Free-Range Living

(The longer piece below would normally be on the 'books' page of the site - due to technical difficulties it appears here)

‘Freerangin’ on ------

A Practical Route to ‘Expanded Awareness’ - Towards ‘Fuller Fulfilment’ --------Pt 1

Explorations in ‘Real Self’ Territory

Mike Robin

Fore – words

This author had to undertake an ‘inner journey’ as outlined below, to then reach what have been termed the ‘second meadows’, a sort of sunlit rewarding level of existence involving ‘real self’ experience and an ‘expanded’ consciousness/awareness level. The material below is informed by this ‘inner journey’ experience of the author’s.

The human state of ‘expanded awareness’, complete with potential well-being and fulfilment, appears to lie in a ‘beyond the mind’ type of experience – not one involving ‘losing the mind’, but one where the mind becomes a ‘servant’ rather than, as often can appear to be the case, the ‘master’ - that is, the mind is no longer the dominant force, but works in harmony with other centres/forces, such as for instance, ‘gut’, heart’, universal intelligence and ‘intuition’. The rational, scientific-based era may well at times to have mitigated against such a ‘working combination’ - ? Fortunately the well-used modern technique of ‘mindfulness practice’ offers a user-friendly process by which the individual can effect such developments.

It could well be true that such a process can happen naturally as people get older with gained inner ‘real self’ strength; on the other hand the sheer amount of ‘noise’, information and influences in the modern fast-paced world, along with as above, the type of culture it’s been, could no doubt work against such processes, hence maybe a place too for a more ‘focused’ approach - ?

This piece, then, seeks to outline such a focused approach that a person can choose to take in order to ‘see’ more clearly, know themselves more fully, build internal ‘self-strength’ and self-nurturing, and get to experience an ‘expanded awareness’ level, complete with good energy, health and well-being levels, and with a bit of luck, a good degree of fulfilment. The ‘procedure’ outlined here is just one way and no doubt other routes are available :

Thinking for instance, about P, who came out of prison to then spend six months to ‘sort meself out’, camping in solitary fashion on his own - not seeing another soul for six months - to then experience a beneficial altered state of consciousness.

A useful way to use this piece might be to firstly read through it, before, if desired/relevant, using it as a guide to taking the steps outlined, which would to some extent then occur ‘naturally’ if such an approach is taken. There can be some difficulty involved, in that to ‘escape’ the at times over-arching power and control of the mental processes, can be, by definition, somewhat ‘tricky’, and can take a bit of time (the mind may well, though, be looking for ‘quick results’, particularly as modern culture can have a speedy, results-orientated pace to it ---- ). The mindfulness practice as outlined below can help considerably, and can tend to ‘build in’ increased effectiveness the more it’s practised. It has a particular strength in being able to cope with, then ‘handle’ negatively experienced/perceived situations, to then both better align with reality, and to also convert to those of the more positive variety ----

An additional useful aid, can be that of meditation practice, particularly maybe that of the zaazen variety, where the idea is to ‘just sit’, for, say, 10 -15 -20 – 30 mins /day and let the self, the body, ‘go deep’, having no ‘mind aim’, a sort of ‘mental time-out’. The mind may well continue to turn over, as it is used to do so, and may well even resist efforts to stop or slow it, but the sitter can, via the mindfulness practice, then just watch the mind operating, without necessarily ‘hooking into it’ or be driven by it - again, all good practice for developing the ability to see how the mind operates and controls, and then ‘getting past the mind’s autocratic-type control’ ----- and establishing ‘real self’ separation (see Tolle quote later) from mindsets and thoughts. The zaazen mode of meditation maybe particularly useful in that it focuses on ‘just being’ with oneself at that moment – if there is a pain or ache for instance that manifests itself, the idea is to ‘just go with it’, not then getting into criticality or concern or whatever. This represents a practical way of ‘facing and accepting’, so augments the mindfulness practice work.

‘No amount of ‘holy’ words will be of use, unless the individual acts ----- ‘ (Buddha)

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Suggested stages -----

Such a process is not necessarily over complex – it’s as above, about ‘getting past autocratic mind power’ to allow more ‘natural self’ stuff to establish - a sort of ‘getting past’ the known, conditioned self, to then be able to develop more ‘real self’ strength, to then access ‘expanded awareness’ and its benefits such as ‘overview’, well-being, fulfilment ---- and the like.

Below are the relevant suggested stages of the process :

- awareness of route

- identifying ‘mind conditioning’ and sources

- ‘de-conditioning’ un-helpful stuff

- wider mental appraisal

- getting to ‘neutral’

- responding to ‘natural’ forces (eg.s insights/ ‘real-self’ strengthening)

- ‘realising the self’ more fully

- arrival

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Awareness of route -----

To some extent this has been covered above, and as has been inferred, there’s no great mystery to it all, or ultra complexity about the process, which in essence is pretty simple, the difficulty can lie more in the doing, in that for some at least, any notion of ‘losing the mind/ self’ may well induce some anxiety, although the paradox can be that such a process can allow a person fuller access to, and experience of, their fuller non-conditioned ‘real selves’. ‘Facing imperfection’ may too cause problems for some – Jung, a well-known psychologist from the past, felt for instance, that the same could be a ‘put off’ factor for people – hopefully though the ‘user friendly’ nature of modern techniques such as ‘mindfulness practice’ can these days then be more encouraging for people to take the ‘real self’ journey, and reap its benefits.

Some of course may not be averse to gaining ‘a new self’ in that their ‘old self’ life may be proving to be not that great. A person heavily bogged down in mental conditioning, especially from the past, may be looking for instance to escape to pastures new. Someone who’s system, for instance, has ‘broken down’, due, say, to prolonged stress, may well be in need of a ‘new’ system, and so are ‘prepared’ to take the same on board, as are maybe some who are struggling with their current lives. Others maybe ‘life explorers’, feeling the need to traverse different development routes - the human animal is no doubt pretty biodiverse ------ Some of course, may well have no particular interest in such matters ----

( the author’s own impulse to travel such a route was via breakdown of his existing ‘system’ due to prolonged and heavy stress. His ‘travel’ was guided by a very able phsyco-therapist mentor who whilst being empathetic, was also quite tough, urging and encouraging him to do the ‘tough’ work of facing and accepting his ‘negative energy’ situation, ‘getting with reality’ as it were, so then over time ‘clearing the decks’ to enable the positive phase -----

( but not always easy, particularly with respect to wider social non-acceptance of and unease with such negatively-perceived states in the UK in the past, and maybe to some extent in the present? The author’s then basic negative energy position – like being in a no-light ‘black pit’ - was probably fairly extreme and as such that it took quite awhile to exit from it, needing the continued use of the mentor’s guidance and support book).

It could well be important for people experiencing, say, any agitated effects of heavy levels of stress, to get some medical help and then to work with the help of an effective mentor, a system probably in fact useful for quite a few – someone who can see the whole picture so help in terms of ‘directional guidance’ and avoiding getting too ‘bogged down’ along the way, or side-tracked – the mind can be a tricky customer, particularly maybe when, as often can seem to be the case, it’s in cahoots with ego ---- Suggest possibly a mindfulness mentor – there are useful mentor books -see bibliography - the self-help book listed at the bottom in ‘Bibliography’ is by Clalre Weekes, the author’s mentor, and noted for her help and support to sensitised stressed souls.)

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Identifying the mind conditioning ----

Quite possibly in many modern cultures there’s a pervasive ‘fast flow’ of potential conditioning - it may be tricky to avoid becoming influenced by it – a person would probably need to be pretty ‘internally strong’ to not be ‘drawn along’. In modern western-style cultures, it could be pretty hard at times to avoid for instance, the seemingly at times all-pervasive presumption of ‘money-making’. This ‘freerange’ site quite often gets solicited for instance, by people who will improve it in various ways, all with the stated intention of ‘making more money’, with then an automatic presumption that that’s the name of the game ---- (The FR site is purposely virtually a ‘money free’ site).

‘I’m really glad and relieved to be outta there. The folks are very polite and seemingly welcoming, but you sense that underneath there’s a steely desire to relieve you of your money’ (on leaving a US city).

( Henry Cole, presenter, TV programme : Great world Motorbike Rides )

So there’s probably relatively few who’ve not experienced some degree or other of mental conditioning in their lives, it can be difficult at times to avoid it, say, as a youngster. The sources of mind conditioning are likely to be many, from often considerable childhood conditioning – school, parents, institutional (eg. religions), computer/phone, peer groups etc. - to workplace influences (often historically a high percentage of time spent at work), teenager and older peer groups, TV and media messages, social media (a modern potentially powerful influence – there are now specific people ‘influencers’), ‘other’ influence/conditioning sources (eg.s political groupings, governments, religious/spiritual concerns, papers, movements (eg/s, new age, Alpha, woke), relatives/friends) – the list could indeed be long.

Not all of it is likely necessarily non-beneficial, but presumably there must be a question mark against the sheer volume of it in modern times, especially in terms of the individual’s ‘real self’ being thwarted - ? One way of proceeding could be to ‘work from the other end’ by asking ‘what do I myself feel inside’, ‘ never mind what the world thinks, what is important to me?’ (and it may take some time and repeated questioning to get the ‘clearer picture’),- and then assessing the ‘accumulated’ stuff, the ‘conditioning’ for its relevance to the cause of ‘real self’ strengthening - although again there may be some that’s important for, say, security reasons, or current social/group reasons.

‘Listen to your own voice, your own soul. Too many people listen to the noise of the world, instead of themselves’

(Leon Brown, US author)

One of the factors currently said to be inhibiting progress with such issues, is said to be the sense and expectation of ‘instant perfection’ that cultures can convey, and maybe particularly via strong focus on high levels of materialistic living – the ‘flash’ ‘riches and fame’ syndrome, again potentially particularly affecting younger generations (and contributing to high anxiety rates - ?)

Again one of the benefits of taking the ‘mindfulness’ approach (see later), has to be gaining the ability to ‘not have to be perfect’ and thereby effectively countering a significant ‘instant perfection expectation’ pressure from ’mainstream culture’ – people are often ‘works in progress’ and so need time to be able to make relevant progress, if required.

The perhaps amazing thing is that in such a modern message-laden culture, people could end up with a reasonable sense of self - ? It may be, though, quite weakened – more than a few social commentators have indicated that the modern ‘big is best’ culture, complete with many large concerns, has had the effect of ‘dis-empowering’ individual strength, which may well be particularly relevant for younger generations, not yet having had the chance to gain too much experience and inner strength----- (In the UK, young males reportedly struggling with identity issues, young females quoted as having high ‘ not ok’ anxiety rates ----- ).

Buddha’s words can help to counter any individual ‘non-validity-ness’ and ‘unworthiness’ feelings :

‘Work out your own salvation---do not depend on others ---No-one saves us but ourselves. No-one can, and no-one may. We ourselves need to walk the path --- ‘

As do Eleanour Roosevelt’s (wife of U.S. president Roosevelt) :

‘You not only have a right to be your own individual, you have a responsibility also ----- ‘

It may not always though be easy :

‘It’s increasingly difficult to live a life that’s ‘inner directed’ rather than other or outer directed’

(A Man’s Guide to Self-reliance. Internet)

Any ‘instant’ condition expectation is likely to be flawed, in the sense that time is needed to develop to such an ’expanded’ level – people could then be said to be in practice ‘works in progress’, and in need of treatment appropriate to that state rather than any ‘instantly perfect’ focus and expectation. Some prominent types have been supporting the ‘time is needed’ approach. In the USA, Brenee Brown, a well-known social commentator, comments that people have often put unrealistic expectations on their children, operating from their own childhood conditionings, resulting in the ‘instant perfection’ syndrome, whereas a more productive approach may well be to expect and accept their children making mistakes - they are ‘learners’ aren’t they ? - but to still love and cherish them at the same time.

This may be quite difficult for folk to do, though, if they themselves were ‘instant perfection’ conditioned’, as many could have been -----. In the UK Prince William has been supporting the non instant perfection approach, with his quote :

‘It’s ok to be ‘not ok -----’

He probably would mean that over the longer-term, it’s ok to work from a currrent ‘less than perfect position’ towards ‘improvement’ (if desired) but to allow time, and to aim to not to expect ‘instant or quick results – a ‘give yourself-a-break’ or ‘being kind to self’ approach, one that’s needed - ? This implies a more realistic mindset, which in itself is more positive in that it then facilitates a good chance of ‘longer term success’. The next section then, focuses on a method to change any such over-urgent, over-expectationary mindsets, incorporating the de-conditioning of those currently deemed ‘less than effective’ -----

(It could maybe unlikely that the individual would cover all the areas of conditioning at this stage, some may well surface for instance at a later stage)

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‘De-conditioning – and gaining effective, contributing mindsets

From the discussion above it’s evident that there can be a need for some ‘clearing away’ of any unproductive, ‘hindering’ (as identified by the individual concerned) mindsets. It’s unlikely for instance that a switch can just be ‘switched’ to gain the new position, and that therefore a position perceived as ‘negative’ needs in the short-term to be accepted. Whilst this might cause some initial problems for some, it can be surprising how soon the process can be effective after only a relatively small amount of practice – the ‘negatives’ need to be attended to, as it were, to then allow the positives the required ‘space’. ( and --- has the ‘perfect’ person yet been invented --- ?)

An apparently increasingly used process which allows precisely this, is that of ‘mindfulness practice’ now widely used in western cultures. The basic idea of mindfulness practice is to then be able to ‘get past the mind’ to ‘awareness’, to then greater facilitate ‘real self’ operation, the mind then operating in the ‘servant’ role, rather than the ‘master’ style. This, as below, involves watching a trait or mindset happening, then instead of automatically following the prompt of the existing mindset, and behaving in accordance with it, rather to just ‘watch’ it, or take an alternative approach.

Often a process of ‘critically judging’ can too occur with the reappearance of the trait, but this too can be ‘just watched’, without ‘engagement’ (some practice maybe needed). Either way, such a process can then increase a person’s awareness capability, and such a process facilitates ‘mental de-conditioning’. The process can also over time enable a person to gain significant increases in ‘real self’ strength, as the quote below from Eckhart Tolle indicates :.

‘ --- awakening is a shift in consciousness in which thinking and awareness separate. For most, it is not an event but a process through which they undergo ------------ Instead of being lost in your thinking, when you are awake you recognise yourself as the awareness behind it. Thinking then ceases to be a self-serving autonomous activity that takes possession of you and runs your life. Awareness takes over from thinking. Instead of being in charge of your life, thinking becomes the servant of awareness, which is the conscious connection with universal intelligence.

For some, the awakening happens as they become aware of the kind of thoughts they habitually think, especially persistent negative thoughts that they may have identified with all of their lives - there becomes an awareness that is aware of the thought, but not part of it ---- ‘

( A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose Eckhart Tolle)

Mindfulness operation ----

After the individual does an ‘honest as possible’ appraisal of their own ‘imperfect’ traits/mindsets (again, has a ‘perfect’ person been yet invented - ?), also often involving, as above, an examination of their own possible key ‘conditioning’ elements, a mindset/trait seen to be ‘unhelpful’ is selected and then rather than be suppressed, or followed automatically, is ‘allowed’, with the individual then aiming to ‘watch’ it occurring, but as far as possible, not then ‘engaging’ with it, nor critically judging it, or being automatically set on that particular path. The ‘working with the imperfect’ move can help foster the ability to accept ‘reality’, which can then down the line ‘open the door’ to bigger realities’ and ‘bigger self’ (i.e. ‘real self’), where then the ‘bigger’ benefits of expanded awareness and well-being can be experienced, rather than, say, the escape button being pressed via ‘mind wants’ for, say, any ‘goodie land’, however perceived.

An example of working with a perceived imperfect trait is given below :

- examination of key likely conditioned mindsets/traits ( self conditioning included)

- selection of one to work with : (possible examples - impatience, indecisiveness, envy, un-confidence, annoyance with things ‘not going right’, ‘rush’ syndrome)

- using ‘rush’ syndrome as an example :

(‘ rush syndrome’ could be a common ‘condition’, in that it could link with natural ‘existential insecurity’. It can occur by, say, ‘rushing’ to ‘get things over with eg. a possible ‘not wanting problems/negative occurrences’ , or just generally caused by, say, a getting ‘caught up’ in a fast-paced culture, then having to operate at speed, ever onward to the next thing ----- (and then ‘missing’ positive aspects of the ‘last thing’ ----))

‘No rules ----- ‘

Rather than create new ‘mind rules’, eg ‘I must not rush at things’, which would then strengthen mind control, mindfulness practice advises practising taking the ‘realistic real self’ route. This is done by ‘allowing’ the imperfect trait, without critical judgement – in this case feeling the ‘rushing at’ experience - but instead of being caught up in it/controlled by it, just aiming to watch it occurring, creating that bit of time and space to then be able to either avoid going down the ‘rush’ route, or adopting an alternative approach (eg. a deliberately ‘slow’ move). It’s by developing such watchfulness (or ‘see-ing’), that greater awareness can be actively developed.

Such an approach would then be different from normal behaviour (i.e.getting into ‘rushing’ mode, and quite possibly having a critical reaction), and so take a bit of time to adjust to, some perseverance could be needed, but as ‘practice makes perfect’, it shouldn’t be too long before there’s some proficiency at the different type of response. Again, if there’s any ‘annoyance’ or ‘disappointment’ at the ‘rush’ tendency happening again, the same process can be used, i.e. the mind’s habitual response eg ‘annoyance’, can just be ‘watched’, rather than engaged with (the mind can have a tendency to want ‘quick results’ ----)

Gradually – it can maybe take a bit of time and practice - such habitual ‘unhelpful’ patterns will lose their strength and power, whilst at the same time the individual carrying out such ‘mindfulness practice’ will gain inner ‘real self’ strength (they’re now ‘pulling the strings’), and associated facets such as increased self-belief and real self-value, as well as, of course, increased awareness.

Example :

The author had his own ‘rushing at things’ habit. Employing the mindfulness technique, and over time, he became more aware of the roots of such a habit, deeper and more ‘diverse’ than he’d initially realised, and also became more aware that he’d created for himself another set of secondary negative mind rules of the ‘rushing is bad’ variety, ultimately then realising that ‘rushing at things’ was a ‘no sweat’ reality that wasn’t actually critical and could be ‘dealt with’ over time via mindfulness practice. Once this ‘acceptance’ position was arrived at, the re-appearance of the trait became a virtual ‘non-event’.

Wider ------

Once one or two conditions have been so treated it’s not uncommon for the individual then to be able to do a wider ‘audit’ of their mind’s operation, to understand more where their mindsets can originate from, part of the process then of the mind becoming the ‘servant’ rather than the ‘master’. This might take some doing and time needs to be allowed - the mind for instance may not take too lightly to its power and control being so ‘trimmed’. The good news is by travelling such a ‘mindfulness’ road, the individual then strengthens and ‘builds’ their own authentic inner strength and awareness, increasingly treading the road of becoming more their own ‘real self’ and countering the inevitable ‘mind conditioning’ controlling the mind, hence controlling the person ----

There are many handy and helpful guides to mindfulness practice, (see bibliography – at end) it’s now reportedly quite widespread practice and as the above has attempted to illustrate, it’s one of the most useful techniques to aid authentic ‘direct experience’ self-development, freeing the self at the same time from what’s been called ‘the tyranny of the mind’. Its big advantage, beside that of the process being often mainly individually organised, with too its important ‘de-critical-ising’ function, is that it’s a process that allows for and then ‘clears’ negative energy, then to naturally ‘allow’ positive energy in on the scene, rather than, say, just a ‘mind wanting’ move to the positives’ position, in itself a mind based process. As previously, daily meditation can also be useful to help ‘slow’ the system, especially if it’s of the variety such as ‘zaazen’ where there’s no ‘mind goals’ involved, and the ‘watching’ technique can be used too in conjunction with the meditation.

Countering ----

The individual can of course too take their own further steps, those relevant to themselves, to ‘counter’ any undue effects of any ‘heavy cultural conditioning’, from, as below, limiting their media exposure, to spending time out in nature, to periods of ‘quiet reflection’, to limiting ‘modern culture activities’, to telling unwanted mental activity to ‘shove off’ - the list could be endless ---- it would of course be the individual’s own choice to suit.

R works at a garden centre having previously held quite a responsible position at a college, but then becoming disenchanted with the work due to it’s increased ‘heavy’ nature – long hours, unrealistically high expectations of her workload, ever increasing responsibility load, lack of recognition generally, and so forth. Her partner was in a similar boat, so had ‘downsized’ his own college work by reducing it from five to three days a week. They were both into nature and keen growers, so this aspect took on more prominence in their lives. One of the measures they also took to limit the effect of ‘modern culture’, was to not have a TV, which they said was not too much of a problem, as the nature of many of the programmes mean’t they were not of too much interest to them, and it released time for them to follow other interests.

One of W’s methods of dealing with unwelcome mental stuff is to tell it to ‘shove off’, ‘go away’, although maybe not always quite as politely --- ‘

Another method of coping with/countering negative and/or unwelcome thoughts can be by employing ‘floating technique’, whereby the thoughts are seen literally ‘floating by’, and by definition, away ----- Again this process can strengthen the realisation that ‘thoughts are just thoughts’, and not necessarily permanent fixtures, or ‘part of self’, then contributing to the mind taking the ‘servant’ role, rather than being the ‘master’.

According to recent reports in the UK broadsheet papers, there is for instance a growing trend of people getting together in small groups and, say, buying a small farm between them, turning redundant outbuildings into residences and sharing the farm resources, so forming their own small communities, creating then ‘simpler’ conditions that can be easier for people both to relate to, and to gain a valid ‘worthy’ position, so in turn better facilitating their own development progression, less then potentially hindered by ‘large’ (national, world --- ) ‘hectic and noisy’ community living------

‘Atten-shun ----- ‘

It’s also possible, if suited, to do daily ‘attention’ exercises to help sharpen awareness along the way. These can be quite simple such as being conscious of feeling the floor or ground through the feet for a few minutes per day, or observing something closely, again for a few minutes, and useful in that in everyday life, ‘autopilot’ can often be In control, limiting conscious consciousness opportunities. Although at times there seem to be quite strong guidelines for how long such practices as meditation or attention exercises need to be done, there is probably really no need for too many strict ‘man made’ measures - someone for instance caught up in a busy life may only be able to afford limited amounts of time, whereas another, say a retired person, could afford to spend longer - a ten minute session, shorter than say a 20 - 30 minute period, is still likely to be of benefit, and sometimes it may be more possible, say, to do several shorter sessions than one longer one ---

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To neutral ----and natural forces -----

‘Emptying ---- then (ful)filling ---‘

The ‘de-conditioning’ process as above can then serve as a ‘clearing out’, ‘mental spring cleaning’ procedure, after time then leaving the mind less full and hindered too much by habitual ‘set’ mindsets, which can then give a sort of ‘empty’ experience. This can be expected, but then leading to the possibility that it is then ‘open’ enough to receive other information/messages. These would then often seem to come in the form of ‘insights’ which being generally positive and constructive, then form the basis of a ‘re-form’ or ‘re-build’ or a ‘re-affirm’ of the individual along helpful and positive lines : it’s as if the conditioned material ‘clogging up’ the mind has previously prevented access to further ‘knowing’------

(the author reached this ‘neutral’ point after doing quite a lot of ‘mindfulness’ work clearing negative energy mindsets .(‘dealing with any negatives to then get to the positives’ - it seems it can be important to ‘face’ and then learn to ‘accept’ reality i.e. negative situations (i.e. in the short term), to be then able to ‘clear’ the negative stuff to move into the positive energy sphere, which in ‘heavier’ negative energy situations may not be always easy to do, and may well need mentor support, as in the author’s case.) He then experienced a period receiving ‘insights’ which then ‘rang bells’, reverberating positively within him. One day it seemed like the last ‘piece’ fell into place and then, in an instant, the joyous ‘full real self’ emerged ---and at an ‘expanded consciousness’ level)).

‘I think 99 times, and I find nothing. I stop thinking, swim in silence, and the truth comes to me --- ‘

( Albert Einstein, scientist )

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‘Realising the self more fully ---’

Humans essentially ‘spiritual’ beings - ?

Quite a bit of change has occurred at this level, including a somewhat altered state of consciousness, which is now more located in the positive sphere. Perceived difficulties for instance, formerly seen as problems, are now seen more as normal events/happenings, that are part of life, and whilst it might seem strange to say it, are accepted as challenges, part of life’s process. For some at least, part of the ‘real self’ experience can too be the realisation that humans are ‘spiritual beings’ having a human experience to further their development, rather then ‘just being a human’. The emergence of the person into greater ‘real-self-hood’ then can also involve them experiencing what’s termed a ‘spiritual awakening’, with quite a differing outlook, which, as it’s so different from the ‘norm’, in itself can cause problems, although the ‘mind watching’ technique that’s been already practised, will also be useful at this stage, plus the already practised ‘acceptance’ trait.

Being in a ‘different’ state possibly experiencing altered states of consciousness, can be somewhat problematical, in that there’s a realisation to the individual that she/he is now somewhat different to any current cultural secular ‘norm’, with differing values and approaches. Money, for instance, can take less of a central role, it now being seen more as ‘means’ rather than an ‘end, and ‘sufficiency’ can take more meaning rather than ‘maximisation’. ‘Every day’ things and events can take on added meaning, following the Zen-type outlook of ‘holiness’ being ‘down here’, rather than just ‘up there’.

Accessing personal spirituality, something that’s been said, could be down everyone’s path at some stage, can clearly imply that differing values will come into play/have more meaning, particularly maybe those relating to ‘care’ and ‘respect/reverance’. Personal spirituality is said to be experienced in differing ways, not though to be confused with the often strict and fixed teachings of religious organisations – again it’s said some may for instance, experience spirituality via their contact with nature .

Arrival ------

The other side of the coin is that of the positive aspects, which can mean that the individual can get to feel more ‘healed and whole’, and to experience more energy, being more healthy and general well-being, as well as aspects such as compassion, full internal self-validity, hence ‘real security’, plus aspects such as ‘care and reverence’. Not then too bad a package of what some might say, is of limited supply in norm modern ‘mass culture’ money-orientated life - ?

The ‘journey’ can of course take some time, but it can be enjoyed for itself, involving benefits ‘along the way’, (eg. lower stress levels) and for the anticipation that it can lead to such a raft of personal benefits. Even though many – a majority in fact - report that they’ve experienced spiritual times, the spiritual aspect has undoubtedly been downplayed in modern western-style ‘mass’ cultures, so anyone in such cultures on a self-discovery/spiritual journey can feel ‘isolated’ to some extent, and somewhat ‘different’ in ‘every-day’ life.

Having said that, in this case being in a minority grouping may be no bad thing, and there’s yet plenty of supportive material these days, both on the net and via books, plus there appears to be a growing re-interest in this side of human life, maybe as a reaction to emerging perceptions related to the limitations, for the individual, of a mainly materialistic take on life - ? Re-reading material related to the ‘real self building’ process can for instance often provide on-going support and assistance to those ‘on the journey --- ‘.

‘Compensatory living - ’

The emphasis on materialistic gain in modern life, along with the strong focus on ‘wealth’ and ‘luxury’ living and experiences have been cited by some as ‘compensatory’ life ways for (lack of) authentic living, in what’s been called ‘the age of distraction’. It’s as if, for instance, people can at times be trying to ‘prove’ that life is good, that life is ‘ok’, a reaction maybe to basic ‘not ok’ existential fear, heightened quite possibly too by the ‘disempowering of the individual’ process of ‘largist’ cultural life as mentioned below.

‘We used to build civilisations. Now we build shopping malls’. (Bill Bryson, author)

It’s been pointed out by several notable commentators (eg. Levine -see bibliography below, also recently highlighted by the well-known actor and director, Clint Eastwood), that living in a world ‘gone large’, i.e. now with many large organisations facing the ‘power impoverished’ micro-small individual, that humans have been to some extent ‘dis-empowered’, ‘de-recognised and ‘dis-respected’ (note for instance how large companies, eg.s energy companies, banks, have reportedly negatively treated their customers), with the result that individuals have been made less secure and less ‘individually strong, confident’. The pursuit of material goals such as wealth amassing could then be seen to be to some extent reactionary activity for some, consciously or unconsciously, against a ‘large-ist’ power-orientated trend automatically tending to de-franchise the individual ---------

The ‘real self’ journeying, with its ability to build the individual’s real self-worth, can then mitigate against such wider cultural trends, and in the process help the individual more to ‘find their own ground’, find more their own inner strength, and then link to the wider realities of universal energy forces ------

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( Concluding section - see Pt 2 (above) )