Level of consciousness (Esotericism)

Consciousness is a loosely defined concept that addresses the human awareness of both internal and external stimuli. This can refer to spiritual recognition, psychological understanding, medically altered states, or more modern-day concepts of life purpose, satisfaction, and self-actualization.

Most proposals map consciousness in a series of levels, some stages of which are more continuous or complex than others. Movement between stages is often bidirectional depending on internal and external conditions, with each mental ascension precipitating a change in reactivity. In the most basic sense, this alteration might lead to a reduced responsiveness as seen in anesthesiology; more abstract facets of tiered consciousness describe characteristics of profoundness, insight, perception, or understanding.

First appearing in the historical records of the ancient Mayan and Incan civilizations, proposals of multiple levels of consciousness have pervaded spiritual, psychological, medical, and moral speculations in both Eastern and Western cultures. Because of occasional and sometimes substantial overlap between hypotheses, there have recently been attempts to combine perspectives to form new models that integrate components of separate viewpoints.

Which if any of these proposals, models or viewpoints can be verified or falsified is open to question.

History

Pyramid of Kulkucan
Pyramid of Kulkucan (found at the center of the Chichen Itza)

Although many cultures have incorporated theories of the layered consciousness into their belief structure, particularly for spiritual means before the separation of church and state within any given civilization, the Ancient Mayans were among the first to propose an organized sense of each level, its purpose, and its temporal connection to humankind.

Mayans


The pyramid of consciousness has defined Mayan thought since the dawn of its civilization around 2000 BCE. Shamans and priests defined consciousness as an awareness of being aware, commonly referred to as a branch of metacognition. Because consciousness incorporates stimuli from the environment as well as internally, the Mayans believed it to be the most basic form of existence.[1]

This existence, which they referred to as a loose translation of Cosmos, was made up of nine underworlds, depicted concretely through the nine-storied Pyramid of the Plumed Serpent in Chichen Itza, the Temple of the Jaguar in Tikal, and the Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque. Within these nine underworlds are a specified "day" and "night", symbolizing periods of enlightenment, increased consciousness, and a heightened ability to interact with the universe.[2]

Cycle First Year Consciousness Developed Description
Cellular 16.4 billion years ago Action/Reaction Developed all physical laws, chemical compounds, star fields, solar systems, and planets
Mammalian 820 million years ago Stimulus/Response Individual cells from the Cellular cycle began to develop a survival mechanism with increased consciousness toward stimuli and responses
Familial 41 million years ago Stimulus/Individual Response Recognition of individuals and establishment of the family relationship as opposed to herd, school, or flock mentalities
Tribal 2 million years ago Similarities/Differences Development of "the mind" to detect similarities and differences in our experience
Cultural 102,000 years ago (Shared) Reasons Search for reasons for everything, as a basis of all cultural understanding
National 3115 BCE Law Concept of right and wrong
Planetary 1755 CE Power Understanding and derivation of power from natural laws
Galactic January 5, 1999 Ethics Understanding of ethical matters
Universal February 10, 2011 Conscious Co-Creation Achievement of godlike status of all-knowing consciousness

A common cause for debate is the exponentially accelerating dates separating each level of consciousness, where each stage occurs roughly 20 times faster than the previous one.[3]

Incas


Inca Civilization
Inca Civilization

Whereas the Ancient Mayans defined consciousness in almost evolutionary terms, the Inca civilization considered it a progression of awareness and concern for others,[4] similar to the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama.

Level ("Attention") External Change Internal Change Notes
First Perception of space and time Awareness of physical body; focus on individual survival
Second Separate good from evil Distinguish the self from others
Third Capable of discrimination Choice to align with goodness rather than evil Level of most people
Fourth Reverence toward nature; oneness; against harming others Decreased attachment to material possessions
Fifth Ability to heal others in certain circumstances Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual restoration Signals the taripay pacha (Incan Day of Judgment)
Sixth Ability to heal others in any condition No value in individuality; importance of community contribution
Seventh Teachers of all others Exemplify four principles of honesty, faithfulness, service, and truthfulness Revered examples: Jesus of Nazareth, Siddhartha Buddha

Theories

The Seven Chakras
The Seven Chakras

Although historical views of the separation of consciousness into various layers do not exactly mirror modern-day perspectives, many parallels can be gathered from the overarching themes found in Eastern and Western cultures.

Eastern perspectives

Many specific similarities have been drawn between Ancient Incan and historical Eastern views of tiered consciousness.[5] Within most Eastern belief structures is the principle of the Cosmos as a joint entity with human awareness. Many branches stress the importance of AUM, also written Om, as the first sound produced after the world was created. Within Christianity this concept can be likened to the first words of Genesis regarding the holiness of the Word.[6]

Historical beliefs

The majority of Eastern perspectives assert that while consciousness originates from the sound of AUM, it has incorporated itself into flesh, which therefore gives humankind the goal of attaining oneness with the universe once more.[7] Unlike Incan tradition, this oneness eliminates the separation of external and internal changes into one general indication of movement from stage to stage, commonly known as the Seven Shamanic Levels of Consciousness.

Consciousness Description Notes
Personal Knowledge of the self and of personality
Mankind Knowledge of human evolution and its experiences
Amphibious Sense of separate identity between water and land "Water" and "land" are symbolic of man and earth
Spherical Perceive using the five bodily senses
Crystal Perceive using emotions, thoughts, and purity First inorganic level undistorted by bodily senses
Light Attained only by near-death experiences; "tunnel effect" First level above the human world
Sound Only heard when the mind attunes itself to the world From the primeval vibration AUM

Modern-day beliefs

Like the Seven Shamanic Levels of Consciousness, yoga meditation practices as well as the teachings of Vedanta and Tantra emphasize the importance of self-realization, a concept that has become increasingly popular in Western philosophy after Abraham Maslow's and Carl Rogers's research in Humanistic Psychology.

Advaita Vedanta
Aum (Om) Mantra
Aum (Om) Mantra

In particular, the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy has been a topic of extensive study in both Eastern and Western cultures for its tiered depiction of the steps toward attaining self-realization.[8] Unlike the unidirectional nature of Mayan, Inca, and ancient shamanic perspectives, however, this particular belief structure arranges the attainment of oneness with OM through rows and domains, each of which constitutes a fragment of this vibratory sound.[9]

Row Level Realm Description
1: "A" Waking Conscious External, active conscious
2: "U" Dreaming Unconscious Subtle images and impressions
3: "M" Deep Sleep Subconscious Focus on latent or inactive thought patterns
4: "AUM" Absolute Consciousness Transcending of all three levels
OM Mantra

Similarly, the seven levels of consciousness defined by modern-day OM mantras strive to reach Absolute Reality through the same four realms described in the Advaita Vedanta, with three transitional tiers in between each.[10]

The Veda

The ancient Indian Vedas texts have lent a comparable view of unified consciousness, with a key difference in the purpose of human ascension from stage to stage. Instead of oneness with the universe, the Vedic vision of consciousness emphasizes the importance of attaining knowledge and pure intelligence.[11]

Ananda Sangha
Statue of Shiva
Statue of Shiva

The Ananda Sangha movement has evolved following the teachings of the late yogi and guru Paramhansa Yogananda. Compared to the multi-dimensional theories of consciousness in shamanic and OM mantra perspectives, this particular ideological faction stresses simplicity rather than detail.[12]

Western perspectives

Fluctuations in consciousness theories are not particular to Eastern cultures. A surprising degree of overlap can be found within the field of health and social sciences with regard to dulled, standard, and heightened intensities of awareness, both naturally and as a result of injury or disorder.[13]

Psychological views

Like many psychological theories within the particular field of psychoanalysis, one of the most popular theories of consciousness was proposed by Sigmund Freud, who described three facets of the psychic apparatus: the unconscious (id) or instinctual facet, the preconscious (ego) or rational facet, and the conscious (superego) or moral facet.

Although not unlike the Vedic vision of consciousness as a form of intelligence, Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development is not commonly considered a form of knowledge awareness but instead as the evolution of the brain's capacity for thought throughout the human lifespan.[14]

Medical and pathological views

Similar to previously mentioned psychological views, medical and pathological perspectives often hypothesize tiered consciousness as a result of disease or disorders. The Altered Levels of Consciousness (ALC) theory is one such measure, in which a person's arousability and responsiveness to environmental stimuli are classified by their behavioral response.

Glasgow Coma Scale

Although many such ALC tests take place in hospital settings, the primary evaluation of patient alertness is the Glasgow Coma Scale, which separates levels of consciousness from standard conscious awareness to a comatose state.[15]

Relationship to schizophrenia

Recent hypotheses have incorporated these ALC theories into the psychopathological study of schizophrenia, suggesting that each altered level of awareness is connected to a degree of suffering or shock experienced by the patient. As the situation increases in seriousness, patients will descend to lower levels of consciousness and consequentially lose the capacity to cry, to smile, or to exhibit a wide range of emotions when reacting to the environment.[16]

In more physiologically based studies, scientists have found that while the reticular formation controls alertness, wakefulness, and arousal in the brain, many mental responses to internal and external stimuli are dictated through signals relayed to and from the thalamus.[17] Propofol and other consciousness-altering drugs are therefore antagonists of thalamus activity, possibly leading to a drug-induced comatose state.[18]

Modern-day perspectives

Although many of the previously mentioned theories are still widely held today in various groups, beliefs, and areas of study, a majority of commonly accepted perspectives stem from just the past decade. These hypothesized structures of awareness draw from many historical and early eighteenth- or nineteenth-century theories to form an integrated and overarching generalization of consciousness as a means of determining inner and outer recognition of stimuli.

Holder's three levels of consciousness

Derived loosely from his philosophy of the Kung Fu system, Philip Holder offers three levels of consciousness that feature distinct differences in the way in which they are reached.[19]

Level Definition
Spontaneous The mind can react to the progression of life and does not account for future or past events; therefore, the mind develops an optimistic outlook
Calculated This state reacts to events based on the perception of right and wrong and attempts to direct others accordingly; the mind is focused on achieving what it thinks should happen
Imposed The mind is short sighted and clashes with the opposition; lack of awareness for surroundings amounts to failure in the long term

Barrett's seven levels of personal consciousness

Self-Concept
Self-concept

Similarly, Richard Barrett proposes seven stages of consciousness that progress in a logical order. The progression focuses on “existential” needs directly connected to and dependent on the human condition, all of which are motivating factors for daily interactions.[20]

Reference Drive
Survival Feel protected or unprotected
Relationship Feel in or out of a group
Self-esteem Feel positive or negative about yourself
Transformation Act out of your true self
Internal Cohesion Find similarities between your views and goals
Making a Difference Align your views with others to make a greater impact
Service Live through voluntary service to meet your personal goals

Gibson's four states of consciousness

Dr. Bob Rhondell Gibson, author of Notes on Personal Integration and Health and often recognized as a psychic healer, hypothesized the existence of four tiers of extrasensory awareness. Beyond being more applicable to internal states rather than reactions to the external environment, these stages contrast markedly with the previously mentioned modern theories through their emphasis on humankind's immediate interactions.[21] Gibson does not focus on life progression or individual power to move between levels, but rather on momentary instances of personal experience.

State Description
Sleep Unaware of all surroundings; dreams may or may not occur
Waking Sleep Sleepwalking; normal tasks can be performed but the individual is not receptive to what is taking place
Self-awareness Able to identify surroundings and observe what is taking place
Objective awareness Identify surrounding events without opinions or input

Attempts to combine theories

Leary's 8-Circuit Model of Consciousness

Deep in Thought
Deep in Thought

Timothy Leary and Robert Anton Wilson proposed the Eight-Circuit Model of Consciousness, a psychologically based theory that unifies various interpretations of main altered states of awareness into a single meta-theory, or a hypothesis about an already existing hypothesis. In this case, Leary and Wilson state that the altered levels of consciousness defined in medical fields are products of eight differing brain structures within the human nervous system.

This concept not only connects psychology and the more medically focused studies of neurology and biology, but also incorporates elements of sociology, anthropology, physics, chemistry, and advanced mathematical formulas. Furthermore, critics argue that the inspiration for his theory stems at least indirectly from the Hindu chakra system.[22]

Circuit Title Imprinting Stage Description
Biosurvival The Breath of Consciousness Infancy Suckling, nourishment, cuddling, trust versus suspicion
Emotional-Territorial Freud's Ego Toddling Emotions, domination, submission strategies, territory
Symbolic (Neuro-Semantic-Dexterity) The Rational Mind From human artifacts and symbol systems Handling the environment, invention, calculation, prediction
Domestic (Socio-Sexual) The "Adult" Personality First mating experiences Pleasure, reproduction, nurture
Neurosomatic Zen-Yoga Mind-Body Connection Neurological-somatic feedback and reprogramming Consciousness of the body
Neuroelectric (Metaprogramming) Psionic Electronic-Interface Mind Re-imprinting and reprogramming earlier circuits Perceived "realities", cybernetic consciousness
Neurogenetic (Morphogenetic) Buddha-Monad "Mind" Consciousness maturation Evolutionary consciousness, DNA-RNA brain feedbacks
Psychoatomic (Quantum Non-Local) Overmind Consciousness maturity Out-of-body experiences involving information beyond normal space-time awareness

Morin's integration

Similar to Dr. Rondell Gibson's view of a simplified hierarchy of conscious states, Alain Morin describes a four-tiered integration of nine past awareness models, focusing explicitly on the two common aspects underlying each belief structure: the perception of the self in time and the complexity of those self-representations.[23]

Level Description Alternative titles in past theories
Unconsciousness Non-responsive to self and environment Consciousness, non-consciousness, arousal, limbic stage, sensorimotor cognition
Consciousness Focusing attention on environment; processing incoming external stimuli Non-conscious mind, ecological and interpersonal self, neocortical level, consciousness, sensorimotor awareness; core, peripheral, primary and minimal consciousness
Self-awareness Focusing attention on self; processing private and public self-information Consciousness, extended and private self, symbolic level, meta-representational self-consciousness, conceptual self-consciousness, self-concept; reflective, recursive, self and meta-consciousness
Meta-self-awareness Aware that one is self-aware Consciousness, extended self

In summary, Morin concludes that from the many concepts discussed above it is near impossible to settle for only one theory without accepting at least a fraction of another. Although each hypothesis has been debated either in scientific or more spiritually focused literature, she states that consciousness is related most directly to the subjective perception of self-recognition and language, both of which are determined by culture and our external environment as a whole.

Robert Monroe

Robert Allan Monroe became known for his research into altered consciousness and "out-of-body experience". His book 1985 "Far Journeys" showed numerous levels of consciousness and infinite expansion of consciousness.

“The plants exist on levels of consciousness from one through seven. They are on a vibrational rate on the levels one through seven. It is the same pattern.

Animals exist on the levels of consciousness from eight through fourteen, and when a person attains, when a consciousness attains level fourteen, it can no longer go any higher unless it is willing to change its form of consciousness.

Levels of consciousness from fifteen through twenty-one are what you call human life on this earth.

When a person progresses to level of consciousness twenty one, he then has the choice of going higher or staying within the realm of human form, but he cannot go higher unless he is willing to give up human form.” [24][25]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Calleman, Carl Johan (2000). Solving the Greatest Mystery of Our Time: the Mayan Calendar. Garev Publishing International. pp. 1–260. ISBN 978-0970755803.
  2. ↑ Calleman, Carl Johan. "Calendar: The Pyramid of Consciousness". Global Oneness. The Global Oneness Commitment. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  3. ↑ Lungold, Ian Xel. "Mayan Calendar Time Scale for Man's Evolution on Earth". The Mayan Calendar Comes North. Mayan Majix Learning Lab. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  4. ↑ O'Neill, Patt. "Inca Shamanic Glossary, F - G". Glossary of Terminology of the Shamanic & Ceremonial Traditions of the Inca Medicine Lineage. Patt O'Neill. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  5. ↑ Gillabel, Dirk (2001). Seven Shamanic Levels of Consciousness. Seattle, WA: House of the Sun. pp. 1–53.
  6. ↑ Azariah, Jayapaul (July 1994). "The Symbol OM (Aum)". Eubios Ethics Institute Newsletter 4. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  7. ↑ Austin, James H. (2006). Zen-brain reflections : reviewing recent developments in meditation and states of consciousness. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. pp. 1–586. ISBN 9780262012232.
  8. ↑ Deutsch, Eliot (1966). "The Self in Advaita Vedanta". International Philosophical Quarterly 6: 5–21. doi:10.5840/ipq19666118. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  9. ↑ Victor, P. George; V.V.S. Saibaba (2007). "Studies in Vedanta: Essays in Honour of Professor S.S. Rama Rao Pappu". Teaching Philosophy 30 (3): 332–335. doi:10.5840/teachphil200730319. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  10. ↑ Bharati, Swami Jnaneshvara (2007). Om Mantra and the Seven Levels of Consciousness. Raleigh, NC: Lulu Enterprises, Inc. pp. 1–32.
  11. ↑ Singh, Satya P. (2005). Vedic vision of consciousness and reality. New Delhi: Centre for Studies in Civilizations. pp. 1–522. ISBN 9788187586180.
  12. ↑ Kriyananda, Swami (2002). Intuition for Starters: How to Know and Trust Your Inner Guidance. Nevada City, CA: Crystal Clarity Publishers. pp. 1–127. ISBN 1-56589-155-4.
  13. ↑ Izard, C. (2007). "Levels of emotion and levels of consciousness". Behavioral and Brain Sciences 30 (1): 96–98. doi:10.1017/S0140525X07001045.
  14. ↑ Pons, F.; P. Harris (2001). "Piaget's conception of the development of consciousness: An Examination of two hypotheses". Human Development 44 (4): 220–227. doi:10.1159/000057061.
  15. ↑ Buchanan, L. (1987). "Assessment of Levels of Consciousness: The Glasgow Coma Scale". University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Nursing. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  16. ↑ Mates, Maureen (1992). "Altered Levels of Consciousness in Schizophrenia" (PDF). Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine 7 (4): 216–220. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5516-09.2010. PMID 20610743. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  17. ↑ Tindall, Suzie C. (1990). "Level of Conscioussness." In H.K. Walker, W.D. Hall, and J.W. Hurst (eds.) Clinical Methods: The History, Physical, and Laboratory Examinations (PDF). Boston: Butterworths. pp. 296–299. ISBN 0-409-90077-X.
  18. ↑ Mhuircheartaigh, R.A.; D. Rosenorn-Lanng; R. Wise; S. Jbabdi; R. Rogers; I. Tracey (2010). "Cortical and Subcortical Connectivity Changes During Decreasing Levels of Consciousness in Humans: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study Using Propofol". Journal of Neuroscience 30 (27): 9095–9102. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5516-09.2010. PMID 20610743.
  19. ↑ Holder, Philip. "The Three Levels of Consciousness and Humanity". Wing Chun Online. Wing Chun. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  20. ↑ Barrett, Richard (2006). "The Seven Levels of Personal Consciousness" (PDF). Business & Economics: 248–252. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  21. ↑ Summers, Marsha. "Levels of Consciousness". Studies of the Inner Being. Daytona Music. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  22. ↑ Wilson, Robert Anton (2008). Cosmic Trigger: Final Secret of the Illuminati. Las Vegas, NV: New Falcon Publications. pp. 1–269. ISBN 978-1561840038.
  23. ↑ Morin, Alain (2006). "Levels of Consciousness and Self-Awareness: A Comparison and Integration of Various Views." (PDF). Consciousness and Cognition 15 (2): 358–371. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2005.09.006. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  24. ↑ Far Journeys (1985) ISBN 0-385-23182-2
  25. ↑ The Infinite expansion of consciousness & its levels.Robert Monroe

References

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