My best regards and love!
I do not know, this theme was discussed or not. It seems to me important. How to define a difference between a voice of conscience and feeling of fault or self-flagellation?
Conscience can be programmed of principles, belief and dogmas? I accepted the certain line of conduct and lives, as absolute. If I receded from principles-heart was disturbed with conscience.
Now, my sight has changed, I have ceased to condemn myself. There was an idea of programmed conscience .Conscience-it a voice of intelligence or the God in us?
Conscience or self-flagellation?
It is not easy to answer this question in a definitive manner so do not mind if the answer leaves the question open. To be honest, having an open answer is a good answer for having a definitive answer would ruin the purpose of the tension created by doubt. This brings up another related point about the sublime tension that doubt creates. Many love to be certain, as we have discussed with Pamu in other posts, but doubt has a power to it that fuels progress.
This doubt is the central force in my reply to your question. If one doubts one seeks out better tools to determine the validity of information received within. This means learning and practice. You asked about the voice of conscience and dasosmi also spoke about the Supersoul as that voice. From our previous religious education we would naturally feel inclined to attribute the voice within as the Supersoul. I find the voice within to have many sources. Sometimes it is my higher self trying to gain control over the lower. Sometimes it is the lower trying to gain control over the higher! What a struggle it is to determine which one has the floor! Other times I hear the voice of the past, sometimes the etheric vibrations from the akashic records, and sometimes my guides, angels or higher authorities. At other times I hear the pain, anguish and struggle from those around me who are thinking of me or sending me their energy. All in all, it can be confusing. Clarifying this requires effort.
As in all aspects of spirituality, things are not always confusing. Sometimes there is clarity and the conviction that goes along with it. In this case, there is a specific quality to the tone and mood of the inner discussion about what is right or wrong for me that separates it from other psychic phenomena that is far more colorful but much less comforting. The inner voice that reflects my better interests is calm, steady, and nags at me when I refuse to hear it. It has a confidence in it devoid of the trembling anticipation present in other forms of energy. This is not to say that other communications have no value. They are a wonderful source of information that has use for me and those I share it with, but the voice most impressive is that one which commands attention due to its stature and maturity. It is the voice most welcome in times of need.
Let us assume that you have mastered to some extent the art of knowing when mature assistance is offered you. Should you accept the information as it is or should you see it as an inspiration to come to your own conclusion? Ah, the struggle increases! Certainly those who are wiser than we and whose vision is superior to our own wish that we develop our capacity to act in greater awareness for this is much better than having to tell us what to do all the time. Therefore they reserve the right to act as internal catalysts to inspire us to deeper awareness. This makes the communications more complex, yet much more effective as an agent of positive change.
Is there a Supersoul that sits within our heart as a separate entity with four arms and so on? Have you seen one? Everyone has heard the voice within but assumes it to be that personality they are told it is by their particular religious tradition. I do not care what you call the source of the voice of knowledge, I am just glad it is there.
Sometimes after I do the guided meditations, participants mention that they were surprised at how I moved successively through the elements of the meditation at just the right time. I never fail to acknowledge the reason for this: I am simply listening carefully to the person who really guides these meditations and indeed, creates them! About 95% of the meditations, exercises and visualizations I do were not taught to me but were revealed within by my guides. Most of them were invented on the spot as I did them for the first time. All I do is listen and repeat. I am told to wait for the right moment and to speak when it is proper to do so. I love it. I am very confident that all will go well, even if I am sailing in unchartered waters for I have a good source of information that I trust, respect, and have a long and fruitful relationship with.
But is this the Supersoul or is it my guides? Is this my angel, angels, archangels, extra-terrestrials, divine beings, demigods or goddesses, or is it my higher self? When it comes to these meditations, I don’t ask, neither am I suspicious, for it functions well as it is and to some extent I would be ungrateful to demand to know more than is revealed to me. I feel their presence and it is comforting and familiar. I know them enough to trust them and willingly surrender to their guidance. Yet when we do traveling, I know specifically who we are meeting and have direct conversations and connections to them and to their worlds. It might be funny to hear, but this is all the easy stuff. The harder part is knowing what to do in the small matters I face on a day to day, moment to moment basis.
Here is where I start to specifically address your question. It is the hardest thing to understand what to do in the future. As you rightfully point out, my consciousness, and thus my conscience, is to some unspecified extent (different in each person and also different in the same person at different times) dependent on all that has occurred to me in the past. My body and its needs, my family, what has happened to me, the choices I have made in the past and my experience of the subsequent reactions that occurred, those who I grew up with and who I live with now, my society, my country, my religion, the time within which I live and its moral structure or value structure, and dozens of other more subtle factors affect how I think and feel and thus mold my consciousness and my conscience. If what I am hearing within is a product of my lower self, then the information will reflect my personal situation. If what I am hearing comes from a superior source of information, usually that source will take into account the state of my consciousness before advising me of a potentially beneficial course of action. Therefore the dilemma can be simplified to the struggle to distinguish between a source of information that is beneficial and a source which is not beneficial.
I do not wish to complicate this discussion by throwing in an exotic twist, but it is an important factor that cannot be ignored. Since most forms of information and directives are received within the mind, we have to determine the pitfalls of accepting everything that is received there. The ether is filled with transmissions. Psychics all over the world are busy transmitting this information to eager listeners. For those with less experience in the psychic realm, and most persons fit into this category, it is hard to know when a source of information is less trustworthy. When one works in the psychic field, one gains a confidence that arises through experience. People give you feedback and you know when you are correct by feeling their reactions to what you say. This gives you faith in the sources you use. You also develop the capacity of direct seeing or direct knowing without depending on hearing information from outside yourself. This reinforces your capacity to distinguish between sources of information which clarify what you hear and how you use it and sources which distort your capacity to be of service. By no means does this create infallibility, but it brings your success rate to an acceptable standard. A little humility and doubt carry you through the cloudy areas for admitting that you do not know is not only healthy, but it often stirs your guides into revealing more so you can continue to be of service to others.
There are pitfalls for those who do not work within the psychic realm. Disembodied beings (ghosts in the vernacular) are those who for some reason have not been able to find peace in their minds and thus move on to their next destinations. They hover in the ether and attempt to connect to anyone who can hear them. As they are bound to the same dimensional space as we who are still living in physically manifested bodies, they have no choice but to reach out to us. They are sharing their pain, their struggles and their attempt to deal with irresolvable situations in their consciousness for they do not have the capacity to move forward on their own. Usually they are calling for help and only want someone to hear them and assist them to find their way to the ‘light’ which in this case is the intermediary point to their next conscious project, usually their next manifestation in the physical world. There are a few who are vengeful and nasty who are best dissolved, but that is better left to pros.
When such personalities find they can influence a person by speaking into their minds, they often take pleasure in creating changes in a person’s life. This is not necessarily something they do out of evil intention, rather it is the only way they can have an affect on the world around them and thus experience their own existence. It unfortunately becomes problematic for those who hear them within their minds. They are hearing confusing information or directives they assume could be either their own minds, some higher authority, or something else. Some think of themselves as bad persons for having such thoughts which creates guilt or other negative actions. Some think of themselves as crazy or haunted and this creates much internal disturbance. Others try to ignore the situation which wastes their energy as ignoring such an influence is work. Some try to reason with the voices but usually become entangled in a no win situation. All in all, it is a hassle that really does not work in your favor.
You can usually discover which ‘side of the force’ is contacting you by the way you feel. If you are aware of your feelings and the energy that is around you, you can feel when something negative is near you. Since you are aware of the quality of the force trying to make a connection to you, you will be better able to decide in which way you want to relate to it. Those entities trying to connect as a plea for help can be assisted by lifting them to the light or to the next plane. Those that are nasty and just want to make trouble can be dissolved. Those who need help yet are not interested in moving on can either be sent away by not accepting the connection or forcibly removed. All of these actions require that the person attempting to be contacted is aware and has experience in dealing with such beings. You get the experience by learning some basic technique and trying them. It is better than being affected and having no idea what to do. Therefore feelings associated with the information are a valuable means to distinguish the quality of the information received.
If you are aware of your feelings and the energy within you and you do know the difference between beneficial and non-beneficial forces, you have a greater probability of accepting the right advice and benefiting from it. This does not mean you have a 100% likelihood of success for sometimes you are not ready to accept what you are getting and a little trial and error, the old school of hard knocks, is the only way to proceed. Regardless of your capacity and result, those that are truly your benefactors will not be discouraged by your imperfect actions and will continue to work with you. More interesting is your own reaction to your inability to accept the information given you. When you see that what you were given was right and you did not follow it, or conversely, what you heard or thought you heard was wrong and therefore the decision you made in relation to it was not beneficial, you gradually develop the capacity to filter out that which has less value to you.
Life is a series of events which give us the opportunity to realize our potential. Doing this is not an easy process and it takes time and effort. Undertaking this endeavor is a commitment well worth accepting for it leads us to a good place. Regardless of our success or failure to hear what we should or avoid what we have to, self-flagellation (as you so poetically put it) is not required. One can simply say, "I blew it," pick yourself off the ground and try again. If you are around others who condemn you for making mistakes then it might be better to change your company. Those who condemn you for your errors are themselves faulty and therefore in no position to judge. Those who are not faulty never judge, so who is really in the position to judge us? When it comes down to it, we are our own worst enemies for we can judge and condemn ourselves far better than any other person or organization. It takes courage to live life without self-condemnation, but that does not mean that one should be happy with all the decisions one makes or any path one takes. It is still our responsibility to do what is best for ourselves in the context of what is best for those around us and the world for if we are to consider the sublime principle of "There is Only One of Us," we would see that how we affect the world around us is directly related to how we feel. Therefore doubt and introspection are useful elements of a progressive life dedicated to doing the best we can. There is no use lamenting the past, but we have a responsibility to ourselves to utilize the experience of past results to guide our future choices.
It is certain that the most powerful source of information on how to succeed at doing the best thing is our self. We inherently know what is best for us, and we feel when we do something that is not beneficial. We learn from our experience only when we are dedicated to developing. Those who have an inherent death wish or who wish to punish themselves will gravitate towards those elements which will fulfill their desires. Perhaps the real answer to your question could be simply stated: Rectify your innermost opinion of yourself and the value of your life and you will be rapidly led to an awareness of where to find the solutions most beneficial for you.
This doubt is the central force in my reply to your question. If one doubts one seeks out better tools to determine the validity of information received within. This means learning and practice. You asked about the voice of conscience and dasosmi also spoke about the Supersoul as that voice. From our previous religious education we would naturally feel inclined to attribute the voice within as the Supersoul. I find the voice within to have many sources. Sometimes it is my higher self trying to gain control over the lower. Sometimes it is the lower trying to gain control over the higher! What a struggle it is to determine which one has the floor! Other times I hear the voice of the past, sometimes the etheric vibrations from the akashic records, and sometimes my guides, angels or higher authorities. At other times I hear the pain, anguish and struggle from those around me who are thinking of me or sending me their energy. All in all, it can be confusing. Clarifying this requires effort.
As in all aspects of spirituality, things are not always confusing. Sometimes there is clarity and the conviction that goes along with it. In this case, there is a specific quality to the tone and mood of the inner discussion about what is right or wrong for me that separates it from other psychic phenomena that is far more colorful but much less comforting. The inner voice that reflects my better interests is calm, steady, and nags at me when I refuse to hear it. It has a confidence in it devoid of the trembling anticipation present in other forms of energy. This is not to say that other communications have no value. They are a wonderful source of information that has use for me and those I share it with, but the voice most impressive is that one which commands attention due to its stature and maturity. It is the voice most welcome in times of need.
Let us assume that you have mastered to some extent the art of knowing when mature assistance is offered you. Should you accept the information as it is or should you see it as an inspiration to come to your own conclusion? Ah, the struggle increases! Certainly those who are wiser than we and whose vision is superior to our own wish that we develop our capacity to act in greater awareness for this is much better than having to tell us what to do all the time. Therefore they reserve the right to act as internal catalysts to inspire us to deeper awareness. This makes the communications more complex, yet much more effective as an agent of positive change.
Is there a Supersoul that sits within our heart as a separate entity with four arms and so on? Have you seen one? Everyone has heard the voice within but assumes it to be that personality they are told it is by their particular religious tradition. I do not care what you call the source of the voice of knowledge, I am just glad it is there.
Sometimes after I do the guided meditations, participants mention that they were surprised at how I moved successively through the elements of the meditation at just the right time. I never fail to acknowledge the reason for this: I am simply listening carefully to the person who really guides these meditations and indeed, creates them! About 95% of the meditations, exercises and visualizations I do were not taught to me but were revealed within by my guides. Most of them were invented on the spot as I did them for the first time. All I do is listen and repeat. I am told to wait for the right moment and to speak when it is proper to do so. I love it. I am very confident that all will go well, even if I am sailing in unchartered waters for I have a good source of information that I trust, respect, and have a long and fruitful relationship with.
But is this the Supersoul or is it my guides? Is this my angel, angels, archangels, extra-terrestrials, divine beings, demigods or goddesses, or is it my higher self? When it comes to these meditations, I don’t ask, neither am I suspicious, for it functions well as it is and to some extent I would be ungrateful to demand to know more than is revealed to me. I feel their presence and it is comforting and familiar. I know them enough to trust them and willingly surrender to their guidance. Yet when we do traveling, I know specifically who we are meeting and have direct conversations and connections to them and to their worlds. It might be funny to hear, but this is all the easy stuff. The harder part is knowing what to do in the small matters I face on a day to day, moment to moment basis.
Here is where I start to specifically address your question. It is the hardest thing to understand what to do in the future. As you rightfully point out, my consciousness, and thus my conscience, is to some unspecified extent (different in each person and also different in the same person at different times) dependent on all that has occurred to me in the past. My body and its needs, my family, what has happened to me, the choices I have made in the past and my experience of the subsequent reactions that occurred, those who I grew up with and who I live with now, my society, my country, my religion, the time within which I live and its moral structure or value structure, and dozens of other more subtle factors affect how I think and feel and thus mold my consciousness and my conscience. If what I am hearing within is a product of my lower self, then the information will reflect my personal situation. If what I am hearing comes from a superior source of information, usually that source will take into account the state of my consciousness before advising me of a potentially beneficial course of action. Therefore the dilemma can be simplified to the struggle to distinguish between a source of information that is beneficial and a source which is not beneficial.
I do not wish to complicate this discussion by throwing in an exotic twist, but it is an important factor that cannot be ignored. Since most forms of information and directives are received within the mind, we have to determine the pitfalls of accepting everything that is received there. The ether is filled with transmissions. Psychics all over the world are busy transmitting this information to eager listeners. For those with less experience in the psychic realm, and most persons fit into this category, it is hard to know when a source of information is less trustworthy. When one works in the psychic field, one gains a confidence that arises through experience. People give you feedback and you know when you are correct by feeling their reactions to what you say. This gives you faith in the sources you use. You also develop the capacity of direct seeing or direct knowing without depending on hearing information from outside yourself. This reinforces your capacity to distinguish between sources of information which clarify what you hear and how you use it and sources which distort your capacity to be of service. By no means does this create infallibility, but it brings your success rate to an acceptable standard. A little humility and doubt carry you through the cloudy areas for admitting that you do not know is not only healthy, but it often stirs your guides into revealing more so you can continue to be of service to others.
There are pitfalls for those who do not work within the psychic realm. Disembodied beings (ghosts in the vernacular) are those who for some reason have not been able to find peace in their minds and thus move on to their next destinations. They hover in the ether and attempt to connect to anyone who can hear them. As they are bound to the same dimensional space as we who are still living in physically manifested bodies, they have no choice but to reach out to us. They are sharing their pain, their struggles and their attempt to deal with irresolvable situations in their consciousness for they do not have the capacity to move forward on their own. Usually they are calling for help and only want someone to hear them and assist them to find their way to the ‘light’ which in this case is the intermediary point to their next conscious project, usually their next manifestation in the physical world. There are a few who are vengeful and nasty who are best dissolved, but that is better left to pros.
When such personalities find they can influence a person by speaking into their minds, they often take pleasure in creating changes in a person’s life. This is not necessarily something they do out of evil intention, rather it is the only way they can have an affect on the world around them and thus experience their own existence. It unfortunately becomes problematic for those who hear them within their minds. They are hearing confusing information or directives they assume could be either their own minds, some higher authority, or something else. Some think of themselves as bad persons for having such thoughts which creates guilt or other negative actions. Some think of themselves as crazy or haunted and this creates much internal disturbance. Others try to ignore the situation which wastes their energy as ignoring such an influence is work. Some try to reason with the voices but usually become entangled in a no win situation. All in all, it is a hassle that really does not work in your favor.
You can usually discover which ‘side of the force’ is contacting you by the way you feel. If you are aware of your feelings and the energy that is around you, you can feel when something negative is near you. Since you are aware of the quality of the force trying to make a connection to you, you will be better able to decide in which way you want to relate to it. Those entities trying to connect as a plea for help can be assisted by lifting them to the light or to the next plane. Those that are nasty and just want to make trouble can be dissolved. Those who need help yet are not interested in moving on can either be sent away by not accepting the connection or forcibly removed. All of these actions require that the person attempting to be contacted is aware and has experience in dealing with such beings. You get the experience by learning some basic technique and trying them. It is better than being affected and having no idea what to do. Therefore feelings associated with the information are a valuable means to distinguish the quality of the information received.
If you are aware of your feelings and the energy within you and you do know the difference between beneficial and non-beneficial forces, you have a greater probability of accepting the right advice and benefiting from it. This does not mean you have a 100% likelihood of success for sometimes you are not ready to accept what you are getting and a little trial and error, the old school of hard knocks, is the only way to proceed. Regardless of your capacity and result, those that are truly your benefactors will not be discouraged by your imperfect actions and will continue to work with you. More interesting is your own reaction to your inability to accept the information given you. When you see that what you were given was right and you did not follow it, or conversely, what you heard or thought you heard was wrong and therefore the decision you made in relation to it was not beneficial, you gradually develop the capacity to filter out that which has less value to you.
Life is a series of events which give us the opportunity to realize our potential. Doing this is not an easy process and it takes time and effort. Undertaking this endeavor is a commitment well worth accepting for it leads us to a good place. Regardless of our success or failure to hear what we should or avoid what we have to, self-flagellation (as you so poetically put it) is not required. One can simply say, "I blew it," pick yourself off the ground and try again. If you are around others who condemn you for making mistakes then it might be better to change your company. Those who condemn you for your errors are themselves faulty and therefore in no position to judge. Those who are not faulty never judge, so who is really in the position to judge us? When it comes down to it, we are our own worst enemies for we can judge and condemn ourselves far better than any other person or organization. It takes courage to live life without self-condemnation, but that does not mean that one should be happy with all the decisions one makes or any path one takes. It is still our responsibility to do what is best for ourselves in the context of what is best for those around us and the world for if we are to consider the sublime principle of "There is Only One of Us," we would see that how we affect the world around us is directly related to how we feel. Therefore doubt and introspection are useful elements of a progressive life dedicated to doing the best we can. There is no use lamenting the past, but we have a responsibility to ourselves to utilize the experience of past results to guide our future choices.
It is certain that the most powerful source of information on how to succeed at doing the best thing is our self. We inherently know what is best for us, and we feel when we do something that is not beneficial. We learn from our experience only when we are dedicated to developing. Those who have an inherent death wish or who wish to punish themselves will gravitate towards those elements which will fulfill their desires. Perhaps the real answer to your question could be simply stated: Rectify your innermost opinion of yourself and the value of your life and you will be rapidly led to an awareness of where to find the solutions most beneficial for you.