*This article was submitted by Mathew Bleasdale-Clews; a Master Shift Community Member.
A very simple explanation of the existence and importance of consciousness and spirituality is this: which of our five physical senses allow us to feel emotion?
It cannot be seen, heard, smelled, touched or spoken. What then, allows us to experience and recognize emotion; the very thing that shapes how we interact with each other and the world?
That’s right, consciousness. Something that is not physical, but instead is spiritual.
With this recognition alone, any person can begin to become aware of the fact that our true identity is not that which is reflected in the mirror, but something that is both within and outside the physical body at all times.
This simple explanation shows that we are one, as it cannot be avoided by any living organism in the universe, and is experienced by all of us. If it lives, it experiences emotion, and reacts accordingly.
Do not confuse emotion with mental activity and thought. Both are actually the reaction to emotion, not the source of it – when you feel hatred; your thoughts and mental activity determine how you respond to that hatred.
The same applies to literally any emotion you can think of. It is the levels of positivity and negativity that determine how well the level of consciousness will evolve. The more positive your actions that result from your management of your emotions; the more open minded, forgiving and loving you will become – the more negative your actions that result from them; the more ignorant, selfish and hateful you will become. Dwell on this whenever you are faced with an element of emotion, and remember, you have a choice as to how you will respond.
The more often the collective consciousness of the universe detects your choices of positive response, the less it will provide you with the negative occurrences and thus emotions by which we learn from.
In other words, you are given back exactly what you project onto yourself and others. This gradual process is what allows you to change your reality.
Do not expect a change to occur overnight, the balance must be worked towards in order to counter every negative action you have made, every negative word you have spoken, every negative thought you have focused on. This is what Karma truly means.
The fact that we have all had previous lives in alternate physical bodies is the very reason Karma is not balanced out in one lifetime; all of us, myself being no exception, will have been extremely negative in past lives, and the opposite goes for those in this lifetime currently acting to an extreme negative. That is why we must forgive them. They are providing you with the opportunity to see that we are all a reflection of each other; when you see someone being hurtful, and you scorn them for it, you are failing to acknowledge your own negative karma. When it effects you personally, it is simply because you failed to acknowledge it the first time. The equal opposite applies when you experience joy or upliftment from another’s words or actions.It is all an ongoing process that defines who you really are.
When you yearn to balance karma, do not do it with the aim of personal benefit, as this defeats and ignores it’s true nature. Instead, you must do it in recognition of the process, and through appreciation of why it occurs. This is what it means to be enlightened, and will ensure you will overcome the negative more and more because it is the very core of what it means to ascend spiritually (service to others); without regard or intention to the benefits it will bring you (service to self), but to fulfill the very cause of your chosen path through countless lifetimes – to achieve Oneness through service to others, not through service to self.
About the Author: Mathew Bleasdale-Clews is a nature photographer, musician and spiritual researcher. Since 2001 he has been studying ancient history, natural health care, philosophy, spiritual growth and unity consciousness. He also practices daily meditation and dream analysis. He has recently begun publishing articles on the later topics. He is currently writing his first book. Website: www.cosmicjournal.wix.com/aidingtheawakening.
