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The Importance of Holistic Consciousness

Sustainability

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May 13, 2014

The Importance of Holistic Consciousness

“There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with people. Given a story to enact that puts them in accord with the world, they will live in accord with the world. But given a story to enact that puts them at odds with the world, as yours does, they will live at odds with the world. Given a story to enact in which they are the lords of the world, they will act as the lords of the world. And, given a story to enact in which the world is a foe to be conquered, they will conquer it like a foe, and one day, inevitably, their foe will lie bleeding to death at their feet, as the world is now.” ~ Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael

Have you been seduced into screwing everyone else on the planet? Is the story you’re enacting one of conquer-control-consume-repeat? Is the cultural myth you’ve swallowed your entire life at odds with nature and the world? –Tough questions, certainly, but important questions to ask nonetheless.

The story we have been enacting so far as a culture is one of human supremacy over nature. We believe that we are the pinnacle of evolution, imagining that nature was put here somehow for us to conquer and rule over. This cultural myth is parochially driven and egocentric, and has led to the degradation of the environment and the exploitation of people.

We imagine that our supremacy will eventually lead to complete control of nature, at which point we will be able to bring about a utopian paradise. We continue to fail, however, because we are a flawed and fallible species –not to mention an exceedingly insecure one. And so our “paradise” eludes us, and we are instead left with a burnt-out husk for a planet, due to the violation of certain immutable laws.

Indeed, there are immutable laws that, if broken, have dire consequences. As a culture we have broken many of these immutable laws, and we are beginning to see the consequences, such as endangered or extinct species, global warming, and modern mental health issues. Immoderate and fundamentally unsustainable, civilized societies are failing the world. Human supremacy is nothing more than a cultural myth. We have forgotten that we are not independent creatures.

We are, in all ways, interdependent creatures. When we enact the myth of independence from nature, or dominance over nature, we are breaking an immutable law. It is time we got back to an intimate understanding of our place within the biosphere, a Great Re-wilding. It is time we let go of the myth of control and gain a more holistic consciousness in regard to our relationship with the natural world.

In his novel, Ishmael, Daniel Quinn explains two types of people: the Leavers and the Takers. According to Quinn, “The premise of the Takers’ story is ‘The world belongs to man.’ …The premise of the Leavers’ story is ‘Man belongs to the world.’” Let’s face it: our culture is a Taker culture.

As Takers, we must be willing to transform ourselves into Leavers, or at least begin practicing Leaver strategies, if we want to live sustainably on a finite planet. We must be willing to progress, not regress, into rewriting the story as ‘Man is interdependent with the world.’” This is the essence of holistic consciousness. We and the biosphere are mutually dependent, inter-reliant. To the extent that it seems we are separate is an illusion. This is the epitome of deep ecology.

And there is no reason why we cannot improve upon Quinn’s Takers/Leavers dichotomy and add a third type: Makers. Makers will create from nature in moderation, taking what they need to progress sustainably, while creating sustainable technologies that help both the human and the biotic community progress and flourish.

Makers will be eco-centric, as opposed to ego-centric (Takers), and proactive, as opposed to passive (Leavers). They will be the ones to sound the horn for a new way of going about doing things, a call to sustainable arms.

They will merge the modern world with the natural world, uniting the conscious aspect with the primitive. Unlike Leavers they won’t be docile and submissive; they will be courageous and proactive. Unlike Takers they won’t be hoarding and plundering; they will be creative and healing. They won’t be inert consumers, they will be heroic rebels. Like Rollo May wrote, “Recall how often in human history the saint and the rebel have been the same person” Indeed, Makers will be both saints and rebels.

It is only in accordance with immutable laws that human evolution can achieve a balance with nature. The combination of creating sustainable technologies (Makers) and living in accordance with nature (Leavers) should allow us to evolve past the unsustainable methods of modern civilizations (Takers).

And who knows, with enough time, and enough eco-centric Makers practicing holistic consciousness and deep ecology, we may yet achieve a state of paradise. One thing is for certain, it won’t be achieved if we are enacting a story that is at odds with the world.

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Deep ecology
Right wrong
Love your mother
Get a plant
Leaf People

Listen to Your Intuition, Whispers From the Soul

Spirituality

Garima Roy

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May 13, 2014

6

Listen to Your Intuition, Whispers From the Soul

“I believe in intuitions and inspirations…I sometimes feel that I am right. I do not know that I am.” ~ Albert Einstein

Have you experienced a moment when you felt something wasn’t right or it was absolutely perfect? Like walking into a house for rent or sale, and you instantly know it’s the right place to live. Or you take up a job or a task and know whether it would work out or not.

Its that inner voice telling you the solution to problems and decision-making without the use of rational processes and logical reasoning.

It’s your intuition that just knows. Researchers describe intuition as “rapid intellect” or “condensed reasoning” which is present in each and every living being. The word “intuition” comes from the Latin word intueri, which means knowledge from within.

Intuition is the connecting path between the subconscious and conscious mind. Your subconscious mind converses with the conscious mind all the time. This phenomenon of the inner world is popularly known as “gut feeling”. Having a gut feeling is as natural as feeling sad, happy or angry.

“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” ~ C.G. Jung

In spite of the knowledge of the power of intuition, we are swayed into believing and developing a logical rationale. In the past, science has always out ruled the power of intuition over logic and its only now that several scientific research has proved that intuition is not a magical occurrence but a well-coordinated process between the brain and the heart.

When you feel contraction of energy inside your system at the thought of something, it’s your intuition giving you a warning signal. Similarly, when you experience an expansion of energy, it’s your intuition bouncing positive feelings.

However, in this chaotic world of information, it has become quite difficult to listen and tap into the inner signals. At the same time you are also responsible for creating blockages within yourself. If you are clouded with ego, pre-conceived theories and excessive random stream of thoughts, you might have trouble listening to your inner wisdom.

But every problem is a blessing in disguise as it motivates you to seek a new path. Here the idea is to understand how to maintain a smooth communication channel with your intuition.

Below are 10 ways to tap into your intuition and create your own reality –

1) De-clutter your mind

If you can think for yourself, you need not take anyone’s unsolicited advice seriously. Rather introspect and use your gut feelings to reach to a conclusion. Harbingers of self-destruction for e.g. ego, jealously, revenge hazes your ability to listen to your inner voice. The aim is to get rid of the negativity to re-boot your self.

2) Meditate

There are several forms of meditation that helps one in achieving a balanced and quiet mind. Indulging in few minutes of meditation everyday will help you in getting in touch with your intuitive mind.

3) Spend time in Nature

Nature heals. Go for a walk in the woods. Feel the grass and acknowledge the beauty around you. Let the breeze gush through your soul. Breathe and let the soul dance. Discover the joy of being one with your surroundings.

4) Listen to sharpen your intuition

Listen to experiences of near and dear ones compassionately. You never know, they might know your troubles and help you out of it.

5) Try Affirmations

Affirmations can help you to purify your thoughts and help you develop a more positive perception of yourself. Writing simple affirmations daily like “I am listening to my intuition,” “I am in touch with my source of energy,” will instill positive feelings and thoughts in your subconscious mind.

6) Be Compassionate towards your body

No one can get away with abusing his or her body. Don’t over exert yourself and most importantly, take care of it.

7) Let go

Learn to let go and surrender to the need to control. Nothing is worth clinging to, as that will eventually disconnect you from your inner voice.

8) Practice

Learn to listen to your intuition and inculcate the habit of following the message it has to give. The more you listen, the stronger it gets. Start off by asking yourself simple questions, like try to guess who is calling you before answering the phone, whether it will rain or not and so on. The more you practice, the better you get at recognising the whispers from your soul.

9) Emphasise the positive

Positive people have been reported to have stronger sense of intuition. So stay positive and smile!

10) Understand Selflessness

A person who feels abundance is rewarded in abundance by the universe. Never give a second thought to an act of kindness. Selflessness makes one fall in love with the self. Once you discover the joy of this beauty, you will the positive energy within.

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Self Intuition

A Metaphysical Journey Through Epilepsy

Artwork

Michael Armenia

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May 12, 2014

6

After waking from a childhood coma at around the age of 4, Myron Dyal awoke to a complete loss of memory never to be regained. From that point forward he experienced seizures and visions that no one could explain – blacking out, seeing things no one else could affirm.

With staunch Christian beliefs his family treated the disorder as if it were demonic possession including the requisite religious rite of exorcism. It would take some time before Myron would be diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy and now at the age of 70 he has come into his own blessing in living with it in grace.

At the onset of a complex partial seizure, California-based artist, Myron, falls into somewhat of an altered state not induced by external means. He can communicate, talk and can function physically on some basic levels. However, what he sees is the vision of another world, a surreal environment populated with entities with whom he can speak and interact.

He may not be isolated completely from our world, but for as long as he is in this state his living presence is in another realm of consciousness. Though he interacts with us, his memory of what’s happening on our side of the veil can be non-existent; yet, he comes out of this state with a story to tell from the other side.

Inspired by his mystical experiences encountered during those episodes, Myron translates these ineffable visions into drawings, paintings and mixed-media sculptures communicating viscerally and spiritually what no words can express. He began with journal entries recording his visions. He has thousands of drawings in numerous journals.

The-Dream-of-the-Eyes — The Dream of the Eyes

Many of the human-like creatures are in fact non-human and otherworldly with features such as pincer hands, fan like protuberances on the heads, many appendages or a tail. Symbolism is ubiquitous.

Looking at the entire work Myron has created over decades one gets a real sense of what lies behind the veil through which Myron passes. With energetic sensibility and organic surrealism, his paintings and sculptures speak of a personal myth, what Joseph Campbell would call a hero’s journey.

myron-dyal-art-journal-Entry — Journal entry by Myron Dyal

In his autobiographical journal “Journey to Zelcon” Myron tells us of a journey into the underworld in which he is ferried to its apparent leader who he calls a demonic entity. The entity asks Myron why he is there and then proceeds to tell him it is no place for mortals. “Leave this place. Leave and never return.”

Despite being surrounded by corpses, rotting flesh, bloody entrails, the foulest stench and the darkest gut wrenching scenes imaginable, at that moment Myron’s fears were allayed. He even describes this entity’s demeanor as kind and gentle. Although the visions may be disturbing in imagery and the experience may be frightening, what Myron feels is love, not fear.

One of the important figures in Myron’s other world is a kind entity that Myron named Charon. Although inspired by the ferryman of the famous Greek myth, this Charon is not a ferryman but a spirit guide who often appears in Myron’s works in some form.

His latest endeavor is the creation of a pantheon of goddesses and anthropomorphized figures which he collectively calls “Charon’s Pantheon.” (this collection is currently at the Performing Arts Center Gallery of Cal State University, California, where it remains until June 7, 2014.)

Altered states of consciousness have been inspiration to many an artist for ages. Many of these have been voluntarily induced with the use of natural and synthetic hallucinogens like those used in shamanistic rituals. Further exploration of the motifs in these art works, the works of Myron and others with temporal lobe epilepsy, may give insight into the deep root that all of these artists are tapping.

We might call this root a single underlying cosmic consciousness. Aldous Huxley called this “Mind At Large” in his book “The Doors of Perception.” This experience of interconnectedness or oneness is something many of us experience more often than not in fleeting moments. As Myron Dyal continues to dance with goddesses of another world, we can attempt to understand what they have to teach us vis-à-vis his artistic medium.

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Myron Dyal art

7 Signs You May Be Experiencing a Dark Night of the Soul

Gary Z McGee

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May 10, 2014

59

7 Signs You May Be Experiencing a Dark Night of the Soul

“There is scarcely any passion without struggle.” ~ Albert Camus

What is the Dark Night of the Soul?

When we are on the verge of uniting with the infinite wavelength of eternal vibration, our old frequency can sometimes go through a crisis of stasis. It buckles and bends trying to adjust itself and tune into the cosmic orchestra.

We tend to doubt everything we’ve known to be true. In worst (best) case scenarios we tend to fall into an existential crisis, or Dark Night of the Soul. But, if we are able to make it through this dark time, and shed that which has weighed us down, then we will open up once again, and even wider than before.

This can happen many times on our spiritual journey, and each time we tend to gain new levels of wisdom.

Here are seven signs you may be experiencing a dark night of the soul.

1) You’re experiencing, or have experienced, Ego Death

“I couldn’t live with myself any longer. And in this a question arose without an answer: who is the ‘I’ that cannot live with the self? What is the self? I felt drawn into a void. I didn’t know at the time that what really happened was the mind-made self, with its heaviness, its problems, that lives between the unsatisfying past and the fearful future, collapsed. It dissolved.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

Your sense of reality, or worldview, has been shattered. You have come to understand the illusory aspects of the ego and are in the process of letting attachment go. You are experiencing a re-organization, a reidentification, and a reinterpretation of the boundaries between self and cosmos.

Like Stanislav Grof wrote, “Ego death means an irreversible end to one’s philosophical identification with what Alan Watts called skin-encapsulated ego.”

The dark night of the soul is also referred to as the Night of Pan: the mystical state where one’s ego goes to die a small death in order to be reborn as a Soul. In mythological terms it’s a journey into the Underworld, where difficult trials must be completed before the hero can return back to the “real” world.

2) It is only when you’re alone, that you realize you’re never alone

“The capacity to be alone is the capacity to love. It may look paradoxical to you, but it’s not. It is an existential truth: only those people who are capable of being alone are capable of love, of sharing, of going into the deepest core of another person–without possessing the other, without becoming dependent on the other, without reducing the other to a thing, and without becoming addicted to the other.

They allow the other absolute freedom, because they know that if the other leaves, they will be as happy as they are now. Their happiness cannot be taken by the other, because it is not given by the other.” ~ Osho

You feel alone and isolated in the world at times, but you find that it is actually in your alone time that things become clearer and more connected. You realize the utmost importance of solitude and meditation. You’re coming to find that being alone and silent is a very important part of individuating the ego and actualizing the soul.

We are each a microcosm within a macrocosm, tiny stars within a greater universe, drops of water in a mighty cosmic ocean.

This is the great lesson of loneliness: we can no more separate the micro from the macro than we can the human from the natural. Both are needed to put the whole into holistic.

It’s the astonishing ache of loneliness that causes us to feel, as Kafka wrote, “This tremendous world I have inside of me. How to free myself, and this world, without tearing myself to pieces. And rather tear myself to a thousand pieces than be buried with this world within me.”

3) You have a new-found appreciation of your mortality

“Thanks to impermanence everything is possible.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

You have become exceedingly introspective. The weight of time is like a giant sitting on your shoulders. But you are beginning to learn how to reverse that dynamic, becoming someone who has the ability to stand on the shoulders of the giants instead.

You appreciate more the passing of time: the reminiscence of times past, the contemplative present, and the forbearance of things future. It’s all a giant telescopic projection of your third eye focused on the intrinsic value of mortality, and how it brings meaning in ways immortality simply cannot.

4) The purpose of your life has taken on new meaning

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what this world needs are people who have come alive.” ~ Howard Thurman

You realize that the meaning of life is whatever you want your life to mean. But this is a huge responsibility, tantamount to an existential crisis. Your breath catches in your throat, and is then dragged out of you.

You are now suddenly duty-bound to bring meaning to an otherwise meaningless universe. It’s up to you, and you alone, to be the hero of your own story.

It’s up to you, and you alone, to get beyond the artificial division you’ve created between yourself and the world. The mountain of meaningless you’ve been standing on hitherto, awaits the flag of your own unique meaning to be stabbed into it.

The path to your own meaning is daunting, but it is a path that only you can walk.

5) You’re more aware of the importance of your freedom

“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” ~ Deepak Chopra

You understand that freedom is paramount. But willing yourself free is not easy. Freedom is something you do, not something you are. It is not a given. It takes effort, courage, and determination, usually in the face of those who would force you to live their way.

You see how the inert, civilized human has escaped the anguish of freedom only to fall into a state of preoccupation and paranoia.

You see how the inert lifestyle can lead to nihilism and tyranny (extremism). You see how acting courageous in the face of that inertia is a powerful way to thwart the would-be tyrant within.

You’re slowly becoming a freedom unto yourself, and though it hurts like hell, you realize that it’s better to be an unsatisfied free man than a satisfied slave.

6) You’re experiencing anomie and cognitive dissonance

“It is a happy faculty of the mind to slough that which conscience refuses to assimilate.” ~ William Faulkner

Anomie is a term popularized by French sociologist Émile Durkheim. It is a nurtured condition that arises from the lack of morality and social ethics in one’s culture. You’ve experienced the pain of this condition and you are in the process of embracing it and letting it go in order to discover your own sense of values.

Similarly, your old worldview has been trumped by the new worldview brought about by the individuation of your ego and the actualization of your soul. This is known as cognitive dissonance. It’s an unsettling feeling to have two worldviews clashing inside you, but you are working through it and will be better for the struggle in the end.

7) You realize that the ability to fall apart and coming back together again is real strength

“Suddenly you’re ripped into being alive. And life is pain, and life is suffering, and life is horror, but my god you’re alive and it’s spectacular.” ~ Joseph Campbell

You realize that healthy annihilation is possible, and necessary. Like the Hindu Goddess of Never Not Broken, you’re learning to embody the ability to come together and fall apart, over and over again.

Indeed, you’re discovering that your strength comes precisely from your ability to experience a dark night of the soul and come out of it with scars blazing like badges of honor.

You are constantly in the throes of metanoia.

You’ve been fire-tested. You’ve been verified by vicissitude. Your strength comes from your ability to adapt and overcome to falling apart and coming back together again, from wholeness to brokenness and back to a stronger form.

The Dark Night of the Soul explained by William Meader from the American Theosophical Society

William Meader: The Dark Night of the Soul

Let’s delve deeper into the 10 Things I learnt from my Dark Night of the Soul and the 4 Steps Toward Surviving a Dark Night of the Soul.

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Ego death
Mortality
Balance
Dark night of the soul art

10 Existential Movies You Must Watch

Garima Roy

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May 8, 2014

31

Cinema is an eloquent form of art. Since ages, it has played an instrumental role in portraying and foretelling the stories of mankind. It has picked up several themes: existentialism being one of them.

Existentialism has been an area of curiosity since mid-20th century among artists, painters, writers and filmmakers. Although the roots of existentialism goes back to 19th century, where Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche began to explore the meaning and worth of human life in changing times.

In the late 1950s, French filmmakers inspired by existentialist stream of philosophy made films that threw light on a man’s quest for a deeper meaning in life.

Soon, existential cinema was a genre of its own and filmmakers dived into the abyss of human existence elucidating stories that made one introspect and reflect. Think and act.

Here is a list of 10 movies that meanders on the philosophy of existentialism, giving one a deeper insight into life.

1) The Seventh Seal (1957)

The Seventh Seal talks about idealism, human faith and the understanding behind spiritual enlightenment. Philosophically, its a brilliant film with two intertwined stories projecting the uncertainties of life using powerful analogies.

It breaks the concept of religious sentiments and tries to make one understand that, ultimately, the self has to offer the meaning to life.

“I want knowledge! Not faith, not assumptions, but knowledge. I want God to stretch out His hand, uncover His face and speak to me.” ~ The Seventh Seal.

2) The Passenger (1975)

Michelangelo Antonioni’s, “The Passenger” is a thought-provoking masterpiece that delves into the theory of past and present in context to identity and escapism. The story line embraces the irony of life in a positive light. Keeping this in focus, the movie revolves around the metaphor ‘Irony’.

It’s about a journey of a man called David Locke who is craving freedom from ironic circumstances. He finds himself standing on the various threshold of life and its epiphanies. The movie throws a great amount of light on existential angst.

3) The Truman Show (1998)

“The Truman Show” makes a poignant differentiation between illusion and reality. Nothing can be more dangerous for a man who has started believing in his own ignorance and mistakes.

The protagonist, Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) takes us on his journey of skepticism forcing us to think and question our own beliefs/reality formed by the society we live in. By the end of the film, one gradually introspects the self with a different perspective.

4) Modern times (1936)

Modern Times by Charles Chaplin is an influential critique of the social structure and class division in our society. Due to a refrained social structure, one seldom is allowed to discreetly slip into the world of his own imagination and dreams.

The movie ponders upon Nietzsche’s philosophy of good vs bad life. Modern times displays how social structures and class positioning have become parameters to gauge goodness of life over time. Clearly, existential crisis that is drilled into your brain deliberately is not an existential crisis.

5) Ikiru (1952)

Ikiru is a movie that deals with a bureaucrat’s struggle to come to terms with his impending death. He has less than a year to live and in introspection, he realizes his mundane existence where he never bothered to live the way he would have wished to.

He never took a step to unravel himself and decided to do something worthwhile before his life ends. The movie is a journey of those philosophical vs. practical arguments, which we often deal with.

6) Winter light (1963)

Winter light is a story of a pastor who is in a state of despair as he deals with existential crisis and Christianity. He can’t make sense of the random world and struggles with his faith.

The movie focuses on understanding various textures of emotions in times of crisis. A bad experience, however, is a good lesson.

7) Lord of the flies (1963)

Lord of the flies reflects Locke and Hobbes’s existential philosophy of life. In a lifetime, several times we find ourselves standing on the verge of good and evil. The movie gives an interesting insight into understanding the inherent nature of human kind using influential symbolism.

8) Wings of Desire (1987)

“Wings of Desire” is a surreal representation of what it takes to be a human being. An angel descends upon earth and explores the existence of humans on earth. The angel is enthralled by the genuine human love and wishes to experience the same.

The movie has strikingly articulated thoughts about existentialism.

Isn’t life under the sun just a dream? Isn’t what I see, hear, and smell just the mirage of a world before the world? Does evil actually exist, and are there people who are really evil? How can it be that I, who am I, wasn’t before I was, and that sometime I, the one I am, no longer will be the one I am?

9) Slacker (1991)

Slacker is an intriguing movie exploring existential philosophy and the ephemeral circulation of ideas in society. It shows the way of life of overactive minds in a passive lifestyle that follow existential dilemmas.

It projects that section of people who were largely known as dreamers, misfits and misguided generation during the 1990s.

It wasn’t easy to blind or brainwash slackers as they completely out ruled the false beliefs and logics of selfish authorities like the Government. The movie brings up the challenges of being a part of such stream of consciousness.

10) Waking life (2001)

After ‘Slacker,’ the same director Rickard Linklater, released “Waking Life” ten years later. The movie is considered a sequel to Slacker. It talks about dreaming, lucid dreaming and reality mystically.

The movie showcases an interesting perspective to human existence, laying emphasis on understanding coincidences and the meaning of connections, as everything is connected to everything else.

On really romantic evenings of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion. ~ Waking Life

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Existentialism
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