Most of us go through life making decisions based on our past experiences without being really mindful of all the issues involved. This can lead to the stereotyping of people and situations and us not always taking the best course of action.
Many of us do things that we regret, often without thinking, and wonder later why we made such a silly decision, acted in such an unpleasant way or avoided something that we should have done to achieve success in our lives. This kind of behaviour is often the result of ‘programs’ which we have installed in our brains over the years, based on old doubts and fears, or what I can simply call, ‘ego conversations’. The problem is that our fears and ego conversations create short but powerful word-strings of ‘self-talk’ which are often subliminal, meaning that we are not even consciously aware of them. Self-talk points to underlying programs and are often negative or confrontational depending on whether they are linked to our doubts, fears or simply our egos.
So what is consciousness? Our human consciousness could be seen as a conscious state which allows us to realise that we are alive and to think, reason and see what we experience as reality. However, it can also give us a clue to answering the important question of whether there is life after death.
In preparation for his presentation to members of The Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa (PSASA), Jimmy Henderson has prepared a PDF guide. The document guides the reader through the journey followed by Jimmy Henderson from being a first-time author to becoming an Amazon Bestseller. Learn from Jimmy as he candidly shares his experiences gleaned from years of writing and publishing several books.
Download the PDF of Jimmy’s talk on the self-publishing, click here
In my previous article I proposed a new theory of the human soul as the complete and perfect essence of each human formed (created) in a Universal Mind. In this case, the existence of a Universal Mind I derived from the idea of a collective unconscious described by Carl Jung, as well as the notion of a universal consciousness, which, according to some quantum physicists, is said to be at the basis of the entire universe. The perfection of the soul itself I linked to Plato’s idea of the world of ‘ideal forms’, which he believed provides the templates for everything in existence. As a result, I expect some questions as to what would be the point, purpose and process of spiritual development if human souls are already, in essence, perfect and complete.
I know that there are many people who are very cautious or are ‘sitting on the fence’ when it comes to topics like psychic development and metaphysics, and I think this is due to the fact that these fields have received bad press by using their own jargon such as ‘connecting’, ‘channeling’ and ‘5th dimensional portals’ which sound very mysterious and strange to those who are not part of such groups or circles. So what I really want to do is de-mystify some ideas on psychic development and metaphysics by linking them to the normal process of human self-development and the scientific and psychological research which underlies this development.
Many ancient metaphysical texts maintain that the soul or spiritual essence of a person passes through stages of evolution in the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms to emerge only later as a human soul. As a cognitive scientist and a metaphysician, this idea seems outdated in the light of human psychology. This article looks at arguments against the ancient view of the evolution of the soul and introduces a new theory based on recent research in the human sciences.
An old man once told me the story of a younger son who was dissatisfied with the life provided by his father and decided to leave home. After a long time of wandering, he had exhausted his resources and ended up in a cesspool of debauchery and humiliation in which he suffered greatly. However, his father, who was very wise and knowing of his suffering, sent his elder brother to fetch him and bring him home. The elder brother found the younger in a dark and filthy pit, wallowing in despair. After also entering into this thoroughly unpleasant place, the elder brother lifted up his younger brother, who had since forgotten where he had come from, and reminded him of his true home far away.
For anyone who believes in a higher form of life, having some concept of God is useful and, indeed, necessary, as this concept acts as a focus for introspective thought, meditation and prayer and forms the foundation for further development and spiritual understanding.