Are Gains in Consciousness Permanent?

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Question: I have been working at becoming more present and have made a lot of progress. Are the new levels of awareness I have achieved, permanent?

The gains you make in increasing your level of consciousness are not permanent. In fact, nothing is permanent because at the metaphysical level, everything is in a constant state of motion and always changing. Hence the Taoist saying, “You cannot step in the same river twice.”

When you live in the Present, you realize that the current moment is all that exists. And, you are either engaged in the Present and consciously awake, or you are in your imagination or having a negative emotion and experiencing a lower level of consciousness. It really is that simple.

Any gains you make in raising your level of consciousness will diminish if you don’t work to maintain them. It is no different than the gains you make should you begin to exercise, diet, learn a new language, or develop a new skill.

For example, suppose you are overweight and decide you want to lose 20 pounds. You start dieting and exercising in order to lose and burn more calories. Two months later, you have successfully lost 20 pounds. What happens next? If you don’t continue to make the effort to eat healthy and exercise, you will start to gain back the weight you have lost, negating all your hard work.

In the twenty plus years I have been in a spiritual practice, I have observed many individuals begin to awaken only to fall back asleep. This can occur for many reasons, however, often it is due to the fact that awakening is not a permanent state, and these individuals didn’t realize the amount of work needed in order to remain awake.

Don’t let that discourage you. Living in the Present becomes easier the more you do it. Just be careful and don’t let the ego convince you that you no longer need to make efforts once you become more consciously awake.

I wish you peace and blessings in your spiritual journey.

Does free will exist?

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Yes and no. What most individuals consider to be free will is not free will―it is the ego exerting its perceived power, dominance, and control over its immediate environment.

I encourage you to consider thinking of your body as an incredibly complex, intricate machine. This machine largely operates without you having to do anything. You do not have to tell the heart to beat and pump blood to your vital organs, or tell your lungs to inhale and exhale oxygen. Food, when ingested, is automatically digested and its waste eliminated. In fact, this wonderful machine that is the human body, is autonomous.

In the same way your body functions independently, so does the mind. Thoughts occur repeatedly whether you want them to or not, even while you sleep. The mind is constantly surveying and assessing the landscape based on the data it receives through the five senses.

The mind is comprised of four distinct divisions or centers: the instinctive, the moving, the emotional, and the intellectual. While all four divisions exist in the mind, upon personal exploration you will discover that some centers are more developed than others in yourself, and in those you know. For example, athletes typically have exceptional moving centers, scientists usually possess dominant intellectual centers, many doctors have well developed instinctive centers, and artists often possess strong emotional centers. Each of the four divisions of the mind also automatically produce thoughts (I will delve further into the four aspects of the mind in a later essay.).

Your ego will respond to the thoughts received from the four divisions of the mind and act accordingly. We often think our actions are of our own free will, however, if you were to begin to analyze your behavior, I’m fairly certain you will find most of what you do is an “automatic reaction” as opposed to a true act of free will.

The only time you truly possess free will is when you are in a state of presence, because it is only in a state of presence that you are not acting from the ego. The ego is selfish and self-centered. It’s actions are predominantly based in fear and vanity. If the ego is deciding your actions, that is not free will. That is the ego’s will, and in these instances, you are far from “free.”

In my book, Living in Conscious Harmony, I discuss the different states of consciousness. Most of your life is spent in the 2nd state, waking sleep. In this state, you live under the power of the ego mind, which dominates the body. The only thing in your possession that is more powerful than the ego mind is your soul. To live with intention (3rd state), independent of the ego, and with your soul engaged, is to experience free will. The ego will have you believe you possess free will, however, free will only exists in the eternal Present.

Peace and blessings,

Good Householder

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One of the greatest experiences you will have in the Present is liberation from your body and mind. When this occurs, you realize a spiritual truth—the mind controls the body and the body is nothing but a vessel for the soul.

We unknowingly make it more difficult to live in the Now by not taking care of ourselves mentally, physically, and emotionally. People are more irritable, quick to anger, easily distractible, and lacking in patience and self-control when they are fatigued, hungry, or lethargic. Under these circumstances, it is far easier to identify with our problems and express negativity, than to make the effort to be present.

My teacher taught me of a basic, universal law that, if you abide by it, you will have a much easier time in your efforts to  live in the Now. It’s called good householder. To be in good householder is simply to be a good steward regarding the physical, instinctive, emotional, and mental aspects of your life. Good householder is common sense, however, many people just don’t find the time or lack the desire to do it.

I encourage you to think of your body and mind as an instrument, a tool for the soul. If you ignore it, you will be more prone to identifying with the problems that arise from neglect. This, in turn, creates unnecessary friction in your life and makes it harder to be in the present.

I see spiritual aspirants as athletes. Just as an athlete needs to train, eat properly, and rest so that he/she can perform at their best, I encourage you to do the same. Francis Bacon, a 15/16th century English philosopher and statesman, said, “A healthy body is the guest-chamber of the soul; a sick, it’s prison.” Don’t allow your body to be a prison for your soul. Be in good householder and create a guest chamber for your soul to do the spiritual work you are destined to do in this lifetime.

Peace and blessings,