EARTH=HEAVEN

The Optimist, 10/10/2025

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“Every step works. You only need to take one,” according to The Optimist, “Your consciousness is like a hot air balloon. By expanding your consciousness, you experience more well-being. A change in your mindset is sufficient to change the world.” 

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BY: PAUL VAN SCHAIK

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Rising in consciousness can be compared to a hot air balloon ride, where the sandbags represent your fears. The more you toss overboard, the lighter you become. This is how you achieve flow. In the Optimist program at the Society 4.0 Academy, you put this metaphor into practice.  

Consciousness refers to the invisible field with which you are in contact with the world. You can steer your personal “consciousness balloon.” Thinking and feeling are your tools. Whether your balloon rises or falls depends on your own mindset. Your personal beliefs determine how you assess the circumstances.

If feelings stemming from fear dominate, the balloon won’t take off. You experience your life as heavy. By shifting to a higher level of consciousness, you encounter less resistance. You trust that everything will be fine, you are willing to change, and you forgive yourself and others for their mistakes… A general sense of satisfaction prevails. 
Rising in consciousness is worthwhile. Because by doing so, your circumstances also change. They align with the higher state. Optimist Magazine treats you to a crash course: What steps can you take?

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1. Finding Inner Authority
It all starts with finding the helmsman within yourself. A childish habit of humanity is to transfer responsibility to others. It’s logical to rely on your parents as a toddler, but as an adult, you’ll eventually realize that those in power outside of yourself do not always have the same interests as you. One day, you become wise. From then on, you rely on yourself first and foremost. You stop worshiping gods outside of yourself. By seeing yourself as the creator of all your experiences, you live at the highest level of consciousness. That is the state of freedom.
The downside is that you can no longer point fingers at someone else when things go wrong. But the upside is that your life transforms into a movie that never gets boring. By listening to your inner authority, you take a huge step. You toss all the sandbags overboard at once, and your balloon shoots to new heights.

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2. Creating Meaning
The most important condition for a happy life is giving meaning. Those pursuing a self-chosen goal give their lives a sense of purpose. Scientific research shows that people who know why they are here on Earth, reside in the higher regions of their consciousness.
To keep sailing cheerfully, these individuals visualize the end result and try to feel as much as possible throughout the journey as if they have already achieved their goal. They spend most of the flight in states of willingness, acceptance, reason, joy, love, and peace. These are the people who do exactly what they want and do not let themselves be enslaved.

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3. Thinking in Abundance
In our society, a scarcity economy rules. Inflation, driven by those in power (the bankers), creates an unconscious fear of running out. Meanwhile, all the natural treasures that exist in abundance are kept outside of the economy. Add to that the competition for a partner and an income, and the recipe for low consciousness among the masses is complete. Once you see through that, your consciousness surges. There is more than enough for everyone.

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4. Recreating Yourself
Reality is subjective. Everyone sees the world through their own unique lens. But when that lens no longer fits, it’s time for a new one. With a different mindset, your perception changes. That is humanity's freedom; one can recreate oneself into a different version. If you want to continue seeing yourself as a powerless puppet master, that is your choice. But if you say, “I am the king in my own free human society,” then your balloon sails over the high mountains to the golden sun.

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5. You Are Music
If an emotion is a tone, then a feeling is a chord. With these chords, a state is automatically composed in your subconscious. A complete symphony plays there. Which composition you are playing becomes clear with an external stimulus. The exercise is to become aware at the moment of the stimulus. If you remain kindly smiling while being called a “Clown”, you are free. This state is also known as Christ consciousness. In this loving state you listen to Beethoven’s Ninth while your surroundings are going wild over "Follow the Leader."

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6. Renew Your Thoughts 
The quickest way to let the balloon rise is to take a deep breath and focus your attention on your body. Seek silence to refresh your consciousness. This way, you can abandon the old.  
Those who feel in their bodies slow down their thinking pace. As long as you are feeling, no obstructive thoughts can arise. Whether you feel good or bad depends on what you think. By feeling without interpreting, only vibrations remain. That is the essence of a feeling; it moves. Concentrate on such a vibration, and it disappears. The feeling melts, as it were, under the light of your attention. You now experience the peace that surpasses all understanding. 

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7. Turning Lead into Gold
The greatest enemy of high consciousness is fear. Shame, guilt, sadness, anger, and even pride keep the balloon grounded. Abandoning all of them at once is a significant step. You can also tackle it one fear at a time. Whenever you feel discontent, apply a meditation to face the fear. In your body. This way, you convert this low vibration into freely available energy. You are turning lead into gold, as the alchemists call this art.