Inner Tapestry’s (www.innertapestry.org) next theme is “Super Consciousness.” Although I had never heard the term before, I imagined it was a synonym for Infinite Radar, so my interest was piqued. I wrote the following for Inner Tapestry and submitted it a week late:
“At brunch the other day, I asked my husband what Super Consciousness brings to his mind. He’s an avid graphic novel fan and referenced how “Miracle Man,” by Alan Moore, treats the theme of Super Consciousness. In “Miracle Man,” a scientist hijacks an average kind of guy, sedates him, and sends his consciousness into an alternate reality. In this new reality, the man can fly, heal people, and rearrange matter; he’s Miracle Man. The skills Miracle Man exercises when sedated, are skills we imagine possible when in a state of Super Consciousness. When we aren’t hemmed it by habituated ways of experiencing the world, when liberated from the rational mind, anything is possible – even Super Powers! The thing is, Miracle Man has no idea that he is kidnapped and lying drugged in a laboratory. In this story, then, the Super Powers are revealed for what they are – the trappings of spiritual awakening, not the awakening itself.
As the plot unfolds, Miracle Man connects with an undercurrent of subconscious remembering that facilitates his awakening from sedation into his body on the lab table. Once back in “average” reality, Miracle Man discovers that anytime he says “Kimota”, the Super Powers he had in the alternative state manifest in his “normal” reality. The Super Powers, then, become a reflection of awakening!
Part of the human experience is the longing to awaken to who we really are, a particularized manifestation of Divine Consciousness. Any practice we engage in - meditation, yoga, prayer, chanting, breath-work – is an expression of that longing. When re-connected with Divine Consciousness/God/The Universe, we might levitate in meditation, hear God’s answer in prayer, harness miraculous healing powers, shape shift into our spirit animal or realize Super Powers. We might.
Of course, we might not. We might become less reactive, more compassionate, or forgive more quickly. We might listen more attentively. Not as sexy as Super Powers, certainly, but transformative all the same.
After exploring Super Consciousness with my friends and family for several days, I did a little internet research. Online, I learned that Super Consciousness refers to a state of elevated awareness. I read Autobiography of a Yogi last month and I imagine that each time Yogananda went into a state of meditative bliss, he was experiencing Super Consciousness. It’s easy to see, right? Likewise, when I read Carlos Castaneda’s excursions with his Toltec teacher, it was evident when he was in a state of Super Consciousness. In some traditions, Super Consciousness is flashy. Not flashy, like bling and superficial. But, flashy like meteors rocketing across the sky.
In other traditions, and who comes to mind is Thich Naht Han meditating while washing dishes, or Mother Teresa caring for sick people in Calcutta, Super Consciousness is more humble. Not humble like boring and mundane. But, humble like crocuses breaking ground to little fanfare.
How many of us get side tracked looking for flashy signs of Super Consciousness? I do, sometimes. How many of us forget to recognize the moments of Super Consciousness that were not met with applause? Me. Then, I remember.
I practice a healing modality called Reconnective Healing. In a session, people access the energy, light and information that reminds them of who they are – connected to all that is, including Super Consciousness! It’s not uncommon for clients to wonder if a healing happened if they did not, for example, hallucinate a Pegasus with the face of their deceased grandfather leaping through their heart chakra.
It’s like the parable about the flood. First, there is a warning on the television, warning people to move to higher ground, the water is rising. A faithful man is offered a ride out of town by a neighbor and the man replies, “No thank you, I’m waiting for God.” The waters begin to rise, the man moves to the second floor and another neighbor comes by in a boat, “Want a lift?” “No, thanks, God will take care of me.” Eventually, the man is standing on his roof and a rescue helicopter throws him a rope, which he refuses. “God will save me.” When the faithful man reaches the pearly gates, he finds St. Peter and implores, “I’m a faithful man, why didn’t you spare me?” St. Peter replies, “What do you mean? I sent you a car, a boat and a helicopter.”
We wonder: was that swirling cloud of orange dust and that cool wind on my ankles Super Consciousness/Divine Mind/God? There must be something more. Carolyn Myss, respected medical intuitive and teacher, addressed a similar wondering – whether the “Average Joe” can develop intuition. In her characteristic straight shooting style, she says we all have intuition we just don’t listen to it:
· “Don’t eat that second cupcake” – Intuition
· “Give your Great Aunt a call” (she dies two days later) – Intuition
· “I probably should go home, now” – Intuition
We don’t always listen to our intuition, imagining something sexier will be communicated like the winning lottery numbers, what our boss is thinking, or that we would be wise to fly to a particular island on a specific date to meet our soul mate. Myss says that the practical approach to developing intuition is to listen and honor the humble voice of intuition that speaks.
Super Consciousness is not a place to get to. It is not a particular expression. It may not be flashy. It is a field of awareness where washing dishes, sweeping floors, and changing tires, can be powerful expressions of awakening. As can Super Powers. “
the heart of your post: Part of the human experience is the longing to awaken to who we really are.... meditation, yoga, prayer, chanting, breath-work – is an expression of that longing.
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