Stages of Awakening from my Experience

[Fearless_Bum]

Hello, I wanted to make a personal stages of awakening post just for fun honestly. All of these stages will 100% be based on personal experience, and I am in no way declaring that ive reached any final point or that this is how it will be for you, this really is just for fun. Enjoy, feel free to add commentary  . 

Initial Awareness Stage

This is the beginning phase in which one begins to develop a sense of spaciousness surrounding all things. Suddenly the sound of footsteps may feel fuller and louder. You may even freak out and start noticing how fucked up you really are (or rather appear to seem), no worries as this is actually the heightening of sensitivity, which makes the "content" appear to be more intense, but the content is the same if that makes sense. 

Notable Effects in this Stage: 

- Heightened sensitivity to the patterns of thought. 

- An unspeakable sense of spaciousness, just an overall sense of "I am HERE!" but not yet being able to put your finger on it. 

- Noticing how much you actually react to situations, you may be shocked to suddenly realize that you may not resonate with certain people but you ignored it in the past, or you may notice how passive-aggressive you are. In general, you'll start to see how you really feel about things as the process of holding yourself back is fading away. 

Consciousness Stage

This begins when one has a solid perception / understanding of what consciousness is based on direct experience. You will start to see how every single thing is consciousness aka raw experience. The sense of spaciousness expands even more, including more of what appears to be the exterior world. Perception becomes very apparent, you can become surprised by how obvious perception appears now. In meditation when the eyes are closed, you may feel like you are the very blackness of outer space itself, and that the planets, cosmos, etc. are all your imagination. 

A mystical experience is likely in this stage. 

Notable Effects in this Stage:

- The spaciousness has expanded, fitting in the external world. 

- The sense of emptiness of mind can begin to be seen, you'll start to feel like an empty orb, and that thoughts arise in this orb. This is a beautiful thing, as this is the very beginning of purification of thought itself. 

- You may start to see the world almost like a video game, and wonder at the intelligence of what appears to be the God-Mind. 

- Meditation may feel deeper, with more baggage coming up. 

Inter-Connected Consciousness Stage

Youve been meditating for a while, one day you eat a handful of shrooms or get a lil deeper in that meditation, then boom...GOD. This is a big stage, as one becomes aware of the divinity hiding in the material. One begins to see the interconnected nature of reality, how not a single thing is actually wasted or left out. Its as the scientific quote goes "Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.". One can realize that they are the divinity itself, not within it nor without it. 

Personally, I spent a few years in this stage, lots of psychedelics and contemplation in this stage. One big trap in this stage is the spiritual ego (I fell for it lol), its one thing to have the recognition that you are the divinity, but cool off on telling everyone in your town about it, try your best to keep your mouth shut . I remember I was on a date with a girl and told her she was God, she freaked out lol (like heart racing), not a good idea, thats how I learned though  . 

Notable Effects in this Stage:

- As the interconnected-ness becomes apparent, the present moment will begin to be seen as a complex mind filled with its own creation. 

- Lots of emotional purging, one day youll be spiritual asf, then the next youll be running away from home (dont do that , call someone, get help seriously youre not alone! ).

- Mystical experiences happen a lot in this stage, and there will be many mindfucks. 

- One-ness can be realized here, but the ego tends to react in fear to it. This is the whole "Everyone is god and I feel so alone!" phase, yes it really can happen, but you get used to it and you realize its actually WAY better! (Also, this is just a thought story and it will be let go of eventually.)

Spherical Consciousness Stage

This is when shit starts to get REAL. Youll be having a conversation with someone and suddenly they are literally the center of creation itself. Reality begins to be seen as a 360 degree camera (unbelievable i know!). The sensation of the head disappears and every thing that appears to be seen takes its place. At this point you can sit down and just savor this spherical perception, it really is jaw dropping. 

In this stage the body feels lighter, the vibration becomes lighter as well. The entire system begins to undergo serious purging and unhealthy patterns become more and more obvious. Space begins to disappear at every single level at this stage, as its only the very beginning of the dissolvement of space: the visual field will be the first affected. One day youll look up at the clouds and youll be like " Oh theyre right there! wow."

Notable Effects in this Stage:

- The whole field of awareness is "touched", this results in a spherical-like perception. It is very beautiful.

- It becomes very obvious that this is your creation, your beautiful work of art, and you are over joyed with being able to literally BE this art.

- Deep compassion can begin in this stage, you may find yourself forgiving people youve never imagined forgiving. 

- Self - Judgement begins to fade away (finally! fuck!), youll stop trying to stick to nofap, or forcing yourself to just get your shit together. Rather, you begin to trust that the higher order will naturally dissolve these attachments (Mind you, that this can appear as being disciplined, im not saying youre just gonna sit still and money will just appear before you or something!)

Caveman Consciousness Stage

I call it this because its not how I expected Infinite Intelligence to be! 

One day you wake up and boom "Oh shit, this is it huh...". 

Infinite Intelligence is realized to be what appears as physical reality. You see that physical reality is literally unthinkable, you just cant make that shit lol. I mean go ahead "you" show me how to make creation lol. You see in this stage that creation is you, like its suffocating, it is all you but there is 0 space between you and it, so its like all the "things" that appear are bombarding you (so hard to nail down how this feels). You see that nature is super wise! Like.... Super Computer levels wise and its insane! A caveman shitting in the woods is as Intelligent as a computer (If not more, come on wtf a machine that absorbs energy from other forms of life, downloads the information it requires and dumps the remaining/un-needed content? Come on thats fucking awesome!). 

You will be most humbled in seeing that the world is super-natural, and that all the dirty mundane stuff IS actually the divine energy. Youll see a bunch of pigeons eating seeds and be humbled in seeing that they are infinitely more intelligent than "you" will ever be. 

Notable Effects in this Stage:

- It goes full circle and you go from cosmic creature to caveman, seeing the intelligence in all the mundane "normal" stuff you do. Setting up a cup of espresso and drinking it is a whole new experience. 

- Trusting god is realized to be simply trusting nature as well, one begins to see that the ox is the body (might be confusing, but super relatable if youve been there!).

- The magic that is thought reveals itself and is "seen" clearly. 

- Seeing the animals as literal robots that are made of intelligence, you begin to lose the sense of "otherness" with insects. Just as an example, I got a wasp hive right out my front door, that shit is above my head every day, but there is 0 fear now, as they are just other forms of life/intelligence!  Love those guys! (I should probably get them removed my moms gonna freak out soon enough .)

- Having a deep respect for all forms of life, some of the greatest lessons ive learned are from just watching animals, no joke. Also, animals no longer bother you as much, as it is actually the chronic release of fear chemicals causes insects to bite and animals to attack, take great precaution though! If you see a bear dont give it a hug!

Cosmic Consciousness Stage:

The body is another cosmic flow, like the planets rotating around the sun. At this point the bodys energy is always radiant, its like being the sun but never knowing who/what you are. You'll find Love blossoming in this stage, Unconditional Love will smack you right in the face. You realize how obvious it is, and that everything is fine! At this point people will think youre either a lunatic or a psychopath (or maybe an Angel!), as you will literally have 0 issues with the good people in the world and the sadistic murderers in the world. 

You stop perpetuating the pattern of fear mongering and begin to mind your own business, simply loving and being love with whatever is happening right...fucking...NOW and only now. The ordinary and special is merged! You notice how much people love you, people will just smile at you when youre out and about shopping, youll give your 2 cents on a situation to your friends and theyll think youre wise as fuck and youll be like "But it didnt come from me though I swear ." but they wont care. You become humbled when you see that you yourself once thought that the spiritual teachers really existed and you put them on a pedestal, only to realize no one was there and that it has only ever been your own LOVE. 

Notable Effects at this Stage:

- Unconditional love blossoms. 

-Space has disappeared and all "things" are realized to be cosmic bodies. 

-Life is the purpose! You walk in this world aimlessly trusting that all the opportunities you need are right here  .

- The senses purify/empty themselves out, therefore the senses disappear one by one, it usually starts with the visual field. In meditation its like youre completely blind, you cant tell the difference between the body sensation and the hum of your refrigerator. 

- "You" finally let go of the body and let it be just as ordinary as all other apparent "things". 

No-Self

The final sensation being emptied out is the sensation of touch, aka the sense of a physical body. In meditation the body more and more fades away piece by piece. The present moment is realized to be pure energy and thats it, its unbelievable really. 

Once all the senses have been emptied, there is just BOOOOOM, or AUM. Not much to say here, as this is the end man  , enjoy being pure BE-ing with no distinctions between anything. 

All thats left is being humbled by life, being humbled by experiencing what its like to be a grown Man / Woman / Other, being humbled by the process of aging and death, being humbled by the wisdom that all beings have, being humbled by the whole of human experience, feeling the beauty / pain of life, feeling the joy of creating stuff, etc. 

Notable Effects in this Stage:

-  Only pure BOOOOM here, that Zen quote makes sense lol "Better to have been blind and deaf" .

It was really fun making this, please dont take it seriously! 

 

Edited November 8, 2021 by Fearless_Bum

[Preety_India]

Did you feel at any stage that consciousness was infinite? 

I had experiences where I felt Consciousness was like a galaxy and its endless. 

 

Edited November 8, 2021 by Preety_India

[Fearless_Bum]

@Preety_India

1 minute ago, Preety_India said:

I had experiences where I felt Consciousness was like a galaxy and its endless. 

I can relate to that, that sense is all-pervading, theres no barrier to it, its wide open. 

You can also zoom in on the body and experience how vast it is, the body is like a planet, youre a giant!

[Preety_India]

@Fearless_Bum

This gif explains self actualization, spiritual work, awakening, self development, psychology, philosophy of life in a nutshell. 

  

 

 

[Fearless_Bum]

@Preety_India Awakening in a nutshell

[Vincent S]

@Fearless_Bum Once again, Thank you for sharing what You Are.

Enjoyed the good read, and can relate to a few of the sensations and experiences. Problem is, when it happens to you, you don't really know what to do with it, and of course you realize that you cant do anything, other than to be a witness. 
You defined and phrased the experiences in a very expanding and inviting way.

It was very humbling to read and a sense of content with whatever is arose within me.

[Vincent S]

7 minutes ago, Fearless_Bum said:

@Preety_India Awakening in a nutshell

Had a sleep paralysis happening to me the other night, this time I woke up and moved my hand, and realized its hollow and see-through. It was such a beautiful experience, It felt like I saw my actual hand for the first time. And I felt like I was nothing… just empty space, experiencing itself through imagination.

[Fearless_Bum]

4 minutes ago, Vincent S said:

@Fearless_Bum Once again, Thank you for sharing what You Are.

@Vincent S Thanks for receiving  

4 minutes ago, Vincent S said:

Problem is, when it happens to you, you don't really know what to do with it. 

I would only suggest resting in your meditative practice and letting life just work. If you want inspiration look around you, the Infinite Intelligence just works.

6 minutes ago, Vincent S said:

It was very humbling to read and a sense of content with whatever is arose within me.

Yes! Mission accomplished .

[Vincent S]

2 minutes ago, Fearless_Bum said:

I would only suggest resting in your meditative practice and letting life just work. If you want inspiration look around you, the Infinite Intelligence just works.

Beautiful ✨

[Nahm]

Awesome share, thanks! ?? 

[Fearless_Bum]

@Nahm you're welcome, I can't help it .

[michaelcycle00]

2 hours ago, Preety_India said:

Did you feel at any stage that consciousness was infinite? 

I had experiences where I felt Consciousness was like a galaxy and its endless. 

 

Could you please expand on this? Do you mean it's infinite in length or infinite in content? Like there's always infinitely novel things, or something else. 

[Preety_India]

@michaelcycle00

Ahm. Actually an experience like that is difficult to put in words. It feels like there is no end to what consciousness can consist of. Literally every idea, thought, word, feeling is included in it 

Now imagine you're given a dictionary which looks real but it's actually a supernatural magical in nature 

You open the dictionary and you try to flip to the last page but you never get to the last page because this dictionary is simply endless. 

Consciousness is like that. It is endless. Everything you hear or see or experience is a part of it. Now your experiences and those of others have no definite ending. Because even if you die (sorry to say that), someone else will replace you and this experience will always go on. Every thought, experience or idea or expression is limitless, endless in time, space and existence. This is eternal and never ending. This is Consciousness. 

It is forever. We are finite beings (if you consider death as a finite end to everything) in infinite consciousness. 

I hope you got it at least somewhat. It's difficult to explain in words but I tried my best. 

 

 

3 hours ago, Fearless_Bum said:

 

[Fearless_Bum]

@Knowledge Hoarder I purposefully didn't put any time between stages because there really is no set duration of time for the path. 

You can go through the whole thing in a decade, maybe half that, or maybe just go all the way in a few minutes like Ramana Maharshi. 

Edited November 8, 2021 by Fearless_Bum

[BipolarGrowth]

Nice stuff. Can you describe the 360 sphere of vision in more detail? I’m assuming you’re not seeing behind your back, under your feet,  and, above your head. Is my assumption right or wrong? 

[Tim R]

22 minutes ago, BipolarGrowth said:

Nice stuff. Can you describe the 360 sphere of vision in more detail? I’m assuming you’re not seeing behind your back, under your feet,  and, above your head. Is my assumption right or wrong? 

@BipolarGrowth The 360° sphere of vision is only kind of a metaphor. But it's strikingly accurate and it really feels like you have become a 360° lens. 

Before, you thought that you had/are a "point of view", like an ordinary camera (which obviously doesn't ave 360° vision, but only like 190°x170° or something). But that feeling of there being a center to your visual field is a complete illusion, consciousness is much rather like a 360° camera and it feels like that too, it feels as though "you" (aka the "point of view") have flipped inside out into infinity and into nowhere simultaneously. It feels like you are absolutely and completely non-local and at the same time 360°.

I'd rather want to call this trans-locality. You are no longer within space, but space ("the visual field") is within you, and at that point, "360° lens" is the most accurate metaphor for this. That's why Frank Yang always uses this effect in his videos?

It feels like you have become an spherical mirror that is simultaneously containing itself and all of its reflections. 

It's not that you can suddenly see "behind your head". The point is that the notion of there "something being behind you" has become totally meaningless, because you are literally everywhere and nowhere simultaneously, the visual field becomes recontextualized and you now feel it to be a kind of holographic bubble, which is both inside you and contains you (the latter only in a spacial context).

[Fearless_Bum]

15 minutes ago, Tim R said:

@BipolarGrowth The 360° sphere of vision is only kind of a metaphor. But it's strikingly accurate and it really feels like you have become a 360° lens. 

Before, you thought that you had/are a "point of view", like an ordinary camera (which obviously doesn't ave 360° vision, but only like 190°x170° or something). But that feeling of there being a center to your visual field is a complete illusion, consciousness is much rather like a 360° camera and it feels like that too, it feels as though "you" (aka the "point of view") have flipped inside out into infinity and into nowhere simultaneously. It feels like you are absolutely and completely non-local and at the same time 360°.

I'd rather want to call this trans-locality. You are no longer within space, but space ("the visual field") is within you, and at that point, "360° lens" is the most accurate metaphor for this. That's why Frank Yang always uses this effect in his videos?

It feels like you have become an spherical mirror that is simultaneously containing itself and all of its reflections. 

It's not that you can suddenly see "behind your head". The point is that the notion of there "something being behind you" has become totally meaningless, because you are literally everywhere and nowhere simultaneously, the visual field becomes recontextualized and you now feel it to be a kind of holographic bubble, which is both inside you and contains you (the latter only in a spacial context).

@BipolarGrowth explained perfectly ?. At first the 360 degree perception will be there but there's still space, over time the space fades away more and more. 

@Knowledge Hoarder Sure you can find a good meditative practice, try breathing techniques and different yoga methods. Psychedelics are truly worth it though. 

 

[BipolarGrowth]

2 hours ago, Tim R said:

@BipolarGrowth The 360° sphere of vision is only kind of a metaphor. But it's strikingly accurate and it really feels like you have become a 360° lens. 

Before, you thought that you had/are a "point of view", like an ordinary camera (which obviously doesn't ave 360° vision, but only like 190°x170° or something). But that feeling of there being a center to your visual field is a complete illusion, consciousness is much rather like a 360° camera and it feels like that too, it feels as though "you" (aka the "point of view") have flipped inside out into infinity and into nowhere simultaneously. It feels like you are absolutely and completely non-local and at the same time 360°.

I'd rather want to call this trans-locality. You are no longer within space, but space ("the visual field") is within you, and at that point, "360° lens" is the most accurate metaphor for this. That's why Frank Yang always uses this effect in his videos?

It feels like you have become an spherical mirror that is simultaneously containing itself and all of its reflections. 

It's not that you can suddenly see "behind your head". The point is that the notion of there "something being behind you" has become totally meaningless, because you are literally everywhere and nowhere simultaneously, the visual field becomes recontextualized and you now feel it to be a kind of holographic bubble, which is both inside you and contains you (the latter only in a spacial context).

This is what I suspected. I think the metaphor is useful, but it also really oversells itself. I have experienced a sort of true 360 degree perception with my eyes closed while using the Lumenate app. I figured people weren’t actually claiming to be doing that in waking normal life because that would be pretty easy to objectively disprove lol. You’d probably be able to turn water to wine around the time you can do that in waking life 

[Fearless_Bum]

@BipolarGrowth oh cool, you mean like you were seeing like a hammer head shark?

[The0Self]

It can go a million ways but here's how it can go, and it's perhaps not very likely that it will be this way for any particular individual. The stages are largely concurrent but the order is somewhat meaningful.

1. Mystical experiences -- transcend ego to a small degree. Insights such as "through me, reality imagines it is judging itself."

2. Bliss on demand -- relax clinging

3. Relax awareness of any particular object; totally detach from objects -- panoramic figure ground reversal -- Witnessing

4. No separation; field syncs up with itself and there is no hidden sensation appropriating itself as a knower -- there's only wholeness and nothing can be done to get closer or further away from that.

5. Entire field is a philosophical zombie in a sense -- nothing is needed for the empty appearance to be what it already is. No more mystical experiences.

Edited November 8, 2021 by The0Self