What are levels of consciousness? Different schools of spirituality and mysticism have always had a framework of progression up the ladder of spiritual evolution. This was seen as reaching higher levels of consciousness. In Hermeticism, for example, spiritual evolution is described as progression through the kabbalistic tree of life and its 22 pathways. Sufis talk about different “stations” on the way to Union with God. A Christian mystic Theresa of Avila speaks of “mansions” of the soul.
Levels of Consciousness
The framework of levels of consciousness is one way of describing the highly non-linear process of spiritual evolution. In the 1970s, Dr. David Hawkins started working on calibrating individual levels of consciousness, through applied kinesiology, or muscle testing. His scale of consciousness goes from from 0 (dead matter) to 1000 (absolute realization, God-self). He used the method to calibrate the consciousness of people, places, animals, and even music, books and works of art.
Hawkins’ scale of consciousness is divided into 3 main levels, or realms: the realm of the Ego, the realm of awareness and reason, and finally, bridged by the stage of heart opening, the realm of self-realization and enlightenment. Each stage is characterized by a particular vibrational frequency, or level, that goes higher and higher to eventually reach full Union.
The Realm of the Ego
The realm of the Ego is on the lower end of the scale, from the level of consciousness 20 (shame) to 200 (between pride and courage). This is the realm of survival mode, where only two options exist — either being a victim, or an abuser. A victim ego projects the majority of repressed negativity onto her own self, while the abuser ego projects most of the repressed negativity onto others, such as perceived enemies or the society in general.
The Intermediary Realm of Self-Improvement
The majority of humanity are currently in the levels between 200 to 400. This is where the awareness starts to shift to self-improvement. As one gradually reaches the state of neutrality and optimism, more energy becomes available. One starts looking at options for self-improvement, life coaching, healing. Life itself becomes more supportive, and synchronicities start to appear everywhere. This encourages further progress.
Emotionality and sensitivity increases at the upper scale of this level, as the heart center begins to open. Unbalanced and exaggerated empathy is common, and there is usually a lot of crying and releasing as the heart keeps expanding and opening further. The words and concepts of spiritual teachings really start to resonate at the levels of consciousness of 400, which mark the beginning of opening to the inner light.
The level of consciousness around 400 is also where the “spiritual ego” now presents itself and dominates a lot of people on the path. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of “feeling” more enlightened than you truly are based on wishful thinking combined with intellectual understanding of some concepts and profound meditative experiences. But these experiences are only the beginning of the path.
The Realms of Self-Realization
The path of self-realization opens with the heart center awakening, when we connect to our inner light. Opening to the Inner Light starts at level 350, the actual opening occurs at 400 and integrates at 440. Inner Light awakening feels like waking up from a deep sleep – everything seems more clear, the perception is more focused, the reality looks completely different.
From there, the path of a spiritual adept begins, and it is usually recommended to have a teacher from this stage, to guard against common delusions of the ego. The spiritual adept gradually transcends duality, connects with their higher self, their soul group and their galactic self. The first enlightenment and the opening of the I AM presence occurs at the level 700.
