Awareness Series Part 3
Energy Awareness and the Path
The idea of one purposefully setting about to enhance or develop their awareness is a topic I have touched on in a number of essays. One of the main purposes of the Twin Powers material is to help people do so. It is an area that many people are interested in and one that can bring significant benefit to people. In the past, the knowledge or secrets of awareness were generally kept hidden for a number of reasons. There were some "valid" reasons though a significant number of them were selfish and I believe most of them no longer apply. There was a fear that if people knew how to do certain things that they could cause harm for themselves and others; however, as I mentioned in a previous piece, the world is not in great shape and I feel the potential harm from sharing the knowledge is outweighed by the benefits.
At the same time there are certain cautions one must be made aware of in order to keep from causing themselves harm. I will begin this piece by saying that sensing or being aware of energy is the first step towards conscioiusly working with it. We all already work with energy, we just do not do so in a directed fashion so we are not able to reap the benefits of it.
Before getting into it I want to make it very clear that you should not want to develop your awareness for selfish reasons such as it's cool or for power or to attain what you want or that people (including yourself) would be impressed or to try to exert influence over others. This, as Obi-Wan-Kenobi would say, is the "dark side" and leads one down a potentially harmful path. It should be avoided at all costs and it can be avoided with awareness of what to look out for, how to proceed and where one's intent is properly focused. This phrase from "The Cosmic Doctrine" sums it up well....
The man who desired power would obtain vanity. To obtain power he would have to desire the qualities which confer power - strength, foresight and wisdom. The man who desires power builds for himself the consciousness of the vain egotist. The man who desires strength, foresight and wisdom builds for himself the consciousness of power.
As the statement says, one does not pursue power for that power can consume you. And the caution is not just in terms of one's conscious thoughts and desires for it is our thoughts at non-conscious or subconscious level that have the greatest impact.
There is a reason why those who sought what the quote suggests have focused on clearing lower selfish "I" thoughts and the resultant emotions. They know that they must work to develop their emotional capacity for compassion, devotion, sympathy and affection even as they nuture and build up their ability to love ALL unconditionally which empowers their deeper spiritual self's.
Awareness is not a trinket to display or a toy to play with, though certainly one can "play" with their awareness so long as it is playful rather than "I" or ego based. If you do not have the gift in a strong enough form that it manifests actively in your life then it is for a reason, the most likely being that you don't need it for this lifetime or are supposed to develop the qualities that enable it.
Whether one wants to be more empathic, telepathic or even to feel more connected to the world and people around them the path is the same. The generally recognized stages for development are:
Neophyte
Initiate
Adept
Master
We start as the Neophyte. In this stage we are very curious and even intrigued by the world around us. We are exploring, reading, exposing ourselves to new ideas, awakening our curiosity and will feel drawn to new ideas. One finds themselves drawn towards mysticism, ancient religions, shamanism or mythology as ones sense of origin and history take on a whole new meaning.
Nature and the world around us starts to become more alive and we want, even feel a need to learn. This is the stage where we start to develop a keen sense of understanding and love for earth and all her inhabitants. This is not a matter of merely thinking or saying the words, it is that of beginning to realize that the thinking self, the "I", is not us.
It is in this stage that we start to develop the tools and discipline needed to work on our issues so that we can silence our restless rational mind and begin to heal the pain and suffering that our ignorance has had us holding onto for such a long time. These being the old thought forms, conditioning and beliefs that keep us separate from the world around us. One begins to discover that they do not have to be any particular way and that we can change this and create ourselves anew. We start to see that there are many layers, like that of an onion and we start to peel them away, some of which we have carried for lifetimes.
One starts to meditate or learn Ti Chi, yoga or one of the similar techniques that give us some basic skills in peeling away the layers of the onion. The neophyte does not clear the issues, they are becoming aware of them, they are realizing that the "I" they know is not them and seek to move past this into a greater awareness.
The next stage is that of the Initiate. It is during this stage the we begin to free our Inner Child, the innocence, that being the love, trust and spiritual light that resides within each and every individual. This is the stage where we start to move beyond books and outside actions. We must actively work on our issues that keep our Inner Child locked up behind the blocks and filters that we have built up. This is mandatory; we must begin to reconnect with our true self, with our innocence, love and trust.
Athene Raifael stated that:
One can only discover and remember who they are as spirit by going back to the core of the child within that they are. Those who do this have the opportunity not only to heal themselves and the child within, but also become their own best friend for life.
During this stage we find that studying our soul and beginning to work with our chakras and energies are the greatest tools we can acquire. This stage has many cycles where we peel away one layer only to find another. It can be disheartening yet it is necessary that we percevere for this is the only way to sustain our awakening. We must not focus on the goal such as becoming more aware or developing power, we focus on clearing what we perceive and doing so with the knowing that we are freeing our Inner Child, that part of us that is pure and innocent and loving. We are learning to open and heal the heart.
There are many places within us that need this clearing and healing which is why the stage has many cycles. We must pay attention to how we think and feel and work through what is presented to us. We may encounter setbacks, which are tests of our determination, intent and resolve. We must continue work at until they are healed and integrated as best we can. In this stage we are changing our patterns of thinking and through this we are able to start to create our new personal world.
Once the heart is open and our innocence is returning we progress to the next stage, that of the Adept. Being an adept does not mean mastery, it means that one has studied and now understands "some of the Universal, Cosmic and Divine laws that govern the path of enlightenment". One has healed and know the Light of Love and have done a degree of service to that love that allows you to move along the divine evolutionary path of light.
The Adept has accepted, and I mean total acceptance, their initiation and adheres to it as the major process that will always be with them. The Adept must have let go of former notions of who and what they are and accept this fully. There is no other way.
There are cycles of initiations for the Adept as well. And as you proceed through this stage you understand that the various initiations are a tool for advancement and your intution is guiding every phase of your life, in fact you know you cannot live without it. You are becoming more familiar with all your senses working together and not just the outer ones.
Being an Adept means accepting the responsibility to yourself to live the truth of light you have discovered, it means walking the talk even in the face of fierce opposition from the forces of materialism and survival. In this stage we learn to strike a new balance between our spiritual needs and our practical ones. It is like walking a new tightrope, one on which we must balance and one which we must master. You begin to see the bigger picture and align yourself with it. Your journey becomes exciting and more exploratory as you develop the skills to manifest balance.
The throat Chakra and causal body is where we manifest and the Adept understand that this is where the Law of Action and Reaction, or cause and effect occur. It is not about the prestige of the title of "Adept", rather you become the teacher and an example to others while working to balance your spiritual and personal needs.
At this stage one may still doubt or be uncertain, yet you continue to answer to the spirit of life and love both within yourself and without. You understand the importance of "sacred mantras and affirmations" and find regular occurances where you are actualizing as much as possible. One still may find fault with themselves expecting that they have cleared the issues they encountered earlier in their development; however, an Adept is not free of the issues that they worked on as a Neophyte or an Initiate. These lessons are like the onion, and the layers of poor programming and conditioning will still surface and need to be worked through and past.
This is the stage where one realizes how alone their spiritual journey really is for none can walk it for us. An Adept can still fall down and lose their balance, they can feel they have failed or are not worthy. Yet, if they renew their intent and remain determined, they will work through these as well. One must learn to love themselves without conditions, to accept that dark nights will occur and that if they are persistent they will find rewards and inspiration that lead them to new heights of love and compassion.
The final stage is that of the Master. I am not referring to Ascended Mastery nor is it a stage that one tells themselves they have obtained, it is one they are told they have obtained by other Masters or other "beings" of higher levels. Each stage including that of becoming a Master can be done in a lifetime, this does not apply to becomign an Ascended Master such as Christ or Buddha. Such as them have also been through the cycles of Mastery to attain this level of awareness and have become discarnate, that is not bound by the wheels of karma. Being a Master means that one takes more responsibility for their spiritual truths and values which helps them to not only express it in their lives, it also helps them to express it and share it more readily with others.
Each stage has its key growth elements. These elements are part of every stage though some are more important than others depending on where one is as some need to happen before others in order to progress along the path. If you feel the push to develop your awareness you must work through these stages. We begin by starting to "look within and up rather than without", by building our awareness of the universal oneness that connects all things. One works to clear the blocks and filters that keep them locked into the "I" which keeps them separate and they begin to align themselves with the Cosmos rather than the self.
The next step is paying attention to ones thoughts and feelings and recognizing the as aspects of the "I" and one develops their sense of purpose in aligning with the greater whole or oneness. There are no shortcuts in this process, no way to avoid the tests and challenges ones life presents to them.
Each challenge must be seen as such and recognized for what it is, a step towards knowing ourselves. Some will rise to a certain level and will go no further, not because they cannot rather because they have not connected their personal goals with that of universal principles which truly is the most challenging of all. If one continues to see themselves as a separate "I" their work will not bring the results they seek for enlightenment is not the path of ego or vanity or personal wants, it is the path of acceptance of Universal or Cosmic will rather than our own. One is the vessel of expression and not the expression itself.
The Twin Powers material was written to assist those who seek. The Concepts section contains the ideas of self that one must have in some form, and not necessarily as I have suggested, ones that help one to recognize who and what we are. One must begin to realize what the "I" is, and how it works in order to begin to move past this view of self. The Growth Fundamentals are written to make you aware of those thoughts, be they beliefs or ideas that keep us locked into the "I" version of the self, so that we can recognize them, which we must do if we are work through them as they arise. The Spiritual Development section covers one way of pursuing our growth through silencing our restless and relentless rational mind and the Exercises are referenced from the appropriate essays to give you some tools to work on bringing the awareness into your waking consciousness.
While I truly believe my method works it is far from the only method. At the very least, it can give you ideas you can use to examine whatever method you have chosen or are already following. The principles are the same regarless of what path you walk. My advise to all those that seek is to consider what I have suggested and to begin to examine yourself with a rigorous vigour that may almost seem like that of the zealot, though without the personal desires that term contains.
Start to meditate, take up Ti Chi or on of the other practices that help one to learn to find the silence of a self without the thinking or rational minds interference. Align yourself with love and light and caring and compassion for all, including yourself. Work on your sensitivity to and awareness of the energy and to the flow of forces in and around you. Do not be concerned with where you are an the path, that focus will bring in your ego and will keep you in the "I". And remember that all the gifts in the world, be they empathy or telepathy or healing will not give you Mastery, this can only be obtained by what is probably the single most important task.... KNOW THYSELF.
© 2011 Allan Beveridge
