How do we open? How do we open to the One-ness? How do we open to the realms above? I have wondered about these things, and came upon some answers.

First, though, before we answer these questions, we must discover our resistances, What are resistances? They are the the things we put in our own way, obstructions, the obstacles that live in our personalities. In a certain sense, they define the way we live.

I experienced resistances aplenty, but found that in defining them I could do battle with them, transcend them. For example, in the midst of meditation, during my time of silence, I would get certain thoughts. Later I recorded them, but only after I had overcome some very strong resistance. The strongest came in the form of doubting: "What do you have to say, after all?" "Surely, dummy, this has been said before." I recorded the messages anyway, only to find myself (quite often) thrilled with what I had learned again. Sometimes I met the same idea in the writings of great minds, and then I became exhilarated and wondered, "Was it in my mind because I had read it -- or did I get it from the same place that they got it?" It didn't matter, for ultimately we all get it from the same place if we are open! And we open by dispensing with the everyday mind. That's what occurs in meditation. We quiet. We release the distractions of our body, of our too strong emotions, of our "roof-chatter," or over-explain. We let all of that subside and then - we enter the peaceful mind. At that point we are open to the intelligence above. That is a real opening.

Let me illustrate with something that came to me in one of my own meditations. I called it "Wanting to Know" or KBK. KBK is my term for "knowing beyond knowing." Let's talk about knowing beyond knowing, and exploring the Super-realm.

Knowing Beyond Knowing

I find, when I want to know something or discover something, that I am in the same state of mind as when my mind is silent. I am peering into the dark, knowing that I will see something. At such a time, I feel a willful, straining pressure in my third eye, as if I am using that eye to explore the inner as well as the upper realm. It is as if I have a searchlight fastened there, to look around, yet I am also looking within. This is the way it is always, when we look behind the words or read between the lines.

Understanding an Abstract Concept

When we understand an abstract concept, we might believe that we have constructed the lines of connection that lead to that understanding. But, following a line of original thinking by Rudolph Steiner and Wolfgang Goethe, we would find that we have not done any such thing. Instead, we are "seeing" something that is already there and already constructed.

In other words, we are not constructing the concept (in our abstract minds), we are opening our eyes and perceiving it in the subtle realms; it is already there. For example, when we look at a plant, we see, in our mind's eye, the entire plant: the seed, the stem, the leaves, the blossom, and discover a plan which is already there. Even though we may look at a plant and notice only a blossom, we know, inwardly, that it was once a seed, then a seedling, and then it grew. That whole construct is already there in the mind's eye. We discover something "up there" which is ready-made. Although the plant broadcasts the plan, so to speak, it was the plan that made the plant. This plan, this construction in the subtle realm, is called an "archform."

Archforms

Archforms are made from a higher entity and we perceive them as such in our mind's eye. But it is even more that that, for we ourselves participate in the construction as we look, and perceive, and construct it in our mind's eye. We, too are the divine creators; we, too, are the divine receptors of knowledge.

And that, my friends, is the way it works.

Freud was on the path to this understanding when he discovered the unconscious mind. He might as well have called it the super-conscious mind. He taught the therapist (the listener) to use "evenly hovering attention" and the patient (the deliverer) to "freely associate." Evenly hovering attention means listening with no preconception, just absorbing. Free association means observing and reporting everything that floats through the mind without judgement or censoring. Freud was on the trail, for in advocating evenly hovering attention, he was teaching the receptive mind, the mind open to reception, the Supermind. On the other hand, when using free association, one surrenders, letting himself/herself participate in the upper realms, in a higher order. Analyst and patient meet "up there" -- conjoining. The result is soul to soul, an intuitive connection. The result is a flash of insight on the part of the therapist which is then offered to the patient, and then recognized by that patient. All of this takes place "up there" in a direct communication channel with [the consciousness that dwells] "down here."

The Creative Formula

I have a friend who is an artist. When I asked him, "From where do you get your ideas?" he replied, "First, an image suddenly pops into my mind." I asked, "Where does it came from?" He replied, unconsciously gesturing with both hands toward the sky, "It is up there." Then, pointing to his heart, "And it is in here. But trying to get that idea into a form is something else," he struggled to say, "until I find a definition for it." Then I inquired, "A definition is what you put on the canvas?" "Right!" he said, "But it takes a little doing, it takes a little thought, and then I know what to do with it."

I reminded us both that we were talking about something "up there" and perceiving something "up there." That came through the open mind. But there is always something in the mind that stands in the way and must be worked with. You get the creative perception, the idea. But then to put it on canvas, you have to work on it somehow. That is the creative formula in general. There is nothing creative if you only get the idea or inspiration. There is something quite creative if you get it, and then subject it to the discipline of mind so that it can be preserved and shared . . . transmitted.

Creativity is being open. It requires getting the resistance of too much thought out of the way. Thus, first, reception, then the discipline of making it sensible and useable to all concerned. This creative formula is true for all of us, and it is how we work.

If we have too much thought, then that stands in the way. It is like having too much attachment to the material side of life or to standard convention. Too much thought stands in the way of receiving something new: inspiration, new ideas. On the other hand, if there is too little thought, then we run all over the map. We become awash with emotion. We become too impulsive . . . in a way, too self-centered.

What we need, at all times, is that balance between creative reception and discipline of mind. This disciplined "openness" brings us closer to the realm of "Knowing Beyond Knowing." About that we can talk next issue.

Maurie D. Pressman, M.D. is the author of Enter the Supermind and co-author (with Patricia Joudry) of Twin Souls: A Guide to Finding Your True Spiritual Partner.

Dr. Pressman is Emeritus Chairman of Psychiatry at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia and Clinical Professor of Psychia try at Temple University Health Sciences Center. He is Medical Director at the Center for Psychiatric Wellness, clinics that operate in Philadelphia and Haddonfield, N.J. These clinics bridge traditional and spiritual psychotherapy. Dr. Pressman can be reached at 200 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106; telephone 215-922-0204; fax 215-922-3008.