I am sure we have all been there. We attempt to make a changes in our lives, changes for the better with the intent of finding improvement in some area.

What happens next? Quite often something or someone comes in to the picture with the intent (conscious or unconscious) of throwing us off course. Maybe a parent or your lover or perhaps life may throw you a situation that takes your mind off your new found course.

Why does this tend to happen so often? For me, this natural resistance seems to show up just as I am making the greatest strides in all the right directions. Something always comes in, no matter how briefly it may remain, that throws my attention some other way.

It can come in many ways and in many versions. Perhaps it comes when you are learning something new, in the form of some struggle and confusion while adapting to the new stimulus. Or perhaps a parent or friend accuses you of wishful thinking while you are embracing a new path toward a deeper spirituality or way of life.

I mean, truly, I have seen resistance come in at the oddest moments.

Bill Harris, the creator of Holosync technology and founder of Centerpointe Research Institute, talks about chaos theory.

To sum it up, chaos theory suggests that, as more energy is poured into a system (as you begin attempting to learn a new math problem for instance) the systems initial reaction is to break down (you may get confused in the initial stages of learning the math problem).

Then comes the point of resistance. And, what we tend to see happen as a result of pushing through this resistance at the end point of this period of chaos is that the system reorganizes itself at a higher level of capacity than it had before the energy entered into it (you push through the confusion of the initial learning process and you solidify your understanding of the new problem and are now able to move on to solve higher level equations).

As a result of practicing meditation with holosync, and of the development of my current lifestyle in a general sense, I have become acutely aware of those things that come in as resistance and I have learned to  identify them as they arise.

By becoming aware of the resistance as it comes up, I have allowed myself to change my reactions and to develop a deeper emotional stability in relation to seeming negative stimulus.

What most of us tend to do (and I did this for years) is hold onto the negative energy and give it strength within our awareness. And, this is why we get knocked off course. When this energy is allowed to disperse, it moves through us just like anything else and we are then allowed to return to a more balanced state of mind. .

Why do so many people fail at these moments? Why do they fall prey to the resistance that shows up?

Maybe we have to look at the nature of resistance differently to understand this. Perhaps if we looked at these deep and trying times in our lives, when stress and anxiety are highest, as tests or challenges to overcome then they would contribute to the strengthening of our minds.

I think whats most important is to stop resisting the resistance. Its the act of resisting these tough circumstances, out of anger or fear, that gives them attention. And, that in its nature makes them stronger. And then that inevitably makes these times in our lives so much more difficult.

Now, that is not to downplay these stresses, anxieties, and emotions. I will not say that they are not there for a reason. Or, that they are only in a persons head. Because we all have things in life to deal with, hard situations that are hoisted upon us by others.

Believe me when I say, I understand this.

But, I also realize, that as a person who was once quick to anger, guilt, shame, depression, and aggression, it was not until I began to look at these feelings as they came up, that I began to become more centered in myself and in the face of others and in the world.

I see so many who are angry at others, who refuse to forgive or release their anger towards the abuses that someone else wrought. I understand this because it doesn’t make sense at all that anyone should suffer at the hands (or mouth) of someone else.

But, if you harbor anger towards others, guilt, shame, if you resist those things that scare you, all you are doing is making life harder on yourself.

Stop resisting the resistance. Just the other day, I had someone close to me start yelling at me for pretty much no reason at all. And, now I am not gonna say I didn’t argue back.

But at some point I just stopped. I let them complete their rant because I knew that this was just another form of resistance coming at me from the universe as a test. It was a test to see if I am internalizing all the things I am trying to learn and develop in myself.

I failed miserably at the outset but I feel that I can look on that situation with a sense of gratitude for at least coming to that realization.

I stopped resisting it, made sense of it, allowed it, and now it has passed. Or at least I am not letting if affect me.

That is my two cents. My eyes are hurting so I’m gonna take a break from this thing.

Thank you all for all of your support!

Peace, Love, Life!

Michael Angelica
http://hackingthebodymind.com

Hello Everyone,

I hope this post finds you all well. I wanted to write today about something that is possibly the most difficult hurdle for most people to get over when it comes to getting in shape, losing weight, or making just about any change that might make their lives better.

In my book, there is a section entitled Opening up to Love and in it, I basically go over the small part of us all that oftentimes keeps us from making beneficial changes.

At this point, I don’t think anyone would disagree that in our culture we have a hard time with things like self esteem, self respect, and self love. We want to be everyone’s friend. We ask and ask and ask for others to love us but we never find that love that we seek.

We live dependent on everyone else’s opinions of us. And, we never truly look deeply within ourselves to find out what it is that we want.

We tend not to love ourselves enough and this has to change. Until we find appreciation for ourselves we will not take the steps necessary to change. Deep down we do not believe we deserve to change. And, so on the surface it just seems like we are not motivated.

We may encounter short spurts of inspiration but those never really take hold and so we fall short. We rely on our emotions to tell us what we need. And, those emotions are always dependent on external stimuli.

Right now, you need to look deeply into yourself. Right now, you need to decide what you want for yourself. Right now, the change needs to be started so that the results you receive from the changes you make create the feelings that motivate you further.

Motivation is not something that just shows up and it is not something that you need to wait for. For most, desperation needs to ensue, rock bottom needs to be reached before a change is made.

Haha….well you need only look outside your door. Look at the news or read a newspaper and you will see rock bottom. Look at the untold millions of people dying everyday and suffering for no reason at all. I’m sure you know someone or a few people who have suffered from diabetes, or heart disease, or cancer, obesity, or Alzheimer’s.

Maybe you yourself are one of those people. But, yet you are waiting for the motivation to hit. Look in the mirror and you will see your motivation.

Love of self…

Peace, Love, Light!

Michael Angelica
http://hackingthebodymind.com

You know, sometimes this process of trying to find some sort of sense of higher consciousness can be pretty difficult.

In some ways, this thing that I (and many others) have started has sort of become a process in trying to figure out whether or not one can pursue and actually attain a higher state of consciousness in this modern society.

Sure, its one thing to be a yogi in a cave doing handstands and sun salutations seeking oneness with the eternal self. But, when you are living in a modern techofied world, having to interact on a day to day basis and work for a living so that you can one day support a family….this is another thing entirely.

Sometimes it just makes more sense to run off and become a monk.

I would like to think that you all know that I in no way think of myself as a pioneer in this sort of thing. There have been many aspirants, pursuers, and developers of a newly evolved and all encompassing, open to all version of enlightenment.

Andrew Cohen and Ken Wilber are but a few of those that have dissected and pioneered this new path.

But, what I am starting to realize is that what we are really doing is quite possibly akin to the development of the first personal computers.

They were slow, a little dreary, highly complex….but there were glimmers of hope that were beginning to show. There were signs pointing a new more glorious direction and it seemed almost inevitable that magnificent things would be accomplished if the creation of these new devices could be seen to its completion.

Now, we are living in a world where technological advancements happen daily as the speed of communication and information dissemination becomes infinite.

The path of developing my own state of consciousness has been very hard, both for me and for the many who have so boldly decided to traverse this new unknown path. Its different and being different is sometimes very lonely. Even more so, what I have found is that opening the flood gates to the ever expanding river of consciousness sometimes can have results that are less than easy to deal with.

I have spent a lot of time trying to find my way back after traveling a few more steps than I should have down certain rather treacherous paths.

But, this is no different than where the computer was just a few short decades ago. Now, the computer is directly interwoven into every fabric of our daily life and new applications for computer technology are being developed constantly.

This is where I truly see this new path of evolving consciousness going. And, this is what has driven me to seek out as many tools as I could to ease the process of humanity’s evolvement, which eventually resulted in the birthing of the Hacking the Body Mind protocol.

In the end, what my answer has become to those yogi’s who were afforded the luxury of decades of complete solitude is a protocol which employ’s modern technology to speed the process towards total transformation and demystifies the message of expanding consciousness.

I will continuously admit that I am standing on the shoulders of giants in so many ways. But, where this program is unique is how it fits the many pieces together in a way that is completely synergistic.

The synergy comes from applying different things that connect at a central point. That point is to open up the channels of the body and mind and then amplify the internal and external strengths of both while providing a space from which a new humanity can grow and blossom.

Don’t you want to be a part of this new and unfolding evolutionary leap? I know I do.

Peace, Love, Life!

Michael Angelica
http://hackingthebodymind.com

The more time I spend in contemplation and the deeper I go on this path toward some level of awakening the more I begin to see life as some cosmic drama being put forth into our consciousness.

In the past few years, I have begun to look at life the same way someone would look at a television show or a movie. Because of the nature of awareness and a continuously evolving perspective, my opinions of what is really going on are changing almost constantly as these situational cycles unfold before me.

Something that I have encountered that strikes me more and more is how the drivers of our society have come to use deep forms of archetypes and symbols to control us.

And, it is ever pervasive.

Symbols show up everywhere. They are on our money, in our publications, in our movies and in our music. Everything that the drivers of society push on the mass collective has some connection to a deep symbolism that goes back for centuries.

But, as a collective, we pass right over them in our daily lives. We expose ourselves to them continuously. We work to obtain money. And, no matter how much we obtain, we constantly seek to obtain more.

Why do we do this? Does anyone really need multiple millions or billions of dollars to exist comfortably?

Is there some type of symbolism behind the idea of money as a concept? And, if there is, then how does it connect to us on a subconscious level?

Are we simply living as we are told, or are we seeking something higher, something rooted within nature in a way in which we are not aware.

Money is colored green. Green is also the color of the heart chakra. The heart chakra connects to the earth, which also is represented by the color green. Green is the color that an aura resonates when their heart chakra is open and they are feeling deep feelings of love.

Is there a connection between money and love? Or, is this symbolism being put forth to drive us to seek something that has no basis in reality? Love is real. Energy is real. Earth is real. But is money? I once had a teacher tell our class that the only thing that gives money its value is our belief in its value.

Its imagined. It keeps our minds off of what actually IS real. It keeps us seeking after something that we think we need when what we really want is what the money represents, love, energy and a deeper connection to mother earth and each other.

Looking at movies. What are the kinds of movies that move us most as a culture? The Matrix Trilogy, Lord of the Rings, the two Star Wars Trilogies, Xmen and Spiderman trilogies.

But, why do they spark such interest from us? And, why are these types of films being created at such a furious pace?

The characters, the stories and ideas contained within these films spark something deeper within us. And, it is a known fact that in the case of the Star Wars trilogies George Lucas created his characters to resemble certain archetypal figures.

Anakin is the fallen father. Or, perhaps he is the shadow side within each of us that wants to control others and the world. Luke, the savior or Christ figure is to bring triumph over evil and restore balance to the world. Even the idea of the force can be attributed now to the quantum field whose existence is now being proven by science.

The Matrix symbolizes awakening to some previously unknown truth. A truth which explains that reality is not always what it seems. The character of Neo can easily be connected to the second (or third or fourth) coming of The Christ who is supposed to awaken us all to the nature of reality.

You can say what you want about these things. But, if science is correct that reality and the world you experience is driven by the way you perceive it, then it really doesn’t matter. Its your choice to create the world you want to live in.

And you do it with each thought that you think. The drivers are directing us all through the use of the images that we see projected in theaters, in media, in print, and on television.

I don’t mean to say that we all want to “feel the force” or that we all have to choose between the red or blue pill. The reality is that these are all representative of deeper cosmic truths.

But, why do so many only believe that these are fantasies and consistently choose to live life as if it is nothing so special? Why can so many people consistently attach themselves to these types of ideas while seeing no realistic basis in them?

The easiest way to make someone see a particular idea as false is to hide it in plain sight. Movies give us a connection to ideas in way that is so deeply fantastical. And, they remain purely in the realm of entertainment. Any level of deep investigation into the nature of such concepts leads one to be outcast or considered stupid and crazy.

So any level of true awakening or active seeking is prevented.

I just think its funny how this happens and it has always left me curious. I feel that if there is any kind of concept that has the ability to drive the masses into action like movies can, these concepts have to have some basis in reality. Even if these are levels of reality that we can’t see.

Over the past few years, it has come clear to me that everything that is put in front of us can have a role to play in the awakening. But, it is ones choice to see it that way, and so my hope is that, due to my point of view, I will continue to awaken more and more deeply.

My choice is to see the deeper meaning behind what money represents and concentrate on that rather than the money itself being what is important.

Even down to the Presidency and the rise of Barack Obama. I did not concentrate on the political actions. And, in fact, I can care less about most of what is going on.

Barack Obama represents an archetype. The archetype of change. The archetype of hope. And, even the archetype of savior. He has even thrown out comparisons of himself to Jesus or Superman.

And, the public bought into it, right or wrong.

I didn’t vote because the truth of the matter is that no elected official will create the kind of change that we really need.

We have to become conscious of our lives and of our decisions. We have to develop our awareness and begin to see the deeper truths that are right in front of us. Conscious life has got to be our highest value. To decide not to be controlled but to become co-creators within the fabric of our destiny.

We are directing this world through our thoughts and actions and if we become conscious of the ebb and flow of life, we have full potential to create the world that we all truly want.

This cosmic play requires our participation not only as spectators. We must be participators.

We are the ones that we have been waiting for…

Peace, Love, Light!

Michael Angelica
http://hackingthebodymind.com

In the many years that I have looked into the topics of nutrition, fitness, meditation, energy medicine, and consciousness, I have come upon one particular concept that was startling to me.

America, as we all know, has been fraught with controversy since its birth. There are things going on behind the scenes that are perpetrated by our governments that are unfathomable and unconscionable.

And now, as we watch a new story unfold in the face of our political machine, we see all the truths that we have held closely vanishing before our eyes.

The American Dream is losing ground wouldn’t you agree?

Our government has lost face world wide, our economy is drowning, the housing market has gone bust, employers and businesses are in trouble and people are watching in fear as America as we have come to know her is combusting.

What is really going on here? I have a few thoughts….

At this point in American history, I believe its fair to say that most of what has been hidden about the founding of our beautiful country has been uncovered and is pretty much known to most of us.

The hidden groups such as the freemasons or the illuminati….the influencers of the hidden governmental factions that are seemingly running things….

We all have heard about these groups and whether we want to believe they exist or not matters little.

So, why are they here? What are their true plans for America? What are they really up to? And, how long have they really been in control?

Its common knowledge, and if it isn’t then a quick Google search will make it known, that at least the majority of our U.S. Presidents were freemasons or at least members of one of those groups I mentioned.

And, if you look back through history at the establishment of this country you will see that it was started by Freemasonic factions. And, I am of the opinion that we are still controlled by this group or its offshoots.

But, why? What do they want with us?

Well, to truly understand the goal, I think we need to look at the history of these groups. And, I encourage you to study up on this yourself also. It really is quite fascinating.

I have, over the past few years, actually had the opportunity of meeting a few masons. I actually worked with them at a couple of jobs. And, trust me, not every mason is rich and powerful.

But, I asked them lots of questions about the origins, according to what I had come up with in my research. And, themes that came up consistently were about the Pyramids, their purpose and their construction, and how Freemasonry dates back to certain types of Egyptian mystery schools.

Has any of you ever wondered about the pyramid on the dollar bill?

If you look at Egyptian Mystery schools you find that they were very much connected with subjects of astrology (forbearer of modern astronomy) alchemy (forbear of modern chemistry) and a great many other subjects regarding humanity’s development.

But, in researching all of this, I still continued to wonder what the truth behind it all is.

What is the purpose of America? Out of hundreds of thousands of civilizations why does it seem to come down to this? To us? And, why do we seem to have taken the reigns in the direction the world now takes?

These other nations, the nation of Egypt, India, and China, and the countries of Europe have been around so long with histories going back tens of thousands of years to before things were ever written down.

Why does America, so young with a cultural history of maybe a few hundred years, seem to shine in a way that no other country has….even still?

A theory of mine is that America, beyond its political or religious regimes, beyond what is believed by so many….America is a metaphor for the rising in consciousness of the people of the world.

We are the capstone on the pyramid of the world! We are the fruit of the Tree of Life!

Right now, in America, we are being given a choice. When we look around, what do we see? We see destruction. We see war being perpetrated on innocent citizens, we see a nation of unconscious people who live only for themselves, who are materialistic, and inconsiderate of anyone else in the world.

We see so much bad. This is what is being put in front of us through the media. We watch television and, as a mass culture, we buy into it….do we not?

But! Underneath all of that….in some ways hidden…we can see a culture of people who are awakening to the light of what true living is. We see the greening of America and the world.

We see people who are taking control of themselves and exercising their right to choose. What are they choosing? Health, vibrancy, love, compassion, and fearlessness.

What I see, are people like David Wolfe, Ken Wilber, Peter Ragnar, David Deida, who are extremely successful human beings. These people are clearly American but if you look into their work you see that they espouse tenets and structure their teachings around concepts that were originally developed in countless other ancient traditions.

If you have ever listened to a lecture by David Wolfe, you will see this clearly. The philosophy that he has put together is so amazing and is a huge conglomeration of ideas from ancient Chinese and Taoist herbal medicine, from South American medicine.

He references the Russian and Ayurvedic medicinal systems and he puts it together in a way that is easy to comprehend and put into action.

One of his favorite quotes is, “We are the air to all the ages, in the foremost ranks of all time!” And I love to hear this. Even within our symbolism, this idea makes itself known.

The caduceus of Hermes is the symbol for the American Medical Association. What does it correspond to going down through history? It represents the spine with the energy of the serpent (kundalini) climbing as it goes through the chakras reaching the crown where it is said full enlightenment is attained.

America….as a melting pot of cultures and races….has opened up the world to yoga, meditation, energy medicine, qi gong, and nutrition in ways that are technologically profound. We are not only proving that those ancient sciences were valid…but we are improving them and combining them with technology in ways that those cultures could hardly have ever dreamed of.

America and its people, its teachers, are the teachers of the new science of a coming world of light and life and love. We do it better than anyone else. We feel it deeper than anyone else because we need it more and we see whats coming.

We are the new garden of Eden.

We are being given a new choice. And, whatever we choose will be and is freely given. The choice is tyranny or freedom…..destruction or rejuvenation.

Do we want to continue to live in the false systems of greed, and hate. Or do we want to recreate paradise on earth?

Both choices are here and you can have it all. Make your choices carefully because our survival is what hangs in the balance.

Peace, Love, Light!

Michael Angelica
http://hackingthebodymind.com

The nature of the law of attraction and its connection to beliefs, this is something I am sure we have all given plenty of thought to over the course of the past few years.

The “Secret” or the Law of Attraction has been invading our culture with ideas of personal manifestation for a while now. Its pretty interesting to watch the expansion of this concept into the realm of mass consciousness.

What does it mean? Is everyone just trying to find an easy fix for the lacking successes in their lives? Or, is it coming from a deeper sense of what we are all truly capable of?

I am sure it is likely a little bit of both. And that is OK. It is usually the hardships that inspire us to find ways to achieve great things. The tendency for those who achieve success, sometimes, is to lead oneself down a road to stagnation.

But, if we find some level of inspiration, it has always been my belief that we can really make great things happen.

So, really, what is it that makes it possible for simply believing something to make it come to realization? Is this really such a fantastical notion?

A basic analysis of the structure of beliefs would easily reveal that they are direct representations of the values that we hold. And, as values, they represent the deeper perspective through which we see the world.

If our beliefs are directly a part of our perspective, than we will do things that make our beliefs reality, because our values determine the things that we do and don’t do.

Lets just say that I truly believe that I am loved. Then I will show this in my actions by regularly doing things that generate mutually beneficial relationships.  If I believe that I am unlovable then my actions will be of isolating myself from others.

Now, on the other hand, if I simply SAY that I am loved, but, I do not BELIEVE this, than my actions will not be congruent with the idea that I am attempting to cultivate. So, this is a more concrete way of explaining how beliefs tie into manifestation.

For the past few years I have made a study of the different levels of health, how to improve them, and how they affect our lives. And, I can honestly say that even before I had any direct experience with any of it, I believed deep down that improving health, improves your life. And, on many levels, that value is now represented in my daily experience.

Beliefs, if they are actual, eventually unfold as actions in your reality.

Do you see what I am getting at? If we truly believe something, we will find a way, through our actions, to make that belief show. This is manifestation. Or at least its a part of it. I am in no way an expert on the subject. But, I believe that it is possible. And that’s why I am here. I want more input. I would love to discuss it with you.

Beyond this, I also think a state of gratitute is important, maybe even more so than beliefs.

A wonderful quote that I tend to use a lot goes like this…

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

This is a quote from Dr. Wayne Dyer and I am a big believer in its message. But the nature of what it expresses is that, finding reasons to be thankful for anything that comes about in your life, whether good or bad, is the first rule for creating a life in which you really are grateful.

Giving thanks to the Universe, for every challenge and every triumph, creates the pathway by which the universe is allowed to send us more things that we will be grateful for. The universe is a mirror of our consciousness. And, if we send out love and abundance, then love and abundance will be returned.

Lets look at this on a smaller scale, if you do something that is helpful to others, and they sincerely thank you for it, what do you want to do? You want to do more of it, don’t you?

This concept is really universal but it’s not always easy to implement. Sometimes we are most inclined to think most about the things we are not thankful for. We complain to God, our friends, our family. And, when this is the case, what kinds of things do we see most often in our lives?

Rather, would it not be more beneficial to figure out what it is about our life’s challenges that we can be thankful for?

The nature of life is an ebb and flow. We can’t escape the down turns. I have had relationships, jobs, and situations that have went sour. Trust me, I have been there plenty. And yes I have even done my fair share of complaining. Then, when I realized what was going on (which took me a very very long time…) I began to find reasons to be thankful even for all that.

Dealing with hard jobs builds determination and focus, maybe some patience. Dealing with bad relationships helps us to notice the things in ourselves that might have contributed to the negative aspects of the situation. If we are aware then we look at our level of co-dependence and maybe seek some means to therapeutically deal with it and release it.

I implore you to explore this in your own life. Change the way you perceive your world. Begin to feel grateful for exactly where you are, right where you stand, right now in this very moment. And, inevitably you will begin to see and experience positive change.

And, it will come hard and fast.

Peace, Love, Light!

Michael Angelica
http://hackingthebodymind.com

We all have a basis in divinity. We have all been put here with a purpose. No matter who you are, or where you are in life, you have potential for total life mastery within you.

The first step is to learn to allow the light of consciousness to begin to flow through you and open you up to the deeper knowledge and guidance of your higher self.

In many ways, the current state of our lives trains us off the search for deeper meaning. We are told to go to school, graduate high school, go to college, and then find a career based on a very limited set of choices.

This may just be fine for some. Some folks may just have been put on earth to be lawyers, doctors, accountants, or journalists.

But, the inspiration for a direction should come from inside and not from the instructions of parents, teachers, or anyone else.

An underlying goal of the work I am doing through Hacking the Body Mind has always been the creation of a way to facilitate the finding of ones divine purpose. It was originally catalyzed as way to discover techniques for opening myself up to the light of the universe….to my intuition and higher guidance.

Once someone develops even a small level of awareness, one of the first things they start to want to find is a way to live healthier.

A healthy life facilitates a much easier way with the world. The process of attaining your goals depends on many factors and I don’t want to make you think that once you start eating raw food, exercising, and meditating that things will automatically become easier.

But, the cleansing of the body’s channels, the strengthening of its systems, and the establishment of a more focused mind allows the creation of higher consciousness to come much more smoothly.

My life is not perfect, far from it. But, that is not the point. The point is that humanity is on a search for a mission. Something that I am hearing more and more is, “Where is the meaning in what I am doing?” It is becoming somewhat of a battle cry.

The economic crisis may just be a representation of humanity realizing that, on a whole, it is just tired of going to a meaningless job, to earn meaningless money, to spend on meaningless things.

Yes, we all need money. But, the dream is to earn it doing what we love.

That is what I want.

Learn to live your life ON purpose. Take a look at the program I outline in my book. Use it as a guide to opening yourself up to a new pattern of intention.

That’s its purpose. It is a DIY manual for healing the body and mind and resetting your state to a more receptive, open, and abundant level of awareness.

Peace, Love, Life!

Michael Angelica
http://hackingthebodymind.com

Within spiritual circles, we tend to hear a lot about this concept these days. But, how many of us really understand what it is and why its so important?

What is consciousness really?

For a very long time, it was made out to be such a mystical and esoteric concept that many people have gotten lost in the pursuit of it.

To develop oneself consciously means that the ego’s place in ones life begins to diminish. What is the ego? Well, for all intents and purposes, the ego consists of a persons particular views, habits, opinions. The ego based person tends to live in a very confined and limited lifestyle.

The ego is that part of us that creates distinction from the rest of the world. It is the ego that makes us believe that we are separate. Dr. Wayne Dyer said it best, that the ego creates within us a distinction between our higher self and the ideas we hold about who are supposed to be in the eyes of society.

Oftentimes, we get lost in our ego based ideas of who we are because it exists within the shadow and is typically hidden from our normal waking awareness.

Where the development of conscious awareness comes in is that the more highly evolved a person tends to be, the less control their ego can have on them.

Consciousness, in its essence, is the ability to see a broader set of circumstances. It means having the ability to move beyond our ingrains habitual responses. Having increased consciousness means that you can see the mechanisms of the universe that are at work in your life.

Being conscious gives us all the ability to act in accordance with the deeper aspects of life. It means that we can see the true causes of the problems in our lives. Much is made these days out of the idea of personal manifestation. But, the ability to manifest, in my opinion, is first born out of a deep knowledge of how our deeply held beliefs are truly affecting the world we see.

The conscious person does not resist the inevitability’s of life because they understand that the whole of life moves in cycles. The unconscious person resists anything that brings discomfort into their lives.

To look consciously at life, means that you know innately that life will go as it goes and what is most necessary is for us to accept all that life sends us and understand that each moment has something to teach.

Consciousness matters for a great many reasons.

But, there is a specific reason I wanted to go into it today. There is so much talk about change these days. But, do we, as a society, really know what it is going to take to bring that type of change into the world?

There have been so many revolutions up to this point. There have been so many times throughout history that have actually succeeded in bringing about dramatic changes.

All we need to do is look back to the sixties. There was protest, there was revolt, there was a tremendous and deep call for social change. And, in many ways, the people of this era succeeded.

The Vietnam war ended. The big fight to end this war happened. Wow. And, I know that the folks of my generation have always looked back at that generation in awe.

There is one glaring problem, though. Don’t you think that if the lessons of that time were truly learned, then we would have, as a whole culture, avoided the problems of war that we see today? Have the ravages of war truly ceased?

If you really look at it, aren’t the peace loving toke smoking hippies of yesterday now the republicans of today? And now, I am relatively unbiased when it comes to politics. I don’t completely believe in the abilities of the current system. So, I do not want to say that republicans are the bad guys.

I am only trying to prove a point. And, that point is that, that generation spent decades fighting an oppressive government. They actually won that fight. But, what happened shortly after is that the folks of that time fell into complacency. They stopped fighting for a cause because there was no longer a cause to fight for. And, they became the exact mirror images of what it was that they were fighting.

The folks of this time, missed the point. The root cause of the problems that existed did not get taken care of.

You see, so many of us seek to change the things that we see, things external from us. And, we believe that that is what will create lasting change in the world. We try to lose weight, but we don’t deal with the emotional attachments to food. We try to save money, but we don’t deal with the habit based spending habits. We try to diminish our attachments to anger without looking within to figure out what is in us that keeps these feelings coming.

I can go on and on.

A metaphor that I like to use about the way we tend to go about creating change is, its like we wrecked our car, totaled it, and instead of bringing it to the shop to get it repaired, we simply run it through the car wash.

To effect real change in the world, we all have to first catalyze changes in ourselves. If we want to create peace, we need to be peaceful. If we want to look out and see a loving world, we need to learn to give love unceasingly.

The point that those of the sixties missed was that they didn’t become conscious of those aspects of themselves that had contributed to creating the unjust world that they saw before them. They sought to create cosmetic change. And once they did, complacency set in and they went about their lives.

They stopped fighting because there was no longer a cause. The world became our sedative. Things were good for a long time.

Had those folks spent some quality time trying to understand themselves, then they might have actually succeeded in creating a pretty great world.

Take a lesson from this quote from Jesus:
“Before you seek to remove the speck from your brother’s eye, remove the plank from your own.”

That basically means that we need to first rid ourselves of the trash in our minds that keep us trapped before we can truly create the world we want.

This is consciousness. And, this is why it matters.

Peace, Love, Life

Michael Angelica
http://hackingthebodymind.com

In the world of integral consciousness, anything that is done with the aim of improving the person as a whole, is considered to be a fundamental part of spiritual practice. From a pluralistic standpoint (which is the worldview of most of us on the planet) each method is categorized and labeled.

Within a pluralistic worldview, exercise is done to strengthen the body, while meditation is done to strengthen the mind. And, the two things are thought to be separate.

What this has created is two subsects of people who believe that people who workout are lunkheads and barbarians, and people who meditate are eggheads.

Now, lol, this is loosely quoted. But, its a very sad fact that for many people who actively strive toward the goal of self improvement, so much is lacking in their approach because they are inherently limited in what they will allow themselves to focus on.

It is true that physical exercise dramatically enhances the physical body, but is that totally unnecessary for true spiritual and mental growth?

And, yes, meditation does wonders for enhancing the mind, but is it totally unnecessary for the enhancement and strengthening of the physical body?

Many, on both sides, will tell you that living life on one side of the fence is enough. Meditators will tell you that exercise isn’t necessary because the body is only a hinderance. And, well, most athletes tend not to consider development of the mind because those who exercise are typical so appearance based that it doesn’t matter much to them either way.

For this discussion, what I want to look at is, the importance of having a multi faceted spiritual practice.

In Ken Wilber’s Integral Life Practice there are four bases (or modules) that need to be considered in the spiritual development of the whole person.

Those are: body, mind, spirit, and shadow.

What is considered in the integral model is that true development is not found by spending larger quantities or time practicing in one way for years. But, it is found within a widespread practice that encompasses a range of techniques.

So what this means is that, if a spiritual practioner only has an hour each day to devote to practice, that he or she will develop faster if they divided it up and spent a part of that hour meditating, and another part of the hour working out, rather than spending the whole hour in meditation.

So, what has been found is that the two things work in tandem.

And, I cannot agree more.

While this discussion can be taken in a myriad of directions, I want to focus on the two practices of meditation and physical training because they really do blend well and in some surprising ways.
Now, why might this be?

Well, one of the many complaints of a typical beginning meditator is that they have lower back pain if they sit too long in one position. This is a valid complaint and is something that really can be detrimental to ones success in meditation.

This pain can be pretty excrutiating if ignored. And, what one will tend to do if confronted with this problem, is just to fight through the pain for longer and longer periods.

The nature of this is that it will only make the achievement of growth within the practice be much longer in coming. What could be accomplished in months would likely take years. And this creates the phenomenon of our current stage where growth is believed to take decades to occur.

Well, what if that meditator began working out? Training with weights or doing bodyweight exercises does wonders for strenghthing the posterior chain.

If I haven’t mentioned it before, the posterior chain, is the back of the body that starts at the top of the neck and stretches to the tail bone.

And, this is likely the part of the body that many average meditators feel discomfort in.

Embarking on a training regimen that enhances this part of the body would do amazing things to promote their meditation practice because suddenly it would be much easier to fit for longer periods without their normal discomfort.

And, without this pain, don’t you think it would be easier to experience some level of spiritual growth as a result of the meditative practice?

Another way in which exercise can benefit a meditator is in the way physical exercises activates the mind. New neurons are created in the brain. Oxygenation is also enhanced. These things create a mind that is stronger and more elastic so to speak.

Another problem for most meditators is that they find it hard to stay awake during periods of meditation. If, through training, we developed a mind that was more active naturally, then this problem would be solved quite easily as well.

And, well, how would you think meditation can benefit one in physical training?

Meditation fundamentally creates an enhanced ability in the mind to remain focused, grounded and aware.

And, anyone who has worked out can tell you, that focused awareness is fundamental in building a powerful body because it is all about pushing past dramatic periods of pain so that you can spark your muscles to grow stronger.

So, not only does exercise make it easier to attain growth in meditation, but meditation can also make it dramatically easier to attain grow as a result of exercise as well.

So, thats my two cents worth for today.
Peace, Love, Life!

Michael Angelica
http://hackingthebodymind.com

The process of conscious development has been discussed to various degrees for a very long time. But, it is still held within very mystical terms.

Talk of the process is filled with misinformation because there may only be a small handful of people in the world who have actually experienced the process. So many teachers and gurus who proclaim to be all knowing with regards to such subjects often find themselves embroiled in controversy at some point.

Many gurus have been brought down over the years and one of the biggest reasons is sexual infidelity or sexual abuse of their students.

I suppose it is a natural thing for a student to develop feelings for a very strong teacher that go beyond the student/teacher boundaries. And, because they are the student, I suppose it maybe shouldn’t be expected that they can easily see beyond those feelings and rationally understand them and put them away.

But, for an enlightened guru, wouldn’t you expect more of them?

But, we find this almost everywhere these days and not just in spiritual circles. We see it in industry, politics, our medical establishment.

And there is one common theme. The undue control of the Shadow.

What is the Shadow?

The shadow is a collection of all the things within ourselves that are hidden from our conscious awareness. They tend to make us feel uncomfortable when they come up or are acted out, so we push them deep down in our awareness and rather than acknowledging and dealing with them, we hide them from ourselves.

These can be, anger, sex addiction, food addiction, mistrust, need for power over others etc. All of these attributes are looked down upon in the realms of society and so we are naturally led to feeling uncomfortable whenever we are forced to deal with them.

So we don’t.

We repress them. And because of this, these things become shadows. And, what is the nature of a shadow? It is something that follows us continuously.

These things not only follow us, but they become outwardly active in their own way because now they are apart of our fundamental subconcious mind.

If it is understood that the universe is, in many ways, a reflection of what exists in the deeper parts of our awareness, then can it not be understood that if we carry these hidden shadows…that the world will inevitably begin to confront us with them in our daily lives?

Repressed sexuality turns a man into a rapist. Repressed need to control turns someone into a sociopath. Repress anger becomes random flare ups that result in job losses or ruined relationships. The consequences are many.

And, what happens is, because these things are shadows and are by nature unseen by us consciously, they become cycles of continuously negative circumstances that we feel we have no control over.

By remaining hidden, the powers of the shadow to influence and control us become immense.

And, we, out of fear, continue on hopelessly, never looking at the deeper reasons for our shortcomings.

One of the most ironic things of all of this is that, what we consider traditional spiritual practices, do not actually help us to uncover the shadow. The fallen guru is a perfect example of this. These are people who are expert meditators and are considered to be enlightened by many.

But, they still become embroiled in controversy.

Meditation, on its own, really does a lot to develop the mind. But, it is an easy way to skip shadow work. Meditation is by its nature a very inactive practice, in that, it doesn’t bring us face to face with those inner demons.

Shadow work, has to be active. We have to be willing to go through our everyday experience and actively deal with these negative situations as they arise. This is the best way I have found to deal with those inner shadow aspects.

Meditation enhances the witness. But, once the witness is developed, those witnessing abilities need to be turned toward your outer existence.

An example that I can take from my own life is my shadow of repressed anger. For one reason or another, I have grown up with a strong tendency toward anger. And, for years, that anger would flare up at the slightest provocation and always got me into situations that would have been better avoided.

I began my spiritual practice at maybe the age of 18 or so and for years I was continuously plagued with the anger that was always right behind me. Even though I tried continuously to rid myself of it, it remained and I never understood why.

One day, after years of seeing this cycle repeated, I came to the realization that it was not the fault of anything external.

I was holding onto this anger with a vice grip. And, it would explode everytime I felt this anger come up. What I began doing was actively being with this anger in times that I would become angry. And rather than letting it explode onto the person who pushed my button, I would allow it to flow through me as energy and without reaction.

And, this lead to the transmutation of it.

All emotions are energy and can be used for a range of purposes. One of the most important things we can do is learn to actively be with whatever emotion it is that we are trying to repress so that we can actively seek to transmute our lower energies (anger, sexuality, control) into a higher framework.

We are in a time now, where the shadows are arising within each of us and it is time that we acknowledge them and be with them actively.

Allow the energy to come in and flow through you. Transmute these energies into energies of abundance of love and you will find that they no longer control you.

Realize that it is ok to be angry, it is ok to want sex, it is ok to want to control your world. Realize that these are all the effects of our having evolved through time.

Back then, we had to want sex so that we could procreate, we had a need to control our circumstances so that we could survive, this is what it was all about.

Now, it is time to acknowledge these base desires. These base desires represent our inner need to survive.

But, now its time to acknowledge our need to globally unite and thrive.

Peace, Love, Light!

Michael Angelica
http://hackingthebodymind.com