CHAPTER 1
Awakening Knowledge
Awaken knowledge to that which you already know. Realign with its truth, and open the doors to an uplifting way of relating and experiencing life.
Our True Nature
This life is about seeking to understand the deepest realities of your existence. Ask yourself questions and then pursue the answers with passion so the knowledge can be transformed into inner freedom. Doubts are replaced with understanding, which is replaced with knowingness, which transforms into inner contentment, joy, and peace.
What do we have in common with everyone else living on this planet? We are here together living through the experience of life. Each human being with free will chooses what belief system best suits him or her on his or her journey. Some believe there is a God; others refuse such an existence. Some believe there is life after death; others can't accept the fact without verifiable proof. We can accept that everyone is on his or her own path and all we can really do is focus on the direction we take in our lives.
People who are sincere about discovering the nature of their existence keep an open mind, allowing us to learn new things about the world we live in and ourselves. We can acknowledge that maybe we don't know everything and keep an open mind to learning.
Now more than ever with the material available on the Internet, one can research just about anything that piques his or her interest. A common interest is to understand more about life. Many searches each month are typed into search engines on the Internet for keywords like "What is the meaning of life?" People are wondering why we are here on earth, what's the point, and what we can do to live our lives to their greatest potential. Basically, it comes down to the question of "Who or What am I?" This is the ultimate question one can ask and, when prompted with sincerity, can lead to doorways of discovery.
When someone begins to ask the deepest questions about life, he or she can take various informative paths. A general approach of looking at all the pieces of the puzzle and then putting the pieces together for oneself is the most reinforcing route to take because it looks at all possibilities before coming to a conclusion. When this is done through simple life research, it becomes obvious that all the leading edges of discovery lead to the same path.
For example, if we look at what our ancestors were saying as far back as we can see in history, combined with the most advanced sciences in today's world, and then look at the core of religions, spirituality, and the basic underlying message in them all, we see it all leads to the same core reality. We are spiritual beings living a human experience.
After reading this, some people choose to shrug it off as meaningless. Others follow with the question, "So what does that mean?" Either way, the statement needs validation in order to be accepted as a reality.
The majority of the world has heard before that they are made of mind, body, and spirit. We know we have a mind. Else, we couldn't think. We know we have a body. Else, we couldn't move. It should be just as normal to also say we know we have a spirit. Else, we couldn't be aware. But this statement loses a lot of the population. People need proof. We can prove the mind and body. How can the spirit be proved to each and every person without a doubt? The answer is at the moment of death. The moment you pass away, the word "spirit" has never been so real. The good news is that we don't have to wait until then to understand the spirit and its meaning.
Countless books and videos available are related to near-death experiences that validate what we call "physical death" as merely a change of state of being. Nurses who work with dying patients in the hospital witness numerous occasions where patients are overstruck with awe as they experience something miraculous just before their passing.
After public speaking, the greatest fear in the world is death. Some individuals get uncomfortable talking about this and avoid the subject, but it is important to understand it for our long-term spiritual growth and know it is nothing to be afraid of. When we pass, our spirits effortlessly leave the body, where awareness remains.
We can compare death to water changing states into vapor. No one has ever died in the history of humanity; one simply changes states and lives on in another realm. It is of great relief to know that, if you live now, you will exist forever. This is not new knowledge. It has been said for thousands of years. When accepted, it can bring about a better understanding of the purpose of this life. It also helps to bring comfort to those grieving the passing of a loved one. Your special friend is safe and at peace, and you can be reunited when the time is right.
For further validation and reading, Embraced by the Light by Betty J. Eadie contains detailed firsthand explanations of what she experienced at the moment of leaving the body and her insights into the afterlife. This is just one-life changing story; you can discover a multitude of others by typing "near-death experience" on YouTube or a search engine.
So what does this mean? Why are we living a human experience right now when our true natures are as spiritual beings? We are here to learn. The question will be elaborated in detail to better understand what we are here to learn, what the nature of consciousness is, and what it means to exist and grow as a spirit. The material will further break down the restrictions that prevent our growth and help awaken the feeling of freedom from within to create self-sustained happiness and well-being.
Introduction to Consciousness
Consciousness means to be conscious. To be conscious means to know you exist. The term itself is defined as the state of being aware. Therefore, various degrees of consciousness can be said to be varying degrees of awareness. All living things have consciousness.
Bacteria show the beginning of the evolution process with the lowest calibrated consciousness levels on earth. As you move up the consciousness scale, you start to see insects and fish. Then as consciousness rises, predatory mammals come into play, such as lions and snakes, and we move up in expression to the bird and wolves. Finally, we reach vegetarian grazers such as the zebra, deer, pigs, monkeys, and so forth.
This information is not to be taken that humans evolve from animals, but it simply outlines everything that exists has a level of consciousness that contributes to the overall expression and experience of its reality. Truth vs. Falsehood: How to Tell the Difference by Dr. David R. Hawkins, MD, PhD clearly outlines the map of the scale of consciousness and detailed explanations on this subject.
A human is a conscious being and individually calibrates at a specific consciousness level based on the degree of awareness he or she is experiencing. Each...
