My Consciousness Marathon

 

I got the idea for a Consciousness Marathon in 2009. My first try in the march that year lasted two months - just long enough to see that I really stumbled on a great idea. The reason I choose to do this was that looking around the world at what people do the one thing I saw no evidence was evolution of consciousness. The majority of the worlds population are noticeably in reverse evolution, with less emphasis on human relations and increasingly dependent on machines. 

There are a fair number of people who practice spiritual disciplines of one kind or another, some are very proficient, but none that I ever seen are evolving. They merely holding their ground in the face of rampant materialism, which is no mean accomplishment, but it is not enough. I am Buddhist and spent a lot of time with Buddhists, and I love to say that they are evolving, but I can’t because they are not. Buddhists maintain their tradition well, but it is like an airfield, the run way is in good shape but no one is taking off.

In fact, the concept of evolution of consciousness is pretty much unknown, to all people follow traditions. To evolve consciousness you must break traditions not follow them. Breaking tradition is not something to be done lightly, or carelessly, in the end all rules must be broken.

To describe the evolution of consciousness is not easy, but you know it when you see it, or more likely feel it. The evolution of consciousness is the most dynamic process can imagine, the greatest challenge you can ever face. Each level of evolution requires change, fundamental change, of attitude and practice and you never can be sure where it will take you or what you will need to do next. On the marathon the rule is to attain another level of consciousness every ten days. This may sound impossible, but it can be done, and you can be sure that you have done it, though from the outside change cannot be noticed in under a few months. You know because of what you had to do to get there and the opposition you had to overcome. At first it is easy, if you follow the practices I outline in the book, you will you will find yourself getting on a powerful natural high. If you work for ten days, you feel much better, the next ten days the same. Many other disciplines can boast the same kind results over a short period, and there courses that will help you do this all around the world. So the principles that practicing a discipline you can evolve is simple enough and to know that you have improved is not hard either.

When it starts to get difficult is as the weeks become months. To make initial gains no really great personal change is required, you are the same as before, merely ‘more so’. This changes as time goes and you have to make increasingly profound changes to your thinking and your way of life to get your next level of ‘high’. For a start you have lose a lot ‘baggage’, in terms of things and people to get light enough to progress. As you change others do not, so you have to leave people behind’ which is very sad. Processions require a lot of looking after, so they have to go as well – you must concentrate the entirely of your mental and physical powers on the primary task.

Time is problem too, for the normal person time is short, as you evolve each ten days seems longer than the last, this is a good sign, but it puts you out of kilter with people. Your friends drift by at a snail pace, with no sense of urgency, while you are rocketing forward filled with purpose. This brings me to the meaning of life; once you have discovered the meaning of life as a personal reality everything changes. How can they just sit back so complacently letting their lives slip by? That is now impossible for me to understand, completely impossible, yet I was not so different once.

The secret of the marathon is that you acquire more and more power the longer you run. The snag is that most of this power only lasts as long as you keep running. This is the same with all consciousness development, what is created is ‘bubbles of magic’. Everyone has experienced this, usually with a group of good friends while they were young. There is a magic time that you share together, and it seems as if that would last forever, but then something happens, someone losses faith in the magic and it is gone. Most adults seize to aspire to such moments as they have become cynical and worldly.

On the marathon you do not rely on others but build your own ‘magical bubble’ and so you can keep it running much longer. As you keep evolving the ‘magical bubble’ gets stronger and more real. Dreams and reality are only separated by provenance, that which a history is real. In dreams and fantasies there is never a proper time line of events, just continuous action.  This is why the ten day rule on the marathon is so important, by giving your ‘magical bubble’ a firm time line you make it increasingly real as time goes by. This may sound like ‘fairies at the bottom of the garden’ but consider this; the false reality of materialism is just a ‘magical bubble’, it is one big mean nasty puss filled bubble that has running a long time that’s all. What we call reality is in truth, just the world as we see it, a self reinforcing state of mind. Buddhism was once just a dream in one mind; now it is a reality for millions. Materialism is evil because it suppresses our natural ability to evolve by creating new realities. It crushed the delicate ‘magic bubbles’ of love and peace and replaces them with war and hatred. Neither love and peace, nor war and hate are real, both are just states of mind, which do you prefer?

Up till this year, the longest I had managed was four months. This may not sound like much, but belief it is! My present Marathon started in September 2011, nine months and a half months ago at time of writing and given my age, 57 and circumstances this one has to be to the death: I cannot stop as the pain of losing so much power and having to start again is simply not acceptable.

The rules are simple,

1. You must dedicate totally to consciousness enhancement and be prepared to sacrifice everything else.
2. You may use any means you like (only hurting others is forbidden).
3. You must make a noticeable evolution of consciousness every ten days
4. This improvement should be physical as well as spiritual mental
5. If you reach the stage where further physical improvement is impossible you may begin a purely spiritual marathon.
6. Failure to make an improvement for 30 days disqualifies you.

Judgment as what constitutes evolution is by the following criteria:
a. Length depth and height of consciousness that your technique provides
b. Evolution of outlook on life, constantly finding new and useful perspectives.
c. Physical strength and ability increase measured by the exercises you can complete.
d. Dedication, endurance, unflinching commitment
e. Universal love; ability to love of all things and people
f. Cheerfulness, kindness, helpfulness
g. Power of intent
h. Power of concentration
i. General inspiration
j. Depth of personal insight

That is list at this time, subject to alteration, by myself as and when appropriate.

Note: The power you gain on the Marathon is lost very quickly once you stop and you go back to being whatever you were before, give or take. The insights you obtain are dependent on the power so although you may be able to remember them, they are no real use to you, like an old man remembering when he was an athlete. It is the day to day pumping that keeps you strong and elevates your consciousness; ultimately the Marathon is until death. This is why is not difficult to tell if you have failed in attempt, rather it is all too painfully obvious and 30 days of no improvement is generous.