A Friendly Face: Plateau

I’ve climbed up to a plateau of understanding spiritual reality. Experience and ideas integrated by illumination were the rungs of my ladder. The final pieces of the puzzle just clicked into place. My quest started with a conviction that there was a spiritual realm although I knew nothing about it. It ended with a sufficiently useful understanding of the universe to provide a solid foundation from which to continue further exploration.

The level I’ve achieved is analogous to my understanding of electricity. The ‘laws’ that allow me to use electricity are simply descriptions of predictable results based on repeatable observations. In truth I don’t really understand electricity’s fundamental nature but I can still use it. In spite of the fact that human exploration of the physical universe is far from complete, a plateau of usable knowledge is still valuable. The same is personally true in the realm of the spirit. My odyssey was motivated by a painfully acute awareness of an inability to feel Love, an overwhelming need to understand how the universe works and a desire for practical answers.

I started with the idea that thoughts were consciousness but noticed that my common thoughts were an internal dialog that was emotionally driven. Careful observation of emotions led me to conclude that the solar plexus and the Heart are two distinct locations of very different feelings. The emotions of solar plexus are desires and fears that create reactions such as happiness, anger, sadness, disgust and surprise. The Heart feels values such as beauty, truth and goodness. Reactions to those are hope, delight, wonder etc. Each of those centers is linked to a different hemisphere of our brains. We really have two minds and the feelings associated with them really are unique to each.

The solar plexus is the origin of our animal/reactive mind in conjunction with our material senses and the left lobe of our brains. We reach out from that center and attach ourselves to comforting elements of our environment. We defend ourselves with emotional armoring designed to protect us from the fears created by events of our lives and those inherited from our ancestors all the way back to ooze. Attachments and fears are the source of the unconscious mind, the origin of our reflexive emotional reactions and the source of the constant internal dialog we hold with ourselves.

The operation of the left-brain is analogous to a serial processor. It constantly picks out individual aspects of the environment upon which to focus, remembers their historical relationships and projects future possibilities. It works in a linear mode and ‘thinks’ in symbols (language, math etc.). Because it breaks down our picture of the world around us into isolated pieces for analysis it is the genesis of our rudimentary sense of self, the ego. In conjunction with the solar plexus we believe we are separate and try to gain material substance to achieve a sense of reality and security. That is perfectly normal and valuable for our animal survival unless a run-away pathological sense of self-exaltation causes us to attempt become greater at the expense of others.

The right hemisphere is the interpreter of the Heart. It is akin to a parallel processor in that it accesses multiple streams of data all at the same time. It lives in the present moment, ‘thinks’ in pictures and learns kinesthetically. It is our transmitter and receiver of cosmic communication. The Heart feels in values, the product of relationships. It integrates us into the larger unseen universe of spirit and gives of itself to become greater. This is where we have access to the spiritual mind (the superconscious) and a little Spark of God that resides within us to be our guides toward perfection.

Living in the Heart is a very different experience. It requires mindfulness to live there. Purity of intent is the power that gives substance to our thoughts and allows us to create. Creative actions yield the wonder of discovery, the uplifting feel of beauty and the satisfaction of goodness. We are assisted by moments of inspiration. The old light bulb going off in the top of your head is the feeling of your momentary access to the superconscious. The result may be realization, literally becoming more real. Perhaps you will experience the gift of genius, that ability to bring forth new, relatively enlightened concepts or actions to advance humanity. You may hear that quiet voice within guiding you on your unique path toward becoming relatively more perfect.

To open our Hearts and access our spiritual minds requires a conscious choice. The accuracy of our visualization of the universe is the platform on which we advance. It is through the eyes of the mind that we first begin to see the Divine nature. The feelings of the Heart are the effects of the realization of spiritual action. The emotions of the solar plexus compel us to react. Our material mind is reactive, the spiritual mind creative. Emotions are the primary stimulus of the animal/reactive/material mind but secondary effects experienced as a result of using the creative/spiritual mind.

There is a cross connection between our two minds. Unfortunately the solar plexus driven, left-brain, material mind is so noisy that it frequently commands center stage. When our spiritual mind is in charge the material mind can be used as a dynamic part of the creative process. In that case we reach out with the same energy we used in establishing attachments but then withdraw it to ‘read by feeling’ the qualities and attributes of the physical realm. This capacity is one of our most important tools in becoming co-creators of our lives. On a day-to-day basis we are able to respond more capably to our circumstances when we can feel what is going on accurately.

How do you make the transition from the material mind to the spiritual? Practice. Experience. Finding meaning. Your path will be unique. Many people are making this same transition and are sharing their personal discoveries. That may help. Most important is your own inward inquiry. Ask inside for guidance and try to still your animal/material mind long enough to receive an answer. Those moments of Stillness accumulate to create a ‘critical space’ within your Heart’s mind that will be filled with the answers you need. Learn to listen to and then follow your inner guide. Only the tiniest bit of faith is required, just enough to overcome your initial skepticism.

Mind interprets the values of spirit for the intellect. So if you are in pursuit of spiritual knowledge the simplest approach I’ve discovered is to note whether you are reacting to your animal mind or finding direction through the Heart. Your journey is powered by conscious intent. Which do you choose, for it is a matter of choice? That is the question. Love is the answer.


http://www.theoreticsinstitute.org