Meditation and the Unconscious mind
Category: Higher Purpose
November 30, 2017
Ever wonder how we zip through periods of time during our day when we only recall beginning to perform some activity but only have a recollection of the instant of time when we’re done with the activity? Or only getting back our attention a little bit into the next activity that succeeded it? The reason for this is because a lot of our routine activities are being done by us almost unconsciously – we do them well and correctly and don’t even notice that we’re performing them.
The unconscious mind has intrigued scientists for a long time and they have come up with several plausible conclusions such as how the unconscious mind is responsible for our immune function and heart rate and how it fights any risk or threat it perceives to us, amongst many other things.
Close to 5 decades of Sahaja practitioner experience, as well as some of our own research, has led us to demystify many things related to the UnConscious, some of which overlap and resonate with what others have found.
But clearly, some of it is something that science hasn’t found or analyzed yet. And then there are those aspects where we differ somewhat and think that scientific research has been rudimentary and limited in those areas.
Here’s what Sahaja practitioners know and understand about the Unconscious.
The UnConscious Realm Definitely Exists within Us and Can be Experienced
We’re nothing if we cannot start off with this important assertion that true meditation is actually about accessing or in fact, being in the realm of the UnConscious. Obviously, this doesn’t mean we’re literally unconscious, only that our consciousness and attention is being moved to that realm within us. In fact, Sahaja’s Thoughtless Awareness state is synonymous with being or accessing the Collective UnConscious, a realm spoken about by Carl Jung, the renowned Swiss psychiatrist. Everything about being in meditation in Sahaja is about being in the Thoughtless Awareness state and so, the experience is one of being completely aware and devoid of thoughts while accessing this unconscious realm.
Going Beyond The Mind
An area of perceived difference is how scientists seem to use the term “UnConscious Mind”, we think that such a phrase is incorrect. If you are accessing the UnConscious, you are actually going beyond the mind. The mind, according to us, is a transient area filled with thoughts, reflections, and analyses of reality or truth within us. It is also limited and sort of artificial, whereas true reality is perceived in the brain – unadulterated and unprocessed. To us, the brain is the reality while the “mind” is a derived and abstract concept. It ceases to have any importance, once we’re in a higher state of consciousness such as Thoughtless Awareness.
Which is why we think of realms of consciousness and the UnConscious is one of those realms. And the terms “Unconscious” and “mind” don’t really go well together.
Individual and Collective Realms
In Sahaja, we differentiate between the individual and collective realm that our consciousness or attention can access. The individual realm is the area immediately accessible to each of us, but once we move beyond it in the same direction, we enter the bigger, broader and infinitely expansible collective realm.
The reason that we say “same direction” is because our attention can move in different directions (which are not spatial, but on a subtler axis), into the 4 different realms. Or at least 3 of them – the subconscious, supraconscious and the unconscious. Sahaja looks at the subconscious as the realm of the past, the supraconscious as the realm of the future and then the Unconscious, the realm of the present and the gateway to the higher and superior realm of the Collective Unconscious.
In fact, the rising of the Kundalini energy along the central channel and passing through the brain is synonymous with that exact phenomenon of our consciousness being elevated through our individual Unconscious and to the Collective Unconscious. But perhaps, everything happens so fast within a split second that it’s possible that a concept such as the individual Unconscious is nearly irrelevant or impossible to experience. But the Collective UnConscious has been researched and spoken of by many psychologists and researchers, though not very definitively. There are only plausible theories and suggestions around what it might be.
We think that this area is far too subtle to lend itself to definitive and precise measurements and studies and it’s very likely that nature intended it only to be experienced by each individual. But we’re sure that it was meant to be experienced very precisely and tangibly as we do in Sahaja meditation.
It’s Best to Avoid The Collective Subconscious and The Collective Supra conscious
The experience of Sahaja practitioners shows that the central channel and the present moment are the best to be in. When our attention moves excessively to the past or the future, accordingly we’re dragged, respectively, into our individual subconscious and supraconscious at first and then into the corresponding collective realms. However, such movement can be dangerous and is in fact, the kind of movement used by black magic and other types of crafts and by spiritualists. In fact, some healers also use the power of the subconscious or supraconscious which can be dangerous. They may be successful in healing you, but they do greater long-term damage to your subtle being, sometimes irreparable.
There are two definite ways to take precautions for staying away from these realms. First, steer clear of all black magic, spiritualists, and healers who may be using special powers other than surrendering to the divine power. And most definitely stay away from paranormal and weird stuff which also comes largely from the collective subconscious.
Second, in our daily lives, we need to focus on moving towards the Higher power, the Collective Unconscious, towards heaven and God, all of which are synonymous with each other. We do this by staying in the present as much as we can, quickly warding off any movements to the past or the future and avoiding holding our attention there all the time. For example, it’s nice to recall memories from the past and enjoy them, but it’s not healthy to ruminate and always dwell in the past. Likewise, it’s good to do some planning for the future, but losing ourselves to futuristic thinking most of the time.
The Power of The Collective Unconscious
This is something that no one can fathom, talk or write about in a manner to represent it completely. It can only be experienced We can only introduce you to the tip of the iceberg based on what little we know and have experienced ourselves.
This realm is truly infinite (beyond the limitations of space and time or any other known dimension).
It may be equated to the “heavens” – while we’ve always been talking of heaven from a faith-based perspective, the Collective Unconscious is a more tangible and real expression for it – it is the real Heaven that can be felt. And guess what, we don’t need to be religious to experience this real heaven, only spiritual. And this access to heaven can happen without rituals, ceremonies or middlemen – it’s your individual access or pathway based on activation of your individual spiritual instrument within you.
Our consciousness is lifted into this realm through true forms of meditation which use the power of the Kundalini energy to do this. Exactly what happens in Sahaja meditation.
The power of accessing this realm in our meditation can be seen in the nourishment of our subtle energy system – the chakras and the channels. These get energized by the vital energy of the Collective Unconscious.
Our own Kundalini energy (and in fact our entire subtle energy system) is a part or piece of the Collective Unconscious. That’s how we integrate ourselves and become collective in the real sense. Collectivity is not merely a feeling, but an actualization of our inner subtler self and integration with the Collective Unconscious.
Summing Up
As a meditator, here are the steps we need to take to actualize and experience the Collective Unconscious –
- Get started on the meditation journey by activating our subtle energy system. This happens through Sahaja’s Self-Realization method and in our Introductory programs.
- Once activated, regular meditation helps us connect to the Collective Unconscious each time we meditate and tangibly experience it. Thoughtless Awareness is a byproduct of being in the Collective Unconscious.
- The vital energy of the Collective Unconscious nourishes our chakras and channels in our subtle energy system, heals and solves our problems. This makes us strong physically, mentally, emotionally and provides spiritual upliftment in our lives.
It’s one thing to read about the Unconscious, it’s quite another to start experiencing it yourself.