Our Daily Bread
Every day is a gift and throughout it we have the opportunity to step into it with greater clarity, balance and joy. It is of no consequence that we miss a great many of them, it only matters that we stay open to them and perhaps find a few. Sure we all can find ourselves aggravated, frustrated or bothered one way or another and to varying degrees at times; but, we also can find wonder, things that fascinate and enliven us, brim with appreciation for being alive and able to experience anything at all. Such acts as these help break the separation we have built between us and ourselves and the world, for there are few things that are of more benefit to us than a regular diet of mindfulness, compassion, graciousness and being actively aware (1) as much as possible.
There are many reasons why this is so, though it certainly does not have to be. We have allowed our light to be occluded by mind. There is no blaming ourselves for this as we did not do this consciously; it happens as a natural result of living. Our minds are built by our reactions to our experiences, much of it at the non-conscious level. How the mind does this is not common knowledge and because of our ignorance we do not lead our children down a better path. As a result our minds develop with false, erroneous, incomplete, vague and conflicting notions. These thought forms weave themselves into complex web of illusions that gradually obscure our own light from us. Essentially we lock our true self in a little room and let our minds run the show.
One of the fundamental reasons this happens is because we do not know who and what we are, nor do we understand the true nature of the Cosmos. Without knowing this we end up stumbling around in the dark with no markers for direction to guide us along. It may seem odd that such knowledge can have such a profound effect on our minds, given the incredible advances we have made in the sciences and technology, yet this remains the case. Sure, we can split atoms and are dissected matter down to it fundamental elements, have been to the moon and back and have sent craft out into and soon beyond our solar system. We have progressed a long way in our understanding of the physical side of our existence, but the inner world of consciousness and awareness are subjective and so they remain a mystery to all save those who take the time to delve within.
Sure, we seem to know what we are doing but it is more a matter of having learned that doing certain things can lead to somewhat predictable results, and we have made adjustments by modifying what we do based on outcomes. But if the results are not consistent then we really do not know what we are dealing with and are going with what appears to be the case rather than what is. One can get away with this for the most part; however, when trying to get to the roots of our lower emotional reactions to resolve them or to develop aspects of our awareness that transcend our physicality we run into walls, roadblocks and dead ends. This is no small part because we try to apply what we think we know about the physical aspects of self to those that are not physical.
A simple example can be found in the mathematical concept of square roots. If we apply the square root function to the members in the domain of whole numbers (which includes both negative and positive numbers) we find that there is no whole number that can represent the square root of any negative number. That is to say there is no whole number that represents the square root of -1. We have defined a solution to this and refer to the solution as a complex number (2), which is a number that consists of an imaginary component. It is the same with mind, in that we cannot unravel it by trying to view it as merely the result of brain chemistry as it is not. This is like trying to apply the square root function to a negative whole number.
While we cannot objectively qualify or quantify the nature of our consciousness, of which our mind is an aspect, we can develop an understanding of it. It just will not be an understanding one can relate to by using their understanding of our physical reality. This has been the puzzle that has fascinated me for decades.
My experiences clearly show to me that we are more than creatures of flesh and bone and that our consciousness does not arise simply because of brain chemistry. Trying to unravel the mysteries of self, consciousness and “the nature of things” has taken me into the rich and wonderful labyrinth of subtle vibrations that we cannot, at least at this point in time, measure with any of our technology. My beliefs do not arise solely out of my experiences; they also come from applying a variety of perspectives including those of the great philosophers and thinkers over the ages, all the major religious texts and my discussions with many about what we are and the nature of our existence. All of this has led me to the conclusion that reality, which includes beliefs about who and what we are, extends further than most believe or are aware of. What comes along with this is the awareness that we have something, a quality if you will, that also transcends physicality. Regardless of what you can call, be it a soul, spirit, pure consciousness or a divine spark for example, we have aspect that supersede our physicality and we must consider it in a different life if we are to understand it.
Over the years my explorations have led me to what I have written about at length. I have strived to see beyond our physicality so that I could understand how all that I have observed and experienced fits together in a way that is consistent and complete at the physical level as well as those that appear to transcend it; though the completeness I am referring should not be taken as absolute. I cannot say that my view is THE view, only that it is one that has clearly shown to me, as well as to many others who have tried to understand and embrace it, that it is one that enables us to work on and develop ourselves and in so doing reveal our previously hidden inner light.
I do not prescribe a “formal process” as there is no process that will work for everyone. We are far too complex and unique for that as are the experiences we have. Further, change is constant so no process regardless of how well conceived will hold up over time. It's like trying to do landscaping while the yard keeps changing on its own. This is why I do not subscribe to processes; however, that does not mean we should abandon the concept completely. The power of a process, if it is a good one, lays not so much in the process itself, rather on the steps within the process. Given that a process is combination of a series of steps, it is the steps involved and how they work together that make any particular process a good one. When things change or you try to apply the process to a different scenario (or person) the process must change as well. This is not dissimilar to why there are a number of ways to do just about anything be it playing a musical instrument or to solve a complex problem.
Instead of focusing on process I have taken a different approach. I focus on two things, skills or awareness’s and steps or perhaps more accurately methods. A skill or awareness is the ability to perform a certain act or knowledge about something. The ability to drive a car requires one to have a number of skills regardless of where you plan to drive it. You need to be able to understand and use the controls individually and together, know how the control affects the car and where you plan to take the car and so on (not that you cannot simply drive it around for the pleasure of enjoying a drive without a destination). As for methods, they are more flexible than processes. One cannot use the same process to deal with every different personal challenge one may have; however one will find that one or more of the methods within a process can, when “properly applied” do what the whole process cannot.
Each situation must be approached differently. For instance, when we are solving math problems we cannot use the same process for every problem; however, we can use various methods either alone or in various orders to solve them. We may understand the nature of a particular problem and so we focus on dissecting the information given and then apply our skills to solve it. In another case we may not understand the nature of the problem and have to use our imagination to get a handle on how to approach it and then apply the skills we have developed to solve it.
To turn a set of methods or steps, and there are many of these one can employ, into a process mechanizes them and simply does not work. Why? Earlier I mentioned that we make adjustments based on outcomes; however, the fact is that if any given process doesn’t work for everyone or in every case then there is something absent or incorrect about it or there are factors that have not been considered. By this I mean that addition would not be valid process if 2+2 could yield any different result than the number 4. If this should occur it shows that the addition is not consistent.
The ability to reason, be transparent, compassion, honest, read, move or transform energy, be in the moment, empathy, telepathy, perseverance and courage and so on are examples of what I mean by skills. Meditation, transforming energy, using one’s sensitivity to energy to “map out a negative energy linkage”, send healing energy and such would be examples of methods. One applies their skills using methods. For instance, sensitivity and the ability to more energy are skills or competencies. If one wants to clear negative energies from their aura they would do so by combining these skills by some method (3).
Considering this in terms of our efforts at personal or spiritual growth (which requires personal growth as well) means we need to have a variety of skills, which we then apply using any one of a number of methods. This is because our minds become quite the tangled mess of thoughts many of which are erroneous or vague. Further, each of our messes is unique to us in that our minds are comprised of thoughts linked by commonalities between them (4) that are not dissimilar to what physicists refer to as “quantum entanglement” (5). The result is a tangled web of thoughts (6) that make it hard to deal with one issue for they are invariably connected to a number of others.
There really are a several ways we go about untangling this web. We must be flexible in our use of methods to resolve this tangle of thoughts. One is learning how our mind works and develops and how our emotions are connected to them. With this knowledge we can examine our experiences and our thoughts and feelings and so on. To do this we need to have the skill or rather an awareness of how our mind works and develops and how our emotions are connected to them. This helps us to reduce both the number of restrictive webs and their degree of connectivity.
Another method is clearing auric field of lower negative energies and keeping it “cleaner”, which we can do if we have developed the skill to work more directly and effectively with our energy. Yet another is to be more consciously and actively aware in the moment and applying our skills towards this end. In this case there are a number of skills one can use such as being gracious, joyous and curious, the ability to focus our attention, being unconditional and non-judgmental, meditative skills and paying attention to the thoughts our experiences give rise to.
All of these methods, when applied, reduce the occlusions that block our light. While you may come up with other points it is, more or less, a prescription for daily living. Here is a list of some of the methods one can employ:
- Consciously examine our thoughts and emotional reactions
- Work on our reactions to experiences as they occur (both thoughts and feelings)
- Clear lower (negative) energies from our aura
- Mindfulness
- Meditation
- Search through our mind to locate thoughts
- Use the energy of an emotion to locate the thought that gave rise to it
- Manifest energy
- Projecting energy
- Exploring hidden memories
- Working through our minds natural editing processes
This is not a long list though the points may seem a little intimidating. Do not let this lead to concerns over whether you can do any or even most of them. They are not independent of each other and in fact many are directly related to one another. For instance, when we are consciously aware of our thoughts we are likely able to work on our reactions to our experiences. If we are mindful we will find it easier to be conscious of our thoughts. If we are consciously working on our reactions to experiences we are likely to also be reducing the lower energies in our auric field. Meditation helps us develop an awareness of our non-physical aspects and our energy, which in turn aids us in developing the skills to manifest energies and clear lower energies. Being able to monitor our minds editing process makes it easier to work on our reactions to experiences.
The various methods feed off of and synergize one another and while there are a number them in the list we can pick one or a couple of them that we feel comfortable with and focus our attention there. It is not an all or nothing proposition. You will also find as you develop your ability to use any one of these methods others you will develop the ability to use some of the other methods. In order for us to use any of these methods for our growth we need to have some fundamental or what I call core skills and awareness’s. This list includes the following:
- Honesty
- Accepting full responsibility for what happens to us
- Good reasoning
- Ability to focus ones attention
- Non-superficial observation
- Develop our awareness of the non-physical aspects of self
- Develop our sensitivity to energy
- Develop our ability to “move” energy
- Being more joyous, gracious and/or curious (7)
- Work on being less conditional
- Reduce the tendency to be judgmental
- Understand the nature of our emotional self
- Learn how our mind works and develops
- Quiet the mind
- Understanding the relationship between conscious and non-conscious thoughts
- Grounding
- Clearing
- Centering
- Being in the moment
This list is long, unlike the previous list, because to use a method requires a number of skills, awareness’s or core competencies. The poor programming of our minds, the judgments and conditionality that obscures our light is a direct result of our lacking some or more likely many of these skills. In addition, they become more effective when one applies them consistently and continually. If we are not honest we cannot observe objectively, our reasoning will suffer and we will not be able to objectively observe our reactions in the moment. Not accepting full responsibility for our lives means giving responsibility for ourselves over to others, which will result in a reduced ability to deal with our reactions as they arise. The result in this case will be more “poor mental programming” and we will most likely manifest more lower emotions such as jealousy, anger, guilt, blame and malice and so on.
Just as is the case with methods, do not be intimidated by the list of skills for it is unlikely very many of us will be able to develop all these skills to a high level. That is the work of lifetimes. Those that appear to be able to do this are likely those who are those people commonly refer to as “very old souls”. So do not dismay, even those who are old souls were once young ones, so to speak, and we all did not start our journey through this stage of evolution at the same time. If you start to compare yourself to others in terms of being “better or worse” at certain things you are creating walls and barriers for yourself. We have enough already without adding to them. Those who are wise do not judge others for their lack of various skills because they know that each person comes to their knowledge in time and no one is better or worse than anyone else. It is only the ignorant that judge others for any reason.
Each day we live gives us the opportunity to develop a skill or skills. When we have them we can use them in various ways (methods) to accelerate our growth. They are the sustenance or in a manner of speaking they are our daily bread and they give us the tools to peel back the layers of illusions that we have build. Doing so clears the occlusions that block our inner light and keep us from being all that we can be.
We can find more harmony and balance in our lives and grow by simple acts. We do this when we take some time out of each and every day to be more conscious and mindful, to “smell the roses” rather than hurry past, to take the time to observe people without judging them, to lend a hand or any one of a number of acts. Do them frequently if you can handle it as this helps develop your skills and you chip away at those occlusions. With time it will make a significant difference. Also, and perhaps most importantly, our non-conscious mind takes its directions from our conscious choices. The more times we act in this fashion and the more focused we are in doing so the greater the difference it makes.
I recommend being aware of the skills we can develop but do not recommend one try to develop all of them at the same time. We develop our personal power by learning to focus our attention so if we spend our energies going in too many different directions we run the risk of never developing any of them to a sufficient level to be helpful. Be patient, loving and as unconditional as you can with yourself as you work on them. Choose the ones that interest you, that you feel you can develop easily or those that you feel with be needed in order for you to achieve whatever you are seeking or to deal whatever issues are manifesting in your life.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step so recognize that you cannot take all the steps at once. Pick your battles as they say and do not waver, do not listen to naysayers and trust your inner self to help guide you, for once you have made a firm commitment to grow you will find that this happens naturally.
© 2013 Allan Beveridge
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