Mind & Body

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A Higher Ground

By Susan Hess

There is a very real human need to experience altered states of consciousness. I felt the urge at age 12, when I read Carlos Castaneda’s The Teachings of Don Juan: a Yaqui Way of Knowledge. Reading about multiple dimensions and the ability to shape-shift touched something deep within me. There was magic in the world; I’d just forgotten how to see it.

Over the years, I’ve studied a number of texts that describe the thin veil separating infants and toddlers from the spiritual realms. As we age into adolescence, this veil grows more opaque. Perhaps that’s why many cultures include out-of-body experiences as part of their coming-of-age rituals. Sadly, our western cultures have forgotten the importance of such rituals and don’t teach techniques for visiting these parallel realms.

In her book, Coming of Age, author Karen Liptak argues that teenagers who haven’t experienced a rite of passage are attracted to gangs, violence, and alcohol and drug use. When I look back at my craving for cigarettes and mind-altering substances, I know it was because I felt something was missing. But once I learned how to alter my state, either through breath work, movement, or other meditative techniques, my cravings evaporated. A direct connection was more trustworthy, more valuable, and more empowering than using a ‘middleman,’ because I was guiding the experience. There was no substance controlling me, or side effect to overcome, and no risk of damaging my health or reputation.

In a culture that values immediacy over patience, it might be a turn off to have to work at achieving a higher state of consciousness. We tend to look at discomfort or challenges as reasons to try something else, but often it’s the discomfort we feel that holds the key to taking the next step. This is the wisdom inherent in most spiritual practices such as yoga or meditation. We are given what we can safely handle. It’s only when we try to skip steps or speed up the process that we risk harming ourselves in some way.

As my son reaches adolescence and is drawn by the very same influences I felt at his age, it is clear what he needs to survive this passage: a defining experience. It’s his turn to connect to parallel realms, to develop his unique connection to his higher self and learn to be guided by it. I had to wait until my thirties to figure that out, and spent years stumbling through early adulthood as a result. So if you haven’t found a way to connect to something deeper, relax. It’s never too late. But I recommend you start trying; life will just flow more easily if you do.

“If somebody doesn’t want to put me in front of the camera, I’ll get behind it,” says Susan Hess Logeais, the writer, producer and co-star of “Not Dead Yet.”

That’s exactly what happened when this Portland, Ore., former Hollywood actress, age 51, decided to give it another shot. Prior to leaving the entertainment industry in 1990, Logeais had accomplished in 15 years what few people achieve in a lifetime. Beginning at the age of 17, the classically-trained ballerina spent a year performing with the San Francisco Ballet, followed by twelve years in modeling and then years in acting culminating her producing Not Dead Yet which was completed in 2009.

Image provided by belleflanuer