In the last two posts I've argued that there should be a new norm in how we view the mind, presenting the possibility that enlightenment is our natural state. Higher consciousness has become an exotic state reserved for saints, sages, and swamis, haloed in religious terminology. But behind the aura of holiness stands a shift in consciousness. There are many definitions of enlightenment, of course. We need a modern one that is based on freedom from boundaries, obstacles, inner resistance, mental conflict, old conditioning, and memories of past limitations. These are distortions of consciousness, and when they are removed, enlightenment can be realized as our natural state.
I urge you to read the earlier posts so that this apparently far-fetched proposal begins to feel convincing. What we need to ask now is whether enlightenment would actually matter in a person's life. This is the "so what?" test that new technology must pass every day. Without a practical application, higher consciousness is unlikely to overturn how science and daily life are conducted. In fact, enlightenment itself has been long associated with renunciation of the world, which makes it seem like the last thing modern people want.
Let's say that enlightenment is a new technology, in effect, although unlike the next iPhone, it's a technology whose domain is "in here." Beyond the notice of most people, the groundwork is being laid for this novel technology right now. The most exciting aspect of advances in physics and biology has been the up rise of interest in consciousness. From the debate over whether the mind influences the body, which stirred up contention in medicine thirty years ago, tremendous progress has been made. Many books and a host of annual conferences are now devoted to exploring consciousness, which was banned from serious science for decades, despite the fact that quantum physics opened the door almost a hundred years ago.
Quantum theory introduced the notion that human beings are "free agents," whose mental activity actually affects Nature at the atomic level. In other words, by participating mentally, we change reality "out there." The next frontier, I believe, is to discover how free we really are and how great an impact each person makes on every aspect of life including our biology, the activity of matter and energy, and the behavior of the universe itself. Against this sweeping background, higher consciousness leads to the following things:
A conscious universe where the attributes of our own minds -- intelligence, creativity, evolution, etc. -- are innate in Nature.
A privileged position for the mind equal to matter and energy.
A revolution in biology and physics, once it is fully realized that subjective experience opens an entirely new way of viewing reality.
A shift away from measurements of the world "out there" to include our experience of daily life "in here" as the most important standard for knowing what's real.
A holistic view of all phenomena, erasing the artificial divisions that have been made to separate mind and matter.
Every scientist, whether he reacts with excitement or outrage at these changes, must concede that they are of utmost importance. The conscious universe needs us to participate in it, and our participation, first hinted at in the quantum revolution, is more mysterious and potentially more important than anyone ever realized. But we're still speaking on an abstract plane. To the average person, the "so what?" test hasn't been passed yet. To do that, each of these new possibilities must be brought down to the level of daily life, as follows.
As an individual, you are a conscious agent surrounded by a conscious universe. You are not a speck floating in an infinite, cold void.
At your core, you emerge from a field of pure awareness, and so does everything around you. When you go inside to see the image of a rose, you are going toward the same source that created the Big Bang.
The closer you are to the source, the more powerful your desires and intentions will be.
Once you are accustomed to this new status as a conscious agent, you become the co-creator of reality, along with other human beings and consciousness itself. All participation in life is actually an expression of the same cosmic consciousness.
To put it in a nutshell, enlightenment makes you the author of your own reality. How this develops requires considerable discussion and explanation, but the point is clear enough. Only as free agents are we entirely human. If we deny or forget that we are active participants in how reality unfolds, then we are little more than the puppets of mechanical processes in the brain, the body in general, and "out there" in the mechanism of the physical universe. Mainstream science maintains that "of course" a human being is formed from these same physical processes, and many scientists would claim that there is nothing more to say.
But no one ever said that a working scientist is automatically enlightened. Until the exploration of consciousness reveals the actual state of affairs, the relationship of mind and matter remains an open question, and the possibility of a conscious universe stands on equal ground with any other theory of cosmology. As is always the case, it's better to trust someone who's actually been there, and human culture possesses a wealth of wisdom traditions who attest to enlightenment. Our duty is simply to take it seriously enough that it passes the "so what?" test, making higher consciousness the central issue in what it means to be human -- and to be real.
DEEPAK CHOPRA MD, FACP, founder of The Chopra Foundation and co-founder of The Chopra Center for Wellbeing, is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation, and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. Chopra is the author of more than 80 books translated into over 43 languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. Super Genes co-authored with Rudi Tanzi, PhD will be available on November 10, 2015 www.deepakchopra.com