Christ Consciousness:

It means to constantly live the wonderful message of Jesus Christ, viz, "Empty thyself and I shall fill thee." The Spirit is not a quantity and it is opposed to all quantitative measurements and conceptions. "Blessed are the poor in spirit", is another suggestive statement of the Christ. We cannot understand what is meant to be poor. For us, to be poor is not to have money, grains and gold, not to have a field, a house and friends, and not to be recognized in society. That would be poverty, economically. We cannot think of poverty except in an economic, material and social sense. Likewise, the idea of emptying oneself, as far as our minds can understand, is a physical displacement of content. Far from this is the idea of the Spirit, which is implied in the above single-sentence message.

The Christ-Consciousness , and not the personality of Christ, is what is to be taken into account here in our understanding of this statement. There is a difference between Christ and Christ-Consciousness. The Christ himself in many of His declarations as recorded in the New Testament repeatedly emphasized this fact. He never regarded Himself as a person, nor did He ever indicate that a person was speaking when He spoke. He always referred to "Him that sent me". He was very much fond of referring to "Him that sent me". He said: "I am here to proclaim the Law of Him who sent me here. It is not my law that I am demonstrating or proclaiming to the world." The Spirit that spoke through Him was not a creature of time. (Also signifies the 'Third-eye'Chakra in Kundalini Yoga system.)

(See also: Christ Consciousness, Psychic, Psychic Dictionary, Parapsychology, Parapsychology Dictionary)

Self-consciousness Awareness of oneself as the experiencer, attribution of one's experiences to an ego, consciousness of being a separate individual; whereas consciousness in the abstract is merely awareness of the experience.

Animals and very young children are conscious, man is self-conscious; yet the adult, when engrossed in an experience, may lose his self-consciousness for a while. But even man is only partially self-conscious, because he can contemplate only part of his being; that in him which is now the contemplator may become part of what is contemplated. As the subject, the knower, shifts upwards and inwards, so to speak, more and more of the vestures pass into the category of objects or what is known.

The Unknown manifests the universe in order to attain full self-consciousness; and in man, the microcosm, an unself-conscious spark of divinity passes through stages of evolution and experience in order to achieve relatively full self-consciousness. The potentiality of self-consciousness, however, is in every atom. In order to become self-conscious, spirit must pass through every cycle of cosmic being, until every ego has attained full self-consciousness as a human being or equivalent entity. Man's self-consciousness depends on his triple nature; it is man who is the separator of the One into various contrasted aspects.

Early humanity was not self-conscious; it was the living intellectual fires or manasaputras which gave to the human mind its self-perception and self-consciousness or manas. This manas is derived ultimately from cosmic mahat, and in man today it had become ahamship or ahankara. Full self-consciousness means consciousness of the one self, cosmic Purusha, the seventh principle, not only of the universe but likewise of man himself.

(See also: Self-consciousness, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Consciousness Revolution - N

New Age advocates call for a "consciousness revolution" a new way of looking at and experiencing life. The primary focus of the new consciousness is oneness with God, all mankind, the earth, and with the entire universe.

(See also: Consciousness Revolution, New Age, Body mind and Soul)

Cosmic Consciousness - N

A spiritual and mystical perception that all in the universe is "one." To attain cosmic con-sciousness is to see the universe as God and God as the universe.

(See also: Cosmic Consciousness, New Age, Body mind and Soul)

CONSCIOUSNESS –

1. The created changing image and vibrational exchange moving between the poles of one infinity and the infinitesimal one; received in the form of waves given to all cells of the body like a TV station and interpreted into images including intention, well desire, thought; the capacity of all things, galaxies, people, animals and plants to interpret according to their quality, capacity and structure; changing according to yin and yang and governed by our environment and way of living, especially way of eating.(Michi Kushi)
2. awareness, wakefulness.
3. totality of one’s perceptions, thought and feelings.
4. state of illumination.
5. spectrum of mindfulness ranging from unconsciousness to dream consciousness to waking consciousness to enlightened consciousness.
6. one of the skandhas in Buddhism.
7. divine attribute manifesting with truth and bliss in Hinduism.
8. one of 89 mental states in Buddhism including the trances of the realm of the infinity of space, the infinity of consciousness, state of awareness, described in the Upanishads. (Sanskrit): jagrat - waking state svapna - sleep, dream, after-death shushupti - dreamless sleep turiya - at one moment with God... (NAD)

(See also: CONSCIOUSNESS, Wiccan Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING - n or adj. inspiring radical ecological, women’s, gay or spiritual awareness in self or others. (NAD)

(See also: CONSCIOUSNESS, Wiccan Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

DIVIDED CONSCIOUSNESS - ability or state of performing two or more tasks simultaneously. (NAD)

(See also: DIVIDED CONSCIOUSNESS, Wiccan Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

RITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS: A specific, alternate state of awareness necessary to the successful practice of magick. This state is achieved through the use of visualization and ritual. The conscious mind becomes attuned with the psychic mind, a state in which the magician senses energies, gives them purpose, and releases them toward a specific goal. It is a heightening of senses, an expanded awareness of the nonphysical world, a linking with nature and with Deity.

(See also: RITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS, Paganism, Pagan, Pagan Dictionary)

Alaya Consciousness

The fundamental consciousness of all sentient beings.

As defined by the Yogacara School, Alaya means the "storehouse", implying that this consciousness contains and preserves all past memories and potential psychic energy within its fold; it is the reservoir of all ideas, memories and desires and is also the fundamental cause of both Samsara and Nirvana.

 (See also: Alaya Consciousness, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

consciousness

1.    State of the mind, the senses and physical awareness allowing a person to know of his existence, sensitivities and relationship to environment.

2.    Spirit communication with the developing medium ultimately registers on the consciousness for the medium to know the message content and to be able to use mind and physical faculties for transmitting on to the intended receiver.

Consciousness originates in the physical and once formed it becomes what is really you. It enters the subconscious where it may become the consciousness of the inner spirit body

(See also: Consciousness, Body Mind and Soul)

RITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS: the alternate state of mind, needed to successfully practice magick. This is the attunment of both the Conscious Mind and the Psychic Mind. At this time the senses will be heightened and awareness expanded, beyond the physical world to the energies of Nature and forces of the Dieties.

(See also: RITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS, Witchcraft, Wicca, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

A Theosophical definition of Consciousness :

Consciousness

In all its forms and protean manifestations, consciousness is spirit-matter  - force and matter, or spirit and substance, are one  - hence consciousness is the finest and loftiest form of energy, is the root of all things, and is coextensive with kosmic space. It is, therefore, the foundation and the essence of gods, of monads, and of atoms  - the three generalized degrees, kosmically speaking, of the universe.

A natural corollary from this is that the universe therefore is imbodied consciousness, or much more correctly we should call it a quasi-infinite aggregate of imbodied consciousnesses.

See also: Consciousness , Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul

ORDINARY CONSCIOUSNESS

We are accustomed to seeking special mental powers from the unconscious, the deep psyche or some transcendental state induced by yoga or drugs. In fact, the ordinary mind is itself unplumbed, 99% terra incognita. It can provide an infinite number of undeveloped talents bordering on the supernatural.

(See also: ORDINARY CONSCIOUSNESS, Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul, )

Consciousness:

This is a term with a very wide range of interpretations. However commonly referred meanings allude to perceptual consciousness, and introspective consciousness. Introspective consciousness seems so special because it gives inner awareness of self, and memory of other mental events. Also includes perceiving one's own perceptions with attributes (like good, bad, positive etc.). Normally associated to 'animated matter' and all forms exhibiting 'life'.

(See also: Consciousness, Psychic, Psychic Dictionary, Parapsychology, Parapsychology Dictionary)

Cosmic Consciousness:

A blissful experience in which the person becomes aware of the whole universe as a living being.

See also altered state of consciousness, mystical experience.

(See also: Cosmic Consciousness, Psychic, Psychic Dictionary, Parapsychology, Parapsychology Dictionary)

Siva consciousness: Sivachaitanya.

A broad term naming the experience or state of being conscious of Siva in a multitude of ways, such as in the five expressed in the following meditation.

-       Vital Breath: prana. Experience the inbreath and outbreath as Siva's will within your body. Become attuned to the ever-present pulse of the universe, knowing that nothing moves but by His divine will.

-       All Pervasive Energy: shakti. Become conscious of the flow of life within your body. Realize that it is the same universal energy within every living thing. Practice seeing the life energy within another's eyes.

-       Manifest Sacred Form: darshana. Hold in your mind a sacred form, such as Nataraja, Sivalinga or your satguru - who is Sadasiva - and think of nothing else. See every form as a form of our God Siva.

-       Inner Light: jyoti. Observe the light that illumines your thoughts. Concentrate only on that light, as you might practice being more aware of the light on a TV screen than of its changing pictures.

-       Sacred Sound: nada. Listen to the constant high-pitched ee sounding in your head. It is like the tone of an electrical transformer, a hundred tamburas distantly playing or a humming swarm of bees.

These five constitute the "Sivachaitanya Panchatantra," five simple experiences that bring the Divine into the reach of each individual. Sivachaitanya, of course, applies to deeper states of meditation and contemplation as well.

See: jnana, mind (five states of mind), Sivasayujya.

(See also: Siva consciousness, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Pure Consciousness:

See: Parashakti, Satchidananda, tattva.

(See also: Pure Consciousness, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Consciousness:

The intelligent, supremely independent, divine Energy, which creates, pervades, and supports the entire universe.

(See also: Consciousness, Yoga, Yoga Dictionary, Siddha Yoga, Siddha Yoga Dictionary)

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V X Y Z

Consciousness: In Buddhism there are eight classes of consciousness. The first five are the senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing), the sixth is thought, the seventh is manas, and the eighth is alaya-vinana.

 (See also: Consciousness, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

consciousness: Chitta or chaitanya.

1)    A synonym for mind-stuff, chitta; or

2)    the condition or power of perception, awareness, apprehension.

There are myriad gradations of consciousness, from the simple sentience of inanimate matter to the consciousness of basic life forms, to the higher consciousness of human embodiment, to omniscient states of superconsciousness, leading to immersion in the One universal consciousness, Parashakti. Chaitanya and chitta can name both individual consciousness and universal consciousness.

Modifiers indicate the level of awareness, e.g.,

-       vyashti chaitanya, "individual consciousness;"

-       buddhi chitta, "intellectual consciousness;"

-       Sivachaitanya, "God consciousness."

Five classical "states" of awareness are discussed in scripture:

1)    wakefulness (jagrat),

2)    "dream" (svapna) or astral consciousness,

3)    "deep sleep" (sushupti) or subsuperconsciousness,

4)    the superconscious state beyond (turiya "fourth") and

5)    the utterly transcendent state called turiyatita ("beyond the fourth").

See: awareness, chitta, chaitanya, mind (all entries).

(See also: Consciousness, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)