I have been told incidents of individuals who have experienced permanent “elevation” in their consciousness when they had the first darshan (view) of an authentic Guru as far as 50-100 feet.

Transformation was real. Avid non-vegetarians till that very moment began to shun meat from thereon, etc. These individuals neither came with any intention to be transformed nor had any expectations. No coercion, no mind tricks. Simple yet powerful tranformation.

There are probably many such effortless routes to a higher state.

Congratulations on reaching the level of “Love.” Keep up the great progress. I look forward to you reaching the next level.

Steve: “… I don’t know of any set formula or strategy to figure out how to reach the next level though…”

This reminds me of the four Yogas followed and advocated by the enlightened (people who experienced the highest level of concicousness, the enligtenment), especially in India. The four Yogas are Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Jnana Yoga. I’ve read the four books - one on each of these Yogas - written by Swami Vivekananda. I’ve found them to be very interesting. They have been helping me raise my levels of consciousness by making changes in the ways I live.

And it’s said that a harmonious balance of the four Yogas is necessary for evolving through several levels of conciousness.

I’m not sure if these Yogas would work for everyone, but I’ve heard and read about people who practised these Yogas to reach higher levels of conciousness. And to clear up a block that some of my western friends have, these Yogas do NOT ask you to renounce your normal life and go to a mountain top to meditate all the time.

GYS

So this very morning I was indeed sitting on a mountain doing nothing.

Don’t knock it til you try it.

I’d say you’ve found your true calling. Let me suggest a few things you might do though to improve your image. Dump the suit and get a robe; let your hair grow; Get some sun!

See you in the stars!

My wife and I just spent a couple hours this evening talking about our pasts and how certain painful events contributed to new understandings. It’s amazing how some of the most difficult experiences can prove to be so valuable in the long run, especially the experiences that help us learn courage.

Still, I agree with your past points. Once you reach that new level you see the old mentality as a trap and you can’t possibly imagine living with that mentality.

We can temporarily experience any of these levels. Through meditation we can experience peace, for example. But where does our default consciousness reside right now? Which level encompasses your current world view at this moment?

You can access the power of reason at any level, but you can’t get your full consciousness to stay there if you don’t have the self-discipline and focus to make reason your default choice for all key decisions. Similarly, if you want to achieve a pervasive state of peace where nothing can phase you, all the previous levels must be mastered first.

When you hit a new level, it literally changes your entire life. It gives you a whole new view of the world. Your spiritual beliefs, the way you relate to people, your career direction — everything will change, often dramatically. This is not the kind of thing you’ll see every day. These are the kinds of changes that cause people to go vegetarian, to consciously switch careers, to get a divorce, to start their own business, etc. If someone close to you reached a new level, there’s no way you wouldn’t notice. It would be plainly obvious that the person had changed massively.

I know you mentioned that you’re experiences flicker between them time to time, but whats to say you experience reason before you experience neutrility?

I can’t believe that all of these levels are clearly linear, or even clearly steps, perhaps they may be different levels of awareness or conciousness, as you stated earlier. I often feel sections of reasoning in my life, also pride. However, I can’t say I generally experience neutrility.

I’m sure I have a long way to go, but I am young and I suppose the true path towards a higher level of conciousness is through experience and observation, and a concious effort to improve myself.

I’ve read all of your articles at dexterity, and here, and I’m pretty sure most of your blog entries (usually as a little motivator when I’m feeling down or lazy). I particularly enjoyed the ones about lucid dreaming, still working on that one though…

Keep up the great work.