6 Practices For Shifting Into Non‑Ordinary Consciousness
To shift out of ordinary, problem-focused thinking and into a more expanded state of awareness, slow your breathing, remember moments when you felt deeply connected or alive, and gently set aside habitual mental stories. Use nature, the stars, and your senses as gateways into presence. Together, breath, memory, sensory awareness, and connection to the natural and cosmic world help restore a felt sense of wholeness, perspective, and inner spaciousness.
Conscious Breathing
- Take about four long, deep breaths in and out.
- This immediately begins to shift your state of consciousness out of “ordinary mind”.
Remember Peak or Extraordinary Experiences
- Recall peak moments when your spirit felt expanded or you felt at one with everything, such as moments of awe in nature, profound love, or spiritual ecstasy.
- Let yourself re-enter the feeling of those memories; this helps reawaken that expanded state.
Set Aside Ordinary-Mind Stories
- Notice when the outer mind is looping on problems, such as “there’s no way out”, past regrets, or future worries.
- Put those pre-conceived ideas to one side temporarily and consciously invite a more extraordinary state of consciousness.
Use Nature as a Gateway
- Go outside, especially into wilder, less disturbed nature, and open to its wholeness and balance.
- Let the beings of nature – trees, animals, stars, landscape – draw you into a more spacious, connected state.
Contemplation of the Stars and Cosmic Origin
- Look at the stars and reflect that their light has travelled for years.
- Remember that we are made of star stuff and are part of an infinite universe.
- Recalling this infinite nature and potential shifts you out of small, ordinary consciousness.
Presence Through the Senses
- Bring attention to what you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel on your skin.
- Because the senses only operate in the present moment, this anchors you in a more spacious, present awareness rather than the busy outer mind.
Used together – breath, memory of peak states, the senses, and nature or cosmic contemplation – these are the main tools described in the conversation for moving into non-ordinary, expanded consciousness.
Watch Carlos discuss this more on the One True Self Podcast
