Ayinde:

For sometime now I have been craving the experience of a sustained level of consciousness, which so far I have only read of in books.
I know such a state is attainable, much like I know that our ancestors exist alongside us in a different dimension.
I know these things because I have been granted glimpses. These experiences are so poignant that they are not eclipsed by years and each is remembered with the utmost clarity.
My inability to sustain such levels has lately convinced me that what I lacked was a teacher and for the past two years I have been seriously contemplating abandoning my responsibilities for a sojourn to the East in search of a Guru, hence my interest in your post. Sadly, the topic has not developed as I thought it would. There was a previous discussion about this subject that arose as a tangent from another thread but that too went nowhere.
How does one manifest consciousness? Eja's idea that consciousness is a measurement is accurate to the degree that one considers life a measurement. Is ones' degree of animation the measure of ones' life? Is a monk less alive than a world class athlete or a mouse on a treadmill?
I believe we use terms like consciousness to define/name those aspects of ourselves that are secret/hidden. In a verbal reality we are all subject to the limits of the scribe. The ancients knew this and never abandoned their hieroglyphs. The following is a list of letters and the ancient egyptian symbol for which they are substituted along with the dictionary definition. The ideas are all mine. I would appreciate very much the input of other posters to this forum.

M = Owl : nocturnal bird of prey, exceptional vision and sound perception, very attentive and protective of offspring.

Idea: Creature of the dark, i.e. hidden, who sees all, hears all and conscientiously guards
its young.

D = Hand/Snake: human appendage/limbless scaled reptile.

Idea: Create/Regenerate, design, cause, bestowal of signature characteristic, creative spiral, as in DNA.

W = Chick: hatchling/fledgling, new born, offspring,progeny, issue, stem.

Idea: becoming, beginning, start to grow, emanate, radiate. Energy discharge.

N = Water: tasteless, colorless substance essential to all forms of life.

Idea: biological homeostasis, conduit, a medium for conveying.

T = Loaf/Tethering rope: Shaped/molded mass of bread/harness or restraint.

Idea: limited unfulfilled potential, specifically arranged, designated, named.

R = Mouth: oral cavity, orifice, opening.

Idea: entrance or exit of expression, image, personification, demonstration or representation. speech/words