What would you say, if I told you there's a power in you that is greater than anyone can imagine, which has only to be awakened, in order to be your servant?  What if I also told you that Science proved the existence of this aspect of our being almost one hundred years ago?  Would you then believe me, if I said that the ancients likely understood this part of us better than folks do now, because the majority of people remain unaware, to this day, of this essential component of our living self?  It is really the only part of us which can be alive, but it sleeps in most of us, and is only half-awake in others.  Worse, we seldom pay attention, when it is awake.  What if you could have more energy, more life, and all you had to do is awaken this missing piece of who you really are?  Would you do everything in your power to make it happen, once you knew it could indeed be done?  Unfortunately, it's not that easy.  The awakening of your second nature, that other half of your identity, might still elude you, even with your best efforts, unless you are prepared to leave some of your most cherished pre-conceptions behind you, and approach things in a different way.

        It is extremely difficult to actualize the full awakening of the higher self.  We are creatures of habit, and for most adults it requires a process of unlearning, or re-learning, to realize the totality of our being.  To awaken anew, in the fullness of your true identity, is the most noble of all goals, perhaps the one true goal, but it is also something very few people have ever really accomplished.  To be sure, there is an element to personal growth, that there's always a state beyond the highest one's endeavors have taken you, so there will always be another step to take, but the possibility of fully awakening the higher self has been aptly demonstrated by enlightened individuals throughout history, and they have encouraged us to awaken, as well.  By their so doing, they pull the rest of humanity toward awakening, toward the state of being awakened.  The idea that we can awaken anew, and find the ability to do extraordinary things, is a compelling image, but there is another, more fundamental, reason to do so.  We need to awaken in order to see things as they really are!  We need to be very wakeful, to perceive the wondrous vibrancy of life, and the endless grandeur of the universe.  We need to be yet more awake, however, to overcome our personal blind spots, and become who we really are.  Most of us, you see, are still half-asleep.

        What is awakening?  Is it something we can easily define, or is there more to it?  Are there actually different kinds of awakening, or does the same process merely take place uniquely in a variety of different settings?  In its simplest form, to awaken means to become aware, nothing more.  The question is "What are we awakening to, or from, and how does this change our awareness?"  We can awaken to any number of things, if we are only now discovering them, and we can awaken from various kinds of unconsciousness, from apathy or neglect, and from illusions of all kinds, if we now perceive things more clearly, so what are we awakening with, or as?  Who, or what, is actually doing the awakening?  It's our consciousness moving from one state to another, in all of these cases, but perhaps there's more to it.  It appears that each awakening is but part of a larger awakening, and that this is all part of a great awakening.  Gifted souls (both greater and lesser) have repeatedly shown that we are far more than we appear, and many teach that all we need to do is awaken our higher self, to realize our greatness.  The question then becomes; "What sort of change in our consciousness does an awakening entail, or require?."  How, exactly, do we awaken?

        When we awaken from sleep, there is a shift in our frame of reference.  This seems to be true of the other forms of awakening (to and from,...), as well.  The world of deep sleep, and our dreams, is separate from the real world, according to our experience of everyday life, and we usually regard dreams as less than real (with good reason), but this doesn't mean that our waking perception of the mundane world shows us all that's real, either.  Reality encompasses far more than the eye can see, and yet more than exists as touchable matter or measurable energy.  We all know this innately, because we too are more than we seem, but it's only by developing finer scientific instruments to measure things, that we're finally able to prove it.  The problem is that some of what we are discovering runs counter to what we expected to find, based upon conventional reasoning, and this makes it difficult to explain.  The universe is so full of surprises, and life, in its endless diversity, strives to defy the imagination (and often succeeds).  We've missed so very much, because we haven't been able to detect or measure it, and we are still missing the point of much of what we have already learned (in my opinion), because reality is not quite what we expect it to be.

        Science (as a whole) isn't prepared to admit we are more than physical, but it has already been proven (Remember E=mc²?), and evidence is accumulating that there is much more out there than we can ever hope to see, or learn about, through entirely physical means, although we have good reason to believe it's real.  We can't see the edge of the universe, even with the Hubble Telescope.  However, with this noble instrument, we can deduce that the edge of the observable universe is moving away from us faster than the speed of light.  We may never see exactly what lies beyond the rim, unless we can learn how to make sub-space telescopes, or how to travel through hyperspace.  We come up against a similar boundary, when we try to see what is extremely small, thus there are things (on a sub-atomic level) we may never learn about, either.  Plus, what we have recently become able to measure has shown us just how much we've been missing, until now.  So we know that as long as mankind has lived, humans have had a rather limited view of what's real; or have we?  Perhaps we've merely forgotten, or haven't bothered to learn what others of our kind have already mastered, but it may be very relevant to our awakening.

        Have we really known there is more all along?  Many of the more ancient languages do not share our preoccupation with material objects (as the basis of reality), but rather blur, or eliminate, the clear distinction we make between subject and object.  It would be equally correct to say that these tongues depict the world in a way that more accurately reflects the view of reality described by Quantum Mechanics, if compared with any of the modern Indo-European languages.  Chinese, for example, seems to focus upon the process by which things happen, as part of objects and events, their story.  It also offers a greater range of subtleties, for those who are trying to accurately describe different kinds of movement, or various manifestations of energy.  Native American languages are also far more process-oriented than English, and less fixated in the tendency to describe all things as though they were objects.  In Algonquin, there is no word for time.  They recognize the cycle of the seasons, and the progression or evolution of life's events, but beyond this, things take as long as things take, no more no less.  There is no need, in their language, for a word to describe our use of interval as a measure for time.  For them, this concept is unreal or unnatural, as it should be.

        The Ancients (at least some of them) knew far more about certain things than many imagine is possible.  Some was kept secret, but we know part of the story woven from threads told by many tellers.  It's fortunate that some of this knowledge has been preserved by native traditional cultures, and that so much is openly taught in the Orient.  Many in the Western world are not exposed to daily energy practices, such as Tai Ji, Chi Gung, Meditation, or Prana breathing, however.  We have only now begun to acknowledge that there is a wave-like (energetic process) nature to everything, or that the world of objects is actually made out of energy, though this was conclusively proven almost one hundred years ago.  This knowledge is essential for our full awakening, and it's already a fact of life for many individuals, but the prevailing consensus view of modern Western culture still reflects the viewpoint championed by Descartes and Newton, about three hundred years ago, that the universe is like a giant clockwork mechanism.  Will our culture take another hundred years to acknowledge that there is another side to things?  Energy has always been a part of our experience, and people in ancient times knew many things about it, both intuitively, and by experiment.  We can probably learn a lot from them, if we open our minds, and hearts.

        My personal experience would suggest that there are extraordinary ways of perceiving, which enlightened individuals have demonstrated throughout the ages, and that we all have access to knowledge beyond our wildest dreams.  On some level, what is real is a matter of our experience.  Our awareness of life, and of our surroundings, is what brings us reality.  Consciousness may exist, of itself, as may the universe, and the world may go on without us, but what makes life truly real is our conscious awareness of things, or our participation in events.  This gives the world of dreams a certain equality with our real-life, or waking-state reality, as it is experience.  Though it's not what we've been taught to believe, this view has merit, especially while we are asleep, but is there yet another awakening, into a world that is yet more real?  If so, this would imply that most of us are still asleep to the greater reality which awaits us.  I'm sure that many will wonder how there could be something here, that is already real, and somehow tangible, but yet unseen by many.  Nonetheless, this seems to be the case.  I think that this greater reality is, simply, quite a bit more than the prevailing consensus view of the world can adequately handle, or describe.

        The truth is that the part of us which we must develop, or fully awaken, in order to correctly perceive the greater reality of life, is something which most of the scientific community doesn't even acknowledge to exist, much less claim to understand.  There are many ways to describe it, however, or its parts, and each has value, within a particular description of reality.  I'm speaking of the Luminous Self, or Soul, the part of us which isn't physical.  People may refer to the energy body, the light body, the subtle body, the dream body, the lunar body, the astral body, the causal body, the mental body, the etheric body, and so on, as these terms attempt to delineate the various aspects of the luminous self, or rather what constitutes the unseen part of our total being.  We can speak of chi, or ki, the aura, the higher self, the inner self, or just the Self, and all of these terms have meaning, but their reality is something we must experience as individuals, if what they describe is to actually be real for us.  I mean that we need to perceive from these other faculties, and practice using them, if we wish to be more aware of them, and the worlds of experience they offer us.

        We can awaken the higher self.  There are many techniques for this, but for them to work, we must understand that it's not about what's happening in the material sense, but rather about energy.  You see, what we must learn to do is establish ourselves in the realm of energy, and then perceive things from the viewpoint of the energetic aspect.  This is not to say that the material aspect of our bodies is less than real, nor that our senses are faulty, but rather our energetic faculties have a much greater range of perception than our physical sense organs.  This makes some things remarkably evident from the view of the energy body, which are not at all obvious from the outlook of the physical self.  Remember, Quantum Mechanics has shown that every physical object has an energy component, or an energetic complement, in that the wave-like aspect of things co-exists, on an equal basis with the material aspect.  We know too that all motion, or action, arises out of energy, and that it's what animates life.  We need to understand, as well, that the energy-self is conscious.

        For some time, I have had extraordinary experiences, but great difficulty expressing them to others, in a way that could be understood.  I once read that Enlightenment is often viewed as a goal, or a destination, where really it's but the start of a most arduous and difficult journey indeed, and I know now that this is true.  Once you have had a taste of the Infinite, you want to tell everyone, but most people would rather not know.  I don't claim to be enlightened, but I do have access to higher sources, and I have come to learn how divine knowledge can be experienced personally, and even brought down to Earth, as verbal expressions, as songs and dances, as paintings, sculptures, and other works of art.  Not that everyone is so gifted, by having the talent to make what they experience real (for others), but when it happens, and it really moves people, or makes them think, it's often the result of inspiration from above, or rather within.  It is their higher nature, which they are channeling, that allows individuals to create something which seems to exceed the limitations of its creator.  This is because it actually comes from beyond the physical.  We can learn to encourage and cooperate with the process, as well.  Choosing this option is not for people who wish to be told what to do, however, but rather for those who are bold enough to establish themselves in other realms, and can use that knowledge to aid in dispatching the problems of everyday life.

        Face it.  You live in several realms already, though you may be only dimly aware of some of them, and entirely unaware of others.  Your body pertains mostly to the physical or material realm, but emotions appear to relate more to the world of energy (another realm), your memories and conditioning (yet another realm) shape the way you experience things, your mind (and another) is a wonderful playground for all of these things to arise in, and your seeds of identity (one more ...) suitable for the mind to arise from, but though you participate in all of these worlds, none of them constitute your total being.  What is more significant, however, is that you also live in the realms beyond limitation, and that these realms do reflect the true nobility, and magnificence, of the Luminous Self, or Soul.  The body is a perfect mechanism, given what it needs, the emotions are perfect transformers of thought into feeling, our memories and conditioning guide our actions and shape our feeling true to their form, but none of these is a reliable ruler.  This works both ways.  Neither can we use them to accurately measure our experience, nor should we allow them to rule our lives.  To rise above our total preoccupation with these aspects of our being is enormously hard to do.  This is the challenge before us, however, if we hope to learn to see energy as energy.

        You see, that's what it's all about.  Establishing the awareness of the energetic aspect of self, and perceiving the wave-like nature of reality go hand in hand.  In the Orient, this is a part of everyday life.  If you go into the parks in Taipei, or Beijing, at the right time of day, you will see the old men (mostly) engaging in a most wondrous practice called Walking Chi Gung, where they are waving their arms about, and coordinating their movement with their breath, consciously moving and circulating their energies as they walk.  In any of the major cities of the East, one will find any number of practitioners who are energy healers, or teachers of energetic practices.  Tai Ji, Chi Gung, Aikido, Kung Fu, and several other martial arts, derive much of their strength from the cultivation of internal energy, ki (qi), or chi, and the ability to move and manipulate this energy is an essential part of the practice, when it is being done correctly.  When one does Tai Ji (T'ai Ch'i), in the proper manner, one ceases to move the limbs with muscle power, and instead one merges with the energy of motion itself, becoming energy in motion, and learns to direct that flow instead.  One's energy becomes action, or motion, and one can shape its evolution, or direction.

        Anyone can learn to do this, but there is more, so much more.  One can learn to perceive the universal energy, or one can exchange energies with a tree.  One can raise one's energy to a higher and higher pitch, or attune to a particular tone.  One can circulate energy, collect and disperse it, or direct its flow toward what you choose.  The most important thing is to recognize that there are energetic possibilities, and to exercise them.  How you go about it is less important than merely letting your other half come out and play.  It likes that.  Whether you call it your wave-like nature, your internal energy, or the spirit body, does not matter.  It is as real as the physical, or substantial, aspect of your self, and it very much wants to be acknowledged, in order to help you.  The wave-like aspect of things is universal; everything shares in it!  All the elements of physical form have both a particle-like and a wave-like nature, as an inherent part of their structure.  As we examine things more and more closely, therefore, the line between matter and energy blurs somewhat.

        Your body is made of waves of energy, arranged into patterns which have mass, and form, and occupy space.  Although physical objects do indeed have substance, they are comprised of energy, and that energy remains energy, while it is bound into the sub-atomic particles making up our atoms and molecules.  The fact that objects in our world are real and substantial does not alter the fact that they are also energy.  Modern Science has shown that all the constituents of matter must have a wave-like aspect, and all expressions of energy must have a particle like aspect, in the physical universe.  Everything in our universe is both matter and energy at the same time!  In effect, this proves that many of us have been missing out on half of what's real, or possible, by accepting the common view that the material side of reality is all that matters.  The physical body is real, and the world of objects is as real as can be, but it's only half the story.  To learn the rest of the story about our reality, we must explore a whole new realm of possibilities.

        So where does that leave us?  When it comes right down to it, it is the energetic, or wave-like part of ourselves which must be awakened, and encouraged to unfold, for our greater nature to become real for us.  It has always been there, and it has always been real, but in some people it is either quite deeply asleep, or has no clear connection to the waking self.  In either case, it can be awakened easily enough, through any number of means, but it must be acknowledged to be what it really is, in order to function as it should.  That is to say that its care and feeding is quite different from that of the physical body, and that we need to do both well, to be at the fullness of our power.  When we awaken from sleep, there is a change in our frame of reference, or viewpoint, and the same thing happens when the Luminous Self is awakened.  You see, the extraordinary perception I have spoken of arises from the ability to actually perceive from the viewpoint of the higher self, from the viewpoint of energy or luminosity, while remaining in contact with the physical.  This is the kind of awakening which allows us to wake up to a world even more real, and far more alive, than the one we inhabit now.  Once you have experienced it, you'll wonder how you could have lived without it.  Really, you haven't lived without it at all, as it has always been a part of your life, though probably somewhat neglected.

        So, what does that make us?  In truth, we are luminous beings, comprised of the force which animates all of life, inhabiting the physical (material) and energetic (wave-like) realms simultaneously.  We are not only one, or the other; we are truly both!  The human physical body is marvelously constructed as a transformer, or transmuter of energies, and I believe that this is part of the reason we are self-aware or sentient beings, in the first place.  The life force seems to be trying to awaken itself, you see, and it has evolved life forms to aid in that endeavor, to see itself more clearly, or more fully.  Human beings are uniquely fortunate, among Earth creatures, because life gave us the power of self awareness, and with it a greater freedom of choice.  By our awakening anew, in our body of energy and as the luminous self, we can have somewhat more of both, and more real happiness, as well.  For most people, the experience of energy is rather blissful, or at least it has that potential.  Whatever energizes us also motivates us.  It gets us moving, and prepares us to take action.  The experience of vital energy invigorates the physical body, and awakening the luminous body can connect us to an infinite source of life-energy, but first we must learn to perceive things from its viewpoint, and this is very different from the mundane view of the world.

        What is reality like, to the Luminous Self?  It is very magical, displaying infinite connectednesss with all things, and all possibilities.  What is real, in the world of energy?  Energy is a non-local phenomenon, which means it's not limited to our locality.  How does our world appear, from the perspective of energy?  Lines of force connect our planet with the sun, with the moon, with the planets, and even with distant stars (especially neutron-stars and black holes).  In addition, there is the aura of our planet, which is shaped by the Earth's magnetic field, as it deflects the solar wind, and this has a donut-like shape surrounding a sphere.  A teardrop-shaped veil closes the field lines, on the side away from the sun.  Beyond this region, everything fairly resonates with energy, out to the most distant galaxies.  Closer to home, the sun pours out its energy on us, and it gives life on our planet sustenance.  The world is actually made of energy, and so are we, even the heavy physical part, our material body.  There is energy all around us, too; we are almost swimming in it.  Our world is full of energy, and we can easily tap into it, once we learn to view life its way.  So how does energy itself appear to energy?  Energy appears to be alive, and conscious, and totally connected, endlessly flexible, almost to the point of being formless, and virtually infinite.

        Energy is a world unto itself, co-existing with material reality.  This is because energy lives in a world with its own rules, natural laws pertaining to energy, which are very different from the physical laws for material objects.  Of course, I am using the word energy in its broadest possible sense, because we don't really have a word which accurately characterizes the potentiality for wave-like or energetic expression itself.  We can talk about vibrancy or luminosity, about energies, vibrations, fields, rays, beams, flows, or forces, and still be talking about the same thing, or rather the same nature, but the human vocabulary isn't equipped to accurately tell us what it is, in its pure form.  Chinese is better suited to the task than English, as is Sanskrit, but the true reality of the Luminous Self is virtually beyond description.  The problem with language is that it tends to limit our view, but to accurately describe energy, we need terms that will unlimit that which we have come to believe is absolute.  Most people alive today were totally ensnared by language and culture by the age of seven, and we learned to limit our view of reality, to fit the prevailing consensus view in our immediate environment.  This limitation is a very hard habit to break, but it is exactly what we need to do, to awaken our higher self.

        Luckily, one enlightened soul (Jesus of Nazareth) left us a clue, as to what we must do to cure this problem.  He said that we need to become like children, to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  This is exactly what we need to know!  What we need to do, in order to connect up with our own higher self, is to become like a child again, because this lofty part of our being is far more child-like, than most people's adult waking self.  To awaken the energy body, Soul, or Luminous Self, is easy, if you are open and trusting, without any barriers, and approach the process with a sense of awe and wonder, and a little playfulness.  Most of us adults need to find our lost innocence, or do a lot of emotional processing and unlearning, before we are able to enjoy this condition.  Being playful is a start, and as I said, the most important thing is to exercise our energetic possibilities, and to let our second nature come out to play often.  Our other half can't help us, unless we let it.  We need to give it the opportunity to make us truly fulfilled, because that's what we have been missing all along.  With its help, we can realize the totality of our being, but without it there is no hope.

        What we need to do, in order to fully awaken our second nature, is to acknowledge that we are made of energy, or from energetic phenomena, and partake of the wave-like nature of energy itself.  Perhaps the best thing about our wave-like nature is that the non-locality of energy connects us to everything, and makes all knowledge available to us, at once.  You can know anything, or be anywhere, and get there almost instantaneously.  Think about it.  Imagine being able to travel anywhere at all, in your mind's eye, or having access to infinite knowledge.  What the higher self can see, know, and do is incredible!  Your energetic nature doesn't share in many of the limitations of the material self, which you have come to take for granted, and if you can learn to see the universe from its viewpoint, neither will you.  You see, we are connected with the entire universe, which is one great wave-pattern, and with all things, and their wave-patterns.  This is part of the problem with learning to work with the higher self, at all; we are connected to all knowledge, but the ability to filter the great outpouring, and bring back enough understanding to the physical, to accurately describe any one piece of that knowledge, requires tremendous amounts of energy.

        This is the reason it can be so maddening, for those who have had a taste of the infinite knowledge, because when you first go there, there is usually a tremendous gulf between knowing something, beyond the shadow of a doubt, and being able to articulate it, or bring it entirely back into the physical.  We need to develop a certain amount of fluidity, an ease of motion or transition, in order to bridge that gulf, and become able to faithfully render what we learn in the realms beyond the physical, or from the experience of extraordinary perception.  The energy required to do this comes first from establishing inner quietude, and reclaiming lost energy from past experiences.  You see, our own self-judgment, or self-justification, is often our greatest enemy in the struggle to establish higher-consciousness.  To the extent that we are caught up in ego-dramas, which keep us focused on value-judgments and comparisons, we're losing energy.  We don't have to remain stuck, however, we can stop the bleeding and more.  We can rise above our problems, by attaining a higher level of energy!  We can make it grow through meditation, special breathing techniques, and exercises which move our vital energy.  When we become energy, or rather experience that we are beings of light and energy, infinite possibilities present themselves.

        The best part is that you already are energy, and you already possess the wave-like nature; you always have.  Cosmic Consciousness is always possible, so long as you remain attuned to the luminous body and the wave-like nature of reality.  You are already connected to the great source, though you are but a drop in an ocean, and your own higher nature can give you total knowledge, and total fulfillment.  Once you have awakened the higher self, the possibilities are endless.  You can become whatever you desire to be, and this is just the start!  You can visit Heaven, become your own Ultimate Guru, and so much more.  So awaken anew, and discover your second nature.  Live a little more, each day, by being more playful and energetic, and take the time to connect with nature, and with energy.  Let your mind and your heart work together, for a change, in cooperation with the rest of your body, with the Earth, and the Universe.  Become the totality of who you really are, by experiencing the other side of things.  Let the consciousness of energy, vibrancy, and luminosity, be a definite part of your life experience.  The wave-like nature has always been a part of us, because as sentient living beings we are more than half energy.  Let's start behaving that way.

by Jonathan J. Dickau - © 2001 - all rights reserved

© 2002 Jonathan J. Dickau - all rights reserved