The divine consciousness is closer than you think

July 5, 1:38 PMNew Thought ExaminerAlex Marcoux

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The divine consciousness is closer than you think. In my last article I wrote, “Meditative walking is a powerful technique to connect with God.” Within my article I share an experience when I allowed my intellect to pull me out of a meditative stroll. While I am in meditative walk, I go through a sequence in which I experience life from each of my senses. At some point I feel a heart opening and I remind myself there is One Life, and that life runs through everything.

While walking last week, I became aware of many birds flocking around me. They were soaring by, perched in nearby trees, on rooftops and one even walked before me on the path. I was “in the moment,” in the now, and in awe and wonder with life. But then, I started thinking, ‘Is it possible that the birds are always around and I just don’t notice them?’ Then the stories of St. Francis came to mind, about how animals drew close to him. ‘Or have I moved into Vedanta’s sixth state of consciousness?’ I wondered.

The philosophy taught by the ancient scriptures of India is Vedanta. Like New Thought philosophy, the Vedanta recognizes there are many pathways to God and respects all religions. The Vedas, the sacred writings teach that our true nature is divine and God exists in every living being. Religions are often used as a path to find that divine essence, or discover God, which leads back to us - since God is within.

Deepak Chopra expands upon Vedanta’s seven states of consciousness quite effectively in ‘The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire’. Most of us easily experience the first three states, which are: deep sleep, dreaming and wakefulness.

In the fourth state of consciousness we glimpse the soul, and this is normally accomplished through meditation. While meditating, we strive to achieve stillness, a silent moment between thoughts. When we regularly mediate we begin seeing synchronicity in our life, or as Carl Jung suggests, “Meaningful coincidence.”

The cosmic consciousness is the fifth state. According to Deepak Chopra in the fifth state, “Your awareness goes beyond simply being awake in your body, and beyond simply glimpsing the soul, to being awake and alert to your place as part of the infinite spirit. Even when your body is sleeping, your spirit…is looking at the body in deep sleep, almost as if you were having an out-of-body experience.”(Chopra, 2003, p. 256)  In this state of consciousness, intuition, creativity, and synchronicity increase.

The sixth state of consciousness is called the divine consciousness. In this state you not only feel the spirit within, but you recognize that spirit, or divinity is in everyone and everything, including animals, plants, and even inanimate objects. While many people move in and out of this state, few have lived in a constant state of divine consciousness, certainly Jesus, Buddha, Krishna and many of the saints did.

Lastly, the unity consciousness or enlightenment is the seventh state of consciousness. From this place you view all life as an extension of your life. Miracles become ordinary occurrences and you recognize that you are spirit.

In my meditative walk, while I reminded myself that the One Life runs through all life, birds were drawn to me. I was looking through a lens in which I recognized the divinity in all. When my intellect caught up with what was happening however, I came out of the moment. I tried to analyze if the experience was statistically probable by counting the birds, and abruptly the birds flew away.

The divine consciousness is available to everyone and it is closer than you think. Don’t change the lens, continue to look at life with awe and wonder and leave the intellect behind. Or should I simply say, feel more with your heart and think less with your head?

Namaste.

Chopra, D. (2003). The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire. New York: Three Rivers Press.

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Author, Alex Marcoux (photo by Sherri Seely)