PROPOSAL - UPDATED INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT STUDY

When we speak of human multidimensionality, we refer to the various layers that make up the human system, as in the case of the matrioska, a wooden toy doll of Russian origin consisting of a hollow doll, divided by the waist into two parts that fit together, which has in its interior another doll equal but smaller and so on, until it reaches the smallest and most internal of all, which is solid. Analogically speaking, the latter corresponds to the inner Self in humans. It is the source of the existence of all external envelopes (all mental faculties and the body) since it is vital energy.

What is Consciousness and how can we Develop it?

Consciousness is a term that even today eludes all understanding and definition. There are those who relate it to the religious meaning that suggests a voice that leads on the right path. Others understand it as the conscious, that is the mental faculty to realize situations and external or internal conditions of the person. In its broadest and deepest sense goes beyond both definitions. It is related more to the Self, to that inner power that makes possible all physical or mental or even cosmic activity. In this sense, consciousness as an entity is common to all living beings. It is individualized when combined with the mind and personality. This is where stagnation can occur when the Self does not retain the ability to detach itself from the mind and personality, going further beyond them and connect with the universal energy source. That is why a person can feel disconnected, discharged, without spirit and confused.

The different layers that cover the Self go from the subtle to the dense, from the pure mind, to the ordinary mind and the body. The broadening of consciousness refers to the deepening from the bodily level to the mental and the subtle levels, until reaching the zone of no mind, where the recharging of vital, psychic and spiritual energies takes place. It is said that the person is imprisoned or stagnant when he does not see beyond the physical, mental and emotional areas. The revolution of consciousness is not simply a fashion or a philosophical trend from a particular region, it is a reality that is present today, independently of any culture, investigation, study or philosophy.

Recognizing this tendency and joining it implies making efforts to tune in, to be a differentiating factor, an agent of change in our communities, preparing ourselves to live, no longer according to the dehumanizing aspects of cultural patterns, but to the integrating universal realities, more akin to what we really are.

The way consciousness evolves in a human being is described by several researchers of the evolutionary process and the spiraling dynamics that integral human development goes through. Some authors conclude that this evolution is increasingly closer to integrating views of reality, solidarity and inclusion. In these investigations the pedagogy of the ADH is based in all its programs. A summary of this vision is presented in Unit 3, Methodology of HDA Programs.

Methodologies that Promote the Expansion of Consciousness

The objective is to get the human being out of numbness states in which they can find themselves, so they learn to handle suffering and make use of their potentialities for the construction of a better present and the common good. That's how you get to lead a full life. The evil of the century, of which we can be infected, can affect us in very varied ways, without us even knowing all of them. But we can leave them following the method outlined throughout the development of the HDA programs for the expansion of consciousness.

The cure of the evil of the century does not refer to the absence of the toxic environment as much as the presence of continued wellness.

To build well-being, one must first reach a high level of understanding, not from the purely intellectual or emotional sense, but to deepen the vision beyond imprecise and incomplete concepts and strengthen the ability to connect with the Source. We can build well-being by ending our narcissism (excessive and exaggerated admiration that a person feels for himself, for his physical appearance or for his gifts or qualities; attitude that oversizes the effect of my doing and understanding over reality). By extending the conscious from oneself to beyond the ego, we stop worrying about imposing and preserving our limited points of view; then we are opening the doors to Universal Order and Harmony instead of being contented just thinking with excitement about them.

Training the mind to be open, responsible, sensitive, conscious, empty of conditioning, supportive, interested in the common good, we begin to really live and activate the development of our potential. The capacity to live the joy without excesses and the sadness without fear, indicates the awakening of sleepwalking in which the common person lives, where a fictitious existence is intended in the exclusive realm of the positive. This pretension does not reach lasting effects because it is equal to wanting to strip a coin from the head or tail. Existence is based on the two positive and negative polarities. It depends on each one which one feeds more to govern their life, but the other one remains in contrast, providing a background, base or platform from which to launch the development.

Consciousness is Presence

We are conscious entities. We are part of Total Consciousness; as a drop of the ocean of all consciousness, we reflect in due proportion the attributes of water present in both the drop and the ocean. The equation is proportional because the drop fits in the ocean, but the ocean does not fit in the drop. And this drop of conscience acts like a chameleon that copies the color and characteristics of the ground it treads upon. By connecting with the mind, conscience forgets its true and noble identity and dedicates itself to the enjoyment of the senses.

This situation resembles the story of the prince and the beggar: when the prince changes his role to that of the beggar, he forgets his origin with time and ends up believing that his new conditions of life are the only possible ones; his thoughts, emotions and actions, are now those of a beggar. His interpretation of reality limits him, but he always has the possibility of expanding his vision again until he realizes that he is a prince disguised as a beggar. Likewise, our view of the world may be presently considering only a limited part of what we are. As chameleons we have become the image of the body and assume the colors of the world. We are so imbued with this oblivion that we do not even remember the ocean we came from.

This situation is at the root of all dissatisfaction. Our intellect works like a pointer; it points out and gives a clear warning to guide us; but if the mind does not listen, then the intellect remains silent. This is what is often called the voice of conscience that speaks to us, it gives us the correct orientation. If you act badly, it will tell you; and if you listen and then act according to the guide, you avoid the wrong action. Even the worst kind of human being is aware. Presence consists in paying attention to the present, which includes the guide we learn to listen to. We access the presence when the attention is stripped of the disguise of a beggar and internalized, leaving the outer layers of the matrioska one by one, going beyond the body, the world, emotions, thoughts, ideas and all memories momentarily, during the practice of meditation.