Levels of Consciousness, Part 3

Levels of Consciousness, Part 3

“The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.”[1]

Lao Tzu

In order to place universal or divine consciousness into context, it is important to understand that all awareness is contained within the universal consciousness. Our daily awareness, or our reality,  is but a tiny portion of that much larger consciousness. Even that which we label as insane, other-worldly, or out of touch with reality is still well within the bounds of the universal consciousness; but it exists in a dimension or on a plane that is not consistent with our typical states of awareness and so is non-sensical or non-real to us. Referring to the Cross Consciousness Model for reference, we do not understand the states of consciousness (along the vertical axis) that exist increasingly above or below the horizonal line of time-bound reality (or unreality, as the case may be) because it is foreign to our normal existence. As something becomes more ethereal or intangible or spiritual (moving higher on the vertical axis) it seems to become less real because it has no physical reality, at least not that we can perceive. These realms are called spiritual or sometimes dark because we cannot see or know the reality of those realms in the same ways we see and know our realities in and around the present moment or point of intersection on the Model.

In a similar way, the types of consciousness existing on the vertical axis below the point of intersection seem physical in ways that we consider inert or unchanging. Mountains, for example, exist in a reality where time is not measured in days or years but in centuries and millennia. The time-bound reality of this portion of creation is unreal to us because we seldom witness any meaningful or measurable change in it over the span of our lifetime and so we (wrongly) consider it as something that has neither life nor consciousness. That very human assumption, however, does not negate the life or consciousness of a mountain nor its place as a part of universal consciousness.

The conscious reality which we normally perceive in our daily lives is represented by the oval in the center of the Model and labeled as “Our Reality”. It includes portions of what we experience as our past and imagine as our future, as well as portions the more ethereal and material realms above and below the horizontal axis. As I noted last week, the boundary represented by the oval is not a firm boundary. It is porous and varies from person to person as well as for a specific person at different times in their life or even throughout their days. Spiritual awakening occurs as the oval of our awareness is expanded along the vertical axis. The levels of consciousness available to us along the vertical axis are infinite in possibility and scope, but our capacity to receive and incorporate those levels is not. If we stray too far from the point of intersection we will lose our connection to our normal reality and be judged as insane. Certain mental illnesses can be seen as a shifting up or down of the oval along the vertical axis in a way that prohibits one from relating to the rest of us living in the typical position of the oval. It is not that the person enters a state that is anymore unreal than the state most of the rest of us live in, but that the state they’ve entered isolates them from the conscious awareness of the rest of us. In some cases the oval shifts up or down; in other cases the oval either expands or shrinks into areas of consciousness that the rest of us cannot perceive or relate to.

The challenge of exploring different levels of consciousness, then, is in allowing the conscious boundary represented by the oval to expand without losing our grounding in the normal conscious awareness required to live our earthly lives in useful and competent ways. The safest way to do this is probably through meditation. Those who use psychedelic substances may have their conscious awareness expanded in ways that allow them to retain the knowledge of the experience as they return to “normalcy” once the drug exits their system under the guidance of a trained therapist. Those with a mental illness may require psychiatric drugs and the care of psychiatric professionals to bring their awareness back into a normal range.

The important point is not that any of the levels of consciousness along the vertical axis of the Model are inherently evil or good, frightening or pleasant, unreal or tangible. Rather, the different levels are either familiar or unfamiliar to us and others whose daily reality operates within familiar limits along the vertical axis. As we stray farther from the point of “normalcy,” our perceptions become less relatable and often threatening, both to us and others.

This is the 5^thin a series titled The Perplexities of Consciousness. Life Notes are my explorations into mysteries that interest me. They are invitations for readers to explore more deeply into life’s mysteries. Engage with me or explore contemplative spiritual direction at ghildenbrand@outlook.com.

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[1] Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher, born 571 BCE.