[wolfgaze]

Hi GotSpirits...

Originally Posted by gotspirits

Hi wolfgaze, what a wonderful community I have joined! Thank you for your courteous reply. You point out some very valid points. I have a very open mind. I do not discount anything and believe everything; I mean everything in life contains a perfect balance and perfect cycle; including our oldest stars and solar systems. I kind of like to dabble in theoretical physics; so having an open mind is very important.

You may enjoy reading Michael Talbot's book The Holographic Universe

Originally Posted by gotspirits

Everyone, you are absolutely correct. My EGO is what is getting in the way. No, I do not mean I am conceited or think overly high of myself. Rather, my physical, body thinking has surpassed my spiritual thinking. (Is that correct?)

Yes that makes sense and I get what you are saying... The egoic identity is rooted in the physical mind & body. It's the aspect of your psyche that influences you to perceive your identity as that of the physical body, as the product of your life experiences and your memory of those experiences, and as a 'being' that is separate from others and separate/disconnected from our external reality/environment which we are currently experiencing. When we are strongly consciously identified with our physical/egoic mind, we are prone to feeling threatened by what happens to our physical body, we tend to be preoccupied with notions of past/future, we are likely to internalize and believe the judgements that others have made about us, and feel that we are our emotions & mental thoughts that we experience (as if they were a source of self-identity).

Originally Posted by gotspirits

"Eventually you will come to the awareness and realization that you exist independent of your physical body. " How do I do this Wolfgaze?

"There is a deeper/higher aspect of you which is not threatened by the notion or experience of physical death - the key is to uncover that aspect and increasingly connect with it..." Can you help guide me in unlocking this key?

"What you need to do is develop an expanded/elevated state of Awareness" Wolf, I don't know how....? Please advise.

It's difficult to put this into words but essentially what I'm referencing above is an enhanced awareness that is developed and cultivated as a result of engaging in the process of self-discovery. You uncover a deeper identity within yourself, a deeper sense of 'self'. You end up pushing Consciousness into previously uncharted territory and this opens up a whole new understanding of who you really are and of your reality/existence. As your state of awareness shifts and expands - so does your perception and this is simultaneously affecting and altering the state of being that you experience.

How are these internal changes brought about? Through conducting inner-work (self-refinement, introspection, self-reflection, deep contemplation, emotional release/clearing, quieting your physical mind chatter/activity, etc). This doesn't happen overnight of course. Think of it as a gradual and extended process of unfolding and development. It helps to imagine yourself taking a series of 'little steps' that over time are going to have an aggregate and cumulative effect that will result in significant changes to your state of Consciousness (state of being). You've already been engaging in this important inner-work, but as you continue down the path of evolving your state of Consciousness - you start to reach critical points and cross certain thresholds that result in profound internal changes and developments that have an undeniable & lasting affect on your state of being. Driving this entire process is the conscious intention and desire to 'go beyond yourself' (you current state of being) - to experience something more than you presently are experiencing. Your instincts and intuition will guide you along the way - and you will find yourself drawn to certain subject matters and/or practices that facilitate the expansion of your state of awareness and therefore over time, your state of being. The internal changes that individuals come to experience have a universal nature - but the path by which individuals get there is varied and is unique to each individual. Imagine a vast mountain and everyone is navigating their own route to the summit. The destination is the same - but there are many ways to reach it. Therefore it's important to follow your instincts and allow your intuition to guide you in a manner that will be just right for you - recognizing that others are doing the same.

As far as my personal experience is concerned. I experienced a lot of mental suffering during my adolescence and early adulthood, and the sudden loss of an important family member in my early 20's thrust me into a state where I had to seek out a deeper understanding of life/existence, where I had to explore the nature of 'death', and where I had to find out if I had a deeper/higher identity other than the one I had struggled to live with an accept. This combination of life circumstances and experiences influenced me to engage in a lot of intensive introspection (self-reflection) and deep contemplation over a number of years. A lot of seeking, searching, exploring, questioning. I didn't know this at the time but this inner-work I was conducting would end up resulting in transformative and life-altering internal changes within me (alluded to above)... It took years to play out but it was absolutely worth it.

Sometimes life throws you an event or experience that ends up serving as a major catalyst for you to push yourself in a certain direction that eventually results in profound changes to your state of Consciousness (state of being). For me, the passing of a family member and the effect it had on me was one of those life events. This wasn't clear to me at the time - but I came to realize this in hindsight (10 years later). I can definitely perceive your health scare and perception of 'dying' as having a similar influence on you and your life path/development that is unfolding. This will become more apparent to you in due time. Eventually you are going to transcend the fear of physical 'death' and completely liberate (free) yourself in doing so. Then you will look back and clearly perceive how your life experiences/events were all part of a much bigger picture and serving a higher purpose for you as it relates to your conscious growth & evolution.

Originally Posted by gotspirits

I tend to either live in the past or have anxiety about the future. It has only gotten worse as I've gotten older.

I highly recommend you get yourself a copy of the book The Power Of Now (Eckhart Tolle) and explore the contents... It very much focuses on addressing the tendency above (bolded).

Here are a couple videos featuring some commentary from the author, set to relaxing music and nature visuals:

The Now
https://youtube.com/watch?v=PkgNIJLpBEI

Death & The Eternal
https://youtube.com/watch?v=_ft1rYcht0c

Regards,
~WOLF