The 3 stages of consciousness

[Shin]

This is based on my personal experience,  it may vary depending on your life experience, personality, if you have a victim or an assertive mindset, if you live your life purpose etc …

Also, this is a spectrum, so you can be between any stage to more or a less degree, there are an infinite in between stage.

This should be obvious, but this a is a (biaised) concept, which I mostly write now to not forget about it in some years.
So of course it's not perfect and ultimately true.

 

 

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The first stage is to be identified to the thoughts so much, that there is no distinction with thoughts and yourself, they are one and the same.
In retrospective, I would call this stage Hell

 

At this stage there is no self-reflection, if we get questioned about our line of thinking we personally feel aggressed, even attacked.
Since there is no self-reflection, it's also the stage where addiction (relationships/neediness etc counts too) are nearly impossible to get over, it doesn't matter how many rehab they do, cause inconsciousness means they will repeat the same thoughts in their head until they get more conscious (usually by a dramatic event, and even then sometimes it's not enough).

There is a total identification to every ideologies and dogmas, so much that those person can't even understand what a ideology or dogma unless there is an hardcore exemple (that isn't their ideology) showed to them.

Meditation feels like being in hell, the voice hates being silent or not being able to judge or imagine things for more than a few seconds, so meditation is like being tortured.
Meditation force the person at this stage to feel his unconscious inner issues, even though at this point they don't realize it consciously, since most of the thoughts patterns are totally inconscious.
This is one of the reason why the more inconscious you are, the less likely you will accept to go the other way around, because before meditation can actually feels good it needs to purge most of the unconscious mind.

If this person never become more conscious, it usually degrade even more, and his/her life force degrade quickly over the decades, to the point where they have many simultaneous illnesses (both psychological and physical) at 40+.
 

The life for this person feels like a chore, nothing is like it should be, nothing can satisfy this persone for long, and thus they are in (deep) suffering most of the time.
There is a feeling of being totally lost without any escape possible.

 

 

 

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The 2nd stage is when you can see your thoughts while still being identified to them most of the time.
This stage is what most teacher would call "normal human consciousness" (or something like that)

 

 

At this stage self-reflection become possible, but is still very painful, cause the identification is still there to a high degree.
You will usually refuse unconsciously to go within to work on your inner issues, but at least you don't directly look the other way around if you catch them appearing, you acknowledge you may have some problems.
You starts to understand subconscioulsy that those inner issues must be investigated, but you fear them so much that most of the time you let them build up until you have no choice to deal with them.

You still highly feel violated if someone say you're wrong, but you can accept that you may be wrong, especially when you don't have a choice if you want to remain pacifist.
There is an understanding that other people think differently on some big subjects, and even if you don't agree with them, you can tolerate them (most of the time you're still thinking you have a better ideology though).

Meditation starts to feel effortless sometimes, but real life consciousness is really really hard.
Being conscious effortlessly outside of meditation feels like work, and the main feeling is to be in a mental prison where you're constantly fighting to think what you want, or stop thinking what you don't want.
At this stage you realize how much the mind is constantly full of thoughts, and it baffles you.

You constantly seek the peace you hear about in every book or video you read/watch.
You chase after meditation/mystical experiences and are tired of your mind constantly thinking, you hate thoughts.
 

Life for this person feels "normal", a lot of things aren't how you like them to be, but lots of things are nice in your life too, there is a constant chain of pain and pleasure in what you do, because you still fundamentally think happiness comes from the outside world.
There is a constant feeling of not being sure of what you want in life, as if nothing will never be enough.
Even if you do get exactly what you want, it isn't fulfilling and you start chasing something else.

 

 

 

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The 3rd stage is when you finally see your mind as a perception (most of the time)
This isn't Heaven yet because there is enlightenment and beyond after this, so let's call it "The Heaven Gateways consciousness"

 

 

 

 

At this stage self-reflection becomes the norm, and even if your mind can sneakely hide certains things that you fear to investigate, you intuitively investigate everytime you feel something isn't right about what you said or thought.

You can finally entertain real discussion with people without getting angry if they don't agree or try to impose their beliefs on you.
You understand that most if not all mental positions are subjectives and thoughts based, which means no one can attack you except if they do it physically.
You try to be careful about what you say to not hurt anyone conceptually, and start to genuinely feel compassion for everyone, not just your group/nation or whatever.
Generally speaking, nothing will stay hidden for long there, your level of consciousness won't allow you to stay in the dark, because at this point there is an exponantial growth in all level of your life.

Meditation becomes effortless, and even if there are still thoughts there, they usually quieten very fast.
There is actually no more "meditation", because there is no such distinction between normal consciousness and meditation anymore, you're meditating all the time, you're being all the time.
Thoughts are most of the time behind awareness, only when you had a really hard day (or situation) you can become inconscious for some seconds, but usually you aren't identified to your thoughts anymore.

There is a deep peace at this stage, the mind seems empty, even when there is thoughts.
In fact, whatever you do there is peace, even if you feel stressed or in pain there is peace.
Everything you feel or experience is contained in you, you start to truly be able to distance yourself from any experience, while at the same time experiencing it more fully.
You feel any "negative" emotions or physical pain more, but at the same time there is no suffering.

From this point on you understand what letting go means for real, because only at this points you can understand that every emotions are conditional and limited in time.
 

Life at this stage feels like a calm hike in the mountains, sometimes you have to make some effort to climb, sometimes you just have to be wary not to fall, but most of the time it feels like life flows just like it should be.
There is an equanimity there that rarely fluctuate, no matter if you're happy or sad, in ecstasy or in pain.

Most desires starts to fall away, and you are conscious of the ones remaining.
You start to become desireless, you don't feel the need to do or have certain experiences to be happy, you already are (or start to feel) joyful without any external influences.
Counter-intuitively, you enjoy and take part in work/hobbies more passionately than before, because now you can enjoy those things without feeling you need them in your life.

Everything starts to feel amazing or at least soothing, walking, breathing, seeing, talking, the basic things you would never think could be fulfilling in themselves now starts to be more fulfilling than watching a big movie, playing your favorite video game, or anything else for that matter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 4 ??? 

 

 

 

 

 

[purerogue]

But Leo , you have 4 stages here. 

[Shin]

8 minutes ago, purerogue said:

But Leo , you have 4 stages here. 

I only see one finger  

[111111]

@Shin I read in a book (probably "Neti-Neti Meditation") 3 stages:

1. Duality

2. Non-Duality

3. Nothingness 

[AdamDiC]

Cool explanation man. I agree and can see these 3 stages in the world. Personally i’d say I’m in stage 2. My meditation is deepening and my attachment to thoughts are decreasing, but I still suffer a lot... which is good. 

I think the biggest challenge for me is the self-image and lifestyle changes that are involved in raising one’s consciousness. 

It’s hard to let go, but it’s worse to cling . Lol.

thanks❤️

[Rinne]

On 11/29/2018 at 2:46 PM, Shin said:

Stage 4 ??? 

??Lmao

[Jkris]

@Shin ???