Expansion of consciousness: where and why? How to expand consciousness: several techniques and steps to achieve this goal What does it mean to expand consciousness

The theme of the expansion of consciousness has reached the peak of its popularity, although perhaps not, and the highest peak of its popularity is yet to come, but since the second half of the 20th century, this topic has become more and more interesting to mankind, new author's methods are being created on the basis of yogic knowledge. Some of them will be discussed in this article.

Expansion of Consciousness: A Practical Method

To expand consciousness means to go beyond the existing boundaries of perception. People are often interested in methods of expanding consciousness, but it is worth noting that our consciousness is never in the same state. Its boundaries are not rigidly fixed, thus, almost any event in life can have such a strong impact on human perception that the boundaries of consciousness themselves go beyond the usual limits. No wonder they say that when an unexpected event happens to a person, it can directly affect his attitude to reality, how he will perceive it.

An interesting question is the connection between consciousness and perception. Perhaps, here we can say that our consciousness directly depends on the way of perceiving reality, but there is also an inverse relationship, when your perception depends on the breadth of consciousness. This statement leads us to the following conclusion: from whatever side you start your development, from the side of changing the angle of perception or starting to work with consciousness, this will lead to the fact that the second element of this pair will also be subject to change and, perhaps, even transformation. (a pair, as you already understood, is consciousness and perception).

The way in which consciousness can be influenced through perception can be illustrated by a technique that is quite popular these days: we stop fixing attention on negative situations, in general we don’t perceive negative as negative, changing the perception of unpleasant situations or facts to positive, we choose the position of “crazy an optimist who says that everything that is done is for the best, and we begin to live in this mode.

Thus, we develop a new outlook on life, the perception of reality under the influence of regular practice of boundless optimism will gradually begin to change, and with it the consciousness itself. At the same time, the more you are in a state of internal and external awareness, the more useful this practice will be for you, i.e. you not only do it mechanistically, automatically, because it is ordered to do it, but you are fully aware of the events and your reactions to them.

Awareness of life, situations and being in general can also be singled out as a separate independent practice, which is devoted not only to dozens of books, but almost every present spiritual teaching places the practice of cultivating mindfulness at the forefront. The development of awareness is seen as a cornerstone in the system of self-development embedded in the spiritual teaching, therefore, the development of the practice of awareness is taught from the very beginning of the student's immersion in new system knowledge. What is meant by mindfulness practice?

Multidimensional expansion of consciousness through the practice of observation

First of all, the multidimensional expansion of consciousness is not only awareness of your actions, but above all of your reaction to them. At the forefront are the observation of emotion, tracking its appearance and extinction. Ideally, this technique should be applied to any emotion that has arisen, so over time you will learn to track and even prevent the development and development of emotions, especially negative ones, into some kind of emotional outburst. To do this, from the very beginning, you must disidentify with the emotion as such. Stop impersonating your own "I" with a specific state. Many spiritual teachings, no matter how different in their essence and direction, at this point come to an agreement that the human "I" is not an emotion or a state, not to mention that it is even more so not an external image, as you yourself understand.

Therefore, during the very initial stage of the emergence of an emotion, let's say you begin to feel anger inside, you must switch from the object that caused this feeling to the feeling itself and try to feel it. It would seem that there is a contradiction in this, because you should not personify yourself with a feeling, and at the same time you should feel it, immerse yourself in it. However, there is a big difference between awareness, feeling the emotion itself and unconscious reactions caused by this emotion, under the influence of which you will respond to the challenge of reality or, in other words, react to the object.

The practice of expanding consciousness according to the method of Jose Silva

Many of you have probably heard about the Jose Silva method of expanding the boundaries of consciousness. In his method, the theory of brain wave activity comes to the fore, where

The beta rhythm is activated when we are awake and perform normal activities, work. The oscillation frequency can vary from 14 to 40 Hz.
The alpha rhythm begins to work when we are physically less active, or even if we continue to seem so, but internally much more calm, then the oscillation frequency decreases. Characteristic of alpha-level frequencies from 8 to 13 Hz.
Theta rhythm is predominantly a sleep state, although for those who practice regular meditation, this rhythm of brain activity may turn on at the moment of meditation, which will mean being in deep meditation. Oscillation frequency from 4 to 8 Hz.
The delta rhythm manifests itself in a state of very deep sleep, and the frequency of vibrations ranges from 1 to 4 Hz.

José Silva was very familiar with meditation practices. On this he based his method of expanding consciousness, which later gained popularity under the name "fulfillment of desires according to the method of José Silva." Silva explained the miraculous effect of his method in this way: when a person is in a state of consciousness in which beta rhythms are maximally active, he cannot hear / accept a message from outside. External noise, too much mental activity (and we must not forget that our mind chatters incessantly) interferes with our inner development. Thoughts themselves act as a barrier between the personality and the information that a person can receive from higher planes. The “noise background” of the thought process dampens the vibrations of another level, which keeps a person from entering another qualitatively new level of consciousness. Later, other directions and schools of self-development and spiritual practices will call such a transition of consciousness from one level to another a “quantum leap” for greater clarity.

Hans Berger's contribution to the multidimensional expansion of consciousness

As we can see, Jose Silva did not make any special discoveries hitherto unknown to mankind, his merit lies in the fact that the knowledge that was known to the ancients, including yogis and followers of Buddhism (which, however, does not contradict one another, because yoga as a spiritual teaching can be integral part certain schools of Buddhism) became known to the general public, and without going into the specific terminology that schools of ancient teachings often use, Silva described what happens to a person using well-understood metaphors such as "receiver" and "transmitter", comparing the human mind with a radio receiver, as well as using the results of research of modern science.

For this we should be grateful to Hans Berger, the founder of the modern electroencephalogram, who was the first to record fluctuations in the electrical activity of the brain in the range of 8-12 Hz and immediately called them alpha waves, since they were the first to be discovered. Until now, official science cannot give an unambiguous explanation for the activity of these waves, while people practicing the expansion of consciousness have long understood that alpha rhythms of brain activity lead to the removal of internal psychological blocks, which instantly opens up access to other knowledge. , more extensive, not subject to the exact laws of logic, in a word, such a state of consciousness in which a person turns out to be incredibly creative.

Creativity: techniques and methods for expanding consciousness

Creativity reaches unprecedented heights, and it is no coincidence that most of the masterpieces from the world of art and scientific discoveries were made precisely when the activity of beta waves was suppressed for some reason, as, say, in certain cases, when discoveries were made in a state of half sleep, i.e. the idea came just at the time when the person dozed off (namely then alpha rhythms manifest themselves with greater force). And is it not because doing creative work, playing music, creating pictures, participating in choral singing, a person actually goes into a state of meditation, and this is just such a state that is characterized by greater activity of alpha waves, sometimes with a transition to theta and minimal activation of beta waves? mode.

Now it becomes clear to us why often, when the question of expanding the boundaries of consciousness is asked, creativity is recommended, because it automatically, without special exercises, without dedication and study of complex, unknown practices, changes a person’s consciousness, because during the creative process, electrical brain waves change. Thus, doing something creative, even when creating crafts or sketching on paper, you yourself are immersed in meditation without realizing it. A similar state can be achieved during immersed long reading of literature.

Your brain is still emitting beta waves, but alpha is already starting to block them. By the way, it is this state that is called the state of “enhanced learning”. If you can stay in it for a certain period of time, then you need to use it to your advantage. This period is best remembered new material, in order to remember something, several repetitions or the use of mnemonic devices will not be required. Information enters directly into your consciousness because you have indeed expanded your consciousness.

Meditation as a method of expanding consciousness

The advantage of the new methods lies in the fact that in them, without any preparation, a person is given some techniques with which he can learn to dive into the alpha state. But such methods are suitable for those who in no way wish to practice meditation. For those who want to start practicing real meditation, maybe even visit or already practice, no other methods will be required, because whatever the new method, it always contains the basics of meditation practices. Therefore, even from a practical point of view, it will be better to master real meditation than to devote time to its derivative products that are only adapted for modern man, who does not often wonder where what came from.

Perhaps the most important thing to say about the expansion of consciousness is that it is unnecessary to strive for it. If we remember the words of the Buddha, who said that every desire (or aspiration) gives rise to suffering, then the meaning of the above will become clear in the context of expanding the boundaries of consciousness. It is rather a desire of the ego, "I", in self-affirmation, than an internal need. Although even a need can come from false causes, it can again be based on internal dissatisfaction own life, hence the desire to manifest oneself from the other side.

In fact, consciousness necessarily evolves into right time, if such is the plan that is destined from above, but it is not necessary that this should happen in this life. The very pursuit of something only testifies to the fact that a person is still looking for meaning in the external, even if we are talking about such a phenomenon as consciousness. Search and striving are the result of unsatisfied diverse desires that are sublimated, but do not leave a person alone to the end, they have not been eliminated. Try to generate fewer desires in general, and then everything that is required will come at the right time.

Instead of an afterword

Our reader probably already understood that one way or another, and the methods of expanding consciousness are associated with spiritual teachings, the practice of meditation, concentration and awareness. Therefore, it is time to decide for yourself whether you will delve further into this topic, following the path of ancient practices, or a superficial acquaintance with this sphere of human knowledge will be sufficient for you. The choice is yours. Be in the flow.

Speaking of expanded consciousness, they often mean some kind of exceptional state that only psychics, soothsayers and clairvoyants can have. But in fact, all people can expand the boundaries of their consciousness, this does not require some extraordinary gift.

What is our consciousness?

This is a conscious perception of the surrounding world through the senses or even special energy channels, if a person knows how to use them. The information received is subjected to study and processing, but not all, but only the most necessary, the one that is vital for us at a certain point in time. Everything else is ignored and discarded. Why?

Our consciousness is limited

The real volume of information that comes to us every second is millions of times greater than the volume that we are able to perceive. It is our narrow consciousness that is the reason that out of the total number of signals we selectively perceive and pass through ourselves the smallest part.

But just imagine how much our horizons would expand if we could know, understand, perceive and feel tens, hundreds, thousands of times more?

Expanding the boundaries of our consciousness is possible

The scope and depth of a person's consciousness can change. And for this there are two ways: external and internal expansion of consciousness. Expansion of consciousness inward is detachment from the external world and concentration on the inner world. This is the achievement of a state in which the senses are turned off for a while and our consciousness, tuned to receive information from the outside, switches to inner feelings. They, like external signals, are able to give us strength, open up knowledge about the world and about ourselves, and help us come to harmony.

Techniques for Inner Consciousness Expansion

The expansion of the inner consciousness is achieved by spiritual practices - concentration or meditation, uttering prayers or affirmations. However, only a very small part of people who use these techniques come to tangible changes in the psyche and consciousness. This happens because they take up their development without clear plan, without systems approach to lessons.

And they should first prepare their consciousness for the subtle techniques of its expansion, using meditations aimed at understanding themselves and increasing inner sensitivity, separating their “I” from external fuss and turmoil, emotional instability.

Only then can one begin to realize one's hidden reserves and sources of fears and anxieties, releasing accumulated resentments and disappointments, fears and anger.

And the final stage in the application of spiritual practices of expanding consciousness will be its spontaneity, integrity and freedom from restrictions.

Ways to expand consciousness outward

The second way is to overcome the limitations of consciousness through the development of all its components. Consciousness is made up of what we feel intuitively and in reality, from abstract and logical thinking, intellect and creativity, from the spirituality and morality of a person. By improving each of these elements, we destroy the barriers that we ourselves have created in our heads. For example, we are convinced that the world does not depend on our will in any way, that it does not give in to our influence, but, on the contrary, subjugates us to itself - "being determines consciousness." But a person has such a being that he deserves, because it first of all corresponds to his consciousness.

If a person sets mundane goals for himself, based on the limitations of his consciousness, his life and he himself will not change in any way. Although we can wish for more, but in order to realize these grandiose dreams, we first need to work on ourselves, on our consciousness.

Expanding the possibilities of his consciousness, a person gets the opportunity to create new world around you. He sets different goals, seeks different perspectives and expands the possibilities of his influence on his life and the whole world.

The expansion of consciousness is an expression popular in the world of self-development and meditation practices. I'm sure you've met him in books, or maybe heard mentions of how cool it is to take and "expand your consciousness", for example, with the help of fly agaric decoction. Let's look at this phenomenon from the standpoint of the practice of meditation and internal mental processes, and most importantly, what it gives a person. Indeed, in fact, this process is extremely important and helps to understand what exactly meditation and the practice of “states” can give you.

Everything that I met on the topic was nothing more than a philosophy that had no applied significance. Moreover, I have not met a single adequate explanation of what it is in general and what it is for. Most people, after reading a couple of books where this phrase is used, begin to think that they understand it. The other part believes that this phrase is already clear to everyone who hears it.

Let's take a scientific approach, however, and understand this expression from the point of view of meditation practice.

The “Wu Dao Pai” school, which adopted qigong, a system of psychotechniques of one of the oldest Chinese meditative directions, is distinguished by a very modern methodology that helps to clarify the vague topic of self-development, meditation.

self-knowledge

You have probably heard such a well-known thesis - All areas of self-development speak about the same thing in different words. And indeed, if you think about it, then a person at different times and in different countries asked the same questions about nature and the secrets of the universe and of course looked for answers to them.
Sooner or later, in the process of searching, a person realized that all the most important answers are hidden not in the depths of the ocean, the darkness of the endless space or the bowels of the earth, but in himself. By studying yourself, you can comprehend the laws of the world around. Thus the focus of knowledge turned from outside to inside.

Man realized that the external can be known through the internal, that everything works according to the same laws, and the simplest and most accessible field for their study is himself - his body and psyche. Thus, various methods of self-knowledge were created, with the help of which a person studied himself, the laws of his own psyche, the principles and mechanisms of the inner world.

But why is such self-knowledge necessary? Of course, in order to open the door to the new and the unknown. So that through the internal structure of oneself, to know the outside world and its laws, to reveal the secrets of the ocean depths and heavenly bodies. But this global work begins with the study of oneself.

The body, being the material manifestation of man, seemed the most familiar and least mysterious. In addition, the body seemed to be the least reliable source of effort - illness, old age, death - all this imposes restrictions. Of greatest interest to all was the soul, or psyche. After all, you can’t touch it, you won’t see it, and therefore it is more mysterious and attractive than the body. The psyche is not material, but it does not age (well, or its aging is not as obvious as the aging of the body) and perhaps does not die, as it happens, for example, with the body. So the emphasis in most practices of self-knowledge shifted to the study of the psyche while maintaining the health of the body. After all, the body, whatever one may say, is the temple of the soul, and the temple must be kept in good health. But still, the psyche - what is it, what does it consist of and can it be controlled?

Psyche

The human psyche is a multifaceted and complex concept. "Psyche" is Greek for soul. And of course, when a person is studying any unknown territory, which is essentially his own psyche, he needs a map of the area in order to at least roughly understand the area of study.
So, to draw up a map, you need to divide the territory. The psyche can be conditionally divided into two zones. Here we will be helped by the global work done by K.G. Jung, a famous Swiss psychotherapist, founder of the school of analytical psychology and his followers. But we interpret Jung's ideas in our own way, so as not to jump from one to another and confuse you, dear readers.

As we have already said, the psyche can be conditionally divided into two areas - consciousness and subconsciousness.
Consciousness is all that we know, realize, understand. For example, our personality, our self, how we perceive ourselves and what we identify with is part of our consciousness. Consciousness is a kind of active field or field of our internal active processes. All the processes that occur in our minds, we realize, notice and, thanks to this, at the very least we can manage these processes. We will talk about how awareness helps to manage internal processes below.

The subconscious, the second part of the psyche, is the dark side of the moon. That is why the subconscious is often called the zone of unconscious processes, that is, processes that we are not aware of. It is also part of our psyche: our reactions, internal mechanisms, which, nevertheless, are constantly working. They exist, they are always with us and they directly influence us, our decisions, our judgments, but they are, as it were, behind the scenes of our perception. We do not notice the processes taking place in our subconscious. Precisely because we do not notice these processes, do not catch them, these processes remain uncontrollable for us, and that is why these processes control us 100%.

So we are not always aware of why we acted one way or another in some situation, why we were offended by someone, or why we don’t like onions since childhood, or why we were lucky in some situation. I wrote about luck, but luck is also a chain of unconscious actions-processes that seem random to us, but are not random. In some systems of self-development, such an internal mechanism of luck and protection, for example, is called the Guardian Angel in order to somehow describe the fact that it works in our interests. That is, now, you probably understand that our subconscious is filled with a huge amount, in some cases, useful, and in some cases, harmful information.

The subconscious, in turn, can be conditionally divided into two sections - this is the personal subconscious and the collective subconscious. With the personal subconscious, everything is more or less clear - these are processes that are directly related to you. Your memories, impressions from the past, childhood, relationships with parents, etc. The collective subconscious is the more complex part of the subconscious. It is the idea of the collective subconscious that carefully gives us an understanding that all people, from the point of view of the psyche, are a single interconnected being, a single mental organism. After all, the collective subconscious is, as it were, one for all. You have probably heard that there are lakes and reservoirs that are connected to the ocean with the help of underground channels and caves. Thus, these lakes and reservoirs are formally independent, but in fact they are a continuation, part of the ocean. So it's the same with humans. Each of us perceives ourselves as a separate being not connected with other people, but in fact we are all connected and influence each other with the help of the collective subconscious. The collective subconscious can also be called collective thought or collective intention. It has existed for as long as humanity has existed, and perhaps even longer. Indeed, in fact, the collective unconscious unites not only all people, but in general all forms of life into a single mental system. It can be called the collective soul, of which we are all a part. At different times, different researchers and thinkers discovered this amazing phenomenon and tried to somehow describe it, name it, and even learn how to control it. For example, Vernadsky, a famous Russian biologist, called it the Noosphere - the sphere of reason or the sphere of thought. Einstein called it the Unified Field. In India, the collective soul is called the Akashic Record. Universal data bank, Information field, etc. It is from this area of the subconscious that our Intuition comes from - direct knowledge, which spontaneously manifests itself in us in some situations.

Our psyche can also be divided into three more planes. In Wu Dao Pai Qigong we call it the concept of the Three inner worlds. The two worlds - Earth and Sky - are the worlds of our subconscious, the middle world is the world of Man or the conscious part of the psyche. Thus, we entered the concept of three worlds - a very common concept in various systems of self-development, including shamanism, into Jung's theory of Consciousness and Subconsciousness.

So, the psyche is divided into three components - Earth, Man and Sky.
Earth is the sphere of instincts, the sphere of repressed tensions, everything that we consider wrong, everything that we condemn and do not accept in ourselves and others. This is the dark side of man. This is all that can easily destroy a person, breaking through to freedom. However, the Earth does not mean something bad. So, for example, the instinct of self-preservation and the instinct of reproduction belong to the sphere of the Earth. If uncontrolled, these instincts can easily harm a person. For example, guided by too strong a self-preservation instinct, a person may harm another, or he may develop some kind of phobia out of excessive concern for his life. The reproductive instinct, being uncontrollable, can turn a person into a sexual maniac or simply induce a partner to cheat. But at the same time, thanks to the existence of these instincts, we have survived and are developing as a species. Thus, the whole question is only who controls whom and how much - you or you.

The sky is a sphere of light, higher manifestations of the psyche. The highest manifestations include a variety of mechanisms of our subconscious, responsible for our protection and development. A person often experiences a subconscious thirst, the source of which he does not realize - the thirst to develop. Become better, smarter, know yourself, develop your potential. This is the engine of our inner evolution, which is at the same time the engine of the development of the entire human race. This mechanism of Development can be called the Inner teacher, or even teachers, this is how this mechanism is treated in some systems of self-development. Thus, using this mechanism, a person believes that someone directs his development and, not realizing this mechanism in himself, begins to believe that he is something different from him - a kind of Spiritual Teacher. However, at such moments, we ourselves, without realizing it, teach ourselves.

Another internal mechanism that relates to “Heaven” is the protection mechanism and the mechanism of luck, which we have already described above - the Guardian Angel. However, even here a person essentially protects himself, protects and leads to important events in life, calling it luck.

The highest internal mechanism, the core of the psyche, the source of our being, is the Divine principle. We will call this part of the psyche, like K.G. Jung, - Superconsciousness.

Man, the third sphere of our psyche is our own consciousness - the sphere of everything that we understand, is realized by us, approved by us and is our everyday life.

Now we have drawn a small map of the area, a map of our psyche. But we started talking about the expansion of consciousness. What is it in the context of everything we have already talked about above?

Meditation

In the process of exploring the inner space - their own psyche, people discovered that the only effective practical tool for this is immersion in oneself - meditation.

Meditation is a different kind of exercise that allowed a person to train various skills related to his psyche. In this regard, meditation can also be compared to a simulator that helps the practitioner to “pump up” mental muscles. But besides pumping up the internal muscles through meditation, another process became possible. And this process is the expansion of consciousness. In the process of meditation, the practitioner brings himself into a special state of perception. In the Wu Dao Pai qigong school, this state is called the state of the Observer. Staying in this state, the boundaries of Consciousness become not so strong and seem to be moving apart, covering previously unconscious areas of the psyche - the area of the subconscious. A person expands the zone of awareness in his own psyche.

That is, imagine that the Consciousness is a circle inscribed in another, immeasurably large circle - the Subconsciousness. A person is accustomed to identifying himself with just this small circle, practically with a point. That is, we limit our perception of ourselves only to the sphere of the inner circle. the greater part of the I, the outer circle, remains for man Terra Incognita, the Land of the Unknown.
In the process of meditation, by changing his perception, a person got the opportunity to expand the boundaries of the inner circle. Through the expansion of the boundary of the inner circle, a person suddenly began to notice mental processes which were previously unconscious to him, but nevertheless influenced him.

At the beginning of meditative practice, after a person returned to his normal state, the boundaries of Consciousness (inner circle) also returned to normal ... (well, or almost) Gradually, with regular training, the new experience is fixed and the boundaries of Consciousness really expand, become more and more sustainable. The diameter of the inner conscious circle gradually increases and is fixed in new boundaries. So, gradually, due to the regular practice of meditation, more and more new processes of his own psyche fall into the field of perception of the meditator, which before he simply did not realize, did not have the opportunity to notice.

For example, such a person begins to notice why he is angry in certain situations, or why he prefers a certain color of clothing, or why someone or something frightens him or causes any other reaction.

You ask, what is it for? Why expand consciousness through meditation? Why be aware of internal processes through this expansion? How can all this be useful? It's simple. Awareness gives you two simple results that can make a huge difference in anyone's life:

Get out of control of previously unconscious internal processes and make these processes safe for us and the people around us
Learn to manage useful internal processes and mechanisms and even develop them

Imagine if one day you get out of control of your anger, or your fear, or your suspiciousness, or any of your addictions, or any of your other reactions that somehow turns you around every day of your life.

Now imagine that you can learn to control your reactions, control your internal mechanisms. For example, your ability to self-heal or your ability to adapt, or your mechanism of memory, remembering. We have countless incredibly useful internal mechanisms, having the opportunity to manage and develop which, human life will become hundreds of times better.

The process of expanding consciousness implies methodical work with one's own psyche.

The first step to manage internal processes, whether negative or positive, is their awareness - that is, the very fact that you once consciously noticed them, in yourself, learned about them. For example, if I had not mentioned the self-healing mechanism, there is a possibility that some of you, dear readers, would not have paid attention to it. Or, when you suddenly notice your anger, any of your inner reactions that you didn’t notice before, you didn’t realize. But due to what does it become possible to notice, to realize any of your reactions?

Status and Surveillance

This happens due to the process of Disidentification with one's own reaction.
When you begin to observe your reaction in yourself, as if from the outside. When some reaction from the zone of the unconscious enters the zone of consciousness and you notice it, that is, when the 1st step is taken, you have a chance to curb it. The curbing of a reaction, for example, anger, occurs due to disidentification with it. This is the second step. Disidentification is the process of separating oneself from one's reaction. This is not some kind of mental work, this is the result of continuing observation-registration of the discovered reaction in oneself.

Registering something in oneself implies that the practitioner continues to observe the reaction as something separate from oneself. Without judgment, without effort, but as a scientist under the prism of a microscope. Smooth, calm, neutral.

The main problem of any reaction and its control over a person is that we do not notice it in ourselves at first. Well, when and if we begin to notice, we consider this reaction as an integral part of ourselves. And even more. We think that we are this reaction, because we do not separate ourselves from it. This is what is called identification.
The essence of the process of observation-registration is to separate the reaction from oneself - the one who observes it. This process leads to the fact that the practitioner begins to understand that in his psyche there is an Observer - the one who observes something, and the Observed - what he observes.
Thus, gradually the Observed loses its power over the Observer.

The observer understands that only he himself, by his attitude, by his identification, fed his anger. That is why, when the process of registration-observation of something in oneself takes place, a person stops feeding the reaction with his attitude, his reflection. When such a conscious process of disidentification with the reaction does not occur, we seem to be one with our reaction and therefore do not have the opportunity to do anything with it. For example, take and abruptly stop being angry.

To make it clearer, here is an example from childhood. You probably sculpted from plasticine. So sooner or later, using plasticine of different colors, we mix two pieces into one and there is no way, or at least it is extremely difficult to do, to take and divide the plasticine again from one piece into two according to its colors. So it is with our reactions, awareness of our reaction, what we called the 1st step - this is similar to how a child suddenly noticed that two colors were mixed in a single piece of plasticine.

Next, in the second step, the child practitioner begins the gradual process of separating the two pieces of plasticine. Until one piece becomes two again. The Observer is separated from the Observed to such an extent that he is able to control the Observed. Manage your reaction. At will, make it stronger or weaker in yourself. Turn it on and off as you wish. This eventually leads, first, to full awareness of one's reactions, and then to complete control over them.

After all, such a person realizes that absolutely all reactions and internal mechanisms are undoubtedly part of his psyche, but not himself. That is, any person is initially free from any of his reactions. All internal reactions, however, are not the person Himself, not his true Self. But if the Self of a person is not his reactions, not his instincts. What then is I? Probably, the True Self is that part of Us that unsticks multi-colored pieces of plasticine among themselves. By the way, this is why the practice of meditation is also called a way to realize Who or What You really are.

But let's get back to the expansion of consciousness.
When you notice something in yourself, it becomes possible to direct your attention to the study of the found mechanism, to identify its patterns, ways of inclusion and development, etc. That is, awareness-observation-registration in oneself of a process, reaction or some mechanism is the starting point of the process of self-exploration. I'm not talking about the mental process of awareness, when you can understand something logically by inference. To realize through the state means to experience the experience of direct interaction-contact with the object of awareness. Simple, theoretical knowledge, alas, will not be enough here. That is why meditation is needed - a source of personal experience-interaction.

Thus, with the help of the practice of meditation, we bring the unconscious part of the psyche into the realm of the conscious, getting the opportunity to interact with it and get new results. Different practices describe various stages of the gradual expansion of consciousness. This happens until the All Subconsciousness becomes Consciousness. Until the practitioner is aware of absolutely everything in himself that he was not aware of before. Until the inner circle expands to the size of the outer circle. Until the two circles merge into one. Such a person realizes the divinity of his own nature, the infinity and immortality of his Self and the unity of all life on Earth through personal experience.

In this short article, we have introduced many new terms with you, and many have not yet been fully understood, but I think you understand the approximate scheme. Next time we will talk about the Superconscious, about demons and why meditation is better than hallucinogenic mushrooms as a tool for expanding consciousness.

In the meantime, it is important for you to understand that all of the above is pure practice. And without practice, this whole theory is dead, just as all sacred texts are dead without being tied to meditative experience. Therefore, to begin with, find a system that will become a Practice for you. Next, get acquainted with the Observer State through exercises on personal experience. Well, let this article be an inspiration for you and an approximate understanding of the processes and results that can become a reality for you through the practice of meditation!

Consciousness is very important factor evolution of the Universe. All consciousnesses are connected by energy lines of force on the mental plane, and on the field level they represent a single field. Each consciousness, be it a primitive energy unit, such as the consciousness of an elementary particle, or this powerful consciousness of a person, is at the same time a particle of the Consciousness of the Absolute.

The sum of all consciousnesses is the Absolute. That is, everything that exists in the universe is a Super-essence - the Absolute...

The process of expanding consciousness is the path to awareness, going beyond your own self-limitations. Society constantly teaches people to limit their power, this is necessary for the survival of society. Most of these limitations remain unconscious throughout life, and many pass from one life to another.

Therefore, if a person does not purify his consciousness, his essence begins to be covered by some outer shells.

If you imagine a person in the form of an egg, then he, as it were, begins ...

Keys that will be useful to you in the analysis of any life situations:

The outside is the same as the inside.
Like attracts like.
Start paying attention to what is happening around and inside you.

If you notice something around and it causes certain thoughts and emotions in you, then it is present in you; you should learn some lesson from this situation.

If you don't like something in others, then it is present in you.

If you are avoiding something, then behind this ...

This higher world has one feature that should always be remembered if we want to imagine it in our imagination - this is that one of the restrictions imposed on our consciousness is removed there. In our physical life, our consciousness reflects only three-dimensional space - not because.

That there are only three dimensions in the universe, but because the physical brain is organized in such a way that in a normal state it perceives only these three.

In fact, we live in space...

The most direct path to consciousness expansion for most people is to become aware of the fact that they have "consciousness." The presence of Consciousness is a fact that requires conscious comprehension. This is called self-awareness, and developing it is quite simple.

The next hundred times you see your reflection in a mirror or anywhere else, do the Who? meditation.

Ask yourself three times "Who?", each time stretching the sound "ooh" for ten seconds. This can be done out loud or to yourself. In any...

Consciousness is a mental component, a set of mental reactions of each body of a being. Each human body has its own consciousness. Its level depends on the degree of development of matter and correspondence to the frequency of vibration of the standard of Matter of the cosmic Plan, to which it belongs. Cosmic Plans are subdivided into space-energy Levels.

The combination of energies on the highest overtone of the energy Octave reflects the state of consciousness of Matter, which is the standard for the lower...

The consciousness of a person who embarks on the path of spiritual development undergoes a significant expansion. Streams of Light and Love pour into his Light body, enlightening the whole being. Gradually, the whole life of a person changes. His Lightbody becomes dominant.

The ego resists, but gradually fades into the background.

The formation of a personality on the basis of the Light body takes a different time. There are periods of significant progress, there are periods of falls and a decrease in the level of vibrations. But...

Consciousness is a function of the mental body of a living being. Consciousness of the object of the Universe is its virtual mental body. Since the entire Universe has a complex multidimensional structure, all consciousnesses have a connection with the specific plans of the Universe.

All consciousnesses of rational beings are connected with mental planes, of which there are a great many due to the huge multidimensionality of this level of the universe.

All egregors inhabiting the mental world are interconnected, and all of them have a connection with each ...

Extension is a frequently used phrase, but we do not always understand what it is. As people say, live a century - a century. But teaching, acquiring new knowledge is not exactly what the expansion of consciousness implies, rather, on the contrary, our mind, what is called "ration", sometimes prevents us from understanding the world and recognize yourself as a part of it.

This does not mean at all that knowledge is harmful, just that it is not enough to achieve a state of harmony. In a healthy body healthy mind. This was the Soviet doctrine, the main purpose of which was to force the citizens of the country to walk in formation. Eastern sages adhere to the exact opposite approach: namely a healthy mind determines a healthy body and makes our life harmonious.

Spirit, spirituality, consciousness - this is what distinguishes a rational being from other objects of wildlife. And although today it has been proven that the theory that a person uses only 10% of his own is nothing more than a myth, no one has measured the boundaries of our consciousness, including ourselves.

If you are the owner of an excellent sports car, don’t you want to use all its capabilities and really enjoy the feeling of speed, wind, freedom? Expanding our consciousness, we open new doors, we learn new sensations, we learn to understand the events taking place around us, we get to know the world and people, and as a result, we ourselves become more interesting.

Important! There is an opinion that the development of various breathing techniques makes a person a full owner of his body. Breathing is a weapon that can be literally brought down on any ailment that has settled inside us and destroyed with one blow.

Mastering such techniques is a whole science, about which more than one treatise has been written. But everyone can learn to breathe correctly. For example, few know that there are three types of breath- upper, middle and abdominal. In ordinary life, we usually use the upper one, which, in fact, according to Eastern science, does not saturate our organs with oxygen to the fullest. Moreover, spending the maximum amount of energy on breathing, we get the minimum effect.

Medium breathing is activated when we experience some kind of physical activity. If in the first case we “work” with the ribs and shoulders, and the air enters only the upper part of the lungs, in this case it is partially turned on, and the lungs are half filled with air.

Deep abdominal breathing in most people works only in the sleep state. Meanwhile, the physical requires precisely this form of breathing when it is involved. Contracting, it presses on the stomach, it protrudes, hence the name of breathing - abdominal. This is how athletes, agricultural workers and other people who are good or often in the fresh breathe.

So, we learn to breathe with the stomach. We lie down on our backs in the “pose of the dead”: we are separated to the sides at an acute angle to the body, shoulder-width apart, everyone is relaxed. This is shavasana. We exhale all the air from the lungs. Now we start inhaling so that the stomach rises up.

As you continue to inhale, you should feel how the ribs expand and the chest also begins to rise (this is an average breath) and, finally, the air filling the lungs reaches the collarbones. All this should take place as a single process, imagine a deep and strong ocean wave covering the shore.

Important! Inhalation should be stopped on that note when there is a feeling that you could draw in a little more air. This is the main philosophy of proper breathing, just as it means that you need to get up from the table a little hungry.

Now for the next step: exhale. We freeze for a moment at the highest point and begin to release air. First, we release the abdominal muscles, while the chest remains in an elevated position. Only when the abdomen falls does the chest drop. And in the end - we push out the rest of the air again due to the press, with a very slight movement, like a flap of a butterfly's wing. Another pause, and another breath.

Such breathing may not cure you of all ailments, for this you need to be born and live your whole life somewhere in Tibet, but get away from all the hustle and bustle and focus on your own body and the processes taking place in it, which are part of Life in the Universe, if you want, you can.

Concentration

Trying to expand your consciousness, very it is important to pull yourself out of everyday worries, turn off the mind. In yoga, this stage is a way to enter concentration, for which it is proposed to focus all your attention and thoughts on your own or on some point above your head. This does not mean that it is necessary to look inseparably at one point, that is, to consider it.

It is important that the gaze is directed at something, and not wandering around different objects. Our goal is to do the same with our . After all, when thoughts jump from one problem to another, there can be no talk of any self-improvement. dissipates, weakens. It is believed that if a person manages to fix his attention at one point, his consciousness is also balanced.

Important! Numerous medical studies have convincingly proven that meditation is very beneficial for our health, even if we are talking about its most primitive forms: as a result of such exercises, metabolic processes improve, breathing and cardiac activity are restored.

As mentioned above, getting rid of thoughts is very difficult (try not to think about the pink monkey). Therefore, beginners are offered the following trick: do not scold yourself for extraneous thoughts, but just fix them. So, we directed our attention inward, we listen to our own breathing, we feel ourselves inside ourselves.

What will I cook for lunch tomorrow? - An empty thought. Complete relaxation.

Don't forget to listen to the weather forecast! - An empty thought. Complete relaxation.

Something thoughts do not come to mind! - Silence. Complete relaxation.

Another technique. Try imagine your "I" hidden somewhere inside. Choose a place for it that is more suitable from your point of view, and mentally illuminate it with a ray of light, let it begin to grow, first filling all your insides, then going outside, filling a room, an apartment, a city, a country, the Universe.

Do not rush, imagine in detail the spaces that, like fog, envelops your "I", feel its infinity. Now slowly bring yourself back into your own body. Posture, place, time of day and other conventions for successful meditation, of course, are important, but not decisive.

The main condition is within you, in your consciousness. The fact that you are on the right path will be evidenced by the emergence of an increasingly clear sense of inner silence, peace and lightness. As a result of mastering the technique of meditation, anger, empty irritation, envy of a neighbor and other unpleasant feelings that destroy your “I” will begin to leave yours. Creativity, kindness, wisdom will take their place.

affirmations

Affirmation is a buzzword that means a form of self-hypnosis, at which short simple phrase, repeated constantly and repeatedly, as it were, takes on real forms, becoming a part of the subconscious and realized in it. Remember: "I am the most charming and all men are crazy about me ..."? This is an affirmation!

The phrases chosen for affirmation can be aimed at achieving some completely pragmatic goal (, make a career, get rich), but we are interested in something else. Affirmation examples:

I am part of the universe.
I am the source of the cosmic.
I can manage my life ( , body).
I am improving.
I feel joy in being alive.
I believe in my strength.
I love me.
I am always healthy.
Everyone I meet is sent to me from above for something good.

There are many such formulas, but there are certain conditions under which they will work. First of all, they should be:

personal, that is, contain the pronoun "I" in any cases and variations (your task is to change yourself, not someone else);
short and clear.

Important! You can’t use negative particles and denials in general in formulating affirmations: our subconscious perceives them as negative and blocks them. If you tell yourself "I'm NOT afraid of spiders", the result will be the opposite. It's better to say: "I love spiders", "I like spiders".

In order for affirmations to work, you need to make them believe in them. Paradoxically, this is achieved using the same affirmation. The first thing you need to accustom your inner self is to believe in yourself. "I know what I'm talking about." "I always get my way." Use a similar phrase as the beginning of self-improvement - and successful auto-training.

Prayers

Let's make a reservation right away, this method of spiritual practices is not suitable for everyone. According to the author, religiosity is not a prerequisite for the expansion of consciousness, and atheism is not a sign of limitation. On the other hand, observance of rituals, refusal during fasting and going on holidays has nothing to do with faith, and prayer as a path to self-improvement presupposes true faith, otherwise it has the exact opposite effect.

What could be more disgusting than a thief and a bastard who builds temples and publicly bows in front of the iconostasis? When "members of the Politburo are baptized in churches, go to Mecca for the Hajj" - this is not a spiritual purification, but a tribute to fashion. This is not our way.

But for those who truly believe, prayer is a very effective way to restore inner balance. In fact, this is the same affirmation, but in a slightly different form. By pronouncing certain words, we turn with a certain request to the highest, from the point of view of our consciousness, force, thereby influencing all “parts of ourselves” - body, psyche and energy.

But the rules regarding prayer are the same as in meditation - no hack work, all attention, all strength should be invested in the verbal form. From a psychological point of view, it is very important here that the words are not pronounced by one's own, but by others, memorized. That is, we do not get distracted, we do not focus our attention on something momentary, today, we communicate with God (and our consciousness is God) in a form purified from any impurities (“foulness”).

Self Improvement Techniques

The expansion of consciousness can be carried out on different levels, not only purely spiritual, using all sorts of practical methods. Main - "don't let your soul be lazy", and how you make it work is, in fact, not so important. Everyday life and routine are the main enemies of our consciousness, and the most effective method self-development - getting new impressions. And the more varied they are, the better.

Important! Two things cannot be taken away from a man: what he saw and what he ate. Expanding your consciousness through new experiences, you will never return it to its original state.

Puzzles and crosswords

One person said that correct solution- it's like a correctly assembled puzzle: it seems that this fragment is also blue, like the sky that we put together, and even as if it could be pushed here, but if in fact it is not, the overall picture will never line up.

Our life is organized according to the same principle: when we choose the right path, we solve not only the set task, but also a number of other, auxiliary ones, while the wrong solution, eliminating the problem, as a rule, creates others, sometimes even more unpleasant.

Puzzles of varying difficulty, chess is a great way to train the mind. As a rule, they develop the ability to find non-trivial ways out of situations, expanding the limits of ordinary standard thinking.

Solving crossword puzzles, strictly speaking, expands consciousness to a lesser extent, however, engaging in such a pastime, we expanding our horizons and lexicon, and logical thinking(not knowing the exact answer to the question posed, we guess what it is about, based on the location of the guessed letters and their total number).

At the same time, if we are talking about a crossword puzzle published in a serious scientific publication, and not in a low-quality tabloid newspaper, the process of solving it can turn into an exciting quest. Looking for the right word, a person is sometimes forced to study a lot of literature, learn a lot of new things and even change his life, discovering unexplored horizons in himself.

And the feeling of pride in oneself and self-actualization from the solved task is an important step in knowing one's own “I”.

Creativity and hobby

There are no uncreative people, just creativity is different. A person who has not found himself in anything other than work (taking care of the house, children, parents) cannot be truly happy. Constancy is a sign of limitation. This does not mean at all that you need to enroll in a bunch of circles and sections, but also get hung up on everyday monotonous affairs, which is, as they say, destructive for the body and burdensome for the soul.

Doing what we love, whether it's gardening, needlework, or winding a transformer with a stranded wire, we perfectly calm our own, get out of the state and, if you like, meditate. And if the result justifies the expectation or, say, begins to generate income, this is the same self-actualization that is useful for consciousness.

Separately, it’s good if the hobby is connected with the active - fishing, or. In this case, we train both the soul and the body at the same time, and this is doubly useful.

There are no and cannot be any rules in hobbies and creativity, except, perhaps, one - it should not cause harm or create a danger to other people.

Change of hand

Another way to expand consciousness is to break established daily habits, go beyond acquired skills:

Try saying familiar words backwards.
Draw a simple picture as if you were to show it to the person sitting opposite you, without turning it upside down.
Read the morning paper, turning it over in the same way.
Do your usual chores with your left hand if you are right-handed, and with your right hand if you are left-handed.

Such seemingly useless activities actually develop consciousness very strongly. For example, when changing hands, we begin by harmoniously using its different hemispheres.

Thus, we are talking about changing hands as a way to expand internal reserves. Forcibly retraining someone who was born left-handed is a completely different story.

Did you know? IN medieval Europe left-handedness was considered a sign of connection with Satan. In Japan, a husband had the right to dissolve a marriage if his wife was left-handed. Other nations also showed suspicion and distrust of such people. Such an attitude testifies to the narrowness of public consciousness, the rejection of everything that goes beyond the rules, because according to statistics, there are no more than 15% of left-handers in the world.

Our task is to expand consciousness, and don't make an effort the right motivation plays a crucial role here.

Reading

Have you ever wondered why the Soviet people loved so much because of some special spirituality and high intelligence? Yes, not at all, the Europeans are not dumber and not more primitive than us, no matter what anyone says. It's just that in the Soviet Union, reading was almost the only accessible way expansion of one's own consciousness, all others - travel, hobbies, free communication, access to information - were either prohibited or severely limited.

Undoubtedly, not any reading develops. Gossip columns, yellow press, comments on various forums and social networks will do little good on the path to self-improvement. But the assertion that good book must necessarily be heavy and boring, the only way it can claim to be a classic and develop the reader spiritually is also a myth.

To expand your consciousness by reading, it is not at all necessary to wade through abstruse and ponderous phrases. The purpose of such an activity is not to prove to others how smart you are, but to enjoy the process.

And it is not at all necessary that the book be a source of some useful applied information; enjoyment of the author’s easy language here plays no less important role. The detective, as G. Chkhartishvili rightly remarked, may well be good literature (and, let us add, he perfectly proved this with his own work).

Reading trains literate writing skills, expands vocabulary, improves memory, teaches you to express your thoughts beautifully and clearly, conduct discussions, argue, and, conversely, agree with other people's opinions (and this, by the way, is a separate part of self-improvement, which, unfortunately, very few).

Did you know? Reading and solving crossword puzzles– good prevention of Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia, as proven by recent studies by Israeli scientists. Constant maintenance of the brain in a state of activity forms stable connections in it that prevent the development of these diseases.

And reading before going to bed makes it deeper, and, as will be said below, it is also an important component in the system of methods for expanding consciousness.

fantasies

Often, turning to, we say: “Do not fantasize!”, Subconsciously pushing him to the idea that fantasies are bad. But this is not so at all. developed imagination is necessary condition a harmonious personality and, conversely, a person devoid of imagination is boring, primitive and pathetic.

Imagination is understood as the creation in one's mind of new images that do not exist in reality, but, tell me, could all the wonderful inventions of mankind, without exception, have become part of our life, if they had not initially appeared in the head of some genius? So, the imagination, relying on the knowledge already obtained by a person, creatively processes them and pushes our consciousness to active search and creation.

It is with the help of imagination that we solve creative problems and make discoveries, big or small. Today, there are a lot of interesting techniques and trainings created on their basis to develop the imagination, visualize one's desires and thus activate one's mind by fully revealing its creative potential.

Water

It is well known that our The body is 70% water and the brain is 90% water.. That is, in a sense, a person is thinking and feeling water. And this water in us is constantly updated. Every day we replenish the supply in our own body, consuming it both directly and in various forms. It is reasonable to assume that not only our physical health depends on the quality of such water.

Important! According to scientists, water molecules in a liquid state, under the influence of certain external conditions, are organized into clusters (structured). It is these clusters, according to esotericists, that are capable of exerting human body a certain influence - both negative and positive, depending on what kind of energy is embedded in such a structure of water.

You can believe or not believe in the presence of “memory” in water, but think about why, without exception, chefs and just people who are fond of cooking unambiguously say that you need to cook in a good mood and “on the positive”, otherwise it will never turn out delicious ?

Another example. Being born into the world, we seem to be poured with vital juices, and, as we age, we gradually become like baked or even dried. Together with the water leaving the body, forces and, and positive, leave us.

Eco-friendly and - natural source of living structured water which is bestowed upon us by nature itself. Water from the tap or boiled is dead; drinking such water is unnatural and not healthy.

Did you know? Some believe that the New Testament parable about the transformation of water into wine, done by Jesus Christ, is nothing more than an allegorical story about the transformation, structuring of water. It is also known that many pious monks, while in dungeons, turned rotten water into fresh water by prayer and drank it without any fear.

Of course, “charging” water in basins while sitting in front of the TV, where an ordinary swindler rolls his eyes and makes incomprehensible passes with his hands - this is stupidity and heresy. But, setting ourselves up for positive and eating only living pure water, we keep our consciousness alive, our body cheerful, and our mind clear.

Acquaintance

Communication with people, preferably real, not virtual, is another important source of consciousness expansion. At the same time, it is very important to learn to hear and listen, to accept someone else's point of view, or at least to recognize the right of people to think differently from you. Speaking about expanding the circle of acquaintances, it is worth mentioning travel separately.

In addition to live communication with speakers of another culture, another language, other traditions, visiting different parts of the world, we incredibly expand our horizons and consciousness, seeing firsthand how heterogeneous and diverse the world in which we live is.

Again, from the point of view of one’s own development, traveling will not be useful if one tries to act according to the principle “I came here to spend money, so everyone must adapt to my rules,” or, more simply, to climb into someone else’s monastery with your charter. Such a position, perhaps, will allow you to assert yourself, but it will definitely not expand, but will narrow your consciousness to the size of your own yard.

Dream

If we are not aware of ourselves in, this does not mean that our consciousness is completely turned off during this period. In fact, the brain continues, so to speak, in a calm environment to process the information received during the day and even consolidate it. No wonder students often use a technique that allows them to better remember educational material before the exam - read it at night.

And some even argue that a person perfectly absorbs the information that is read aloud to him while he is sleeping (on this occasion, in the Soviet film "The Big Change" there was even a funny episode in the brilliant performance of E. Leonov and S. Kryuchkova).

It is in a dream, when the brain is freed from extraneous interference, that we often find unexpected and very successful solutions, and some people even manage to make great discoveries that brought them worldwide fame.

Sigmund Freud, in his famous work The Interpretation of Dreams, argued that without exception, all human dreams are somehow connected precisely with the events of the past day. This indicates that in a dream, our brain continues to process exactly the latest information.

And from this, in turn, it follows that by training the ability to remember and interpret our dreams, we get an unprecedented tool in expanding our own consciousness. The above methods are by no means exhaustive. There are many other ways to expand a person's consciousness, and it doesn't matter which one or which of them you choose. It is much more important to understand the highest spiritual Goal, the path to which is the meaning of the life of a rational person.

Did you know? In a dream, Elias Howe invented the sewing machine, Oleg Antonov came up with the shape of the tail of the Antey aircraft, Frederick Banting found the formula for insulin, Friedrich Burdach understood the circulatory system, and Friedrich Kekule saw the benzene molecule, and every schoolchild knows about Dmitri Mendeleev and his periodic table.

Do not turn off the path to this Goal, then old age will appear before you not in the form of weakness, poverty, endless illnesses and longing for former fun, but in the form of maturity, wisdom, peace and goodness. Such an ending evokes not sympathy, but respect, one wants to communicate with such old people, gaining intelligence, and not bypass them, lowering their eyes and, as it were, ashamed of their youth.

And remember: if at the end life path we do not save, but lose ourselves, which means, as the classic wrote, our ship has gone astray.