Waking up to the wonder of life
Last summer I attended an inspiring talk by Graham Hancock (author of Fingerprints of the Gods).
Looking through his webpage, I came upon a wonderful interview with Tim Freke, author of The Jesus Mysteries, who speaks of awakening consciousness.
It sums up for me the sense of awe that Joseph Campbell said lies at the heart of Shinto. It’s something too to which spiritual atheists can easily relate.
There’s a brilliantly produced video with this that I would really recommend taking a couple of minutes to sit through. Just scroll to the bottom of the interview to reach it on this page: http://www.grahamhancock.com/interviews/TimFreke.php
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Here Graham Hancock’s son, Luke, puts a question to Tim Freke:
Q: The idea presented in your new book is, as I understand it, that there’s a state of interconnectedness and bliss that we can slide into at times, and it brings us into awareness of “the big wow!”, where we become conscious of the beauty, magic and mystery of life. I love getting into that state of interconnectedness and gratitude, but I always eventually slip out of it. Certain practices bring me there – my favourite being going into waterfalls in forests. Psychedelic plants also tend to have that effect, and it always lasts for a while – sometimes days, sometimes weeks. But maintaining it is the problem. What is your advice to stay in that level of consciousness?
Tim: Waterfalls in the deep forest … that makes me feel WOW just reading it Luke!
It seems to me that consciousness is always in flux so there is no permanent awakened state. Everyday we become tired and need to dissolve back into deep sleep, before arising refreshed. Consciousness arises with energy. As the energy fluctuates, so do our states. However, we can nurture the deep awake state so we inhabit it more of the time … as we surf the ups and downs of life. In my new book i progressively outline a series of very simple but powerful practises that can facilitate our journey of awakening. Here’s one especially for you ;-)
The simplest way to wake up is to remember to wonder at the breathtaking mystery of existence. The moment we do this consciousness starts to change. Wonder is an open doorway to a deeper state.
It is easier to experience wonder in a beautiful setting – such as under a waterfall in the forest. Or on psychedelics when our perceptions are transformed and we see the world in an utterly new light.
So my suggestion is this. Wherever you find yourself when you want to wake up, remember your experience under the waterfall … how it feels … the raw sensuality … the inexpressible beauty. And then look around you at the world before you with the same sense of wonder. It is just as miraculous. Life is always magical, even when it is also mundane. The simple fact that this vast universe exists and we are here to experience it is more wonderful than words can ever say. Become conscious of that and your state will start to change. You’ll remember you’re alive and how good it is to BE.
"Wonder is an open doorway to a deeper state."
The sheer magic of life
The beauty and the pathos: last of the year's changing leaves at Shimogamo Shrine
Wow this helps me a lot. I am an animist who must be outdoors to feel OK, and I have multiple chemical sensitivity which has shown me there is nowhere nontoxic left. I live in remote northern VT but tourism, logging, and wood fires make it so I cannot go outside. Oil spills by lakes from boats, air ruined by smoke and diesel and heating fumes, people with their shampoos and clothing made from pesticides, farm equipment, there is nowhere safe.
I have been trying to see my solitary confinement prison cell for life (if lucky and not poisoned and have to move and be homeless again til something shows up that is not carpeted with no smoking) as alive. My senses feel so dull in here. Due to the chemicals in paint, ink, glue, fabric, paper, etc I have no way to decorate. (I had to give up all my books due to reactions to ink petrochemicals. Even organic cotton with turmeric makes me sick.)
But why can’t this be as beautiful and alive as the deep woods?
I think I miss most the relationships with the land, knowing the skunk personally, eating weeds, all the seasonal birds, the rivers as they respond to drought and floods.
This at least gives me hope.
Good day, Heather…
I had a friend in Toyama here in Japan with the same condition. She made a point of taking as many long walks in the woods as she could, as well as avoiding all chemicals, and slowly got better. She looked on it as ‘tree therapy’, and in fact there’s a lot of medical evidence now that walks in forests have a strong beneficial and healing effect. Here’s a NY Times article that shows how being in nature boosts immune function – http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/06/health/06real.html?_r=0