Today there is a wide measure of agreement, which, on the physical side of science approaches almost to unanimity, that the stream of knowledge is heading towards a non-mechanical reality. The universe is beginning to look more like a great thought than like a great machine.
Werner Heisenburg, Physics and Beyond
Attributes of Consciousness
To use the techniques for transformation most effectively, it is helpful to understand the nature of consciousness. To fully comprehend who we are as beings in the world, we must attempt to understand this mysterious “something” we call consciousness, which animates all life forms. Because the story begins way back in our biological history, we will explore how it has expressed itself from its first manifestation in the world of matter, on up to the fully developed human being.
Let’s begin with a brief look at the atomic and subatomic phase of creation, because this is as far back as we can go to ascertain what this creative power, manifesting in all of life, has been doing in its long evolution. To understand our own nature, we must go back to our ancient beginnings and examine the orderly process of creation. We’ll consult authorities that have dealt extensively with the subject: theology and science, including evolutionary biology, psychology, and philosophy, since these disciplines have given us all the information we have about ourselves as beings in the universe.
What Is Consciousness?
No one really knows what consciousness is, but we do know its main attribute, which is the ability to receive and respond to impressions from outside stimuli. Therefore consciousness, in the cosmic meaning, is a state of recognition or responsiveness, no matter how minimal, and this ability exists even within a tiny electron.
Within the atom, consciousness manifests itself in a very basic form of attraction and repulsion. When two electrons (negative particles) are brought into proximity, they try to avoid each other; there appears to be a factor of recognition, a kind of “conscious knowledge” on a very fundamental level. Yet there is neither a brain nor a nervous system to register these impressions; it happens without any physical mechanism whatsoever. This suggests that electrons possess an attribute of consciousness, a type of receptivity in a very elementary form. Like particles repel each other, and a field is set up whereby they try to move out of each other’s way. How do they recognize another particle as being either positive or negative without any sensory equipment to record these impressions? We postulate that the electrons have “consciousness” on a minimal level.
If consciousness is in every atom, and atoms are present in every cell, it therefore follows that consciousness is present throughout our human bodies. This is what we mean by saying we are alive: this consciousness is flowing through us and sustaining us. Consciousness is the one and only reality in the universe, manifesting itself through different forms. Thus we can conclude that there is consciousness within all forms of matter, from submicroscopic particles of energy, on up to humankind.
The universe either began with these subatomic particles floating around in outer space, or they were always present. Nobody knows. But we do know that, gradually, over eons of time, they began to group together and, as a result, the physical universe eventually came into being. It is only logical to assume that this didn’t suddenly happen one fine day because of a giant cosmological accident, as some scientists have speculated, but that this Creative Power within the electronic particles must have had some plan of operation in the construction of the universe, because we see incredible order and harmony—a symmetry and pattern that no accident could produce. We deduce from this that the material universe is the result of an image projected by this Creative Power, whatever it may be. An image that has become visible, therefore, is one manifestation of consciousness. A later chapter will discuss how to use this attribute to effect changes in your life through mental visualization, a technique for transformation.
Our hypothesis, then, is that there is a Creative Force, which we call consciousness, which evolved the natural universe out of itself, and which is the vital energy maintaining and sustaining everything in existence. Given this premise, let us briefly examine the nature of this force as it manifests itself in the universe, so that we can discover some of its other attributes. To do this we will progressively examine the evolution of consciousness as depicted in the following chart (Figure 1).
Consciousness in the Atomic Realm
Science states that, in the beginning, if there was a beginning, only electronic or subatomic particles existed. Science neither admits nor denies the existence of God, but merely states that, since God cannot be analyzed, tested, or measured with physical instruments, the subject is not a fit study for scientific analysis. Thus, science ignores the question of the Creative Power by giving us the theory of subatomic particles as the starting point of all creation, and declares that it cannot go beyond that.
If we turn to theology for answers about the beginning of creation, we are told that everything proceeded from the First Cause, God. Theology teaches that there was a definite, historical beginning to the universe, that God exists, and that this Being created the world. They claim this theory requires no proof because the evidence resides in the simple fact that the universe is here and, since our minds cannot conceive of something created out of nothing, God must therefore have created it. Certainly, all of our experience on earth indicates that every effect has its antecedent cause. Therefore, it seems logical that something must have set this cosmological process in motion, and something must be maintaining it. The question of what that something is however, is quite another matter.
In mentally constructing the beginning of the universe, science speculates there was once nothing but infinite space, although “nothingness” is a difficult concept for our minds to grasp. Ultimately, this space became filled with countless electronic particles that eventually grouped together into atoms, and then into molecules of matter. The question then is “what Great Intelligence started this process eons ago which eventually formed the universe, and what sustains it in its function?” At our present state of knowledge, we can give only one answer: consciousness. This is the starting point for everything.
Consciousness in the Mineral Realm
The great American political writer Thomas Paine wrote, “The only evidence you will ever get of the Creative Power is from studying nature.” That is where we begin in order to understand this consciousness inherent in all life forms. If we start by examining the mineral phase, the lower end of the evolutionary continuum, we discover another attribute of consciousness: each mineral is crystallized according to a definite design or image. For example, untold billions of snowflakes fall upon the earth each winter; they all have six points, yet no two of them have ever been found to be alike. Whatever this power is, it certainly doesn’t lack creativity!
There are many different kinds of crystals, but the pattern for the particular shape that each one will take is embedded within its atomic structure. The pattern of a quartz crystal, for instance, is a basic idea, an image in nature that can be repeated again and again. Just as the pattern, or image, of the oak tree is within the tiny acorn, so too is the image of the human being contained within the microscopic DNA strands of the fertilized egg in the mother’s womb. When you were so tiny that it would have required an electronic microscope to find you, the blueprint, or image, for the color of your eyes, the thickness of your hair, the structure of your bones, and all your other physical characteristics, was already established. As we will try to show, the Divine Plan for our lives is also incorporated into that blueprint, for us to discover through introspection and meditation.
The question naturally arises: where did the basic pattern for a quartz crystal, or an oak tree, or a human being, originate? To any thinking person it is clear that some kind of intelligent force (consciousness) must have started with an image, which ultimately manifested itself as a particular form.
The first principle of all creation is that everything begins with a plan, or image. If you were to build a house, you would naturally begin with a plan in the form of a blueprint. It is the same with building a life, but very few people are aware of the necessity of having a definite plan for their lives. Consequently, they flounder about and don’t know where they’re going, or why. Today we often read scary stories in the newspapers asserting that the baby boom generation is not saving enough money for retirement, and may have to continue working after age sixty-five. For those to whom this projection will become reality, the cause is usually lack of a plan. It makes no difference what you want to accomplish; you must start with a clear image of your objective and, the more perfect your idea, the more perfect will be your creation. Conversely, the sloppier your idea, the sloppier the result.
Consciousness in the Plant Realm
Advancing along the evolutionary continuum to the next stage of creation, vegetation, we discover that plants, too, have a minimal level of consciousness. One way this is demonstrated is by photosynthesis. This process, whereby plants manufacture their own food by using sunlight, indicates that there is a vital intelligence within the organism.
Consciousness is the fundamental reality throughout all life, but it manifests itself in varying degrees, with different attributes. The consciousness of a rose is no different in kind from that which manifests itself as an electrical current flowing through a light switch; the consciousness in inanimate, inorganic matter, or in a human being, is only different in degree from that in the electrical current. Consciousness is the one and only reality, alike in kind, but expressing itself in many degrees. Research documented in Brett Bolton’s The Secret Power of Plants shows that plants have a kind of cellular consciousness, and can somehow tune in to all forms of life. In his book, Bolton tells the story of Cleve Backster, a polygraph expert in New York, and former specialist with the CIA, who published an article in the International Journal of Parapsychology titled “Evidence of a Primary Perception in Plant Life.” Using a polygraph (lie detector) he found plants register apprehension, fear, pleasure, and relief. They respond to overt threats to their well-being and have definite and sympathetic responses to other living things. Backster’s findings seem to indicate that plants have feelings and some sort of telepathic communication system with other forms of life. In one experiment Backster hooked up his houseplants to his polygraph machine when he went out of town, then took careful note of his activities. Comparing his notes to the graph, he found his plants’ greatest emotional response came when he decided to return home. They also registered what in humans would be considered agitation when he was almost hit by a car. In experiments designed to see if plants react to threats to their well-being, he decided to burn a leaf with a match. At the instant he thought of lighting a match, there was a dramatic change in the polygraph tracing. The pen activity had gone wild and almost shot off the chart! Other experiments have shown that plants grow stronger and more luxuriant when exposed to classical music, compared to hard rock.
In the plant phase of creation, we see cellular life for the first time, a vastly significant advance in consciousness. One of the chief characteristics that plants exhibit, which is not found in inorganic material such as rocks, is the ability to adapt. For instance, a tiny fern will push its way up through concrete or pavement if it must. I’m always amazed to find weeds growing in the tiny cracks of my walkway. One day I went to get some potatoes I had stored in my basement, and found they had somehow discerned the direction of a sliver of light from the small window, and turned their sprouts toward it. A tiny sapling will adapt to the fierce blowing of the wind in a storm by bending its branches, otherwise they would be snapped off. A cutting from certain plants, such as a geranium, if planted, will adapt to its new situation and develop specialized root cells where there were none before. This is a high degree of adaptation, and this principle applies to humans as well as plants.
The greater the ability to adapt, the higher the consciousness within a form. The organism that survives is always the one that has the ability to adapt itself to its environment. Darwin’s principle of “the survival of the fittest” didn’t mean the largest or strongest; if it did we’d still have dinosaurs walking the earth. The organism that survives is the one that has the greatest ability to adapt. To our dismay, we all know that cockroaches fall into this category, and they’ve been here for millions of years.
Human beings have adapted amazingly well to the natural world, conquering cold, rain, and heat, blasting through mountains to build homes, colonizing deserts, forests, and seashore, digging oil and gas from the earth, and harnessing nuclear energy. Unfortunately, many humans have not developed the attribute of adaptability in their personal lives; they resist their circumstances and become unyielding toward life. Neurotic people, for example, characteristically develop a rigid way of reacting to every situation. They cannot deviate from their inflexible behavior patterns no matter the circumstances, so they are defeated by their inability to adapt and devise more effective ways of responding to life. A secretary I know came to work one morning to find her IBM Selectric typewriter replaced by a computer. A tutorial was installed in it that would teach her how to run the various software. She glanced at the accompanying book and froze at her desk. No way was she going to learn how to run a computer when her typewriter had been perfectly adequate all these years. Because of her resistance to adapt, she subsequently lost her job.
Some time ago a neighbor of mine was promoted to vice-president, but then realized he was too anxious to give speeches before the other executives at meetings, so he quit. These neurotic patterns underscore an inability to adapt to changing circumstances, which can result in illness. In his book Who Gets Sick: Thinking and Health, Dr. Blair Justice states: “Disease or dysfunction is the body’s way of saying that we have failed to adapt, adjust, or change to meet the situation, and we have done so at the price of physical or mental disturbance.”
The attribute of adaptability is characteristic of the mature, psychologically healthy person. In fact, we could say that rigidity equals pathology, and fluidity equals health, in both the physical and mental realms. In this tense, stress-filled world, those who survive without breaking down are people who are capable of making the necessary adjustments to the changes wrought by increasingly sophisticated technology. If a person rigidly and continually resists change, he or she will be broken by life, just as a resisting tree can be broken by a powerful wind. There are some people who make a career of fighting the politicians, the establishment, the anti-environmentalists, the pro-environmentalists, the status quo, or any change to the status quo, and on and on. While activists are needed in every society to help keep the people in power honest, those who dedicate their lives to constantly fighting change instead of adapting to some of it will lead unsatisfying lives.
Though consciousness expresses itself in various forms, there is really no fixed dividing line between the different phases of creation: it’s just a gradual blending as this consciousness begins expressing itself through higher and more complex models. An example of this gradual transition is the euglena, a green aquatic plant that manufactures its own food through photosynthesis, as plants normally do. When the euglena is in darkness, however, the green coloration temporarily disappears. It propels itself by moving its little tail, called a flagellum, through the water, feeding on bacteria. Locomotion and digestion of animal matter are characteristics of the next highest phase of creation, the animal realm, so we might say that the euglena is a “missing link” between the plant and animal kingdoms.
Consciousness in the Animal Realm
As every animal lover knows, animals can perform some truly remarkable feats, even though they lack the fully developed reasoning ability of a human. Consciousness expresses itself in this phase of the evolutionary continuum primarily through instinct. Instinct in the animal realm is a wonderful guide. It leads the wild duck to sense the coming winter, and to fly thousands of miles south from its northern home to a pond in a warmer climate—the exact same pond its ancestors landed on the year before, and the year before that, ad infinitum.
It is instinct that tells little Muffin it’s 5:30 p.m. and you should be pulling into the driveway at any moment. Although she can’t tell time, she’s got her own internal clock, and she runs to the front door when you’re a couple of blocks away. She also knows that you won’t be home in the afternoon when she puts a paw up to the refrigerator door, opens it, and pulls down some food. But she instinctively puts a slinking, guilty look on her face that lets you know immediately she’s been bad.
A bee cannot fly, according to the science of aerodynamics, because its body is too bulky for its delicate wings. Fortunately the bee doesn’t know this, so it buzzes from flower to flower, guided entirely by instinct. Even more remarkable is the ability of certain crustaceans and echinoderms, such as the lobster and starfish, guided by instinct, to grow a new limb if one is lost.
While instinct is a perfect guide for an animal, it cannot be improved upon, so an animal is locked into what it already knows; it must keep performing the same actions in the same way, just as all its forebears have done for centuries. But humans are not doomed to such repetitious behavior. In addition to instinct, we possess the highest quality that consciousness manifests, self-awareness.
Consciousness in the Human Realm
Self-awareness, or reflective thought, is the main attribute distinguishing humans from animals. It is the consciousness that enables us to think inwardly and to contemplate ourselves. Reflection is the power to turn one’s consciousness upon oneself, to know oneself and, especially, to know that one knows. Humans are the only creation in the universe who can be the object of their own reflection and, because of that, another world is born: an inner world, a reality in which no lower animal can ever participate. Incapable of contemplating itself, or of being aware of itself as the conscious subject, not even a higher type of animal such as a dog or cat, that knows who its master is and where its food is, can know that it knows. In consequence, it is denied access to a whole domain of reality in which mankind can move freely. Systems of physics, philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy, for example, have all been constructed because of man’s unique ability to reflect inwardly. Because of this new attribute, self-awareness, we have a host of expanded abilities: abstract reasoning, free will, creativity, foresight in order to plan ahead, and many others.
It is indeed a great treasure to be aware of oneself. Since this is the characteristically human quality, the more aware one is, the more fully developed he or she is as a human being. Our culture, however, is oriented toward reducing one’s self-awareness, rather than expanding it. We often have the television on in the morning while we’re preparing to go to work, so we turn our consciousness outward; we listen to talk radio as we drive to the office, or perhaps listen to our own voice talking on our cell phone, then we are preoccupied with work for eight hours. When we arrive home we often absorb ourselves in the television once again, or reading the paper. In all of this we have almost no time for self-reflection, for contemplation, or connecting with our inner self. Although we alone have this great gift—self-conciousness—we don’t use it fully. In fact, we often suppress it and instead act robotically, walking around in a semi-trance. All of the great mystics and spiritual leaders have admonished us that we are asleep, and our great task in life is to wake up and become fully conscious.
Advanced consciousness, therefore, is measured by self-awareness, the ability to think inwardly, to reflect upon oneself, to contemplate one’s inner nature. If this is the indication of a higher consciousness, it follows that the greater the ability for self-reflection and self-awareness, the more advanced the consciousness, or the more evolved the soul. A highly developed person, such as Socrates, Thomas Merton, or Maya Angelou, for example, would spend a great deal of time contemplating inwardly to get in touch with his or her inner self. If we examine the lives of all great thinkers, we will discover that they set aside some time each day for inner reflection, which is the most direct path to higher consciousness. If you wish to know who you really are, you must stop long enough to reflect upon yourself. The importance of such contemplation and meditation will be discussed in chapter 8.
Since the animal has only simple consciousness and does not have self-awareness, its consciousness is always directed outwardly toward finding food, mating, avoiding enemies, etc. However, even in the least evolved human being, for example, the primitive bushman, there is at least a faint degree of the inward direction of consciousness, or reflective thought. Humans can intellectualize, conceptualize, and analyze experiences and compare them with previous ones. Homo sapiens, the most marvelous life form in the universe and the apex of creation, have evolved from the animal plane of simple consciousness to self-consciousness. There is but one reality, and that is consciousness. It is all-inclusive, but expresses itself in varying degrees. The highest expression of it on earth is for us to be able to say: “I am.”
In this vast evolutionary process we can see consciousness expanding itself through the perfecting of exquisitely complex and efficient nervous systems and, especially, in the formation and development of the human brain. Our highly perfected brain is the center of consciousness, and consciousness is the heart of evolution; it is the Creative Force itself, for each human being is “consciousness in expression.” Consciousness is the one and only reality in the universe, and it manifests itself through different forms.
There are three levels or types of consciousness, as represented by the following diagram (see Figure 2). This is the structure of the universe: various degrees of development, or consciousness, high, low, and in-between. A newborn human baby begins life on the border between animal and human consciousness. It has the potential for self-consciousness and reflective thought, but these qualities are not yet developed. At a certain stage in the child’s maturation, at approximately two years of age, it begins to become aware of itself as a separate entity, and the sense of separateness is born. The child is becoming humanized and developing self-consciousness.
Humans are suspended between the animal and divine phases of evolution, but we have the capacity to attain greater heights of consciousness. The highest achievement of humanity is the triumph of rationality: the ability to reason and act logically, to create science, philosophy, and technology, and to plan for the future. The problem with human evolution is that we have not yet learned how to use our newly developed gift, rational thought, wisely. We have not learned how to reason properly, and how to handle our emotions constructively. In psychology, philosophy, and theology—the three systems which should be able to teach us how to live—there is enormous confusion, contradiction, and contention. Each person is put on earth to accomplish something, which is to evolve consciousness to higher levels while on this planet, so that the Creative Power may have greater expression through each individual form. Some people are developing toward their highest expression but, unfortunately, many others are actually regressing and becoming more animalistic than any beast.
In developing self-awareness, we have not achieved the ultimate goal, for our destiny as human beings is to continue to evolve toward cosmic consciousness. Just as humanity progressed from biological evolution through neural and cultural evolution, we now need to engage in a process of evolving our individual consciousness. Remember that a division between one phase of evolution and another is not rigidly defined. The chart is just a model to demonstrate that there is a continuum of consciousness, and that this whole complement is latent within each of us, as part of our biological heritage. Throughout the ages we can see that this Creative Power has been molding matter and consciousness so that both may become more perfect expressions of spiritual consciousness. It is constantly in a state of “becoming,” evolving itself into higher and higher expressions as it manifests itself through form. That which is in evolution cannot be an absolute; it cannot be a fixed “thing,” such as a god who has the attributes of a glorified man.
The animal realm is guided solely by instinct, and therefore it cannot interfere with the perfect operation of the Creative Power. Because of this, the undomesticated animal is free from all of the various diseases that plague mankind. In the animal realm there are only some dozen or so diseases to which animals in the wild are subject. In the human realm, there are over three thousand different disease categories. What is the major difference between the human and animal worlds? The ability to reason abstractly. Obviously, something has been wrong with the way we have used our reasoning ability because the human world is filled with strife, violence, and mental and physical illnesses.
It was only when self-awareness began to develop, with its singular power of originating ideas, that many of the various forms of disease appeared. Other than congenital disorders and infections caused by outside sources, autoimmune and organic diseases such as arthritis, coronary problems, and cancer, always have an emotional and lifestyle component. The intimate connection between mind and body makes us vulnerable to a variety of diseases. Every thought we have produces an immediate physiological response, although it may be minimal. Over time, negative thoughts such as anger, fear, and sadness have an impact on the body, which can eventually result in disease. We have all heard of “Type A” personalities, personified in the hard-driving, aggressive, combative executive who drops dead of a heart attack at fifty. The stress a lion experiences while chasing its evening meal is very different from that a person has to deal with when the boss is calling him on the carpet, and there is a direct relationship between our emotions and our health. The executive’s “self-awareness” gives him the ability to internalize the boss’s criticism and make judgments about himself, which creates stress. In contrast, the lion cannot reflect on his actions.
Because we have the power of choice, human consciousness is the only form that can work against the inherent plan within it. The power of choice implies a tremendous responsibility, and some of us obviously have been choosing irresponsibly, judging by the state of the world. If you make choices that interfere with, or are contrary to, the Creative Power within you, that interference will always manifest itself internally in your body, or externally in your life.
Each one of us is a part of the all-pervasive consciousness of the universe, and our ultimate evolution is beyond the powers of the imagination! This consciousness is the power that is sustaining you, and it can be contacted and directed when you understand its laws. This, then, is our great task in life, and that is what life is all about: to keep evolving our consciousness until we attain unity with the Creative Power within us. In order to achieve this it is necessary to learn how to think properly, and how to channel our emotions into constructive ends. We have the freedom to go against our own purpose for being, our own innate plan, our inner image. We can interfere with it and cause chaos, and that inner disharmony is always manifested, either in the body through physical illness, in the mind through neurotic or psychotic symptoms, or externally in confusion and unhappiness in our lives. We must learn how to make the right choices for our lives in harmony with the great cosmological plan. In order to do that we need to understand how consciousness, the great Creative Power of the Universe, operates within human personality, how our minds become programmed to ideas, and how to change these ideas if they are destructive. We will explore these areas in the following chapters.