I got my first pair of glasses when I was 10 years old. I had very poor eyesight, and getting glasses was nothing less than a boyhood miracle. I could see!! Trees had leaves! I could read street signs. I could see the chalk board at school. When I went duck hunting with my dad I could see the ducks. Now I could play baseball...I could see the ball! I was so enthralled with my new glasses I wore them to bed for the first week or so. They were my most prized possession.
Well, you get the picture. For me it truly was one of the great moments of my childhood. Forty eight years later I had laser surgery performed on my eyes and for the first time in my life I could see as well as anyone. This was not quite as miraculous as that first pair of glasses but still was quite fantastic.
I've always been enthralled with sight, with observing. Binoculars and telescopes still remain a wonder to me. It is not uncommon while walking with the dogs down by the river that I'll stop and gaze, enthralled, with some display of wondrous light, or some phenomenal color from a thistle, or the flicker of a butterfly among the verdant green beneath the trees. Ah yes, sight, vision. What a miracle, is it not?
And yet... and yet, there is a greater vision we can behold. Insight. An inner vision. An inner awareness. A growing, evolving, illuminating consciousness. Trees not only have leaves, they have spirits! Ducks become beautiful testimonies of vibrant life. And when walking down by the river, other visions appear. One can "feel" the energy of trees. One considers what visions a butterfly might have as it flits along. And in addition to seeing the verdant green beneath the cottonwoods, one can sense an entire living world just beneath ones feet. And one can, on special occasions, experience all boundaries of "self" dissolve and one becomes ONE with all living things, with the earth itself. These are just a few of the incredible joys of experiencing higher consciousness. The Cosmos awaits. And it can be ours to experience.
THE CONSCIOUSNESS CONTINUUM
Consciousness is not an either/or condition (unless you are dying!). And consciousness cannot be segregated into two simple states, one being higher and the other lower. No, consciousness is rather like a sliding scale, or a continuum. Most humans (I estimate about 85%), experience life almost exclusively in survival mode. Survival mode consciousness would be at the lower end of the scale. Those few truly enlightened ones, spiritual masters, and guides would be at the upper end of the scale.
There was a social, almost myth, going around for quite a few years that humans were going to be elevated to a level of higher consciousness as the result of some unnamed cosmic process. Who knows, perhaps it will happen, the cosmos is a complex and strange place to live in after all! However, I lean more toward the gradual development and evolution of consciousness. At any rate, that I can post such things as this on any social media is a testament to our changing consciousness. More and more people are actively engaged in developing their own awareness, mindfulness and consciousness. It appears that individual achievements in this regard add to the overall well being and progress of the whole of humanity. This is certainly cause for hope.
Steemit plays a role in this advancement of human consciousness. The interaction between Steemians within the blockchain platform using cryptocurrency as an exchange medium is really rather remarkable and extraordinary. Steemit is a fascinating evolutionary development in modern history. I think, ultimately, this form of communication, and social interaction will be one of the contributing factors for change in the world.
A good example of this is the current crisis in Nicaragua. @cicicastor (may she be safe and blessed) lives there and is somehow able to continue communication with us here on Steemit even though the government has shut down all social media and cell phone use. And there were similar instances of people within Syria and Venezuela doing the same thing. Humans talking to humans without the filter of media or government. This is the hope of freedom.
Anyway, back to consciousness: each of us chooses what level of consciousness we will live by. Gradually, oh, so gradually, we create a cumulative movement toward higher consciousness. Every choice of who and how we shall be is of great consequence, and all of our choices reverberate through time. Every choice, every step toward freedom and personal development and higher consciousness is recorded permanently in the essence of the Cosmos. Gradually we are "getting there". Can you not dream or conceive of a world where we are free from dominating forces that seek our enslavement and cooperation in holding up the elite and those who control us? This is one of the destinations of higher consciousness: personal freedom, abundance, and loving compassion and cooperation. Are we not, here on this Steemit platform, moving in that direction?
Well, there is much more to discuss in regards to consciousness. I'll do the best I can in helping us move in that direction, fool that I am.
Many blessings,
Mister Mercury
What beautiful moments these are. And Im fascinated by this hive like consciousness on Steemit - how we are all learning and supporting each other yet we cant physically 'see'. I do wish to teleport though to give @cecicastor a hug or swap books with you!
I feel you on this one, and understand that there is not a super power that will shift our consciousness. It is our own consciousness and efforts that can allow layers to blossom or unfold.
I also like that you're mentioning the connecting and woven tapestry of consciousness through the blockchain. I feel like this is really a level up!.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Absolutely. A new paradigm is being created by us, the Creators, one of the highest levels of consciousness: To life and sustain life and knowledge and each other. Many blessings.
Very articulately written my friend, and also put forward in an accessible way. I totally agree with these sentiments, we are consciousness gradually expanding and refining. It's a funny interplay between the individual nodes and the collective as a whole.
Indeed, as we grow in consciousness not only do we develop our own self-responsibility, but we also grow in awareness of others which includes not only fellow humans but plants, animals and what we term "inanimate' objects. Our consciousness expands within and without, so to speak.
Blessings upon your head @phillyc. Hope you are well.
I also appreciate how incredible it is that we can be having discussions like this on a global platform that no government can shut down AND that the level of consciousness that we're coming from at we discuss it is a kind that's pretty rare to find in daily life. It takes a lot of work to cultivate a community of people who can meet one at this level of discourse. We are very fortunate people for our times in many ways.
Yes, indeed we are!
When I take the time to deepen my mindfulness of Steemit I do sense a greater purpose and meaning than simply a peculiar platform for bloggers. I think Steemit is a pivotal and essential step toward the future of expanded freedom and consciousness.
Many blessings.
I suppose I must be among the 80%. I can't say I've ever experienced a time where I saw beyond the physical manifestation of whatever was before me to the energy or spirit within.
However, I do believe there are spiritual creations with physical appearances, and that all of these have some level of energy within. I have no doubt that they can be perceived.
Other than observing, and potentially being elevated in consciousness through the observing and hopefully gaining understanding through it, what would you say is the main idea or purpose behind seeing beyond the physical into the spiritual or into this energy? What does that do? What is the ultimate end or reason for it?
Balderdash! my friend you are among the 5% I am sure.
Love your questions. I'll attempt a thoughtful reply.
First of all, I have not "arrived", however, it seems I am on a journey and am simply sharing what I experience. One thing i am coming to understand is that I am part of the vast Consciousness that is All things. This may be a leap for a good LDS person, but Christ spoke of being part of the body of the Father. Anyway, looking for the source of consciousness within my mind would be like looking for an orchestra in a radio. Ultimately we humans experience. It seems our function, as part of the whole, is to live... to experience, to become more and more aware until finally our small ego self realizes that we are part of a greater Consciousness, part of Light, Love, Source, Intelligence. When we know this we are considered to be enlightened. We don't just understand this process, though it is certainly essential (understanding), but we Experience the Oneness with pure Consciousness.
I appreciate the strangeness of these concepts to one steeped in the theology of Christianity, specifically the LDS Church. Our individual spirits are, from my understanding, part of the Spirit of the Cosmos, or God, or Source... whatever one may call It,.. the I AM. What I am saying is that Source experiences life, through us.
But why? What is the purpose of all of this? Oddly enough, the key is in the Book of Mormon: "There must be opposition in all things". Life cannot exist without opposites. Nothing exists without opposites. You and I must choose between opposites. I choose the light, as do you.
Well, I hope I've not blown too many of your fuses. I appreciate that you even ask. That is a behavior of the 5%.
Oh, and it is said and written that God is Love. So what then is Love? I think it is FAR more than just an emotional commitment to deeply care and connect and serve. It is LIght, and Intelligence, and pure Consciousness. It is the opposite of pure darkness that place or state where there is no vibration, or frequency, or light or love, or intelligence. Our task then, it seems to me, is to move toward becoming pure light. We add to the essence and depth of the One.
Many blessings.