The Bible calls everyone to 'metanoia' - a Greek word commonly translated as 'repentance' or 'change of mind' - synonymous with spiritual development from all the great religions of the world.
For modern readers, 'change of mind' can imply a temporary shift of cognition. However, it is much more than this - it is a permanent re-organization of the mind that provides a radically different perspective to one's inner life - a genuine 'transformation of consciousness.'
In order to think different, I must first feel different. In order to feel different, I must first BE different.
Our experience of thinking, feeling and bodily sensations are the effects of consciousness, and not the cause of it. Consciousness is the container of experiential contents.
The varied quality of consciousness is equivalent to the varied 'States' of consciousness, and these States directly impact the quality of thinking, feeling and sensations.
If my consciousness is weak, fragmented, and unable to be sustained, then my thoughts and feelings are, likewise, weak, fragmented and unsustainable. If in doubt, try solving complex mathematical problems when sleep deprived, or restraining emotions when drunk - all these activities are condition by altered States of consciousness.
If my consciousness is more collected, still and whole, then my thoughts and feelings are, likewise, more stable, impartial and coherent. It is what athletes speak of when they are 'in the zone', or artists when moved by 'inspiration', or mystics when illuminated by 'revelation'.
There is something that is able to 'come together' in us when there is a greater quality or higher State of consciousness that is simply not possible in a lower State.
Gurdjieff was emphatic - and experience validates his assertion - that the act of paying voluntary attention to the organic sensations of the body increases the quality of the State of consciousness and, as a result, increases the quality of the experience of our feelings, thoughts and sensations.
An increase in the quality of the State of consciousness increases one's quality of attention and - through intentional efforts - sustains or increases the State of consciousness, providing a spiritually 'virtuous circle'.
If there is a consistent effort of connecting one's attention to the sensations of the body over many years, and under all types of conditions (both favorable and unfavorable), the higher qualities of the State of consciousness can 'crystallize' - can become a permanent property of one's inner world, and so transforms 'Being'.
For Soul Creation, the aim is simple: relentlessly strive to sustain and crystallize a greater State of consciousness to support the life that comes next and, as a by-product of this striving, to support a greater quality of thinking, feeling and sensing necessary to function well in life.