What is meant by a shift from our current 3rd dimensional consciousness to 4th dimensional consciousness and what does it mean for everyone alive during the shift?

Here is a “layman’s terms” explanation, derived from various sources, that I hope will help you understand the idea of a dimension, the differences between dimensions, and the concept of shifting from one to the next. I don’t recall Tolle really going into it yet on the webcasts but I suspect he will as the questions about 4th dimensional consciousness keep coming up.

We begin with understanding some basics about Light, Matter, and Physical reality

Tolle (and quantum physics) have already explained that all matter is actually a densification of light. What we perceive to be solid mass (a person, a table, a tree, a dish) is really just a very dense holographic light projection. I know this sounds strange, but read on. Our five physical senses are not precise enough to perceive the non-solid nature of the building blocks of matter, so when we touch or see a person or thing, it seems like it must truly have solid mass and not just be comprised of light. However, it is the density of the light, of the energy of each thing vibrating, that give it the appearance, to our limited senses, of solidity.

What that means is, simply, everything we perceive as “solid” is actually comprised of light vibrating at different frequencies. How is this possible? If you break down an atom into its sub-atomic components (protons, neutrons, and electrons), we see there is a lot of empty space between the atom’s electrons and its nucleus. The electrons are really just energy revolving around what appears to be a solid proton/neutron nucleus. However, when physicists have further examined the protons and neutrons, they have found they are comprised of quarks. Upon further investigation of what comprises quarks, the branch of physics known as quantum mechanics has found that quarks consist of vibrating “strings” of light arranged in a sort of matrixed pattern. This is called “string theory”. So you can now understand how everything that manifests in the physical realm is actually comprised of dense light, vibrating differently to create different forms, with lots of empty space or “no thing” in between. What is a holograph? Just an image that appears solid until you sweep your hand through it. We’re simply a mega-holograph.

We are not as solid as we think we are, but we do think we are “solid” because our minds not only create ideas that - since ideas are also energy - manifest on the physical plane, but our minds also agree to believe what we see. We place a lot of stock in what we can perceive visually as “real” even though our vision is much more limited than, say, that of many other mammals. We also form collective agreements of what is “real” and “unreal” based on what the majority of us sense with our five physical - again limited - senses.

In my own experience, even though I had already intellectually accepted the findings of quantum mechanics and string theory, I then had the rare and blessed experience of actually seeing everything as light forms (after it happened I finally understood what “seeing the light” really meant! :8}). See my thread about Darshan for more on this. The point is, it is possible to see the world around you exactly as a field of vibrating light when in a heightened spiritual state. As far as I know, it usually only happens in the presence of an enlightened teacher (sage or guru), for a brief period of time, and cannot be sustained for long. You’re either in the world of form or you’re not, so you can get a glimpse beyond the “holograph” of what we see day to day, but you can’t stay there and still be the holograph!

Changes in Density & What They Mean

The current densification of light (matter) is beginning to lessen and as a result the vibratory rate of everyone and the planet is rising. (So when you say you don’t “vibe” with something that may literally be true, someone or something else’s energy is actually vibrating at a rate not harmonious with yours). This is what is meant when it is said that Earth is in a process of ascension. Not only the Earth, but also we as a species, are ascending. Now, a species can ascend or go to Light without the planet ascending. What makes this particular process so exquisitely wonderful is that planet Earth is ascending at the same time as we are. She is a conscious, living entity who agreed to support the game of separation on the condition that she would ascend at its conclusion. This ascension is a gradual process of transition to less dense (more pure) Light. Many see it as a very exciting process; others view it with fear and uncertainty. You will experience both ranges of emotions (first the fear, then the calm) and both extremes of people as the dimensional shift continues and accelerates.

When you have a process of densification, you reach a point at which it has gone to maximum separation from the Source. It can take billions of years to densify a “game of separation (duality)” to this level we’re at, yet few years to turn it around. Why? Imagine that you are consciousness, the one source of all that is, and you decide to explore the myriad possible facets of what you are through levels of progressive individuation, of separation into nearly infinite forms, beings, thoughts. It’s like stretching a rubber band. As you achieve more and more individuation, the rubber band gets tighter and tighter and reaches a point when it has stretched as far as it can. This period is known as an “outbreath” of the Source. You have separated the maximum that you can from “yourself” and the tension is tremendous. What happens? You shoot back to one-ness very quickly. That “shooting back to one-ness” involves dimensional shifts that can occur very rapidly (i.e., within a person’s lifetime). This is an “inbreath” of the Source.

In the process of ascension, the Earth and we are transitioning from the third to the fourth dimension. The third dimension is matter-based, but the fourth dimension is what is referred to as the astral plane; it’s basically energetically (and some say emotionally) based. Together, these two dimensions make up what is called the Lower Creation World. These are the dimensions where the “game of separation” played by consciousness is carried out. These are the only dimensions in which the illusion of good and evil can be maintained and in which you can feel separated from spirit and each other. It’s been a successful game of separation for most or all of human existence, but now it’s apparently time for it to end.

The 12-21-2012 date on the Mayan calendar seems to corroborate this theory. That date marks the end of a 26,000 year period of human existence according to the Mayans. I believe this is when the shift from 3rd to 4th dimension will either be at critical mass, or perhaps even occur as a singular event. I do not believe this is a date on which world destruction, Armageddon, or other disaster predictions will come true. The Mayans say it is a date that marks the end of an era, not the end of all existence.

On Earth, there is a game of separation that has now completed every possible permutation of relationship and interaction one can have. When that happens, the “inbreath” occurs. This inbreath is what we are witnessing the beginning of now. Consciousness is becoming aware of itself again, this time not as One Source but via the individual forms it has separated into - through all of us becoming conscious. It can’t pretend anymore; the jig is up. The game is over, and it’s time to go home.

From 3rd to 4th Dimension

So you might be asking, what the heck does “the game is over, it’s time to go home” mean? It means we can’t pretend we’re separate, individual beings anymore. We will essentially remember we (and all that is) are simply multiple manifestations of One Source. I don’t think it means everything will fly into a big ball and implode, rather, knowing our connectedness we will have no choice but to live differently. This “new Earth” will be Earth in the 4th dimension. We will live with greater awareness of our energy bodies than ever before, and live not from a place of the purely physical as in the past. This being the case, we will be more attuned to the thoughts and emotions of others, able to discern if someone is telling the truth or lying simply by reading their energy. In the 4th dimension it will be impossible for people to lie, cheat, steal, so all the political and greed agendas of the past won’t work. Those attempting to lie will be seen through and dealt with.

In the phase transition from the 3rd (more dense) to 4th (less dense) dimension, some will develop psychic or telepathic abilities. The physical won’t seem quite as real as it does today (this is already starting for some) and there will be extreme mutability of form. We will be able to and will still function in the physical realm, but will also feel more as if in a dream-like state, not sure what we dreamed while sleeping and what occurred while waking. But it won’t really matter as linear space and time will become less important. We will think more in terms of things “happening” than in terms of sequence and the passage of chronological time. Time will be exposed as the illusion it is; as simply a man-made means of measuring the space in which happenings occur.

There will be many people, namely everyone already raising their vibration through the dissolution of egos and pain bodies and already living more in a state of presence, who easily transition from the 3rd to 4th dimension. There will also be many, who knows if it will be the majority or minority, who are not in a state of being in which they can shift easily. For them, the dimensional shift may be chaotic and filled with suffering. But I believe in the end, we’re all going. As Tolle has said, “Some people will enter the kingdom of heaven kicking and screaming.” Resistance will, indeed, be futile.

Last but certainly not least, the 4th dimension is the transition realm to higher dimensions. Beginning with the 5th dimension (it is said there are twelve and maybe more) we become pure energy bodies. So the reason there is so much talk about shifting and dimensions and why it is so controversial and confusing is that our very nature as we perceive it is changing from the physical to non-physical plane. The transition alone may take hundreds of years, I don’t know, but the fact is if we are indeed living in the time of transition, the time of this transitory 4th dimension, well, what a unique time it is!

Enjoy the ride!

Namaste, KT