Connecting to Self

The Mind as a Barrier or Doorway to Higher Consciousness

By

Deborah L. Ohl

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Metaphysical Science in the Department of Graduate Studies

of the University of Sedona.

October 1, 2007

Department of Graduate Studies

CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL

_____________________________________________________

M.Msc. Thesis of

____________________

This is to certify that the M.Msc. thesis of

Deborah L. Ohl

has been approved by the Examining Committee for the thesis requirements for the Master of Metaphysical Science degree of the University of Sedona

Thesis Committee: _____________________________ Thesis Supervisor

_____________________________ Member

_____________________________ Member

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. Review of Literature

III. Findings

IV. Discussion

V. Summary and Conclusions

Bibliography

Connecting to Self

The Mind as a Barrier or Doorway to Higher Consciousnessii

INTRODUCTION – CHAPTER 1

Aligning, evolving, and connecting the human spirit to its source, the God-Mind

or Universal Conscious, is the mission of all human beings. Though one could assert that

the lessons to be learned in this life are chosen prior to birth, the incarnate soul is usually,

on a conscious level, unaware of their task.1 The conundrum then, for those of us actively

walking the metaphysic path home, is to create openings for all of us to experience the

connection, the love, the joy that is our essence. To realize the mission, moving the spirit

to the God-self, it is necessary for the human to become consciously aware that there is

much more to their life than the physical reality they perceive. In human form, we have a

mind, a body, and a spirit. The body represents the physical realm, the spirit represents

the eternal soul, and the mind is the vehicle making the mission back to the God-self a

possibility. The key to the mission lies in the mind.

The mind, for purposes of this discussion, will be viewed as having three layers.

The conscious, or outward bound intellect, presenting itself in the physical world; the

subconscious, or protector, capable of moving inward or outward; it lacks judgment and

always seeks to protect; and the super-conscious, or inward bound psyche that travels

through the universe .88 Although simplistic, I believe it is a necessary approach for the

average person who is struggling, in pain, and feeling alone, if they are to see the

possibility of manifesting a better life.

The uppermost part of the mind is the super-conscious; it is the place of knowing.

This part of the mind contains the light, the things that dreams are made of. Here the

universe is in oneness.* Here a glimpse into the soul and God-self resides. Here the spirit

of each individual is as one. Connection with this aspect of the mind is indeed possible,

though discipline and dedication are required to access it. Sustaining the right of entry to

it is a life long challenge.

The subconscious is considered the middle layer. It can be thought of as a conduit

or link; it can be likened to a computer software program 88 The subconscious acts as a

barrier or a bridge between the human and the spirit. The subconscious can function as a

liberator, facilitating the re-connect to the higher self. **This is the being part of the

human: the aspect that experiences joy, love, and universal oneness. ** The subconscious

also, and most often, functions as a malefactor, scoundrel, and troublemaker causing

pain, suffering, and alienation from the true self. It does not do this intentionally. It

believes it is protecting the human. The subconscious tends to act as a shield, trying to

protect the easily broken human; it creates the great disconnect resulting in a sense of

isolation, loneliness, and at its worst, abandonment.** The subconscious mind that seeks

to protect the human, often results in the human behaving as a do-er. Doing everything,

that is, except allowing the human to feel peace and contentment, oneness, and

connection. Like a computer program with a virus, it can result in the human running

amuck.88 The challenge then, is to unlock the key to the subconscious, creating a bridge

from the physical world to the higher self. **

The conscious intellect is the outermost layer mind. **This part of the mind is

awake and aware of its physical universe, its feelings, and its emotions; it takes action

based on its perception of what is occurring. These perceptions are based on past

teachings and beliefs, programs and conditioning accumulated through life, as well as the

feelings about self in that moment.* How the person feels about himself and why, is a

subject that requires far more discussion than the scope of this thesis. Suffice it to say,

that what the person thinks, results in what they experience.** Thought will cause the

human to feel happy, sad, fulfilled or unfulfilled, empty or complete. How the conscious

is thinking determines its reality and state of contentment. Thoughts are things; what you

think about, you bring about. ***

Unfortunately, human thought often operate on automatic pilot, driven by

subconscious motivation and something known as ego. Modern society has many

meanings for the ego. “ It could mean one’s self-esteem; an inflated sense of self-worth;

or in philosophical terms, one’s self. However, according to the psychologist Sigmund

Freud, the ego is the part of the mind which contains the consciousness that according to

Feud, lingers in both the conscious and unconscious.”** (Wikipedia) FIND AND ADD

OTHER EGO REFERENCE

The conscious mind is a rugged task master, always pushing the human to

perform, do, and accomplish, rather than be present in the moment, be at peace, and be

One with Self. The conscious human doing is always running. Running from the pain,

suffering, and unhappiness they feel, trying to fill the emptiness.** Lives are filled with

things; relationships lack contentment and are filled with judgments and animosity,

disappointments, or they are totally absent. The outcome is a sense of separation from the

Self. The human self, the self that is not worthy, always believes it has done something

wrong, or believes it can never do enough.8 These beliefs are inculcated and perpetuated

by society and most established religions; both are designed to perpetuate the myth that

we are alone, separated and unworthy. **

Each individual is given the challenge to find their way back to their Source of

greatness, joy, and connection. The field of Metaphysics has opened the doors wide to

exploring the mind, the thoughts it contains, and the outcomes it receives. Can it be as

simple, yet difficult, as breaking through the subconscious barrier to connect to the higher

self? What obstacles discourage the Human from their natural state of Being?

CHAPER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

“Thoughts are things, and as their currents run they become miracles or crimes in the

experiences of individual life.” Cayce The Mind is a terrible thing to waste. This saying

originally penned by ------------- creates an excellent backdrop for a discussion of the

mind and its impact on any given human being’s experience of reality The psychological

mind is defined as the totality of conscious and unconscious mental processes and

activities. Dictionary.com Cayce identifies three levels of consciousness or dimensions

of mind: conscious, subconscious, and superconscious. The conscious, outer mind is the

level we physical beings think are more powerful. The subconscious is that part of our

minds that bridges the outer self with the spiritual self. ** According to Cayce, the

subconscious is both in the body and beyond the body, in the soul realms of telepathy,

non-physical life, and timelessness. **inner vision Cayce noted that each entity has a

three-dimensional phase of existence or experience: the world without (conscious), the

world within (superconscious), and the mind that may span or bridge the two

(subconscious).”

In order to reach the world within or the higher self, we must learn to pay attention to our

thinking. For this to come about, we must earn how to take charge of our thoughts. This

is challenging because the subconscious mind is really controlling our lives most of the

time. Studies have shown that the subconscious mind is 30,000 times more powerful

than the conscious mind and that the majority of the thoughts held in the subconscious

mind are limiting. The subconscious mind is actually serving in an attempt to protect the

person from things it fears. Cultural transformation 2005 Our subconscious and even our

conscious mind focuses on what it fears, which then creates exactly what it is fearing.

Our subconscious is our conscience, our policing power. “That is, the police, the

subconscious mind, represent the law that guides, directs, and that way upon which the

entity, which any entity, may rely for the enforcement of that which will keep in peace, in

war, in any condition, that straight way for the best interest of each and every individual.”

However, even as physical police departments can become corrupt, so can our

subconscious police become misdirected by powerful suggestions of self-doubt, self-

condemnation. “In the same way and manner as these (the police) may become subject to

all of the vicissitudes that are ever present within the conditions in life, so may the

subconscious forces, misdirected, misguided, or seeking to belittle the self ... through its

experience in the Earth’s plane.” Inner vision

In the book, The Power of the Subconscious Mind, written in 1963 by Dr. Joseph Murphy

it states: Once you learn the truth about the interaction of your conscious and

subconscious minds, you will able to transform your whole life. If you want to change

external conditions, you must change the cause. Most people try to change conditions and

circumstances by working on the conditions and circumstances. This is a terrible waste of

time and effort. They fail to see that their conditions flow from a cause. To remove

discord, confusion, lack, and limitation from your life, you must remove the cause. That

cause is the way you use your conscious mind, the thoughts and images you encourage in

it. Change the cause, and you change the effects. It is just that simple.

. If we believe, as underscored in the movie and book, “The Secret” that thoughts create

our reality, it is essential that we learn to pay attention to our thoughts in order to

experince the joy and peace that is ours to have…

There is agreement that thoughts affect perception, and perception gives us reality**

The validity of the perception is always in the mind of the perciever. This then begs the

question, what causes the perception? In----- it is stated that perception is based on past

teachings and beliefs, programming and conditioning, and how a person is feeling.

Feelings are the outcome of emotions and emotions are the result of what a person is

thinking. ** Statistcally, according to ----the subconscious controls 85% of our thoughts..

Given that the subconscious This

Edgar Cayce, ….. stated that mind is the light, the builder, and the bridge to liberation

and enlightment. Cayce, through his meditative state in harmony with Universal

consciousness, explained that all life begins in the spirit; it is the creative force bringing

everything into existence. John Van Auken, in his on article Inner Vision, highlights

Cayce’s core teachings. In essence, Edgar Cayce “the unseen forces are greater than the

seen.” If we want to change something, it must begin in the mind

“That upon which the mind feeds, it becomes”

“Thoughts are things, and as their currents run they become miracles or crimes in the

experiences of individual life.

Society, organized religion…. all contribute to the sense of separation.2 These entities

actively work to keep the self from God, or so it seems.3 The conscious mind with

determination, effort, and commitment can be programmed to pay attention. It can be

used to unlock the subconscious that is driving the results, un-be-know to the outward

alert mind.

Given the ying and yang of the universe, the laws of physics, for everything there is an

equal and opposite reaction. that is for the paradox, however, is that the experiences the

human has are cataloged in the subconscious mind.

Separation

Freud introduced different terms to describe the division between the conscious and

unconscious, and superconsciuos. as the 'id,' 'ego,' and 'super-ego.' For the most part this

parralles the conscious, subsconsciuous and superconscious. In Freud's theory, the ego

the id is alert and fully unconscious mind), the super-ego and the external world.

Our lives contain a paradox. “The Law of Spiritual Perfection” Our lives are based

on two options: one is ego based, which is how we all begin, and the other is spirit based,

which is how we over world our human selves lives in

Engaging the power of the mind to experience a better life

From a metaphysical perspective, that which gets in the way of connecting to

the source could also be termed EGO--- Easing God Out.

Since the discovery of the subconscious mind and its ability to control our lives, many

methods of transforming the mind have been developed and have had plenty of time to be

tested.

DISCUSSION This soul is indeed sad, troubled, lost, and lonely.

Both the conscious and subconscious layers use the mind in an attempt to avoid

feeling bad, and to numb the pain of isolation and separateness. The conscious mind acts

in the form of doing, filling the void, temporarily escaping the feelings of discontent and

loneliness, a by-product of the subconscious, acting on old programs, hurt feelings, and

irrational beliefs.

Mind is our true nature. It is that portion of us that lives forever. What would it be like to live our lives as minds in bodies, rather than bodies with minds? Surprisingly, Cayce considered the mind to be a savior, a redeemer. It is that portion of our being that can mend and restore us. Let’s engage our minds and fully awaken to our spiritual selves.

Inner vision auken

BIOGRAPHY

The Secret

Id, ego, and super-ego From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego#Ego

Gay, Peter (ed., 1989), The Freud Reader. W.W. Norton.

The Gnostic Wisdom Foundation1 The Law of Spiritual Perfection http://www.gnosticwisdom.org/site/719665/page/45029