The Sixth Sense or living "In the Now"
by: Scott Bruno for INTELST. 2004

"Paradise is where I am" -Voltaire (from today's Zen calender 2006)

This document details the "Now" states of consciousness, the professions that bring people closer to the "Now" and an excercise that will allow a person to get into the "Now" and maintain that presence via practice of the excercise.

The "Now" state of consciousness will be reffered to as the, "sixth sense" in this document. It is a concept wherein resides a sixth sense which combines all 5 senses to create a higher level of awareness and consciousness. Athletes refer to this sense as "The Zone", Special Forces Military Groups call it "Deep Situational Awareness" and religions call it "being in total connection with the holy spirit", God, Finding that "Zen State" in Eastern practices, or in other cases speaking tongues sparks the sixth sense mode as well.

The sixth sense is a state of being in which a person thinks not about yesterday, nor tomorrow, rather about what's happening right at that particular moment in time. A place  where there is no tomorrow, and no yesterday, and almost all sense of time is lost. What is of particular interest here is that if we acknowlegde the idea of the word "Eternal" or "Infinite" which are always present in all the sacred texts, we notice that there is a simularity in the sixth sense; that state of being where "time" and "matter" no longer exist.

Professions which draw humans closest to the sixth sense include, firemen, ambulance workers, police, emergency room workers, doctors, professional atheletes and military peronnel.

The common thrill seekers also utylizes the sixth sense and this is usually the very reason by which they are drawn to it. In each case they perform in an environment where reaction is in the now and hence their minds are focused on the task at hand and nothing else. To place this into the thrill seekers example we can look at the bungee jump for instance. As soon as the jumper leaves that bridge and tumbles towards earth do you think they are thinking about the spousal disagreement they had with their loved one the previous night? Or are they thinking about their parenting challenges or children's grades of the past, present or future? Or during their jump are they thinking about what the stock prices will be at closing time tomorrow? No. They are living "In the Now", enacting the sixth sense. Which in essence, is a VERY high level of "conscious to sub conscious connection". This is one of the main reasons why thrill seekers seek such sports, to feel "in the now" where all of their problems and challenges are forgotten, or at least for the moment they are. The key here is attaining that feeling on an everyday basis without having to jump from a bridge, be a soldier in battle or quickly resituate a heart attack patient in an ER room.

As mentioned, the key factor here is in being able to reach "the now" without going to such extremes such as bungee jumping, or being a part of a rescue operation during a fatal accident. Some methods of practice which assist people in activating the sixth sense include yoga, prayer and meditation. There is no doubt that the feeling that one inhibits in the now is both exhilarating and divine and something of which each person seems to long for more of. The key is in enacting the sixth sense as you traverse through your everyday life.

Perhaps one of the best ways to get into the now, and connect the conscious with the sub-conscious is by way of self discipline, practice and training via a proposed excercise. In this proposed excercise one should be VERY careful not to be judgmental. In this proposed excercise you simply note that there is a voice in your head *. Yes, not a far cry from the homeless person in the park blurting out quotations at will, however this is different. We don't blurt out the voice. So in this exercise one is to recognize that the voice exists. Secondly, in an unbiased way, listen to the voice. DO NOT JUDGE THE VOICE. Just listen. Do not question the voice, or answer it if it questions, just listen to it. This excercise works best if you begin practicing it in a quiet peaceful environment where you can get fully relaxed. It is suggested to begin the excercise laying down in a comfortable position on your bed for instance.

As you become in tune with what your inner voice is saying you will note a feeling of lightness and enlightenment. You will feel lighter, stronger and more attune to your surroundings. As you carry out this practice it will begin to become second nature and with it will come the sixth sense at a much more constant rate. What occurs is a total sound awareness of everything around you and all of which is within you. Situational Awareness will be attained without being in a fire fight in a military operation or on the end of a great pass in the NFL where players have said that when they go for that diving pass, they hear absolutely nothing from the 60,000 screaming fans. They almost describe that of the occurence of a black out yet they are highly aware of everything around themselves and remember it all.

After you have practiced the excercise multiple times in the quiet realm of your bedroom you can take the excercise and use it as you are performing every day activities. Be warned however, that at times early in the experience of this level of consciousness, you may find yourself being fearful due to the newly found feelings and the thought that you may not feel comfortable in situations where you might be driving for instance. It is normal early on to think that this newly found presence will negatively affect your reation times and such. But the more you practice, the more confident and capable you will become in being in this higher state of existence. 

So practice often and consistently and enjoy that place where you are totally in tune and where there is no tomorrow, and yesterday is all but forgotten.

*The primary element of this excercise was utylized from Ekhart Tolle's book, "The Power of the NOW".