Levels of Consciousness - Beyond Acceptance

[pokilty]

This post relates to Steve's article on Levels of Consciousness. Steve's descriptions of these stages (which are based on Hawkins' descriptions) are amazingly in-tune with what I've felt at these respective levels.

It seems to me like at every level of consciousness, there's some kind of realization that prompts the shift between levels. Here's my ideas, wherever I feel I've crossed consciousness:

Courage->Neutrality - I realized that a lot of the things I do today aren't very important for where I want to be in the long run. I stopped putting myself up to things like getting good grades in useless classes.

Neutrality->Willingness - At some point I felt like I was completely bored with life because I was doing everything and had everything that I wanted. While searching for answers, I slowly moved from neutrality to willingness over the period of a few months of thinking about things like productivity and finding blogs such as this one.

Willingness->Acceptance - I realized that I have control over my life and that at every moment I have an opportunity to make my own choices and therefore choose my own path. I started analyzing how I feel about where I am and actively made changes to get where I want to be.

After a powerful shift a few weeks ago, I feel very clearly that I'm now at the Acceptance level. I understand that where I am and where I will go is completely a result of decisions that I make and the way that I think. I'm much more honest with myself about where I need to improve and what's most important to me. I also feel more willing to change than ever before. I became vegetarian, eliminated TV/games/youtube from my daily life, started cooking, began exercising daily, adopted a sleeping schedule, among other things that I'm eager to change.

I'd love to hear about what you think you really came to understand that helped push you between levels. Personally, I feel very open to ideas and I'd appreciate any help or tips that worked for you to get beyond Acceptance

[Dusty]

Amazon.com: Transcending the Levels of Consciousness: Dr. David R. Hawkins M.D. Ph.D.: Books

[Cochonette]

For me it's not so clear-cut. I feel that I'm at Courage-Neutrality right now. It's hard to put myself in a single box because I fit into so many of them at any given moment. I've been to shame, and while it was courage that first lifted me out of it, I eventually fell back into guilt when my environment changed drastically... Likewise, unconditional love lifted me out of guilt and put me back and more firmly on the plane of courage and also introduced me to neutrality.... but I still have a lot of Pride to deal with... and I feel that anger is something I have only just started to really get over.....

and remnants of shame still reside in me. Actually, when I first started hating myself, I immediately developed a habit of saying to myself, "I hate myself. Die!" and I still often say "God I hate myself" out of habit, even if I don't mean it in nearly as deep of a way as I used to.

Courage is still a little shaky for me in the short-term, but I think I've got it covered in the long-term and that I will just keep coming back to it... so I can say I'm there. I'm also having to deepen my learning of neutrality, which I had learned before but lost because I was still driven by fear, anger, and pride. But I've experienced all the way up to love and shadows of joy... It's quite complicated. :P

Oh, btw, I wanted to ask... what is the difference between Peace and Enlightenment? "Blends with divinity" doesn't tell me much, but I suppose that whoever wrote these levels hadn't reached Enlightenment yet and couldn't describe it. Haha! Or maybe Enlightenment is just that ineffable. I'm not all that concerned about the concept of Enlightenment, as a student of Zen, and I think my Pride is making my reading of these levels a bit competitive... like now I must compete with my friends for Joy! What?! Must learn not to compare self with others, not to divide self and other.

Time.

I started thinking about the pride issue with me and this hierarchy, because everyone I've talked to so far puts themself in Acceptance (above) or Reason (everyone else)... and I also played a game once about socioeconomic privilege after which we were asked to put ourselves in box lower, middle, or higher class. I later realized that the less privileged people are, they less likely they will be to be able to stand up in the face of the world and explain that and why they are at such level of privilege. In that case I was surrounded by mostly upper class folks a few middle class, and I felt lower class but was too afraid to say it.

Well, I went and talked to a very depressed friend of mine who doesn't value his life about this article, and he started asking about how you can know these levels are really permanent... doubt, doubt, doubt. And I realized I couldn't help him, I couldn't really explain it for him even if I'm supposedly "above" him (in reality, that is only an illusion). The guy couldn't even believe in these higher levels and wasn't yet at the state of courage... more like guilt. And I've been there, so I'm just thinking... if a person trapped in the lower levels reads this, they won't necessarily get anything out of it. Because Pride is still a big issue for me, even though I'm starting to move beyond it, it bothers me a little bit reading this. But it's okay... I have courage, so I just remind myself that it's Pride!

[ArthurHung]

Originally Posted by Cochonette

Oh, btw, I wanted to ask... what is the difference between Peace and Enlightenment? "Blends with divinity" doesn't tell me much, but I suppose that whoever wrote these levels hadn't reached Enlightenment yet and couldn't describe it.

Maybe a person who reached enlightenment felt that he didn't need to, because another who got there would simply understand.

And even if it were explained to the "unenlightened", that person wouldn't understand, or even if that person would understand, that person wouldn't be at the essence of what can't be described. Do you think that the petty human mind can grasp something so great as life itself?

If a drop of water could understand, being itself dissolved in the ocean, it could choose to stay attached to it's individuality or to realize it's the ocean itself, and that within the ocean is the drop.

I suggest not being concerned with anything else, simply enlightenment. Drop all your issues, bad habits and bad thinking immediately and simply put super human efforts into following your heart, doing solid work and doing what results in either pleasantness or indifference to what life brings.

[Chris_1977]

pride -> courage: I realized that being a physics student and "very smart" was not going to cut it and decided to start listening to what I felt and by doing so try to figure out how I could avoid being terribly unhappy.
courage -> neutrality: I realized that I was actually capable of dealing with my emotions and with other people by accepting them and that nothing terrible was going to happen.
neutrality -> willingness: I became aware of the field of personal development and started to organize my life.
willingness -> acceptance: I started setting big goals to change major parts of my life and realized that I am actually capable of reaching them.

I am at acceptance at the moment as well, so I cannot say with any certainty what to do to get past that. I am quite sure, though, that I should still do something about emotionally charged thoughts. By my estimation around 5% of my thoughts are honestly what I think and the other 95% is emotionally distorted and therefore unreasonable and/or not helping me or anybody else.

[Chris_1977]

Originally Posted by ArthurHung

I suggest not being concerned with anything else, simply enlightenment. Drop all your issues, bad habits and bad thinking immediately and simply put super human efforts into following your heart, doing solid work and doing what results in either pleasantness or indifference to what life brings.

While this is indeed in a way the most "simple" thing to do, I think that almost nobody is capable of doing it like that. Actually it happens about every 1000 years and then everybody is so impressed that a new religion is born.

Also, at some point the description of the levels of consciousness will get increasingly inaccurate as we get higher on the scale, since I do not really believe that Mr. Hawkins is enlightened. One would guess that acquiring fake PhDs is an activity that falls somewhat lower on the scale of consciousness.....

[Cochonette]

I'm not sure I actually believe in the Peace and Enlightenment levels. I don't have a clue what "divinity" means. And "total transcendence" doesn't really tell me anything either.

But, up till Joy, I can say I've at least been able to imagine such existence.

[vartann]

i recently made the shift from Reason to Love
i love so much Humanity now, everyday more... that i am bent on BOTH giving Love and Happiness AND eradicating the cancer cells

translated in the vernacular: i feel a strong and deep connection with all of my Brethren (well myself actually so no need for erecting me a statue ) and a genuine urge to help - which i do - but won't turn a blind eye to kicking asses if say a guy is slapping a woman or mistreating a child

the level of Love is about deep connection... and RESPONSIBILITY