|
Meditation
Support
The Three
Levels of Consciousness
From
Intuition
for Starters by J. Donald Walters
The totality
of our consciousness is comprised of three levels: the subconscious,
the conscious, and the superconscious. These levels of consciousness
represent differing degrees of intensity of awareness…
The first level,
the subconscious, is relatively dim in awareness: it is the stuff
of which dreams are made. We may think of it as the repository of
all remembered experiences, impressions left on the mind by those
experiences, and tendencies awakened or reinforced by those impressions.
Every experience we've ever had, every thought, every impression
of loss or gain, resides in the subconscious mind and determines
our patterns of thought and behavior far more than we realize.
The subconscious,
being unrestricted by the rigid demands of logic, permits a certain
flow of ideas. This flow may border on intuition, but if the ideas
are too circumscribed by subjectivity, they won't correspond with
the external world around us. When we dream at night, we are mainly
operating on the subconscious level...
The subconscious
mind can all too easily intrude itself on our conscious awareness,
tricking us into thinking we're getting intuitive guidance, when
actually we're merely being influenced by past impressions and unfulfilled
desires. The subconscious mind is in some ways close to the superconscious,
where real intuition resides. Both represent a flow of awareness
without logical obstructions. The subconscious is therefore more
open to the intuitions of the superconscious, and sometimes receives
them, though usually mixed with confusing imagery. To be really
clear in the guidance we receive is difficult, but very important.
Calamitous decisions have been make in the belief that one was drawing
on higher guidance, when in fact one was responding only to subconscious
preconditioning.
The next level
of consciousness from which we receive guidance is the conscious
state, the rational awareness that usually guides our daily decisions.
When we receive input from the senses, analyze the facts, and makes
decisions based on this information, we are using this conscious
level of guidance. This process is also strongly affected by the
opinions of others, which can cloud our ability to draw true guidance.
Dividing and
separating the world into either/or categories, the conscious level
of awareness is problem-oriented. It's difficult to be completely
certain of decisions drawn from this level, because the analytical
mind can see all the possible solutions. But ultimately it doesn't
have the ability to distinguish which one is best. If we rely exclusively
on the conscious mind, we may find ourselves lacking in certainty
and slipping into a state of perpetual indecision…
Intuition and
heightened mental clarity flow from superconscious awareness. The
conscious mind is limited by its analytical nature, and therefore
sees all things as separate and distinct. We may be puzzled by a
certain situation, but because it seems unrelated to other events,
it's difficult to draw a clear course of action. By contrast, because
the superconscious mind is unitive and sees all things as part of
a whole, it can readily draw solutions. In superconsciousness the
problem and the solution are seen as one, as though the solution
was a natural outgrowth from the problem.
Next: Technique
for Tuning in to Higher Guidance
|
