‘Raising Consciousness’ Question.

I'm not so sure this is so, though, when one refers to OBE practitioners, and even accounts of NDEs where similar distinct "vibrational states" are described. (This is possibly a distinct concept or experience from the "raised" or "awakened consciousness" that the OP is talking about though.)

Well there probably IS something that is vibrating (you could make the argument that everything in existence is a vibration) and maybe some altered states correspond to different modes or frequencies of vibration of something related to consciousness, but I haven't heard anyone explain what it is that is vibrating or how it is vibrating or what specifically happens when this unspecified vibration increases in frequency. I've often heard people who are heavy on the spirit and light on the physics appeal to the EM spectrum and cymatics and string theory and higher dimensions and then conflate them all, mix in the colors of the chakras and the earth's natural frequency and the 33 vertebrae and the Freemasons and voila: Kundalini awakening.

I'm not dismissing the possibility that there is some reality to "higher vibrations", but the complete absence of an explanation for what that actually means leaves me to merely analyze what is poetically meant by the phrase and what do "higher vibrations" symbolize to us and how is that symbol grounded in our experiences (birds chirping, children giggling, water trickling, bells clinking, vs. beasts roaring, thunder rolling, waves crashing, chords clashing, etc)

I had a dream once where I had a Kundalini awakening inside the dream, and in the dream I sort of collapsed on the ground in almost a seizure like state and the only way to describe the feeling I felt in the dream was intense vibrational energy that was causing my body (in the dream) to convulse. It wasn't painful or scary, but mildly pleasing. I've never had a Kundalini awakening in real life and never really desired to experience it... the idea of a coiled serpent ascending my spine and taking control is a little terrifying with my Christian roots and the associated connotations of the "serpent"... so I don't know. But anyway, it gives me an experience that I can use to relate to what people are saying when they talk about "higher vibrations", and there may be something that happens in the unseen realm - some form of energy we can't yet measure... I just don't much care for it when people conflate forms of energy that are not yet discovered or understood with forms of energy that ARE understood and talk of them as if they are the same thing.

I wonder what triggers the magic switch?

No idea. The longest experience I had lasted two weeks -- back in '94 as I recall, and there was no great fuss about it. It simply happened, and for no reason that I could discern: I didn't, and still don't, know why it came or why it left.

All I can say is that I find it useless to try to force it. The thing that wants to do that is the ego, but the more it wants it, the harder it becomes. Maybe there's a conscious way to lessen the influence of ego -- by meditation or whatever, but that has never worked for me personally.

I don't have more than a passing interest in most things weird and wonderful such as magic, OBEs and the like; I suspect that, for me at any rate, they work for rather than against obfuscation. Still, everyone's different and YMMV.

Well there probably IS something that is vibrating (you could make the argument that everything in existence is a vibration) and maybe some altered states correspond to different modes or frequencies of vibration of something related to consciousness, but I haven't heard anyone explain what it is that is vibrating or how it is vibrating or what specifically happens when this unspecified vibration increases in frequency. I've often heard people who are heavy on the spirit and light on the physics appeal to the EM spectrum and cymatics and string theory and higher dimensions and then conflate them all, mix in the colors of the chakras and the earth's natural frequency and the 33 vertebrae and the Freemasons and voila: Kundalini awakening.

I'm not dismissing the possibility that there is some reality to "higher vibrations", but the complete absence of an explanation for what that actually means leaves me to merely analyze what is poetically meant by the phrase and what do "higher vibrations" symbolize to us and how is that symbol grounded in our experiences (birds chirping, children giggling, water trickling, bells clinking, vs. beasts roaring, thunder rolling, waves crashing, chords clashing, etc)

I had a dream once where I had a Kundalini awakening inside the dream, and in the dream I sort of collapsed on the ground in almost a seizure like state and the only way to describe the feeling I felt in the dream was intense vibrational energy that was causing my body (in the dream) to convulse. It wasn't painful or scary, but mildly pleasing. I've never had a Kundalini awakening in real life and never really desired to experience it... the idea of a coiled serpent ascending my spine and taking control is a little terrifying with my Christian roots and the associated connotations of the "serpent"... so I don't know. But anyway, it gives me an experience that I can use to relate to what people are saying when they talk about "higher vibrations", and there may be something that happens in the unseen realm - some form of energy we can't yet measure... I just don't much care for it when people conflate forms of energy that are not yet discovered or understood with forms of energy that ARE understood and talk of them as if they are the same thing.

I've been doing my best to research just that. My current findings and the story of how I got them are in the members experiments section in the energy explanation thread. I'd link it but I'm on my phone and that doesn't usually go too well.

The thread is far from complete but it's still a large chunk of the things I've found so far. In short "energy" is clearly some sort of physical substance that behaves like a fluid. Although not any sort of fluid I'm aware of. I highly doubt it's directly emf, I once thought it may be photonic in nature, these days I really don't know. Although I don't think it's raw "consciousness" despite its close interactions with the mind.

I've been doing my best to research just that. My current findings and the story of how I got them are in the members experiments section in the energy explanation thread. I'd link it but I'm on my phone and that doesn't usually go too well.

The thread is far from complete but it's still a large chunk of the things I've found so far. In short "energy" is clearly some sort of physical substance that behaves like a fluid. Although not any sort of fluid I'm aware of. I highly doubt it's directly emf, I once thought it may be photonic in nature, these days I really don't know. Although I don't think it's raw "consciousness" despite its close interactions with the mind.

I can agree with that... I believe some sort of Chi flow or subtle energy exists and can be manipulated, but it isn't clear exactly what the manipulation of this "other" form of energy has to do with "raising consciousness". Some people say it is a byproduct of spiritual pursuit. Some people get hit with it spontaneously.

I can agree with that... I believe some sort of Chi flow or subtle energy exists and can be manipulated, but it isn't clear exactly what the manipulation of this "other" form of energy has to do with "raising consciousness". Some people say it is a byproduct of spiritual pursuit. Some people get hit with it spontaneously.

In order for me to buy the whole spiritual pursuit thing people would have to define what spiritual means let alone the pursuit of it. My experience is that you can train it like a muscle and no spirituality or rituals or beliefs need to be involved. Although due to its close interactions with the mind there are caveats where belief or understanding of some degree is necessary for mechanical reasons.

In order for me to buy the whole spiritual pursuit thing people would have to define what spiritual means let alone the pursuit of it. My experience is that you can train it like a muscle and no spirituality or rituals or beliefs need to be involved. Although due to its close interactions with the mind there are caveats where belief or understanding of some degree is necessary for mechanical reasons.

I’d say spirituality encompasses all that is immaterial and valuable and powerful. The root of the word spirit is about breath or wind which connotes an invisible unpredictable animating force, and someone engaged in a spiritual pursuit is like a sailor studying how to catch the wind except the wind is figuratively a higher purpose, a meaningful life, a life that invites synchronicity, curiosity, and adventure rather than overplanning and excessive control. And to continue with the sailing metaphor, sailing is about learning to work with what nature gives you, finding just the right balance between efficient motion and capsizing, so likewise spirituality is about learning to balance extremes, weather storms of life, and pull others out of the water when they need it.

It is not clear to what degree these spiritual pursuits result in the accumulation of or ability to manipulate the much more materialistic notion of “spirit” or subtle energy or qi. Most traditional schools of spirituality teach that this type of subtle energy might come as a byproduct of spiritual pursuit but warn against directly pursuing it. On the other hand some people seem to have spiritual gifts without much spiritual development. Some people explain the apparent randomness of the distribution of these spiritual powers by ascribing them to spiritual entities which choose to attach themselves to individuals for various reasons.

Personally I’m very glad that I went through a phase where I pursued spirituality partially chasing the carrot of miracles dangling before me, but I’m also glad to be over it, and now I’ve taken up golf.

[Ninshub]

The topic of vibrations was raised in this thread.

Check out this new article maybe, about the "resonance theory of consciousness":

Could consciousness come down to the way things vibrate?
By EarthSky Voices in Human World | November 13, 2018
What’s the relationship between mind and matter? A new psychological theory suggests that synchronized vibrations lie at the heart of human consciousness, and – indeed – of all physical reality.

By Tam Hunt, University of California, Santa Barbara

Over the last decade, my colleague, University of California, Santa Barbara psychology professor Jonathan Schooler and I have developed what we call a resonance theory of consciousness. We suggest that resonance – another word for synchronized vibrations – is at the heart of not only human consciousness but also animal consciousness and of physical reality more generally. It sounds like something the hippies might have dreamed up – it’s all vibrations, man! – but stick with me.
How do things in nature – like flashing fireflies – spontaneously synchronize? Image via Suzanne Tucker/Shutterstock.com.

(...)

Under our approach, boulders and piles of sand are mere aggregates, just collections of highly rudimentary conscious entities at the atomic or molecular level only. That’s in contrast to what happens in biological life forms where the combinations of these micro-conscious entities together create a higher level macro-conscious entity. For us, this combination process is the hallmark of biological life.

The central thesis of our approach is this: the particular linkages that allow for large-scale consciousness – like those humans and other mammals enjoy – result from a shared resonance among many smaller constituents. The speed of the resonant waves that are present is the limiting factor that determines the size of each conscious entity in each moment.

As a particular shared resonance expands to more and more constituents, the new conscious entity that results from this resonance and combination grows larger and more complex. So the shared resonance in a human brain that achieves gamma synchrony, for example, includes a far larger number of neurons and neuronal connections than is the case for beta or theta rhythms alone.