Change the prevailing mode of consciousness and you change the world. Theodore Roszak
The prevailing mode of consciousness today might be captured in the word materialism. Philosophical materialism suggests that all that matters is matter, and everything that occurs does so strictly within the material world.
Practical materialism, which flows from its philosophical wellspring, focuses on the acquisition, manipulation, and removal of material objects based on their usefulness.
A better term for this prevailing mode of consciousness that is rooted in philosophical materialism might be objective consciousness.
In layman’s terms: Where’s my stuff? I want stuff. I need stuff. But not that stuff.
Objective consciousness limits us to see, live, and act only within the physical world of stuff. Of things.
Beyond the stuff of earth, however, is a realm of awe and wonder. The spiritual world. The plane of existence where we experience love, joy, peace, gratitude, hope, and communion with the divine.
The membrane that separates these two worlds can only be permeated by shedding the entirety of the material world, including and especially the center of it all – the self.
To the self, this appears as a mythical fantasy at best or suicidal mission at worst. And so, any invitation to cross the threshold is met with dismissal or attack.
So how does anyone trapped in the prevailing consciousness of the material, objective world ever see the truth of what lies beyond?
There is one – and only one – spiritual substance that can penetrate the physical world and shine light that illuminates the path between these two world
And that substance is the focus of today’s episode.
Source Scripture
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You and I have need of the strongest spell that can be found to wake us from the evil enchantment of worldliness.…How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing, it is irresistible. C.S. Lewis
In the movie Sixth Sense, for those fortunate enough not to see it coming, there is a point in the story that awakens the viewer to an altogether new reality – to abandon an existing framework of thinking altogether in order to adapt a new one that instantly resolves all of the unanswered questions and makes the story make sense.
But for the story to make sense, we need that sixth sense. For the pieces of the story to fit all together, we need an altogether new way of thinking. To resolve the unanswered questions, we need a renaissance of resonance.
When our lives are out of balance, centered in the ego instead of the soul, we experience frustration. Confusion. Despair. And most often we assume this to be the case because our outer world is not in proper orbit around us. This assumption drives a paradigm of frantic manipulation of people, possessions, and small green pieces of paper.
But what if this is not the way? What if our paradigm is all wrong? What if, like Galileo as he gazed through his telescope, we realize that we are not the center of the universe?
There is a new paradigm that, once embraced, suddenly brings the meaning of life into focus. This sixth sense helps everything make sense. This altogether new way of thinking makes everything in our lives fit all together. It resonates with all that we long to experience, and has the power to usher in a Renaissance that renders our lives rapturous.
This paradigm is called holiness. Our modern world has largely misunderstood holiness, relegating it either to an antiquated, irrelevant way of living or to a rigid regimen requiring self-flagellation.
But holiness is neither of these things. Holiness is the foundation of soul-centered living. It is the underlying armature that pervades Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom of heaven. And it is the way of thinking that, once adapted, will make your entire life – your story – make sense.
Source Scripture
Wholly Holy: Mark 1:21-28; Luke 4:31-37
Connect
Twitter: @AwestruckPod
Email: info@awestruckpodcast.com
Extras