The sleep of consciousness is the default state of the human race, but it’s difficult to realize it. The state which we call awake, is actually a spiritual sleep, in which consciousness is stuck in the subconscious, which compulsively churns up feelings and emotions that have a hypnotic like effect upon the mind.
There’s a quote from the Apocryphon of John in The Nag Hammadi Library, which illustrates that this is something that humanity has faced from ancient times, which is referenced in many religions of the world, it’s as relevant today as it was then. The quote says:
And I said to the savior, “What is the forgetfulness?” And he said “It is not the way Moses wrote (and) you heard. For he said in his first book, ‘He put him to sleep’, but (it was) in his perception. For also he said through the prophet, ‘I will make their hearts heavy, that they may not pay attention and may not see’.
There is a difference between the ordinary state of waking (waking sleep), and conscious awareness, which is to be self-aware and free of the effects of subconscious states upon perception.
This article was great to read after having watched the video “How to see ego states and remove them”. Both have been a big boost to push forward and fight against these horrible states within
Thanks again for a much needed help.
Reading this article again, the following parts really jumped out for me:
“By trying to wake up even momentarily, the hallucinations of waking sleep may become apparent. Thoughts and even daydreams are not the real issue. Thoughts are necessary, and mental forms keep getting created as part of the thought process. The real problem is in the ego states of the subconscious, which bring the hypnotic abysmal states that entrap the consciousness.
Spending more time out of the subconscious, increases the perception of reality, and psychic faculties which are buried emerge, and then things that the physical eye itself can’t see become visible. There’s a huge psychic potential that remains dormant while in the sleep.”
I often struggle with thoughts and wonder why the keep coming back in, but I’ve been seeing a bit lately that there are driving emotions and motivations for them in the subconscious which for me are masked by the thoughts but seem to keep me asleep and out of touch with reality. It’s quite difficult to see them and in some ways they feel like an addiction that I need to break free of. Hopefully remembering the potential of breaking free of them and connecting with divinity will give me the strength to break through for good!
Thank you very much for this very timeless and powerful article.
Lately I have been shocked seeing the power some negative states have in me, at that certain moment that I try o be aware in some small level. How much indifference they are and they make me towards other people. It’s unbelievable. And also how much I want to serve them, how much pleasure they give me and how difficult it is to try to get detached from them, to sacrifice them. To succeed each time I have to be strongly determined for this. It’s very difficult. Something that helps me very much is to remember the consequences of my choices, makes me act more responsible and gives me a real purpose to do it.
That’s why this article has helped me so much. It reaches deeply in me and shocks me in so many points. Seeing how much time I spend daydreaming, what sacrifices I make, how my behaviour is affected by others and by my choices and how they affect other people and my life. It makes me reflect if I really want to change and on my responsibility for the world’s condition . It exposes very clearly the truth of my reality, guiding me and pushing me forward.
Thank you for this help and at this time, from my heart.
You know in reading this article it explains a lot about how I feel at the moment and shows a way to remind me of the way out of the low states that come up during the day. It’s just too easy to go along with those states and as Belsebuub mentions one can enjoy them in a strange kind of way. I need to remember that the world I live in is a result of my inner states which I have created and in the end I’ll be responsible for!, coming out of the cold indifference will be challenging as the “who cares” state is always ready to to put any effort straight back on the couch with a cup of coffee and the false belief that I’ll work on that later! Passivity is huge! it just makes you think what has humanity become and what could humanity really be like
Thankyou for this poignant and timely article Belsebuub. I just re-read it, after reflecting a bit on my pitfalls and how I can overcome them in the new year. It really helps to have the bigger picture laid out like this, and then focus on the choice we face each moment between fighting to wake up or remaining in darkness.
Within there is a genuine longing for light, amidst the compulsive.longings of various ego states, with the hypnotic pleasures and pain they bring. Sometimes I feel I am in a tug of war, and then something induces me to sleep, then the darkness pulls back and I lose ground. But I see more and more, that it happens in lots of little ways from moment to moment, before it happens in a bigger way.
This article is a good reminder of the need to keep fighting to wake up and stay awake throughout every activity every day. The darkness is strong, but the opportunity is still there before us all the time to break free if we are prepared to struggle for it.
Thanks Belsebuub, and much strength to everyone.
This article has helped me. Thank you for putting this up for everyone.
I can also remember this talks given by Belsebuub back in the Gnostic Movement but reading it here with several examples added and elaborated on things makes the picture even clearer.
The part you quote Dara is helping me too.
“A major consequence of being psychologically asleep is the psychological and spiritual blindness which results from it, this results in action not from conscious awareness and true intelligence but from self-righteousness…”
At times you can create a real strength and momentum and you feel everything around you is much clearer. But when for example entropy hits and brings you down, you notice your perception looses clarify and you feel the indifference in not wanting to practice or come out of it. To me this refers to blindness mentioned and I can see choices I make in this lower state don’t turn out to be the best ones.
How practical these teachings are as I have this choice to be perceptive or sleep within each moment. This article needs more reflection I think but helps me to get a sense of the bigger picture and the effects / repercussions those little choices I make each day have.
There are so many though provoking points in this article. The quote from the Apocryphon of John where it says ‘I will make their hearts heavy, that they may not pay attention and may not see’ feels as pertinent now as it must have been then. Being in subconscious states does feel like you’re walking around with a weight inside your heart, completely distracted from the reality of the present moment.
And I can definitely feel how hypnotic being this way is. I’ve often wondered at the opposing states of cold indifference towards others and yet wanting to wake up, and how they can both exist inside.
I also found this part very motivating:
“A major consequence of being psychologically asleep is the psychological and spiritual blindness which results from it, this results in action not from conscious awareness and true intelligence but from self-righteousness…”
Understanding what the repercussions are of living in subconscious states–especially the fact that you end up psychologically and spiritually blind–is a very motivating reason to me to work towards change. When you consider it from this angle, who would ever want to choose blindness, or the inability to make conscious decisions or act in ways that won’t harm others? The seriousness of these issues is quite sobering.
Thanks a lot for this timely article.
“And I can definitely feel how hypnotic being this way is. I’ve often wondered at the opposing states of cold indifference towards others and yet wanting to wake up, and how they can both exist inside.”
I have thought about this too, and have found that if I am asleep enough then my egos turn more strongly on the work, almost like they’re guarding their territory and food. It reminds me of that passage from the bible “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Thanks for this article. It is really helpful.
It is really strange how there is this hype about a global awakening, and so many people believe that we are heading in this great direction. It feels like self-deceit on a global level…
Not to put down people with addictions by any means, but it reminds me of a person who has become addicted to drugs and does not realize how much they have destroyed their life or the lives of those around them…completely oblivious to the reality of things and still acting as if everything was good. It kind of feels like we as a humanity are in a complete state of denial in some ways similar to this.
I remember listening to this talk, and one of the points that stood out to me back then that continued to come to mind for years is the notion that we can see more of reality when we are in a conscious state. The fact that we can see something underneath the situation at hand, grasping what is really going on, is really motivating for me. It helps particularly when facing challenging or ambiguous situations because it makes such situations less intimidating when you understand them at that level.
I feel that this is much better than trying to approach situations with positive thoughts or trying to pretend that you are comfortable handling any situation, while meanwhile ego states are being suppressed or ignored. These points have helped me in a lot of situations since hearing the talk.
When I read this article, now at the end of 2012, I understood much more than I did at that time regarding the state of the world, as well as the impact of darkness on our personal daily existences. Even just in 2009, I would not have imagined the way the world would be at this moment, when horrible atrocities are occurring in even the most “civilized” countries.
Something else that really stood out to me reading through this time was the point about how “No-one can have everything in terms of consciousness, you can’t live a life of pleasure and indulgence, and then expect to be peaceful whenever you want to, it doesn’t work like that.” and the remainder of this paragraph. It can often feel like such a mystery as to why one cannot seem to remember to observe within and to be aware, however, this really puts into perspective how this can happen and what is needed to stop this from happening.
Thanks again for this article, which others have mentioned is so very timely.
“It can often feel like such a mystery as to why one cannot seem to remember to observe within and to be aware, however, this really puts into perspective how this can happen and what is needed to stop this from happening.”
I agree, Gabrielle. That is why that point stood out to me as well.
I also like the points you made about how when we’re conscious we’re not trying to mask anything or put on an artificial approach, but are dealing with seeing reality. The benefits of that far outweigh the temporary or illusory “happy” perspective on life.
Thank you for this timely article
I am glad this article/talk resurfaced. It’s a sobering reminder, to say the least, of the need to get focused on the things that actually matter in life.
This subject of 2012 is so interesting. I am frequently being forwarded chain emails by someone on the significance of Dec 2012, and the future of humanity. It’s amazing how they range from “prepare for the worst/ stock up on food supplies, guns, etc./ be prepared for a blackout/ be ready for an apocalypse” types of things, to “we are heading into a wonderful state of awakening consciousness/ there is going to be a spiritual shift/ we are all slowly awakening to the light/ your psychic faculties will increase and your spiritual sensitivity is going to skyrocket through the roof”… I think a lot of it is just a mix of opportunism and fear-mongering, some of it appears to be calculated deception, but then I know many people who actually feel they are on a journey to awakening simply because they were born in this time period and this new shift is going to somehow propel them towards greatness. To me it seems that a simple, open-eyed look at the world around can provide a clearer perspective on the state of the world and on where we’re heading collectively and as individuals… It would be really amazing though, if many people got interested in awakening their consciousness. I hope more and more people will “wake up” to the possibility.
”To me it seems that a simple, open-eyed look at the world around can provide a clearer perspective on the state of the world and on where we’re heading collectively and as individuals…”
Yeah well said Jenny, I have also come across many people with strong beliefs that Dec 21st is the beginning of a global awakening, these beliefs can’t budge, if as a whole, people generally hold onto beliefs and opinions of one sort or another, then the global awakening is a true gem. I guess this also reveals a greater problem of why change is so hard, when there are so many options out there that make us think things are going well, why not. But if in a single day you can realize how much better you could have lived it, whether in consciousness or through interactions with others, there is a real ladder of development to take on. But there are a lot of things to first admit and recognize. I just can’t fall for this magic switch that I am going to start being spiritual automatically in 2013.
Another powerful talk, telling it like it is. Thanks for posting this.
There are lots of points in there I really appreciated and would want to comment on, but none so much as this:
“There’s a reluctance to actually want to lose lower states to gain the higher. If you look into it you’ll see there’s an enjoyment of low states in a strange sort of way, there’s an indulgence in them. It takes sacrifice to be free of them.”
Couldn’t be said much better than that! Worth going over and reflecting upon. And most importantly of course, working hard to implement “in the moment” in our daily lives…
That’s a good one Jordan, I remember once hearing from Belsebuub how most inner states and egos bring on this sickly pleasure and enjoyment, even if they are absolutely dreadful to go through. Hearing this for the first time was really shocking and it really did not feel right that something like this goes on. Its also something I don’t think I have truly grasped, but only makes me think of the way demons interact and its a hard thing to swallow and look into.
I feel like I’ve been struggling lately a lot with the egos that hypnotise us and keep us locked into the sleep and daydream. It’s strange that on one hand they are so painful, and on the other hand they are so compelling. I haven’t been able to understand them yet fully, but I can see a repeating pattern of them coming up throughout my life, and underlying I can feel this strange pleasure of them feeding, almost like if you imagine what a greedy person would look like rubbing their hands together when faced with lots of gold, that is what the egos feel like waiting for their feed..
Thank you for posting this article.
I know that many do not want to hear about the urgency of change; but there are also some that value and appreciate your message. When reflecting a bit, I feel that each moment of the day lived through subconscious states is like a lost treasure, like a step away from divinity. And each and every action performed out of a compulsion and without noticing reinforces and strengthens inner slavery.
The passage below resonates strongly with me.
“This world is a testing ground for consciousness in its spiritual journey, its ultimate destination is the oneness of the source, but the testing is intense and it’s extremely difficult to get there.”
Thank you Belsebuub.
Reading this article again that passage stuck out to me too Suavi. Hope we all can find the strength to do whatever we need to do to awaken!
I’ve read this article last night and it has been very helpful for me to refocus my day, to help me remember myself more, to help remember what it is that is truly important at the end of time: the consciousness / the being.
I am thankful that you keep on passing this timeless message and I really hope you don’t feel like a broken record by showing us, and reminding us in so many articles how being aware is where the work start. It can be easy to fall into an intellectual awareness and believe ourselves to be aware, yet reading your words bring us back to reality. The excerpts as well are important I find because they remind us that this is a timeless work and for everyone to do if they so desire.
There are actually many parts in this article that brought me focus and that are giving me a push to gain my own insights, but this one in particular, as it is something that I’ve been looking at lately and be honest about with myself:
“To put it in perspective, how much time do you spend during any one day daydreaming and in the grip of some sort of subconscious emotion, or feeling? If you compare that amount of time with how much you are consciously aware of the world around yourself, and of your thoughts, emotions and feelings, then you’ll get an idea of the small amount of time you and everyone are actually awake.”
And later on, this other passage as it is so practical, and brings me back to reality and not fantasy of what the work is about:
“No-one can have everything in terms of consciousness, you can’t live a life of pleasure and indulgence, and then expect to be peaceful whenever you want to, it doesn’t work like that. Negative, low states and waking sleep arise involuntarily. To overcome them and rise out of sleep requires knowledge and sacrifice. Sacrificing lower states for conscious awareness, from which arise spiritual states of love, peace and beauty. If you want to come out of waking sleep at least for significant times in the day, you’ll have to make sacrifices. You’ll have to sacrifice pleasure and pain in order to get peace.
Instead of hatred, feel love; instead of pride, humility; instead of self-interest, compassion; instead of being lazy, be active; instead of wallowing in depression and low states, feel true happiness, and wake up.”
At the end of the day, I realize that living “asleep” is a choice we make in each moment and by simply bringing us back to being, we can start waking up, and we also start wanting to wake up more and more. Being aware 100% of the time is a slow battle, but reading an article like this is just really helpful to ‘regroup’ for the internal battle of consciousness versus egos and I’m really appreciative for it, as it really helps me to get organized internally to stand up for my consciousness.
So thank you as always – and like Layla said above: “Despite all the horrible attacks against you, and what they have put you through, your love continues to reach out! Thank you.”
That last quote you posted, Geraldine, really stood out to me as well. It’s such a simple concept, and yet it surprisingly can so easily be forgotten over and over again!
“No-one can have everything in terms of consciousness, you can’t live a life of pleasure and indulgence, and then expect to be peaceful whenever you want to, it doesn’t work like that. Negative, low states and waking sleep arise involuntarily. To overcome them and rise out of sleep requires knowledge and sacrifice. Sacrificing lower states for conscious awareness, from which arise spiritual states of love, peace and beauty. If you want to come out of waking sleep at least for significant times in the day, you’ll have to make sacrifices. You’ll have to sacrifice pleasure and pain in order to get peace.
Instead of hatred, feel love; instead of pride, humility; instead of self-interest, compassion; instead of being lazy, be active; instead of wallowing in depression and low states, feel true happiness, and wake up.”
Yes, that point stuck with me. Since reading this article I’ve been coming back to this point and trying to really live, experience and go deeper into it.
Thanks for this article, good to hear and reflect on this all again.
Yes, that part stood out for me as well. Its amazing if we can realize the hypocrisy in what we do, and start to live more honestly if awakening is something we want to achieve.
There were times in my life, where I felt my own inner states were making a huge hypocrite out of me, and I felt an urge to be true to myself and not allow any excuses of negativity against another person. I guess over time, excuses trickle in, until we lose that grip on these living teachings and instead make theories out of them and justify many wrong things we do. But thanks to Belsebuub again and again, we can come back to earth and find how much life there is in this work if we delve into fresh perspectives and see the bigger picture.
Thank you very much for such a powerful teaching, and for propelling our essence to push for the awakening.
It makes me really question where my direction has been and where it is now, and to remember and push for what I a truly came here for.
I just wish more people would find your teachings because they are so true, so real to life and they are given so purely and practically so that anyone who wants to awaken can take the steps to do so.
Despite all the horrible attacks against you, and what they have put you through, your love continues to reach out! Thank you.
This is a really great and timely article, although parts of it were from a talk I listened to few years ago, its as though I have never heard it and I was really taken back.
This article is very intense, because this work and life is intense if we want to awaken. So thank you for always bringing this message accross and helping us along the way as we tend to forget once things get hard and we start to seek out the easy opportunities.
Thank you Belsebuub
Thank you Belsebuub for writing this article, reminding us to all do everything we can, in every moment to remember to break free from the hypnotic nature that we bring to our own daily lives.