Introduction
The intention of all prior writings and lectures has been to provide the means for the pragmatic, practical, subjective application of principles and discoveries for the evolution of consciousness towards Enlightenment and discovery of Spiritual Truth. All prior works have therefore been dedicated to God and to the subjective discovery of Divinity as the Ultimate Reality and Source of life and existence.
To affirm this intention, the books have started and ended with the statement, “Gloria in Excelsis Deo!” To be of assistance, the calibrated levels of truth and consciousness of all books have been stated to assist in orientation. The purpose of the published works has been in accord with the development and evolution of the overall research and discoveries as well as a progressive presentation of a new mode of investigation that facilitated the synthesis of subjectivity and objectivity. It was also found that exposure to the discoveries and their appropriate contextualization was subjectively transformative.
By virtue of understanding consciousness, a pathway emerges whereby spiritual evolution is facilitated, and spiritual truth, both past and present, can be readily verified. Thus, the spiritual student or religious devotee of today is advantaged far beyond those of history who could rely only on hearsay, reputation, or cultural affirmation as verification.
Without a compass, errors arose throughout history as a consequence of the limitations of the evolution of human consciousness itself. Such error is no longer likely as there is now a readily available means to ascertain the truth of any teaching, teacher, and religious or spiritual tradition. The core value of consciousness calibration research is that it differentiates essence from appearance, and thus truth from falsehood (illusion).
Historical Review: A Recapitulation
The emergence of a study and investigation of spiritual/religious realities and truth is, in and of itself, of pragmatic value. The method of investigation opened up and made available areas of information never before accessible to the human mind.
The crux of the clinical research was that the physiological responses were determined by the level of consciousness and truth of the essence rather than the appearance of the subject matter being investigated. (Recent research also confirms a simultaneous pupillary response. [Davis, 2007]). It was discovered that relatively evolved spiritual students did not go weak in response to negative stimuli (e.g., fluorescent lights, pesticides, and artificial sweeteners). That observation led to the development of a protocol by which naïve subjects were tested prior to their starting a course of formal spiritual study (the Workbook of A Course in Miracles) and then retested periodically. It was discovered that the test subjects became immune to negative stimuli after about three months of doing that specific course. (The same occurs with any integrous course of spiritual study.)
It appeared that the physiological test responses were determined by a prevailing level of consciousness itself. In order to document the response, an arbitrary mathematical scale of consciousness from 1 to 1,000 initially was utilized, but it soon proved to be impractical as the numbers rose at such a rapid rate; therefore, pragmatically, it was discovered that an exponential scale was better able to signify the relative power of energy of advancing consciousness. A scale ranging from 1 to 1,000, which included all levels of possibilities and all of life, was designed that was pragmatically useful in that it included all potentialities.
Determining the highest level of consciousness (1,000) was the consequence of calibrating the world’s great avatars, namely, Jesus Christ, Buddha, Krishna, and Zoroaster. Then came the critical discovery that consciousness levels below 200 denoted falsehood, and those from 200 and above signified progressive levels of truth. This demarcation also differentiated between the qualities of force (less than 200) and power (greater than 200).
The next thirty years were devoted to continuous research in all areas of human life, with emphasis on discerning levels of truth and spiritual reality. Thus, there was subjective, experiential confirmation of the discoveries of clinical research from which emerged a confirmable spectrum and paradigm of reality that correlated with the levels of consciousness as well as the experiences of human history, including the very advanced spiritual states of enlightened sages.
Application of consciousness research to almost every aspect of life proceeded over the decades and was assisted by the discoveries of multiple independent researchers and study groups worldwide. The feedback stimulated investigation of almost every aspect of existence over great expanses of time, and even beyond the illusion of time itself. From this appeared the principle that all statements of truth were only true within a specified context. Thus emerged the methodology of ascertaining verifiable truth for the first time in human history.
Because the ultimate context was the infinite field of consciousness itself beyond conceptualized time or location, the areas open for investigation were unlimited. The results (reported in Truth vs. Falsehood) range from the most seemingly mundane to the most advanced levels of spiritual awareness and Enlightenment itself. That truth could be identified, verified, and authenticated represented the emergence of a new body of knowledge available to mankind, which itself had only risen above consciousness level 200 to the level of 204 in the late 1980s. This crossover in itself seems to signify the opening up of a new era of human evolution, i.e., the emergence of Homo spiritus (see I: Reality and Subjectivity).
Thus, not only the truth but also the exact degree of truth about anything anywhere beyond time or space could be ascertained in a matter of seconds. Fortuitously, during the same decades in which the research methodology evolved, there was the emergence of advances in quantum mechanics and quantum physics that also provided an expanded paradigm of the universe. Seminal to these were the discovery and delineation of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, so that consciousness itself became the crossover link between the linear and nonlinear dimensions, and thus between reason and faith.
A Course of Study
By consciousness research, it is affirmed that merely reading the published materials in this series or listening to lectures on consciousness research results in a measurable advance of the individual’s level of consciousness and therefore of spiritual progress. Seminal information, in and of itself, is apparently transformative as it recontextualizes experience and comprehension, resulting in an expansion of paradigm by which meaning is transformed as a consequence of recontextualization rather than linear processing.
There was a purposeful sequence in the content of the series of books published beginning with Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis and Calibration of the Levels of Human Consciousness (1995), Power vs. Force (1995), The Eye of the I (2001), I: Reality and Subjectivity (2003), followed by Truth vs. Falsehood (2005), Transcending the Levels of Consciousness (2006), and Discovery of the Presence of God (2007).
Clarification of the content of the above material is provided by the many lecture series, which are also available on CDs and DVDs. The content of informal satsang workshops is also available on CDs.
Practical Application
Most people already have some religious/spiritual orientation as a consequence of cultural or family lifestyles. Within that which is considered traditional are universal truths that can now be easily confirmed. In addition, Truth vs. Falsehood provides calibrated confirmations of sources of spiritual truth as well as lists of integrous teachers and teachings.
The traditional spiritual pathway is through education and study of integrous spiritual material that arises in natural attraction through various principles and teachings. By prayer, one’s intention is further empowered so there is a progressive revelation of levels of truth concordant with prevailing progressive levels of consciousness. Therefore, it is important not to mix levels of consciousness as that may create seeming ambiguities. It is preferable to hold all information as tentative since brain physiology itself shifts with advancement of consciousness, which facilitates comprehension.
One can select a basic spiritual concept as one’s theme for a day and utilize contemplation, meditation, and prayer plus devotional acts. Many have found the simple Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence (2005) or the Centering Prayer of Father Thomas Keating (2004) to be quite beneficial. It is also advisable to seek ‘holy company’ and avoid persons, places, and pastimes that calibrate below 200. This includes activities that are allegedly spiritual by title but calibrate quite low. Thus, it is well to avoid New-Age fairs, psychic readings, and devices alleged to increase one’s level of consciousness. Also avoid that which is sensational or promoted, such as invitations for ‘trainings’ to gain ‘super powers’ or the siddhis. The sold-for-profit ‘secret’ methodologies calibrate quite low. It is thus wise not to become glamorized or seduced by ‘secret mysteries of the ancients’ (cal. 160), which appeal to the spiritual ego’s attraction to being ‘special’.
There are no secrets to spiritual truths. They are freely available and transparent. Note that none of the great avatars or great spiritual teachers of history had any ‘secrets.’ On the contrary, they spoke freely, openly, and without restriction for the benefit of mankind.
By goodwill and benevolence to life in all its expressions, its innate beauty and perfection shine forth as the Radiance out of which existence emerges. It is helpful to hold in mind that there are no ‘causes’ in the observable world, and that everything is merely expressing the spontaneous emergence of potentiality appearing as actuality as a consequence of the ongoingness of the evolution of Creation. This phenomenon is the focus of emergence and complexity theories of advanced theoretical science (Theise, 2006).
During contemplation, it is useful to notice that the phenomena of ‘witnessing’ and ‘observing’ or ‘experiencing’ are autonomous, occur spontaneously, and are intrinsically impersonal. Note also that the worldly qualities of desirability are a projection from within the ego. Realize that happiness is a consequence of the level of consciousness (what one has become) rather than possessions or experiences.
Unpleasant events or circumstances can be turned to good use by affirming their unseen karmic benefit. This can be done by assuming they represent the undoing of a karmic debt. As a consequence, it is a good rule to forgive oneself at all times and yet presume that, perhaps beyond recall, one has been a perpetrator rather than just a victim. When fully comprehended, human life is seen to be of optimal benefit for the evolution of consciousness of the individual as well as all humanity.
Spiritual intention is empowered by patience, supplication, perseverance, prayer, surrender, and depth of humility. Truth and Reality reveal themselves effortlessly when the obstacles are removed. It is advisable to avoid artificial spiritual devices, such as ‘levitation training’, mantras, postures, forced breathing techniques, and other artificialities. (Note that pranayama [breath control] calibrates at 190.)
The spiritual or kundalini energy arises of its own as a consequence of spiritual dedication, devotion, and spiritual evolution. It is well to accept that one is being attracted by one’s spiritual destiny rather than being causally propelled by the past. Thus, the spiritual student is responding to an inner call that is orchestrated by the Self, which attracts the student to their future destiny.
Spiritual evolution is a lifetime commitment and a way of life by which the world and all experience subserves spiritual intention. There is no greater calling than to choose to be a servant of God. With spiritual progress, each increment is of equal importance for, analogously, it is only by the removal of a single brick that an entire wall collapses, and the seemingly impossible becomes possible.
Sooner or later, the seemingly miraculous may begin to appear spontaneously. It is important to recognize that the phenomena are not of one’s own doing or of the personal self, and that they do not represent some magical ‘power’. Miraculous events are merely the actualization of potentiality that appears when conditions are appropriate. One of those conditions is the presence of the energy of a high level of consciousness. From an even more advanced level of consciousness, it becomes apparent that all phenomena are actually occurring spontaneously as a consequence of the evolution of the universe itself, and therefore not only is life perfect at any moment, but it is also a continuous revelation in which one is a participant/observer.
As the self is in the process of being subsumed and dissolved into the Self, there may be episodes and periods of time when one feels that one may be dying. It is only the false sense of self that is subject to dying, and therefore, it is safe to surrender to the phenomenon. It is also a fortuitous time to surrender the fear of one’s physical death. The body will either walk on or it will not. Actually, the option is not up to the personal self but only to the Self.
At an advanced level, energies may arise that are associated with nonrecallable karmic destinies or forgotten agreements. The solution to any impasse or doubt is always deep surrender to Divine Will.
It is of little benefit to be personally self-critical or think that one ‘should’ be farther along the road than they are. Spiritual evolution is irregular and at times often seems sporadic and at other times stationary. Realize that guilt is a narcissistic indulgence. There may be long, dry periods where seemingly nothing is progressing. That is a deception; a ‘long, dry period’ is what is happening as though it were a test of resolve. These periods can be traversed by transcending the spiritual ego’s wish to seek gain via ‘progress’. Frustration itself is therefore a sign of trying to control that which is not really controllable.
It is well to remember that “those also serve who wait.” Even a period of years of seeming lack of progress can be suddenly superseded by a very rapid, major advance that may be even far more than one had hoped for.
As a consequence of such progress, there may arise states of joy, bliss, or even ecstasy, accompanied by the incapacity to function in the world. Reaching such conditions may call for a change in lifestyle. It may also be discovered that attempts at explanation to family or friends may be futile, and the transition has to be made with compassion for their viewpoint. What is comical is that their wry comment that ‘he (she) must have lost his (her) mind’ is paradoxically a fact, for the mental self ‘thinks’, but in contrast, the Self silently ‘knows’.
It is helpful to keep in mind that the ego and human physical life are temporary, and the fate of the soul is outside of time. Thus, decision amounts to surrendering the lesser for the greater. Despite the protests of relatives, friends, or business associates, most people have an intuition of what it means to respond to a higher calling.
Spiritual Lifestyles
This is an area about which many students have questions and uncertainties. Spiritual commitment opens up a number of alternative choices, such as:
1. Renunciation of the world and the joining of a spiritual community, ashram, or residence in a retreat center. These organizations are usually associated with some specific religion or formal spiritual organization, and some may even require taking vows or participating in other forms of initiation ceremonies. Some are formal religious orders that follow ecclesiastical doctrine, and thus, there may be physical requirements that acknowledge the commitment.
Some retreat centers stress solitary retreat and mediation plus periods of fasting or other sensory renunciation. Other formal organizations stress group spiritual activities, including work, worship, readings, dialog, and group sharing. Possessions are limited to the minimum essentials, and often one’s assets are donated to the group. All worldly possessions and attachments need to be renounced, and visitations are often restricted.
The possible limitations of religious groups have to do with ecclesiastical doctrines. There is also the temptation of specialness to the spiritual ego as exemplified by shorn hair, robes, and the like. As with any spiritual pursuit, it is important to calibrate the consciousness level of the group or organization as well as its doctrine and formal practices.
2. Retreats offer short-term advantages and are often sponsored by an organization or have a retreat leader, both of which should be calibrated.
3. Spiritual practice in ordinary life in many ways is actually the most favorable and beneficial approach. (This statement calibrates as true.) It is a common observation that it is one thing to be pure and holy in an isolated, safe place, but another to remain committed in the world of endless temptations and confrontations.
Spiritual progress occurs in stages. In the beginning, one learns of spiritual realities and studies them. Then come practice and application of the teachings in every aspect life, and eventually one becomes the teachings. By dedication, one’s life becomes the prayer. By devotion, commitment, and practice, spiritual concepts become experiential realities. (As one advanced student said, “How can I forgive my enemies when I no longer have any?”)
A typical routine in everyday life consists of formal seated meditation in the morning and again in the evening. These can last from twenty or thirty minutes in the beginning and extend to an hour or more each time. Although a brief mantra or chant can help set the mood, it is not sufficient in and of itself and, if overdone, may lead to what are actually only altered states of consciousness. This is also true of such trappings as bells, chimes, music, incense, special flags, oils, candles, and similar sensory paraphernalia. Therefore, it is advisable to calibrate the level of chants or mantras, no matter how highly recommended. ‘Secret’ mantras, especially those that are sold for a fee, have no particular specialness, and merchandised ones tend to calibrate only around level 290.
It is rewarding to choose a spiritual lesson or concept for the day that serves as a focus for contemplation. This is a way of contextualizing the entire day and its experiences. For instance, one can select Unity’s Daily Prayer, a lesson from A Course in Miracles, a step from the twelve-step program, a Psalm, or a basic spiritual premise, such as surrender, humility, or the letting go of control or the desire for gain. When done repeatedly over a period of time, it becomes incorporated into one’s personality and attentional set by which one automatically becomes benevolent, loving towards all life in all its expressions, and aware of the perfection and beauty of every moment.
With incorporation into daily life, a spiritual practice can take the form of the continuous surrendering of volition, which then emerges into autonomous witnessing and effortless observation. These capacities will then be discovered to be qualities of consciousness, and not personal.
4. Concentrated spiritual focus is like a ‘mind set’ by which spiritual processing becomes prioritized. Eventually, the illusion of a distinct, separate, personal ‘I’ that is ‘doing’ the processing drops away. The phenomenon is then witnessed to be happening spontaneously of its own.
A fast track to this effortless state is provided by the simple technique of focused relinquishment of resisting the perception/experiencing of the passage or duration of time. This is a surprisingly simple yet very powerful technique, and the reward is a sudden relief from the constant unconscious pressure of ‘time’, which subtly contextualizes and colors the experiencing of worldly life. Breaking this dominance of the illusion of time is very doable. It is then discovered that time is a projection from consciousness and only a belief system out of which the ego ‘time tracks’ the witnessing of the emergence of phenomena. With release from its dominance, there is a great sense of freedom and inner joy. (That time is a projection from human consciousness and not an innate quality of the universe has also emerged as a recent awareness of quantum theory [Lynds, 2003].)
The Final Run
When the conditions, including mind set, intention, and dedication, are favorable, a decision may arise to drop everything in the world and throw oneself totally into an all-out, ‘go for it’, continuous, laser-like, focused surrendering of the perceiver/experiencer aspect of the ego. This process takes one quite rapidly beyond the mind to the very ‘processing edge’ of the experiencer (see I: Reality and Subjectivity). This ‘processor’ edge is the actual locus of the ordinary sense of ‘I-ness’, and it creates a 1/10,000th-of-a-second delay between reality (the world as it is; Descartes’ res extensa) and the world as it is perceived or experienced (Descartes’ res cogitans or res interna). This separation is the crux and locus of the self’s illusion of duality, which obscures comprehension of the intrinsic Reality of Nonduality (Self). With transcendence of the illusion of a separate, individual, personal self, there emerges the Radiance and Oneness of the Self by which all life, whether denoted as subjective or objective, is recontextualized into Oneness.
The Aftermath
Physical incarnation may or may not continue because intrinsic to very advanced states of consciousness and spiritual development is the awareness of an invitational permission to leave physicality (level 600). Whether one continues to stay with the body is no longer a consequence of personal volition. In practice, high states require abandonment of the ordinary world. This may lead to years spent primarily in solitude and adaptation to the new state or condition that has replaced the former sense of personal identity with its dualistic beliefs of causality and a separate, volitional personal self as the causal agent. What supersedes is an autonomous state or condition rather than a ‘person’. The circumscribed personal identity disappears, and the self is replaced by the Allness of the Self.
There may be a period of initial ‘God shock’ in which the mind is silenced and functioning is autonomous, without volitional intention or the prior customary pursuit of goals. The condition itself merely ‘is’ and as such is thereby already total and complete. The body is also witnessed as acting in an autonomous, spontaneous manner, and it takes a while to get used to the fact that people, oddly as it may seem, continue to address the body as ‘you’.
Retreat from the world may well ensue that can be permanent or may last for years before some style of functioning occurs. The sense of location has to be relearned, as do the necessities of bodily life. Hunger seems to disappear, and one can go for days without eating. One may be surprised to see a body reflected in a mirror. To return to the world, there is the necessity for relearning human functions via the emergence of a ‘persona’, which is akin to a spontaneous actor that interfaces with the world and calls upon residual memory banks in order to behave in what the world considers to be appropriate. Thus, there is a period of becoming reoriented to the ordinary human world.
Outside of time, there is no interest in ‘how long’ (duration) the body is destined to survive. Periodically, there emerges an open opportunity to leave that is oddly invitational, and, at the same time, there is only the witnessing of whether it will leave or not.
Beyond the linear self, there are no scripts to follow in the reality of the nonlinear nonduality of the Self, which is without worldly motives or goals. Activities may then unfold that are not seen as significant or having a purpose or value; these are immaterial because there is no longer any personal motivation. All is subordinate, subservient, and consequent to the Divine Ordinance of Divinity and the Will of God. Thus arises the exclamation, “Gloria in Excelsis Deo!”
Discussion
Q: The suggested curriculum sounds stringent when shorn of the appeal of religious and mystical trappings.
A: It is described so as to be of service to the true seeker of Enlightenment itself. “Straight and narrow is the path” and “waste no time” mean that the allure of diversions has to be bypassed for the sake of not only truth but also for pragmatic expediency. Decades can be whiled away pursuing fallacious mystical, magical domains of spiritual fantasy as well as imposters who appeal to the spiritual ego but lead to a dead end. These are actually amusements that, however, very frequently conceal hidden traps for the unwary. For instance, an entity ‘on the other side’ is calibratable and will be found to have a spiritual ego that nourishes itself by having followers and control.
Early students often confuse the paranormal and altered states of consciousness (New-Age-ism) with true spiritual states. Therefore, it is well to suspect any teachers of pathways that are adorned with trappings and utilize the seductive allure of proselytizing presentations.
Q: Some statements in your writing do not exactly coincide with classical Buddhism.
A: That is an error of perception as well as education. For the sake of students, Buddha taught the wisdom of avoiding the term ‘God’ because it is so misunderstood. ‘Buddha Nature’ is the essence of Self and pure consciousness/awareness. It is intrinsically devoid of identification with content, yet inclusive of all context. Also, students’ knowledge of Buddhism is primarily pedagogical and traditional. The term ‘master’ calibrates at 650. There are many teachers of Buddhism who are knowledgeable but are not fully personally enlightened as such, although some have had transitory experiences of satori.
Note that even the Pope misunderstands Buddhism in that his diffidence is based on the mistaken viewpoint that the term ‘self-nature’ refers to the small ego self (and is therefore narcissistic) rather than the Self (with a capital ‘S’).
Q: Your descriptions of advanced spiritual states are in the third person. Why is that?
A: The phenomena described are not personal and are therefore termed ‘conditions’ or ‘states’ that are sel-fexistent. There is no ‘person’ who is enlightened. The sense of ‘I’ or ‘you’ or ‘me’ is replaced by a self-existent state with no particular locality or linear characteristics. It is more akin to a luminous sky with no location, boundaries, time, beginning, or end. The condition does not ‘do’ anything or ‘cause’ anything. Phenomena are seen to be transient, with no personal causality or intrinsic reality.
God/Buddha Nature is and as such is complete. Therefore, it does not ‘do’ anything or ‘go’ anywhere, nor is there a time track of ‘duration’. ‘Now’ and ‘forever’ are identical.
Q: What should be the overall context of spiritual endeavor?
A: Selfless service out of love for all creatures and creation. To pursue Enlightenment serves God and fellow humans. Be alert and attune to the innate beauty of all that exists. See the charm and quaintness of even what the world would consider old, beat up, and ugly.
Q: How can one facilitate progress?
A: That is a natural curiosity. Choice results in proclivities that become habitual mindsets of attention. Within each moment are all the necessary elements for realization. Look for essence rather than just appearance. Everything is perfect if seen as it really is. Everything is exactly the way it is ‘supposed to be’, whether it is shiny and new or rusty and dusty. Avoid adjectives for they are all projected, mentalized qualifications. Later, one can even drop adverbs for nothing is actually ‘doing’ anything; it just innately is. Transition is a phenomenon that stems from within the observer who sees sequence as a verb. If seen in less than 1/10,000th of a second, everything appears to be stationary.
Q: If I let go of personal identity, would I not then become ‘nothing’?
A: No. Beyond the illusion of Nothingness is Allness. The Self is unlimited, with no beginning or end. It is beyond time and not subject to conditions. The Self is closer to one’s Reality than the self. One cannot lose one’s true identity or become ‘nothing’ because, in reality, one is included within the totality of Everythingness, Allness, and Foreverness.
The problem of ‘the Void’(seeming Nothingness at calibration level 850) is addressed at length in Chapter 18 of Transcending the Levels of Consciousness. The Void is the consequence of negating love as a Reality because of confusing conditional love (attachment) as an aspect of the ego with Divine Love, which is an intrinsic quality of God.
Beyond the illusion of emptiness is the fullness of completion that is akin to a core Radiance which is total and unmistakable. Because Divinity is innate Source, it cannot be ‘misused’ or ‘lost’ for Divinity recognizes and claims its own. (This statement calibrates at 1,000.)
Beyond the nonlinear, seeming Nothingness is Allness, which is the revelation of Divinity as Infinite Love—powerful, gentle, and irresistible as the Radiance of the Essence of All Existence. It is profound, unmistakable, Self-evident, and Allinclusive.
Q: What is the world like then?
A: The Essence of Divinity shines forth as a Radiance from the Perfection of All of Creation as a quality of its existence. Continuous emergence results in witnessing the phenomenon as autonomous and selfevolving beyond time, causality, or even sequence. Potentiality unfolds as the actuality of phenomena.
All the above is autonomously known by virtue of the Unity of Beingness/Existence. The perfection of All That Exists radiates as exquisite Beauty, perfect Balance, and Harmony by which Perfection manifests as further Perfection by virtue of evolutionary unfoldment. There is neither ‘here’ nor ‘there’; there is neither ‘now’ nor ‘then’. With completion, there are no questions to be answered as All is Self-evident.
Gloria in Excelsis Deo!