Expanding into higher consciousness
(Embracing a Universal Perspective)
By Leon Lewis, Spirit of Ma’at Magazine, April 2012
https://www.spiritofmaat.com/apr12/expanding_into_higher_consciousness.html
In my previous article in the February 2012 edition, I explored the subject of consciousness beyond conditioned thought, and emphasized the importance of attuning to the natural environment and honoring universal principles in support of a deeper relationship with all of life.
The subject of higher consciousness and the associated realms is infinite and may be interpreted and experienced in as many ways as there are self-aware entities. In this and further articles I aim to draw from the experience of my personal journey with the purpose of inspiring others to reach more deeply into realms beyond the limitations of societal conditioning. The inspiration for my written work comes from aspects of my inner guidance, with no exclusive allegiance to any particular creed or dogma.
‘Expanding into higher consciousness’, briefly stated, describes the process of becoming one with the Source; completing the current evolutionary cycle, having gained experience that contributes to all of life. This journey is about progressively embracing Oneness. It does not necessarily imply that mastery has to be attained within all realms in order to live as a spiritually aware, universal being.
However, as implied in my previous article, the journey of conscious evolution does entail releasing (or healing) the limiting aspects of our conditioned existence, some of which include subconsciously motivated tendencies regarding our attitude and behavior. The journey involves enjoying the gifts and beauty that our earthly experience offers us and embracing the lessons that we receive from our lower nature. Nevertheless, it is also necessary to work with those aspects of the lower nature that might once have served us and now no longer serve, so that they might either be released, or transmuted and integrated – by choice. If not consciously worked with, unexamined tendencies can develop into what might be understood as compulsive behavior, or the creation of comfort zones beyond which it becomes progressively difficult to remain balanced and fulfilled.
Releasing the nature of being conditioned (including the inclination to subscribe to the culture of control) initially creates a vacuum that we are challenged to fill with new experience as we ascend the ‘ladder of awareness’, so that we align with the greater and more expanded aspect of our being – that which I refer to as the higher nature (and which some describe as the higher self). The higher nature (or higher self) is you, but ‘more’ of you.
I use the term ‘higher nature’ to convey the image of the expanded, inclusive self, which is connected to the Source of all of nature. This includes the nature of who it is that we are in this lifetime and beyond; in other words, that which we might describe as the eternal ‘soul self’. Therefore, the experience of the higher nature characterizes the evolving experience of the soul self in its awakened state, as we achieve this connection from our current perspective.
The deepening of the connection between the higher nature and the soul (or super-conscious) realms, and between the lower nature and the dense (or subconscious) realms is part of the goal towards which evolving consciousness aspires – via the bridging nature of the heart, which animates us and allows us to express who we are and aspire to be, with love, joy and dynamism.
Therefore, in becoming a bridge between realms, we are continuously challenged to release ourselves from the shackles created by conditioning that effectively holds many within society in a state of hypnosis. Empowerment involves change, upon change, upon change. That which resists the tide of evolution becomes stagnant and looses momentum – ultimately leading to a state of disempowerment.
The early steps require deliberately and meticulously becoming aware of each aspect of conditioning, and then actively releasing it; in so doing releasing ourselves into a freer and more expansive state of being. This journey, however, involves taking upon ourselves new and higher responsibilities – for freedom and responsibility are intricately linked. We cannot exist within our expanded, eternal state without exercising the choice to love, to care, to understand, to be mindful, and to practice compassion and discernment.
These are some of the contributing attributes that open the portal which beckons us onwards into a broader acceptance and experience of our universal nature; that we might thoroughly immerse ourselves in that which we came to explore as our birthright; in that which each soul has yearned to know – each doing this in their unique way. ‘Uniqueness’ characterizes and motivates the journey within the third dimension, and that very quality is diminished by many of the societal norms which pervade.
The act of embracing this new level of responsibility and experiencing the opening of the portal to ‘the beyond’, signifies the event of the conscious connection with our higher nature – or soul self. This is a significant initiation, a great celebration, experienced and described in different ways within various spiritual traditions. This initiation signifies expansion beyond superficial cultural boundaries. As we release limiting beliefs and reach through this portal into our greater, inclusive self, we remember and begin to experience ourselves as truly universal beings.
The journey through the portal involves the opening of the heart and an amplified experience of love. It also involves an enhanced perception of light and life, beyond that which is generally experienced from the perspective of the third dimension. We recognize that we are of that light and that the light is ‘of us’. This might be described as the light of Soul, the light of balance, or the light of unity. In truth, one of the great miracles of being self-aware lies in discovering the nature of the link between love and light within the context of our lives.
A key to understanding this process is that graduation through the portal is not about leaving something behind. It is about soul development, in which we retain the facilities that have been acquired within our lifetimes. We unite these facilities with those aspects that could not be expressed through us as material beings and therefore had to be left ‘in abeyance’. Thus we ‘re-member’ ourselves as expanded beings, within the sphere of enhanced experience that we have attained.
In recognizing and acknowledging this new experience, it becomes a beacon and progressively replaces our illusory third dimensional beacons. As we recognize the beacons presented to us in the context of our higher consciousness, so we have the opportunity to remember, and to weave their qualities into our every thought, word and deed. Our every-day experience and activities change, of necessity, in order to support this experience of expanded awareness.
We then naturally embrace areas of radical personal change, which includes our various practices and interests. We might choose to dedicate more time to solitude and adopt practices that support the understanding of particular aspects of life more deeply. For, the highest pursuit within the realm of our current experience is its in-depth exploration. Thorough involvement with the universal environment becomes our guiding practice. In exploring density, the subconscious mind and the diverse aspects of life that surround us, we discover who it is that we are as universal spiritual beings.
In taking these progressive steps, we engage opportunities that ultimately lead inwards towards to the attainment of Oneness (or unity consciousness), which is the balance between all things. We become balance. From having been entities who explore and study opposites, we become the resolve, we become the solution – we become unity. Unity consciousness surrounds our universe; encompasses our universe. It is therefore available to us, as a parent’s love is available to the child.
In the state of unity consciousness we touch what might at best be referred to as the inner or ‘unspeakable’ realms, from where we are able to bring into our experience the change that we become – our knowing, our increased love, compassion and desire to create.
As we focus again on our outer day-to-day life and apply that which we have acquired, or remembered, our magnetism changes. Our energy changes and our abilities therefore change. Our attitude broadens enormously and thereby brings about a shift in our sense of inclusiveness. We are then also able to infuse many of our activities with conscious love – activities that previously might have been habitual. In doing this, our ‘beingness’ expands far beyond the physical body, so that we radiate as we involve ourselves in that which we recognize as our higher calling.
It is our birthright to be embraced by and embrace higher consciousness and, in so doing, bring forth our essence as universal creator beings.
Leon Lewis