When I was a boy I often found myself outside of my body, floating above it as it lay below me on the bed, observing it from a viewpoint near the ceiling. It is difficult to convey all that one perceives at such moments, as they are moments of an intensely lucid awareness, in which one becomes conscious of many things that are not normally accessible to everyday awareness.
But if I had to choose the single most important of the impressions that would crowd in upon me at such moments, it would have to be this one: Who I really am is this point of lucid awareness, this 360º viewpoint, free to move wherever my attention moves, yet connected in a profound way to all that I experience. And because this vastly expanded awareness is not dependent on the body, it will not perish when the body does, but will continue on in eternity, as it did before it inhabited this body, ageless and immortal.
This is the viewpoint that we are accustomed to call Soul, and a single glimpse, however momentary, of life from the perspective of Soul, is sufficient to alter our way of perceiving ourselves and our lives from that moment forward.
Our self-definition sets a sort of horizon on the things that it is possible for us to do and know. A life lived from the perspective of knowing oneself to be an immortal spiritual being—already in eternity, and translating the tasks of eternity into the tasks of everyday life—what would such a life look like?
Normally our self-concept—the vision of ourselves with which we are fused in our imaginations—is formed in the mirror of the world, and is largely the product of other people’s opinions about us and our possibilities in life. The life we end up living will largely conform to those opinions if we accept them as our own. They come to define our state of consciousness.
So what is a state of consciousness? Harold Klemp, the current leader of Eckankar, puts it very simply: "A state of consciousness is a state of acceptance. This means that someone who has a very open state of consciousness is able to accept more of what life has to offer—not just the hardships, but also the blessings and love that come to each individual" (How to Survive Spiritually in Our Times, page 114).
We are, in effect, what we accept that we are. So what are some of the ways that we can open ourselves to accept more of the spiritual riches that life has to offer us?
The teachings of Eckankar offer a vast toolbox of age-old, proven methods for expanding the awareness—streamlined for the needs of contemporary life—and makes them available to people of all religious backgrounds. One valuable tool is singing the word HU. Singing HU has the potential to bring you greater happiness, love, and understanding. If you would like to learn more about the HU go to http://www.eckankar.org/hu.html.
Bob Hays is an international speaker, currently working as an educator, author and therapist. His primary interest has been spiritual unfoldment for himself and others. He is the guest speaker at the Massachusetts Regional Eckankar Seminar, January 31- February 2, 2014, Courtyard-by- Marriott, Marlboro. For more information: www.eckinmass.org/seminar2014.html