Consciousness of mind

Defining Consciousness

Consciousness is a competency that allows one to be focussed and deliberate upon issues without getting unduly emotional.

The two sides of the brain, the right and the left have different functions. Unless they are well integrated , the logico- mathematical side and the creative-divergent side ,and a synthesis drawn upon , within the vast , ever fluid dynamic , thinking strategies, where competitively a good organisation of thought is perceivable,without chaos of any nature, with orderliness and creativity, Consciousness in a field of activity may not be perceivable by an outsider.

However the Predominant ability of consciousness may be witnessed in the left brain orientation of activities in planning, in analysing ,in systematising and so forth, it is also witnessed during the right brain orientation in activities such as creating, elaborating , synthesising, problem solving etc.

. The two sides would appear as different in stature and people do dominate the usage of either side of the brain ,a tendency that is possible with the experiences given and encouraged upon. This then could bring about stereotypes. In general ,both fields of activity , convergent and divergent thinking abilities needs to be encouraged.

Consciousness in spirituality can thus be defined as a state of wakefulness, of acquiring both sides of cerebral activities. It is a field of activity ,making us aware of what is happening around us , bringing about areas of concern, and yet be undisturbed for all things aren’t in our control and be able to solve our problems in the best way possible, happiness is this state of bliss as a result of an individual’s conscious abilities to act correctly on the many challenges that are posed in front of the individual. All the actions done in a conscious state , in a wakeful state , with awareness and understanding of the underlying objectives are found to be meaningful .

To be Consciously competent:

A consciously competent individual knows how to integrate the functions of the left and the right sides of the brain. The situational approach is followed with both the linear and the lateral ,inherent natures of a conscious action that is remarkably justifiable in each case.

As an example , let us say ,someone passes a racial comment. The linear approach will figure out the causes of such biases and refrain from counter defence mechanism to the immaturity of that individual, the lateral approach would be able to prove to oneself, of one’s own capabilities and focus on what one aspires with a vision to excellence. Thereafter because the individual has become so consciously competent that any snide remark doesn’t bother. A sense of detachment prevails yet being attached to the task in hand. A consciously competent person would be attached to constructive actions.

Let’s take another example, A doctor understands the linear analysis of a disease ,yet takes actions according to lateral functioning ,using skills to prescribe the right remedial measures. Each patient therein would be required to have a different remedial measure. Hence in every measure of life, in any profession one would need to use the linear and the lateral skills. The consciousness developed through academic pursuit is of a different nature from that of the intrinsic spiritual consciousness, that in itself is a base structure for all wisdom. One provides for insight and intelligence ,the other provides for intellect and wisdom.

In time to come integrating spiritual wisdom helps individuals , to be able to take the right actions. Reading of Bhagwadgita suggests a philosophy of self development. The Gita as a manuscript suggests the importance of karmic actions, the value of knowledge combined with concentration, a steadfast mind, seeking the goals and accomplishing the same without fear, especially when on the path of righteousness, the laws of dharma , a sense of duty with a detachment becomes eventually well integrated into the mental schemata , and thereby making every action, every spoken word and every thought process as a consciously competent interaction, rather than a reaction. Reactions are often emotion based and at times can mislead us , many of our emotions could also be irrational.

A mind held high, in steadfast determination is always successful. Most successful business entrepreneurs , world over have had the courage to not only embark on something new but valiantly pursue the tasks ,till the sighted goals were accomplished. That is the will and determination, with a one minded concentration that they possess. It becomes the elixir to generate the right energies towards goal seeking ,with a purpose and meaning.

Many innovations are possible for the good of mankind in this way, the world has seen rapid progress and made life much more meaningfully comfortable , so that many youngsters are able to develop their constructive talent and be an asset to nation building. This is made possible with the many layers of consciousness , from a general awareness to specific awareness, from perception to internalisation, from internalisation to assimilation, from assimilation to focused attention, from attention to analysis, from analysis to action ,with goals clearly marked out.

Essentially we move from subconscious thought process to conscious thoughts and thinking to super consciousness to supra consciousness, at each stage we master the art of thinking for better living .

These layers of consciousness, lead to a subconsciousness storage of facts and concepts, with the process of adaptability ie super consciousness making our life either worthwhile or frustrating ,depending on the thought structures that we have built and stored within our metacognition.

In our normal life, attending to day to day activities ,many thought processes arise from the subconscious to the conscious mind. Consciousness is a state of awareness of both the subconscious and the conscious manifestations , leading thus to a Consciousness of attending to what is needed and being competent about the many decisions taken.

Many times ,unknowingly we utter some words that create an unpleasantness. A consciously competent person, will take care of speech and action. In other words, a control mechanism works well within the system, the brain as the center of our intellect.

We can develop this state of Consciousness through our awareness of our thought processes and thereby condition our mind to be above the mundane.

As age stage catches on, our interests shifts from the mundane , from the gross to the subtle. And as we reach the subtle energies ,we get surrounded by our super conscious energies. These energies would influence our thoughts , and influence our interests , at times changing our patterns of thinking all together. We become more serene, and calmer and thus refrain from overexcitable stimulus.Even in retirement, there is never a dull moment, both types of thinking coexist and at times blend too , depending on the situation. A sense of tutiya prevails, a blissful state.

Thus consciously speaking there isn’t much difference between spiritual thinking or academic thinking, the vocabulary is synonymous to man’s development leading to wisdom. Each is aiming at man making , for a better tomorrow.

The waves of thought frequency that could ease the mind or disturb it.

Self as a measure of improvement .

Self Development

We all develop our skills, our potentialities, our strengths, multiplying on our goodness traits and reducing our weaknesses.

Self improvement can emerge ,only through introspection, through reflections of the past, present and the future.

We go through a series of developmental activities through which we gain our perception and insightful understanding , eg, our home, our family,our parents , our neighbourhood, our school, our peers and so on.

Our concepts undergo a radical change, constantly sieving and sifting and thus taking us to clinging on to only the chief essential characteristics that can be defined as “The Concept “, perhaps even with a one word phrase. Eg the word happiness can be described as a feeling of elation, of goodness....the word Joy is indicative of the process of happiness. It need not be elaborated further. The process of Self improvement is thus, removing the unwarranted, the not so needed aspects, pruning of self towards a changing you, of instilling the qualities of truth, beauty and happiness , a blissful state of focusing on one’s goals and making life more meaningful.

Hence Self improvement is a process that grants intrinsically the self respect, to oneself, self imagery that brings about positive changes towards the personality.

We as humans , have a wide range of emotions, and thus when we deliberate on our self improvement, we improve upon our fears, our anxieties, our concerns, we move from a stage of fear to fearlessness, from cowardice to truth, from ego to superego, from self damaging pains to self expression, self consciousness to consciousness, making ourselves better in every way. We all look out for change, and aim at bringing about change, let’s make the change in ourselves.

Much time is lost in attempts to bringing about change in others around us, instead when the process of change begins with us, that is the day ,success dawns on us .

As we change for the better , one would also notice a subtle change around us too, indirect forces of being consciously competent striking the right balance between man and machine.

When an individual is effervescent, is joyous , is intellectual, is spiritual , is compassionate, is communicative ,is responsible, is perceptible, is energetic ,passionate about one’s goals, is empathetic, such an individual is capable of bringing about a positive change for the better, not only for oneself but to others around too.

Consciousness in Death.

While we are living ,we are thinking of our survival in the best way. Some quantify their living, some bring in quality to their existence.Quantifying from the principle of acquisition of properties, money, housing, cars, gadgets ,including looking after pets, and the enjoy the luxuries bought in with the purchasing power. This functioning is at the conscious level.

While some others may be supra conscious , looking for qualitative riches. Quality in relationships, quality in housing structure, place of retirement, place of work, means of earning,and relate to intrinsic wellness. Sat chita,ananda guide them not to indulge in superfluous activities, they are contend to playing tje roles ,prescribed in the scriptures and through role modeling.

As it appears, a diversified population exists, some may be super conscious while others may be conscious enough to think of doing all their duties as Dharma, and a chosen few, bestowed by destiny ,choose to be supraconscious individuals, standing tall on their own.

The supra conscious is far beyond the mundane , they are not interested in day to day dealings , generally affected by emotions or even illusions.They seem aloof and are happy in singledom and in silence. All these three states of metacognition helps us deal with our own impermanense. The ultimate perishable state, all study of the varied scriptures is to bring about the realisation of the atman, the soul ,that continues to guide us.

Death brings about the consciousness to the fact that all is transitory and impermanent. Living with such a philosophy, one is always tuned to higher self, but also able to relate to the mundane necessities of life through alertness and awareness. In supraconscious brain ,a storehouse of imagery of the divine principle ,one voluntarily withdraws from all temptations and is almost is in a state of Samadhi. Death is stillness . Stillness of words, thoughts, and actions .

The supraconscious temparament sees the omnipotent in every one thus being more tolerable, acceptable of individual differences.

The superconscious has the superiority of understanding , of awareness but with a lesser intensity to that of Supraconscious.

The conscious individual is knowledgeable and knowingly balances between the supra and the super, more worfied of society dictates that are so erroneous ,that at times , that individuals fail to rise above the conscious level to supraconscious levels where all differences are diminished.

In all three ,death is a stage in between two transitions , a change in garments ,a change in attitudes and experiences .

So why fear death ? Every stage of life gets us prepared to the end and we live competently and consciously enough , looking at each day as a testimonial of our best day . We will always be putting forth the best foot forward in all we do.

We do not live to please others . We live to develop our pure consciousness.

In this ,there is aleays a blissful state. A turiya.