QUESTION
Have you ever wished to your self or heard some one else say
"I wish I could just stop all of this thinking ? "
Have you noticed that on occasion you do stop thinking momentarily to "pay attention" to deal with the task you are working on.. Did you ever realize that you stop thinking for that split second when you are completely focused on what you are concentrated on doing ?
At that precise moment you are in a state of being called
Higher Consciousness...
UTILIZING OUR CONSCIOUSNESS COMPARED TO STAYING INSIDE OUR HEAD ...
First I need to make it clear that we are only talking about PAYING ATTENTION without thinking..that is what Higher Consciousness is all about folks ! And yet this "space" that we are occasionally in ,is the "place" you need to be when you are in Process. This is the place where it all happens, this is the place where Healing and Growth all take place...this is the place where your negative self talk and even your worst feelings cannot reach your consciousness...You will eventually find out, figure out that you cannot heal your emotions by trying to control your feelings by either will power or through INTROSPECTION..( trying to change an uncomfortable feeling with a pleasant thought.) Or the third mindful choice is to overcome your feelings.. The means to accomplish Healing will explained later, but it is important to understand that it all takes place when we are in Higher Consciousness, paying complete attention to our thoughts and our feelings...
I too was very successful controlling, overcoming and ignoring my feelings and severe negative inner attacks all of my teenage years through most of my adult years.. In the late 80's I also took one of those popular MIND CONTROL courses.. and of course things got worse..
All of these mindful attempts will only bury the feelings deeper and will come back with a vengeance.
Even utilizing positive thinking to counter the negative inner dialog will not work either. You will eventually discover that what are referred to as Introjects and also called sub personalities ARE A VERY REAL, REALITY.. and cannot be permanently erased,but once you discover how the psyche is developed and when you PAY ATTENTION to those thoughts and as you separate consciously from them , you then have a clear cut CHOICE. But if you are " buried within the confines of an Introjected "Part" you cannot see the forest through the trees, you act out an alienated personality. Our introjects are like fully developed personalities ( reflected through our thoughts) and you cannot change "their" mind either..the key is to recognize them, separate from them and do not allow their " thoughts" to influence our decisions and behavior..Not to ACT OUT their commands..This too will be explained later with many examples and validations from well known psychologists and psychiatrists..
To begin to see this within you, you need to develop , become aware of your higher consciousness.
You will find out by observing your thoughts and identifying the nature of the thoughts you can STOP the negative reactions .
*Graphic- Halls of the Mind © copyright by Artist Kort Kramer. Reprinted with permission. Web Site
THE ORIGIN..
Actually , believe it or not , Being in this space is not new to us at all. That's where we all started out..That's where we are trying to get back to...That's why some call it "Home coming" We were all completely in our consciousness as an innocent, precious child. If you observe an infant or toddler they are completely in consciousness with there absolutely wonderful spontaneity and vitality. The reason why a child has so much energy is because they ARE 100% in CONSCIOUSNESS … their thinking mind is not developed yet,not "corrupted" either.. The influence of their environment including the adaptation of introjects has not completely effective their behavior ( yet ). Their reactions to everything is based on intuitive spontaneity, their harmless misunderstood feelings and natural well defined "boundaries" that will eventually be destroyed by ignorance. And here I will make perhaps another controversial statement based on my own conclusions. The conventional means to educate has a major flaw where it teaches everyone to " Think" all the time. This is really a MAJOR set back in the development of the psyche. Obviously the intellect needs to be educated and nourished by knowledge in order to grow and survive, but the establishment should also teach that once you Go To your Intellect to accomplish whatever..then Let Go..back into the State of consciousness..This would maintain a very healthy state of being for the psyche.Now after many years of "programming" our self to stay in the head and think, we need to find our way back to where we started from for our sanity.. The Observing Self*
Being in this "place" of Higher Consciousness is perhaps best described as the Observing Self, that part of our consciousness that observes everything. If the thought of letting go of your thinking should bring up any fear, first allow your self to feel what you are feeling...take a moment just to be with what you are feeling. When I first realized that I needed to let go I was scared, had a crazy thought that if I let go I would "lose it" which was just one of my crazy introjects talking... As that realization hit me I laughed...
Later on this page you will discover that this higher consciousness is a natural place for us to " be"...
One of the best descriptions and explanations can be found in a book called *The Observing Self copyright and authored by Arthur J. Deikman, M.D. This outstanding book not only details the concept of the Observing Self it also crystallizes the significance of shifting our consciousness from our mind to the observing self and also validates my own observations while “being there”.. And with most if not all books, seminars and studies I have reviewed all professionals agree that the ultimate goal of Recovery is Higher Consciousness.
Reprinted by permission."The Observing Self by Dr.Arthur J. Deikman,MD
Pg. 108” By dis-identifying with automatic sequences we lessen their impact and provide free space in which to choose an appropriate response. Thus we achieve autonomy where previously we were overwhelmed and helpless. Anxiety, depression and rage, even if not abolished, become restricted in their scope and attenuated. By identifying with the observing self, we can make a more realistic assessment of ourselves and our situation, permitting more effective creative behavior.”
In other words this is how you can separate from the EMOTIONAL CYCLE and apply the process of feeling the feeling AND ALSO as we will see later detach from the mind using our Observing Self and identify the negative inner dialog ( introjects ) that is influencing our decisions and behaviors.
Another excellent view and description on consciousness is found at Dr.Deikman's site. An article published by Dr.Deikman and reprinted here by permission. Dr.Deikman further points out the uniqueness of the consciousness vs. the content of the mind. The distinguished qualities of the consciousness is precisely why the healing processes must be applied through the consciousness. As a result of the spiritual characteristics of our consciousness, unlike the "content" and adaptation of introjects and the nature of repressed feelings developing into EMOTIONS the CONSCIOUSNESS cannot be CONTAMINATED . This is KEY in understanding one of the most perhaps controversial statements on this site that YOU CANNOT HEAL OR FIX ANYTHING WITH THE 'MIND". ( Referring to mind content,mind control ).
IDENTIFYING OUR CONSCIOUSNESS
First you need to have a basic understanding that the ultimate goal of recovery as noted before is "Higher Consciousness"..the ability to be 100% in the moment. This by no means can be achieved overnight. It will take an incredible commitment,time,patience , determination and above all practice,practice and more practice...
If you read a few of the reference books listed on the site you will confirm this and also the fact that you will not be able to fully develop this ability without completing a substantial amount of "feeling" work. However you will need to at least learn the basic skill so that you will be able to apply the procedure to the processes.
All of our dysfunctional Behaviors
and self destructive behaviors are a result of our reacting to two basic elements of our "SELF"..
Our feelings ( Emotions ) and our negative-abusive, self destructive) THOUGHTS.
THERE IS HOWEVER another part of our SELF. of our Psyche, that I will call here the THIRD element ...
that is our consciousness, also referred to by others as Higher Consciousness ..that part of us that observes .
This specific "part" is not , cannot be damaged or corrupted. The ability to develop this part of ourself will have a profound impact on our recovery, on our sanity !
From this vantage point is WHERE ALL OF THE HEALING AND GROWTH TAKES PLACE...
We need, you need a CONSCIOUS separation of these parts in order to identify them and begin the Healing Process
In order to even have a chance to recover one needs to acknowledge the existence of, be AWARE of, and develop on a daily basis the functioning of our self through the (Higher) Consciousness.
A BASIC EXAMPLE OF BEING IN A STATE OF (HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS)
"SIMPLICITY" is the key element to a healthy state of being there is no need to stay in the mind attempting to control every thought .letting go is the freedom we are looking for.....
Every time that you stop for a stop sign and (hopefully stop thinking ) observe if there is any traffic coming from either direction before proceeding..at that precise moment you are in the STATE OF HIGHER CONSCIOUNESS...
Another example is when I am at the gym working out and I am counting the reps to myself as I do the Arm Curls for example..at that given moment I am 100% focused on the repetition and movements. Completely concentrating on the task at hand...Also I would like to mention is that when you are focused outwardly on the task at hand " time" seems to slow down...
The added bonus is that when you are " There"... your energy quadruples, skyrockets.....
BEING THERE..in Higher Consciousness is an incredible "space" to be because when you are there..it IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANY NEGATIVE THOUGHTS TO ATTACK YOU...THUS ABSOLUTELY NO EMOTIONAL ATTACKS EITHER...
"SIMPLICITY" is the key element to a healthy state of being
there is no need to stay in the mind attempting to control every thought ...You really Can't !!
letting go is the freedom we are looking for.....
WHAT HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS IS NOT...
Actually the significance of developing your knowledge and experiencing Higher Consciousness is the number one key to your success with the Recovery.
Higher Consciousness…it is not any weird religious cult , witchcraft or any other “spaced out” condition…
Some individuals and groups practice visualizing a pleasant thought and stay focused on the illusion.. this is not “Higher Consciousness”. This is a mindful act, and will not heal and will also be extremely exhaustive and probably lead eventually to psychosis.
It has evolved through culture, tradition & society erroneously that we need to think all the time, be in our head all the time.. CONTROL THIS, CONTROL THAT… This could not be further from the truth.
A very sad fact of life is Child development is focused on the intellect and just about absolutely considerations or knowledge on "EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT"..
Developing the first Skill
Our consciousness is Ground Zero of our cognitive part of our psychic. And as noted above the PLACE where the action is.. Here we will attempt to explain, give examples and perhaps an exercise or two to introduce the reader to a wonderful space, place to “be”… It is important for you to spend a lot of time understanding and developing the skill of "letting go" of the thinking mind and focus outwardly..Just applying this SKILL to very basics like buttoning a collar, washing dishes,brushing your teeth are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT even though to our ego may seem trivial. Even the most advanced "ZEN MASTERS" took a long time to develop their skill. Remember, this is not at all "Controlling your mind" it is just letting go... The more skilled you become with this first step , the easier the following steps will be..
Take a break for a moment and do an extremely simple exercise to EXPERIENCE your consciousness…
Think of a number from 1 to 10… Take your time …PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR THOUGHTS..
Think about for another moment.. change it ,just for the heck of it…. OK Got It ?..
As you were just PAYING ATTENTION TO THE PROCESS OF ELIMINATION YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS WAS OBSERVING YOUR THOUGHTS.
Your observation of your thought process was your observing self, your CONSCIOUSNESS. Guess what folks.. You were just in HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS when you were OBSERVING YOUR THOUGHTS…can you see that in fact our consciousness and our thinking mind are separate ? YOUR CONSCIOUS WAS OBSERVING THE THOUGHT, You may need to go over the exercise again..as I did before "I got it "...
Next time you are doing a simple task like washing dishes, tightening a screw or bolt..deliberately stop thinking and observe, pay attention, focus 100 % on the "task at hand". As you do it you will witness that there are no negative inner thoughts bothering you, no feelings coming up at that precise moment...
“Let Go “ of thinking and observe for a moment…
If you pay attention you will realize that at that precise moment there are no negative thoughts..
Actually zero thoughts and subsequently zero feelings ( emotions) interfering…
Pretty Cool !! isn’t it… Once again this is like a new “space” to be in..(actually as I stated above it’s not really new..we just haven’t been there in years…) you will need to practice being there …
Practice for a minute or two each day..This is actually the ULTIMATE GOAL OF RECOVERY.. HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS.. but we just can’t jump there without a tremendous amount of effort and time… And as mentioned in a few of the books listed on this site you need to do a considerable amount of emotional healing work to progress into Higher Consciousness more and more…but you also need at least to be able to get out of your head, shift into your higher consciousness in order to “Process”.
Now as you have a good sense as to your Higher Consciousness..
START OBSERVING YOUR FEELINGS AND YOUR THOUGHTS..
RECOMMENDED BOOKS..
With each phase of the ACCELERATED RECOVERY PROCESS we will only present here the basic concept with supporting guidelines for you to follow.
In many cases because of the nature of the work you will need additional "validations" before you would even consider trying out the new skills.
Suggested reading: THE OBSERVING SELF by Arthur J. Deikman
THE WAY OF ZEN by Alan Watts
TOO SIMPLE ?
It may seem to be too simple that such a significant change can occur with what appears to be nothing at all. That is precisely one of the misconceptions of the mind. "It must be more complicated than this...This is just too simple to have any effect on my major disorders.... This "judgement" is precisely what you want to avoid,do not listen to it..It is one of the "Introjects" attempting to control you and stop you from what you want to do ( again ! ) .
"A key PRINCIPLE of a healthy state of being is to be in the moment , not to be buried in the mind.. the simplicity of our consciousness is our ultimate bliss..."C.Barbarow,2005
You will find out later, not to pay attention to the "small talk"...the Chitter,chatter that we are all aware of...Another point to consider is that the mind is like a computer, we should only "Go there" when we need to for intellectual matters LIKE SOLVING PROBLEMS.....
Dr.Arthur J.Deikman author of the OBSERVING SELF has completed additional an study on the issue of CONSCIOUSNESS.
By permission of Dr.Deikman we are presenting to you additional material on the following page.
CONSCIOUSNESS TO TOP HOME VISITOR FEEDBACK