourselves to ask questions, we simultaneously create the space for those questions to be answered.  However, living with an awareness that is limited to our physical senses means the questions we ask are also limited to a sensory based reality.  And this limits serious consideration of the larger questions in life.  Questions like: Who am I? What’s my purpose? or What am I here to learn?  While we might think we have answers.  From an expanded view, conscious awareness that’s limited to the physical senses is incapable of discovering the deeper answers to these questions.

Quantum Physics has observed that physical matter reduced to sub, sub, sub-atomic levels, diffuses into waves and particles of light.  This suggests that light underlies the building blocks from which the appearance of physical matter manifests.  Since we cannot see this light with the naked eye, it leads to the sensory illusion that we live in a purely physical world.  This limited awareness is the single biggest barrier to recognizing the potential to expand our consciousness.  Luckily, we can skip over the whole conundrum of trying to visualize solid matter as manifesting from light.  Instead, we can expand our consciousness by turning our attention inward and beginning to connect with the inner-self.  As our awareness of this inner dimension expands, we begin to experience a sense of internal guidance. Drawing on this expanded awareness, we are motivated to refine our actions in daily living.  Which improves the quality of our lives, and directly influences the interaction between ourselves, our loved ones, and those around us.

The above provides a glimpse into the potential benefits of expanded consciousness.  However, before I get ahead of myself, we need to talk more about sensory input and how that poses the single biggest barrier to expanding our consciousness.  First, I want to acknowledge the importance of sensory input.  Virtually everything we know and do in life—depends on the information we receive from the world around us.  But from an expanded view, our reliance on sensory input places limits on our conscious awareness.  Without even realizing it, we naturally make all kinds of assumptions that are based on external sensory impressions.  Like believing our existence is bounded by a purely physical world.  Or recognizing, that sensory input focuses on our differences.  We assume that race, color, sex, age or religion, to name just a few, make us different—allowing those differences to divide and separate us.  Our sensory perceptions become ingrained, resulting in fixed mindsets that drive our actions.  Perceiving ourselves as separate reinforces the idea that to be in control, we must control the environment around us.  This is what leads to the problems and deep divisions among a diverse humanity.  Beginning with the individual and extending to groups, nations and the global community—the majority of our actions are based on the underlying perception of separateness.

It’s almost impossible to imagine any other interpretation—when everyone experiences the same sensory impressions and makes similar assumptions.  For the vast majority, a sensory based reality begins at birth and continues to the end of life.

To be clear, I’m not saying input from our physical senses is bad.  I’ve already stated, it’s a vital aspect of our being.  But there are limits to how far sensory data can take us.  For instance, many believe technology holds the key to our future, but technology relies on sensory input to innovate and evolve.  Technology solutions are focused on meeting the needs of a customer.  At issue here, is coming to the deeper realization that conscious awareness extends beyond the limits of our senses.  As long as our attention remains focused on the world around us, we will never discover the full potential of our consciousness.  From an expanded view, our greatest teacher is Life.  What can we learn from our lived experience?  What can we learn from the consequences of our actions?  Have we learned everything Life has to teach us?  If, as individuals, we were to seriously consider these questions, then the potential to expand and transform our consciousness becomes a real possibility.

So, what haven’t we learned?  Lots!  But for our purposes here, the big one is we haven’t learned to tap into the inner-self.  And the reason for that, as we’ve discussed, is our awareness is dominated by input from our external senses.  We live in a world characterized by dual realities.  From a sensory standpoint, all that we see is the physical side.  This generates the kind of awareness that separates us from one another.  From the wisdom cultivated through inner awareness, we come to see another reality.  One in which we are not separate.  One in which we are reliant on each other.  A view that bases our survival on respecting the right of all people and inhabitants to coexist on the planet.  Coming to this awareness eclipses the notion of dual realities.  And leaves us with a deeper understanding of Consciousness—that manifests as one reality.

The act of turning our attention inward is unnatural.  This is because our attention is focused externally by our senses.  The result blinds us to the hidden potential within our consciousness.  From an expanded view, it all begins with something we’re already familiar with—our Ego.  We often experience it as a voice in our head—that inner awareness of a continuous stream of thoughts.  Sometimes referred to as our personality—ego resides at the root of our sense of self.  Search the internet and you’ll find lots of references.  Here’s a couple: The main difference between Attitude and Ego is that: Attitude makes you different from others, while Ego makes you alone from others. ~ Anonymous.  And: You can’t become the master of anything until you become the master of your own ego. ~ Napoleon Hill.  However, despite all the pop-culture references, the connection between us and our ego is largely subconscious.  Without question, ego is an essential part of our being.  However, as we begin turning our attention inward, we start to realize ego is only one aspect of our inner dimension.  While ego is the primary driver of our current conscious awareness, it operates within limited parameters.  For starters, ego is the central processor of sensory input from the world around us.  The ego-mind focuses our attention outside of ourselves, which leads to that sense of separateness.  This also leads to being reliant on external sources for information and knowledge.  This sensory driven experience is the foundation on which our understanding of life is built.  But our senses often can’t detect a larger picture.  It wasn’t so long ago that our senses perceived the world as flat.  Or, that the Sun revolved around us.  Through the invention of telescopes and microscopes, we extended the observational power of the naked eye.  This has greatly expanded our understanding of the properties within the physical realm.  However, it has not allowed us to extend our awareness to realities beyond the limits of   sensory perception.

Our physical senses continuously receive new information.  It’s the ego-mind that sorts and stores this constant stream of sensory input.  It selectively scans for incoming information that confirms our existing beliefs, values, memories and interests.  Information that doesn’t match, is not brought to our attention.  Ever have the experience of seeing something repeatedly, but not really paying any attention to it, until one day it suddenly enters your full awareness?  This is one way the ego-mind protects us from receiving information that’s not relevant—until it is.

So, how is understanding ego pertinent to our discussion?  First, by realizing the ego-mind is focused on processing the information gathered through our physical senses.  The natural process of directing our attention outward results in effectively limiting awareness of our inner dimension.  Second, is becoming aware of the ego-mind’s selective sorting process.  In short, ego acts like an algorithm—it seeks out data consistent with our stored values and interests.  And shields our awareness from input it deems irrelevant. And third, is realizing how much of the ego-mind’s functioning is going on beneath the level of our conscious awareness.  This also offers some insight into a much deeper subject.  How our beliefs and values are shaped by the experiences and people to whom we’ve been exposed throughout our lives.

Certainly, the operation of the ego-mind is highly complex.  But even becoming slightly more aware of its functions has benefits.  Take, for example, how ego evokes the emotion of fear.  Relying on sensory input, ego constantly scans for anything that might pose a danger.  This is part of our hard-wired instinct for self-preservation.  When ego senses we are in danger, it triggers the emotion of fear.  On one hand, this instinctive response may keep us alive.  On the other hand, ego is unable to distinguish between real and imagined danger.  So, for example, those with a fear of heights may experience feelings of fear when looking down from a tall building, even though there’s no danger of falling.  Or, if the practice of meditation is new to us, ego may again trigger feelings of foreboding or hesitancy.  In both cases ego senses danger, whether it’s from a previous experience with heights, or in the latter case, because meditation is new and represents an unknown.  The point is, neither of these examples pose real danger.  Yet, ego triggers an emotion because it is unable to distinguish between real danger and that which is imagined.

Consider how the ego’s ability to generate fear affects our choices.  Real danger is usually obvious—our sense of fear is often paralyzing.  But fear is known to wear many masks.  A sense of concern, resistance, foreboding, or even anger, can be masks for underlying fear.  While we may not recognize these feelings as fear, they can still elicit strong reactions that influence the choices we make.  Fear, or the feelings that mask it, serve as powerful barriers to stepping beyond our known reality.  In this way, the ego-mind plays a significant role in suppressing any interest we might have in considering new information.  Information like the ability to expand our consciousness, for example!  Knowing more about how the ego-mind functions allows for the opportunity to find ways of working around these barriers.  For instance, by learning to tune into our feelings, we can begin to identify the source.  Is the source of the feeling real? Or is it fear that’s being imagined by the ego-mind?  We’ll talk more about this in a future article.    

Over time, as my inner awareness expanded, I began thinking of ego as the lower-self.  By turning our attention inward, we not only increase awareness of ego, but we also begin to sense another aspect of our inner dimension.  For ages, humans have used words like: God, Lord, Creator, Spirit, (and many others) to describe an unseen Higher-Power.  A power that lies beyond the physical dimension—a power that we believe is separate from us.  As my awareness expanded, this unseen Higher-Power evolved into what I have come to think of as the higher-self.  The higher-self is that hidden, undiscovered aspect of our consciousness.  In the second article, we discussed the spectrum of Consciousness as it manifests in all physical matter.  From an expanded view, Consciousness is the embodiment of an omnipresent, omniscient Higher-Power.  The point I’m making is the One—that ever-present, all-knowing source of all manifestation—expresses itself as the intelligent energy we refer to as consciousness.  As human beings, we are gifted with the highest level of consciousness that manifests in physical form.  Through choosing to explore the inner-self, we discover the path to expanding our conscious awareness beyond the limits of a sensory based reality.  When we choose to step beyond those limits, it’s possible to expand our awareness all the way to a Oneness with All that Is!  The One is not separate from anyone or anything. Rather it is the embodiment of All.  The Evolution of Consciousness refers to a journey of expanding awareness that extends all the way to the realization of the One—our true self.  And points to the latent, but inherent potential within every human being to expand and evolve their consciousness.  I invite you to take some time to reflect on these words.

Despite having revealed some extraordinary information.  I recognize how easily the ego-mind could reject this expanded view as nothing more than words on a page.  And that’s why it’s so vitally important that we talk about the difference between information and something we know is true.  To truly know something, we need the element of personal experience.  Without personal experience the line between information and knowledge becomes difficult to discern.  In today’s Information Age, it’s harder than ever to separate fact from fiction.  News and social media platforms abound with information being presented as fact.  When much of it is simply someone’s opinion.  Or worse, it’s information designed to intentionally mislead and manipulate our thoughts.  From a practical standpoint, how are we supposed to distinguish between what’s being said, and the truth?  The reality is it’s almost impossible.  Unless we can apply some form of personal experience.

Fortunately, we’re discussing conscious awareness.  Something we all have and can use to verify personal experience.  In this article, you’ve been given some information and now you need a means of validating the information.  Remember, to convert information to something we know requires personal experience.  To gain experience, we must initiate some type of action.  In my case, the actions I took relied on a combination of external information and an inner sense.  For instance, I’d heard about meditation, but didn’t act on it until I had the thought that it might help with my fear of public speaking.  Combining information with action produces experience.  Through direct experience we can confirm or deny information coming from external sources.  This allows for personal verification of something new, rather than accepting information because we heard it or read it.  Allow me to recap this important idea.  Stepping beyond our known reality often starts with new information.  But proving the new information is true requires validation through personal experience.  And that can only come from initiating some kind of individual action.  As you experiment with this process keep an open mind and pay attention to the experiences created by your actions.

Through sharing my experiences, I’m attempting to point out not only the potential to expand our consciousness, but also how one can take the information and know it through personal experience.  I’ve explained the limitations of sensory input.  How the operation of the ego-mind focuses on external sensory information.  Which directs our attention outward and minimizes awareness of our inner dimension.  I’ve also pointed out that information is just information until we can confirm it with some type of first-hand experience.  Acquiring experience depends on initiating individual action.  This action should not be thought of as a ‘one and done’ process.  Rather it takes multiple actions to validate information through personal experience.

So, what are some ways of confirming the information offered here with personal experience?  An easy way to start is to look for evidence of any of the expanded views we’ve discussed.  Once revealed, many expanded views are obvious, even to the casual observer.  And, despite everything I’ve said about the limitations of sensory input, it’s easily the fastest method of converting information to something you know—by seeing it with our own eyes. 

Another way is to invoke the power of questions.  Here we want to think about questions that challenge our assumptions about life.  It might be something I’ve said that challenged your beliefs.  Write your question on a piece of paper and read it out loud three times.  Then wait.  Hold a positive expectation that your question will be answered.  Be patient, and don’t be surprised if the answer comes in an unexpected way.  The answer to yes or no questions may come almost instantly.  If your question is one of the big ones like: Who am I? or What’s my purpose?  The answer to these questions will come but may take longer.  Also be aware the answers to the bigger questions may evolve as your conscious awareness expands.  This method potentially offers several types of experience.  First, is simply coming up with a question that challenges one of your assumptions.  Second, is writing your question down and reading it out loud, then trusting that you will receive an answer.  A third type of experience is how one feels after receiving an answer!

Yet, another way of creating new experiences is by turning your attention inward.  The practice of meditation is a direct path to the inner-self.  In a future article I’ll provide more information on meditation.  In the meantime, meditation doesn’t require formal training to begin benefiting from the practice.  Find a quiet space.  Sit comfortably in a chair.  Place your feet flat on the floor.  Let your hands rest comfortably in your lap.  Take several slow, deep breaths.  Feel your body relax.  Close your eyes.  Try to remain perfectly still for 5 to 10 minutes.  You’re going to have thoughts—that’s okay.  As thoughts arise, shift your attention to the body… feel the tension slipping away.  It’s important to let go of any expectations for an outcome—just be in the moment—aware of yourself and your surroundings.  The effects of meditation are subtle.  After meditating daily for a few days or weeks, see if you notice any subtle changes in yourself or your surroundings?  Meditation requires discipline and patience.  But persevering sets you on an unfailing path to expanded conscious awareness.

The suggestions above are stepping-stones for converting information to first-hand, personal experience.  Note that all require the initiation of individual action.  As humans, we are constantly in motion.  But most of our actions are intended to support the routines of daily life.  We use actions to maintain and perpetuate a reality that is known to us.  Thinking about acting on new information can be disruptive to our comfort zone of known ideas.  To act on any of the information offered in this article requires courage.  Expect the ego-mind to unleash feelings ranging from doubt and apprehension to outright disbelief and foolishness.  Yet, the only way to uncover new truths is through action.  To that end, it may help to simplify the elements of action and how we use them to expand what we know.  Consider the following:  Every action produces a reaction.  Reactions are the consequences of actions.  Becoming aware of the consequence of an action is the foundation of experience.  Experience is the cornerstone of learning.  And learning is the basis for knowing.

To illustrate the point, let’s use a simple example like learning to swim.  We begin with the premise that humans aren’t born knowing how to swim.  As we develop, we become aware that people can swim by observing others.  We’re at the information stage—we know what swimming is, we’ve seen others doing it.  But can we learn to swim based solely on this information?  No.  To learn to swim requires us to act—get in the water, learn to relax, hold our breath, and believe we can.  Actions, along with the corresponding consequences, build our knowledge through experience.  As this happens learning progresses.  Once learning reaches a level of proficiency—we know how to swim.  If we think about it, we apply this same basic formula to how we learn and come to know many things.   

Summary

As I said at the outset, most of us don’t think about being conscious—it’s simply part of us.  We aren’t aware of how the ego-mind functions or how this largely subconscious aspect of our being limits our choices.  As we’ve discussed at length, the ego-mind relies on sensory input and naturally focuses our attention outward.  The perception from looking outward—leaves us with the impression of being alone—separate from others, and all that surrounds us.  From this vantage point, we conclude that our survival depends on doing whatever is necessary to sustain ourselves.  We act!  Out of all the inhabitants on the planet, we humans are uniquely equipped to act on our thoughts.  The play of our actions can be observed in today’s headlines, and just as easily viewed throughout human history.  Upon close examination, our actions reveal a pattern of behavior.  What’s the pattern?  It’s the result of a perception that we are separate from each other and all else.  This effectively limits the thoughts that drive our actions and consequently results in a history that repeats itself over and over.  In the immortal words of Albert Einstein: “No problem can be solved by the same consciousness that created it.”  Can expanding our consciousness change everything?  From an expanded view, the answer is an emphatic—Yes!  The challenge is how?

That question has been the theme of this article.  Hopefully, I’ve given you enough information to appreciate the ‘how.’  But maybe there’s another way to put the whole idea of expanding our consciousness into context.  A popular theme of TV and movies has been to portray human beings with superpowers.  Now, the myth that we’re only using a fraction of our brain’s capacity has been proven false.  Yet, we continue to be fascinated with the idea of being superhuman.  What if, rather than thinking in terms of brain capacity, we were to focus on how we’re using our brain?  Think about the limitations we impose on the brain when our reality is limited to the input of our physical senses.  What if we were to use our brains to focus on methods of expanding our consciousness beyond the limits of our physical senses?  Simply becoming aware that we are not using an inherent, untapped aspect of our consciousness means we have NOT reached our full potential!  Which further implies that by choosing to tap into our full potential we could achieve a kind of super-humanness.

Ask yourself, what is the one thing you truly control?  If you’re thinking yourself—then you’re on the right track.  The first step is coming to the realization that—you and I—can go from taking our consciousness for granted, to proactively choosing to expand it.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  The idea that we can expand our conscious awareness—isn’t new!  Throughout human history, Prophets, Saints, Mystics, and many ordinary people have not only realized this truth, but they have also documented it!  Still, for the majority of human beings this potential remains undiscovered.  Now, if nothing I’ve said in this article has resonated with you—that’s okay!  There’s a time and a place for everything.  On the other hand, if you’ve felt a connection with this material that’s a good sign.  You may be ready to start working toward expanding your consciousness.  From me to you, know that I’m here to assist in supporting your journey.  Feel free to reach out with your questions, concerns, thoughts and observations. 

Some final thoughts…  You may not realize it now, but Consciousness is what connects all of us, and not just us, but EVERYTHING!  The whole world benefits from every person that chooses to expand their consciousness.  It not only enriches your life, but also the lives of your loved ones, and all the people with whom you interact.  And your actions play an even bigger role by contributing to a positive shift in the collective consciousness across the planet.  With a sense of urgency, the time to act is NOW—for yourself, for the planet, and out of love for all!

From my heart to yours…  Thank You!!