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APPLICATION
THE NOTION OF GROWTH
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and how much energy we need to spend for gaining these insights.
We recognize to what extent our own feelings, desires and expectations influence our perception of reality. We now understand fundamentally how sorrow, fear and our emotional attachment to matter block the immense inherent capabilities of our consciousness. We comprehend that only we create our own path to liberation.
We see how unnecessary gossip directs our attention towards irrelevant themes and wastes valuable energy. We observe how this detains other people (and us) on the lower levels. We perceive how the contents of such chatter surround us like a cocoon that obstructs further unfoldment of our consciousness.5
Though we are still subjected to karmic manifestations which prevent the perfect realization of the Five Freedoms, these manifestations now surface only as mere temporary distractions. From this level on therefore the Five Freedoms are called the Five 'Great' Freedoms.
7 - From the seventh level (apramatta virata) onwards
karmic manifestations cease to overshadow our consciousness. Though we still experience them, we are so
5 This means small talk about money, women, men, food, politics,
crimes, accidents, enmities, art, the stupidity of others, sex, scandal, rumors, half-truths etc.
Small talk definitely has its purpose. As long as we are unable to directly fine-tune our relationship with others (which is necessary for the coexistence of human beings), small talk often represents the outer occasion, while the real emotional communication happens on deeper psychic levels (we use this mechanism on level 1 to 5).
Yet during a major unfolding of our consciousness any talk about themes of this kind significantly disturbs our process of expansion.
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