Hi. Welcome to part three of a six-part series between Jason McBride, author and illustrator for Weirdo Poetry, and myself, Nathan Davila, author and narrator for Cloud Grounding Publications. Links to the letters will be updated as we go: Letter 1, Letter 2, Letter 3, Letter 4, Letter 5, Letter 6.
Dear Jason,
I hope all is well in your part of the world my friend.
“How do you make the case to a skeptic that reality as we know it is connected to our universal consciousness?”
Thank you for this question.
I would tell them that Feeling is believing
Let’s dive into it:
I think a first step may be to define Consciousness and Reality linguistically. Searching through multiple websites that define each of these terms, I think a simple way to define each of them is: Consciousness: Awareness of yourself and the world around you; The awareness is subjective and unique to you. Reality: The totality of all things possessing actuality, existence, or essence. But is that really it? Is being conscious of your reality just being aware of the existence of life within you and without you? Maybe ~ but that doesn’t answer your question. What is the source of consciousness?
In order to understand the true depth of consciousness I don’t know that you need to experience the depth that likely goes “to infinity and beyond!” (thanks Buzz*). Honestly, using tools like plant medicines*** (psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, psychoactive cacti, cannabis) are great introductions that can allow you to open the “doors of perception” (Aldus Huxley*) within your mind that limit the amount of stimulated sensations which are actively perceived by our conscious (awakened) mind. By closing our eyes and entering the cosmic sea of life, the bathtub of universal consciousness becomes our reality. You achieve this experience without substances too; With a little more effort you can train your mind to maintain this awareness of our universal consciousness — or connectedness — through meditation, deep breathing exercises, ice baths, challenging workouts (running, hiking, biking, swimming, etc.).
*** Plant medicines. Notice there are no man made chemicals listed. My personal belief, is that in order to cleanse our connection with this conscious field of energy shared by all living matter in the universe, you need to consume natural substances, be it medicine and food. “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” - Hippocrates
Feeling is believing is actually a quote from Wim Hof. (more on him later).
I can talk about how we are all connected within this universal field of consciousness and that by practicing exploration of the field, our experienced realities may become enriched with love and a deeper understanding of why life is so precious — but words are not as powerful as action. At a certain point you need to stop studying other people’s actions and take your own action. Set your phone or book or computer down, and try meditating with your eyes closed. Take a walk without your phone, or try placing it in a backpack or purse (not in your pocket where it’s easy to grab). Try not to think about anything that stresses you out, even if just for 30-60 seconds at a time. Why? Because you are worth it. It takes practice.
To any skeptics my response would be to suspend any disbeliefs and give an honest open minded effort into dropping your guard and connecting with the energy of the universe via any method that makes sense to you. It’s your reality and you are either actively aware of the stimulation influencing your experience, or you’re not — I enjoy the active participation of the experience, and I think you would too.
Other than explaining all of this in an effort to connect the dots between universal consciousness, oneness, and our unique realities — I could try telling of my own pivotal experiences.
Speaking of unique realities, there was a moment in life when it all started to click. My pistons were firing off in all directions during my teenage years. Life was great and full of passion — but at times I would be surrounded by pain and darkness. Deeply-Subconsciously, I knew that this darkness was just a blanket covering us from the lights; a blanket under the light that could morph itself into our worst nightmare - convincing us that we are subjectively powerless against the reality with which we engage… but I knew that wasn’t true.
The good moments are so good, and I know there’s a way to rise above at free will—but, How does that work? Where does the energy to thrive and surprise the soul with enchantment come from? I became obsessed with exploring this field of existence and looking for ways to dive deeper into our true potential in this life. I soon realized that the mind and our conscious connection to this energy field is the biggest mystery of them all. What is consciousness? What capabilities do humans have for interacting with the cosmic energy of life that exists within you and without you? And So, the journey of conscious exploration began, circa 2007-2010.
By exploring all aspects of traveling, hiking, biking, playing music with my friends using psychoactive substances to explore our lives from a different perspective — I became empathetic and understanding of the world.
—In 12th grade I took AP Psychology with Mrs. Tripken. She taught us that our conscious reality is a product of this: Stimulation exists everywhere, and our bodies sense this — Stimulated senses produce sensations — Sensations flow through our nerves to our brain — Our brain then analyzes and computes what is happening - the source of the sensations — The brain then becomes conscious-engaged with-focused on the activity — This is called Perception — Further, the bandwidth of simultaneous computation that our brains have cannot even come close to being able to handle the extreme dose of stimuli that exists in the universe. So, there is a filter - or a limit — Call it a sensation limiting filter that allows in at least what is needed to survive. Everything else is a bonus —
This, to me shows that:
We (humans) are not yet able to understand and experience the full strength of our connection to the universe - to consciousness. Aha! The power source of all life. (Where does the energy of life come from?)
Because we all have a limited perception of what the meaning of life is
and
We have our own personal realities that are products of our perceptions of the sensations produced by stimulations from the universe that connect with us at different times, — we should be more patient with each other
We are all ONE
We channel the power source of life - a power source that can react to your soul’s intentions. This power source is connected to every single thing on this planet and in this universe. Since we are all individually connected to this singular universal consciousness — then, that means you and I share the exact same source of life. A reactive source of life that allows us all to feel the same rippling wave that fish share in the sea.
I am you and you are me.
We are all one big family
— But sometimes egos get in the way, and cause a riot.
Around that same time in life, I began getting chronic sinus infections that were awfully painful. Nothing I got from the doctors helped the misery in the moment. Years of suffering from these attacks that would be so painfully it would cause me to puke. It didn’t matter if I was out and about, working, with family, wherever - whenever - when the infection hit, I became nauseous and completely knocked out for the count.
I felt helpless during those years. It wasn’t fair, and I became controlled by the pain and inflammation. Until one day, a ray of sunshine came reaching through the cloud to hold my hand. I was working at a Whole Foods juice bar in Del Mar, CA and she said, “Hun, get some fresh ginger and turmeric root, with some lemon- go home, chop it all up and boil the mixture in a pot of water for at least 30 minutes. It’ll be spicy, but it’ll work. AND IT DID!
In all of the 5 years that I had been suffering from infection, Nothing ever made the pain subside so fast. Within 30 minutes of drinking the hot tea, the pain in my head started going away. I was feeling vibrant and transformative - like I was being airlifted safely from a bad scene. The fact that I could make my own medicine at home using roots, lemon and water was mind blowing and completely changed my perspective on what is right in this world. Mother Nature provides. She truly does.
A year or two later, I was living life, continuing to dodge infections by staying hydrated, consuming ginger and turmeric any chance I got, and practicing mindfulness in the sense of just being aware of my body, specifically my sinuses. One time, my wife and I climbed a mountain in Yosemite. It was an awesome time. A couple days later, I went on another all day adventure to Black’s Beach / Torrey Pines, CA to climb through the sand stone canyons. I then went to the Torrey Pines Glider Port, and then onto a beach in Encinitas, CA. By the time I was there, the sun was about an hour above the horizon. I was feeling drained and exhausted. This brought the Monster of my nightmares. The pain in front of my brain blowing up my sinus cavities— but no. I did not surrender my mentality to the presence of this reality. Instead of engaging with the pain subserviently, I chose to lay down on the sand, backpack as a pillow, close my eyes, and focus all of my energy on the exact spot the pain was emanating from.
In that moment I knew that humans are capable of mindfully activating healing processes within our bodies. I had been doing it with the turmeric and ginger teas, but those weren’t always available. I needed a kitchen and a pot of water to make that remedy. Why can’t I just elevate to the same frequency of heightened healing through meditation? So I went for it, and you know what? It worked!
I could hear the waves, the wind, the kids playing, the sea gulls, the smell of salt in the air, the vibrations of the coast. In this deepened state of consciousness I heard a sound. A tinkering sound. The best way to describe it is that I heard the sound energy that is the source of life. The power source of life. With that reality I felt the inflammation and pain dissolve at the sight of infection. In that moment, I was free.
I never lost that feeling either. The feeling of accessing such a deep state of connection with my body that I somehow was able to focus on and manipulate the force field I exist in and alleviate the pain from an infection causing inflammation in my sinus cavity.
Fast forward several more years, to October 2020. Working as a Utility Forester during one of the gnarliest fire storms in California history, I was on a patrol working 12-13 hour days, six days a week in Santa Cruz County, CA. It was awesome work - difficult and dangerous, but so fulfilling. About a month into the patrol, I was doing laundry on my day off, and it happened. Leading up to this day, I had not gotten a sinus infection in over a year. I had begun very routinely practicing The Wim Hof Method; a combination of cold water exposure, deep breathing exercises, and mindfulness. Wim Hof explains the journey and science behind how all of this works in great detail. But what I did in that moment was put this breathing method to the test. 30 deep breaths, followed by a breath hold after exhaling - 3 rounds. (I have gone past five minutes on some of these holds). The biochemical changes that happen in this exercises is profound in that it allows you to engage with parts of your brain that you may not be used to engaging with on a conscious level. In my experience, the level of consciousness achieved through this technique allows me to activate an immune response which takes away the pain that is caused by inflammation.
The sinus infections just don’t happen anymore. I’ve been practicing these techniques for almost three years now, and it’s wild how I, myself, can keep the sinus infections at bay after 10+ years of experiencing them out of control. What is that? How am I able to do that? How am I able to heal myself by consciously willing it to happen? Hypothesis: I have learned the concept of and continue to practice connecting with consciousness (the energy source of life) and using it to positively adjust my reality. It’s amazing really.
The power source of life, also known as god, is the brightest source of love on this planet. We are all capable of illuminating with the light of love — Ram Dass is one of my favorite people to listen to. My favorite talk of his is titled, “The path of the heart” on Youtube. In the lecture he talks of love as being the absolute highest level of energy> If you have love, there is nothing higher and you therefore do not need anything more. Since we are connected to the energy of light and love, we are capable of being Love.
There is a difference between being in love with someone and loving someone. To love someone means to love them even when they don’t show you love back. If you are love then you don’t need anything else, because there is nothing higher. You don’t need anyone else to love you back for the sake of loving you. Show love to everyone not because you need the energy, but maybe they do. If you can be the example of love and you can emanate love, then they will feel it and love will shine through. Like a dark blanket of clouds being broken up by magnificent sun rays, shining light right to your eyes.
Maybe it’s that sometimes the sensation limiting filter in our brain gets clogged and makes perception of life become distorted, darkening our realities, and further influencing our behaviors. Just like the blanket of darkness blocking sunlight from the life.
Maybe the methods used to “explore consciousness” are really methods that cleanse our filters and allow us to see clearly now the rain in gone. During the exercise or trip or meditation, maybe it’s like the Filter Cleaners come and remove the filter to clean it, and then put it back on whenever your therapy is done. As time goes on the sensations come flowing through while the filter actually is meant to block unnecessary stimulations, but over time it builds up. The only way to clean the sensation limiting filter is to consciously commit to exercising and pushing the limits of your imagination — explore the universe — GROW.
If you do nothing, well… then I guess that’s it.
Jason, what has your experience been interacting with this field of consciousness? Have you found your own methods to become aware of and possibly manipulate the field (or fields) of energy swarming in the universe in an effort to produce a desired reality?
Lay down under the sun on a warm day - on the grass, sand, dirt, towel, chair - anywhere you feel comfortable. Close your eyes, and just… breathe. That’s it - breathe and give yourself a moment to let everything in your mind go away for a moment.
Thoughts will find their way back into your field of focus, and that’s okay. Don’t feed them, just let them sail away… unless it’s a really good line to a poem. You can write that down, haha.
References in order of impact for me:
#1 Wim Hof - This is one of my favorite interviews ever. Watch and/or listen to this conversation HERE - Wim Hof is a man who went through a tragic moment in his 30s. He turned to ice water, mountain climbing, deep breathing techniques and mindfulness to heal. He further has figured out a method that can be easily transferred to - anyone - without having to send them up a mountain to experience the benefits of cold water and breathing.
#2 Ram Dass - “Path of the Heart” lecture (1992 - I feel like he left this for me when I was born) HERE - Ram has a lot of talks about life and consciousness from the perspective of love
#3 Paul Stamets - Mycology of Consciousness
#4 Terence Mckenna - pick up the phone, hear the message, set the phone down, walk away. Take time to digest, learn from, and perhaps ask more. Go back and pick the phone up again when you want to learn more. That’s what Terence McKenna’s messages are to me. Listen HERE
That's quite a thorough case! I'm digging in and getting my next letter ready. This has been a fun conversation so far.