Exercise for Elevating Consciousness

The first thing to realize is that we are asleep. That is the first step to waking up. We want to live consciously and intentionally. We want to see and to know the true reality that is beneath what we sometimes believe is reality. We want to know the truth about existence and being. We want to live in a way that is so conscious and intentional that every single action, every breath, every step, every single chew of a food, every blink of an eye, every word spoken, every glance given, every single thing is for the service of God, for the purpose of being closer to BEING. That (being closer to God) is chukat hatorah/ point of torah. The chuk( unexplainable law of torah) is being closer to God. The parsha entitled “chukat” is the parsha that talks about the red hefer. The red hefer is basically that which (or rather her ashes) can purify the impure. Impurity implies distance from God, whereas purity is closeness to God. Therefore, the chuk/purpose of torah is closeness to God. (See Nitivot Shalom for a deeper explanation of this concept).
Since we are put on this earth in order to do work, to awaken consciousness and awareness, we do not want to waste time. Rather, we want every action to be the conscious placement of another piece of glass in the mosaic of our life, and each of our personal mosaics come together to create the mosaic of true Reality with a big R. When complete, the mosaic of Reality will be like a stained glass window to the world. The stained glass depicts a picture of Reality, of Oneness, of God, of the truth of where we all came from and where we are going. Before the stained glass mosaic is completed, however, the window is clear. The clear window means that Reality is transparent, and a person could easily look through the window without noticing the glass/ a person could easily look at the world and look through the existence of a greater purpose, of a creator, of the interconnectedness of all, and think that what he sees through the window is all there is… just a bunch on lonely trees blowin’ in the wind… The mosaic that we create via our actions reveals the beautiful design through which the world exists, and it reveals to us that there is a creator, and that the creator is that which was, that which is, and that which will be forever, without restraint of time. The creator is every thing and no thing at the same time. It cannot be described. It is the creative energy, the flow, the force, the soul, the name, etcetera. It (the creator) hid itself and pulled back a little in order to create a space in which creation could exist. Now, through billions of years of evolution (from human perspective) we have come from being with It (the creator) as the only existence, to becoming mineral life, plant life, animal life, and finally human life. As humans, on the one hand, we are farther from God than the rock because the rock is only BEing. The rock is constantly present. As humans, we are distracted by and caught up in physicality, our ego, our emotions, and our intellect. But as humans, we can reach a higher consciousness than the rock due to the very intellect that sometimes can distract us. We have the ability to elevate physicality and use our minds to bring us, as humans, back up to the place of BEing, and to wake up from our sleep and from the distractions of the world, and to realize that it is all One. We must realize that on the one hand, everything is perfect and nothing needs to be changed, and on the other hand, we have so much work to do here in order to reveal the truth about the Oneness.
But HOW DO WE WAKE UP? Spiritual practice is necessary. For me, I practice yoga. Many people also use mantra. Sometimes I use the mantra, “I release everything to Hashem (the universe, the creator, God); I own nothing.” And also today when I was being tortured at the dentist for three hours, “There is no pleasure. No pain. It’s just a sensation.” These are my two examples. I also am Jewish and practice Judaism. I use the teachings of torah and their wisdom to help direct me. I use the teachings (for example, Shabbat) as a spiritual practice to help elevate my awareness of God and of what my work is here in this world. But I want more. I want ooooober consciousness. We have come up with an exercise to help elevate consciousness.

The exercise

The exercise is one week long. After one week, it should be repeated again for three more weeks to equal one month, at least. Each day of the week is dedicated to one of the five senses, sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste, and also breath and speech.
The weekly schedule is as follows:
Sunday – Breath.
Monday – Vision
Tuesday – Speech
Wednesday – Smell
Thursday – Touch
Friday – Hearing
Saturday – Taste/ eating

The daily schedule is as follows: I will use Sunday as an example, but the basic structure is the same each day. Sunday is breath. For five minutes in the morning (you should set an alarm) before going out, spend five minutes on focused breathing. Watch the breath while sitting down with your eyes closed. If you know any other breath exercises, you may want to practice them. Notice what part of your body you are breathing from/into (belly or chest) and where you send your breath. Practice sending your breath to every part, every cell, of your body. Send the breath to your kidneys and to any place that is in pain or seems to lack a flow of energy. At one o’clock and five o’clock, continue doing whatever you happen to be doing, but for the next twenty minutes, also focus on the breath. As you continue doing whatever you were doing at that time, notice how you are breathing. Are the breaths full and deep or short and shallow? After twenty minutes, you do not have to focus on the breath as much, but ideally the awareness will linger with you. Then, at night before going to bed, do another five minutes of focused breathing like in the morning.
On Monday, the day to concentrate on our vision, the daily structure is the same. Five minutes in the morning and before bed of focused concentration on vision, and twenty minutes of heightened awareness at one and five, while continuing to do whatever you were doing. For vision, notice the things around you, objects and people alike, and see them without judgment. Try to see the soul of the object. See the object as it is without its name and connotations. Notice colors. See things as a collection of colors. Colors are reflections of light. See the object as a collection of reflected light. Also look at your own body and see it for what it is, without judgment and with gratitude.
Tuesday is speech. In the morning, pronounce your prayers aloud and clearly or pick a spiritual writing or teaching or even poetry to read out loud. While you should be focused on speech the entire day, you may set the alarm at one and five to remind yourself and refocus. Try to avoid idle speech and talking badly about others. Notice how you speak to people. What is your tone? How do you react to what others speak to you? Do you use words to fuel or diffuse conflict? Are your words honest or misleading? At night, again read something out loud or pray out loud.
Wednesday is smell. In them morning before going out, take a spice or essential oil or herb and focus on smelling it for a few minutes. Smell without judgment or preconceived notions. Perhaps you will grab a spice from the cabinet without reading which spice it is. At one and five, remind yourself to notice smalls. When you eat, smell the food first. Notice what different places smell like, etc. At night, do a few minutes meditating on the same spice as in the morning.
Thursday is touch. In the morning and at night, the five minutes should be spent touching your body and some natural object like a seashell, a plant, water, or a stone. Touch the object with your eyes closed. Touch your face with your eyes closed. Notice the subtle details of texture. At one and five again remind yourself to refocus on touch. Notice throughout the day when you catch yourself touching (an object, your hair, scratching your skin, etc) unconsciously. Notice what your body is touching as well (your tush on the seat, for example). When touching a person, do it with intention and not mindlessly.
Friday is hearing. In the morning, step outside or open the window and be quiet and spend five minutes just listening to what your hear. Don’t judge. If it is very quiet in your room, then notice what does your breath sound like? What does the silence sound like? During the day, notice different sounds. What does your voice and others’ sound like? What does it sound like when you eat?
Saturday/ Shabbat is taste. On this day, the structure changes a little. On this day, at lunch, just be conscious of eating at the beginning of the meal, especially be very focused when you eat the first thing of the day. Concentrate on where the food has come from and what had to happen for it to get to you to nourish you. Concentrate on how it will nourish your body and help you to continue to live and do your work on this earth. How will you use the energy from this food? Eat slowly and chew the food well. Put the fork down between bites and don’t eat blindly. Taste the food, etc.

It is a good idea to log your feelings and experiences from the day before going to bed. Notice if the five minutes at night feels different than the five minutes in the morning. Each week, notice if the way the exercise feels changes for you.