Consciousness IS Primary
I have a quote I keep at the top of my daily and weekly to-do lists “Consciousness Is Primary.”
Everything in your life is shaped by the state of consciousness you live from. In fact, The Slonimer Rebbe would say this is the deeper meaning of the Mishna that says “Baal Korcha Atah Chai - against your will you live,” meaning - like it or not, you will live as the expression of your inner state of consciousness.
When you’re in survival consciousness, you experience:
Pressure
Fear
Reactivity
Control
Exhaustion
And I don’t need to tell you, but what type of person do you become when you’re living in that painful reactive state? It’s not the person you care to be.
But when you’re in awakened consciousness, you experience:
Presence
Intuition
Alignment
Love
Wisdom
Energy
The circumstances might be the same but you are different. What kind of person are you when you feel love, joy, and peace? What kind of person are you when you feel good?
This is why true spirituality is not about adding more beliefs, more rules, more pressure, or more perfectionism. Spirituality is all about raising your state of consciousness.
The shift in state is both a means and an end. Because when your consciousness shifts, your life shifts. And as your life shifts, your consciousness expands even further.