The Four Stages of Religious Teaching

An Interview on the Great Continuum of Consciousness

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The Great Continuum of Consciousness

Interviewer:

On your web site you state that you have spent a lot of time doing consciousness studies since 1983. You have described what you call a Great Continuum of Consciousness. Can you tell me a little about what that is?

George:

The Great Continuum of Consciousness comprises four levels of the mind: Conscious mind, Subconscious mind, Metaconscious mind, and Superconscious mind. Conscious mind contains your present time experience. Subconscious mind is a reservoir of memory and the creative faculties of imagination and visualization. Metaconscious mind is the home of the active higher functions of the personality: will and intelligence, programming of habit, conscience, integration and self-direction. The Superconscious mind is the abode of archetypal and spiritual realms. This map is described at

www.mudrashram.com/GCC2.html.


These other dimensions of the mind exist above the waking state of awareness: meditation is the art of purposefully focusing your attention in these alternate states of awareness. [A more detailed description of the Transcendental Sphere paths can be found in the article, "Maps of Consciousness of the Transcendental Sphere"]

Interviewer:

You have taught meditation since1983. How do you approach meditation? How is what you teach different than popular forms like Zen meditation or Transcendental Meditation?

George:

Zen meditation and Transcendental meditation are what I term unitive styles of meditation. They teach one meditation technique, with supplementary techniques to ensure the practitioner makes progress on a delineated path.

What I teach is Integral meditation. It brings together a variety of different techniques to accomplish the balanced unfolding of the Soul at its spiritual cutting edge. It balances the four poles of being around the fulcrum point of the Soul. So it does not lead you on a path, but your path.

Interviewer:

What are these four poles?

George:

The four poles of being are the pole of the ensouling entity (Atma or Soul), of the spirit, of the vehicles of the Soul, and of what I term life/ consciousness, which contains the attentional principle and the structures that substand embodiment as human life.

Different types of meditation access these four poles, so for balanced development, it is necessary to utilize a variety of techniques, not just one or two methods.

Unitive systems of meditation typically operate in only one or two poles and as a result, ultimately create imbalance for the practitioner.

Interviewer:

Reading the articles on your web site, www.mudrashram.com, you suggest that many religious traditions unwittingly create imbalances that give rise to disruption of personality functioning, fundamentalist beliefs and fanaticism. How is this brought about?

George:

There are two major trends that create imbalance. The first trend, which we may call, working at the wrong place, occurs when spiritual paths awaken the potentials of consciousness at a level that is not the spiritual cutting edge. For example, a path may initiate an individual into Cosmic Sphere work when their cutting edge is Planetary.

The second trend we could call single pole obsession. In this work, the meditation techniques utilized by the group work on only one pole, and this pole becomes grossly overly developed. For example, those that work on the pole of vehicles of the Soul may work with the individual as a nucleus of identity, and unfold that aspect of consciousness and nature without regard to its impact on the integral structure of being.

The worst imbalances occur when both trends occur together. This is unfortunately all too common.

Interviewer:

So religion is driving people crazy?

George:

If spiritual unfoldment is done too zealously in ways that create imbalance, it can adversely effect the functioning of the personality. Fanatical beliefs engendered by imbalanced development coupled with indoctrination in an altered state of awareness can radically change believers' lives and character. Yes, it can even drive some susceptible people psychotic.

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Interviewer:

Isn't it a positive effect of religion through prayer and meditation to change a person's beliefs and character in a good way?

George:

Character reformation, the overcoming of limiting or dysfunctional beliefs and unhealthy behavior, is a common goal of religion, psychotherapy and hypnosis. Where the problem arises, is that after sustained practice of meditation–while working at the wrong place and/or with single pole obsession–the essential identity of a person is re-framed, often in ways that make normalized functioning difficult or impossible.

Interviewer:

This is what leads to the problems we see in spiritual cults?

George:

Yes. But the scary thing is that mainstream religions, world religions affecting the lives of millions of people, use many of these same practices.

Interviewer:

To gain control over other people and manipulate them?

George:

It can and is used to manipulate people. People can be roused to fight holy wars, to vote for certain political agendas, to discriminate against other groups of people. Once the reality testing function of reason is co-opted by unquestionable, absolutistic belief systems, the individual is effectively in the control of the leaders of these groups.

Interviewer:

How does Integral meditation avoid these troubling trends?

George:

First, we don't leave people in altered states of awareness.

Second, we don't construct idealized value systems for people, but let them discover their innate truths.

Third, we teach them to work at their cutting edge in a balanced way so they can avoid the problems that arise from working at the wrong place, or obsessively on one pole.

Fourth, we empower people to work on themselves. We don't tell people what to think, what to believe, and what to do. We teach them meditation so that they will understand what it does, when to use it, and when not to use it.

Interviewer:

You don't call yourself a guru or spiritual Master. You don't have followers who worship you as a god. You don't claim to be an Avatar or savior. Are people looking for some one to save them?

George:

There are two factors that bring about inner unfoldment. The first is the Light, the Grace of the Divine. Highly advanced souls–Initiates–in every tradition, have become focal points for this Grace and can channel this power to others.

Desperate people find these Grace-Bestowing ones and make them into saviors. I don't let my students fall into this delusion. I share with them the Light and empower them, but I tell them that this same Light is at the bottom of every tradition, and with sufficient inner development, they can become instruments of the Light as well.

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The second factor that brings about inner unfoldment is using meditation to move along your path. I encourage those who study with me to initiate themselves, to unfold themselves, to work on themselves, so they can develop independence and growing mastery. I am available to consult and guide them, and I have prepared supportive materials to help them in this quest. It is not my aim to create dependency, and I discourage it in my students.

Interviewer:

Other materials?

George:

I teach two classes in meditation. The first is called the Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation. The second, for serious students who want to work with us more intensively, is called the Mudrashram® Advanced Course in Meditation.

Supportive materials available after students complete the Master Course include a meditation compact disk series with meditations from the class, and a home study course of guided meditations with 16 compact disks, [called the Satsang Program Home Study Course] that progressively reveals different levels of the Great Continuum of Consciousness.

Interviewer:

You mention a correspondence course for meditation on your web site. Is that for your students only? Is it available?

George:

This is the most ambitious project I have undertaken. This is a two year, 50-lesson course that maps the entire Continuum of Consciousness from waking awareness to the highest reaches of the Transcendental bands of the Superconscious mind–level by level and world by world. There are hundreds of meditations in this course. You are guided to progressively explore each level in great detail.

I intend this to release this for spiritual seekers...[The Mudrashram® Correspondence Course was released on July 23, 2006] While I strongly recommend that individuals both take the Master Course and Advanced Course before taking this class, I recognize that for many reasons they cannot do that. The information that is taught in this course is too important to put barriers to people's inner discovery. This course will assist them to see what is there. [Individuals who wish to take the Mudrashram® Correspondence Course will need to take either take the Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation or the Accelerated Meditation Program first.]

Interviewer:

The entire Continuum of Consciousness?

George:

Yes. The whole enchilada.

Interviewer:

Well, thank you for taking this time for the interview and letting our readers get to know you better.

If you wish to interview George for your newspaper, magazine, web log, or e-zine, you may contact him at

George@mudrashram.com

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