Many spiritual seekers seem to be confused about what the ego really is. The ego is not some ethereal enemy that must be defeated. In reality, the ego is a state of consciousness that gives rise to a particular system of thought and way of perceiving the universe.
Infinite States of Consciousness: Beyond the Ego-Spirit Dichotomy
There are infinite states of consciousness – don’t think of the evolution of consciousness as a perfect dichotomy between ego and spirit. There are gradations of egoic states of consciousness and gradations of non-dual states of consciousness. You don’t necessarily have to become a mystic in a constant non-dual state to benefit from spirituality. What you want is to be happy and feel love. Spiritual practice helps you overcome the peculiar obstructions present within your consciousness and improve its flow.
The Benefits of Elevating Your State of Consciousness Beyond the Ego
Even a small development in your state of consciousness can have profound benefits in your daily life. A person’s state of consciousness tends to be stable over the course of their life. To intentionally influence your own state of consciousness, it is necessary to implement a particular spiritual practice – some inner practice that aims to improve the state of consciousness.
Changing Your Inner Chemistry: The Real Goal of Spiritual Practice
Raising your state of consciousness means changing your inner chemistry. The reason I make this statement with such certainty is that I experience it every single day after practicing Kriya Yoga. In fact, after practicing Kriya Yoga, I am aware that it has somehow influenced my inner chemistry – the functioning of my body. This is precisely why I recommend practicing Kriya Yoga. Kriya Yoga is a true inner science in which each technique aims to influence the functioning of a particular part of your body.
Raising your state of consciousness means changing the functioning of your body and your inner chemistry. It doesn’t matter if you try to achieve this goal by dancing like the Dervishes, changing your chemistry by spending days in the dark, observing a point on your bedroom wall for days, practicing holotropic breathwork, Kriya Yoga, using psychedelics, or any other spiritual practice. It doesn’t even matter if you’re unaware that elevating your state of consciousness means changing your inner chemistry.
You may have no idea that repeating a mantra for months tends to influence your state of consciousness by changing your inner chemistry. However, this is exactly what happens when you implement a particular spiritual practice. Consciously or unconsciously, you are trying to influence the functioning of your body.
Khechari Mudra and Its Direct Effect on the Production of Hormones
For example, in Kriya Yoga, there is a mudra called Khechari Mudra, which involves placing the tongue behind the uvula in the nasopharyngeal cavity to stimulate the production of specific hormones. Simply pushing the tongue back as far as possible and keeping the tip of the tongue anchored to the palate tends to influence the production of hormones in your body and tends to give rise to an improved state of consciousness.
In a hopefully not-too-distant future, science will begin to seriously study these spiritual practices and the influence Yoga has on the body. It will be able to demonstrate that the practice of Yoga tends to change the production of hormones, giving rise to non-dual states and mystical states of consciousness.
The Role of Contemplation and Jnana Yoga in Transcending the Ego
Now that you know that raising your state of consciousness means changing your inner chemistry, don’t make the mistake of underestimating the role of contemplation – the role of Jnana Yoga. Contemplation can also influence your inner state and the functioning of your body. It’s clear that if you have certain direct realizations through contemplation, you will also tend to influence the functioning of your body, precisely because there is no real difference between mind and body.
I’m sure constant contemplation has played a fundamental role in my personal evolution. It hasn’t simply been Kriya Yoga or other practices I engage in that have influenced my state of consciousness. It has been a combination of factors that have led me to influence my state of consciousness. By nature, I am extremely introverted and tend to contemplate, reflect, and think about the topics I discuss on this website even in my everyday life. While waiting in line at the supermarket, working out at the gym, or taking a walk, I tend to think about these topics. I’m sure this constant contemplation on the nature of reality has positively influenced my spiritual quest.
A Good Analogy to Understand Non-Egoic States of Consciousness
Imagine that consciousness is connected to a sort of intensity knob. By turning this knob, your state of consciousness is raised. There is a clear point in turning this knob, in elevating your state of consciousness, where you pass from an egoic state of consciousness to a non-dual state of consciousness. You understand that there is nothing other than your own consciousness – nothing other than your Mind.
The turning of the knob entails an ever-greater interconnection with the Mind of the universe and an ever-increasing intelligence. Once you reach a high enough level of consciousness, the distinction between self and not-self dissolves and you realize that you are the universe. So, if you want to directly realize oneness, you must somehow raise your state of consciousness. You must somehow turn the knob of consciousness. Otherwise, you will never be able to directly realize your true infinite nature as pure undifferentiated consciousness. (credit to Leo Gura for this analogy)
Don’t Make Non-Duality Your Only Goal
Remember that it is not necessary to become a mystic to benefit from spiritual practice. What you want is to be happy and feel love. Implementing a spiritual practice will tend to raise your state of consciousness, even if you may not experience a unitary state for a long time. Being able to turn the knob of consciousness a little bit will tend to bring great benefits in your daily life. It will tend to make you experience happiness, beauty, wonder, and the perfection of life more frequently. This, of course, is a great goal to achieve, beyond experiencing non-dual states of consciousness.