OpenMindPortal is a multi-media on-line information hub about leading a fulfilled life. We create and aggregate various content to cover 4 main areas of personality formation: Intelligence, Emotions, Body, and Experience.
I first tried kiteboarding in May 2016, so I’m actually something of a novice at this sport. But being a beginner has its advantages: When you try something completely new, you’re fully focused on what you’re doing. You could say that you’re 100% present in the moment, and this heightened, intense state is precisely when all profound spiritual moments occur.
Every second, every breath, every tiny sensation that your body experiences becomes so much more spiritual. It’s not simply a matter of novelty, or the fact that you are locked in a state of deep concentration. Kiteboarding itself is all about life. The guidance for manipulating the kite brought to mind those universal truths and rules for life described in the Bible, Buddhist texts, the Kabbala, and many other spiritual books that I’ve read.
This topic merits a series of articles. While the topic of kiteboarding is in itself interesting, one of the central missions of this portal is to help you, the reader, to explore new things in life. This is not simply a matter of physical experience, but of spiritual development. ‘Being present’, a concept also explored elsewhere on this site, is a key to opening your mind – and soul – to the unknown, the unexpected and the wondrous.
To kick off this series, this brief article sums up a few of my ‘spiritual takeaways’ from my very first kiteboarding lessons.
When we’re confronted with the unexpected, whether a strong blast of wind or stress in life, we instinctively try to increase our level of control over the situation… It’s a completely normal mental reaction. To a degree, we’re all control freaks, but does fanatically trying to assert our authority over a situation actually help?
Kiteboarding taught me to let go: Allow the situation unfold, and observe before trying to change anything. The Universe will help you to accomplish you task, or at least will save you from broken arms, legs, ribs and heart….
No need to rush. You will achieve what you want to if you keep doing it, but do it slowly; one step and one breath at a time.
No matter what you planned, you will reach the right level when it’s meant to be. Not earlier, not later. My advice? Stay calm and keep doing what you’re doing.
Slow down all your movements, and decisions, but always be ahead of the kite in your mind. Substitute ‘kite’ for ‘project’, and you can see my point!
You can choose a direction, but you can’t predict how exactly the movement will be executed. The wind could change any time, and you have to be agile enough to respond to its capriciousness. In kiteboarding you have to be consciously present 100% of the time, and this is hugely important in other areas of life too. Fretting about uncertainty is both wasteful and dangerous. Save your energy for the moves you need to make, and don’t expend it on worrying. Learn to ‘go with the flow’, but gently steer yourself in the right general direction.
I was instructed not to over-tense my hands when steering the kite. Similarly, try not to over-think, worry too much, or micro-manage. These are all a waste of energy, and time.
The kite and wind will do everything for you, if you just stop fighting it. The lesson here is to work with the powerful forces that you encounter in life, rather than against them: Do this successfully, and you will fly.
Finally, when kiteboarding I had to be highly attentive to the other kiters’ around me. Likewise, when interacting with people in life or in business, try to coordinate, collaborate and communicate. Competition could easily kill both parties.
These are just a few life lessons that I drew from my first kiteboarding experience.
How can you find your place in life, and lead a happy and fulfilling existence? If you have the answer to these two fundamental questions, then you are halfway to achieving them. Here are a few exercises that can help all of us down the path to a deep and enduring happiness.
Exercise 1 – Revisit your childhood. What did you love to do?
Make a list of all the things you remember enjoying as a child. Would you enjoy that activity now?… You can also ask yourself these questions to help get you started: what can be translated and added into my life now? How can those past experiences shape my career choices now?
Exercise 2 – Make a “creativity board.”
Start by taking a large poster board, put the words “New Business” in the centre and create a collage of images, sayings, articles, poems and other inspirations.
The idea behind this is that when you surround yourself with images of your intention — who you want to become or what you want to create — your awareness and passion will grow.
As your board evolves and becomes more focused, you will begin to recognise what is missing and imagine ways to fill the blanks and realise your vision.
Exercise 3 – Make a list of people who are where you want to be.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Study people who have been successful in the area you want to pursue.
For example, during the recession, many people shied away from the real estate market because they thought it was a dead end. Some experts believe that’s the perfect time to jump in — when most others are bailing out — because no matter the business, there are people who are successful in it. Study them, figure out how and why they are able to remain successful when everyone else is folding and then set up structures to emulate them.
If you want to be creative, create a rigorous and formal plan. It’s not the plan that is creative; it’s the process that you go through that opens up so many possibilities.
Exercise 4 – Start doing what you love, even without a business plan
A lot of people wait until they have an extensive business plan written down, along with angel investors wanting to throw cash at them — and their ideas never see the light of day.
Just do what you enjoy — even if you haven’t yet figured out how to monetise it. Test what it might be like to work in an area you’re passionate about, build your business network and ask for feedback that will help you develop and refine a business plan.
It’s a way to not only show the value you would bring, but you can also get testimonials that will help launch your business when you’re ready to make it official.
Exercise 5 – Take a break from business thinking.
While it might feel uncomfortable to step outside of business mode, the mind sometimes needs a rest from such bottom-line thinking. Maybe for you, it will be creative writing, painting, running or even gardening. Read also How to make your brain work better
After you take a mental vacation indulging in something you’re passionate about, come back to a journal and writing down any business ideas that come to mind. You’ll be amazed at how refreshed your ideas are. Looking at beautiful things – art and nature – creates connections that we often neglect to notice.
LSD and other psychedelics have an uncanny ability to dissolve reality tunnels and facilitate psychedelic ego death, which can be highly beneficial.
LSD and other psychedelics are powerful medicine for the mind, and goodness knows the Western psyche has a deep sickness embedded within it. Our health and the wellbeing of the environment continue to suffer from preventable causes such as stress, over consumption, and resource depletion, all underpinned by the narrative that this is “normal” and that visions of a better, healthier way are unrealistic. We’re largely addicted to fast food, fossil fuels, and entertainment, yet at the same time, share a deep and murky sense of unease that perhaps this way of life is neither sustainable or fulfilling. This is the world created by the ego —the sense of personal and social identity that is propped up by long stories of justification — and it is the favorite target of psychedelics like LSD, which love to shatter realities and let you know, in cathartic and sometimes terrifying ways, that everything you know is wrong. And this can be a very good thing, if you’re ready to hear the message.
What Are Reality Tunnels?
Psychedelic advocate Timothy Leary described this ego-generated perception of self and the world as a “reality tunnel.” As one of LSD’s earliest and most committed adopters, he was among the first to have his own reality tunnel ripped apart by psychedelics, revealing its existence much like a fish comprehending water for the first time after being pulled out of it. It’s no surprise that Leary and subsequent psychonaut philosophers like Robert Anton Wilson honed in on the concept of reality tunnels as essential to understanding the value of psychedelics, because it dovetailed perfectly with other new understandings that were coming to the fore in the 20th century such as yoga, radical changes in arts and music, dissatisfaction with conventional culture, and mistrust of corporate and government power.
Psychedelics like LSD dissolved these propped-up realities and made it clear that life and our perception of it has infinitely more potential than commonly thought, revelations that were supported by millennia-old Eastern philosophy and evidenced in the incredible force behind the cultural revolution of the 60s.
Leary’s message and the explosion of psychedelics in the 1960s affected Western culture much like an LSD trip would affect someone not ready to take it. Things got kind of weird and scary, and with one foot over the threshold of our reality tunnel, we decided as a society to take two fearful steps back and shut the door, convincing ourselves that what we briefly witnessed was dangerous nonsense. But times are changing, and the abyss is beckoning us to move towards it once again, this time more slowly and carefully. Today, we are ready to take the dose with the right set, setting, and intention.
The Science of Psychedelic Ego Death
Fast forward to the 21st century, and today we have new scientific understandings of what psychedelics are and how they influence our brain and psyche. Plunging off the diving board out of your reality tunnel with LSD just because you can is rightfully considered reckless by today’s psychedelic advocates, and instead we are honing in on the therapeutic applications of this medicine and understanding how exactly it’s neurological magic works. While the approach has become more careful and nuanced, the goal remains essentially the same- to harness the incredible power of psychedelics and integrate the lessons they have to teach us in a lasting way.
A recent groundbreaking study on LSD by Imperial College London and the Beckley Foundation is a shining example. Using advanced brain imaging techniques, they were able to see which parts of the brain became active under the influence of LSD, allowing researchers to better understand the psychedelic experience. Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris who lead the experiment explained:
Normally our brain consists of independent networks that perform separate specialised functions, such as vision, movement and hearing — as well as more complex things like attention. However, under LSD the separateness of these networks breaks down and instead you see a more integrated or unified brain.
A unified brain is more free to make associations that are not commonly made, like how the foods we choose to consume effect geopolitics, or how a recurring conflict you have with your spouse stems from a childhood trauma. These unveilings allow subconscious unease to be brought to light and released, and they make way for the larger ultimate realization that we are not bound to any of our egoic thought-patterns other than by our habitual reinforcement of them. The reality tunnel we live in is malleable, and we are free to choose at any time to change its shape and scope. Psychedelics can be properly understood as a medicine to assist in this process, with the ability to target very harmful thought patterns such as those that underlie PTSD and addiction.
Dr. Harris also went on to describe the relationship between LSD and ego death:
Our results suggest that this effect underlies the profound altered state of consciousness that people often describe during an LSD experience. It is also related to what people sometimes call ‘ego-dissolution’, which means the normal sense of self is broken down and replaced by a sense of reconnection with themselves, others and the natural world. This experience is sometimes framed in a religious or spiritual way — and seems to be associated with improvements in well-being after the drug’s effects have subsided.
At the End of the Tunnel
Leary would certainly be happy to see this research being done, and one would hope, embrace the present-day resurgence of interest in psychedelics with science and therapy at its head rather than overt cultural revolution. What is clear is that he was right about LSD’s ability to break down reality tunnels and the immense benefits that can come from such an act. Slowly but surely, this work for the advancement of psychedelic studies that Leary and all psychedelic researchers and advocates are part of is expanding and altering the course of our shared reality tunnel, and that is a very good thing.
Psychotherapists and other experts are harnessing the transcendent power of psychedelics to treat mood disorders…
Living in a highly competitive environment, continuously emotionally assailed by depressing news, subjected to negative interactions with other people, overloaded with work and information… these features of modern life often mean that we lose our innate positivity. We rarely smile. We seem to be constantly in a rush, or puzzled, confused, embarrassed or angry. Anxiety and simmering psychological tension are etched on our faces. It is ever more difficult to be truly at peace, and feel happy, in this world. However, there are a few simple techniques to keep your mind clear, sideline negativity, focus on the right things, and ignore distractions.
I want to start this article with a story from my personal experience. It happened to me more than ten years ago, when I’d just completed my BA in literature and psychology and started my professional career in journalism, marketing and PR. This episode of my life was probably more valuable than the experience of all four of my degrees from top international universities combined. I’m really glad to be able to share this moment, and hope it will help you too.
Embrace your ‘Whatever!’ moment
I remember the time when I was living in New York. I was in my 20’s, working far from home as a PR manager for a few companies in Russia and Ukraine. I was incessantly busy, picking up new skills and abilities ‘on the go’, making mistakes, and attempting to juggle my career, studying, sporting activities and private life. I wanted to seize literally every opportunity, and be everywhere at once. I had problematic relationship with my boyfriend, and indeed had many complex, drama-filled relationships at the time. I was separated from my clients by a huge time difference and I was permanently jetlagged as I shuttled back and forth between countries.
I was finally exhausted and emotionally drained after a grueling twelve months of living such a lifestyle. My relationships eventually broke down and suddenly I had nothing left in the US. I felt both depressed and utterly overwhelmed. Finally, it became unbearable and I I took a week off which I decided to spend in Florida, simply to relax a little bit before leaving the States for good.
It was fantastic, sunny morning. One of those brilliant days when your wake up at 6 am with no alarm just because your body is sufficiently rested. I put my trainers on and went out for a run. I was still feeling confused and upset about my relationships and work, and my mind was churning with negative thoughts and self-pity. I could not see anything around me and felt nothing but anger and regret. I ran faster and faster, and suddenly stopped. When I lifted my eyes I saw a beautiful, magisterial yacht in the marina in front of me. The boat was black and its name – “WHATEVER” – was written on the prow huge, silver letters. It was so unusual that it resembled nothing so much as a spaceship: The contrast with the neighbouring yachts was striking, and at that moment it was the answer to all my questions and worries – ‘Whatever’. It was an insight that I have carried in my soul ever since…
On returning to Moscow my life changed dramatically – for the better. The change was not a result of life suddenly becoming smoother. On the contrary, I still had plenty of ups and downs after that. But it changed because any time when I felt negativity, anger, regrets about past and worries about future bubbling up, the magic yacht popped into my mind and filled it with those shiny, silver words… “WHATEVER”.
Purify your mind
“WHATEVER” is an amazing technique, but it is very much a personal touchstone, based on an experience unique to me. The majority of cognitive behavioral therapy practitioners recommend a regular purification of the mind. David Allen, the famous productivity coach, recommends clearing it out whenever an intrusive and unpleasant thought arises. I couldn’t agree more. When your mind is in order, your life, relationships, business and lifestyle will be in order too. But all of us are human beings and prone to involuntary compulsive thinking that can turn life into a nightmare. The following is a brief description of a few applicable techniques to help declutter mind.
The Little book of anger
According to Eckhart Tolle the majority of intrusive thoughts have negative connotations. Why? The answer is simple. The human brain is never trapped by positive thoughts. They flow easily through our mind and vanish, leaving perhaps only a slight, pleasant afterglow. It is amazing how quickly our brain discards positive emotions, and yet how long it’s able to mull over negative feelings. Tolle believes that our egos and ‘pain bodies’ (psychological traumas we carry though life) love negativity, as they are fed by such emotions, growing in size and strength. Why do they need it? Easy. To dominate and control us, deceiving us into believing that we are actually only the sum of our negative thoughts. However, we are not. Egos and pain bodies are separate constructions dwelling inside our minds. Simply, they are a reflection of our self-perception based on negative experiences from the past; when something unpleasant happens which resonates with our past traumas, our brain latches onto it for as long as possible. That’s why negative thoughts and emotions are so overwhelming.
Remember that even when these thoughts appear to merge, and define, us, they are not who we really are.
It is actually surprisingly easy to deal with them. Once a negative emotion is recognised, caught, acknowledged as a negative emotion, and analysed and assessed coolly and objectively, it loses its influential power.
Tell yourself, as I do:
“This is not me, but a little bundle of intrusive negativity”
Make your negative feelings small
Let’s look at this concept in more detail. For instance, a person suffered from a lack of parental approval when he or she was young. This probably happened not because this person had a lack of talent, but because his or her parents were not vocal enough in expressing their feelings. In consequence, the individual feels pain when they don’t receive approval or recognition from others around them. An example from the workplace might be a neutral or ambivalent feedback on a project, or after performing a work-related task.
The individual experiences negative feelings, including self-pity, and finally feels that they are not good enough. Such feelings could become dominant and result in a profound lack of motivation, even triggering depression. However, let’s extract the negative thought at the root of the problem from this person’s head, and put it down on paper.
“My colleagues do not appreciate me enough. They do not like what I do”.
Does this brief little statement written on a tiny piece of paper look dangerous, offensive or overwhelming? It looks like two short sentences, but hardly resembles a terrifying monster. Two sentences have no power to turn life into a nightmare. Two sentences have no power to kill motivation, self-respect and inspiration either. It’s ridiculous, isn’t it, to even attempt to prove some deeper truth from a few, inconsequential words. Neither is there any point in trying to engage in a discussion with the words: First of all, a statement does not hear you. Secondly, you definitely do not owe anything to the statement, which was written by your own hand….
Should you try to prove yourself to your colleagues, then? Believe it or not, people are always preoccupied by their own fears and anxieties, and in the majority of cases don’t really care how good or bad your presentation was. So, there is no point in trying to persuade them that your presentation was brilliant. Moreover, it really doesn’t matter as it’s done. Past. History. Finito. All you can really do is try to make the next one better!
This is just an example of how you can learn to deal with overwhelming thoughts. To recap: kick them out of your head as soon as they appear. Put them down on paper, and read them. Ridiculous, aren’t they?
I always carry a little notebook where I can write various thoughts that pop into my head. These could be creative ideas, plans, little tasks I should not forget to do or annoying emotions I want to dispose of.
David Allen also recommends putting thought on paper in order to keep the mind fresh and pure: “Writing thoughts down gets them out of your head, clearing your brain of those things that are interfering with your ability to focus on what’s really important”. Such tactics can help to eliminate negativity at its inception, giving you the mental space, and peace, you need to concentrate on what needs to be done at that particular moment.
Classify and break down thoughts
Once all thoughts are written down – sort them out. Personally, I firstly split them into two main categories: emotions and actions. Once classified in this way, the discord and ‘noise’ in your mind caused by the basic problem of effectively organizing your daily life will die down, and you’ll be able to view the day ahead more calmly and objectively.
Usually emotions account for the larger part of a woman’s ‘head noise’, whereas ‘actions’ are often, but by no means always, associated with men.
Emotions, as I mentioned earlier, are predominantly negative as positive feelings never linger in the mind for long. Maybe some highly trained individuals are able to cultivate positive thinking, but this is relatively rare. I will touch on this issue in the upcoming article How to cultivate positive thinking. Negative emotions can be divided into anger, fears, and doubts. You’ll be surprised at how simple and repetitive our emotions are. Once sorted, they lose their intrusive qualities and stop looking quite so scary. Now you can target and eliminate them one at a time.
Actions is the second category. It in turn can be split into sub-categories. Allen categorises them as follows: do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it. As I mention in another article, I don’t usually use “defer” as I believe that all postponed action has little bearing on the present moment, and can thus be easily dropped, delegated or done.
“The brain classifies everything as threat or reward — we’re always staying away from threat or moving towards reward”.
I agree. Try to stay in a ‘toward state’. Generally, Rock contends, people perform better by “minimizing stress and threat responses”. And he’s right.
Another technique to stay in “toward mode” is to reinterpret threatening events. If you have to deal with a hard task don’t perceive it as a potential threat: Rather, see it as an opportunity to learn new things, meet new and interesting people, or get new experiences. Doing this can change your brain’s response towards the task, and dramatically stimulate creativity. In Rock’s words: “As you change your interpretation, you change your whole mental state,” says Rock.
Give a hand
Another way to get rid of negativity and declutter your mind is to switch into collaborative mode. I’m personally not very competitive, but collaborative by nature. It’s always been easy for me to say to someone: “hey, let’s do it together”. However, for some people teamwork can be extremely difficult. But keep in mind that through accepting the ability of other people to work as well as you, or perhaps even better, you gain a great opportunity to delegate, split and share.
We often underestimate our peers or feel subconsciously threatened.
Competitiveness always makes success hard to achieve.
We spend more energy competing and worrying about our perceived rivals, than cultivating creativity and positivity to achieve better results. To eliminate such feelings, just start working together from the outset.
By empowering others you empower yourself
and create a positive, transparent, and friendly atmosphere with no threats, no anxieties and as a result, stimulate a clear and creative mind.
For the avid traveler and photographer, Havana is a wonderland, a source of 24/7 inspiration that goes beyond the brightly colored, decaying facades and a seemingly inexhaustible fleet of vintage automobiles. There is a rich history and warm, inviting locales who welcome travelers with genuine interest, broad smiles and a palpable desire to connect. For […]
You wake up, down a cup of coffee, grab your stuff and rush to the station to take the tube to work. The same stations, the same people, the same situations are repeated over and over again. Every day. Every month. Every year. You live like a sleepwalker, in a trance-like state, losing your “today” and waiting passively for things – one day- to change …
happiness vs consciousness
… but miracles like that rarely happen by themselves. You clock-watch, spending much of your time waiting for the end of each day, looking forward to the weekend and that holiday you have planned. You are often angry, scared or indifferent. You are always in a rush and not really happy, but live in the hope of a better life. You don’t truly live in the present, but instead in the past or future, overwhelmed by irritating memories of what could have been, or dreaming about a better future life. You focus on the material side of life, trying to get more goods, more money, more brands, and better holidays. You are greedy for pleasure, but when you actually get them you still feel empty…
Does that sound familiar? If yes – it’s time to wake up.
Let me introduce one key term at this point – consciousness.
What is consciousness?
Simply, consciousness is the state of mind when you are fully awake, living in the moment, objectively aware of yourself and others, and possessing a clear understanding of the roots, causes and consequences of events and actions.
Why is it important?
In her book Personal Excellence, Celestine Chua says that
the perception, beliefs, mindsets and values we hold right now are a result of the consciousness we are operating in.
Chua compare consciousness with “a lens you use to view reality”. Eckhart Tolle, author of the bestselling The Power of Now, compares consciousness with the ability to be awake and present at any moment of being. He believes that people spend 99% of their time conducting an internal dialogue about their past and future, which could be classified as an unconscious state. Sometimes this internal dialogue stops, most often when we are involved in some process requiring our full, undivided attention. However, most of the time we perform tasks automatically whilst fully immersed in our stream of our worries.
Another scholar involved in the field of consciousness and self-development, Dr. Hawkins, believes that
the higher the level of consciousness you are in the more objective, positive and loving your mindset.
Chua compares consciousness with myopia. The lower the level of consciousness you have at any moment, the more distorted your perception of yourself and reality. Conversely, the higher the level of consciousness you have, the greater your clarity of vision:
The higher you go, the more lucid you become, and the calmer, more loving and compassionate, more successful, more generous and sharing, and more balanced and positive you become.
Successful people vs normal
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Have you ever thought what the unique characteristics of successful people are? Why they always look calm and confident and seem to reflect so much positive energy? I’m not talking about people who are ‘successful’ by chance (inheritance, lottery or other miracles!). I’m speaking of inspirational visionary leaders, trendsetters and philanthropists such as Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and Richard Branson. What do they have in common apart from fame and, in the case of the business-people on that list, money? You got it – a high level of consciousness! For exactly this reason they reached their goals and were able to manage their emotions and feelings, overcoming failure and disappointment to pursue their ambitions.
Levels of consciousness
Dr. Hawkins described 17 levels of consciousness. All of them were measured and marked from 0-1000 by the logarithmic method. I’m not going to cover the methodology in this article. I will focus on description of all 17 levels.
Dr. Hawkins consciousness scale
1). Shame (1-20)
This is the lowest level of consciousness, characterised by a feeling of constant humiliation and low self-esteem. These people feel worthless, miserable, ugly, stupid and unable to improve themselves or their lives. They tend to blame other people (parents, teachers, partners) or circumstances for their misery. According to Chua, “vibrating on this level for prolonged period of time can lead to elimination (of the self or others), in extreme cases resulting in suicide, or turning them into serial killers, rapists, moral extremists (mental of physical sadism)…”.
2) Guilt (30)
Feelings of misery are projected outward: This state is associated with public ‘punishment’ – a willingness to hurt or embarrass others. If you meet a person who tries to humiliate or hurt you, they are probably vibrating on this level.
3) Apathy (50)
This is a state of despair and helplessness. After being aggressive to others, abusers often experience feelings of emptiness that in turn trigger a sense of apathy. Many manifestations of addictive tendencies are common at this level, such as addictions to drugs, alcohol, TV, video games and social media.
4) Grief (75)
Many people are at this level at times of personal loss. The life-view is essentially tragic. The dominant colours are grey and black. People usually feel empty and paralysed, and want to break social contacts and escape from reality. This state is mostly inward focused. It may be externalised as a vibration of emotional disability or sadism, coldness, or ignorance.
People on the first four levels are overly focused on past heartaches, disappointments and tragedies. They don’t function ‘in the moment’ and are consequently unable to plan and create a future for themselves.
5) Fear (100)
The dominant feeling is one of anxiety. This level of consciousness is very often associated with anxiety disorder, and fears manifest themselves in a variety of ways: a fear of failure, loss, pain, death, even strangers, but the most powerful, overriding vibration is the same – timidity and defensiveness. People on this level are focused on the terrifyingly uncertain future. This level prevents any options for personal growth and self-development. One living on this level denies information and knowledge, and neglects and discounts the talents and wisdom of others.
6) Desire (125)
The dominant feelings at this level are ones of lust,craving and avarice. Someone on this level craves food, emotions, money, sex, and the consumption of material goods. They perceive others not as independent, valuable individuals but as tools to satisfy their cravings (material, professional, sexual, social). These people are focused on past experiences and on future pleasures and gains: They deny, and could even hate, their present existence as they see it as unsatisfying.
7) Anger (150)
The dominant emotion is hate. One of the common social expressions of anger is strident activism against something, followed by feelings of aggression, frustration and even revenge (ex. religious, environmental, animal rights, sexual minorities etc.). People on this level are focused on past pains and future revenge, seeing the present moment as basically frustrating, a time of waiting.
8) Pride (175)
The qualities which characterise this level are scorn, arrogance and racism. However, this state of consciousness is unstable, and could be destroyed at any time by people from the previous level (anger). You have probably noticed that arrogance is often “punished” with aggression. This is not by accident. Vibrating on the pride level, people often transmit the negative energy of dualism (I’m better then you – you are less worthy then me) that is easily picked up by people from the anger level (which may result in physical violence!) or even those on the guilt or shame strata (who, in a worst-case scenario, may be at risk of being physically or mentally abused or even killed). People on these level could be living in the present from time to time, but mostly dwell on their past achievements and dream about their future victories.
9) Courage (200)
This is the first wake-up point and a threshold between force (violence, aggression, physical and emotional extremism, jealousy, possessiveness, rudeness, and abuse) and power (help, support, sharing, empowering, and inspiring). The dominant emotions are openness (to knowledge, emotions, people, and tasks) and curiosity. Someone on the courage level of consciousness sees the world as an exciting place, full of great people and opportunities. Such a person is warm, open, willing to share (resources, emotions and information), supportive, collaborative, positive, and optimistic. These people have made a conscious effort to live in the present moment, even if their thoughts are mostly future-orientated. The past, in their mind, is accepted as providing lessons and experience.
10) Neutrality (250)
At this level people stop being judgmental. The dominant emotion is a feeling of safety and satisfaction. The individual is not possessive, not hungry for recognition, not aggressive, and very flexible. If they don’t attain something they aim for, they can easily refocus their energies toward something else. They believe in themselves and always have a plan B, a result of a solid understanding of the external world, an inner peace and a high degree of self-awareness. These people are very responsive due to their awakened state of being and are positive, supportive, confident and friendly.
11) Willingness (310)
This is a point where real social contributions begin. The dominant emotions are optimism and sympathy. Life is seen is hopeful. Someone on this level is able and willing to create and to contribute, not only for the benefit of themselves and those people close to them, but for the good of the whole world. These people are present and happy in their ‘now’.
12) Acceptance (350)
This is the second waking point, according to Chua. At this point the individual consciously realises that she or he is a creator. The person is highly aware of themselves and of the society in which they live, and see a clear path to reaching their goals of improving life. The dominant features at this level are acceptance over rejection, creativity, collaboration, openness, long-term vs short-term, ‘striving for personal excellence and growth’, and a willingness to educate and to develop him/herself and help others.
Another defining emotion at this level is forgiveness: Personal pain and old offences are relatively unimportant and go into the “memory box” of the past. One on this level clearly understands the abstract nature of time, and is able to separate the present from the past (in particular, painful memories) and the uncertain future (anxieties and fears) and direct all their optimism to fulfilling present tasks.
13) Reason (400)
Starting from this level, the individual’s presence ‘in the moment’ is constant.
Understanding and rationality are core features of those operating on the Reason Level. A person on this level tends to gather an enormous amount of information from various fields, puts it together, analyses it, and transforms it into easy understandable forms or extracts completely new ideas from it, transmitting these to others. “The life-view is meaningful” on this level, according to Chua. People on this level have the potential to make a huge, positive impact on society in general. Inventions, breakthroughs, and new scientific discoveries take place on this level. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Eckhart Tolle, Tony Robinson are just a few examples of people who reached the level of Reason.
14) Love (500)
Starting from this level, the uncontrollable internal dialogue is over. People reaching this and the following levels are constantly present ‘in the moment’, and consciously free from negative emotions.
The dominant feeling is unconditional love. There is no antithetical feeling of hate, just overwhelming, outwardly-radiating love. Mother Teresa is one of the brightest examples. According to Dr. Hawkins, only 0.4% of society could reach such a state of consciousness.
15) Joy (540)
According to Chua, “the dominant emotions are serenity and compassion”. The world is perceived as being inherently perfect at this level. “This is the level where saints, advanced spiritual students and healers dwell”, Chua concludes. She adds that some people close to death could also briefly ascend to the level of Joy.
16) Peace (600)
Bliss is the dominant feeling. “At this level, there is no longer any distinction between observer and subject”, Chua says. Eckhart Tolle describes this level as free from judgmentalism and negativity; the individual lives constantly in the ‘now’.
There are no random thoughts, no random emotions or destructive feelings. One on this level is fully connected with the universe at every single moment of their existence. Hawkins thinks that only one in a million could reach this level of consciousness. Examples include Jesus Christ, and the Buddha.
17) Enlightenment (700-1000)
No emotions and no thoughts at all exist at this level. The individual transforms into a channel of pure universal energy. Examples include Christ resurrected, the Buddha following enlightenment, and Krishna.
Consciousness vs success and productivity
Consciousness vs energy level
What is the correlation between consciousness and productivity/creativity? The lower the level you are on, the lower your productivity and creativity are. Real creativity starts from the level of Courage, the first positive, outwardly-focused, level. Productivity is pretty low before the level of Pride because individuals waste their energy through continuously occupying themselves with negative thoughts, and worries.
Consciousness vs energy level
Your energy level is tightly linked with your level of presence ‘in the moment’, and the quantity of negative thoughts or dreams about your future you fill your mind with, with no actions to realise or avoid those possibilities. People literally waste themselves away on worries, anger, jealousy, aggression, pointless competition, and empty dreams, rather then creating anything useful for either themselves or others.
How to wake up
According to Dr. Hawkins 85% of society never even reach the first wake-up threshold, the level of Courage, instead fluctuating between shame and anger.
He explains this phenomenon largely through economics (being below the poverty line, many people simply don’t have any opportunity to develop themselves, instead spending their life time struggling to survive). Even with an abundance of resources, most people don’t even reach the level of Pride, as they are overly focused on competition and the acquisition of material goods. He concludes that the average level of consciousness on our planet is fairly low. The lower the average level, the greater the level of damage inflicted on a daily basis to both the planet, and ourselves.
Your personal level is mostly your own responsibility. Here are just a few tips on how to increase your consciousness
Find inspiration.
It could be anything, or anyone, inspiring: gurus, books, motivational talks, travelling to new places, interacting with interesting people.
Try to find inspiration in every day of your life. Collect inspirations, write them down or take pictures to use them in future. The more inspiration you have in your life, the more focused on the present moment and positive you become.
Leave your comfort zone.
Thy to do something new, explore new areas of activity, enhance your experiences and develop your skills, learn new subjects or delve more deeply into subjects you are familiar with, and acquire new experience and knowledge. Do this daily. Add new things on both the mental and physical sides to maintain a balance.
Be present
Time is an abstract phenomenon, existing only in our head. Logically, there is no past and no future. There is only the constant present moment – ‘now’. If you make an effort and focus on the present moment, cutting out the past (painful or aggravating memories) and the future (uncertainty and related anxieties) you could easily clear your mind of any negative thoughts. If you ask yourself if you have problems now, at this particular moment, 99% of the time the answer will be ‘no’. So, there are no reasons to worry. Just stay in the present.
Stay positive whatever happen
As in the previous point, there is no need to worry as the past no longer exists (it passed a second ago!) and the future has not yet happened. 99% of our worries live in our heads only, so be upbeat and create a better future for yourself.
Cut waste
It’s related to any sort of waste: clothing you don’t wear, folders you don’t use, watching TV, scrolling social medias feeds, chatting about nothing with people who don’t bring your up. Clean everything up and regularly aerate your space with fresh air, new ideas and new knowledge.
Moreover, be very careful choosing people you interact with. According to Celestine Chua your level of consciousness is an average of 5 people you interact more often. So, it’s up to you but keep in mind aggressive, shallow, apathetic, jealous, competitive, miserable and constantly moaning people will drag you down.
Be compassionate
Help, support and empower others if you can. Remember the more positive energy you spread around the more positive your World will become.
Collaborate rather then compete
Competitiveness gives birth to aggression, jealousy, constant comparisons and other lower energy feelings. Collaboration is in opposite: put together creativity and recourses for better off, empower people, and multiply positivity.
Share experience and knowledge
Don’t be shy to share your knowledge and experience with others. Very possible they will appreciate and use it for better off.
Follow your life purpose
This point is worth to write a book. I will definitely write a separate article about it. For now just saying: never betray your dream. If you feel that you were born to express yourself in dancing – dance, if your were born to acquire and share knowledge – teach, if you feel you have a talent in sport – go for it.
Start by taking a large poster board, put the words “New Business” in the centre and create a collage of images, sayings, articles, poems and other inspirations.
Living in a highly competitive environment, continuously emotionally assailed by depressing news, subjected to negative interactions with other people, overloaded with work and information… these features of modern life often mean that we lose our innate positivity. We rarely smile. We seem to be constantly in a rush, or puzzled, confused, embarrassed or angry. Anxiety and simmering psychological tension are etched on our faces. It is ever more difficult to be truly at peace, and feel happy, in this world. However, there are a few simple techniques to keep your mind clear, sideline negativity, focus on the right things, and ignore distractions. 
openmindportal.com 