Richard Harvey

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The Flight of Consciousness

a contemporary map for the spiritual journey

Front Cover of the Flight of Consicousness

The sacred journey is the deepening into ourselves we make throughout our lives. It is the merging into the eternal, dancing stillness and peace that exists in the centre of our being. It is the return to our real nature. Anyone who experiences the “call” to their spiritual path—whether outside prescribed paths or within established religion—and who chooses to follow the “call”, is on the sacred journey.

Today the ancient secrets are readily available. There is little mystery left. You can read Tantric scriptures, Sufi texts, Taoist stories and Kabbalistic teachings in high street bookstores which, not so many years ago, only stocked the Bible and C.S.Lewis. But it is not enough to simply know, or have access to, secrets. The question for us today is, “How do we live our enlightenment?”

For each of us the sacred journey is individual and unique. There are as many ways to God as there are individuals. However, the stages in this book reflect a deep unity in our individual journeys. Here is the essence of the sacred journey with individual accounts, anecdotes and experiences to clarify the essential aspects of the journey. (extract from The Flight of Consciousness by Richard Harvey, Ashgrove Publishing UK)

Download (Word 60kb) the contents, introduction and first stage of this book.

The Contents

Preface

Introduction

Part 1: Beginning the Sacred Journey

1 Self Recognition

Who am I? · Where am I now? · What am I carrying? · What am I learning? · Revealing the self · Identifying your models · The imaginary “I”

2 Beyond Body and Personality

How the Divine shows itself: footprints and faith · Faith and desire · The body and the five senses · Personality and your story · Consciousness and form · Innocence and simplicity · Identity and fear · The lessons of suffering

Part 2: The Journey Around the Self

3 Awareness

Two kinds of awareness · Awareness shows you yourself · The clouds or the open sky · Only one consciousness · Judgemental mind · Developing “the witness” · Awareness, acceptance, change · Failure and humility · Unfinished business and loose ends · The part of you that knows · Cultivate clarity · The heart and the moment: insight and healing · Awareness and experience · Awareness is eternal

4 Lessening

Peeling off the layers · Taking off your masks · Four essential practices · Transcendence · Illusions and self worth · Animus possession · A time of waiting

5 Opening

Life statements: trunks and branches · Working with fear · Yes and no · Offering up · Handling reality and not knowing · Relationships and “rescuing” · True intimacy · Working with the body · The practice of opening · Evolving consciousness · Total openness

Part 3: The Higher Self

6 Power and Surrender

Spiritual urgency · The unconscious and the light · Surrendering to the Self · The spiritual adult and the spiritual warrior · The spinning-top · Surrender in action · Synchronicity · The play of Consciousness · Brilliant disguise · Self-importance · Goal-lessness

7 Expansion

Macrocosm and minutiae · Expanding your consciousness · Projecting authority · Expansion and empowerment · Emotional alchemy Life as poetry, life as dance · Expansion and relationships · The generous heart · Hijacking the spiritual · Grief for the old self · Inner wisdom · Divine longing

8 Oneness with the Self

You are the centre of the world · The dark night of the soul · Your life is the path · The dual conditions of good and evil · The roots of desire · No-seeking · Being at OM · The lure of quietism

Part 4: The Flight of Consciousness

9 Return to the Source

Finding words for the wordless · How is life fulfilled? · Nowhere to stand · Where do you get caught? · Re-emergence after the second death · You see the world as you are · Seeing things as they are · The miracle of forgiveness · Three different paths

10 Freedom

Finding the extraordinary in the ordinary · The courage to be unseen · Letting go of everything · You are complete in yourself · Nothing matters · Acceptance and forgiveness · Look at yourself · God will disappear and only You will remain · Silence · The Flight of Consciousness

Exercises for the 10 Stages

Notes

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Published worldwide by Ashgrove Publishing, Great Britain, 2002

Pages: 191

ISBN: 1-85398-141-9

You can buy this book on Amazon

What readers say

With a mixture of wisdom, humor, illustrative stories, practical advice and the clarity that comes from a deep understanding of life, Richard Harvey makes the complexities of the psycho-spiritual journey clear and accessible. His writing is lucid and stimulating, his message compulsive and always illuminating. His appeal is broad enough to include specialists in the field of personal growth as well as the general reader. I encourage anyone who is being challenged by life issues or who wants to deepen in their understanding of what it means to be human to read his books.
Professor Ian Norman
King's College, London, UK

Some years ago I stumbled upon The Flight of Consciousness. It was an inspiring book at a very difficult time in my life—a ray of light in my "dark night." The map of the spiritual journey provided a much needed context, helping to make sense of my experiences and awaken me to a deeper sense of meaning. A profound and life-affirming book which I will always remember with fondness and gratitude.
Richard Graveling
Psychosynthesis Counsellor and Mental Health Charity Worker