Changing Consciousness

Can we change our consciousness? We cannot change who we are, but we can shift our identity from being the personality to being the soul. This is a shift from identifying oneself as one’s self-image to identifying with one’s essence. In truth, we really ARE the essence, the soul. And we HAVE the self-image or personality. To say that we ARE the personality is tantamount to saying that we are our sensations, our emotions, and our thoughts – which we are not. We do not HAVE a soul. We ARE soul and HAVE a personality. In ages past, people did not speak of changing consciousness. It was not relevant. Consciousness is identity. In the past, people were their personality. And still today, the majority of people identify with their personality as who they are. However, there are more and more people able to disidentify from their personality and identify with their essence, the soul. In many ways, these two levels of self, of ‘I,’ are opposites. It requires an extremely radical shift in perspectives to make the change from identifying with the personality to identify with the soul. One must re-evaluate all previous ways of understanding, of thinking, of acting, and of being motivated.The change in consciousness from personality identity to soul consciousness can only occur when a person is ready. Readiness is determined by:
Having sufficient experience from which one has learned a great deal about oneself.
Being willing and able to face the subconscious realities that one has previously repressed.
Having built up a strong ego, so one is able to withstand the vicissitudes of life.
Being independent and responsible for one’s own well-being.
Taking responsibility for the consequences of one’s choices.

~Andrew Schneider