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In the Republic, Greek philosopher Plato shares his Allegory of the Cave. In this story he compares humanity to a group of people who have spent their entire lives living inside the confines of a cave. Everyday they see shadows moving on the walls, and, unable to see the objects outside the cave causing the shadows, they mistakenly believe that shadows are the only thing that is real. Mankind, Plato argued in 380 BC, is living in darkness but does not have the tools to see the light. He goes on to compare the philosopher, the enlightened one, to someone who finally stands up and walks outside of the cave. No longer a prisoner of perception, he sees the world fully.

“If the doors of perception were cleansed, every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite.” – William Blake

Our five senses are the tools that give us the human experience. But they do not account for the full depth of reality. The human brain is a filter that, out of the limitless information around us, picks up selective energetic frequencies. Like a radio dial, your senses focus the energy around you and tune your perception to the frequency of the material world. Our senses conceal more than they reveal.

Visible light (that which is perceivable by the human eye) consists of wavelengths between approximately 780 nanometers (7.80 x 10-7 m) and 390 nanometers (3.90 x 10-7 m). Within the vast electromagnetic spectrum, the portion we can see is very small. To put this into context, if we took the entire light spectrum and condensed it to the size of the Mississippi River, which flows 2,320 miles from the top of Minnesota into the Gulf of Mexico, the portion that would be visible to the human eye is a mere eight inches. Nearly all light can not be seen because it exists on a frequency beyond our perception. The same is true for sound, smell, taste and touch. Does this mean there is a more energetic, detailed and expansive Universe surrounding us than our five senses can perceive? Yes. When we experience the world through the filter of the human mind, it is like looking at shadows on the wall of a cave.

Cast a wider net.

Think of your consciousness as a net. When you cast a small net, you capture a small amount of information. When you cast a wider net, you capture a wider amount of information. There is an infinite intelligence surrounding us; the wider our perception, the more information we can understand. Carl Jung described this infinite intelligence as the “collective unconscious,” a knowledge shared by humanity that lives below the surface of our conscious mind. The wider our net, the more we can bring the collective unconscious to the surface of our thoughts, and unlock truth, creativity and success that would otherwise be outside our reach.

How do you cast a wider net? By expanding your consciousness. How do you expand your consciousness? By learning to trust the unknown.

Our power does not come from what we can see (such as money, status or possessions). It comes from what we can not see. We must release attachment to the small known in order to attain the bigger unknown. Consciousness creates beliefs, beliefs create thoughts, thoughts create frequency and frequency creates reality. The more you trust the unknown and expand your consciousness, the more control you have over your life.

Clinging with fear to an unfulfilling life is more painful than taking a leap of faith toward a life with purpose. If you are afraid of making a change, it is because you associate more pain with facing the big unknown than you do with clinging to the small known. In order to transform your life, you must flip the two. You must associate more pain with holding onto the small known than you do with leaping into the bigger unknown.

Discovery begins as imagination.

Imagination precedes science. Beliefs precede success. The laws of physics and biology are made of the same buzzing non-stuff as our thoughts. Nothing exists other than energy, vibration and consciousness. The terms “spiritual” and “physical” are misleading; they are actually different frequencies of the same energy. If we could peer beyond the five senses, we would witness the energetic nature of matter, and the infinite detail and expansion permeating all things. We would see that all things are connected within the same sticky web of spirit; nothing, it turns out, is not connected. Beyond the limitations imposed by our frequency of perception, there is one lasting energy. It is connection. Some people call it love.

“I must see before I believe,” the Ego says. This is backwards. You can not experience any reality until you are first in vibrational alignment with it. When we understand that reality comes from within us, a deeper truth is revealed – we must believe before we can see.

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” –Helen Keller

About the Author

James McCrae is an author, strategist and creator of Sh#t Your Ego Says. An award-winning strategist and creative director, James helps businesses and individuals turn imagination into results and make work that matters. See more at www.shityouregosays.com.

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