The most common element that nearly all of these methods share is a focus on conscious breathing, usually as a tool to help you relax before going into the method’s actual practice.  Despite this ubiquity, breathing itself is often underrated.  Having used many self-help methods over many years, I am convinced that ultimately the most valuable self-help tool is breathing itself. One of the reasons that I was drawn to the teachings of the Crimson Circle is the fact that conscious breathing is the main method that they recommend above all others.

As humanity begins to move into new energy, many methods that may have worked well in the past are no longer as effective as they once were.  In some ways much of the new age movement can get stuck in a similar mindset to the religions that it claims to supersede, as they emphasise and hang onto their methods as gospel, when a lot of these methods were only meant to be stepping stones on the evolutionary path.

Breathing is one of the few methods that continues to be important in the spiritual realms.  This may seem surprising, as even those of us who have a conscious spiritual awareness probably tend to think of breathing as being a mainly physical exercise,  and that once we let go of this mortal coil it is no longer needed.  Apparently this is not so, as a form of breathing continues with our consciousness after death.  This should give us a clue that when we breathe there is a lot more happening than just the intake of oxygen and nitrogen and the expulsion of carbon dioxide.  Yoga and other Eastern philosophies teach that what we breathe in is the essential spiritual life force that is the connecting and empowering energy for the whole universe.  In India it is known as prana, and in China as chi or ki.   The philosophy of Breatharianism is based on this idea, such that conscious breathing of prana energy can be utilised to sustain the physical body without the need to ingest food.

Breathing consciously is the most powerful way to move stuck energy.  This can work in all four of the aspects of our beings:  physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.  Physically it releases stress and tension and helps to increase body awareness.  Due to the influence particularly of science and also Western society in general, we tend to believe that it all happens in our minds, such that we become captive to our minds and lose contact with the body.  While breathing consciously it is difficult to keep a mental focus.  This is very useful because to take away the focus on the mind for just a few minutes on a regular basis both releases mental tension and begins to break the hold that the mind can have on us to the detriment of the other three equally important aspects.  Breathing is also one of the best tools for releasing negative and blocked emotions, and it facilitates spiritual awareness.  By inhaling consciously we draw the essential life force into our whole being more effectively.  By exhaling consciously we express this divine energy out into the world.

As breathing is something that we’ve all done all our lives, you would think that we would at least know how to breathe properly.  But I have found through my massage practice – particularly shiatsu massage – that many people don’t breathe properly, including some who have practiced yoga or tai chi or similar methods that normally place a heavy emphasis on the breath.

As our lungs are located in the chest area, it is natural to think that breathing by expanding the chest is efficient.  But this is not so.  The lungs are pear-shaped, and chest breathing only draws air into the top one-third of the lungs.  To actually fill the lungs with air requires you to breathe using the diaphragm and the belly.  The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle that sits below the lungs, and is one of the most important and underrated muscles in the body.  It is the only muscle that works both vountarily and involutarily, keeping us breathing while asleep.  This dual ability means that the diaphragm is a link between the unconscious and the conscious mind.  The lungs themselves have no muscles, so require the diaphragm to contract downwards, creating space in the lungs which draws in air.  If you rely on expanding your chest to breathe deeply, the diaphragm does not contract downwards much, so less air is drawn into the lungs.  It is also more work to expand the chest than it is to contract the diaphragm, so the lesser amount of oxygen that is drawn in when chest breathing is also utilised less effectively.

A useful exercise is to sit or lie comfortably, with one hand on the chest and the other hand on the belly.  Loosen the clothes around your waist.  Breathe deeply, and take notice of which hand moves more as you breathe in and out.  If the hand on your chest is moving more, then you are not breathing deeply or filling the lungs with air.  Practice pushing your belly out as you breathe in, until the hand on your belly moves more than the hand on your chest.  It might feel strange at first, but you will be filling your lungs with air and providing your body with as much as 200% more usable oxygen.

This belly breathing might need to be practiced on a regular basis for quite a time before it becomes second nature, as the bad habits of a lifetime do not usually break easily.  Western fashion and social norms are not helpful, as we are all encouraged to hold our belly in and stick our chest out.  Many types of clothing do not make belly breathing comfortable.  Since I have practiced conscious breathing I tend to favour clothes that are looser and have elastic waists.

But these minor inconveniences are far outweighed by the benefits of conscious breathing :

Over time you will find that you will be more relaxed and calm in the face of stress.

Breathing consciously and regularly will give you some emotional detachment from other peoples’ dramas, enabling you to act from a place of true compassion rather than being dragged into an expected emotional reaction.

You will begin to feel a stronger connection to your body and will become more aware of its needs.

In moments when your mind is overwhelming you with repetitive and negative thoughts and their accompanying fear-based emotions, being able to stop and breathe deeply will help to release such thoughts and emotions, so you will become more aware of your deeper feelings.  The diaphragm is the physical bridge through which your gut and your heart communicate.  It enables your intuition and true feelings to connect with one another.

Conscious breathing connects us to the present moment.  When you maintain a focus on your breath it is difficult to dwell in the past or worry about the future for any length of time.

Deep breathing facilitates spiritual growth, particularly if combined with meditation.  This will become more important for all of us, as one of the results of the current acceleration in the evolution of human consciousness is that the veil between the physical and spiritual dimensions is getting thinner. More and more people are beginning to have experiences of the spiritual realms.  To be able to breathe consciously and deeply at will is the best tool for integrating such experiences.

The best place to start when attempting to understand what new energy is, is to first define what it is not.  So we need a very basic understanding of what old energy is.  It is over 100 years now since Einstein published his Special Theory of Relativity.  This theory put forward what was a revolutionary idea at the time, that matter and energy were basically made of the same stuff.  His formula for this equivalence is the famous E = mc², which means that energy is equal to mass (of matter) times the speed of light squared.  What we call matter is mostly space, empty except for the energy that gives it the form of matter.  If all the space in and between the atoms of your body were removed so that the nucleus, protons and electrons were packed up against each other, you would be a barely visible but heavy speck, weighing what you weigh. In terms of its volume, matter occupies such a small amount of space that a statistician would call it negligible.  If you walk into a wall, it is not the matter in it that stops you walking through it, it is the energy field.  Many scientists believe that our universe is essentially a giant hologram.

What we perceive as matter is simply energy at various levels of vibration. All energy vibrates, or more correctly oscillates, between two poles.  When this vibration happens at a constant rate it has a frequency, measured in hertz. 1 hertz (Hz) equals 1 cycle of vibration per second.  Sound energy for example is the energy of vibrating particles at relatively low frequencies from 20 to 200,000 Hz.  Human hearing stops before 20,000 Hz.  Dogs can hear up to 50,000Hz, whilst dolphins can hear up to 200,000 Hz.  Light energy is electromagnetic energy, which includes radio waves vibrating from 10³ Hz, to microwaves from 10 to power 7 Hz, light waves from 10 to power 12 Hz, x-rays from 10 to power 16 Hz up to gamma rays from 10 to power 19 to 10 to power 23 Hz.

Crossing the strict boundaries of mainstream science is the idea put forward by many spiritual teachers that thought itself is energy, vibrating at frequencies much higher than we currently have the technology to measure. Vibrating thought energy has influenced how human consciousness has manifested in all aspects of life and society.  As electromagnetic energy vibrates between two polarities, so human thought vibrates between two polarities.  In consciousness terms this is known as duality, the tendency for human fields of thought to be defined by their relation to two opposite extremes.  For example:

Politics is described by its oscillation between the conservative right wing and the liberal left wing.

Religion is described by its oscillation between the elusive concepts of good, right and light on one side, and evil, wrong and darkness on the other.

Economics is described by its oscillation between rich and poor.

Gender is described by its oscillation between male and female.

History is described by its oscillation between a linear view and a circular view.

Science is described by its oscillation between what is provable and repeatable to what is unpredictable and therefore unprovable.

The origin of life is described by its oscillation between creation and evolution.

In all of these areas there has been a strong tendency for thought to be pushed to one of the two extremes.  So much energy is spent in the duelling (or should that be dualling?) between the two opposing camps, and development in these areas is slow and labourious.  As we become aware of the implications of the old energy concept of duality, we begin to realise how pervasive – and ultimately divisive – duality thinking is.  We need look no further than the mainstream media for examples of this.  Many news articles on a particular issue will quote an extreme viewpoint from one side of a debate, then in the interests of fairness, quote a voice from the other extreme.  Human nature being what it has been means that these extreme viewpoints are the ones most likely to catch attention and sell newspapers. Consequently the many more reasonable but less titillating viewpoints that lie between the two extremes are often ignored.  In reality it is usually these voices that make up the majority and will contribute most to the solution of an issue.   When presented with what passes for news, one is often left with a feeling of hopelessness, that there is a huge and unbridgable gulf separating both sides of an issue.  This is a tool often used by the global power elite who heavily influence the mainstream media to confuse and divide the population in order that they may continue the status quo.

But thankfully it’s not all bad news.  The acceleration in the evolution of human consciousness is producing a totally new type of energy that works in a radically different way than old energy.  Rather than being vibrational in nature, it is expansional.  It expands in all directions at once, like a balloon being blown up.  It does not rely on the existence of an opposing force and is therefore much more efficient.  Some scientists are apparently aware of its existence, but as it does not fit into their existing paradigms they are unable to measure or quantify it.

One of the characteristics of new energy that differs from old energy is that it does not act the same way in every situation, thus making it unpredictable and difficult to harness under existing scientific methods.  It will require a complete overhaul of scientifice principles.  New energy parallels some of the more mysterious areas of quantum physics, where particles will respond differently according to the conditions under which they are being observed. Experiments set up to produce a particular result will attain different results according to the expectations of those conducting the experiments.  This suggests that the quantum particles are responsive to consciousness, as new energy is purported to be.  

New energy is beginning to have effects in some of the afore-mentioned areas.  Politics is beginning to see a movement away from petty partisan squabblings to a more co-operative approach.  Traditional religious views are giving way to a deeper spirituality that sees beyond the simplistic ideas of separating life into what is judged as being good or evil.  The current financial crisis demonstrates the failure of old energy economics which will continue to falter until replaced by new systems based on fairness that will no longer allow huge gaps between rich and poor.  Gender roles are no longer so clearly defined by genitalia as people begin to embrace as their own the virtues and values of the opposite sex, and alternative sexual orientations and practices lose the stigma of deviancy.  Science is beginning to see the effects of new consciousness and will therefore discover new forms of cheap, abundant and sustainable energy that will replace our dependence on dwindling fossil fuels.

The changeover to new energy will not happen overnight, it will be a process that may take years.  But once its characteristics begin to be more widely acknowledged, the process will accelerate.  Old energy ideas will strongly resist the change for a time, but once these are seen for what they are, we will begin to live in a society that is fairer, more tolerant, efficient and spontaneous!

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Much of the information in this article was inspired by the teachings of the Crimson Circle

It is easy to understand the attraction of conspiracy theories that claim that the planet is controlled by a relatively small group of nameless faceless men, who between them hold enough strings to control their puppets – the political and business leaders – to maintain the inequitable status quo, that ‘to he who has, more shall be given, and to him that hasn’t, even the little he has shall be taken away from him’.   This mysterious group has been called by many different names: the Illuminati, the secret government, and the shadow government just to name a few.  It is claimed that its members are have links with - and possibly control - other organisations such as the Bilderberg group, the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, Skull and Bones, the Neo-Conservatives, and the Freemasons.  Some of the more extreme conspiracy theorists claim that even the United Nations , the environmental movement and the New Age movement are controlled by this Global Power Elite.

Many theories about this Global Power Elite circulate on the internet.  Some of the more well known conspiracy theorists include David Icke, Alex Jones, William Cooper and Henry Makow.  Illuminati News lists the 13 families they believe to control the world.  Many of these sites make uncomfortable reading, not least because of their often cluttered layouts, creative grammar and tendency to shout at the reader by their overuse of capital letters.   But also because many of their arguments have an air of plausibility.  Even if only half of what they say is true, they paint a disturbing picture.  Such that they often give the reader an effect similar to one of the Global Power Elite’s purported methods, that of instilling fear.

Less well known are the views that come from the other side of the veil. Many channellers and spiritual teachers allude to the existence of the GPE, though few go into detail.  Those that do, however, have similar ideas to the conspiracy theorists.  They say that the GPE has held an extrememly powerful position for Earth’s recorded histroy.  In order to perpetuate the belief that this is simply the natural order of things, they have exerted enough control to wipe out much of the evidence of past egalitarian societies.  What evidence that has not been destroyed has simply been locked away, often for centuries.  Their work has been effective enough that mainstream historians who have no connection with or knowledge of the GPE vigorously defend the version of history that we are taught, and ridicule evidence that might suggest otherwise.

The GPE has a core group of a small number of families who have carefully orchestrated marriages between their members in order to keep their bloodline in power and control. The European royal families would often push their princes and princesses to marry into the royal families of other nations, and despite the reduction in power of monarchies today, this practice continues. Many of the US presidents, for example, have been claimed to have been related to each other, as well as to the British royal family.

Many spiritual sources claim that the GPE have links to extra-terrestrial entities, possibly reptilian in nature.  Although they don’t go as far as David Icke – probably the world’s most extreme well-known conspiracy theorist – who claims that the American Presidents and British royalty are actually reptilian ETs disguised as human beings, and that in some of their secret ceremonies they have revealed their true nature.  It is these more extreme views that generate the most attention for Mr Icke, often overshadowing his more plausible theories.

The GPE – whoever they may be – have never completely controlled the world.  Humans have always had free will, even if we have chosen not to exercise it.  But the GPE have always exerted enough influence over society’s major systems and institutions – governments, education, science, religion, military, police, judicial, electoral, banking, business and the media – to keep themselves rich and powerful and their machinations exempt from investigation and prosectution. Their greatest tool these days is the mainstream media, itself a field where a small number of people wield the greatest influence.  Mainstream media hides behind a facade of independence, consistently magnifying and and dramatising local and world events in order to promote confusion, uncertainty and fear.  Investigative journalists who dare to ask the hard questions are few and far between, usually quashed by their editors.

But as the evolution of human consciousness has lately accelerated, the power of the GBE has begun to wane.  They are not immune from the consciousness raising, and significant numbers of them are moving away from their traditional practices.  In recent years they have undergone a schism, and much of their energy and attention has been diverted by their two warring factions.  Although still dwarfed by the mainstream media on the internet, alternative media has been given a voice, and the word is getting out.

Despite the GPE’s very public influence over the 2000 and 2004 US Election results, this influence was not able to be sustained against the powerful grass-roots campaign of Barack Obama.  He still had to play along with them to a certain extent in order to garner enough of their support to get to the position that he is in.  Some of his choices of his support team have shown to be members of the afore-mentioned organisations, though it is not publically known where they stand in relation to these organisations.  Many politicians from both sides are either members of the GPE or under their influence, and so Obama – despite his strong mandate – will need time to reveal his true agenda.  Of course there are also situations that are so highly classified that he did not know of their existence or extensiveness prior to being sworn in as president, so he will be taking steps to learn about all the cancers in the country’s institutions, before he can begin to change them.  According to many spiritual sources Barack Obama is a highly developed being still yet to come into his full awareness.  As he does so he will be less and less influenced by the GPE.

That is not to say that Obama is a messiah who will save us from the GPE. The downfall of their system is inevitable due to its inherent structures that are built on greed and oppression. They simply cannot be sustained in the new consciousness energy. Although the GPE had a large influence over the creation of the housing bubble and the crash that followed it,  they were very much unprepared for the scale of the financial meltdown.  Many of them have no idea how the orchestrated crash has got so out of hand so quickly, and many of them will not survive it.  Though many around the world will suffer as a consequence, the collapse of the GPE will leave a void.  As their house of cards falls – this will continue for some time – their illegal and unethical methods that drive money and power upwards will be exposed.  The global economy will continue to plunge downward until its root causes are eradicated or reformed.  New systems, structures and institutions will then be born from truer and fairer democratic processes, along similar lines to the principles of equality and openness embodied in the internet.

The important thing here is not to give in to the fear that the GPE are propogating, especially through the media.  It’s a well-established method that they use – to orchestrate a situation that frightens a population who seem powerless to stop it, so we call on them to fix it.  In doing so we have given away our power and allowed them to tweak the system a little more in their favour.  The current situation is something that they cannot fix, indeed most of them have no idea what is going on.  They will be just trying whatever they can to hang on to their money and power.  For those of us on a conscious spiritual path who are tuning in to the expanded consciousness, there is no reason for us to give in to fear, even if it seems overwhelming at times.  The shift to higher consciousness now has too much momentum to be stopped or even slowed down by a Global Power Elite, many of whom will not survive the transition to the new energy if they are not prepared to change and relinquish their addiction to power.

Some helpful hints on how to survive this period of transition:  Breathe deeply on a regular basis, especially if you are feeling overwhelmed.  Stand back as much as possible from the global picture as painted by mainstream media. Don’t get caught up in the drama of it all – that’s what the GPE wants. Get involved in positive movements in your local community, they will help to sustain us all through the economic difficulties. Take time out for yourself, connect with nature, listen to music that soothes and inspires you.  Get in touch with your true divine nature, develop your spiritual awareness, be gentle with yourself.  It may be the end of the world as we know it, but we can envision a better world based on fairness, integrity and love!

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Much of the information in this article was inspired by the teachings of the Crimson Circle, The Matthew Books, and the Pleiadians.

Further suggested reading for unconvinced conspiracy theorists: the excellent article Why Truthers Need to Vote for Obama, by Todd Putnam on OpedNews.com

Edgar Cayce

Channelling is a process whereby a person allows themselves to become a channel of communication for spiritual entities from beyond the physical realm.  In principle it is similar to mediumship, the main difference being that mediums tend to focus on the communication with those recently departed from the physical realm, usually with the purpose of comforting relatives and friends of the deceased. Channelling however is usually communication with entities believed to be more highly spiritually evolved, with the purpose of gaining information for education and spiritual advancement.

Although mediumship has been widely practised throughout recorded history, channelling is a relatively new phenomenon in the Western World.  The first widely recognised channeller was Edgar Cayce (pronounced ‘Casey’), sometimes referred to as the ‘sleeping prophet’. Born in Kentucky in 1877, he exhibited psychic traits as a child, but was a devout Christian with a desire to become a preacher. However at the age of 23 he developed laryngitis and was unable to speak above a whisper for several months, such that for a time he gave up hope of ever speaking normally again as doctors and specialists were unable to cure him.  He gave up his job as a salesman and began a career in photography.

A travelling stage hypnotist called ‘Hart, the Laugh King’ heard about Cayce’s condition and offered to hypnotise him in an attempt to effect a cure.  This was done publicly and to the amazement of all Cayce was able to speak normally while hypnotized.  Hart several times tried post-hypnotic suggestion that the voice would continue to function after the trance, but the laryngitis returned each time he awoke.

Al Layne, a local self-taught hypnotist and osteopath, offered to help. He suggested that Cayce describe the nature of his condition and cure while in a hypnotic trance.  Cayce described his problem as a “psychological condition producing a physical effect.”  He stated that the condition could be removed by suggesting to him while in the unconscious state that the blood circulation increase to the affected areas. After Layne made the suggestion, the upper part of Cayce’s chest and his throat turned bright red and the skin became warm. Twenty minutes later Edgar spoke again, stating that before Layne awakened him the suggestion should be made that the blood circulation return to normal. Layne followed the instructions. When Cayce came out of the trance, despite being completely unaware of what he had said, he was able to speak normally for the first time in almost a year.

Layne himself suffered from a chronic stomach condition, and asked if Cayce would do a reading for his condition.  Cayce felt obliged to help, and in the trance state accurately described Layne’s condition and prescribed a cure combining natural medicines, dietary changes and exercise.  Within a week Layne felt so much better that he implored Cayce to continue doing readings, arguing that he had a moral obligation to help people.  Cayce was wary, having no prior knowledge of medicine and a suspicion of the psychic process due to his religious beliefs.  Layne was insistent and after much prayer, Bible reading and consultation with his family, Cayce finally agreed.

Word spread and Cayce began to do readings on a regular basis, asking only for donations from those who could afford it.  It was discovered that he only needed the name and location of a patient to prescribe a cure, and he began to receive mail requests.  He had much success and his fame spread, and he continued to give readings on a regular basis.  Even though he was reluctant for a while, his success began to convince him that he had a gift from God. One of his readings stated that whilst in the trance state the conscious mind becomes subjugated to the subconscious, superconscious or soul mind; and communicates with like minds, and the subconscious or soul force becomes universal. From any subconscious mind information may then be obtained.

At one point he was persuaded by oil prospectors to give readings on possible oil sites, but these were unsuccessful.  The readings stated that the readings were never to be used for financial gain, and he came to the conclusion that he would use his gift only to help the distressed and sick.

After over 20 years of giving mainly health related readings, he was asked by Alfred Lammers, a wealthy printer and student of metaphysics, to give a philosophical reading.  In the reading he mentioned a past life of Lammers, and upon waking was shocked to hear this, as it conflicted with his religious beliefs.  This led him to much soul searching, and in a reading he was advised to read the whole Bible whilst keeping the idea of reincarnation in mind.  He came to believe that the idea of reincarnation was not incompatible with Christianity and actually gave him a deeper appreciation of the purpose of life.

In 1925 Cayce realised a long held dream, moving to Virginia and setting up a hospital where trained medical staff would treat those he gave readings for. He also began to do ‘life readings’, looking at peoples’ past lives and how that affected them in their present lives.  These readings expanded to include mental and spiritual counsel, philosophy, spirituality, meditation, dream interpretation, intuition, history and ancient civilizations, prophecies and relationship advice.

In 1931, the Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.), was formed as a research body whose goal was to investigate and disseminate the information contained in Cayce’s readings.   As his fame as a psychic grew, many skeptics came to Virginia Beach to expose him as a fraud, but in time all were convinced of the legitimacy of what he was doing.   Thomas Sugrue, a staunch Catholic, investigated what he thought had to be trickery and ended up writing ‘There is a River’, Cayce’s first biography, published in 1943.

Cayce pushed himself to do more and more readings to keep up with the demand, and this began to take a toll on his health.  He died in 1945 at the age of 67.  It is estimated that he gave over 20,000 readings, although only 14,000 of these remain today.  Although he died long before the emergence of the New Age movement he remains a major influence on many of its teachings.  These days it is probably his prophecies that get the most attention.  Many – though not all – have come true.  His readings stated that prophecy is only given as a warning, that the future is not fixed and that human free will makes virtually everything possible.  Therefore a successful prophecy is one that has been averted, and is definitely not a sign of a fake, as some skeptics have claimed.

For more information on Edgar Cayce, visit:

Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.) - Edgar Cayce biography

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius

Apparently the astrological combination of the first two lines  - with Jupiter aligning with Mars in Aquarius – has actually occured twice since the musical’s release, in 1973 and 1998.  It occurs again this year along with other alignments – Neptune, Chiron, the Sun and the North Node are also in Aquarius – at 7.25am (GMT) on Valentine’s Day, February 14 2009.  All the other planets are also in astrologically significant positions emphasising change, co-operation and creativity.  This rare alignment inspires the possibility for transcendental breakthrough in seemingly intransigent situations.  Sounds like it might be just what humanity needs at the moment!

There are many differing opinions by astrologers on the Astrological Ages. Most of them agree however that astrological ages occur based on the rotational cycle of the Earth’s axis, known as the precession of the equinoxes. One complete period of this precession is called a Great Year of about 25,860 years, and each sign of the zodiac has a corresponding age lasting on average 2160 years.  It is widely believed that we are now in the cusp period, leaving the Age of Pisces and entering the Age of Aquarius.  The Age of Pisces is represented by two fish, and one of its main characteristics has been the dominance of Christianity.  The Age of Aquarius is symbolic of spiritual transformation, computers, flight, democracy, freedom and humanitarianism. This transitional period between two ages is considered to be a process that occurs over many years, not on an exact day or year.  And whether the writers of the ‘Aquarius’ song had any astrological knowledge is not clear.  Certainly most of the themes explored in Hair are just as relevant today, if not more so…

However the alignment 0f 14 February 2009 is very powerful for anyone who believes in the influence of the planets on Earth events and consciousness. And even if you don’t hold much faith in astrology,  many people around the world will enough attach significance to this date to collectively energize a wave of intention around the globe.  This will surely nudge along human consciousness a little closer to a new age and many believe towards the 5th dimension (coincidentally perhaps?) where we will move beyond war, greed and oppression.

So let love steer the stars, on Valentine’s Day!

For more information see Cure Zone, Astrological Investing and Book of Thoth

So what exactly is a belief?  Amongst the many available dictionary definitions, the most encompassing yet brief definition I found was in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary.  It defines belief as:

Assent to a proposition or affirmation, or the acceptance of a fact, opinion, or assertion as real or true, without immediate personal knowledge; reliance upon word or testimony; partial or full assurance without positive knowledge or absolute certainty; persuasion; conviction; confidence; as, belief of a witness; the belief of our senses.

This is a very broad definition. The first phrase could mean just having a vague idea of something.  So even an agnostic – who professes no religious beliefs –  could say something like ‘I lean towards the idea that the human experience ends completely at death’ and it is still considered a belief.  If this is the case, then it certainly might be possible that the numbers of our belief systems run into the millions.  Consider how many everyday expressions – such as the following – are actually statements of belief:

That’s just the way it is
You can’t always get what you want
God only knows
There’s 2 certainties in life – death and taxes
Life wasn’t meant to be easy
Cleanliness is next to Godliness

Each of us could come up with similar – and longer – lists.  We absorb so many of these kinds of beliefs in childhood, many of them we barely understand at the time, but together they form the filters through which we view and interpret the world around us.  They are the framework around which we build our habits, personality and identity. Our personal belief systems are our major influence on how we perceive our individual reality. And even more so, our collective belief systems shape the world that we live in, creating much of our concensus reality.  Only in times of crisis do many of us question just a few of these beliefs.

We are now in a period where many beliefs are being called into question. With the current economic, political and environmental upheavals, our beliefs about many of the instutions – such as governments, corporations and banks – that many of us have taken for granted, are being sorely tested at the moment.  It is a wake up call for all of us, even if we are relatively unaffected by the financial crisis.

Behind a lot of these beliefs are some of our deeper core beliefs, which will also need to be re-examined in the growing wave of higher consciousness. Much is happening in the spiritual realms for which the secondhand and outdated belief systems of world religions have no satisfactory answers.  It is time for each of us to dig deep into ourselves to discover our true deep feelings about who we are and why we are here.  Because that is where our strongest belief systems come from.   Despite the efforts of organised religion to encourage belief in the ‘facts’ of their sacred texts, our major belief systems are born from our deepest feelings.  They have much more to do with what is in our hearts than what is in our minds.

Many of us may not be aware of what we believe.  One of the better tools to help us examine our beliefs is meditation.  By allowing ourselves to step out of ordinary life and concensus reality for even just a few minutes, and to take a step back within ourselves just to listen to and observe the myriad of beliefs that our mind begins to regurgitate, we begin to get an idea of the substance of our beliefs.  It is amazing how much of these beliefs we have simply absorbed and accepted from our parents, teachers, friends and other role models.  With increased awareness of our belief systems we can then begin to decide which beliefs serve us, and which belief systems require us to serve them.

Many believers believe that their beliefs should be unshakeable, they should be strong enough to withstand doubt.  But as a strong tree is one that sways in the wind, I prefer to believe that a strong belief is one that bends and changes with each new experience.  A rigid belief system will collapse in the strong winds of change that are currently buffeting us.  Especially when it comes to those beliefs for which we have no absolute certainty.  I rather prefer to think of my beliefs as ideas, because ideas can be more easily adapted.

A belief’s a dangerous thing … People die for it. People kill for it … I think it’s better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier. Life is malleable and progressive; working from idea to idea permits that. Beliefs anchor you to certain points and limit growth; new ideas can’t generate. Life becomes stagnant.’

- Rufus, the black 13th apostle from the movie ‘Dogma‘ – screenplay by Kevin Smith

This planetary awareness has been growing exponentially for most of recorded human history, meaning that up until the 20th century it was growing so slowly that it was barely perceptible.   For much of early recorded history, the awareness level of most of the population was mainly at the tribal level and remained that way until well after the birth of nation states. Even with the early empires such as the Greeks and the Romans, the awareness level of most people barely extended beyond their immediate vicinity.

The growth of consciousness has been strongly linked to the growth in technology.  The invention of the printing press in 1440 was a small step, but the work involved in printing was still quite labourious and anyway so few people were literate.  The Industrial Revolution saw the invention of the first steam powered printing press in 1811, and with the coinciding increases in literacy and travel awareness began to slowly but perceptibly increase throughout the 19th century.

In the early years of the 20th century, World War I and the subsequent Great Depression were the first major global occurences.  It was World War II however that really precipitated the necessity for formal recognition of humanity’s mutual interdependence, when in 1945 the United Nations was founded in order to stop wars between countries and to provide a platform for dialogue.   The UN was the first and remains one of the few truly global organisations that represents virtually the whole of humanity.  Like any human organisation it has its flaws, limitations and corruptions, but has mostly been limited in its effectiveness  because it is not an independent organisation but an association of 192 member states who must reach consensus.  The general consciousness level of the member states barely extended beyond the national level for most of the last century.  But whilst its more powerful members states have strutted and postured on the front of the world stage the UN has been quietly working in the background, and with recent events such as the global financial crisis, climate change and the food crisis,  it will increasingly become the main forum in which to address global issues.

The 1960s was a time of revolutionary ideas and social and spiritual upheaval particularly in the Western world, when the doctrines and motives of ruling establishments were called into question on a large scale.  However despite the decade’s many advancements in areas such as women’s rights, civil rights, the Peace Movement, environmental awareness, technology, popular culture, spiritual awareness and social revolution, the subsequent backlash that led to the complacency of the 1970s and materialism of the 1980s has caused some to see the 1960s as a failure.  I believe however that this is only a short-term view that prevails as a result of the era’s inability to immediately address all of the the high expectations that the idealism of the period brought.  The sheer intensity of the period however was too much for too many to cope with, and a backlash was inevitable at the time, because not enough people – especially those in positions of power – had the level of awareness to integrate so many new ideas.  But not all of the old hippies became bankers – there were many others who continue to quietly pursue some of the ideals first brought to light in the 1960s.  Many of the ideas and movements that are considered part of the New Age movement first came to general awareness in the 1960s.

This week brings the 40th anniversary of an important milestone in the advent of global consciousness – the publishing of the first photo of the Earth from space, taken by the crew of Apollo 8 from an orbit around the moon on Christmas Eve 1968.   The now more commonplace image of the simple blue and green sphere against the vast emptiness of space helped many to grasp humanity’s essential oneness and the fact that this planet is all that we have.  It has become an icon for environmental awareness.  Click on the photo to go to The Independent’s commemoration article.  

The 1970s and 80s were a time when the focus of many was more on the physical and material.  But even though not much 60s idealism carried over into mainstream society over these two decades, the growth of consciousness was not stopped.  The focus on the physical body had the effect of raising awareness of health issues such that traditonal medicine’s focus on curing disease was no longer sufficient, and many opened up to ideas of alternative and holistic health and a focus instead on wellness. Increased knowledge of the debilitating effects of stress and its influence on the development of virtually all illness and disease led to many opening up to the positive effects of more spiritually oriented practices such as meditation, yoga and conscious breathing.  Awareness of the effects of different environments on human health also increased.

The 1980s was the decade that brought us Reaganomics, Thatcherism, business globalisation and economic liberalisation.  Multi-national companies and global conglomerates were no longer so limited by their national borders and collectively became more powerful players on the world stage than the nation states from which they emerged.  Globalisation for many became a dirty word.  But despite the damage done by bringing Western materialism to the people of developing nations, an upside has been a certain kind of stability to the world as a whole.  Business has contributed to the prevention of potential wars by diluting the self-interest of nation states in the name of continued profits.  Of course we are only now beginning to appreciate the long term negative effects though of many of the flaws of allowing markets to have free reign.  And even the capitalist triumph of the fall of communism with the Berlin Wall at the end of the decade will perhaps be seen as being more symbolic of the breaking down of what separates us from each other, and freedom from restrictive ideologies from whatever side of the political fence.

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To be continued