I’ve always had the need to explore every issue thoroughly before making a decision or taking a stand on one or the other side of an issue.  This propensity usually drove/drives people crazy–especially Sunday school teachers, professors, and doctors.

But yesterday I received a different response from my new cardiologist–who is Indian.  A few weeks ago, after being given 3 options to correct a heart issue, he also gave me a lot of reading material and web information to research and think about.  Yesterday’s appointment was set-up to discuss my responses to these.

As I presented my thoughts, he listened intently to every question, concern, and comment; addressed each one thoroughly; and moved me to the next step–consulting with the specialist who will perform the procedure decided upon.

I  know I take more time than the usual 15 minutes allotted by most doctors for patient appointments; but, I can’t help myself!  Unless and until I understand something completely, I am unable to make a decision.

When I apologized for taking so much of his time, he responded: “No apology is necessary.  Until the mind accepts it, the body will not benefit from a treatment.  We were given a mind by our Creator to use.  This is what makes us human.”  We then discussed how unnatural it seems to both of us when people just leave decisions up to others; thoughtlessly go along with the majority point-of view; or avoid looking at or thinking about serious issues altogether because to do so makes them “nervous” or “upset.”

This man, like many from the East, exudes the calmness, centeredness, and clarity born of mental-spiritual congruity.  To use one’s human brain, then present its “findings” to the spiritual Mind for a kind of transcendental “review,” is what I view the “discernment process”– so valued by many faiths as the driving force behind free-will decision making– to be.

Since we are spirit, living in a physical form while in embodiment, we must work to integrate these two aspects of our Being in all areas.  To simply use the material brain is to overlook the higher dimensional state of consciousness by which you can experience your own non-dual nature outside the constraints of perceived time and space.

But, to use only this higher state of consciousness ignores the human nervous system–the minute biochemical and electrical events responsible for thought and mental/emotional impressions–not to mention the wall you are bound to walk into if you are not alert to physical realities!

In more advanced states of consciousness it is possible to operate in both relative sensory experience and non-dual experience simultaneously.  If you learn to attain this level of consciousness, you will be able to experience the sensory world at the same time as you experience the deep, calm centeredness of your non-dual nature.

The serious practice of a meditation technique that resonates with your personality type would be a good place to begin if the prospect of mastering such a skill is attractive to you.  We all have the innate ability to connect with the higher aspects of our Being which lie outside the constraints of perceived time and space.

This ability is both a natural, human capacity and, to many, a “New Frontier.”