Tracks Across the Unconscious

Posted on September 17, 2022 by George Boyd

Q: How can I move beyond the unconscious mind? It keeps holding me back from transcending into deeper states of meditation.

A: There are seven major methods for moving through the unconscious mind. If you imagine that these tracks across the unconscious mind are like pathways through the centers of a form, we can visualize these tracks as follows:

Base of the spine – This is the track of the Kundalini Shakti. When the Kundalini moves through the unconscious band of the mind, it can generate spontaneous emergence phenomena. This typically occurs when the Kundalini is drawn up into union with cosmic consciousness in the First Cosmic Initiation or with a Supracosmic seed atom, when an individual’s cutting edge of spirituality is Planetary.
Navel – This is a vocal track, where you give a voice to the issues in your unconscious mind. This is done in dramatic forms of psychotherapy like Primal Screaming or Psychodrama. This speaking from the issues in the unconscious mind has been called abreaction or catharsis, and produces a release of pent up emotions.
Solar plexus – This is the breath track. This uses techniques like Rebirthing or Holodynamic Breathing to move attention across the unconscious, which brings about insight into the issues and facilitates emotional release. When this Breathwork culminates, it permits breakthrough into the Superconscious mind.
Heart – This track employs mantras to move attention across the unconscious. Commonly, simple mantras like “OM” or “I AM” are utilized. This grants full awareness of the issues that dwell in the unconscious mind.
Throat – This track gives rise to glossolalia, which are mantra-like syllables of an “unknown tongue.” Christian Charismatic sects activate this track to move attention across the unconscious into union with the Moon Soul or Christ Child nucleus of identity.
Point between the eyebrows – This track makes use of Tratakam, which leads attention along the thread that passes through the unconscious mind. This practice ultimately results in consciously crossing the entire zone of the unconscious, which we call Yoganidra.
Brain – This track visualizes the unconscious as a series of layers, resembling a mandala. Using Vipassana to focus on each successive layer and releasing the energy contained within it allows the meditator to sink down to the very core of the unconscious and then transcend it.

Different meditation and psychotherapeutic techniques appear to access these tracks:

We teach Opening, moving attention over the boundary of the unconscious and observing the content in our intermediate mediation classes—the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation and the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program. This moves attention along the point between the eyebrows track.

In the Mudrashram® Advanced Course in Meditation, we teach Yoganidra, which moves attention much deeper on the point between the eyebrows track, and the Rebirthing Breath, which moves attention along the solar plexus track. More than simply dipping into the unconscious like in Opening, Yoganidra moves attention to the other side of the unconscious mind.

We discourage our students from using the base of the spine track that spans the unconscious, which pushes Kundalini beyond the cutting edge of spirituality. This readily produces emergence phenomena, which students have difficulty integrating.

We do not specifically teach abreactive methods, which arise from the track across the navel, for this is the province of psychotherapy. This giving a voice to the issues of the unconscious, or acting them out, needs to be carefully managed.

One of the techniques arising from the I AM meditations of the Second Planetary Initiation is using “I AM” as a mantra to move attention along the heart track through the unconscious mind. We teach I AM meditation to our students who are taking the Second Planetary Initiation. Those who have unfolded their Soul’s spiritual evolutionary potentials to this level or beyond can readily use this application of I AM meditation.

Yogi Preceptors and their advanced disciples commonly use the “OM” mantra to unite attention with cosmic consciousness, and then explore the track of the unconscious behind it, which separates this nucleus of identity from union with Brahman.

Some of those receiving the infilling of the Holy Spirit demonstrate glossolalia. We do not specifically train people in this method: it appears as a special gift of the Holy Spirit.

We teach a mandala method in our intermediate meditation classes to explore individual issues; this method can be readily adapted to identify the layers of the unconscious mind that separate you from liberation.

We suggest that you learn to move your attention using the methods of tracks (3) solar plexus, (4) heart, and (6) point between the eyebrows to help you consciously transcend the blockages of the unconscious mind you are encountering in your meditation.

On the Curious Matter of Strange Initiations

Posted on August 5, 2022 by George Boyd

Q: I have noticed marked personality changes in people who are initiated into different spiritual groups. In some cases, people seem to go completely crazy and delusional. Can you shine some light on what is happening?

A: There are two factors here: integration and inappropriate and premature identification.

Integration means the personality can contain, process, and cope with the new knowledge, directives, or requirements for behavioral and cognitive change that the spiritual teaching impresses on the personality.

Moderate lack of integration can lead to personality disorders, in which normal personality functioning is negatively affected.

Severe lack of integration can lead to psychosis and breakdown of the ability to function.

Inappropriate identification means you identify with a spiritual essence—a vehicular seed atom, a nucleus of identity, spirit, or ensouling entity—that is not at the cutting edge of spirituality.

For example, if your cutting edge of spirituality was in the Abstract Mind Plane on the Temple of Philosophy Subplane, and you use spiritual practices that awaken the cosmic consciousness nucleus of identity, you are effectively identifying with a spiritual essence that is eleven Planes above your cutting edge of spirituality.

Here’s a depiction of the higher levels beyond this cutting edge of spirituality from the vantage point of the Soul that is on the Abstract Mind Plane:

Psychic Realm [identification at this level is with a vehicular seed atom, or “Star Seed”]
Wisdom Plane
First Exoteric Initiation [identification at all three levels of the First Planetary Initiation is with the Moon Soul or Christ Child nucleus of identity]
First Mesoteric Initiation
First Esoteric Initiation
Second Initiation [identification at this level is with the Solar Angel and the Mighty I AM Presence nucleus of identity]
Third Initiation
Fourth Initiation
Fifth Initiation [identification at this level is with the Planetary Soul or Atma]
Transplanetary Initiation [identification at this level is with the Monad or Paramatma]
First Cosmic Initiation [identification is with the cosmic consciousness nucleus of identity]
Second Cosmic Initiation [identification is with cosmic soul awareness nucleus of identity]
Third Cosmic Initiation
Fourth Cosmic Initiation
Fifth Cosmic Initiation [identification is with the God consciousness nucleus of identity]
Astral Soul [identity at this level is with this ensouling entity]
Supracosmic seed atom of a Supracosmic Path [identification is with this nucleus of identity]
Supracosmic Soul [identification with this ensouling entity is achieved when the Supracosmic seed atom unites with the Supracosmic Soul]
The spirit on a Transcendental Path [identification is with the spirit and its ensouling entity]
The Soul of the Bridge Path [identification is with this ensouling entity]
Satchitananda [identification is with this ensouling entity]

Premature identification means you place your attention in union with a spiritual essence that exists on a Plane beyond where your Soul dwells. So, if your Soul dwells on the Abstract Mind Plane, you experience premature identification, for example, when you identify with the Star Seed in the Psychic Realm, the Moon Soul in the First Initiation, the Mighty I AM Presence in the Second Initiation, Cosmic Consciousness in the First Cosmic Initiation, a Supracosmic seed atom, or a spirit on a Transcendental Path.

What happens when you work with these essences beyond your cutting edge of spirituality is that you receive information that is cast in powerful emotions; this acts like a hypnotic suggestion. These suggestions may motivate you to do spiritual practices germane to this higher level. You might be led to adopt the philosophies, doctrines, or belief systems that are anchored in this higher essence. You might be induced to make personality changes or lifestyle modifications based on these belief systems that arise in this higher level; this may disrupt your life, your relationships, or your ability to function normally in the adult role.

What you commonly see is that you misunderstand, misinterpret, or distort the ideas you receive from these levels beyond your cutting edge of spirituality. This can bring about belief in strange conspiracy theories; stimulate paranoid ideation; and cause you to function in a trance-like state while remaining in an altered state of awareness.

If this identification is coupled with transformation of that higher essence along its track, you may see marked perceptual and energetic changes—even beyond those experienced during initial identification with this center. Perceptual changes include the sense that the world and your life are unreal. Energetic changes may give rise to a Kundalini syndrome.

To avoid these excesses that communion with these higher essences beyond your cutting edge of spirituality can generate—that produces lack of integration and inappropriate and/or premature identification—we recommend that you do the following:

Obtain information from your cutting edge ensouling entity that guides you to carry out your expressed Soul Purpose.
Debrief any information you receive during an altered state of awareness through reflecting on its meaning. Notice whether this information (a) provides information about a skill you are developing—e.g., you are learning astrology and aim to practice this as your profession: you receive guidance about astrology in your meditation; (b) it has practical guidance for your daily life and actually improves your life situation; (c) it helps you to overcome a longstanding personal problem or character weakness; and (d) it does not put forward illogical or fantasy assumptions that cannot be verified or demonstrated.
Meditate on the vehicles of consciousness and the spiritual essences that are contained within the sphere of influence of your cutting edge of spirituality. While you may visit these spiritual essences on the higher Planes beyond your cutting edge ensouling entity to explore the Path ahead, you should not identify with these essences nor transform them, as this can produce imbalances. See our articles, “The Cutting Edge of Spirituality” and “Avoiding Imbalance from Spiritual Practice.”
Build your personal foundation before venturing into the transpersonal zone. You should be able to fully function as an adult to carry out your responsibilities at work, school, and in your romantic, marital, or parental relationships—before venturing into the Great Beyond.
Be a spiritual scientist. Treat all assertions of belief or spiritual truths as untested hypotheses, until you can verify them and demonstrate them.
Don’t try to meet your personal emotional needs through spiritual identification. Your need for a loving human partner is not truly satisfied if you become a devotee of Jesus or Krishna. You will experience love at a higher level; but this will not fulfill your personal yearning—and these desires will continue to rankle in your unconscious mind until you satisfy them.
If you channel information, preach or give satsang, or do healings or attunements—don’t assume that all information you receive from the higher Planes is benign, relevant, and appropriate for those that receive this information and energy from you. You need to know the individual who is receiving this outpouring from you well enough to assess whether they can genuinely integrate it and use it appropriately.

To not become warped and strange from taking initiations that lead to union and identification with a spiritual essence that is inappropriate for your current level of spiritual evolution, and your personality’s ability to integrate the new knowledge and perceptions you gain from this altered state of awareness, we recommend your do your spiritual practice at your cutting edge of spirituality.

If you are not sure how to do this, we teach you how to do spiritual work at your cutting edge of spirituality in our intermediate meditation classes, the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation and the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program.

Monitoring the Four Identity Spheres

Posted on June 25, 2022 by George Boyd

Q: I find that I spend a lot of time in my ego, and it is hard for me to transcend into higher perspectives. Can you give me some guidance about this?

A: There are four spheres of identity:

The Sphere of the Ego and your Human Life
The Sphere of your Self and your field of Personality
The Sphere of your Soul and the field of your Superconscious Mind; this is the arena of your Soul’s Expressed Purpose
The Sphere of your Higher Octave Ensouling Entity and its field of ministry and service

By the time you reach the seventh stage of spiritual development and your Higher Octave ensouling entity is the Soul of the Bridge Path, you are in touch with what we call, “the Master within.” This Master Soul contains and has the capacity to express the intuitive knowledge, the love and virtues, and the abilities you have gained during your spiritual sojourn through the Subtle, Planetary, Transplanetary, Cosmic, Supracosmic, and aligned Transcendental Bands of the Continuum.

You can start the process of sorting out these four spheres through meditating on each of these four spheres in turn. [Those of you who have your cutting edge of spirituality in the Planetary or Subtle Realm should exclude the Sphere of the Higher Octave Ensouling Entity.] Notice:

What is my state of identity in this sphere?
What do I perceive from this vantage point?
What are my abilities in this sphere?
What activities do I carry out in this sphere?
What external or internal objects, ideas, or people lead me to function in this sphere? What draws out this activity at this level?
What are the parameters or limitations of my functioning in this sphere?
What would I need to change to enhance my functioning in this sphere?
What hindrances or obstacles make certain activities in this sphere difficult? What might I do to remove these hindrances or obstacles, so I can improve my functioning in this sphere?

Once you can identify what activities operate in each sphere and what draws these abilities out of you, you can simply allow these activities to engage—as they are appropriate in your life, in your personality, and in the realms of the Soul and your Higher Octave ensouling entity.

With some practice, you should be able to shift at will to your identity state in each sphere, and carry out activity from that level. For example:

At the level of the Ego, you are carrying out behavior on the environment around you. This includes chores, cleaning, repairs, and the activities of daily living. These are single actions, many of which are habit-driven.

At the level of the Self, you are making choices that impact your life. You are engaged in making commitments. You are rehearsing how you will act in a future situation. You are examining your values to see if you can say yes or no to an opportunity. You are planning, scheduling, identifying salient points, and setting goals. You are problem solving, reflecting, and evaluating options available to you. You are using intuition to check in and empathize with your experience and the experience of others. You are using your freedom of choice to act on or reject alternatives for action.

At the level of the Soul, you are communicating your expressed Soul Purpose to your personality, so you can enact aspects of this purpose in human life. This may involve you getting an education, having specific experiences, undergoing selected training, or encountering certain people who will assist you and/or act as your mentor and teacher to develop skills needed for the enactment of your Soul’s purpose.

At the level of your Higher Octave ensouling entity, you are going new love, wisdom, and abilities to extend your ministry and service beyond the Subtle and Planetary Realms—into the Transplanetary, Cosmic, Supracosmic, and Transcendental levels of the Continuum. As you evolve into these higher stages of your spiritual development, your scope of potential ministry and service expand.

We point out that unless there is something to draw your higher abilities, wisdom, or love and virtue from you, it will remain dormant. If you practice one of your spiritual gifts, it will come forth. If you do metaphysical counseling or coaching, it will emerge. If you do healing, it will express through you. If you do attunements and spiritual ministry, it will shine out in you. If you teach meditation—in structured classes or in consultations—it will operate in you. If you dedicate yourself to a charitable or compassionate project that helps others, it will flow out of you.

It is not enough to learn something, practice a skill, or have an experience. Ultimately, you will need to express your learning, training, or experience as an activity that helps others. This can be a paid activity through your profession or avocation; it can be through a volunteer endeavor. It can be a structured activity like a reading, a class, a seminar, a webinar, a podcast, a weblog, or a video; it can be unstructured, like when you encounter someone who is troubled, and you help him or her.

If you are willing to serve… if you are willing to be of service… if you call upon God and say, “let me be of service… ready me to be your instrument to help those in need…” you will receive the necessary Grace and support to become someone capable of doing ministry and service… and you will touch the lives of others and be a force for love and goodness in the world.

The Mandala of the Ego

Posted on June 4, 2022 by George Boyd

Q: Many spiritual teachers regard the ego as evil and they attempt to transcend it and eradicate it. In Mudrashram®, you say the ego is a complex of functions and not all aspects of the ego are bad. Can you explain this divergence of opinions?

A: If we study the ego in situ, where it dwells in the Conscious mind, we find there are nine layers of the ego. These layers, which form the mandala of the ego, consist of the following:

The wheel of integration – In this first layer of the ego, the ego appears to be a hub in which the active centers of the Conscious mind unite and are coordinated. Levels of the Conscious mind that are integrated in this center include: the waking state of consciousness, the movement awareness center, the sensory center, the deep body awareness center, the feeling center, the thinking center, the egoic octave of will, the life consciousness—the awareness of the ego embedded as the actor in human life—and the preconscious.
The wheel of human activity – These are twelve categories through which people organize their lives. People may share some of these categories, such as body and health, emotions and relationships, education and career, money and finances, or ethics and spirituality; however, some may have distinctive categories, such as addiction recovery, travel, or adventure.
Motivational matrix – These are the underlying desires and emotions that motivate behavior in one or more of these categories. For example, you might have a desire to lose weight (body/health category), to find a new romantic partner (emotions and relationship category), to finish your degree in computer science (education category), to find a better-paying job (career and finances category), or to practice meditation or prayer daily (ethics and spirituality category). We describe this level in our book, The Practical Applications of Meditation in Daily Life and Education, and show you how to set goals for each of these areas, so you can fulfill these desires.
Egoic roles – These are the “I am statements” of the ego, which organize your behavior, feelings, and thoughts into discrete roles. Some of the roles with which you might identify might be “I am a parent,” “I am a worker,” “I am a gardener,” “I am a musician,” “I am a member of a political party,” or “I am a member of a particular religion.” We teach our students in the Introduction to Meditation Program how to monitor this inner processing for each of these roles through a targeted Vipassana-style meditation.
Life narrative – This is your record of achievements in your life. When you itemize your skills and experience on your résumé, you are drawing from this level of the egoic complex. On the basis of what you have achieved—or how you may have failed at some of the things you have wanted—you develop your sense of self-esteem. You feel good about yourself if you have been largely successful in attaining your desires; if you have had a lot of failure and frustration experiences, you may feel badly about yourself and you may even feel depressed.
Zone of defenses – These are the defense mechanisms through which you attempt to hide your painful and negative feelings and behavior from others. These layers of mental resistance hide behavior, feelings, and thoughts about which you may feel ashamed or guilty. This wall of diversions and prevarication block others’ knowledge of your fear, your forbidden desires, your addictive cravings, your rage, your jealousy, your envy, your greed, your arrogance and narcissism that dwell in the next layer, the Shadow. To the degree you have worked through these issues in the Shadow, your defenses attenuate.
The Shadow – This is where your issues actually dwell. This level of the mind has been called the personal unconscious or the lower unconscious: it is repository of the issues you have not worked out, and integrated into your ego. These mental tendencies, in many people, function autonomously to the volition operating at the level of the ego and at the level of the Self. Spiritual teachers view the ego as complex of issues in the Shadow and the layer of defenses that protect them—they seek to transcend these issues through re-identifying with an altered state of consciousness and uprooting these tendencies of mind.
Egoic seed atom – This is the “wonder child” that views the beauty and goodness of the world. This is the healthy, innocent “inner child” that lives beyond the pain and struggles of the issues of the Shadow. Psychotherapy aims to help clients reclaim this part of the their nature, instead of viewing the world through the distorted lens of fear, paranoia, anger, shame, and arrogance. This seed atom tunes up as the Soul evolves.
Spiritual ego – This part of the mind identifies with a higher spiritual essence and compares its development to others. People who identify with their cosmic consciousness nucleus of identity might feel superior to those who have not awakened this aspect of their nature; they might feel jealous that another disciple seems to be able to spend more time with their Guru. This part of the mind loses touch with normal human boundaries; it can become grandiose, narcissistic, and arrogant. While disciples of some spiritual teachers transcend the layer of defenses and the Shadow with their spiritual practices, this subtlest aspect of the ego can creep in and vitiate their humility and other spiritual virtues.

In our soon-to-be-released e-Book, A Compendium of Articles on the Ego, we discuss these nine levels and show you ways you can strengthen the healthy aspects of your ego and begin to work with its negative aspects. We believe that it is important to consider the entire egoic complex, and not merely select the negative parts of the ego. [Note this book is now available as an eBook on Amazon Kindle, entitled Good Ego, Bad Ego: Understanding the Seven Facets of the Ego].

A functional ego enables you to carry out normal behavior in the environment around you. When the ego is compromised, your behavior becomes abnormal and dysfunctional. Your task is not to destroy the ego, but to domesticate it, so it can carry out the direction of your Soul—and you can be of service and enact your Soul’s Expressed Purpose in your human life.

Reflections on the Context of Consciousness

Posted on May 6, 2022 by George Boyd

Q: I was listening to a talk where they referenced Dr. Roger Penrose’s theory about how consciousness arises out of the subatomic quantum field, and the brain operates like a quantum computer. Is this the basis of consciousness? Is consciousness only an epiphenomenon, an emergent property of the brain?

A: People interpret consciousness at the level where they perceive it.

If you regard someone to be the body, the physical organism, the actions, emotions, and sensations of that body you can observe or measure are the evidence of consciousness. The field of behavioral psychology holds this view.
If you regard someone is a network or system of cells, consciousness is the firing of neurons that underlie the observable actions, emotions, and sensation. Physiological psychology explains behavior, affect, and sensation from this platform.
If you regard someone is the atomic matrix, the electrical activity of the body and brain is consciousness. Technological innovations such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Electroencephalography (EEG), and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) enable researchers to detect “brain waves” and the electrical activity of the living brain. Those who try to alter awareness using auditory and photic brain entrainment modalities tap this level.
If you regard someone as a localized subatomic field within the universal subatomic field, you will look at consciousness as analogous as a quantum computer or a hologram. This is the perspective that Dr. Penrose and other physicists embrace.
If you regard someone as an integrative node in the Information Aether, you witness consciousness as the dynamic acquisition of information (learning), information storage (memory), and manipulation of information (intelligence). Information that is no longer needed is jettisoned (forgetting). Cognitive psychology adopts this viewpoint.
If you regard someone is a vortex on the Resonance Aether, you behold consciousness is the wave of the present time, through which you create, sustain, or transform the content of the mind. New Age, New Thought, and process meditation groups access this level.
If you regard someone is the etheric body, you observe consciousness is directly linked to the life force. Movement of life energy in the fine mental channels (nadis) of the etheric body gives rise to thought and emotions; movement of life force in the somatic channels (meridians) governs physiological functions; and the integrative functions of the etheric body plexuses (chakras) coordinate and integrate behavior. Energy healers, Chinese medicine practitioners, and chiropractors work with this energy body and observe the linkage of consciousness and life force.
If you regard someone as a magnetic center on the Desire Aether, where the Law of Attraction operates, you visualize that consciousness is the attentional principle. This essence can direct intention and thought to magnetize and manifest what you desire in your life. Spiritual coaches, metaphysical counselors, psychic teachers and channelers operate at this level.
If you regard someone is the mental field or aura that encapsulates thought forms on the Thought Form Aether, you consider consciousness is the dynamic force that creates, sustains, and destroys thought forms—the attentional principle again appears as the agency that can directly interface with thought forms. Those who work at this level consider that each thought form embodies the desire seeds of karma. Humanistic and Transpersonal therapies that work with subpersonalities access this level.
If you regard someone is the Self, you view consciousness is the expression of this core of the personality, which uses volition and intelligence to activate the faculties of the Metaconscious mind. These executive functions of the personality manage the issues of human life and create personal destiny. Humanistic and Existential therapies work at this level.
If you regard someone is a Superconscious seed atom or nucleus of identity, consciousness appears as the activity of this essence through its form or vehicle of consciousness. Consciousness in this viewpoint is the embodiment and expression of an archetype. Transpersonal therapies that utilize the archetypes of the Superconscious mind, such as Jung’s Active Imagination and Assagioli’s Psychosynthesis interact with elements at this level.
If you regard someone is the Soul, you envision consciousness resides innately in this essence. It is eternal and immortal (Sat), eternally conscious (Chit), and abides in bliss and power (Ananda). This consciousness is expressed through the faculties of the Soul’s essential vehicle, which in turn controls and operates the vehicles of the Superconscious mind (level 11) and connects with the Self (level 10). Planetary Adepts and Adept Masters view human beings in this perspective.
If you regard someone is the spirit, you will see consciousness innately abides in this essence. Nadamic Masters and Sat Gurus of the Transcendental Sphere perceive consciousness at this level.
If you view someone from our Integral meditation perspective, you observe consciousness inheres in the Soul (Pole One – level 12), the spirit (Pole Two – level 13), a nucleus of identity (Pole Three – level 11), the attentional principle (upper Pole Four – levels eight and nine), and the Self (lower Pole Four – level ten). This the way we view consciousness in Mudrashram®.

The relative awakening of individuals determines which of these perspectives they see. This limen of perspective only admits the content of the levels up to the stage of their spiritual development. Someone who adopts the subatomic perspective of level four can also view the content of levels one to three. However, the more subtle view of level five on the Information Aether, is outside their threshold of comprehension.

Using a transformational mantra keyed to the Soul transforms this veil, and those who practice this method can begin to comprehend those levels that are beyond his or her current threshold of conscious awareness. Those who open this veil over awareness to the Bridge Path can grasp all 14 levels.

Those who take our intermediate mediation classes, the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation or the by-mail or online Accelerated Meditation Program learn a technique gradually part this veil and open up the perspectives of the grander vistas of consciousness. We invite those of you who wish to view these other levels learn how to catalyze your Soul’s unfoldment.