2.3.5 The transformation of consciousness. 

 Since we in the West know so little of the transformation of consciousness, which is the natural goal for each one of us, we lack both the framework and the terms of reference to articulate the experience. This, in part, is why it is difficult to describe the successful experience of meditation. Nonetheless, the benefits are substantial and indeed, in their full significance, immeasurable.

Whilst these benefits cannot be spelled out, pointers can be provided for a consciousness experiencing them, giving a framework within which to understand them. This is to be found in observing the passage of thoughts during meditation. After a time, when the work has begun to develop and mature, it becomes possible to experience the following.

One learns to focus the attention on one’s breathing, and is able to monitor its duration and frequency. At the same time, one has learnt to halt the flow of fantasy, to end a particular stream of thought at will. One is sitting quite still, the breathing quiet, relaxed and natural, and one is able to move the attention from the breathing to the stream of thoughts at will.

This is a position of great ambiguity, and many wonderful experiences are possible in this state. It is very difficult to concentrate on the breathing for sustained periods; always the thoughts drift off. Equally if one exercises self-discipline and ends the stream of fantasy by becoming aware of what one is thinking, it is very hard to restrict the thoughts to one’s breathing.

In that experience of pivoting between arid fantasy and pure clarity of awareness of breathing lies the seed of profound transformation of consciousness. If one continues in this practice of alternating between simple awareness of the present moment and exercising conscious control over the flow of thoughts by simply ending the current thought, one gradually becomes aware of a different type of thought. This is a product of the sixth sense, insight or intuition.

These thoughts are quite different from the thoughts of ordinary consciousness. They are not a reflection on reality, as are ordinary thoughts; rather they are a direct experiencing of reality. Consciousness and reality are in the process of integrating.

These thoughts are an organic part of reality. They reflect an awareness of reality in a particular consciousness, in a form appropriate to the level of clarity and terms of reference of that person at that place and time. The experience of these thoughts can be couched within any religious or spiritual framework; equally it is accessible to those who operate without such a framework, such as atheists or agnostics.

3.3 What is it like to experience life on the path to the psychological stage of enlightenment?

Although each of us is born, lives and dies, the experiences of each life are unique. Similarly, although the mechanics of the path to the first enlightenment are common to all, each of us experiences the path in a different way. In our spiritually barren Western cultures, the path to the psychological enlightenment is challenging, often difficult and sometimes dangerous.

As you develop in understanding, according to your gifts and temperament, so you will seek to articulate the unfolding of reality in the terms of your worldview. You may choose to articulate your experience in the religious terms of mainstream Christianity, Judaism or Islam; or you may be inclined towards the spiritual models of the Jewish Kabbala, Islamic Sufism, Western Paganism or the higher teachings of Hinduism, Buddhism or Taoism. Equally, in our largely secular Western cultures, you may be an atheist or an agnostic.

Your belief structure determines how you understand and articulate your experience of reality. All belief structures act as a distorting mechanism on the clear understanding and experiencing of reality. This teaching of the clear setting face to face with reality offers knowledge based on experience. No belief structure is required simply practice the teachings.

Even the atheist and agnostic have belief structures, we all do. Learn to be guided not by beliefs, but by what you know and understand through direct experience. Your beliefs are an impediment on the path to understanding; what matters is that you directly experience reality.

As you experience reality directly, you will seek to articulate your understanding in the terms of a belief structure relevant to your needs. You can choose with equal validity to follow a religious or a secular path. All models of reality reflect reality according to the varying needs of the cultures, times and individuals which produce and utilise them.

Although all models of reality are valid in different ways and in different cultural environments, do not expect to find that the representatives of these models are trained to understand and deal with the issues raised in this book. Priests, ministers and rabbis are ordinary individuals trained in theological and religious matters. Their training does not, in general, provide them with a path towards understanding reality through experience.

As you experience the difficulties of the continuous emotional transformations necessarily involved, you may be tempted to turn to the medical profession for guidance and assistance during this period of uncertainty in your life. Be extremely cautious in approaching a profession which is trained to understand and treat the human body as separate parts. These people are unlikely to be trained in the skills of treating a person experiencing the transformations leading to wholeness.

Become aware of the alternative therapies available. Many of these involve inexpensive treatment of the whole person. As you become sensitive to your own needs, you will be drawn to an appropriate source of healing.

In the spiritually advanced cultures of the East, it is traditional to be taught this process of the gradual transformation of awareness directly by a living, recognised master. Our Western cultures have developed on the sound basis of the Judeo-Christian code of ethics. In the current spiritually barren cultural conditions, it is unlikely that you will be taught in the traditional face to face manner by a living teacher. In general, you will have to develop, through practice of the skills taught in this book, the ability to survive, flower and transform, in a culture which is inimical and hostile to the process of inner development.

Finally, do not anticipate understanding or help from your family or friends. It is possible that through their lack of understanding of the process you are experiencing they will react with incomprehension, hostility and fear. Through practice of the day-to-day adaptation and survival skills taught in chapter 8, you will, in time, find the living guidance, support and companionship you truly need and deserve.

3.5.1 What does it mean, to be centred in the midst of conditions?

This is a very fine phrase: centred in the midst of conditions. It should be thought about carefully. When you understand this as a continuous experience, and not just intellectually or emotionally, you will have attained the psychological stage of enlightenment.

The conditions which constrain our lives are common to each of us, but the specific details vary according to individual circumstances. These conditions are imposed both internally within the personality, and externally upon the personality. They operate on both the material and non-material levels of reality.

There are ten conditions which interweave, waxing and waning endlessly, to form each moment you experience. The circumstances of your life are shaped by these conditions: karma; space and time; physical, emotional and intellectual limiting factors; moral and social constraints, and political and economic pressures. The purpose of the power discipline taught later in this chapter is to empower you to deal effectively with and to transform the conditions of your life.

The condition of karma is discussed in detailed contemporary terms in chapter 4. In our spiritually barren, late-twentieth-century Western cultures, we have only a slight degree of understanding of the crucially important nature of karma. Unless you are responsive to the promptings of karma in your life, you can have no hope or prospect of a genuinely fulfilling life.

Birth and death punctuate our lives. As we age, our lives unfold through understanding and experience. Time is the medium through which all things occur.

Each of our bodies requires space to exist. The things which exist through space constrain and limit us, through our needs and desires for them. Space is the medium through which all things occur.

Time and space are inextricably woven together. They are the basic conditions of existence. Every being with any form of awareness, and every thing, is subject to these dual forces.

The conditions of space and time are discussed more fully in the transpersonal meditations of chapter 5. The full teachings on the nature of space and time are beyond the scope of this book. The final stage of enlightenment, the union of self with reality, only occurs when the unified nature of space and time has been fully realised through experience.

In our cultures, we are familiar with discussing and analysing our lives in terms of the seven remaining conditions. This chapter discusses them within the context of Implicate Technology disciplines. Practice of these disciplines will empower you to understand and break free from the oppressive forces dominating your life.

Be clear: every unenlightened person lives a life hemmed in and limited by the ten conditions – just because you are unaware of your own limitations doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. The purpose of these teachings is to provide you with the skills to triumph over the conditions of your life. If you confuse this with vain dreams of triumph over your opponents, then reality, through the workings of karma, will deal with such unenlightened behaviour in its own way.

In the midst of these conditions is yourself, experiencing life through action and reaction to things and people. Through practice of these teachings you will learn to focus your awareness of reality through the still, calm centre of your self. This is what it means to be ‘centred in the midst of conditions’.

3.6.1 How is one to deal with the experience of life in the midst of these conditions?

One’s reaction at first, before practice of these teachings has borne fruit, remains as before. One acts and reacts according to the blend of emotions and the system of values held, which form the basis for the choices made by the personality at each moment. One incurs karmic consequences within the relatively illusory limitations of the personality.

As your experience of these teachings develops, you will learn new skills through the practice of meditation. At first, you will simply develop basic skills such as control of the breathing and patience. These are very valuable skills in themselves; a great deal depends on them.

It makes no difference to the realisation of the fruits of these teachings in your life whether you are unemployed or in work, poor or not. In the path to enlightenment, the absence of money no more hinders one who lacks it than its presence helps one who possesses it. All are equal in the face of reality.

As you progress in your commitment to the daily practice of meditation, the practice itself will become the central thread of your life. For this, you depend totally on yourself, you need no objects and only the simplest of conditions. This is something for yourself and completely within your own power to achieve.

You may object that not everyone can ensure time alone and uninterrupted – it is not always easy. The answer is that if you cannot create such simple conditions then there will be no enlightenment. This is very hard work, according to your life circumstances.

Once awoken, the drive towards enlightenment is strong within us. Everything else pales into unimportance beside it; yet the path to enlightenment involves all we experience. Practice of these teachings will awaken your innate capacity to experience enlightenment.

Gradually, as the fruits of meditation ripen in your life, you will begin to experience the events and activities of each day with a new understanding. As your awareness goes through the many emotional transformations before the first enlightenment, you will gradually develop the ability to understand reality in a simple, clear and direct way. In the midst of conditions, you will be better able to understand, and deal with, the power structures imposed on your life.

3.7.1 What is this power discipline?

It is a way of acting, through understanding, to negotiate your way through the hazards of any particular situation. In every situation, in every set of conditions, no matter how adverse, there is always power available to you. Committed practice of the power discipline will enable you to identify and utilise the power inherent in any situation.

Preparation for the power discipline begins with daily practice of the meditation. Gradually, you will learn to incorporate the fruits of meditation into your life by Live-ing and Act-ing. In this way you learn to set yourself face to face with reality.

The more directly you are set face to face with reality, the more you see any situation clearly, as it is, the more possible it is to produce a fulfilling outcome. The power discipline reflects the harmonious laws governing reality. To use power for unselfish ends incurs positive karmic consequences, to use power for selfish ends incurs negative karmic consequences.

The law of karma will be discussed more fully in chapter 4. It is inviolable. It is inherent in the structure of reality.

Practice of this discipline will empower you to deal with any situation, through a clear understanding. As you choose, through your actions, so you shape your life. According to your motives, so you will incur the karmic consequences of your actions.

You are free to choose and to Act, now, and at all times, as best you are able in the prevailing circumstances. We are all subject to the conditions of space, time and karma. Within this context, we each must face reality.

Practice of the power discipline will help you face reality. You are free to use it unselfishly or selfishly, for good or evil, according to your nature. The power discipline is a smooth, flowing, harmonious, organic action, understood in three steps:

Input, Pivot then Act

3.7.3 How does the Pivot step unfold?

The Input step, the process of analysis, is as complete as you are willing and able to make it. You become aware, to a greater or lesser degree according to the amount and quality of your effort, of the conditions imposed on yourself and others. You are aware of the way the power in the situation is structured.

The task of the Pivot step is to prepare for an action which will alter the balance of power, harmoniously. For an action to achieve this, it must be simple, daring and effective. Such an action can only be supplied by your intuition.

The process of analysis, through the Input step, reveals to you the configuration of conditions which shapes the environment under analysis. You are now aware of the forces, pressures and people who hold, or are subject to, power in the situation. Before you can harmoniously weave a path through all these conditions you must become still.

Be centred in the midst of conditions. Understand that your personal configuration of needs and desires is illusory relative to the implacable power structures of reality. Be still, simply understand the situation as it is, and not from the relatively illusory and selfish viewpoint of your personality.

As you become centred in the midst of conditions, your thoughts will become calm, still and clear. You will cease to understand things in terms of the satisfaction of your needs and desires. You will understand that if you act to further your personal desires, reality will devour your works – none is exempt from this process.

Poised, centred in the midst of conditions, your understanding of the situation will configure in a lightning flash of intuition. Aware of when to wield and to yield to power, your intuition will articulate your next action. This is the moment when it becomes possible to Pivot the balance of power.

4.3 What are the workings of karma?

Karma and unbounded compassion intertwine indistinguishably to shape every moment you experience. This compassion is not apparent within the terms of your personality, although in a religious sense, it is accessible through faith. The unified process which is reality, and each of its component parts, are configured to operate in profound harmony through the workings of karma, all shaped by absolute compassion.

Karma embodies the moral force inherent in reality. We are all component parts of the one reality, operating within an infinite framework of actions occurring on many levels of reality simultaneously, yet united in meaning. Each choice you make, each action you take, operates within an implacable moral framework configured so as to direct the growth of understanding of your own nature.

All religious or secular moral codes are relatively illusory in the face of the implacable moral force governing every situation you experience. By your actions, you can lie to yourself and other people. Your lies, to yourself and others, are no secret in the face of reality.

Any action can be justified within the terms of one moral code or another. In reality, many actions you experience emotionally or morally as valid or necessary can be seen, in a wider context, as self-deceiving. Karma is the process whereby reality structures the circumstances of your life to develop the understanding of your own nature.

Reality is experienced, once the first stage of enlightenment is attained, as layer upon layer of meaning, as infinitely expanding layers of context. Actions seen as harmless in one context are understood as selfish in a wider, more enlightened context. Your karma will always direct your awareness to the next context in which you should understand your situation.

When you learn the lesson karma is teaching you, at any time in any situation, the causes of your suffering will, in time, cease to occur. When you experience the difficulties of your life as recurring patterns, that is a sign that you have not yet understood the karmic purpose inherent in your situation. When you experience the difficulties of your life as spontaneous occurrences, within a context of enlightened awareness, that is a sign that you are working in harmony with karma.

Most of your karma is generated and experienced through personal, social and economic activities. Through the actions you choose to make, the extent to which you understand your own nature is revealed in the face of reality. Reality spontaneously structures your life circumstances to direct you, through the workings of karma, to understand this or that aspect of your nature.

Your karma is a result of the choices you make. Creating negative karma results in unhappiness and suffering; creating positive karma results in opportunities to grow in the understanding of your own nature. Reality, the whole machine and its component parts, is an organic self-balancing process occurring simultaneously on many levels.

Karma is configured to test you, not you to test karma: be sensitive to the power and direction of karma in your life. Karma is more terrible than anything humanity can devise and more arousing than the gentlest caress of impassioned lovers. Always try to understand each situation you experience in terms of your karma: you are a component of reality – be willing to learn the lesson reality is teaching you at each moment.

4.5 What is the successful outcome of these trials?

In the words of the ancient, pre-Christian, Druidic and Pagan Western Mystery traditions you will have died and been reborn. In the Christian sense of this, your old self will have died to be reborn in the love of Jesus. In the terms of the Jewish Kabbalah, you will have obtained the intermediate state of mind of a benoni.

You will be an initiate who has become prepared, by enduring and triumphing over the trials of your life, for the work of developing your understanding, through experience, of the implicate links between your nature and reality. Through this work, you will come to experience that, in reality, all people and things are indivisibly intertwined and enfolded in an inexpressible unity. The function of implicate technology is to provide you with guidance, based on experience, to help you along the way.

Within the terms of implicate technology, you will have experienced a shift in consciousness, from an awareness of reality confined by the relatively illusory limitations of your personality, to a clear, serene awareness of reality, quietly rejoicing in the freedom of the transpersonal self. This will be your achievement and yours alone; the responsibility for your attaining enlightenment is yours alone; equally, if you develop unwavering* determination, in the face of reality, to endure and learn through time, there are no hindrances to enlightenment which you cannot overcome. In a psychological sense, you will have realised the unconditioned state.