Bridging the gap between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind is not easy.

The conscious mind operates at a significantly slower pace than the subconscious mind. Scientific research shows that the subconscious mind is not only way faster, it is over a million times more powerful than the conscious mind. Neuroscientists have shown that the conscious mind, as Einstein suggested, operates at only about five percent, leaving the remaining 95 percent or more to the subconscious mind’s conditioning.

“Subconscious blockages have no substance. They are not permanent, and therefore not real. They are like emotions, thoughts, feelings—they can be experienced, but they do not define you. They are not you. They seem real—but they are not.”

~ Ben Ralston

Yoga strips away that which we are not, to make free that which we are, that which we want to be, that which we always will be. A strong yoga practice facilitates a stronger conscious mind. Yoga centers and grounds us, giving us the true and real roots we need to truly and freely fly.

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”

~ C.G. Jung

To realize and discover your own subconscious patterns and blockages, you have to take time and exercise patience in probing your Self.

I do this by writing music, writing poetry and singing. They say that “happiness writes white,” which may be why my best work can be perceived as sad, depressing stories, music or lyrics.

But music is my remedy. Once I put something into a song, it makes sense. I just start to write or sing about whatever is cycling through my mind, whether that be positive or negative, and over time it naturally takes some sort of form or melody. This carries me through until eventually I reach the pivotal point—the cliff-hanger, the climax—that point where everything boils down to what is really happening. Only then can I bring myself to the next step of release, of freedom. I identify the root of my suffering or struggle and I find a way that it will somehow be okay.

In these situations, I try not to think with my head. I try to calm my thoughts and release them into the river of emotions—the feelings that ebb and flow from my specific source of struggle. I try to think with my heart and truly turn within, envisioning my own heart, my own organs, my own spirit—whatever it takes to become one with what I have come to find as my own Self—and really feeling what I want or need to feel.

People tend to empathize and put themselves in places they are not and do not need to be—for whatever reason. Maybe to make a connection with someone or something. Maybe to escape what they don’t want to know or feel. But when we do that, we disrupt our connection with the soul and the heart of ourselves.

Some people like that; it is a comfort zone, a security blanket. But that is why we feel separation, disconnection, a sense of feeling lost. In order to truly empathize and make a difference you have to know yourself. You have to prove to others that you can be attentive to your own self directly—deal before you can help others deal.

To be truthful, you have to speak the truth. To truly empathize, you have to feel for yourself. Seeing through your heart brings you back down out of the clouds of confusion to what is real and true and important. In seeing through your heart, you see through the perspective of love.

Only when you live a life of love can you truly empathize and feel connection to yourself, your loved ones, your community and the divine spirit that is the love of the universe.

Sounds pretty self-explanatory, but the issue lies in getting it done. It does not necessarily matter how we do this, but it matters that we do it.

There is no process or procedure, no secret or shortcut; the key lies in the heart of the successive, conscious moments that comprise your life. Keep in mind that your heart is the key to unlocking this power for yourself.

“One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eyes.”

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The essential is invisible to science, to reason, to logic, to the chemistry of it all. You can try to break down truth and love and peace into scientific, intellectual definitions or descriptions, but those can only serve as education and a roadmap to that which they really are. Truth is a living experience of spirit, a daily application, a continuous effort to strive to live for love.

It ultimately boils down to the quality of our choices and the contents of our character. Trust, respect and love are useful ingredients on your journey to peace.

Sure, chemistry and science are profound teachings, and it is important to respect and value their proofs, but there is so much that lies in a realm just beyond that which can be proven—that which cannot be seen or heard, but only felt; the esoteric nature of our fashioning; the spirit of everything that is ultimately one. Once we reach this channel of life (described by Ram Dass as “Channel Four”)—heart to heart, spirit to spirit—we are truly free.

Living in such a way does not mean we will never harm or hurt others. It simply helps keep us in balance; it helps us become more conscious and aware of our actions and the consequences that stem from them; it helps us find a way of harmoniously interacting—getting what we give, receiving what we put out. Karma is very real.

Life has a natural cycle: birth, life, death. This cycle is absolute and permanent. Everything has a natural cycle, an ebb and a flow.

Living through love helps bring that cycle into clarity so we can better interact with others, and create a wonderful world for ourselves that will hopefully ripple into the lives of those around us.

It also allows us to be strong and gain understanding so that the actions of others do not easily harm or disrupt our own flow. It helps us to find and know and consciously dwell in this place of peace.

I wish you all light and love in your pursuit of peace. Namaste.

Karlene Pansler is a girl with a passion for yoga and all things that promote health and wellness of the heart, mind, body and soul. She is a girl in love with beauty, music, nature, life and love itself. Call her a hippie; she calls herself happy. Happy to love, happy to be alive and happy to share the wonders of her mind with the universe. “May we and all living beings be one with the light, the love, the joy that lies within and all around us. Namaste, lovers.”

 

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Assistant Ed.: Jayleigh Lewis

Like I’m not “Spiritual.” I just practice being a good person. on Facebook.