Geoff Pridham's Blog

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Geoff.

The Enlightened One said:

“This is what I have taught you.

“The best possible life is where you have gone beyond your normal human existence, to the next level, as best as someone born as a human being can.

“There are three central techniques for going beyond: Perspective, Evolution and Creativity.

“Perspective is expanding your thinking to cover the whole of the universe, all of time and beyond. It can make it seem as if you were seeing with a kind of ‘God’s-eye view,’ as if you were no longer just one tiny human being existing briefly in the eons of time.

“Evolution is imagining the beings that are to come, even up to the ultimate being that will be created one day. By thinking about the next stages in Evolution you will transform your current feelings into a higher state. It will be as if you had really evolved into a higher being, as much as that is possible.

“Creativity is imagining what is outside the box and changing the things inside the box to see what new ideas may come. When you use Creativity it will be as if you had a more powerful mind than what you really have. Your limited human intellect will leapfrog over itself.

“There are also lesser techniques that you can use, as you see fit. These include Setting Life Goals, Making Plans and Acting on Them, Seeing the Panorama, and Living in the Present.

“Your number one Life Goal is to be more than human, it is to go to the next stage in Evolution and become your higher self. All other life goals come after that.

“Make plans, if you wish to, because they can help you to get to your goals, then schedule the required work to make sure you carry it out. By making plans and following a schedule for acting on them you will progress towards your goals, as much as they are achievable.

“The Panorama is everything that is in a situation. In front of you are many elements; try to take in as many as you can in the time available. What do all these extra pieces of information tell you? How do they change your conclusions? When you look at the Panorama your understanding will go beyond the narrow focus your mind normally applies.

“Living in the Present is achieved by filling your mind with everything that is happening right now. Fill your mind with your perceptions of the current time – everything you can see, everything you can hear, everything you can feel through your body, and so on – until you are basically unable to think about anything else. Living in the present is a turning off of your self, it is letting your ego go. Use it as an additional technique to Perspective, Evolution and Creativity, if you want to.

“Apply Perspective, Evolution and Creativity as often as you are able to and you will live as perfect a life as anyone born as a human being can. Sometimes you will forget and slip back into a level of unconsciousness, but simply apply the techniques again and you will return to full awareness. Keep doing this and in time the techniques will become automatic for you and you will be living the best possible life that anyone born as a human being can.”

The disciples all thanked The Enlightened One for his wise advice. Most of them left and went on their way, but a few stayed with him as his friends. All of them, wherever they went, remembered the advice The Enlightened One had given them and they lived as perfect a life as anyone born as a human being can.

“We have heard many things, Enlightened One, and it has helped us to grow,” said the third disciple. “I feel that we have been given all the tools needed to live a perfect life – the three main techniques, and some other ones as well. You have given us your insightful views on many topics. I think we owe you a great debt of gratitude.”

“Thank you,” said The Enlightened One, smiling and bowing.

“What I am wondering is how confident we can be that we will have the ability to carry this out. Isn’t there a risk that we will, like other people, sink back into our unconscious state and forget everything we learned, functioning again at our basic human level? What if all the lessons just fade away in our memories, leaving us alone and foolish again?”

“I hope that never happens to you,” replied The Enlightened One. “I wish you only the best things in life, which always come from going to the next level. In fact, being at the next level is the best thing in life.

“The answer to your problem is, of course, quite clear. What do you think it is?”

“Keep practicing the techniques and go to the next level?” suggested the third disciple.

“Exactly!” said The Enlightened One. “The more you do these things the more advanced you will become. Eventually it will become automatic for you and you will be unable to slip back into your unconscious state for long. You will always wake up and say to yourself: ‘Well, here I am again. I am back. I can see again… how big is the universe, what has Evolution done so far, what is outside the box?’”

“Yes sir! You are right,” agreed the disciple.

“Yes, I am,” smiled The Enlightened One. “Be confident. Find your confidence in repeating the three central techniques, and the other ones as you see fit, and enjoy the results.”

“I will,” said the third disciple with gratitude. “I will be confident and follow your plan. Thank you, Enlightened One.”

“It was my pleasure,” said The Enlightened One. “And for all of you, I suggest you do the same.”

“We will!” the remaining disciples replied.

“When you first spoke to us,” said the second disciple, “you said that we should develop ourselves into perfect beings so we could have a perfect life: ‘It is by the perfection of ourselves that life is made perfect, it will never come from the world outside because the world outside will always be imperfect.’”

“Yes,” said The Enlightened One.

“But since then you have been saying that we cannot really go to the next level, we can only simulate it, because we will always have our human nature. What does perfection mean then in the light of this limitation?”

“Yes, that is what I have been saying,” replied The Enlightened One. “If you recall, when I first told you about perfection I also said: ‘Perfection does not mean being a perfect human, it means going beyond human life and human ways. It is fulfilling Evolution and moving to the next stage. Seek this and you will live as perfect a life as anyone born as a human can.’ As you can see, I have always been saying the same thing to you.

“Perfection means seeking to go beyond human life and human ways; it doesn’t necessarily mean finding that all the time or being able to truly move to the next stage in Evolution. It is all about seeking.

“If you seek sincerely and truly make the effort then you will have reached ‘perfection’ already, in as much as this is all that we can really do. The person who sincerely seeks the next stage is perfect, they have earned the right to think of themselves that way, because this is so much more than could ever have been expected from our human nature. They have become conscious, and they have every right to feel proud of that remarkable achievement.”

“Yes, I forgot that you said that at the beginning. You have always been saying the same thing, Enlightened One,” said the second disciple. “So, consciousness is the true measure of perfection. If we have become conscious then we are as perfect as we are ever going to be. I see.”

“As long as you are conscious then you are experiencing perfection,” said The Enlightened One, “but when you slip back into unconsciousness, or lesser states of consciousness, as you will do, then you are no longer experiencing perfection at those times.”

“Isn’t there some way we could maintain full consciousness at all times?” asked the disciple.

“Unfortunately not,” replied The Enlightened One. “Well, as far as I know. Maybe someone could do it but I don’t know who that would be. In the meantime the best we can do is to keep applying the three techniques so we keep moving ourselves back into full consciousness as much as we can.”

“I will try my best to learn how to do that so I can experience perfection, as best as we can achieve it as creatures born as human beings,” said the second disciple.

“Very commendable,” said The Enlightened One. “I wish you every success with that. Just keep returning to the three techniques and you should be fine.”

“Thank you, Enlightened One,” said the disciple.

“You have talked a lot about truth and doing the right thing,” said the fourteenth disciple, “but you haven’t said much about love. What is love? What do you think it is and how is it relevant to those who go to the next level?”

“The first thing love is is a feeling,” replied The Enlightened One. “You all know that it is a human emotion based on Evolution. But love is also a concept. By this I mean it is an idea about how we react to and treat other people and creatures.

“Human love tends to be biased: it tends to favor the individual and their close associates and groups. The love of those trying to go beyond is more balanced: it puts the individual and their groups into proportion, as if seen from a kind of ‘God’s-eye view.’ It is like an extension of the emotions created by nature so they apply not just to further the interests of the individual human or their family and groups, but also to further the fair and balanced interests of all beings. It is a charming and admirable kind of love.

“Apart from the love of other beings there is also a kind of love of truth. This love of truth is a characteristic of people who are going to the next level, as they are seekers of higher wisdom. Anyone who wants to be wise must also be a seeker of truth: this is an essential type of love for them.

“Finally, when you put this fairness for others and love of truth together you get a more advanced kind of love that doesn’t only want to feel good about being with others but also wants to help them in very real ways to have better lives.”

“That is illuminating,” said the fourteenth disciple, “but some people don’t want to be helped. It offends them and they resist it.”

“That is very true,” agreed The Enlightened One. “Plenty of people don’t want to be helped and do resist the truth, for the obvious reason that it goes against their primitive human feelings and limited thoughts, as it must naturally do.

“Since the purpose of the human emotions is to further the interests of the individual human or their family and groups, it follows that being confronted with the true state of affairs must inevitably trigger negative emotions in the person. The true state of affairs puts the person’s position clearly into perspective, which contradicts the desire of the primitive human emotions to put the individual and their groups first. Also, the truth says that a human being is primitive and inferior in some way, which must immediately trigger their status-related feelings. We are telling them that they are inferior, and it is natural that they will be pushed by their feelings to fight against this in some way. How can we make progress against all that?

“The obvious answer is to be diplomatic when presenting the truth, taking into account the natural human nature of the people you are dealing with. Yet even that does not seem to make much progress with most people. It is a mystery that wise people have not been able to solve yet.”

“That is sad,” sighed the disciple.

“Yes, it is,” agreed The Enlightened One. “If any of you come up with the answer I would be glad to hear it!”

The remaining disciples looked at him with surprise.

“Finding that answer would be one of the truly loving things you could do,” observed the fourteenth disciple. “If we could find a way to help others to overcome their natural human nature then the world would be a better place for all.”

“How true,” agreed The Enlightened One.

“I know you have not been able to work that out,” said the fourteenth disciple, “and I know I am just a beginner, but I would like to spend some time thinking about what might help others overcome their human nature even when they don’t want to, or find it difficult.”

“Good luck to you,” said The Enlightened One. “I wish you every success in your endeavor.”

“Who should be our friends,” asked the first disciple, “given that we communicate best with those who try to go to the next level?”

“It is true that it is easier to make friends with those you can communicate with,” replied The Enlightened One. “But that doesn’t mean that you can’t have friends who are not going to the next level or who hold a different view.

“Real friendship is based on trust, which is more about action than communication. If you trust someone, even though you cannot fully communicate with them, then you can be friends. Make sure you also return the trust they put in you.

“Trust does not come from what you say but from what you do, so the strongest element in a friendship is what the friends actually do. It is the reliability of people going to the next level that makes such strong friendships between them, not just their ability to communicate openly with each other.

“Friendship comes in many levels, from strong through to weak. Weaker friendships can be formed when there are not too many challenges for the relationship. In these, communication is usually restricted to non-sensitive and agreed areas so it doesn’t get out of hand and damage the relationship. With stronger friendships communication can be more open: the friends can safely discuss topics across many areas, even when they don’t agree, as their trust in each other overcomes any differences of opinion. The trust is based on the person, not what they think about things.

“The most satisfying friendship is the one where you trust the other person and can also communicate openly with them in many areas. For us that means communication based on going to the next level, as we enjoy that the most, but this doesn’t mean we should rule out having great friendships with people who are not going to the next level. Where there is trust then that is where our best friendships will be found.”

“Thank you, Enlightened One,” said the disciple. “I will base my friendships on trust first, and communication at the next level second. In that case I would like to be friends with you, if I may.”

“Certainly you may. You are most welcome,” said The Enlightened One.

“Thank you, Enlightened One. In that case may I stay?” asked the first disciple.

“Of course you may,” replied The Enlightened One.

“Could you tell us what is wisdom, Enlightened One?” asked the seventh disciple. “Is it about going to the next level or is it something else?”

“Wisdom is related to going to the next level in that it is about understanding yourself and gaining control of yourself. It existed before people knew about going to the next stage in Evolution, but has always been about going beyond your normal level of human existence. The person who had control of themselves was known to be wise.”

“Yes, it’s about self-awareness and self-control,” contributed the fourth disciple.

“Quite true,” agreed The Enlightened One. “Having become more self-aware than a normal person, the wise person is able to see things from a greater perspective and is therefore able to judge more fairly. They come to see more about what is right and what is wrong in a situation, and what is really worth doing and what is not. Also, they are less likely to allow their lesser side to torment themselves, instead taking charge of what is going on inside their minds.”

“How did the wise people of the past achieve their higher state, especially as they did not know about Evolution and the true size of the universe?” asked the seventh disciple.

“They also did not have a clear picture of thinking outside the box,” added The Enlightened One. “They achieved their higher state by setting out to understand what was really going on. This led them to examine their own minds and in time they discovered why they thought the things that they did. As they looked at this more closely they came to question it. They wondered what they should really be thinking if what they found in their minds was so inadequate. This led to their wisdom.

“The process they went through is the same that anyone who wants to be wise must go through. The difference in our case is that I have given you the fastest and most effective way to get there – through the three central techniques for going to the next level.”

“Yes, that is true, Enlightened One,” said the seventh disciple. “I suppose the only remaining question is whether someone who applies the three techniques will always become wise: is it possible that they will remain less than wise, in spite of the benefits of using the techniques?”

“A great question,” said The Enlightened One. “I wish I had the answer. If I knew why some people become wise and others do not then I would be able to change the world. Unfortunately I am not in that position and must struggle on with what I know, which is that we can apply these techniques and this will make us function as if we were at the next level, as best as a human being can do.”

“I think you have done a remarkable job, Enlightened One. Whether other people listen to you or not, I will always listen to you and follow what you say,” said the seventh disciple.

“Thank you so much,” said The Enlightened One.

“If you don’t mind, I will stay here with you.”

“You are very welcome,” smiled The Enlightened One.

“I would like to say some more on forgiveness,” said The Enlightened One. “Forgiveness may be extended by us to those who have not gone to the next level. This should be done in a realistic, fair and truthful way.

“The truth about human beings is it is difficult for them to go to the next level.

“The fair and realistic view of human beings is that they are at a particular stage in Evolution. It may not be the final stage, and it certainly is limited.

“Forgiveness in this sense means a full and conscious acknowledgement of the reality of this situation. It does not mean saying that it is okay to do wrong, it means saying that wrong is to be expected because people are natural creatures that have been created to survive and who do not normally see from a higher level. Blaming them for their nature is like blaming a tiger for being a carnivore – this behavior came from nature and is to be expected. On the other hand it is natural for us to feel offended by bad behavior in people – that is part of our human nature. We have to go beyond this and think more clearly.

“When the actions of others irritate or offend you, remind yourself that this is to be expected and then go to the next level, using Perspective, Evolution and Creativity to get you there. Remind yourself that they are at a lower level of Evolution and are acting in a natural way. Acknowledge the reality of this situation.

“When you have calmed yourself you will be able to think clearly about what action needs to be taken, if any. Determine what is worthwhile for you to get involved in and do that. Don’t let your actions be dictated by the strength of your primitive human emotions. Forgive others for being what they are, it is not entirely their fault.”

“Why do some people go to the next level and others never do?” asked the twenty-first disciple.

“That is something of a mystery,” admitted The Enlightened One. “Some people, when you tell them about the reality of what we are and the possibility of improving on that, accept it immediately and jump into action. But most people dismiss it or are not interested. Some people agree with what you say but do not put it into practice and then quickly forget it. I do not know exactly why that is, but I would say it is due to the fact that we are human beings and have been designed by Evolution to work for our own and our groups’ survival. We were not fundamentally designed to go to the next level or take a stern view of our own human flaws.”

“So you are saying that it is probably because we were not designed to advance in Evolution that other people don’t go to the next level, even when they hear about it?” suggested the twenty-first disciple.

“Yes, that is my theory,” confirmed The Enlightened One. “It is possible that this is the reason. If you think about it, many people are unable to gain enough control of their primitive brain to be able to choose a healthy diet or to exercise or to give up indulging in harmful substances. If the primitive feelings can overcome them on such minor issues then what hope do they have for advancing themselves to the next stage in Evolution?”

“But all they need to do is practice the three techniques for going to the next level and they would be empowered to overcome their primitive feelings and thoughts,” objected the disciple.

“Yes, that is true, but it seems that they cannot practice the techniques,” replied The Enlightened One sadly. “If I knew why that was and what to do about it then I would be working on helping them, but the best I can do is to tell people like you about it and hope that works.”

“Well, thank you for doing that, Enlightened One!” said the twenty-first disciple. “I for one will practice what you say. Thank you again and goodbye. I will be going now.”

“Thank you for listening,” said The Enlightened One. “Good luck and goodbye.”

“Could you tell us some more about using the dice, Enlightened One?” asked the thirteenth disciple.

“Sure. After you have gone to the next level and gained control of your mind you can play with the emotions that are occurring in your head,” said The Enlightened One. “You can make changes to them, as it were.

“Change the roll of the dice by using Creativity and going outside the box, or changing the things that are inside the box, to give yourself different views on what was bothering you.

“Change the roll of the dice by using Evolution to give you a new perspective on your feelings, seeing them as primitive human ones designed to push you to take action even if that wouldn’t be effective or make any sense.

“You cannot directly change the dice, of course, because physically you remain as a human being, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t use mental techniques to cause them to alter. The dice always remain ‘six-sided,’ meaning they match the primitive human emotions, but by doing something imaginative you can act as if they were given more sides, such as eight, ten, twelve or more. You can also imagine something that causes the dice to flip over, for example from all ones, representing extremely negative emotions, to all sixes, representing extremely positive ones. It’s just a matter of imagination.

“All three ‘going beyond’ techniques – Perspective, Evolution and Creativity – are based on imagination. Imagination is the key to taking control of your mind and helping it to come up with better answers. It is fortunate for us that we have this power!

“The dice will roll, that is inevitable, and they will fall on whatever combination of numbers nature decrees. That is how your human mind works: events or thoughts cause the dice to roll in your head automatically, and they fall on the result that your primitive mind decides. After that happens, after the negative feeling occurs, you can step in and use your imagination to bring about a change. That is what the practice of Perspective, Evolution and Creativity will do for you.”

“So, underlying everything is imagination,” observed the thirteenth disciple. “And what controls that imagination?”

“You do,” replied The Enlightened One. “For as long as you are conscious of what you are doing. When you lose consciousness your more primitive mind will take over and run the show.”

“What is this consciousness?” asked the disciple.

“It is your higher self in operation,” answered The Enlightened One. “Your true self, if you like, the one that stands apart from your primitive side.”

“How can that exist in the mind?”

“It does exist, that is the critical point. You have this consciousness that can oversee your mind and override what it is doing. It may be located in the frontal lobe of your brain, and when it is active you are fully conscious, but when it becomes inactive, or less active, the other parts of your mind take over and run the show. There are different ways to ensure your full consciousness is activated – the one I recommend is going to the next level. Living in the present is another way of doing this,” added The Enlightened One.

“So, going to the next level helps you to stay conscious,” said the disciple. “Then you will be empowered to use your imagination to change the roll of your primitive emotional dice. And the three techniques that take you to the next level are based on imagination. Perspective is imagining the size and age of the universe and beyond. Evolution is imagining the creatures that are to come, even up to the ultimate creature that could ever exist. Creativity is imagining what happens when you add things from outside the box, or change the things that are inside the box. All come from imagination.”

“That is correct,” said The Enlightened One. “You have summarized it well.”

“Is living in the present also based on imagination?” asked the disciple.

“Of course it is,” replied The Enlightened One. “You refocus your mind onto the things that are around you, that are happening to you – this refocusing is done by first imagining yourself looking at them.”

“And then you do look at them!” said the disciple. “Just as when you imagine going to the next level and then you basically do go to the next level.”

“As much as a human being can,” added The Enlightened One.

“As much as a human being can,” echoed the thirteenth disciple. “So how can you imagine something that tips the dice over to the positive? Isn’t there a contradiction in that because you can’t imagine something that is not true and, let’s face it, your primitive self already feels badly about it!”

“Yes, that is all correct,” agreed The Enlightened One. “What you need to do is imagine something that is true yet also makes you feel more positive about the bad situation. This would include acknowledging or accepting the existence of this bad thing, for example, as I discussed before.”

“So you acknowledge or accept that there is a problem, and maybe you don’t want to work on this one, and then you imagine that it shouldn’t really matter to you anymore because you have basically said you are moving on from this. It would be a waste of time to continue feeling badly about this, so you turn your attention to something else and carry on with that,” suggested the thirteenth disciple.

“Yes, that works well,” agreed The Enlightened One. “You acknowledge the issue, you don’t hide it from yourself or say it is okay, because it is not, and then you move on. You might even say to yourself that it is not worth worrying about this issue anymore because you have consciously acknowledged it is not good and have decided it is not something that you want to work on solving right now. You can imagine yourself smiling at this point and tipping over the dice in your head. That may help you to relax and feel better.”

“You can’t fix everything in the world,” contributed the disciple, “there are too many difficult problems, but you can choose where you should rightly and truthfully put your efforts and feel better that you are doing that. You are being realistic, not hiding things from yourself or trying to trick yourself, and you are moving on sensibly and with good intentions.”

“I agree,” said The Enlightened One.

“Well, thank you, Enlightened One. You have helped me a lot and I am really grateful,” said the thirteenth disciple. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, sir, and good luck,” said The Enlightened One.