𝙊𝙣 𝙃𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨

The idea of higher consciousness might sound a little woo-woo.

The term is almost always used in spiritual contexts, often by pretentious mystics or posers.

But higher consciousness has inherently nothing to do with spirituality.

Let's talk about it in purely rational and scientific terms.

As humans, we spend most of our life in states of lower consciousness.

Our primary concern is our own self — our survival, our relationships, our successes or failures.

We constantly obsess about the past or worry about the future. And care too much about what other people think of us.

There's a lower part of the brain — labelled the 'reptilian brain' — which we could probably associate with lower consciousness.

The reptilian brain is self-obsessed, greedy and aggressive. It operates from a place of fear and acts on impulse.

And it can dominate our thinking process... if we let it.

Thankfully, we have the neocortex, the outermost layer of our brain, which enables our complex thinking.

It gives us the power of abstract thoughts, logic, language, imagination, empathy and higher-order thinking like thinking about thinking.

The neocortex is what separates us from animals.

We rarely utilize the full powers of our 'higher' mind.

States of higher consciousness allow you take a step back and detach yourself from your ego, your self-identity.

Your mind moves beyond your desires and fears.

You become much more self-aware and transcend the mind’s normal preoccupation with the past and the future.

And our awareness is such a fascinating thing.

Where it comes from is still a deep and intriguing problem for science.

(The idea that our brain creates consciousness is a metaphysical assumption, not a scientific fact.)

Do this little exercise right now.

For a moment, close your eyes and simply observe your thoughts without any reactions or judgements. Don't resist anything.

And maybe label your emotions / thoughts in 3rd person.

You just observed yourself from a higher position. Almost as a separate entity. Instead of being wrapped up inside your identity.

In states of higher consciousness, you learn to see things for what they are instead of what you want them to be.

In normal states, your ego puts a filter on everything that comes through your senses, distorting your perspectives.

When you actively try to understand yourself in this way, you become open to seeing thoughts and belief patterns running in the background of your mind.

Allowing you to identify the unconscious patterns that don't serve you.

And when you consistently practice this skill, your ability to access the higher states of consciousness becomes sharper and sharper.

That's the whole fucking idea behind mindfulness meditation.

You can also enter an almost trance-like state of higher consciousness when you are deeply involved in something.

Like solving a difficult problem or creating art or maybe just listening to music.

It's referred to as the "flow state".

Where you become one with what you're doing.

Your inner critic (ego) shuts up.

Everything flows effortlessly.

You are at your absolute best.

And when you get out of the flow state, you feel like you just snapped back into reality.

I'm sure you have experienced it at some point in your life.

Your best work, your happiest moments, your most profound insights, your most fulfilling experiences — all arrive in states of higher consciousness.

Consciousness is a spectrum. And there are some magical ways to ascend further higher in this spectrum.

(But that’s for some other day. If you know you know :)

For now, realize that, as a society, we are drifting away from these states of higher consciousness.

Our modern technology, lifestyle, diets, habits all our pushing us towards lower states of consciousness.

You need to actively fight the attacks on your consciousness.

Here's a good place to start: https://dismantledmind.com/how-your-reptilian-brain-controls-you/

Onwards and upwards.