Jean Roberts

Spiritual development certainly has a transitional lens – one that facilitates sight, that makes the practice of seeing (knowing, accepting and then understanding) more comfortable and more distinct by easing the glare of the strengthening light – or more specifically, enlightenment.  My dream of new doors, new rooms and still more new doors gave me a clear understanding of spiritual development

This question was on my mind in December of 1993: How can I improve and increase my spiritual communication?

I wanted to better understand the content, meaning and challenges within this new level of communication.

Gradually, the concepts of the transitional lens and the continuing discovery of new doors, new rooms and yet more new doors became practical reality, and I began to understand the difference and relationship between communication and enlightenment.

These are my considered definitions:

Enlightenment is the art of knowing – it is the knowledge and information into which one expands as a spiritual  being.

Enlightenment is the movement of knowledge and information through expansion and exploration into conscious, subconscious and unconscious awareness, acceptance and confidence.Communication is the science of enlightenment – it is the understanding of enlightenment. Communication is the method, the technique, the action of understanding.

The difference and relationship between enlightenment and communication requires an acceptance that they are each of equal value and importance in the spiritual journey. They have the potential to be two sides of the one coin.

My concern at that time was that I was more attuned to communication than to enlightenment.

I had earlier discovered that the ‘everyday’ and the ‘mundane’ provided an effective language in my spiritual communication, and these life-experiences could easily be recognized, described and considered. These included such occasions as a dragonfly appearing on my doorway, a flower falling from a vase, a number appearing on my digital clock, particular words being spoken, an image being captured, and a feeling being registered.

Enlightenment seemed more often to be a gradual expansion – although occasionally experienced as suddenly as a bolt of lightning. But on the whole, enlightenment is a gradual process of expansion and exploration – often contributing to or resulting in an awareness of choice, a decision or change of direction. Reflection and observation are useful here, and many refer to this specific process as meditation. However titled, the objective is to inform one’s consciousness, thereby moving through expansion into enlightenment.

Time spent aside from the normal routine, or away from the usual working, study or family environment, can lead to valuable insights that facilitate enlightenment. It’s almost like reaching a plateau in acknowledged spiritual growth. Such a time may be relaxing while at the same time generating a higher level of understanding or acceptance of particular events or people in the normal routine.  Enlightenment can be peaceful; yet it can also bring a feeling of physical and emotional exhaustion.

Here’s a practical image for meditation:

Notice how your mind is being organised. As you connect your thought processes to the spiritual dimension, picture the tidying up of your mind. Storage and retrieval processes in place – bringing system and structure and order – so that whatever piece of information or wisdom or knowledge or intent you need is at your fingertips and at your disposal.

Think of it this way – that each area of knowledge or thought or processing of information has its own filing cabinet; and each filing cabinet is attended not by one entity but by an army of entities, filing, culling, expanding, clarifying and cross-referencing. Their only role is to keep your mind in order so that you access the information in which you live and move and have your being.

What more could you want than that?

Examples of methods of spiritual communication:

Collective consciousness

Each person brings to the collective consciousness their individual experience and memory. Together, the collectivity of our minds becomes a collective consciousness – as a collective mind.

Time is unimportant in the collective mind. Time and distance and space do not exist. So when a thought that conveys any pressure related to time or distance or space presents itself, you can discount it. Communication and conversation with the collective mind equips one for any challenge, for any joy, for any opportunity, for any expression, for any presentation, for any group.

This realisation is an example of enlightenment.

Information comes to different people in different ways. To some it comes as a revelation, to some it comes as a result of digging and searching, and to others it comes by just listening or watching and observing their own behaviour or the behaviour of others.

And yet others seem to absorb knowledge through their skin. They learn through the hunger to learn, and their hunger to learn is an openness, is an attitude.

Experiencing the collective consciousness on your spiritual journey

Listen to others: their observations and interpretation of your words, actions, responses or behaviour can open your eyes and add to your own understanding of how and what you communicate. If you don’t listen to others, you stifle the important flow of information through the collective consciousness. You may not always agree with the observations or interpretation of others – and you have the right not to agree: but you also have the right to learn from these comments and to integrate them into your own consciousness. There’s so much about ourselves that we take for granted. Because you do or say things easily and often, you can become so familiar with these actions or words without recognising their benefit to others. You need to see and know what you do well, and why you do them so well – and you need to see what and how you can do better or differently.

Accept challenges: simply accept the fact that anything can be improved. Whether it’s a relationship, a performance, an instruction, a structure, a mission, a purpose, an objective – just assume that it can be done better, more easily, more satisfying, more effectively, more efficiently.

See through the present to the potential. When you look at anything that is a mess, recognise not only that it can be improved, but that you can know how it can be improved. Address your energy, your inspiration, your imagination, your creativity, your logic and your mind to setting about that improvement. Go out of your way to talk to who it is necessary to talk with, to encourage and inspire – and spread the same confidence that you hold, that improvement is possible.

Don’t compare the nature and size of the challenge. Just know that the collective consciousness is working with you, and is constantly available.

Display a genuine and caring interest in the people that you work, live or study with: watch and enjoy their growth. And as they grow, they will see how much further they can grow. Inspire small leaps in growth, together with the love of growth.

Share and teach as you go: make sure that the people you are with have the opportunity to learn new things, or new ways of doing things. Be accessible, and provide practical information as well as encouragement.

Threaten walls of uncertainty, unseen barriers, and pools of doubt and anger: know that you will encounter animosity as inefficiencies or inadequacies within yourself or others are brought to the surface. Sadness, disappointment and frustration are emotions which have their origin in real or perceived limits, boundaries and constraints.

The presence and power of the collective consciousness are limitless and endless. They are constantly at your fingertips and at your disposal.