What does it mean to awaken? Three stages of awakening human consciousness How to become awakened

“The main life task of a person is to give life to himself, to become what he potentially is.”

“I am convinced that no one can “save” his neighbor by making a choice for him. All one person can do to help another is to reveal to him truthfully and lovingly, but without sentimentality or illusion, the existence of an alternative.”

Erich Fromm

When we go to bed at the end of the day, we become accustomed to the fact that we stop living in the real world for several hours. Sleep allows us to restore our strength and, returning to our normal life in the morning, we begin our new day with satisfaction. But have you ever, after getting out of bed, paid attention to the quality of your waking state? Have you ever wondered whether you are fully awake or whether you continue to sleep in reality, performing your usual actions “on autopilot”? Many of us are accustomed to believing that when we open our eyes, we automatically fully awaken and live a conscious life. But is it? The question is really interesting.

People have long paid attention to states of sleep and awakening, which is reflected in the cultural heritage of many generations. In the literature of different eras one can find references to the fact that “Life is a dream,” and popular expressions “Sleeping on the go” And “I got up, but forgot to wake up” very accurately reflect the essence of the problem. Apparently, this is why in the works of many Eastern and Western philosophers one can find various statements about the importance of awakening for a person, the main essence of which can be expressed in the words: “Only those who are truly awakened truly live.” All this allows us to conclude that completely waking up from sleep is really important and, apparently, not so easy.

What kind of dream is this? What prevents us from waking up?

As an answer, we can cite the statement of the modern scientist and philosopher Dario Salas Sommer:

"Our awakening is prevented by hypnosis. And the dramatic truth is that hypnotic states are an integral part of our lives from the moment of birth."

The famous teacher of the last century, George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, said:

“First of all, it is necessary to understand that the sleep in which human existence takes place is not a normal, but a hypnotic sleep. A person is immersed in a hypnotic state, and this state is constantly maintained and strengthened in him. One might think that there are forces that benefit from and it is useful to keep a person in a hypnotic state, not allowing him to see the truth and understand his situation... Awakening is extremely important, but one person cannot do anything here, and in order to awaken, several people must work together. Therefore, a person who wants to awaken must look for other people, who also want to awaken and work with them.”

This phenomenon, in turn, is explained very well by Dario Salas Sommer, from whose video lectures you can learn a lot of information. He defines hypnosis "as a sharp drop in the level of consciousness caused by a momentary or gradual absorption of a person's attention". In his book “Gypsum Consciousness”, the audio version of which is quite expressively called “Practice for raising the level of consciousness”, he explains that hypnosis is a state when a person’s mind seems to be spellbound, as his attention is completely absorbed by some constant or changing stimuli. The state of hypnotized people is very close to unconscious thinking, and in order to get out of this state and more fully awaken, it is necessary to make regular efforts aimed at increasing the level of one’s own consciousness.

Of course, to achieve this goal it is necessary to sacrifice one’s own psychological comfort, which can be compared to the situation when a person is used to sleeping sweetly for a long time, asks to be woken up, but at the same time he does not want to wake up. Here, a certain help can be a person’s deep understanding of all the problems associated with the state of half-awakening, and his firm intention to free himself from the hypnotic web of the familiar world. At the same time, it will be easier to deal with “daytime” sleep for those who are prepared in advance to overcome the difficulties associated with the awakening process. If such a person makes a decision, then he will truly be able to follow the path of individual development, as Richard Bach memorably conveyed in his book "Jonathan Livingston Seagull."

Of course, this is not an easy path. Our civilization is such that it constantly has a strong hypnotic effect on us. But how deeply do we understand this fact?

Dario Salas writes:

“In life, exciting and stabilizing emotional states constantly replace each other.”

This proves that the hypnotic state is an integral part of a person's daily life. Here there is subconscious thinking, which is characterized by the dominance of emotional states over the higher functions of the intellect.

In the modern world, it becomes almost impossible for a person to escape the state of hypnosis and transform from an anti-individual into an individual. This is due primarily to the overwhelming cultural and emotional influence of society and certain aspects of technological progress. The crowd absorbs the individual, hypnotizing him and subjecting him to its constant emotional influence.

Anatoly Milekhnin claims that “the psychophysical behavior of the individuals who make up the crowd is essentially no different from the state of a person voluntarily undergoing hypnosis.”

We live in an era of crowds. Everything is organized according to the principle of groups: political, economic, philosophical or religious, and a person cannot escape their influence.

In the book "Crowd Psychology" Gustav Le Bon talks about "the law of mental unity of the crowd". He presents interesting ideas that are closely related to our topic:

“...there is a psychological law of the mental unity of the crowd. The most astonishing fact of crowd psychology is that no matter what kind of people make up a crowd, no matter their lifestyle, profession, character and intelligence, just because they become a crowd, they have a kind of collective soul. This soul forces them to think, feel and act completely differently from how each of them thought, felt and acted individually... The disappearance of consciousness, the predominance of the unconscious personality, susceptibility to manipulation by the crowd through suggestion and infection of its feelings and ideas, addiction to immediately translate inspired thoughts into actions - all these are the main characteristics of a crowd man. He is no longer an individual, but an automaton, devoid of his own will.”

The behavior of the masses, as Le Bon describes it, is explained by a low level of consciousness, a hypnotic state that deprives a person of the ability to think critically, evaluate and analyze. Thus, the level of intelligence of a person does not allow him to free himself from the hypnotic influence of the group, unless he has intelligence combined with a high level of consciousness, acquired consciously or spontaneously. Groups, especially political and religious ones, do not allow their members to think independently. Moreover, individual people are under the powerful and global influence of all humanity.

Therefore, we can say that hypnosis is a “normal” human state. Only those whose behavior has become conscious and who have succeeded in becoming individuals can be considered true people.”

In the book Morality of the 21st Century, Dario Salas Sommer writes:

“Television is a huge force that unifies and unites people into a crowd. All television viewers form a kind of subculture created by television series, news releases, entertainment programs and films. TV viewers are at a distance from each other, but due to the fact that they receive the same information, they develop a certain mental unity and their ability to think decreases. Let’s not forget that the television and computer screen is the best hypnotist, so it is difficult for a child who has fallen under its influence to free himself from this hypnosis and control.”

This situation is a lot like the plot of a movie. "Matrix". People have become accustomed to living in mental twilight and have ceased to be aware of what is happening. Due to the fast pace of modern life and the diverse hypnotic influence, people’s brains are filled with a huge amount of unconscious and empty information, and television, radio, the Internet, the press, and cinema play a significant role in this.

All this keeps people in a somnambulistic sleep and it seems that everyone is used to it. But if someone made the decision to wake up, began to work on it and gradually became more aware of the world around him and himself personally, then he can see that in fact he has almost nothing of his own, and many opinions, beliefs, habits and even shortcomings , which he previously considered his own, in fact do not belong to his Higher Self, but were formed in his personality through imitation or were borrowed from somewhere in a ready-made form. Such a person may begin to understand that his brain is occupied by various information implants, and as he awakens, he will begin to find numerous confirmations that INFORMATION, without his will and consent, itself forms a mental picture in his mind, which makes him more like a biological robot, than Homo sapiens. And the vast majority of people live this way.

But it is not at all necessary to eke out such an existence. The same Dario Salas says:

“There is another, deeper state of wakefulness, invisible externally and associated with brain activity. We will call this last state true wakefulness or wakefulness in order to distinguish it from physiological wakefulness, which we will call apparent wakefulness.”

Thus, awakening is not the moment when we open our eyes after “physical” sleep, but the state when our consciousness awakens. From this point of view, a person can be called awakened precisely when he is aware of himself and everything that is happening to him in the present moment, and those who intend to make their lives better can be advised to pay attention to this. The state of wakefulness in our lives is truly of key importance. It is better to understand this topic through your own experience, and most likely just reading this article, which contains only quotes and reflections after reading the books of Dario Salas Sommer, will not be enough for some.

The individual desire for truth and understanding of reality presupposes the need to think independently, and it is better, of course, to read these books yourself in order to come to your own personal conclusions.

Perhaps after this you will also want to break out of the captivity of sleep. Of course, this is a path that requires effort, self-control and, in a sense, can be overcome at the speed of a turtle, but if you are interested in awakening and feel this need, then start - the turtle moves forward only if it sticks its head out.

In my opinion, a conscious life is the best, and maybe the only, way of self-development. If you live consciously, without resorting to other people’s stereotypes and opinions, fulfilling your highest purpose, then many problems disappear on their own. The ability to be aware of oneself and the world around us gives a person a feeling of freedom and confidence in every day he lives. I would like to talk about this topic in this article, because... Lately, my more conscious understanding of life has begun to work wonders. I'll tell you a few methods that I use every day to understand how to live more consciously and feel like a happy person.

What is mindfulness? Nowadays, the concept of “awareness” has begun to be discussed very often on the Internet and in many esoteric circles. How do they describe the concept of awareness in modern psychology?– this is continuous monitoring of current states, i.e. a state in which the subject focuses on experiencing the present moment, without trying to be distracted by past events or thoughts about the future.

You are alive only in proportion to how aware you are. Mindfulness is the difference between life and death. You are not alive just because you breathe, you are not alive just because your heart beats... Become more awake and you will become more alive...

Mindfulness practices

I'm here now

A very simple but effective exercise to understand in general what mindfulness is. The first step to learning to live consciously is to learn to be here and now. This is the foundation of our awareness, so to speak.

If you imagine in general, we are rarely in the present. Remember what you think about every day. Either about how tomorrow your boss will scold you for unfinished work, then we imagine how we will go to some concert this weekend, then we constantly make plans for the future, then we think about past events, but this is what I would do, but here I did it differently. But you need to understand one simple thing: life is here and now. Neither in the past nor in the future, she is in the present.

Train your brain with fun

Develop memory, attention and thinking with online trainers

Well, let's move on to practice. I will say right away that the first mindfulness exercise that we will use is very tasty. Why? Yes, because we need to make a delicious fruit salad. Take the fruits you like. For example, I adore oranges, bananas and kiwis. You cut them into small slices and just mix them. You don’t need to add anything else to the salad, no cream, no sugar, or anything else. Just fruit and that's it.

Now sit down, close your eyes, relax and start eating. At the same time, don’t think about anything other than food. After the first spoon, try to begin to distinguish the taste of each fruit. Observe how pieces of an individual fruit evoke emotions in you. Let’s say that orange evokes emotions of joy in me and is associated with the sun. Distinguish the taste of each fruit. Eat slowly and mindfully. You will immediately feel happy here and now. Congratulations, you did a great job on your first exercise!

Only using the example of food, we can say that we do not know how to live consciously! What do most of us do when there is. Watching TV! Well, maybe someone is on VKontakte or doing, say, a work report. How can our food be digested unknowingly? No way. Eating should become a whole cult for you, and a conscious one at that. No need to grab a burger from a kiosk and stuff it while talking to a friend. Sit quietly on a bench in the park and eat alone, enjoying your food here and now!

After the first exercise, I think you are already beginning to understand what it’s like to live consciously! Let's move on to the second, no less interesting.

Mindfulness Meditation

In general, meditation is used in many esoteric teachings. It is an excellent tool for raising your awareness. Meditation will allow you to calm your mind and turn on your inner observer, which will show how you react to external stimuli. This will be the starting point to your freedom.

So, sit in any quiet place where no one will disturb you. Close your eyes, take a deep breath and as you exhale, relax completely, inhale again and as you exhale enter the “here and now” state, i.e. give up all your thoughts about the future and the past. Now just become an observer. Try to track what thoughts appear in your head. When you learn to be aware of your thoughts from the outside, then ask yourself the following question: “If I am currently observing my thoughts, then who really is “I”? Interesting, yes. It turns out that your thoughts are not really you. And it’s just your Mind that shapes them.

Awareness is your being, consciousness is your being, and the dust that accumulates on awareness is your mind.

If you want to live consciously, then you need to learn to be an observer. Observe every thought that comes to your mind, observe every action you take, observe every desire and other things - how you speak, walk and eat. Watch everything, always and everywhere!

5 Mindful Questions

or what does the soul do after it?

How can I make my life more successful and happy?

What spiritual laws will help me with this?

Give yourself some time to do this exercise. Close your eyes, relax and start asking your inner self. Write down all the answers on a piece of paper, and then read it. I will not hide that these answers are philosophical and very complex, but you can find an answer to any question. And it lies deep inside of you.

Now life is so fast that few people ask such questions, which means they live unconsciously. Find out who you really are, why you came here and where you are going. Then your life will be filled with some meaning and it will no longer be a cruel test for you, but an incredibly exciting journey, where you will feel like a Creator, and not a Victim.

For a better understanding of how to live consciously, I recommend that you also watch “Peaceful Warrior,” which very well shows the moments associated with exercises to increase awareness.

Conclusion

My awareness came to me only at the age of 25 and I’m actually glad about it! Some people open their doors to her earlier, while others never do so, living their lives unconsciously.

Thanks to the 3 mindfulness exercises that you were able to read above, my life has changed dramatically. Now I feel the fullness of my life, its significance. I consciously get up for work and go to work, knowing why. I consciously meet a girl, understanding why I need a relationship. I realized the path that my soul must go through in this incarnation. I realized the beauty of life and this fills me with even more energy to move forward to new horizons and victories.

I wish you from the bottom of my heart to quickly understand what “living consciously” means.

Have you ever experienced a lucid dream? Or maybe you've heard about other people's experiences? Becoming aware in a dream, they received a lot of impressions. With just their desire, they changed the scenario of what was happening: they moved wherever they wanted, created their own worlds, and did incredible things. These people felt like creators. This article will not talk about lucid dreams, but about the fact that this is possible in life. Namely, how to wake up from sleep and become the creator of your reality.

Dream and reality

When we sleep, events happen according to some scenario, sometimes completely absurd. And while we are in an unconscious state, what is happening seems completely normal and natural. But once you become aware of being in a dream, everything changes. You understand that you can set your own rules, be anywhere and anyone - even a superhero.

It's similar in life. We are in this reality and take it for granted as something fundamental. And no matter what happens, we get involved in it, even if we don’t like it. Disagreement with reality causes a desire to change it. But while we are “sleeping,” this only leads to a feeling of helplessness. For life transformation to be possible, it is necessary become aware. Understanding what is happening and that you have the power to change events is the key to creation.

Mindfulness

Be aware- means to be conscious or have knowledge of what is happening (to be with knowledge). This state can be achieved by becoming an observer. Or, more simply put, be alert, be here and now. As an observer, you notice your thoughts and see their consequences. You don't get involved in current events. You react to them calmly. Because you understand that they are only consequences of past thoughts. As a result, you have knowledge about causes and effects in your life.

How to “wake up from sleep” and become conscious

To experience a lucid dream, there is a very simple way. It consists of repeating the question: “Is this a dream or reality?” This puts your mind into checking mode. The more often you ask yourself, the better. This way you will bring the action to automaticity. And in a couple of days it will definitely appear in a dream. Simply put, you will ask yourself while you are sleeping, “Is this a dream or reality?” Give it a try. Very interesting sensations.

To awaken in life, you can apply a similar method. Under any circumstances, whenever possible, for every thought, ask yourself: “Do I really want this? What do I really want? At this moment you realize:

1. where you are (state of affairs - what are your thoughts and reality);
2. and where you want to go (your desires).

Becoming a superhero or state of being

Now that your attention covers the whole picture of what is happening, you have the power to change the course of events. To do this, you just need to decide right now to be who you want. Exactly like in a dream. Neither someday, nor after a certain period of time, nor as if this were happening now. Namely, to be now.

It's actually simple. We turn to the outside world: in search of solutions to emerging problems; we are motivated to achieve goals; We seek satisfaction and happiness in things and people. But all this already exists and is within us.

We can simulate any state we strive for. Call it up and just stay in it. Just be who we want. The key word is BE. It is a state or being. You can only be in it.

We all move and pulsate throughout Life. We ourselves change, and the space around us, variants of events, people, situations changes due to us. Every day we sculpt the next link of our existence, thanks to which the chain of experience of our incarnation is assembled.

From birth we begin to understand the world, to know ourselves. And through knowing ourselves we get to know other people. The path of each of us is unique and individual in terms of the totality of experience, emotional and mental range. Each of us is a discoverer of ourselves, and this process becomes deeper with each incarnation.

We grow up, our preferences, perception of what is happening, and understanding of ourselves change. Our consciousness expands, we move along the spiral of evolution of the Soul and Spirit, which are connected with each other. We move along our Path, along the given points that we need to remember who we are and why we came this time.

A person who begins to ask himself questions, thanks to certain events, information, insights - “Who am I?” “why am I here?” "where am I going?" “What am I living for?” etc. – becomes cognizant. And gradually, he himself finds answers to his questions, but new, deeper questions about Himself appear. A person waking up, like a moth, flies to the light, to its Source. This is how we take our Path. A person is captured by a thirst for knowledge, discoveries about himself, his abilities, and possibilities. The picture of the human world is changing. He begins to distinguish the wheat from the chaff, he begins to see illusions and reality. He begins to understand what is empty for him and what is significant. But, at the same time, a person begins to face a misunderstanding of this world and people. A person becomes restless, wanting to tell people what he has seen, what the world really is and what man is, but many around him are ignorant.

What should an “awakened” person do? – this topic is dedicated to this issue.

So, you have embarked on your Path. Even if it is not yet confident and shaky, we have stood up. You strive, you thirst for Truth. You have become a knower. At the same time, a desire appears in a person to help other people awaken, so that they begin to see like him. A person begins to communicate with people on the topic of self-development, shares his impressions, his discoveries, new perceptions and sensations, states. But people listen to him, nod or remain silent, saying: “great!” But inside they don’t care, or they consider you a little “that”, or laugh at you, or express their indignation that you are losing your mind after reading all sorts of esotericism. And in part, this is normal, given the average level of consciousness of people, their interests and values ​​at the moment. But this is changing, the percentages of those who love, know and “sleep” change. But that’s not about that now.

So, what to do and what you need to know in this case?

1) “Having awakened” from ignorance, YOU STAND ON YOUR INDIVIDUAL PATH OF SOUL DEVELOPMENT. Don’t drag other people onto the same narrow path that you follow.

2) DO NOT FORCE other people who are not yet ready to listen to you, what you have come to, and how you now perceive reality and how you need to live in order to develop.

3) Remember clearly: NOT EVERYONE WILL UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT YOU - what are you talking about, what are you trying to convey to the person. Everyone sees only what his Spirit - pure or clogged - allows him to see. All your seemingly good intentions can take a person out of his desired balance of energies in which he can live at the moment.

4) DO NOT DEMAND PEOPLE TO ACCEPT YOU, your opinion, your beliefs and perceptions. This is only important for you. This is YOUR Path...and you should follow it. You do not know the Ways of other people. Not all people can understand and accept for various reasons. Accept this too. That even denial must be accepted in order to be complete and loving. Don't judge other people because they can't accept you. Accept them and yourself. Another person's opinion of you should not be an obstacle in your way or a cause of irritation.

5) Remember: THERE IS KNOWLEDGE ABOUT YOURSELF THAT SHOULD ONLY STAY WITH YOU... you shouldn’t tell every person about your achievements in self-development, about what has been revealed to you. Don't stroke your ego. The knowledge that is given to you about you is intended for you. Further in the process of development, when you move to the level of being able to work not only on yourself, but also outside, the knowledge for working with people will be revealed to you.

6) When receiving knowledge and information, remember that THIS IS A SMALL PART THAT YOU HAVE COMPREHENSED WITH YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS at the Universal level, this part is from microns...)))

7) BE HUMBLE AND Meek IN YOUR PATH. Don't let your personal impulses spill over into other people's lack of self-control.

8) In order to “awaken” people from unconsciousness, from ignorance, you first NEED TO ACHIEVE UNDERSTANDING AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE WAYS OF PEOPLE, A LOVING STATE, and only then embark on the path of transferring knowledge and information.
Any such desires based on personal gain, growth in your own eyes, selfishness will bring you bitter fruits and karmic situations, so that you understand that there is knowledge that can only be carried at the level of the Soul and heart, but not with the mind and calculation.

9) BE IN THE FLOW, BE FLEXIBLE. Let go of what goes away and be open to new things. These could be people, situations, changes in life. At first they may seem painful and difficult to you, bringing you torment. But this is just an emotional background. Later, when the transition period passes, you will see that this was the best option for you.

10) Remember that there is a time for everything! do not try to awaken the first person you meet, wanting to inform as many people as possible about what you have come to. To a person, at the most appropriate time and situation for him, something will come that will illuminate him and lead him onto his Path. It is not for you to decide when it is time for a person to wake up. But if that very moment has come, it is you who can play the role of a conductor of human emancipation.

11) Remember: YOU DO NOT “AWAKEN” A PERSON WITH YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION, BUT LIFE THROUGH YOU POURS OUT THE NECESSARY ENERGIES AND VIBRATIONS ON A CERTAIN SOUL. There is no personal perception of your involvement in working with people. You are a conductor of the Divine both for yourself and for other people.

12) When you discover knowledge and revelations that are new to you, don’t trumpet it to the whole world. BE GRATEFUL AND CALM IN YOUR PERCEPTION. This is just your next step on the path to the One. You alone are responsible for the next steps. Any of your emotions or states are important moments in the formation of the next event for liberation from linear perception. Remember that you perceive what you have learned again incompletely, just as you once perceived it as banal for you now, but previously astonishing. A person’s perception of situations and information always changes.

13) BE CAREFUL OF THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU. If they don’t understand you, don’t accept you, then this is necessary at the moment. And for you - to teach you humility and acceptance in a loving state, and for other people, for whom it is possible, your words can be the seed for future revelation.

14) Remember that NOTHING IS DONE IN VAIN. Any actions you take will bring consequences. But it’s not up to you to decide what they will be and when they will appear. Trust the Universe and Life.

15) Remember: WHAT YOU THINK IS TRUE AND RIGHT TODAY MAY CHANGE TOMORROW. There is no limit to Truth. Truth is an endless process of learning.

16) If you are unable to convey information to a person that you think would be useful for him to hear, STOP. Do not exceed your strengths and capabilities in working with human consciousness. End the conversation in harmony and joy, and move on. DO NOT ALLOW IRRITATION, HURT AND AGGRESSION when communicating with a person, otherwise you only serve as a breeding ground for disharmony for a person, and not as a messenger of goodness and knowledge.

17) THERE IS NO FINAL KNOWLEDGE THAT LEADS A PERSON TO ENLIGHTENMENT. Do not limit other people in their views from the position of “right” and “wrong”, “narrow” and “broad” thinking, perception. Everyone is at the level of knowledge for which they are ready, including yourself. Also, do not assume that you perceive and see everything correctly. You may also be mistaken.

18) Remember: THE PERSON YOU SEE AND THINK YOU KNOW HIM is unknown to you, no matter how much you think otherwise for yourself. You can evaluate his level of knowledge, his behavior, habits and abilities, thinking. But it will always be an illusion. You don't know enough about a person to have the right to judge what he is like. EACH SOUL HAS ITS OWN LEVELS THAT OTHER PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO (except for a few, but we obviously do not include them). Therefore, no matter how much you think that you know what a person thinks and how he perceives the world, this is only your assessment and perception, which has nothing true with the real multifaceted situation.

19) DO NOT EVALUATE. Today you met a person, assessed his level of consciousness and thinking, and compared him with yourself. Forget about it tomorrow. In human life there is always a manifestation of the One and Eternal, sometimes completely unpredictable. Someone follows their Path slowly and through knowledge, and someone can come to what many have been going to for years - in an instant! A moment of insight when the energy and power of the Eternal pierces the structures of man. And today, the one “lagging behind” you in consciousness may turn out to be “leading.”

20) DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND THE TIME OF ANYONE ELSE ON CONVERSATIONS AND PHILOSOPHICAL REASONINGS about who has achieved what and who is right. As a result, you may end up feeling that you are not understood what you are talking about. Another person can also come to this. IT'S WHAT YOU DO, NOT WHAT YOU SAY. If you think that you have reached a new level of understanding, cultivate the implementation of this information in yourself, and do not prove it to other people in disputes.

Be aware and considerate of yourself and other people. They are just as knowledgeable as you. Don't complicate things, especially in your mind. IT'S MUCH EASIER THAN YOU THINK! NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS!

In order to develop harmoniously, you need to cultivate self-control, simplicity, acceptance, a loving state, and peace in your soul. No matter how bad you feel. There is no time for self-pity, remember, everything is in your hands!