Methods To Raise Consciousness
Consciousness is said to be the state of awareness of ourselves and our surroundings. I personally feel that it represents an awakening to the truth about the society we live in and our own individual power. The more conscious I become, the more I want to seek out truth and improve myself. Mark Passio, for those who have not heard of him, is a researcher, public speaker, and radio host from Philadelphia. He has been a great influence in my own awakening. Through Mark’s vast research he exposes the hidden truths about society but also provides solutions for a positive out look amongst the chaos. I am sure everyone who reads this has had the thought that our modern world does not make sense; here is my interpretation of Mark Passio’s 10 step path to overcome the insanity through self improvement.
1 . Heal Your Worldview
“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference ~ Elie Wiesel
We all can heal our worldview by caring about the well being of all creatures. This form of healing is also known as Shamanism. Through my own research, I have discovered that Shamanists do not align with our “consensual reality”; that is the unconscious ideas and beliefs that we collectively agree, everyday, to participate in. The Shamanist is interested in finding out what is actually real by breaking away from all social constructs. Shamanism teaches that everything on our planet has a spirit or a “being-ness”, and that reality is not just the physical, but that our thoughts and imagination have the ability to heal and teach. If our institutions are lacking compassion, those indoctrinated in them will as well. Compassion, empathy, and caring will heal us and each other!
2. Change the Quality of our attention
“Those who expect to be both ignorant and free, expect what never was and never will be” ~ Thomas Jefferson
Why are so many people hating others for simply sharing ideas that differ from their own? Where does this anger and contempt for one another come from? We are the products of the information we take in to ourselves. The quality of what we put into ourselves affects the quality of our experiences. If all we watch on TV, read in the news, or talk about is violence, death, and fear, how does that affect us? Mark Passio thinks that we need to “STOP THE HYPNOSIS!” We can do this by staying away from mainstream media, and by being vigilant in questioning and doing research. This means reading folks and questioning all that you see and hear. In doing this we can create a “TRANSFORMATION” instead of mass “TRANCE-FORMATION!”
3. Develop Present Moment Awareness
“If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.” ~ Lao Tsu
This simply put means staying in the moment. Don’t pay attention to every detail but see the bigger picture; understand what is taking place within and without. This is the very definition of consciousness. We can all benefit from learning from our mistakes, and constantly moving forward. Thinking about the future only creates worry! Does this mean never plan; not necessarily. I think it means focusing on today, what you are doing this minute and making the most of it. Our lives are an evolution of our consciousness, not simply past, present, and future.
4. Change Your DIET – We are what we eat!
This is one that a lot of us struggle with, but we can start by making small changes, everyday, that will lead to healthier habits over time. Diet effects the health of the brain. As the quality of the information we put into our bodies effects our state of being so does the quality of our food. We can take control of what we put into our bodies by researching what we are eating, where it comes from, and how it is made! Mark Passio suggests that we should try to eat organic food and buy local as much as we can.
5. Monetary Detachment
“If there were no debts in our money system, then there wouldn’t be any money” ~ Governor of the Federal Reserve
Debt is a form of oppression. Mark suggests that in order to break free we should reduce our personal dependency on the money system as much as possible. This is the most difficult suggestion Mark makes. We all support a monetary system based on our individual and collective “voluntary compliance”. We live in a society that revers money as God. We should never put money ahead of our self integrity and personal morality. The Western world is so focused on going to jobs we hate, so that we are able to buy things that we do not need, in order to impress people we don’t like. Does anyone else think that there is something horribly wrong with those whom are willing to put wealth ahead of happiness?