Consciousness

Consciousness

What is the relationship between an acorn and higher centers? The acorn may be seen as representative of presence before we understood how to connect to higher centers. Just as this small seemingly insignificant seed, under the right circumstances, can grow into one of the strongest and most majestic of trees, with a life-span of a thousand or more years (which outlasts these meagre organisms we call our bodies), so too does consciousness begin with the seed of attention, and under the right circumstances, can grow and blossom into immortal higher centers

Consciousness begins to develop when we become aware that our attention is being drawn out of us hypnotically in fascination or preoccupation, or a more extreme state of obsession. When we are aware of these different states of attention, we engage divided attention. That is the state where we are conscious of ourselves taking in an impression. Divided attention becomes the vehicle by which we begin introducing and prolonging presence.

There are four centers and each center has a positive and negative half. Roughly speaking this means there’s the possibility of approximately a hundred or so impressions in any given moment to which we are subject. Obviously there’s no shortage of impressions or opportunities to divide attention.

The accompanying photo of the acorn is just a photo of an acorn, yes? Rather innocuous, not particularly artful or colorful, boring almost. But is it? What if we look into the impression rather than at it? There’s the curved stalk, the shroud around the seed that resembles a cloak of feathers, the brown seed itself with a little vegetation right at the tip. If we are attentive we can deduce that the photo was taken sometime between 9:30 and 10:00AM. What is the emotion or thought that accompanies the image when we look at it?

What are the emotions or thoughts that are evoked in the emotional center and intellectual centers when reading this? Are you aware of these? It’s not the emotions or thoughts so much as being aware of them. Through dividing attention we bring consciousness to our existence and begin to inhabit a conscious life.

Instead of taking in the impression, we generate consciousness simply by being conscious to what is before us. We are closer to understanding how higher centers generate themselves and teach themselves awareness.

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Only themselves understand themselves and the like of themselves, As souls only understand souls,” ~ Walt Whitman

An Acorn Found on My Patio