CONSCIOUSNESS EXISTS IN MANY FORMS. It can be present in animate, inanimate, visible and invisible dimensions. With our awareness we can easily recognize consciousness in others and also in animals, but generally less easily in plants and what we call inanimate objects. There are those in human form who have the gift to be able to relate very closely with the animal kingdom, for instance, pet psychics and "horse whisperers", and those who can relate profoundly with the plant world, for instance gardeners and those we describe as having "green thumbs." There are also people who have a very particular attunement with rocks, crystals and the elements.

As consciousness and the forms that contain consciousness evolve over time, the relative importance of our awareness evolves too. In historical times, humans had to be very well attuned to their physical survival needs. If they had accidents or illnesses that in any way slowed down their ability to provide for themselves and their families, there would be serious consequences. Necessarily in those times, awareness was focused almost entirely on physical survival. In terms of consciousness, anything was allowed and deemed appropriate so long as personal and familial survival was assured. And thus among humans evolved a belief in slogans like "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," etc.

In these modern times, for a large majority of the world, survival issues are behind us, and most people who consider themselves intelligent no longer embrace hostile attitudes. We have seen that the Earth really is a round ball floating in an endless space and that we all living together on this round ball. We are entering, whether we like it or not, into the age of Aquarius, an age in which each individual must accept and take responsibility for every experience within their lifetime. It no longer works for us to resort to traditional and "time honored" codes of practice to avoid our "issues" by attempting to justify our irresponsibility's, shaming others and trying to laying blame elsewhere. We are all in this together!

The Journey of Consciousness
Currently, the journey of consciousness is from the mind, to the emotions to the Being. To make this journey, we need to witness that we are not our mind, whether our mind likes to think so or not. When we can appreciate that our mind never brings fulfillment, we are ready to make the step toward our feelings. But when we move into our feelings, which incidentally were not presumed to exist in the male half of the human specie before the 1960's, we find that we are prone to a rising and falling sensation in and around our solar plexus area. Emotional awareness can allow us to experience any single thing in a number of different ways according to how we are feeling in any particular moment. Even though our feelings take us much closer to the experience of our esence, we are really craving the stillness that is only available in our Being.

It is evident that the changes occuring in our world require a rapid shift in consciousness. In the West and many parts of the East, intellectual (mental) commentary has given way in large part to experiential (emotional) involvement. Television, the combination of sounds and sights, attempts to draw its audience into the experiences of its actors. Movies go even further in accessing deep experiential levels. We are invited to join into intense experiences that we will never need to have in our own lives, but to which our psyche "needs" to be exposed to be current in these times. These experiences, of themselves, can bring some level of satisfaction, but depending on one's mood in any given moment, it can shift dramatically. One can reflect on a movie one has seen, for example, and, depending on one’s mood in that moment, describe it as either good, and therefore worth recommending, or bad and worth avoiding..

What our consciousness needs is that we witness all things. We witness our mind. We witness our feelings. And so we come to witness our Being. The higher the mind and the more balanced the emotions, the greater the presence in the Being.

Some of the greatest experiences that have been offered to mankind through the element of television and movies have come through the directorship of Steven Spielberg. Through his movies he has made it possible for us to span enormous amounts of time and space, vast and dramatic ranges of human experience, and he has often posed questions that cause us to look beyond anything that we take for granted.

In this article we look at the design chart of Steven Spielberg in an attempt to find the source of his genius.

Steven Spielberg was born on December 18th, 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was born into the interpersonal incarnation of Education. This particular incarnation theme brings with it a selfless and available presence that expounds an often practical but also ideological approach to life. Though Steven would agree that most people in his life do not truly recognize him for who he is, he would probably accept the fact that personally he considers education to be our birthright, and that everyone can recognize him as a very talented educator. He regularly takes on the task of fulfilling our need to be educated in dimensions that go way beyond any schooling system.

In many areas of his film work, a practical approach within his subject keeps us grounded in the grim reality of how humans have been, and in some cases, continue to be with each other. In other areas his expansive and generous nature takes us into magical and imaginative realms of peace, fun, and wonder that convince us of realities which we tend to ignore but for which we secretly yearn. Steven allows us all the opportunity to be as mature as we would like but not to forget a sense of fun that is more easily available for children.

In his design chart, Steven Spielberg has a single "unconscious" definition between the throat Center, the brown square Center and the self Center, the yellow Diamond Center. The Throat Center is our means not only of communication, but it also acts as our center of manifestation. In this defined throat Center, Steven has five activated Gates. Each of these Gates has a particular expression associated with it, indicating that when Steven is communicating or manifesting, it will generally happen in accordance with the nature of one or more of these Gates.

The Throat Gates
Gate 35 is the Gate associated with a sense of progress that is achieved through the experiences that we achieve and live out. In Steven's design chart, Gate 35 is activated consciously and unconsciously by his North node destiny, indicating that he would have felt and dramatic change in his directing abilities commencing at the onset of his mid-life (Uranus) turnaround at age 40. On the conscious side, in the first line, Steven's experience of progress is tempered by a sense of humility and awe of what becomes available to him in his life. On the unconscious side, in the fifth line, Steven's sense of progress is aligned with an altruism and positivity that seeks to benefit everyone without necessarily considering benefit towards himself.

Gate 12 in the Throat Center, relates to a communication need to maintain personal standards. Here, Steven's conscious Earth activates the fifth line of being practical. In all things Steven will have a very prudent outlook on who and what is personally empowering to him and his work. He will feel particularly uneasy in social situations where people have difficulty in being conscious of, and responsible for the expression of their emotions.

Gate 45, called "gathering together" in the IChing, relates to the laws of rulership, and particularly to who has ultimate authority and who receives resources and reward for the work that they do. In Steven's design, the 45 is activated both consciously and unconsciously by the planet Uranus, in the third and sixth lines. Uranus is the planet aligned with our arrival into the age of Aquarius, and carries with it an atmosphere of maintaining personal responsibility in facing the unexpected, the unusual and shocks that can get our attention fast! What Steven will have found early on in life is that the projects he espoused were not necessarily going to receive the support that he expected from other people. Inevitably, and even though he directed a string of highly successful movies, he would have to start his own production company, not only for his own movies, but also to aid other directors who found themselves restricted, as he had, by the demands of the major movie studios.

The 33 in the Throat Center, is one of the Gates in design associated with storytelling. Called "retreat" in IChing, the 33 indicates a need for detachment so that one can absorb the experiences that have already happened in one's life. In Steven's design, the 33 is activated by his conscious Saturn in the first line, and by conscious and unconscious Pluto in the sixth line. Saturnian energy directs us in our need for self-discipline and teaches us what we must know about our self in our interactions in the world. The first line of the 33rd Gate indicates an inner need for the courage to be able to turn people down and not get involved in their concerns and recommendations. Plutonian energy can bring us to our knees if we choose to disregard it. When we get the message that Pluto attempts to convey to us in our nature, we can have dramatic and transcendent transformation in our life. The sixth line of the 33rd Gate indicates an urgent need for complete "let go" and disassociation from extraneous circumstances. In his life, Steven will have found he has always required time apart from projects, family and friends to be able to complete his absorption of past occurrences, clear and refresh himself ready for new experiences. Delegating bothersome people and details of life to others who are competent in handling those responsibilities will always serve him well.

Gate 31 in the Throat Center in Steven's design, is part of the channel 31-7, associated with a progressive leadership that guides those being led towards the future. The Gate 31 in Steven's design is activated by unconscious Saturn in the fifth line. Any unconscious defined activation in our design brings a constant and often unrecognized (by ourself) undercurrent into our life. Steven will know himself to be a born leader but most likely he will have realized this because people have expected leadership from him rather than through his immediately recognizing it in himself. Once he had established himself as a leader it was no longer a matter that required any consideration on his behalf. The fifth line of the 31 Gate relates to influential expression that can either be aligned with virtue or be plainly righteous, or both. In many of Steven's works, he explores the subject of human morality, (or lack thereof) and sometimes tends to put forward what can appear to be a limiting view of "right" and "wrong" in this world.

In the Self Center, the yellow Diamond Center, at the other end of the channel of leadership, the 7-31, Steven has Gate 7 activated by his unconscious moon in the fifth line. An activation with unconscious moon relates very often to a genetic inheritance from a maternal grandmother. In the IChing, Gate 7 is called "the Army," and in any Army there are many ranks. The fifth line relates to the rank of the general, the one who has overall command in any situation. For any director seeking to organize his "troops" during the making of a movie, this activation will come as a real blessing, provided that the general has good lieutenants to handle mundane issues.

Also present as an activation in the self Center is Gate 1, called the Creative. Steven has this Gate activated unconsciously with his Venus (again most likely genetically inherited from his maternal grandmother) in the first line of "pure" creativity that can require a little restraint so that it finds practical expansion. He also has the sixth line activated with his conscious Jupiter. In any chart Jupiter brings the potential for great expansiveness. In the area of movie creativity it is difficult to think of anyone who is quite as expansively creative as Steven Spielberg. Almost as if by magic, any subject could be made into an enormously creative, expansive, profitable and educational movie in Steven’s hands.

It is interesting to note that in his design, Steven Spielberg has four open centers: the Crown Center, the Center that relates to our access to inspiration; the heart Center, our achievements and willfulness; the emotional Center, where we learn to ride the waves of experiences that life brings us, and the root Center from where we can feel compelled, or not, to struggle within our life. One thing that is completely clear about Steven's design is that he cannot afford to be pressured by other people's ideas of timing, ego trips and emotional chaos. He has to be able to operate within his own boundaries. An open Center in one's design gives one the opportunity to view all potential interactions within that Center objectively. Consequently, Steven is afforded from within his own design the potential for a great objective view of the world. There is no doubt that given peace and quiet and the ability to retreat within himself, Steven manages this view perfectly.

In conclusion
Within our journey towards a higher consciousness in tune and in touch with the natural changes in our evolution and environment, we have been offered some outstanding perspectives and experiences through the work of Steven Spielberg. With Jurassic Parks, The Land before time, Schindler’s List, Amistad, Saving Private Ryan and other works, he has challenged us to look at our past and our fears. With Back to the Future, ET, AI and Men in Black, he has encouraged us to look beyond the span of our limited understanding of life and the universe that surrounds us.

What we sometimes forget in our rush through the world is that we are seeking a resolution that comes with fulfillment and the sense that we are complete. Occasionally we are given glimpses of this state of being but it is rarely long enough to hold us before we rush off into another agenda. Steven’s movies give us the opportunity to engage deeply into an experience and to pause, to feel the experience viscerally. In that pause, we can know a deeper layer of ourself and a deeper level of completeness. Movies are not to be taken seriously, but they can, if we are willing to witness our feelings in response to what appears on the screen, transport us to other dimensions within ourself. The point is to always remain the witness!

These times in which we live are precious because we are drawing to the end of the age of experiencing. We are entering into the age of Spirit, and so we need to embrace the experiences offered to us for all they are worth and be ready for the changes that come.