 |
consciousness
Consciousness is defined as: spirit
animating matter
apperception of personal
presence
state or condition
of being conscious
awareness of, and, or
sensitivity to
surroundings
Consciousness
has always seemed to be separate from the physical animal body because
when life leaves the body
consciousness leaves the body as well.
Consciousness is, in fact,
the Force that motivates Life.
Consciousness and intelligence
are not synonymous.
A computer is intelligence,
it is not conscious.
An ant is conscious, it is not
intelligence.
Intelligence is a cumulative process
of discernment and
judgement.
Evolution of
Consciousness
Humans, as a species, have
been to transitioning from a lower forms of
conscious
awareness into a higher form of conscious awareness since the beginning of
the Axial Age when
Siddhartha Gautama
acheived Nirvana.
Those transitioning find themselves to be
separated from experience -
an observer experiencing events
and objects standing outside of self.
The moment we see self as
The Observer we
naturally attempt to re-engage
presence-of-moment reality
to become
intimately re-involved with reality.
The Gap,
between observing reality and immersion within reality, is an
artificial division
cleaved by the Rational Mind.
In non-dualistic awareness there is no
such gap; there is
only intimate being, an opening
to and participation in what is.
This is
participatory awareness and
living in the
moment.
This is being
"Integrally Conscious."
"Integrally Conscious" is living in the moment in
participatory
awareness.
To be Integrally Conscious is to be
Walking the Thinspace.
Walking the Thinspace is living both as
the "observer" and as the
"actor" - a joining of the
Rational, that vast storehouse of bodily
memory gained through life experience, with
the Mystical,
abstract intellectual knowledge learned
through symbol systems of
communication.
Different cultures have come up with different terms
for Living Lucidly.
True
Liberation or integral consciousness carries with it many terms including
Nirvana,
quantum consciousness,
fully awakened,
participatory awareness,
Christ consciousness and
Buddha
consciousness.
Contemporary neurological research has discovered
distinct brainwave patterns that parallel
each of the states of consciousness identified.
To understand the multilple levels of
human consciousness Jean Gebser identified five progressive stages in the
evolution of human consciousness; archaic,
magical, mythical, rational
and integral consciousness.
These five progressive states of
consciousness may be experienced by each and every human being but to do so one
must jettison cultural conditioning.
In an
archaic
consciousness mode humans experience themselves as one with nature and with
all of life in a form of Unity
Consciousness.
As consciousness continues
to evolve humans start to become conscious of distinctions, such as
male and female,
good and evil, and
inside and outside -
a consciousness of magical
duality allows differentiation.
Eating from
the tree of knowledge of
good and evil is a metaphorical way of saying that our earliest ancestors
began to develop a consciousness that recognized polarities - duality.
They could no longer maintain
their initial state of union with the Creator.
This is further symbolized by their
leaving the Garden of Eden.
This step in the evolution of consciousness
allows humans to begin to gain mastery over the polarized world of duality that
they now experience.
"In this magic structure, man makes the almost
superhuman attempt to free
himself from the
jungle-like bonds and spell of his fusion with nature. Here lies the basis
of all sorcery and magic - rainmaking,
ritual, and
countless other forms by which
magic man tries to cope with
nature". - Jean Gebser
Millennium later
mythical consciousness gradually
emerged.
Humans, discovering the depth of their internal world
elaborated on and shared their
new awareness through the telling of myths.
The age of mythmaking
arose simultaneously in various parts of the world.
Myriad myths such as
the Ramayana and Mahabharata in India, the
myths of ancient Greek
civilization, and the myths passed on in all indigenous cultures revealed
the nature of the soul and its
journey.
Mythical
consciousness no longer prevails, nevertheless, it still
influences.
Each new mode of consciousness overlays its predecessor.
The older structures still live within the current structure, just as
older parts of the brain continue to play an important role even after the
development of the frontal cortex.
Archaic, magical, and mythical forms
of consciousness influence us today although they have become overlaid with a
fourth structure of consciousness that has been emerging for millennium,
rational consciousness.
Rational
consciousness, focused on
measure and logic, objectifies
reality.
Rational
dissociation slices reality into three disparate parts;
subject is detached from
object, humans from nature and
from one another.
We alienate ourselves from that which
we objectify.
But
rational
concentration has come at a
great cost.
Since the eighteenth century
Age
of Enlightenment, there has been an excessive reliance on reason at the
expense of other ways of experiencing
life.
"Faith in reason has led to
a fragmentation of the
individual, a devaluing
of the body and of feeling, to a complete negation of all structures of
consciousness other than the rational." - Allan Ajaya
When we live solely in the rational
we lose our experience of
participation in the
numinous, which the
mythical form of consciousness brought forth.
In
rational dissociation
the mythic structure
residing in the subconscious functions as the
collective
subconscious affecting us through
dreams and
metaphors rather than having
a central place in our
conscious life.
At
the height of human
rationality the effect of earlier modes of consciousness were denied,
however, since Carl Jung
showed us who we really are,
depth psychology has revealed the enormous influence
magical and mythical
conscious structures still have in our everyday lives.
This
recognition signals a shift out of dissociated rationality to
a more inclusive
awareness.
Each
consciousness structure gradually evolves over millennia.
That which is observed is now
experienced as an object.
The
seat of observation, the mind, is now identified as "I'.
The object is seen as
separate from oneself, to be manipulated for ones ends.
This
approach to life is epitomized
by the engineer, who attempts
to shape and dominate
reality with calculations, and
attempts to engineer our
lives.
The observer focuses on the object
rather than on the observing.
This attention on the object
leads to the notion of objectivity.
One forgets that his is one of many
perspectives.
He believes his perspective
is the true way of seeing - he is being objective.
Identification of ones own perspective
with the shared perspective of society leads to the disdain of other
viewpoints.
Objectification of reality,
a technique, made possible the art of science.
During the last
century physicists dismantled the notion of objectivity.
That which is observed is affected by
the very act of observing, rather than being independent of it.
The way that we experience reality changes
dramatically depending on which structure of consciousness
predominates.
Those
operating in lower modes of consciousness can not understand the operants of
higher modes of consciousness.
A new form of consciousness
has been emerging since the beginning of the Axial
Age that goes beyond rational dissociation.
The previous structures of consciousness were exclusive; functioning in
one mode, you could not simultaneously experience other forms of consciousness.
Newly emerging aperspective or integral consciousness, as Gebser called
it, encompasses awareness of the operation of previous forms of consciousness.
According to the
ancient traditions of India, consciousness is self existent.
It
does not arise out of or depend on anything outside of itself such as time.
It is not
evolving; it has always existed and is inherently complete.
It is
the capacity of the human being to function from this form of consciousness
that is evolving.
The writings of
contemporary developmental psychologists suggest the way consciousness develops
in each person from infancy through adulthood recapitulates the way
consciousness has collectively evolved.
Margaret Mahler, a British psychoanalyst, has
described an initial stage in which the infant experiences a sense of oneness
similar to that of the archaic consciousness.
The developmental
psychologist, Jean Piaget, found that magical thinking develops between ages
two and four.
Piaget concluded that the culmination of cognitive
development in contemporary society occurs in adolescence with
the acquisition of abstract reasoning,
which he called "formal operations."
This corresponds to rational
consciousness as defined by Gebser.
Recently
cognitive theorists have extended Piaget's model of human development and have
described a further stage in the
development of consciousness, beyond abstract reasoning.
The
evolution of the stages of consciousness described by Gebser is also reflected
in the way that spiritual practices have changed over time.
The rituals
of the early Vedas and Tantric practices appeared the earliest.
These
are both expressions of the magical structure of
consciousness.
Followers of these traditions use ritualistic magic to
gain mastery over the natural and supernatural world as well as to burn through
the world of appearance and merge with the source of manifestation.
The
Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas, which bring into play mythological stories
that help the listener to experience his true essence as well as
how to conduct himself in the world in
harmony with his divine nature, came much later.
The historical periods of evolving
human
consciousness have lead to the development of unique practices in each
period.
Each of these
approaches has the potential to lead to an awakening out of that mode of
consciousness.
It would be incorrect to assume that practices that
arose in one era are inferior or superior to those of another era.
The
practices that emerge from a particular structure of human conscious can have a
range of effects including the transcendence of the ego
identity.
The progression of humans through successive
consciousness structures is a means of developing reflective integral
consciousness.
It
allows reflection on existence in distinct and comprehensive ways.
Consciousness becomes progressively more
conscious of itself.
As consciousness evolves through archaic,
magical, mythical, and rational structures, it becomes increasingly able to
marvel at itself and this existence.
Integration of these modes of
consciousness into waking awareness allows reflection on the
awe inspiring manifestation
and its source.
Whereas we know conscious thought
occurs
in all higher animals,
frequency is debatable.
 |
|
 |
This web site is not a commercial web site and
is presented for educational purposes only.
This website defines a
new perspective with which to engage reality to which its author adheres. The
author feels that the falsification of reality outside personal experience has
forged a populace unable to discern propaganda from reality and that this has
been done purposefully by an international corporate cartel through their
agents who wish to foist a corrupt version of reality on the human race.
Religious intolerance occurs when any group refuses to tolerate religious
practices, religious beliefs or persons due to their religious ideology. This
web site marks the founding of a system of philosophy named The Truth of the
Way of the Lumière Infinie - a rational gnostic mystery religion based
on reason which requires no leap of faith, accepts no tithes, has no supreme
leader, no church buildings and in which each and every individual is
encouraged to develop a personal relation with the Creator and Sustainer
through the pursuit of the knowledge of
reality in the hope of curing the spiritual corruption that has enveloped
the human spirit. The tenets of The Truth of the Way of the Lumière
Infinie are spelled out in detail on this web site by the author. Violent acts
against individuals due to their religious beliefs in America is considered a
"hate crime."
This web site in no way condones violence. To the contrary
the intent here is to reduce the violence that is already occurring due to the
international corporate cartels desire to control the human race. The
international corporate cartel already controls the world economic system,
corporate media worldwide, the global industrial military entertainment complex
of America and is responsible for the collapse of morals, the elevation of
self-centered behavior and the destruction of global ecosystems. Civilization
is based on cooperation. Cooperation does not occur at the point of a
gun.
American social mores and values have declined precipitously over
the last century as the corrupt international cartel has garnered more and more
power. This power rests in the ability to deceive the populace in general
through corporate media by pressing emotional buttons which have been
preprogrammed into the population through prior corporate media psychological
operations. The results have been the destruction of the family and the
destruction of social structures that do not adhere to the corrupt
international elites vision of a perfect
world. Through distraction and coercion the direction of thought of the
bulk of the population has been directed toward solutions proposed by the
corrupt international elite that further consolidates their power and which
further their purposes.
All views and opinions presented on this web
site are the views and opinions of individual human men and women that, through
their writings, showed the capacity for intelligent, reasonable, rational,
insightful and unpopular thought. All factual information presented on this web
site is believed to be true and accurate and is presented as originally
presented in print media which may or may not have originally presented the
facts truthfully. Opinion and thoughts have been adapted, edited, corrected,
redacted, combined, added to, re-edited and re-corrected as nearly all opinion
and thought has been throughout time but has been done so in the spirit of the
original writer with the intent of making his or her thoughts and opinions
clearer and relevant to the reader in the present time.
Fair Use Notice
This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has
not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making
such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of criminal
justice, human rights, political, economic, democratic, scientific, and social
justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such
copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In
accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For
more information see: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to
use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond
'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. |
 Copyright
© Lawrence Turner
All Rights Reserved
|