7. Consciousness; The Key to Education

Education, in my view, is simply about raising consciousness. In fact elevating awareness transforms one’s world view, makes one smarter, more generous, more talented, and more compassionate. It lift’s one’s spirit and provides perspective as one moves from misery towards bliss. It offers the control to create the, life you want. Consciousness is the key to creative freedom and power.

For educational purposes, it is important to have a clear picture of the spectrum of conscious awareness. By contrasting the low and the high ends,we can fill in the rest of the spectrum using our imagination. We view the extremes of awareness in some detail in order to better appreciate consciousness’ transformative power. Then we can make use of our understanding of consciousness to create a truly positive learning environment. First some portraits of low conscious development.

George has a very low level of consciousness. He observes his world through many filters of his lower self. These filters distort George’s reality in order to support two fictions: an, unthinking, fearful, dogmatic world view and an isolated, contemptuous self-image. He’s oblivious to everything that does not serve his Little Me Self. He habitually and obsessively employs the following defense mechanisms:

Denial: George categorically denies whatever does not flatter him.
Projection: He projects his negative qualities on others and blames “them” for his frustrations.
Distortion: He distorts external reality to meet his internal desires.
Splitting: Negative and positive impulses are split off and disintegrate. For example, people are split and seen as devils or angels rather than whole cohesive continuous persons.

Another sign of a low of consciousness is immaturity. George acts out: He resolves conflicts by fantasizing. He idolizes some people and is passive aggressive towards others. He somatizes: He transforms negative feelings towards others into negative feelings toward himself: pain, illness, and anxiety.

Ed displaces: He shifts sexual or aggressive impulses to a more acceptable or less threatening target; redirecting emotion to a safer outlet; he separates emotion from its original target and redirects intense emotion toward someone or something that is less offensive or threatening. For example, Ed may yell at her child because she is angry with her husband.

Sally dissociates: She modifies her personal identity or character to avoid emotional distress; she separates or postpones a feeling that normally would accompany a situation or thought.

Edna becomes a hypochondria: She’s preoccupied or worried about having a serious illness.

Boris intellectualizes to isolate himself and his emotions; he concentrates on the intellectual components of a situation so as to distance herself from the associated anxiety-provoking emotions; he separates emotion from ideas; he thinks about wishes in formal, affectively bland terms so as to not act on them; he avoids unacceptable emotions by focusing on the intellectual aspects. He partakes in ritual and magical thinking.

Billy separates feelings from ideas and events, for example, describing a murder with graphic details with no emotional response.

Nathan rationalizes: he convinces himself that no wrong was done and that all is or was all right through faulty and false reasoning. In other words he makes excuses.
लोइस makes use of reaction formation: She converts unconscious wishes or impulses that are perceived to be dangerous into their opposites; he behaves completely the opposite of what he really wants or feels; taking the opposite belief because the true belief causes anxiety.

Alex regresses: He reverts to an earlier stage of development rather than handling unacceptable impulses in a more adult way. He becomes more naive, has memory lapses or lack of awareness of his own situation and condition; the emotion is conscious, but the idea behind it is absent.

Fred becomes a contrary, a person who engages in behavior that is the opposite of what is acceptable.

When consciousness is elevated, on the other hand, one almost magically matures, finds purpose in meaning, gets happy and intelligent. The veils that cloud access to the portals of perception are lifted. Direct knowing is quickened spontaneously.

Consciousness is the golden key that unlocks four doors to perception: Sensations, Thoughts, Feelings, and Intuition.

Henry’s changed. He’s examined the old beliefs that stifled him and kept him frozen in time: he’s chosen new, productive beliefs that connected him with himself, with Nature, with his Creator, and with others. He’s rejected his old self image -- a suffering, nice, above average man. He’s chosen a new purpose in life, one that betters everyone living on this planet. He’s given up his old job and his ambition to be richer, own exclusive possessions, and be safe and secure. He’s discovered that helping the Earth and fellow man brings him peace.

Others note a new spark in Henry’s eye, a straighter posture, a confidence to follow his own star. He’s reordered his priorities based on his new understandings. He knows that to give is to get. Henry’s family has grown to include those not related by blood. Henry’s intelligence has soared, his world view has broadened, and his compassion now extends to all people. He no longer relies on old, defense mechanisms because he appreciates the growth that comes from vulnerability.

Because the individual evolution of consciousness leads to brighter perceptions, more creative thoughts, deeper feelings, and clearer insights, NEI supports the development of awareness in all aspects of our program. We regularly discuss how our beliefs determine our experience of reality, how our behavior reflects our self-image, how our relationships can be improved, and how our attitudes affect both our learning and our happiness.

Patrick is a fictional student at NEI. He arrived with a relatively un-evolved consciousness and a lot of complaints about his life. But as his first year proceeded he became familiar with the subculture at NEI. He grasped the nature of the spectrum of consciousness and identified with someone at the low end. But he was inspired by hearing others speak about techniques to raise one's awareness. He worked with the help of others to bring his shadow into the light and become aware of his negative self-image. He also worked on his attitude and noticed how some of his thoughts and images produced consequences he did not like. Motivated to have a better, happier life, in the presence of people who were becoming more aware, he began to chose what beliefs he wanted to have about himself, and what self-image he wanted to have. More and more often he received confirmation from others that he had changed in many positive ways: he complained less often and was enthusiastic about his life. And Patrick noticed inside him new feeling of joy, confidence, and love.


In the subculture of NEI, we all become articulate about our feelings and thoughts and regularly voice our interests, concerns, aspirations, and intuitions. We review and evaluate how well we work together and how we can serve others. We reflect about our goals and whether they are being fulfilled. We discuss our ability to love and to forgive. All this transforms awareness and inspires us to evolve individually and as a community.

Promise becomes actuality through the expansion of consciousness. All is elevated and illuminated. Then the mundane contains the ineffable. This is the process of individual evolution.