Conscious Community for Individual Growth
Blossoming
Diversity in community gives opportunities for individual growth not found in self-reflection alone.
Communities or collectives – whether a couple, an extended family living together, or an off-grid farm – serve up mirrors for personal development, awakening, individuation or self-actualization.
Each person in community is a mirror to others. Instead of being overshadowed by lower emotions and becoming identified with them, those 'on the path' can see their own shadows and integrate or transform them with the light of understanding. Shadows are mind-made illusions, stagnate lower emotional states which can be triggered by the spiritual being to expand into more complex and vibrant higher feelings and qualities.
This happens within community when there is an agreement to co-exist in an open-minded way and listen without preference or prejudiced judgment. Each person agrees to face and transform their own shadows. The difficulties may become so intense as to be almost unbearable, yet going through the challenges is the way to climb the mountain. Limited perspectives not dissolved by self awareness can restrict the flow and 'staying the course' may be balanced by knowing when it is time to move on.
Living together with like-minded souls can be soothing to the emotions, yet over-similarity among members and a common world-view or spiritual practice may produce a closed culture with a false sense of exclusivity, and individuals with stagnate or stunted levels of emotional maturity. Hardened, narrow dogma and opinions fuel stagnation and keep people in a limited mind perception. A community that includes diverse viewpoints and approaches can provide more material for personal growth. Trusting innate evolution pulls one towards the edge of their comfort zone.
A community living more consciously gives every person space to be their own leader. Community founders who give members a choice to feel as much ownership as possible in what they are doing find that they will blossom and give more.
Communities which live off-the-grid are attracting ever-greater numbers of people committed to living in ways that are more environmentally, socially and spiritually aware. People can be more 'off-the-grid' as individuals by removing themselves from the psychological and emotional manipulations of the world systems and the control of their lives by their own ego-mind.
IMAGE: POND BLOSSOM
Re-Tuning
The farming communities my partner and I have visited are off-grid, use bio-dynamic or other environmentally friendly farming methods, do yoga, hold closings for apprentices to communicate their emotions with each other, use resources from various systems of relationship and personal development, and consider themselves to be 'spiritual.' We were often asked by community leaders how they could be living more consciously. They saw conscious living as adhering to a certain diet or spiritual practice or being environmentally and socially aware.
Any action can be performed 'more consciously,' with more presence and quality of attention. No particular activity is an example of more conscious living than any other activity.
If I protest war or injustice with anger, judgment or opposition,
perform the functions of a spiritual tradition mechanically,
choose to eat raw, organic, non-GMO food to feel important,
am a leader of an off-grid, environmentally aware farm community to control workers,
or write and speak of living consciously but do not feel it in my heart,
I am not living more consciously.
Whereas if I pull weeds in a state of biophilia – being present in the moment, with awareness, love and appreciation for the micro-organisms in the soil, the living systems of 'intended and non-intended plants', and the inter-connections between myself and the wholeness of the earth and universe, I am. Biophilia literally means 'love of life or living systems.'
"The biophilia hypothesis suggests that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems. Edward O. Wilson introduced and popularized the hypothesis in his book, Biophilia (1984). He defines biophilia as 'the urge to affiliate with other forms of life'." [1]
Biophilia can feel and understand in the heart, on a cellular level. When a person engages with the world from heart centered intelligence, the engagement is not just in the head. A force field is generated and wisdom and love pour out.
Robert Browning wrote,
“Truth is within ourselves; it takes no rise
From outward things, whate’er you may believe.
There is an inmost center in us all,
Where truth abides in fullness; and around,
Wall upon wall, the gross flesh hems it in,
This perfect, clear perception which is truth.
A baffling and perverting carnal mesh
Binds it, and makes all error: and, to KNOW,
Rather consists in opening out a way
Whence the imprisoned splendor may escape,
Than in effecting an entry for a light
Supposed to be without.” [2]
Is the carnal mesh that binds and makes all error anything else than mental constructs generated by the brain which dim the perception of all-pervasive consciousness and capture me in an illusion of a separate identity?
IMAGE: RE-TUNING
Creative Intelligence
Max Planck, the theoretical physicist who originated quantum theory, wrote "I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness."
What is consciousness? Where does the identity called "me" fit in to the grand scheme of life? What are the practical applications of knowing and understanding these things? How can conscious community support individual growth into a more flourishing and expansive way of living?
Recent research draws some conclusions:
"Just as the pixels on a screen can express themselves as a recognizable image when in unity, the convergence of neural interaction expresses itself as consciousness. At every moment, we are, in fact, a
different image....
"When we use our mirror neurons to look at ourselves, we may construct the idea of identity. But if we do this with our scientific understandings, we see something completely different: the neural synergies
that produce our oscillating consciousness go far beyond our own neurons....
"Nothing is external. Since our behavior is neurally mirrored by the people around us, we are continuously rewiring both our own brains and those of others with each action that is socially observed. This is one of many aspects that underlines our superorganismal nature and emphasizes the effectiveness of 'self-development activism'.
"Self-observing profoundly changes the way our brain works. It activates the self-regulating neo-cortical regions which give us an incredible amount of control over our feelings. Every time we do this our rationality and emotional resilience are strengthened....
"We are a global network of neurochemical reactions. And the self-amplifying cycle of acceptance and acknowledgment, sustained by the daily choices in our interactions, is the chain-reaction that will ultimately define our collective ability to overcome imagined differences and look at life in the grand scheme of things." [3]
These findings bring up questions which I would reflect upon with others. According to the theory, it seems "I" do not exist as a static being but as rapid firings of neural interactions within my brain and with the environment where "nothing is external".
I can accept as one interpretation from Athene's research that my self-identity as a separate entity is a construct of the brain confirmed by society and my surroundings and that it has no real existence. What is actual is a global network of neurochemical reactions and the consciousness of the moment.
I would ask those who research in these areas, "What is the conduit that enables the neurochemical activity of my brain to interact with the greater existence?" and "How can self-observing and neural mirroring with others be conducted optimally?" and "Does consciously going 'far beyond our own neurons' correlate with a mystical experience of Higher Self or Oneness?" and "Is self/Self a contraction /expansion in my perception of the consciousness of the moment?" and "Does the neural activity of the brain also interact with the God particle (Higgs field and boson)?" [4]
IMAGE: CREATIVE INTELLIGENCE
self-Transcendence
The mind is a player in the larger game, not its maker. And the ego-mind – the projections, mental constructs and limited perspectives of human beings creates an illusion of separation and mutes the experience of universal consciousness.
Living consciously for me means dissolving illusionary mental constructs, releasing stuck and stagnate old emotions, and living from the higher feelings and qualities. It always expands a person beyond their ego bounds. When each person communes with Self first ("beyond one's own neurons,") there is no need to talk of living consciously in community as it will happen naturally. Living more consciously expands me internally, opening my heart, to be able to feel consciousness and transcend self.
Consciousness is touched upon in the moment where communion happens, where clarity is gained. In those passing ah! or aha! moments, there is an instant flash of living more consciously, especially if the inspiration is acted upon.
That is a criteria of conscious living – when a person acts upon inspiration or revelation or communion that comes from the un-interpreted consciousness of the moment and not from the persona, they are in that moment living 'more consciously.' My intuitive sense tells me that the bands emanated by creative source include frequency patterns which translate as qualities of higher consciousness such as compassion, courage, wisdom, mindfulness and service to life.
Abraham Maslow described self-actualization as "... the intrinsic growth of what is already in the organism, or more accurately, of what the organism is." [5]
In 'Man's Search for Meaning,' Viktor Frankl wrote, "The true meaning of life is to be found in the world rather than within man or his own psyche, as though it were a closed system.... Human experience is essentially self-transcendence rather than self-actualization. Self-actualization is not a possible aim at all, for the simple reason that the more a man would strive for it, the more he would miss it.... In other words, self-actualization cannot be attained if it is made an end in itself, but only as a side effect of self-transcendence." [6]
IMAGE: GOLDEN SPIRAL OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Self-Emerging
Self-transcendence is sometimes defined as helping others to self-actualize. To be harmonious and in the flow, I can only "help" others to self-actualize if they have requested my help, and if I am living from a state of higher consciousness myself. Collaboration for individual growth and collective evolution can be powerful. The article, "The Crystal Shift: Becoming the Crystalline Human" states:
"Collaboration in our context is defined as the process of unifying energy fields to their highest magnetic resonance, to break through to the higher electrical currents of existence.... The outcome is peace. Invite others to this experience of collaboration to create a new humanity." [7]
Initially, I felt judgment towards the writings of Athene due my glimpses of the author's controversial reputation in the gaming world and had resistance towards the crystal shift article due to its New Age tone. Although I don't need to accept everything found in diversity as being something for me, neither do I need to close myself off from the benefits of accepting all viewpoints for what they are and feeling them without emotional charge. After a few days of wrestling with it and working on myself, I was able to read the text of both with a more open and non-polarized mind and absorb much useful information with which I feel alignment.
IMAGE: SELF EMERGING
Living Wholeness
".... For me to live in harmony,
there is a simple way -
in every thought and action,
in all I do and say,
to let go of the past
and be present in the Now,
to be with what I do
and also with the how.
:::
To let go of my thoughts
and merge into the flow,
to be with what I am,
with what I feel and know,
to step back into nature
and from the world to wean,
for what a human being can be,
the world has never seen."
from "All is Everything" by Gary Smith
What's Next?
This article is not meant as a last word but as a starting point. I am grateful when readers with additional insights or another view write comments. This is a call to network, dialogue, and hold a space for expanding moments of consciousness so we can all evolve together.
IMAGE: LIVING WHOLENESS
Article References
[1] 'Biophilia Hypothesis,' Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilia_hypothesis
[2] The Imprisoned Splendor, Robert Browning (1812-1889)
[3] Athene's Theory of Everything (PDF,) http://www.writings.emanatepresence.com/athenes-theory-pdf.html researched by Chiren Boumaaza, A.K.A. "Athene" and edited by Reese Leysen et al.
Athene's Theory of Everything (video,) http://www.writings.emanatepresence.com/athenes-theory-video.html
[4] happinessbeyondthought A Practical Guide to Awakening http://happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-consciousness-creates-matterthe-god.html
[5] Abraham Maslow (Psychological Review, 1949) http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs
[6] Viktor Frank, 'Man's Search for Meaning,' (p.175)
[7] The Crystal Shift: Becoming the Crystalline Human
http://growingconsciousness.com/the-crystal-shift-becoming-the-crystalline-human/
###
BIO
[GARY BIO PIC]
Gary is what he is in the moment. Earlier in his life, he was an entrepreneur and business broker while pursuing spiritual truths and realizing illusions. In 2000, he changed life his and began working with his complementary partner in the field of caring for vulnerable populations. This work helped him shift from an analytical mind and mechanical outlook to being more heart-centered. Today he lives in a multi-generational cell of a model for an envisioned conscious community for individual growth.
Gary's Emanate Presence web-site http://www.emanatepresence.com/ presents galleries of his eight drawn designs and links to his writings, with a contact page.
Diversity in community gives opportunities for individual growth not found in self-reflection alone.
Communities or collectives – whether a couple, an extended family living together, or an off-grid farm – serve up mirrors for personal development, awakening, individuation or self-actualization.
Each person in community is a mirror to others. Instead of being overshadowed by lower emotions and becoming identified with them, those 'on the path' can see their own shadows and integrate or transform them with the light of understanding. Shadows are mind-made illusions, stagnate lower emotional states which can be triggered by the spiritual being to expand into more complex and vibrant higher feelings and qualities.
This happens within community when there is an agreement to co-exist in an open-minded way and listen without preference or prejudiced judgment. Each person agrees to face and transform their own shadows. The difficulties may become so intense as to be almost unbearable, yet going through the challenges is the way to climb the mountain. Limited perspectives not dissolved by self awareness can restrict the flow and 'staying the course' may be balanced by knowing when it is time to move on.
Living together with like-minded souls can be soothing to the emotions, yet over-similarity among members and a common world-view or spiritual practice may produce a closed culture with a false sense of exclusivity, and individuals with stagnate or stunted levels of emotional maturity. Hardened, narrow dogma and opinions fuel stagnation and keep people in a limited mind perception. A community that includes diverse viewpoints and approaches can provide more material for personal growth. Trusting innate evolution pulls one towards the edge of their comfort zone.
A community living more consciously gives every person space to be their own leader. Community founders who give members a choice to feel as much ownership as possible in what they are doing find that they will blossom and give more.
Communities which live off-the-grid are attracting ever-greater numbers of people committed to living in ways that are more environmentally, socially and spiritually aware. People can be more 'off-the-grid' as individuals by removing themselves from the psychological and emotional manipulations of the world systems and the control of their lives by their own ego-mind.
IMAGE: POND BLOSSOM
Re-Tuning
The farming communities my partner and I have visited are off-grid, use bio-dynamic or other environmentally friendly farming methods, do yoga, hold closings for apprentices to communicate their emotions with each other, use resources from various systems of relationship and personal development, and consider themselves to be 'spiritual.' We were often asked by community leaders how they could be living more consciously. They saw conscious living as adhering to a certain diet or spiritual practice or being environmentally and socially aware.
Any action can be performed 'more consciously,' with more presence and quality of attention. No particular activity is an example of more conscious living than any other activity.
If I protest war or injustice with anger, judgment or opposition,
perform the functions of a spiritual tradition mechanically,
choose to eat raw, organic, non-GMO food to feel important,
am a leader of an off-grid, environmentally aware farm community to control workers,
or write and speak of living consciously but do not feel it in my heart,
I am not living more consciously.
Whereas if I pull weeds in a state of biophilia – being present in the moment, with awareness, love and appreciation for the micro-organisms in the soil, the living systems of 'intended and non-intended plants', and the inter-connections between myself and the wholeness of the earth and universe, I am. Biophilia literally means 'love of life or living systems.'
"The biophilia hypothesis suggests that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems. Edward O. Wilson introduced and popularized the hypothesis in his book, Biophilia (1984). He defines biophilia as 'the urge to affiliate with other forms of life'." [1]
Biophilia can feel and understand in the heart, on a cellular level. When a person engages with the world from heart centered intelligence, the engagement is not just in the head. A force field is generated and wisdom and love pour out.
Robert Browning wrote,
“Truth is within ourselves; it takes no rise
From outward things, whate’er you may believe.
There is an inmost center in us all,
Where truth abides in fullness; and around,
Wall upon wall, the gross flesh hems it in,
This perfect, clear perception which is truth.
A baffling and perverting carnal mesh
Binds it, and makes all error: and, to KNOW,
Rather consists in opening out a way
Whence the imprisoned splendor may escape,
Than in effecting an entry for a light
Supposed to be without.” [2]
Is the carnal mesh that binds and makes all error anything else than mental constructs generated by the brain which dim the perception of all-pervasive consciousness and capture me in an illusion of a separate identity?
IMAGE: RE-TUNING
Creative Intelligence
Max Planck, the theoretical physicist who originated quantum theory, wrote "I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness."
What is consciousness? Where does the identity called "me" fit in to the grand scheme of life? What are the practical applications of knowing and understanding these things? How can conscious community support individual growth into a more flourishing and expansive way of living?
Recent research draws some conclusions:
"Just as the pixels on a screen can express themselves as a recognizable image when in unity, the convergence of neural interaction expresses itself as consciousness. At every moment, we are, in fact, a
different image....
"When we use our mirror neurons to look at ourselves, we may construct the idea of identity. But if we do this with our scientific understandings, we see something completely different: the neural synergies
that produce our oscillating consciousness go far beyond our own neurons....
"Nothing is external. Since our behavior is neurally mirrored by the people around us, we are continuously rewiring both our own brains and those of others with each action that is socially observed. This is one of many aspects that underlines our superorganismal nature and emphasizes the effectiveness of 'self-development activism'.
"Self-observing profoundly changes the way our brain works. It activates the self-regulating neo-cortical regions which give us an incredible amount of control over our feelings. Every time we do this our rationality and emotional resilience are strengthened....
"We are a global network of neurochemical reactions. And the self-amplifying cycle of acceptance and acknowledgment, sustained by the daily choices in our interactions, is the chain-reaction that will ultimately define our collective ability to overcome imagined differences and look at life in the grand scheme of things." [3]
These findings bring up questions which I would reflect upon with others. According to the theory, it seems "I" do not exist as a static being but as rapid firings of neural interactions within my brain and with the environment where "nothing is external".
I can accept as one interpretation from Athene's research that my self-identity as a separate entity is a construct of the brain confirmed by society and my surroundings and that it has no real existence. What is actual is a global network of neurochemical reactions and the consciousness of the moment.
I would ask those who research in these areas, "What is the conduit that enables the neurochemical activity of my brain to interact with the greater existence?" and "How can self-observing and neural mirroring with others be conducted optimally?" and "Does consciously going 'far beyond our own neurons' correlate with a mystical experience of Higher Self or Oneness?" and "Is self/Self a contraction /expansion in my perception of the consciousness of the moment?" and "Does the neural activity of the brain also interact with the God particle (Higgs field and boson)?" [4]
IMAGE: CREATIVE INTELLIGENCE
self-Transcendence
The mind is a player in the larger game, not its maker. And the ego-mind – the projections, mental constructs and limited perspectives of human beings creates an illusion of separation and mutes the experience of universal consciousness.
Living consciously for me means dissolving illusionary mental constructs, releasing stuck and stagnate old emotions, and living from the higher feelings and qualities. It always expands a person beyond their ego bounds. When each person communes with Self first ("beyond one's own neurons,") there is no need to talk of living consciously in community as it will happen naturally. Living more consciously expands me internally, opening my heart, to be able to feel consciousness and transcend self.
Consciousness is touched upon in the moment where communion happens, where clarity is gained. In those passing ah! or aha! moments, there is an instant flash of living more consciously, especially if the inspiration is acted upon.
That is a criteria of conscious living – when a person acts upon inspiration or revelation or communion that comes from the un-interpreted consciousness of the moment and not from the persona, they are in that moment living 'more consciously.' My intuitive sense tells me that the bands emanated by creative source include frequency patterns which translate as qualities of higher consciousness such as compassion, courage, wisdom, mindfulness and service to life.
Abraham Maslow described self-actualization as "... the intrinsic growth of what is already in the organism, or more accurately, of what the organism is." [5]
In 'Man's Search for Meaning,' Viktor Frankl wrote, "The true meaning of life is to be found in the world rather than within man or his own psyche, as though it were a closed system.... Human experience is essentially self-transcendence rather than self-actualization. Self-actualization is not a possible aim at all, for the simple reason that the more a man would strive for it, the more he would miss it.... In other words, self-actualization cannot be attained if it is made an end in itself, but only as a side effect of self-transcendence." [6]
IMAGE: GOLDEN SPIRAL OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Self-Emerging
Self-transcendence is sometimes defined as helping others to self-actualize. To be harmonious and in the flow, I can only "help" others to self-actualize if they have requested my help, and if I am living from a state of higher consciousness myself. Collaboration for individual growth and collective evolution can be powerful. The article, "The Crystal Shift: Becoming the Crystalline Human" states:
"Collaboration in our context is defined as the process of unifying energy fields to their highest magnetic resonance, to break through to the higher electrical currents of existence.... The outcome is peace. Invite others to this experience of collaboration to create a new humanity." [7]
Initially, I felt judgment towards the writings of Athene due my glimpses of the author's controversial reputation in the gaming world and had resistance towards the crystal shift article due to its New Age tone. Although I don't need to accept everything found in diversity as being something for me, neither do I need to close myself off from the benefits of accepting all viewpoints for what they are and feeling them without emotional charge. After a few days of wrestling with it and working on myself, I was able to read the text of both with a more open and non-polarized mind and absorb much useful information with which I feel alignment.
IMAGE: SELF EMERGING
Living Wholeness
".... For me to live in harmony,
there is a simple way -
in every thought and action,
in all I do and say,
to let go of the past
and be present in the Now,
to be with what I do
and also with the how.
:::
To let go of my thoughts
and merge into the flow,
to be with what I am,
with what I feel and know,
to step back into nature
and from the world to wean,
for what a human being can be,
the world has never seen."
from "All is Everything" by Gary Smith
What's Next?
This article is not meant as a last word but as a starting point. I am grateful when readers with additional insights or another view write comments. This is a call to network, dialogue, and hold a space for expanding moments of consciousness so we can all evolve together.
IMAGE: LIVING WHOLENESS
Article References
[1] 'Biophilia Hypothesis,' Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilia_hypothesis
[2] The Imprisoned Splendor, Robert Browning (1812-1889)
[3] Athene's Theory of Everything (PDF,) http://www.writings.emanatepresence.com/athenes-theory-pdf.html researched by Chiren Boumaaza, A.K.A. "Athene" and edited by Reese Leysen et al.
Athene's Theory of Everything (video,) http://www.writings.emanatepresence.com/athenes-theory-video.html
[4] happinessbeyondthought A Practical Guide to Awakening http://happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-consciousness-creates-matterthe-god.html
[5] Abraham Maslow (Psychological Review, 1949) http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs
[6] Viktor Frank, 'Man's Search for Meaning,' (p.175)
[7] The Crystal Shift: Becoming the Crystalline Human
http://growingconsciousness.com/the-crystal-shift-becoming-the-crystalline-human/
###
BIO
[GARY BIO PIC]
Gary is what he is in the moment. Earlier in his life, he was an entrepreneur and business broker while pursuing spiritual truths and realizing illusions. In 2000, he changed life his and began working with his complementary partner in the field of caring for vulnerable populations. This work helped him shift from an analytical mind and mechanical outlook to being more heart-centered. Today he lives in a multi-generational cell of a model for an envisioned conscious community for individual growth.
Gary's Emanate Presence web-site http://www.emanatepresence.com/ presents galleries of his eight drawn designs and links to his writings, with a contact page.