Hindu sages, Christian monks, and Buddhist ascetics all speak of reaching moments of higher consciousness through meditation or chanting, fasting or pilgrimages.

印度聖人、基督教僧侶和佛教苦行僧都提及透過冥想、誦經、齋戒或朝拜觸及高層意識的時刻。

Unfortunately, the way in which these spiritual people discuss their states of higher consciousness has a tendency to put a lot of secular types on edge.

遺憾的是，這些有靈性的人談論高層意識的方式，往往讓不少世俗之人感到焦慮。

It can all sound maddeningly vague, wishy-washy, touchy-feely, and for want of a better word, annoying.

這些言語可能含糊其辭、寡淡無味又極其煽情，換言之，令人厭煩。

What on Earth do these gurus really mean?

這些宗教大師們究竟在說什麼？

We deeply sympathize with such frustrations, not being by nature particularly attracted to the ineffable or the mysterious.

我們對這種焦慮感深感同情，因為我們天生就對這些不可言喻或神秘的事物無感。

However, it seems that the idea of higher consciousness is in fact a very interesting one, which has nothing inherently to do with spirituality and can be defined simply enough in strictly rational and secular terms.

然而，其實高層意識這個概念非常有趣，而且其本質也與靈性和慧根無關，完全可以用理性和世俗的詞彙來表達。

This is how we see it:

我們可以這樣理解：

as human beings, we spend most of our lives functioning in states of lower consciousness where what we're principally concerned with is ourselves, our survival, and our own success, narrowly defined.

人類一生中大部分的時間是在低層意識狀態中度過，我們主要關心的是自我、生存、並追求狹義上的個人成功。

Ordinary life rewards practical, un-introspective, self-justifying outlooks, sort of the hallmarks of lower consciousness.

世俗生活獎勵實際、不關心反省、自鳴得意的人生觀，這些皆為低層意識的特徵。

Neuroscientists speak of a lower part of the brain they call "The Reptilian Mind"

神經學家稱大腦下方的結構為「爬蟲腦思維」。

and tell us that under its sway, we strike back when we're hit, blame others, quell any stray questions that lack immediate relevance,

他們表示，在爬蟲腦的支配下，我們受到打擊時會反擊、責怪他人、制止毫無直接關聯的問題。

fail to free associate, and stick closely to a flattering image of who we are and where we're headed.

缺乏發散性思考能力、自我感覺良好並堅信前途一切光明。

However, at rare moments when there are no threats of demands upon us,

在我們難得感到安穩自在的時刻，

perhaps late at night or early in the morning when our bodies and passions are comfortable and quiescent,

也許是午夜或凌晨, 當我們身心都處於安逸寧靜之時，

we have the privilege of being able to access the higher mind, what neuroscientists call our neocortex,

我們就能觸及更高層次的思維，處於神經學家所稱的「新皮質」結構上。

the seat of imagination, empathy, and impartial judgment.

它是我們的想像力、同情心以及判斷力的基礎。

We loosen our hold on our own egos and ascend to a less biased and more universal perspective, casting off a little of the customary anxious self-justification and brutal pride.

我們放下自負感、採取更公正寬廣的視角、擺脫急於自辯的習慣和蠻橫的自尊。

In such states, the mind moves beyond its particular self interests and cravings.

人們往往看淡自身的利益和渴求。

We start to think of other people in a more imaginative way rather than criticize and attack. We're free to imagine their behavior being driven by pressures derived from their own primitive minds, which they're generally in no position to tell us about.

我們會用更富想像力的方式來看待別人，而非批評和攻擊。我們可以自由地想像他們的行為受到他們自身原始思想壓力的驅動，但通常無法告訴我們。

Their temper or viciousness are, we now see, symptoms of hurt rather than of evil.

我們現在能夠看清楚，他們的脾氣和惡意是受傷而非邪惡的象徵。

It's an astonishing gradual evolution to develop the ability to explain others' actions by their distress rather than simply in terms of how it affects us.

培養用他人的痛苦來解釋他們的行為的能力，而非簡單地闡釋它對我們的影響，是了不起的漸進式進化過程。

We perceive that the appropriate response to humanity is not fear, cynicism, or aggression, but always, when we can manage it: Love.

我們認為在我們可以控制的情況下，對人類行為的恰當回應不是恐懼、憤世嫉俗或侵略的態度，而是愛。

At such moments, the world reveals itself as quite different: a place of suffering and misguided effort, full of people striving to be heard and lashing out against others,

此時此刻，世界顯得完全不同：一個充滿苦痛和錯誤目標的地方，到處都是想要被傾聽和抨擊別人的人。

but also a place of tenderness and longing, beauty and touching vulnerability.

但也是一個充滿柔情和渴望、美麗動人的脆弱感的地方。

A fitting response is universal sympathy and kindness.

恰當的回應是普遍的同情心和善意。

One's own life feels less precious.

自己的生命變得沒有那麼珍貴了。

One can contemplate being no longer present with tranquility.

一個人可以思考不再擁有寧靜的狀態。

One's interests are put aside and one may imaginatively fuse with transient or natural things: trees, the wind, a moth, clouds, or waves breaking on the shore.

將個人興趣被擺放在一旁，想像與轉瞬即逝或大自然之物融為一體，如樹木、風、飛蛾、雲朵、或拍打海岸的波浪。

From this point of view, status is nothing, possessions don't matter, grievances lose their urgency.

從這個角度來看，地位什麼都不是，財產也不重要，抱怨喪失了緊迫性。

If certain people could encounter us at this point, they might be amazed at our transformation and at our newfound generosity and empathy.

若有人在此刻遇到我們，他們可能會對我們的轉變及嶄新的慷慨和同理心感到驚訝。

States of higher consciousness are, of course, desperately short lived.

當然，高層意識境界的狀態極其短暫。

We shouldn't, in any case, aspire to make them permanent because they don't sit so well with the many important, practical tasks we all need to attend to.

無論如何，我們不該奢望它們能永遠存在，因為它們與我們需要處理的許多重要、世俗任務並不相融。

But we should make the most of them when they do arise and harvest their insights for when we require them most.

但當它們出現時，我們就該充分利用，並在需要的時刻善用其洞察力。

Higher consciousness is a huge triumph over the primitive mind which cannot envisage any such possibilities.

高層意識凌駕於原始思維難以想像的可能性之上。

Ideally, we'd be a little more alive to the advantages of this higher mind and strive to make our oceanic experiences somewhat less random, and less clothed in unnecessary mystery.

理想上，我們對於高層意識的優勢應該更敏感，並致力於減少各種經歷的隨機性和不必要的神祕感。