Exploring the levels of human awareness
By Moshe Ross
At our human level of awareness, we are caught in a nightmarish dreamworld and need to be rescued. An emergency helicopter is always hovering above us, to let down a rope ladder and save us. We can turn and reach up to make the climb to God in an instant — similarly, God will reach us. Rope rungs, supple underfoot, can frighten us with their novel shifting, but always we are in Good Hands.
Let’s look at these rungs.
Three levels of awareness
The first rung of awareness is our usual human state. We believe everything is bound by physical laws, that we are alone, endangered and fighting dog-eat-dog over a limited pie, looking out for No. 1, seeking salvation in rewards of wealth, of sensual pleasure, of recognition or power over others.
When we search for something more, we may climb the second rung, beyond the physical, where we can find the psychic or mental level of awareness. This is tricky, for although above the material sense of reality, it is still in our dream of the two powers, “good” and “bad.” This rung may provide limited rewards for us, such as money, health and companionship (which are not wrong in themselves). But idolizing a god that can be coerced with gifts will always be short of the desire to just experience God, just know God aright, and live and move and have our being in the living God of Love.
The third rung in our ascent is the Spiritual Realm. Here we surrender, and our desire is only for God Itself. Whatever things we truly need spiritually are provided through Its Omniscient and Omnipotent Love. At the spiritual level we have no conflict, for we are all together the One Life of God. So, when we find ourselves falling into contention, we can learn to turn within and touch reality again, if even for a moment. At this point in our learning, we begin to see the miraculous.
Three activities we can adopt
Here are three activities that can help us advance spiritually, woven together like rope, providing us rungs to climb: study, meditation and practice.
In studying along a certain line, we may work with a teacher and colleagues. Study can be reading: For instance, “Practicing the Presence,” by Brother Lawrence; “The Way of Life,” by Lao Tsu; a red-letter edition of the Bible, which we sift through to recognize the actual quotes from Jesus; books by Joel S. Goldsmith, edited by Lorraine Sinkler.
The central second strand is meditation. God Omnipresent is here to experience. Meditative contact is always something that will save us. It helps us with issues we face, bringing a feeling within of unconditional great peace, often out-picturing as miracles. Some bear reasonable explanation, while others are simply impossible, but they happen. Here we begin to rely on God. Let’s know that God is ever faithfully loving us, whether or not we doubt, whether or not we notice. (We described a way to meditate in our essay, “Contemplative Inquiry, a Gateway to Knowledge,” published here on July 27, 2023.)
Lastly, we’re all here to love with God’s Love. In our daily life, we can bring events into meditation, sensing the hidden identity of everyone and every event, so that we recognize that only God is on the field, and our efforts spring from this beauteous Source.
We are planting ourselves in the meditative experience for one purpose only, to live and move and have our Being in the Divine Presence Who fills all space. The rest branches out from the trunk of this Tree of Life.
Moshe Ross (541-488-2571) is a longtime teacher of meditation, an author, retired physical therapist and psychological counselor. This essay is based on “Rope Ladder,” his Jan. 20 program of “Really Being With You,” Saturday mornings 9:30-9:55, on KSKQ, 89.5 FM. For archive, search: KSKQ Community Radio Programming.
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