awareness觉察

In The Early Sessions Book 1, Seth offers a unique and in-depth discussion of the concept of "awareness." He not only breaks down the human prejudice that "fragments" such as plants lack consciousness, but also, through hypnotic states and the metaphor of a two-faced creature, explains the characteristics of awareness in different life forms as well as in the multidimensional structure of the human being.

1. Plant Awareness and the Analogy of Trance States: Seth points out that humans often underestimate the consciousness of plants, but in fact all plant life possesses a fairly high degree of consciousness, with well-coordinated, alert, and very important inner senses. To help people understand the mode of plant awareness, Seth compares it to human trance states. First, awareness in a light trance state: in a light trance, a person can maintain awareness of himself, his environment, and his position within the environment. At this time, the individual's behavior is somewhat different, and he will not move in any direction unless given a suggestion. Plant awareness is to some extent similar to this ^[1]. Second, awareness in a deep trance state: in a deep trance, the subject actually has full awareness of what is happening during the trance, but forgets it after the trance ends (that is, loses memory afterward). Seth points out that the awareness of plant life is very similar to that of a subject in such a deep trance state. Except when stimulated and suggested by the ordinary natural forces of its own plane, the plant will not move in other directions. Like a subject in a trance state, the plant is aware, although its other abilities are temporarily unused and latent, yet these abilities do exist ^[1].

2. Self-Consciousness Connecting the Dream World and the Limitations of Awareness: Seth also discusses those self-conscious parts of the human personality that face different planes, and the awareness connections among them. First, the awareness link between dreams and the entity: there exists a corresponding but lesser degree of self-consciousness that connects the present ego-personality of the human being with the dream world. This self-conscious part is able to be aware of its own source and transmits data between the human being and the dream world. The degree of the human being's awareness of his own dream creations is the same as the degree of the human being's entity's awareness of the human being. In the final analysis, it is precisely through this self-conscious part facing another plane that the human being is connected with and remains aware of his own entity ^[2]. Second, the "two-faced creature" metaphor and mutually unaware self-consciousness: in response to the contradiction "if there exists another self-conscious self, why are we not aware of it," Seth proposes a humorous metaphor of a "two-faced creature." Imagine a strange creature with two faces (like conjoined twins), one face looking at one world and the other face looking at a completely different world. Each face is equipped with a brain to interpret the reality of the world it faces. In this metaphor, the "subconscious" exists between the two brains, enabling the creature to operate as a single whole. However, the two faces can never see each other's world; they are unaware of each other, yet each face itself is completely self-conscious. This explains why different self-conscious parts of the human being can exist simultaneously, each maintaining full self-consciousness, yet remain mutually unaware in everyday experience ^[2]. Through these discussions, Seth in this book presents the diversity and layered nature of "awareness": it can exist like a plant in a manner similar to deep trance, latent yet fully knowing, or like different aspects of a multidimensional personality, each maintaining full self-consciousness within its own domain, yet mutually unaware due to dimensional limitations.

In The Early Sessions Book 7, Seth elaborates on the concept of "awareness" from multiple dimensions, revealing that awareness is not limited to the everyday human self, but is a multi-layered perceptual ability existing in multiple dimensions, multiple personality structures, and the cosmic gestalt (All That Is).

1. Multidimensional Awareness Beyond a Single System Seth points out that humans at present usually perceive only a single system, and are accustomed to calling the consciousness "imprinted" by that particular system the "ego" ^[1]. However, this is only a very small part of the individual's complete consciousness. Higher psychological structures can be aware not only of their own imprints and reactions in multiple systems, but also simultaneously of the vast whole of themselves that is not imprinted ^[1]. For example, a multidimensionally aware individual can simultaneously be aware of all of his own incarnations within that system (these incarnations occur simultaneously), and at the same time be aware of himself as the multidimensional whole experiencing these existences ^[1].

2. The Hierarchical Awareness of the "Observer Self" In the individual's daily and dream experience, awareness manifests as an "observer" structure. Seth mentions that there exists a part that stands outside the subjective self and examines the subjective self; it is the "I" that remains aware and vigilant in dreams and watches the "dreaming self" ^[2]. This awareness is hierarchical: in daily life, humans can actually be aware of "a self who watches the self," a self that is independent of the ego and can be aware of the ego's activities ^[2]; as consciousness develops, the individual will in the future also be aware of "a self who watches this self" ^[2].

3. The Infinite Awareness of the Cosmic Gestalt (All That Is) At the macroscopic level of "All That Is" (or pyramid consciousness, energy gestalt), awareness exhibits holographic and transcendent characteristics: this infinite energy gestalt can be aware of itself as a specific individual (such as Joseph), aware of the individual's past and future selves, and even aware of itself as the smallest seed ^[3]. This portion of "All That Is" as a "personal god," while aware of itself as "you," is also aware of itself as a being beyond "you" ^[3]. And the transcendent overall god-personality is aware of itself as a being beyond the sum of all its creations ^[3].

In summary, "awareness" in this book is not a single attention, but a multi-layered, nested perceptual ability of consciousness that can freely focus and shift between the local and the whole, the present and the multidimensional, the observer and the observed.

In Seth Speaks, the concept of "awareness" is elaborated in multiple dimensions. Seth points out that humanity's present state of awareness is highly specialized and limited, yet in essence awareness possesses extremely high mobility and the potential for multidimensional expansion.

1. Core Statements on Awareness and Physical Limitations

Seth points out that human beings currently perceive their own consciousness mainly through the physical mechanism ^[1]. This extreme fascination with physical reality causes people's attention to be focused in a highly specialized manner upon one bright, glaring point, thereby neglecting the existence of other surrounding realities and blotting out stimuli from them ^[2]. Because the "conscious mind" cannot perceive the activities of the inner self, people often do not identify with the inner portions, but only with that part of the self that watches television, cooks, or works in daily life ^[3]. However, this limitation is not unbreakable; even in normal waking consciousness, there are not entirely no traces of other existences or a lack of other kinds of awareness ^[4].

2. Distinctive Aspects of Awareness and Multidimensional Expansion

1. The Constancy of Subconscious and Inner Awareness: Although the ego may not be aware, human beings are in fact "always aware" at the subconscious level ^[5]. The inner self (or the seemingly unconscious portion) is actually conscious, perceptive, and alert, maintaining the operation of the physical body with great discrimination and clarity ^[3].
2. The Fluidity and Multiple States of Awareness: Awareness possesses extremely strong mobility. In daily life people constantly and involuntarily enlarge or narrow the range of attention (such as when absorbed in a book or daydreaming) ^[6]. In both waking life and sleep there exist various states and fluctuations of consciousness, but the ego usually deliberately covers over these areas, causing people to be quite unaware of them ^[7].
3. Focusing in New Dimensions and the Inner Senses: Through practice, people can learn to focus in "new dimensions of awareness" and use the inner senses to perceive the inner world ^[8]. Such practice enables one to become intuitively aware of the internal physical environment, just as one is aware of the external environment ^[9].
4. The Relationship Between Probable Realities and Awareness: Seth emphasizes that probable realities appear to human beings as merely "probable" only because human beings do not perceive them ^[5]. Once awareness is expanded, these realities will manifest.

3. The Direct Perception of the Soul and the Evolution of Self-Awareness

The perception of the soul (the whole self) does not depend upon the physical senses or upon time; it can directly perceive the psychic activity beneath physical events ^[10]. In deep sleep, the perceptive faculties of the soul can operate with comparatively little hindrance, drinking from the well of pure perception ^[11]. In terms of wording, Seth distinguishes between the limited awareness of the "egoistic self" and the true freedom of "inner consciousness" ^[12]. He points out that beneath deeper levels of consciousness such as "A-5" there still exist other "levels of awareness" ^[13]. The goal of human development is precisely to strive toward the state of "self-awareness" and development, so that by understanding and utilizing the various levels of consciousness, the "conscious you" may truly become conscious, and thereby be able to freely choose whether or not to perceive physical reality, rather than being passively limited through ignorance ^[14].