How does our spiritual identity affect our actions and how we shape our world?

Modus Operandi

When I think of the “spirit” of something I think of its modus operandi; what is its “method of operating?” What makes it function? What drives it to work?

When I think of the spirit of a human being, I ask myself, “What does that being live for?” What makes him or her get up every morning? What makes his or her life worth living? What source of energy does that person draw upon to do what they do?

Unspoken Values

Evolution and biology can describe the reasons behind a lot of basic instincts and behavior, but they don’t answer a whole lot about the values we hold implicitly through our traditions, customs, culture, and art.

We all go through rituals that define our existence. It could be watching TV, going to church, reading books, meditating, playing sports, doing your job, eating, videogames, working out at the gym, writing, taking care of your kids… you get the point – if you do it periodically then it is a ritual – and these habits implicitly tell us what we value out of life.

But how often do you ask yourself, “Why do I do the things I do?”

It can seem like a stupid question because we take these things for granted. Maybe you do them because you have always done them and that is just who you are. I hear people give me that response a lot, but that is circular reasoning; saying those things only reinforces who we are, even if that modus operandi isn’t doing ourselves much justice.

Backbone = Identity

I wouldn’t say that our actions define ourselves (although that might be a behaviorist approach to identity), but I do think how we define ourselves plays a significant role in our actions.

Buddism and many Eastern philosophies put a strong emphasis on the “nature of self” as a spiritual guide. They also recognize that how we think of our self determines certain values we hold about our world. For example, many schools of Buddhism recognize a non-dualistic nature between self/other (that we are all interconnected and no one is separate), thus compassion and loving-kindness become logical moral values to hold in our relationships with friends, family, neighbors, coworkers other acquaintances, and nature itself.

Some of the big questions regarding anybody’s life are,

• “How do I fit into the world at large?”

• “What purpose do I serve in life?”

• “How can I improve conditions for myself and others?”

Only you can answer these questions with your own reason and experience, but let it be known that your answers have a profound impact on how you live your life. Thus, I would argue these questions are worth contemplating through daily introspection, meditation, or prayer.

Getting Off The Soapbox For A Moment

Before I conclude this post let me just clear up a few things that often get misunderstood when I write about spirituality. I do not intend to change anyone’s values or how they live their life. What I am suggesting is that we take the time to question why we live the way we do. It is a deep question, directed towards you, but not one that I can provide the answers for.

I think when we try to make a change or improvement in our lives we often take the most basic questions for granted. But often those fundamental questions are the catalysts for the biggest improvements one can make in their life.

I write in order to get people thinking and re-evaluating that world which we take for granted. I want to bring into light implicit assumptions and beliefs, and get individuals to think critically about these ideas they have grown up with all their life. Through doing this individuals can grow a stronger backbone, become more dedicated to what they actually love to do, and drop actions which have become “no good” habits of familiarity that we have wrongly identified to.

But – because we are all diverse individuals with separate interests and talents – it is up to each from their own individual perspective to decide what is right and wrong for them. There is no objective good for everyone; our traditions, culture, art, and tastes (our “pursuit of happiness”) should be particular to our personality. We should not take anything as given just because we have grown up with it or some higher authority has “bestowed” it upon us. Even the values I hold implicitly in my writings should be doubted and questioned.

A Healthy Backbone Builds New Elements, Gets Rid Of Old

A spiritual backbone gives you a center to stand on but it is not necessarily fixed in one place. Just like your spine is built of various bone elements, your spiritual spine too is mobile and multi-faceted. The only thing different is your spiritual spine never stops growing and evolving in new ways (whether you are conscious of it or not).

Your relationship with the world is never fixed, it is always changing; new aspects are constantly arising and fading into the ever-expanding shape of time. From a day-to-day basis things may seem to be moving slow, but when you reflect on months or years they can seem like eternities apart. The world is actually a really exciting and dynamic place if we keep our eyes open to it. Not many things remain the same over extended periods of time. Isn’t that what evolution is all about?

The only thing worse than not having a spiritual backbone at all is having a concrete one, which refuses to change in the face of new evidence and experience. Extreme fundamentalists from all religions share this illness, like when biblical literalism takes precedence over scientifically-gathered facts.

Man is not omniscient nor infallible, that is why God forgives and, most importantly, why we should forgive ourselves. All actions and creations of men, including the Bible, are not perfect. This is why spirituality in all of its form is a never-ending process and not a goal-seeking one.

Living In Congruence

When our unspoken values become spoken we are more conscious of the driving forces in our world. Now we know why we get up every morning and we are proud to live out our lives in congruences with those values.

This requires a higher level of consciousness. No longer is our modus operandi like a puppet on strings, but now we are the puppet masters. We understand the reason behind our rituals; we don’t just live them out obediently but with a sense of joy, flow, and engagement. There is purpose behind every action. We embody what we believe and we act in accordance. As Gandhi once said, we “Become the change we wish to see in the world.” Within that cycle, within every action, we are constantly being born and re-born into a different world.

So don’t stay static, never be afraid to re-align your spiritual backbone, and keep living the life you want to live (as you see fit). The world depends on your moral courage and aptitude.

Whether it is an advertisement in Time Square, the opinion of a TV personality, or the rhetoric of a politician, we should always be mindful not to confuse the face with the idea. Often we get too caught up in the appearance of an idea and neglect how it relates to our world in the realm of logic, reason, and metaphysics.

Some like to blame corporations and mass advertising for our consumer culture, but I also believe it is partly our fault for accepting the lies that are constantly fed to us. Society, as a whole, seems like a very gullible bunch. Like savaged wolves we still like to travel in packs, always voting Republican or Democrat, always turning on our favorite TV shows, and constantly investing our time and effort into the same old patterns of thought.

Especially in this age of information, our minds are always being filled – like a sponge – yet at the end of the day we rarely if ever take the time to reflect, contemplate, and introspect on what ideas we should keep and what ideas we should throw away. We have become programmed by a culture filled with deception. It is not about who holds the truth, but who is the best persuader.

Be A Healthy Skeptic
Looking through our list of cognitive biases, it is hard not to be alarmed at all the different ways one can be duped. A big part of critical thinking is to be aware of these biases, another part is to always be what I call a healthy skeptic. By this I mean we should always leave room for doubt and always have the flexibility to change our views in the face of new information.

No kind of dogma, whether through religious authority or political consensus, should be held blindly as a truth – unless it stands to our own reason. People can certainly suggest ideas to us, but it is only through each individual’s critical thinking (or lack of) which determines if we accept an idea or not.

But even our own faculty of reason can be faulty. No individual is perfect or has all the information in the world; as the philosopher and scientist Alfred Korzybski points out, the map is never the territory, if it were it would have to be the same as the ground it covers. Since we are beings that can acknowledge our own ignorance, we must also include a healthy dose of skepticism in whatever it is we choose to believe regarding life. If we choose not to, we will surely find ourselves in the same cycles of behaviors and outcomes, and therefore never progress.

The Function Of Beliefs
A belief is confidence in the truth or existence of something without proof. For example, one can believe that “everyone is a good person at heart despite their actions,” but that is not a claim that can be properly falsified or proven (and therefore it is not a matter of science according to the philosopher Karl Popper). A belief is true only so far as it permeates each individual’s perspective. It is high-chunked information based on our everyday experience.

So despite beliefs inherit non-truthfulness in the face of scientific rigor, the human perspective necessitates that we hold beliefs about our existence in order to function effectively in our world.

Knowing that we all hold beliefs, we can begin understand why being a healthy skeptic is so important. A belief is only as important as it is a positive influence to our actions. And even our belief in what is a “positive influence” is a subject we should always debate (both in our heads and amongst friends).

So while I preach a philosophy of consistent skepticism, I also want to acknowledge that having beliefs, opinions, and presuppositions are important and necessary. They are information about how we view the world. The key is to be flexible with those views (and always willing to change in the face of new experience and evidence).

Reflection And Introspection
One important aspect to critical thinking is to contemplate why we believe the things we do. Why? is always the big question, and the more we ask it and attempt to answer it, the more we are aware of our patterns of thinking and our false assumptions.

The deeper we dig into our inquiries the closer we come to answers of “I just don’t know.” Acknowledging this ignorance can become an amazing insight, because to know what you know and know what you don’t know – that is true knowledge.

Introspection is such a great tool because it allows us to re-track the steps of our experiences and take notice of things we may have took for granted the first time around.

As far as we know, humans have the greatest ability to reflect on their experiences, but they aren’t the only animals to exhibit these characteristics. Studies have shown that when lab rats are given a chance to experience downtime after going through a maze, they are likely to learn the maze quicker than other rats who are simply put through trial-after-trial.

Researchers theorize through brain scans (although they can’t know the mind of a rat for certain) that this downtime is spent replaying memories. They paid particular attention to the hippocampus, an important structure of the brain responsible for learning. Researchers think this act of replaying memories may be a general mechanism of learning, and perhaps it explains the memory-formation theories behind dreams (which too can be seen as another kind of introspection).

What This All Boils Down To
The message I want my readers to walk away with is that our minds are incredibly powerful tools, and it is important that we actively and consciously use it to our advantage. I believe that sometimes we take our ability to think for granted and in the process we forget how to separate a lot of bullshit from the truth.

No scientist, politician, relative, or movie star can use our brains for us. And when it comes down to how we think of our world we need to distinguish between what we are told from what we believe to be true through our own experience and reason.

This doesn’t mean the scientist, politician, relative – or even movie star – can’t offer us information or insight into a particular perspective; I am only saying we must remain forever vigilant not to accept these ideas on any kind of dogma. Instead, we must look through our own mind’s eye to make the best and most cohesive sense of our world.

Those who are haunted by feelings of loneliness, anxiety, fear, worthlessness, or hate – open your ears wide – because I want to share with you something that I find is a very important factor in overcoming any kind of depression.

Depression can be a vicious cycle. It can feel like there is no way of breaking it because everywhere we are and in everything we do it lurks within the shadows of our existence. In certain moments life may feel more bearable than others, but those dark feelings often come back. It is as if our being is trapped in this bubble of gloom.

But it is just not so. Depression is a reaction to an event or set of conditions in one’s life, all of which are just as transient as the flicker of a smile on a child’s face or the rising and setting of the moon.

Like all experiences, depression is felt moment-by-moment. You can probably already identify different UPs and DOWNs within your depressive state. It is always moving. It is always changing. It is always evolving and manifesting in different forms.

But it is not like a train without a conductor. There is a way to be a part of the process and change the direction you are heading. Here are some guidelines I found most useful in overcoming my own depression. I hope they have a similar effect on you.

Gratitude towards suffering

Why be grateful for suffering? It sounds a bit counter-intuitive – but perhaps that is part of why you have not been able to let go of these feelings for the past few weeks, months, or years.

But there is something to be grateful for. If none of us experience suffering or depression or loneliness from time-to-time, it may be that we aren’t truly alive. For those things are all a byproduct of consciousness itself and life is something to be grateful for.

Some may choose a path of suicide in order to relinquish themselves from this massive suffering. But this is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, and it denies the greatest gift we have: the breath of life. Without which we are in a state that is much worse than depression – nonexistence.

The breath. The breath that connects us to our world. That cool air that comes in through our nostrils and screams “I am! I exist!” What a beautiful thing it is to be a part of that. I often argue that life itself is the greatest gift we can receive in this world or any other. Depression is but one aspect of this incredible existence, and despite its pain, it is something that we can show gratitude towards. I don’t want you to just accept that you are depressed, but be thankful that you have had the opportunity.

What disturbs can motivate us towards growth

When I was depressed several years ago my life turned completely grey. I can swear that when I look back at those times there was no color in my world at all. There was no brightness or zest for life, just dullness and apathy. It was my first year in college. I had no friends. And being the incredibly introverted person that I was it was difficult to make contact with anyone. I had a roommate, but he was a junior with a girlfriend so he spent all of his time with her. He never stayed in the room for more than 30 minutes at a time (usually to take a shower or pick up some books). But he never even slept in his own bed – he was basically nonexistent and I had the room to myself. In retrospect, it was a potentially good thing that I had wasted, but during that time it only amplified my ability to isolate myself from everything and everyone.

I only left that vacant dorm for two reasons: classes and food. And during the deepest depths of my state I recall crossing the streets without looking, hoping for some car to hit me just so that I could once again feel something – some sort of life, at best it might even rid myself of this shitty existence for good.

At least during those times when I left my dorm I was around people. But the most discomforting moments were the times laying in my bed, unable to sleep, and thinking how much longer this could last before I would have to end my life. When the thought first entered my mind I was shocked. I never considered myself someone who could end their own existence. Surely, it couldn’t have been that bad? How would I even have the guts to do it?

It is within these deep states of contemplation where a catalyst for change often emerges. I knew I had two choices: run away forever or mend things back up and strive for the excellence in life I had always dreamed of as a little boy.

How to see depression

In my recent ebook “Mental Health, Energy, And Human Alchemy” (which you can get for free if you subscribe to my newsletter), I describe negative states as valuable signs telling us what areas of our life we need to pay greater attention to. At least that is how my depression worked for me.

My depression felt everlasting – I felt powerless – but when I dived into those feelings, thoughts, and memories and I explored them with full intent I noticed that my mind was trying to tell me something. It was telling me, “something has to change, this current path is unsustainable and you need to find what dissatisfies you and overcome it.” Most importantly my mind was saying, “This doesn’t have to be forever. This can be defeated.”

Depression was the cocoon to my butterfly.

Thus I began to search for clues; I turned my depression into an adventure. I began reading the words of NLP co-founder Richard Bandler and his predecessor the American psychiatrist and hypnotherapist Milton H. Erickson. These two had a refreshing perspective on mind. They saw it as an entity that is designed to work for you, not against you.

They saw all emotions, thoughts, feelings, beliefs as tools. They could be learned, developed, and understood like anything else. They weren’t there to contribute to your demise – they were there to benefit from.

Depression wasn’t just a result of a pathetic life, it was the first step towards happiness.

This way of framing mental illness blew my mind wide open.

Mental health is the development of skills

Time is moving, we call it life. Things are always changing. We study those things and call it knowledge – science. As sentient beings we have the capacity to learn about these things – to retain them and apply them to our life to improve our conditions. We are the only beings we know of that can adapt in such intricate ways.

We have beliefs, perspectives, values. These are tools. We use them in the same way a carpenter uses a hammer to make a building. Like other tools, they are human inventions and also imperfect. They only work in certain situations and when they become outdated we use newer technology.

The belief that depression is just another one of the many stepping stones of life. That is a skill. It is a change in perspective that takes work to accomplish. You can’t just read these words – understand them – and believe that you are better (although certainly that is a positive step in itself).

In fact, any kind of mental health is hard work. Whether you are reading affirmations or taking 1mg of Clonazepam every day, there are no magic potions to cure most mental shortcomings. They often originate through a variety of different biological, psychological, and social factors; that is why you need to put in the effort to developing different skills of seeing your world and how you act in it. When things are serious, your whole life needs be implemented in new ways.

This concept I am proposing to you is no different. You need to practice it and be consistent in order to integrate it into the new you. This is no different than the lessons Richard Bandler and Milton H. Erickson taught to their students.

The belief is this: no matter where you are you are on the right path.

Non-duality

Think of the symbol of the Yin-Yang for a second:

It is an amazing illustrations on the play of opposites in our daily life. The dynamics and evolution of being.

Also, note that even on the side of dark there is a bit of light, and on the side of light there is a bit of dark. I think this very strongly alludes to the concept of nonduality that is so prevalent in eastern philosophy. The idea is that while two things may seem distinct and separate, they are actually one in the same.

Instead of thinking of depression as a separate entity to happiness, we should see them as part of a single continuum. Again, this is actually one of the key concepts I go over in my new ebook.

But in fact you can apply this idea to any mental shortcoming. Here are just a few quick examples:

• Depression is the first step towards happiness.
• Ignorance is the first step towards knowledge.
• Confusion is the first step towards understanding.
• Anxiety is the first step towards confidence.
• Hate is the first step towards love.
• Darkness is the first step towards light.

Infinite wisdom

As you can see the ideas in this post aren’t anything new. They have been around for ages and are still being echoed today. These voices should never die. Everyone should know that things work themselves out; that everlasting change is not only our friend but our nature.

To learn more about my thoughts on the spiritual aspect of change please check out my article, “This Too Shall Pass (A Lesson In Impermanence),” where I begin with a great Jewish folktale on Solomon’s ring.

If you are interested in knowing more about the philosophy of Non-Duality I recommend this article by Bhikkhu Bodhi on Access To Insight (a very great site all around).

Never stop exploring and always see the light in the dark. Make your life heroic.

P.S. I am not a psychotherapist, but if you do want to talk to someone about your depression I am always available at stevenh@theemotionmachine.com.

Fellow atheists Richard Dawkins, a British evolutionary biologist, and Daniel Dennet, an American philosopher of science, discuss the meaning of life and death. It is nice to see these materialists have a heart-to-heart and not forget the importance of meaning in understanding our self and world.

TRANSCRIPT:

“From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it’s different.

Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”

An interview with Australian philosopher and professor David Chalmers discussing his theory of consciousness, the hard problem, and the explanatory gap.

Chalmers also has a wonderful online collection of academic papers, philosophical essays, and scientific articles over at Consc.net/online: a incredible resource for anyone interested in cognitive psychology, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, or philosophy of mind.

I have also written about my personal thoughts on this subject in some of my articles. In particular I recommend:

1. The Hard Problem Of Consciousness: Is Science In Need Of Another Cognitive Revolution?

2. The Epistemic Gap, Psychology, and The Scientific Method.

3. Thoughts On The Nature of Reality, Experience and Meditation

“Alex Grey (born November 29, 1953) is an American artist specializing in spiritual and psychedelic art (or visionary art) that is sometimes associated with the New Age movement. Grey is a Vajrayana practitioner. His body of work spans a variety of forms including performance art, process art, installation art, sculpture, visionary art, and painting. Grey is a member of the Integral Institute. He is also on the board of advisers for the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics, and is the Chair of Wisdom University’s Sacred Art Department. He and his wife Allyson Grey are the co-founders of the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, a non-profit institution supporting Visionary Culture in New York City.”

“Shinzen talks about how the ten zen ox-herding pictures can be interpreted in two different ways. One shows the stages on the path of enlightenment and the other shows you the process of truly grasping what consciousness is. Shinzen talks about pictures 1 thru. 4 in this first of three parts. Filmed on the second last evening of a 14-day intensive Jan. 9, 2009 at La Casa de Maria Retreat Center in Santa Barbara.”

“Shinzen continues in part two talking about pictures 5 thru. 7. He shares that the last three pictures 8, 9, and 10 tell us the substance, appearance, and ultimate use of enlightenment.”

“Shinzen talks about the “final cause” of enlightenment, and the historical person illustrated in the tenth ox-herding picture, the cloth-bag monk. He shares various examples of how retreat participants will be sharing gifts in the “marketplace” – the final goal of meditation practice.”

Visit Shinzen Young’s YouTube Channel for more videos on zen, vipissana meditation, Buddhism, consciousness, and philosophy of mind.

Greater awareness leads to greater action.

The more we are aware of each aspect of our life, the better equipped we become when making decisions and solving problems – which is a pretty often occurrence in our daily world…so why not spend the time to build the skills of living mindfully and fully conscious?

Of course due to our limited cognitive resources we cannot be aware of everything simultaneously. Instead, we must balance our awareness between different aspects of our lives: our career, our relationships, our health, and our happiness.

And finding a balance is rarely easy. Within a period of time, it is easy to get in the habit of pouring too much focus into one aspect of our life while neglecting others.

We are always relating with the world in different ways, and by being better aware of our actions and their consequences we can improve upon our skills, act more purposefully, and build upon the world in a way that we want to see it.

Gaining knowledge and spreading it to others is the best way to expand awareness on various social, political, and environmental issues. College campuses are some of the best mediums for this, where it is common to see protests regarding war, civil rights, abortion, cancer, poverty, the environment, and much more.

Newspapers, TVs, websites, blogs, and forums are all different tools to help spread awareness – to inform people on how to make better decisions. They change people’s lives, how they see the world, and how they behave.

Awareness can seem like a simple and harmless thing but it makes a real impact. People love to blame commercialism, advertising, propaganda, and other societal pressures for the evils of society, but rarely do we take the responsibility or time to expand our awareness by making the effort to seek information about things that are not right in front of us.

Being more conscious of our world can seem inconvenient and often not worth the effort. It won’t give you immediate pleasure or satisfaction like what you would get from eating a delicious dessert. No, awareness takes effort and determination to understand the interests of both your self and others, but it is worth it as time will prove later on.

Stay dedicated to the pursuit of growth, knowledge, and conscious living; but keep in mind your benefits will only be in proportion to your efforts. Conscious living is not a belief but a skill. With practice you can expand awareness in all areas of your life, both personal and social. Work on living mindfully, and remember each moment is a new opportunity to practice and improve your well-being. This is one of the most empowering ideas one can instill in their behavior.

THE BASIC STEPS TO SKY GAZING MEDITATION

• Assume a comfortable meditative posture outside (during the day or night).
• Look outward at the sky – observe it and inquire about it.
• Recognize it is vast beyond concept.
• As mind observes the sky, look inward at mind – observe and inquire about it.
• Realize it is vast beyond concept.
• With the understanding that both mind and universe are inconceivably boundless entities, allow their space to begin to merge. Be one with the experience.
• Rest in this natural, pristine awareness.

Sky gazing is consider an important meditation practice in the recognition of Dzogchen, the primordial state of pure awareness that is present in every sentient being. The teaching of sky gazing meditation was recently popularized by Tibetan teacher Tarthang Tulku in his 1977 book, “Time, Space & Knowledge: A New Vision of Reality.”

If you would like to dive deeper into the theory and practice of Dzogchen sky gazing then I also recommend you read Lama Surya Das, an American-born lama in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, describing Dzogchen sky-gazing and the essential point of it in his talk on “Sustaining Present Awareness”.

Other than that, it is simply recommended that you spend your time practicing this meditation. The sky itself can be quite mesmerizing, especially on a clear lit night with the stars, moon, satellites and all. Allow yourself to become bewildered and awed by this marvelous spectacle that we so often take for granted. In many ways star gazing can become a process of natural healing and can improve one’s health in both body and mind by alleviating stress and making us better aware of our interconnectedness with the universe.

Studies done by psychology researchers have also shown that when we spend more time with nature we improve our cognitive abilities and memory. Nature walks have also shown to improve the concentration abilities in children. There is no doubt that spending time with nature is a great way to tune ourselves into our natural state of intrinsic and present awareness.

Consciousness is like a house of mirrors.

While inside, it is all too easy to get caught up in the distractions of each individual reflection. The mind wants to recognize each reflection as distinct, full – originating on its own. And it is because we believe that each reflection is separate from another that we begin to build preferences, desire and fear. We may find ourselves seeking to distinguish between truth and lies, pleasure and pain, good and bad. But this is all just noise of the mind blocking our recognition of the One.

The search for this One – “the absolute truth” – can become like a search for a mirage in a desert. The moment you think you see it, and begin to approach or try to grasp, is the same moment it begins to dissipate.

By the time you are there – it has vanished from all seeing. Why? Because you think you need to be there in order to see it. This only creates another reflection, and another distraction, in the house of mirrors. You only see the “real you” staring at the reflection, but you can’t see the other you that is staring right back. It is in everything. This is only the recognition of consciousness in every thing that can be attended to.

Each moment is only a reflection in this house of mirrors. It is a snippet of time in the infinite, and utterly empty, consciousness-space continuum. You are not an individual snippet of time-space. This would be identifying with something that is much lesser than what you really are; it would be selling yourself short. You are the flow of time itself – the experience of it – you are the empty awareness of process, change, impermanence, rising and falling, and evolution itself.

By recognizing that we were never an individual reflection, but the house of mirrors itself, we recognize ourselves as inherent empty space, like time, that gives way to all change. No longer do we get caught up in this experience of illusions, false identities, and other mind tricks. We recognize that we are something greater than a single object, a single thought, and a single experience. We are natural, naked, and empty awareness that witnesses all change: failure, success, and growth. We are the flow of change itself, not any of the individual ripples in the tide. Our being is present in all we know and understand as reality. This is always there to be recognized.

This kind of discovery can lead to a sense of new being. A being that is beyond physical and mental activity, or what we might conventionally define as a self. Instead in this state of recognition, we are simultaneously seeing and knowing that the Self is one with the Whole.

In this recognition there is not a busy stream of mental utterances (no attention on the reflections or distinctions of Self and Other). There is only a nurturing nothingness which gives way to all process and all change as it arises in the emptiness of time-space-consciousness. The reflections are still there to be noticed by the mind, but the mind is not present to witness those illusions of permanence and identity. Instead, only One sense of being shines through. It is the only ray of light traveling through the vacuum of space. It is only One.

INTRODUCTION

The concept of trance refers to one’s depth of awareness. There are two main components to our awareness: the form, which is dependent on which objects are being attended to by the observer, and the intensity, which is dependent on one’s degree of concentration on the attended objects. Working together, these two mental faculties create our overall scope of awareness – our shining spotlight at any given moment into experience and reality .

The form of our awareness can be contracted inwards and expanded outwards. It can move within the three-dimensional space of our external world – both outside and inside our physical body – and it can also be directed to the internal space in our minds.

The intensity of our awareness can either become stronger or weaker. This has different implications depending on what sensory modality is being attended to. For example, a visual object that is strongly attended to will seem more bright and crisp to the observer. Meanwhile, a well-attended auditory object may become more loud or rich in timbre.

Our trance state is dependent on what is being attended to and to what degree one is concentrated on that physical or mental object. In other words, every mental state can be seen as its own distinct kind of trance. It would be hard to define what an “altered state of awareness” is when our own everyday awareness is so flexible and prone to change. One moment we are attending to a small pain in our toe, the next moment we are shedding our awareness into the vastness of the night sky. Any attention that is held on an object can be described as a light trance, but there are also everyday, natural occurrences of deeper trance states.

When we typically think of these deeper trance states we are reminded of the techniques of meditation, prayer, hypnosis and other disciplined practices of mind that increase one’s ability to hold attention and fall into deeper states of awareness. But these states are naturally occurring in the mind under certain conditions. One example is when we are absorbed in a really great and enjoyable movie. We are so strongly attended to the events in the movie that time just flies by. The distortion of time perception is one good indicator of deep trance. One can become similarly absorbed in an excellent book, piece of music, and other forms of art and entertainment.

In this way, it is reasonable to assume that most human beings have had varying experiences with trance – so what is the need to explore these states further? Well, a better way to phrase the question is: what is so important about having good attention skills? I think then the answers become much more evident. Attention is one of the most crucial mental faculties when it comes to learning, problem solving, creativity, and building on new skills and behaviors. A mind that is well trained in attention, and specifically the kind of attention that elicits deep trance, is a mind that is better at discernment, understanding, and generating rational solutions. Some studies even suggest that meditation can help treat children born with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Either way, the benefits of practicing voluntary attention, and subsequently deep states of trance, one can begin to cultivate positive effects on almost all areas of personal development.

TECHNIQUES AND TIPS FOR DEEP TRANCE

How can one develop deeper states of awareness and concentration?

As it has already been mentioned, trance typically refers to a deep sense of awareness and long held voluntary attention, like that of being absorbed in a good movie. These states of absorption can be produced on any object.

Most beginners of meditation start by attending to the breath. The breath is a great object of meditation because it is always present and it is usually neutral in its feeling (neither pleasurable nor painful). Because of this, the breath is a great place to start focusing one’s awareness and becoming more familiar with the faculties of our attention.

One drawback to the breath is that it is often not as thrilling as a good movie, so how do we hold our attention on it without letting the mind drift off? Here are a few short tips and techniques that can be applied to practically any object of meditation:

1. Become fascinated by the object.

The more interested we become in the sensations of this object, the more likely we are to hold our attention. The more we hold our attention, the more we begin to notice about this object – the more distinctions we can make about it – and the deeper in trance we will go. It can sometimes be tough to cultivate curiosity towards seemingly mundane objects, like the breath, but rest assured that the more curious we become the more we begin to discover. Eventually, our fascination will become justified by our own experiences of trance. Consequently, this can become a self-perpetuating process once you get your foot in the door of discovery.

2. Be mindful of the relation between subject/object

As you focus your attention on the object, be particularly mindful on how the object affects you (What thoughts arise? What emotions arise? What memories arise?). Also, be mindful of how you effect the object. For instance, how do your perceptions change the object of meditation: from what it is to the qualities you project onto it. Don’t be alarmed if you begin to sense an interdependence between the subject and object. Focus in on that sensation, let yourself experience it.

FINAL WORDS

Sometimes a subject can fall into trance without directing the mind to such a state, this is typically what happens when we fall in and out of trance throughout the day (see: highway hypnosis for another popular example). But if one wants to dive deeper into trance then they must become aware of the mental faculties that create trance. These are attention acuity (or concentration, previously mentioned as the “intensity” of trance) and directed awareness (mentioned as the “form” of trance, also known as, the object(s) which are being attended to).

No amount of words or reading is going to make you better at achieving deep trance states. Like any skill, you need to dedicate the time to practice. Meditation is, in my opinion, the best way to begin cultivating these states of awareness and direct attention. Spend time on the cushion, observe the breath, become interested in the breath, be mindful of the breath, and see where you can go from there. So many things can arise within a meditative session, that it is difficult to educate someone on all the possible occurrences. Therefore, the best advice one can give is to just sit and then work and learn from there. This isn’t to diminish the value of reading materials – this article is hardly enough to cover everything you’re going to need or want to know – but I hope it gives you a good enough sense on a starting point for this journey in personal development.

Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments section and I will be sure to answer all of them.

FURTHER READING,

I recommend the Sri Lankan Buddhist monk Ven. Henepola Gunaratana’s book “Mindfulness In Plain English.” (click for full read), and the late 19th century psychologist William James’ chapter on “Attention”.