Level of consciousness (Esotericism)

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]

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.

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.

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]

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]

• Between the first ("A") and second ("U") levels is the Unmani, similar to the Western concept of hypnagogia, or the movement from full alertness into stage 1 sleep
• Between the second ("U") and third ("M") levels is the Aladani, mirroring ideas of REM sleep
• Between the third ("M") and fourth ("AUM") levels is the Samadhi, or the attainment of deep absorption

Statue of Shiva

The Ananda Sangha movement has evolved following the teachings of the late yogi and guru Paramhansa Yogananda, who studied under Sri Yukteswar Giri of the Advaita tradition. Compared to the multi-dimensional theories of consciousness in shamanic and OM mantra perspectives, this particular ideological faction stresses simplicity rather than detail.[11]

• Subconscious: relatively dim awareness; repository of remembered experiences and consequent mental impressions
• Conscious: rational awareness; guides daily decisions and can be influenced by others; input from the bodily senses
• Superconscious Awareness: intuition and heightened mental clarity; problem and solution are seen as one entity

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.[12]

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.[13]

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.

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.[14]

• Conscious: normal, attentive; oriented to self, place, and mind
• Confused: impaired or slowed thinking; disoriented
• Delirious: disoriented, restless, clear deficit in attention; possible incidence of hallucinations and delusions
• Somnolent: excessive drowsiness; little response to external stimuli
• Obtunded: decreased alertness, slowed motor responses; sleepiness
• Stuporous: conscious but sleep-like state associated with little or no activity; only responsiveness is in reaction to pain
• Comatose: no response to stimuli, cannot be aroused; no gag reflex or pupil response to light

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, arguably traversing the Qliphoth in the process. 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.[15]

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.[16] Propofol and other consciousness-altering drugs are therefore antagonists of thalamus activity, possibly leading to a drug-induced comatose state.[17]

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.

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.[18]

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.[19]

Dr. Bob Günius Gibson, left-handed 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.[20] Gibson does not focus on life progression or individual power to move between levels, but rather on momentary instances of personal experience.

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 mega-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.[21]

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.[22]

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, he 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 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.” [23][24]

A few analytical processes presented by Jungian scholars such as Moore and Gillette argue "active imagination," conversations with the "Ego" and "Shadow" may be helpful. "Invocation," calling upon an archetypal "imago" to dialogue with, perhaps an image of saint or God may be of use. "Admiring mature paragon examples," such as "The Wise Old Man or Woman," "Mentor," "Sophia," "Spider Mother" may be of further help. [25]