Each of us has experienced at least once, if not more frequently, the realization that we are not fully living up to our potential. In this particular era, however, we are nearer to expressing the full scope of our capabilities than at any time in the history of humankind. It is true that throughout history there have been singular individuals who were inspired revealers, had remarkable minds that functioned as finely attuned instruments, channeling profound thought and wisdom. We are now entering an astonishing age in which we are all about to live measurably nearer the potential of the possibilities which lie within us.
In the entire hierarchy of living things we are the most unique. We are the most adaptable, imaginative, creative branch on the tree of life. The power of our minds is simply incredible. Man has advanced from being at the mercy of the elements to harnessing those elements and using their power. He has liberated himself from many of his limitations. But is there more that we should be doing now?
In a time when the world was convulsed with many revolutions of a political and social nature, much as it is today, William James, the American psychologist and philosopher, observed: “The greatest revolution of all is man’s discovery that the outer aspects of his life are created by his inner attitudes.” Strictly from a psychological perspective, those words would, of course, be entirely true. However, James’ life was spent exhaustively researching greater dimensions, so we can logically assume he was speaking of super dimensional powers and ways of life. It appears that he deemed the outer life to be a direct reflection of the inner.
The mind is incredibly powerful. Through our minds we process our experiences, filter what ultimately comes into our conscious awareness, and direct the trajectory of our lives. Truly, our minds can be trained to direct our consciousness as well as our level of consciousness through a variety of tools. By doing so, we begin to live in a more multi-dimensional manner, with often powerful results and consequences.
A forewarning first given nearly 2000 years ago states: “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” These are the words of Paul to the Romans. He was suggesting that they rearrange the state of their consciousness in such a way that they would find a new, more comprehensive and greater life. Many teachers have interpreted this scripture to mean, “Be changed by accepting my beliefs. Be changed by thinking precisely what I think.” Logical judgment calls for a broader interpretation.
Multidimensional thinking can itself be a layered approach. On one hand, we all naturally incorporate multidimensional approaches to our experience simply by virtue of being human. Consider this example:
On the table in front of you is a red apple. You can reach out and feel it. You have memories associated with what you’ve heard about apples, of eating them before, which are triggered. You can also bite into it and taste it, smell it, hear it as you chew. The experience itself is layered between all of the memories, senses, and emotions. This in itself is multidimensional and happens within our minds without our conscious direction. As a result one could argue that we practice multidimensional thinking naturally. Certainly our senses are involved, but so too are our memories, emotions, conscious and subconscious experiences.
Another argument is that multidimensional living by definition has nothing to do with thinking and everything to do with being. Throughout our history, by virtue of necessity and survival, we’ve become great thinkers. We’ve figured out how to survive, how to thrive, how to make our lives easier.
Within this approach, it could be argued that we’ve trained ourselves so perfectly on how to think well that we’ve forgotten the art of being. What does it mean to “be”? Many equate “being” with “doing” in today’s world, and in fact, recently wrote an article for CoSozo Living about the very values of “being.
Ironically, re-learning the art of being starts with training your mind. Rather than training your mind how to think, however, the goal here is training your mind to quiet. By quieting the mind through meditation, yoga, or any number of other practices, you can begin to experience a new multidimensional reality.
Ordinarily we center our life in only one dimension: the physical. We hear, we see, we feel, we smell, and we taste and we believe that through these physical senses we perceive all that life has to offer. This is not true. There are other dimensions involved. And if we are to apply our minds to our lives and work with the highest degree of success it becomes essential that we adopt a multidimensional approach.
In shifting from a physical dimension approach to multi-dimensional living, you find that there is a fullness, a wholeness that becomes more present within you. This phenomenon may feel odd at first, even unusual. It’s not that you’re becoming another person, rather, you are becoming more aware of your own true self.
The research into quantum physics has confirmed what many have known for some time - we are more than the sum of the experiences we have through our five senses. It is not wrong to live life according to those five senses or the traditional physical dimension. However we choose to live is ultimately our own choice. Like any of the choices that are presented in our lives, we simply have different resulting experiences.
The three dimensional approach is not the only method of dealing with life. I do not suggest that we suddenly adopt a new way of life entirely, or that we reject all the old traditional things which have contributed to our well-being in the past. But we may just be missing out on some wonderful aspects of fully living. What if there are possibilities that lie within us that could move easily within our grasp to enact? What if, by shifting to a multidimensional approach to life, we began to more fully live our own potential?
As you move more fully within your own unique sense, you discover that often, decisions that previously might have been more elusive to reach or more difficult to make, are easier. You also discover that synchronicity often seems to increase in your life. Whether or not, that’s true, I don’t know.
What I do know is that when you live from a more multidimensional approach to life, you become more aware in general. You become more open to the possibility that the things, people, and experiences that unfold before you are there for a reason.
That’s not to say that from the multidimensional approach to life, you stop being discerning. Rather, the effort that you need to extend in order to reach a decision or discern the best choice feels easier, less arduous.
I don’t have all of the answers for how and why this works, but I do know that it does. Through the act of quieting your mind, of adopting a more multidimensional life, the experiences within your life seem at once both more purposeful as well as more mysterious.
As you begin to experience yourself and life around you from this new perspective, you are more apt to feel like you are “with the flow” of life rather than fighting against it or trying to control it. If you’ve felt like you’re in a rut, or even just are eager to experience parts of yourself and your life that have until now not played a large role, it might be worth looking into. The very least of what you’ll likely experience is less stress and more relaxation. And you may very well be discovering entirely new ways of being in the world.
