Higher Conciousness

 In Herman Hesse's Siddartha, the novel opens with the main character, Siddartha, being unsatisfied with the caliber of the religious teachings of his community. He feels as though book learning and attempting to step into enlightenment through the footsteps of others is not sufficient if he wants to experience true enlightenment. Connecting this concept of unteachable enlightenment to the 'higher consciousness' video by the School of Life, both share similar characteristics. Lower consciousness is the state we operate in everyday, where our thoughts are only consumed by worldly and materialistic thing having to do with out survival, success, etc. The neocortex is the part of the brain that deals with higher consciousness-- often, in times where we are not worried by the practical aspects and goal driven nature of the working day, like very early in the mornings or late at night right before sleep, we allow ourselves to take on a wider perspective of the world and abandon the regular worries that plague our minds. The neocortex is called the seat of imagination for a reason; It allows us to think about ourselves and others in a more imaginative way, in which hopes and dreams are created and suddenly, the secret 'what ifs?' we all have are given full attention. However, this mindset can only naturally be present in states of low stress, which obviously does not bode well with busy school hallways and tediously long classes. Often, we carelessly place this state of consciousness on the shelf farthest away from us, hidden from plain sight until we can employ it again. A goal I have for second semester is to keep this mindset more closely to me in my day to day life so that I can remember how differently everyone around me is experiencing the same things I am-- and hopefully, this will help me cultivate a more empathetic and fuller existence.