Todays post comes from Sixty Skills lecture on Transfer of Consciousness and the grain of sand exercise, see the video here.
Today, I’m going to bring you an excellent lecture on transference of consciousness (as seen in Franz Bardons Initiation into Hermetics) and the use of a single grain of sand to understand how reality is really constructed. The simple fact of the matter is your mind exists not only within your body, but in many different levels of reality at the same time. By virtue of this, it can also exist in many different places. By extension, just because you see something as a solid object, does not mean consciousness can’t inhabit it and see what else is in there. So, join me today as we explore transference of consciousness and the grain of sand exercise.
The simple fact of the matter is the mind is contained both within and without the body. It’s a strange thing where because we have multiple layers of reality, the mind can also exist in multiple places at the same time. Today’s lesson will cover how to take your mind and put it someplace else. In turn, you will be able to, to a limited degree, perceive the world from the location of that other thing. This is again a very curious phenomenon and well worth exploring.
The grain of sand exercise is a very old exercise in which you place a grain of sand in the center of your palm and then focus your attention on it. This will gradually lead someone through the three releases or the three transformations, and what you find at the end of that experience is, to use a common phrase again, quite curious. So, we learn all about transference of consciousness and the grain of sand exercise.nnI will now discuss the requirements for the transference of consciousness and grain of sand exercise. In terms of the physical requirements for this exercise, a simple object like maybe an apple, and if you have it, a single grain of sand or a small pebble, are the two things that you physically require to conduct this exercise. While no previous training in this system, be it breath work or otherwise, is required to perform this exercise, the performance of this exercise and development within it is significantly enhanced if you know how to engage mental energy.
So, for those of you who have not done this and would like a little leg up on these exercises, go watch the free preview of my course, “The Three Releases,” and it will take you through this process. This is, however, not necessary; it is merely very helpful. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you in this course.
We will now discuss the nature of mind as a container. The reality is your mind exists on multiple planes of reality at the same time. It exists at the vital or physical level, it exists at the astral level, it exists at the mental level, it exists at the akashic level, the non-dual light level, so on and so on. As a simple matter, most of what goes on with your mind happens obviously at the mental level of reality. However, by virtue of the mind existing at multiple levels of reality at the same time, the mind can also exist in multiple places at the same time, this is most often experienced with people when they sleep. They go to sleep, and their mental body loosens a little bit from their physical body, and their mind projects somewhere else. With training, it is possible to do this upon demand, and ultimately will result in the ability to engage in mental wandering or out-of-body projection. Initially, however, we will be utilizing a simple object, so you will need your simple object for this exercise. I am going to use an apple.
Understand that the ability to move your mind from your body does not have to be simply limited to an inanimate object. It can also be utilized on living things. This can bring up some ethical complications that we will discuss later on, but it is important enough to understand and simple enough to understand that technology exists that allows us to consciously move our mind’s point of fixation from our physical body to something else, and that will be one of the main goals of this course. Later on in other coursework, you will learn how to project your mind completely away from your body and engage in mental wandering, but that is a topic for another time. Let us begin.
We will now discuss the nature of reality.
Modern science has come to the same conclusion that meditators and yogis from millennia ago have already reached, primarily that most physical objects are in fact made up primarily of empty space. An additional step that science has not quite gotten a hold of, however, is the fact that consciousness can exist within the confines of virtually anything. So, this creates a very interesting conundrum. Most things are empty space, yet consciousness can inhabit things that we might consider inanimate normally. Anyone who has spent any reasonable amount of time on the astral or mental levels of development has quickly found out that things like trees have consciousness. Very curious, however, if you are in those same places and you approach a sacred object, sometimes they have consciousness as well. Again, very curious.
So, the purpose of this course work is to introduce the concept to a practitioner and new student of the fact that reality itself is mostly empty, yet consciousness can inhabit this emptiness. And, by virtue of the exercises we are learning, transference of consciousness and the grain of sand exercise, you will learn to varying degrees how to project your consciousness into that emptiness and experience the world from the perspective of that emptiness.
So, when you do this, you’re going to want to do this initially in a quiet place where you were not apt to be to be disturbed. This is simply so you can focus intensely on what you are doing. You will want to do this in a very relaxed mental state. So, those of you who know how to mental breathe will have an advantage on those of you that do not. That said, do not worry, everything you need to be able to do in this course will be contained in this course. If you would, however, like to improve your ability to expand your mental space, again please look at my course, the three releases.
We will now discuss why you would want to learn to project your mind. As Sixty Skills is primarily a practical course in metaphysics and meditation, one of the many issues we deal with is the fact that the phenomenal world around us has a lot more in it than most people realize. One of the most important skills involved is the ability to project your mind away from your physical body. At a high level, this can result in things like mental wandering or out of body projection. However, learning to do this can take quite a bit of time and is most easily facilitated by allowing for intermediate steps.nnBut the intermediate steps have value as well. As we explained earlier, inanimate objects can contain consciousness. However, inanimate objects can also contain doorways. Things like mandalas or sacred art can be projected into, and you can have the experience of that mandala. I won’t spoil for you what some of these things contain, but suffice it to say, what looks like a simple piece of artwork can actually contain far more. Additionally, there are medical and energetic applications for this. If you are a doctor, the ability to project your consciousness into a patient in order to gain more information about the nature of their condition is extremely valuable. Likewise, if you are dealing with an animal that is injured, this can provide you information as well.
Things such as shape-shifting, which is a very complex art that will not be covered here, frequently involve the use of a shamanistic practitioner placing their mind within that of an animal. With a lot of practice, this can actually result in control of the animal – again, quite curious and brings up a variety of ethical issues but something that can be performed nonetheless.
So, at a very basic level, the ability to project your mind away from your body not only allows you to more fully engage your environment, it also allows you to gather information and to more fully engage with reality around you. Now, this can be a little disturbing from time to time depending on what you find. So, as a practical matter, I would highly advise working with inanimate objects that give you a good feeling – again, never work with anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. This is not helpful.
Understand that if you were dealing with living things, living things have consciousness and emotion. And, as we explained a moment or two ago, even simple living things like plants can have a certain degree of consciousness on the astral and mental level. This includes emotional energy, and this gets to an important part that I am about to get to now.
While this course will only deal with, again, inanimate objects, it doesn’t take much extrapolation to figure out that you can project this technique into animate objects, animals, and with enough effort, people. If you’re going to do this initially, only work with mammals – and this is important. The nature of reality that insects and other life forms inhabit can be a little disturbing to the human mind in the beginning. So, you are going to want to primarily work with mammals initially. Second, understand that animals are a little smarter than most people give them credit for. nnThey’re going to be very aware of this, so if you’re dealing with a rather simple animal, it won’t be much of a big deal. If, on the other hand, you choose to go to a local zoo to practice this, which is a classical technique, you need to understand some of the animals, particularly the higher primates such as the apes, can find this very disturbing and will become very animated. If you disturb the animals too much too frequently, the zookeepers are going to figure this out and they’re going to kick you out, so again, be circumspect in what you do. Later on, if you choose to explore this utilizing human beings, you also need to keep in mind that the abrogation or violation of another person’s free will come with a price. So, if you choose to train this in that manner, you need to be careful about it, and you need to respect individual autonomy. Also, keep in mind more senior practitioners tend to take a very dim view of this, and their course correction, if you will, in terms of your behavior will probably not be very kind if they view you as abusing other people. Also, on a very practical energetic level, understand that when you project your mind into a living thing, you don’t just get mental level information, you essentially become that entity when you do this. The result of which is whatever is going on in their energetic and emotional worlds will also flow through you. So, this is a good reason to avoid working with anything that’s alive that you’re not prepared to handle.nnEngaging with relics and other sacred objects can result in interesting conversations and experiences, regardless of their age. For example, a student of the speaker engaged with a spirit figure in a relic from the time of the Phoenicians, although it was not a pleasant encounter. It’s important to be aware that projecting your consciousness onto objects can be like wandering into an unfamiliar neighborhood, and if anything makes you uncomfortable, it’s best to disengage and move on. The speaker also discusses the use of mandalas, such as the classical Buddhist mandala used in Shin Gon Buddhism. With practice, one can project their consciousness into the mandala and encounter various entities or even entire temple complexes. It’s important to approach these objects with respect and caution, as they are considered holy objects.nnIf you project into objects or spaces that do not belong to your faith, you may not receive a hostile greeting but may find a less engaging one. Therefore, you must respect the sanctity of that space and leave if asked to. Encounter with different beliefs and religions may result in expanding your worldview, but you should not assign meaning that is not there. Journaling your experiences can help you revisit and decide if you should explore further or if it was simply interesting to note because we only have one life to live.
While we have it and the time you have is simply not that long, so it is best to spend that time working on things that are conducive to whatever it is you are attempting to achieve in life. Again, respect other people’s property, respect the same the sanctity of religious objects, particularly those that do not belong to your personal faith. And as always, journal your results.
We will now discuss things to think about as the experience of transference of consciousness and later on, the grain of sand exercise indicate consciousness can inhabit both animate and inanimate objects. The first animate object you’re familiar with is of course the body you inhabit. Additionally, as the grain of sand exercise indicates, consciousness can exist regardless of size. This broaches many very interesting questions regarding consciousness, its long-term existence, and what it means when we discard one animate object for another.
The sages have been arguing over this for millennia and I certainly have nothing to add to those arguments, but it is something that you should ponder at length. Over time, you may find that this changes your thoughts on certain issues. That said, regardless of how strong and life-altering this experience is for you, I would highly encourage you not to make any immediate changes to your life as a result of it.
Understand, this is a very old piece of technology that meditators, yogis, and mystics have been utilizing for millennia. It’s not going anywhere. Likewise, the phenomenal world is unlikely to be going anywhere anytime soon, nor the need to pay your taxes, feed your family, or put gas into your car. So again, this is an initiatory level technique. Once you get to the grain of sand exercise, what happens there is quite profound and something you again should think about for quite some time regarding how you choose to live your life afterwards.
Understand, many other levels of reality exist, and likewise, many other levels of consciousness exist, and where you choose to interact with those and how you choose to interact with those are very important. Ultimately, however, this is your experience. This is valuable to you. This is in no way valuable to anyone else, and please keep that in mind. Most people simply have no interest in these things, and as a result, unless asked about this, you’re really better off not talking about it. This is again the importance of your personal journal and the need to review this regularly.
That way you can go over these issues at length by yourself. It is also a reason why it is very helpful to have friends in the meditative and esoteric communities. Joining the Perseus and Sixty Skills Facebook page, for example, might not be a bad idea. That way it gives you the ability to converse with others who have had similar experiences as does joining the Perseus Forum. There is no requirement to do this, and what I have found throughout the course of my life is that many people who have these experiences or train these things are rather solitary as regards their training experiences, not as regards their personal life. All of these people are abject professionals with vigorous and complicated lives.
However, this part of their life, they generally choose to keep themselves and would never reveal to another human being, frequently even if asked directly about it. So also keep in mind the privacy of others. Just because you find this infinitely interesting does not mean that that other person, even if they’ve had the experience, really cares to talk to you about it.
So, I appreciate you having joined me on this adventure, look out for posts exploring the Sixty Skills curriculum.
