I recently created a post with a video from TED with Vincent Cochetel telling his story about being held hostage for 317 days.
That post was on the subject of completion and both the post and video has created an urge to write this post on the subjects of consciousness and flow.
Let's take the two words, consciousness and flow, and look at them briefly...
Conciousness
What is consciousness?
From my perspective, which comes from research of consciousness, it's teachings and related practices, consciousness is who I am and who you are and from which every person comes from and goes back to.
In science, consciousness is often referred to as the zero point field. The term zero point energy may also be appropriate.
In other fields of study and practice, there are a whole host of other words that are used for consciousness.
Flow
What is flow?
Well, I know what flow is and this knowing is again from personal studies, practices and experiences both living in a physical reality from an intellectual level, and also living in a physical reality researching and experiencing what I can best describe as spiritual aspects of this physical reality.
For me flow, and for the context of this post, is a continuous movement of the self (me, you, others) and it's desires and actions, from minimal to many directions in life.
Setting the scene
As the story of my own experience of life is quite personal and hence due to the sensitive nature of some events, I prefer to use other's life experiences such as the story of Vincent I, and also clips from movies, to give you as best an idea and feel of my experience.
Let us look at Vincent's story...
In brief, he was a humanitarian worker who went to help in Chechnya.
Whilst helping people there, he was kidnapped, and held hostage for 317 days and to put it mildly, not treated very well.
Read his own words...
I was kept in an underground cellar, total darkness, for 23 hours and 45 minutes every day, and then the guards would come, normally two. They would bring a big piece of bread, a bowl of soup, and a candle. That candle would burn for 15 minutes, 15 minutes of precious light, and then they would take it away, and I returned to darkness. I was chained by a metal cable to my bed. I could do only four small steps. I always dreamt of the fifth one. And no TV, no radio, no newspaper, no one to talk to. I had no towel, no soap, no toilet paper, just two metal buckets open, one for water, for one waste. Can you imagine that mock execution can be a pastime for guards when they are sadistic or when they are just bored or drunk?
I ask you to watch his talk in full and note your feelings and emotions about his work, his views, what he experienced whilst kept hostage, and also his experience with the prime minister after he was released.
Watch the video and then read the rest of this post.
Vincent knew where he was going and what he was doing and that his work was both risky and dangerous.
I will now use this real world story of Vincent and apply it to give you a feel for my experience.
Vincent's desire and the flow of his desires and actions over the years from when he was born, took Vincent on a journey that resulted in him going to Chechnya and helping others.
This seems like a commendable intent for a course of action in life, despite the downturn of being kidnapped, kept hostage and being told what he was by the prime minister.
My story
Like Vincent, decades from being born, imagine having the best intentions as possible, taking various forms of action, investing time and energy in vocations, people and ultimately developing an environment with people around you.
Now read these words from Vincent...
When I entered my flat in Vladikavkaz with a guard, we were surrounded by armed men. They took the guard, they put him on the floor, they beat him up in front of me, tied him, dragged him away. I was handcuffed, blindfolded, and forced to kneel, as the silencer of a gun pressed against my neck. When it happens to you, there is no time for thinking, no time for praying. My brain went on automatic, rewinding quickly the life I'd just left behind. It took me long minutes to figure out that those masked men there were not there to kill me, but that someone, somewhere, had ordered my kidnapping. Then a process of dehumanization started that day. I was no more than just a commodity.
The position in the last two sentences was almost exactly where I found myself being pulled into over a few years, however in my case, everyone whom I thought was "with me" started showing, not their "true colours", but some of the ugliest colours that I never thought I would see in people.
Me and my desires, faith, loves of life and perhaps everything that ever meant anything to me was being ripped apart with the experience I was having which included people acting in ways I thought that they never had in them.
The flow of life was taking me in a direction that I had not anticipated, a direction I thought never existed, and to put it mildly, a direction I did not like at all.
The intellectual mind that I had developed to that point in life, could not explain anything.
The best and somewhat only resolve I had was the spiritual research and practice, and which I found myself having to get deeper into to help the mind understand what was going on.
After a few more years of research of spiritual experiences and practice, the answers to what I was experiencing started to come to me.
That is all I wish to say for now as it has been quite overwhelming writing this post.
Your story
You may be asking yourself that if this post was overwhelming to write, why did I write it?
It is because I truly believe that one or more of the spiritual experiences and techniques that I have researched and have direct experience of practising, have created such dramatic shifts in my intellectual knowing and experiences of this physical reality, that I feel the experiences and practices can help you identify if you are flowing in an inappropriate direction in life and one that you may not be able to see with all the intellect that you have.
The techniques and experiences can somewhat "let you see" and for you to decided whether you wish to stay in the flow you have been in, or if a change is required.
That is why this post is titled "Consciousness And Flow".
Flow without consciousness, I believe, is not appropriate flow for the self, nor perhaps anybody else.
The spiritual practices and techniques that I have researched, experienced directly myself, raise your awareness and consciousness to levels that can help you to receive insights into your experiences of life, close doors that no longer need to be open or experienced, and open new doors and create different experiences in life.
From the experience I have from using the techniques, I would currently say that they are suitable for those who are experiencing a very negative perception of life.
I simply am not sure how best to package what I know as a product or service, but I am looking into and contemplating it.
However, if the above words resonate with you, and you would like help, I would be happy to talk to you.
If you feel the urge, contact me in confidence here.
