Consciousness

Gaudrath said:I once tried explaining to a friend what it actually feels like to let your consciousness merge with a tree. I couldn't quite nail it in person—especially since I didn't have a particularly majestic old oak right in front of me—so I doubt I’d have much luck trying to describe it over the internet either... 🙂

But how can you be sure it isn't just your imagination playing tricks on you?

Tinsley said:Please, I’m asking this without any judgment or moralizing.🙂

I'm wondering if there's actually a "natural" way to reach those elevated states of consciousness that people usually get through drugs.

Are there specific meditations, exercises, or anything like that?

Keep the answers simple—layman's terms, please.

Thanks! 🙂

Consciousness can move up and down a ladder, but we always end up identifying with just one version of ourselves. Think of these levels as a triangle: as you climb higher, the paths narrow significantly.
When I'm climbing up, I feel this intense sense of focus and control. But when I'm sliding back down due to depression or burnout, my sense of self starts to blur, feeling almost like a mist. It brings on this creeping chill—this feeling that I'm just completely at the mercy of everything around me.

I actually read about this in a book called Mystery...

What I realized is that when someone tries to reach a higher state using nothing but their own mind, they use sheer mental force to achieve total clarity and focus, eventually hitting that "higher self" state. Because they are under such intense subconscious pressure and the exhaustion of trying to force it, their thoughts eventually funnel down into a single point of focus on that higher state. Conversely, when descending that same ladder, our sense of being becomes foggy, and we start feeling fearful of the people around us.

I’ve come across various theories quite often regarding the seven distinct levels of consciousness, suggesting that most ordinary people are naturally only aware of three of them by default. Could someone be so kind as to clarify what these specific states actually entail, and perhaps suggest which techniques—like meditation or other practices—might theoretically allow one to ascend into those higher states of awareness?

Larry Williams said:I’ve come across various theories quite often regarding the seven distinct levels of consciousness, suggesting that most ordinary people are naturally only aware of three of them by default. Could someone be so kind as to clarify what these specific states actually entail, and perhaps suggest which techniques—like meditation or other practices—might theoretically allow one to ascend into those higher states of awareness?

maybe try some psychedelic mushrooms (just kidding)... here are some interesting perspectives and premises:

http://h1.ripway.com/overkloan/James...andMankind.pdf (2.49 MB)

You can find a full breakdown of all seven states of consciousness in this book:
"Keese, A. P. Seven Chakras, Seven States of Consciousness"

1. consciousness is just sleep
2. consciousness is dreaming
3. consciousness is being awake
4. consciousness is transcendental
5. consciousness is cosmic
6. consciousness is divine
7. consciousness is the awareness of oneness

casualmaker13 said:1. consciousness is just sleep
2. consciousness is dreaming
3. consciousness is being awake
4. consciousness is transcendental
5. consciousness is cosmic
6. consciousness is divine
7. consciousness is the awareness of oneness

Hey casualmaker13, can you actually break down what those states mean in more detail??

casualmaker13 said:1. consciousness is just sleep
2. consciousness is dreaming
3. consciousness is being awake
4. consciousness is transcendental
5. consciousness is cosmic
6. consciousness is divine
7. consciousness is the awareness of oneness

Applying a scientific lens to "material" that isn't even scientific in nature... dissecting and merely
tinkering with individual fragments offers us absolutely zero benefit, as it serves only as a
stumbling block that clouds the path toward any actual personal insight...

1. The first state of consciousness is sleep—deep, heavy sleep where everything just vanishes. It’s like we don't even exist; our awareness hits absolute zero. I guess everyone has been there.
2. The second state is dreaming. We're actually aware of the dream while we're sleeping, and sometimes we even catch glimpses of them when we wake up. Again, pretty much everyone has experienced this.
3. The third state is wakefulness—your typical alert state. We're aware of ourselves, our thoughts, our emotions, and maybe a little bit of our surroundings. This is where most of us spend our lives when we aren't asleep.
4. The fourth state is a transcendental one. It pops up occasionally if you practice meditation or some other technique designed to expand your awareness. You hit this experience of pure consciousness or the "self," where you basically transcend everything else except your own existence. Most people who have felt this are usually those who've put in work with spiritual development techniques.
5. The fifth state is what many call cosmic consciousness, or enlightenment. It’s mostly the result of intense self-work. After enough time passes, a "meditator" becomes constantly aware of themselves, their environment, and all those internal interactions—thoughts, feelings, senses—24 hours a day. It's a pretty rare experience, though.
6. The sixth state is divine consciousness. This represents every possibility an individual could possibly imagine—things like total knowledge, invisibility, flight, bilocation, clairvoyance, heightened perception, and so on. It builds right on top of that fifth state, and like the others, very few people ever actually reach it.
7. The seventh state is the consciousness of oneness. Someone who reaches this level sees themselves in everything, or rather, sees themselves as everything that exists. They realize that everything is one and that nothing exists outside of that unity. This follows on from the sixth state.

The first three states are basic; I mean, every single person has gone through them.
The rest of these states are generally the result of intentional self-work and expanding your awareness. They're really only experienced by those who have actually "arrived" at them.

Depending on where you grew up, there are actually all sorts of different terms used to describe states of consciousness and perception.

So, just to clear things up one more time regarding the 7th state of consciousness—it’s actually called the unity consciousness. Basically, once someone reaches this level, they start seeing themselves as completely inseparable from everything else in existence. They realize that everything is actually one single thing, and all that sense of separation—you know, the whole "me versus you" or "this object versus that person" thing—is really just an illusion. Since you and I are essentially one, you’d see yourself in me, or me in you. If you expand that idea even further, you see yourself in everything, and everything within yourself. I know, it sounds pretty wild and maybe a bit hard to wrap your head around, but that’s what unity consciousness is all about.

Do the folks in group 5 actually know which planet is closest to Earth and inhabited?

Thanks...

Paul Vaughn said:Do the folks in group 5 actually know which planet is closest to Earth and inhabited?

Thanks...

So you think there’s an escape route out of here? There is no running away, my friend, because this planet is...
essentially the most secure prison in the entire universe... designed specifically for the worst specimens of life... for
those who haven't earned the right to be anywhere else, and that much should be obvious if you just look
around you through the eyes of a "normal" person... the only way to truly escape is to work on
yourself, to improve who you are, and perhaps then, just perhaps, shorten your sentence...

Anthony Rivera17 said:So you think there’s an escape route out of here? There is no running away, my friend, because this planet is...
essentially the most secure prison in the entire universe... designed specifically for the worst specimens of life... for
those who haven't earned the right to be anywhere else, and that much should be obvious if you just look
around you through the eyes of a "normal" person... the only way to truly escape is to work on
yourself, to improve who you are, and perhaps then, just perhaps, shorten your sentence...

I totally get where you're coming from regarding how many people (honestly, a huge chunk) represent the worst of humanity—and I'm pretty sure our descendants are gonna end up polluting everything, from Mars to Pluto to Andromeda, once we expand that far... unless they actually fix themselves. ☕

But my actual question about finding alien life was just meant to be a simple—though currently impossible—way to test the limits of what you call an "über-ego trip" (not that my view is much different, lol)—assuming anyone following those theories actually knows how to answer or point me in the right direction.

Thanks

Anthony Rivera17 said:So you think there’s an escape route out of here? There is no running away, my friend, because this planet is...
essentially the most secure prison in the entire universe... designed specifically for the worst specimens of life... for
those who haven't earned the right to be anywhere else, and that much should be obvious if you just look
around you through the eyes of a "normal" person... the only way to truly escape is to work on
yourself, to improve who you are, and perhaps then, just perhaps, shorten your sentence...

😂 😂 😂
Bravo. You managed to pack a punch in just a few sentences.
Don't bother trying to "improve" yourself; just try to actually understand the Self. That's enough to facilitate an escape. 😉
There's an old story about a Leo in a camp and a young Leo who arrived there...
I'll tell it later. Beautifully put...
The whole point is this: I am attempting to grasp the essence of the fence, so that I might finally climb over it.

I’ve taken the liberty of tweaking this story a bit from the original version, though I’m trying to stay true to the core sentiment. If anyone out there happens to know the full details or has a written account of this, please, post it... It would be genuinely fascinating to read...

So, they caught a young Leo out while he was just wandering around looking for a meal and a mate. Naturally, they tossed him straight into the camp. Usually, they’d go after the younger ones—easier to "re-educate" them, you know? Easier to mold their habits, shove new ideas down their throats, and reshape how they see the world. But by the time they threw him into the wire, the guy already felt right at home. He had everything there: food, women, shelter, entertainment, various philosophies, religions... basically, everything a guy could ever need to survive. And if he put in a little extra effort, maybe even more. For those first few days, he just drifted through the camp, getting his bearings and sizing up the local customs and the people living there. He noticed everyone was organized into these tight-knit groups. That’s where he stumbled upon the religious sects and their endless sermons about Judgment Day, the Second Coming of the Leo (the Son of God), the absolute necessity of following strict moral codes, and all that stuff about loving your neighbor... After listening to their lectures, he spent his time watching them closely. It was fascinating... nobody actually practiced a single thing they preached. Yet, the very next day, their priest would be standing there, absolving them of every single sin they’d racked up...
He found it pretty interesting, I guess... but he decided to take a bit more of a stroll.
Just around the next corner, a bunch of self-righteous sheep and goats had gone and started their own little Bridge Club. He couldn't help but let out a laugh before moving along... A bit further down the road, though, he spotted a pack of hyenas busy collecting signatures to launch some new political parties—supposedly meant to look out for the entire camp and everything a free citizen actually needs...
He was already wound tight just thinking about those hyena types and their predatory politics. So, he kept moving. During that walk, he couldn't help but notice Leo sitting there all by himself near the perimeter fence of the camp... and just when he was getting ready to go over and strike up a conversation, he ran straight into some ladies of the night. When they spotted him, they started making offers left and right. They came in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Honestly, over the next few days, he ended up sampling every single pleasure they had to offer. Eventually, he finally managed to break free from that scene and caught sight of Leo again by the fence. Just as he was about to head over... you wouldn't believe it...
Don't bother approaching him; the guy is a total eccentric. He’s basically the black sheep of the whole camp... doesn't socialize with anyone, doesn't ask for anything, and certainly doesn't offer anything. Just leave him be. You aren't going to get a single useful thing out of him... says Giraffe.
"You're the biggest one out of all of us. Can you see anything past the fence?" Leo asked... he had already forgotten what freedom even felt like outside those bars.
Good grief... Of course there’s nothing out there. This fence is the end of the line. Everything worth seeing is right here within these bounds. Believe me, I know better than anyone if there's anything beyond this perimeter... I can see further than any of you combined...
Leo stared him down, sensing that unmistakable undertone of deception in his voice...
I somehow managed to slip out from under her feet while she was completely preoccupied, rambling on about how wonderful the camp was... I finally made my way over to where Leo was sitting by the fence.
I sit there right next to him, just watching. Watching for a long time... Giraffe was absolutely right about one thing: he is a total eccentric—that’s what keeps crossing my mind while I stare him down—he hasn't even realized I'm sitting here yet...
Maybe he should just lean in... instead of trying to drag that old Leo back into the fray...
So? What's the verdict?
I’ve only been stationed at this camp for a little while now, but I’ve been watching you. Out of everything going on around here, you spend every single waking hour—day and night—just sitting there by the fence, staring. Is there really nothing else in this entire camp that catches your interest? Why do you isolate yourself like this? You don't talk to anyone... you just stay detached. What is it, really, that keeps you glued to that fence from sunrise to sunset...
Leo smiles.
First off, the camp is certainly an interesting concept, and there’s plenty to get lost in. But that’s exactly the problem. Every little pleasure you fall in love with just chips away at your intellect and erodes your memory of what true freedom actually feels like. Honestly, I suspect you can’t even remember what life was like outside those gates anymore...
Well... I remember something, but it’s all just a bit hazy right now. I know there's something interesting here that I've missed, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is...
Secondly, I’m not detached; it’s just that what they say doesn't interest me. They have their little Bridge Clubs where they sit around debating "freedom" while trapped inside a cage. They organize political parties just to give the residents a sense of dignity and freedom of speech within that very same cage. They offer all sorts of pleasures and indulgences that you couldn't even dream of—believe me, I’ve tasted them all, just as I’ve noticed you have too—but there was always this bitter aftertaste left in my mouth... a hollow emptiness in my chest. They set up rehabilitation centers to fix addiction, yet on the other side of the street, they run the bars and the dens selling the booze and the drugs. They work tirelessly to tighten the shackles even further, only to swoop in and "solve" the problems they manufactured themselves. It's a cycle. They promise you liberation only after death, or heaven, provided you follow the rules, the morals, and the laws... those laws written by the Leos who declare themselves the sons of God. If you don't obey, they tell you you're headed for hell. But look around. Hell is exactly what we are living in right now. Can there be any greater hell than this? To know you were once free, yet you were foolish enough to let yourself be captured?... There can't be. They are idiots, trying to convince you that through mere words and mindless repetition, you will somehow attain freedom. But you know deep down that what you truly are cannot be captured by words or restricted by techniques. They make grand promises because they have such long necks, but they are blind. Completely blind. They can't see, because they don't even possess the capacity to understand what it is they should be looking at...
- Hmm... - Leo grunted. He stared at him, having already considered walking away several times, but there was something about this old Leo that held him—something that gave the impression he actually knew what he was talking about. It wasn’t an impression he’d encountered anywhere else before. - So, what are you doing hanging around the fence? If you know all this, why are you still waiting?
- What am I doing? Isn't it obvious? I'm studying the very essence of the fence. I know who I am, and I know what I am. But in order to break free from this prison, this cage I'm trapped in, I have to grasp the true nature of this barrier. Once I see it for what it really is, liberation becomes a mere matter of time. All you need to do is figure out what it is that actually keeps you in the cage. It isn't bars—because there aren't any. Instead, they've designed the cage so that you never even think about escaping, even while you spend your entire life searching for a way out. Every door just leads deeper and deeper into the heart of the cell.
- Then what would you advise me to do?
- Nothing. Just sit and watch. Maybe the cage doesn't even exist. Maybe you just imagined it and now you're spinning in circles in your own little movie. I said, MAYBE!!! Just sit there and observe. Grasp the essence of the fence, and then walk out.

Anthony Rivera17 said:So you think there’s an escape route out of here? There is no running away, my friend, because this planet is...
essentially the most secure prison in the entire universe... designed specifically for the worst specimens of life... for
those who haven't earned the right to be anywhere else, and that much should be obvious if you just look
around you through the eyes of a "normal" person... the only way to truly escape is to work on
yourself, to improve who you are, and perhaps then, just perhaps, shorten your sentence...

Man, reading this actually bummed me out. I'm really sorry you see things that way. I hope it's just a phase and you're just going through a rough patch right now...
Life isn't some punishment, and our planet isn't a jail cell. The human spirit is incredible, capable of creating pure beauty... Everyone is just in a different stage of life's "school," which looks like chaos sometimes, but there's wonder in all of it if you actually stop to look. You can actually hear the "music of the universe"... it's such a beautiful melody, you can just lose yourself in it...
Being born is a privilege and an honor. Every single person deserves respect just for being part of the living world. Living is a choice made by the soul. Just look at art, architecture... languages, math... it all speaks to that beauty. Humans are the most perfect form of life; we carry something divine within us. It's only voluntary slavery and being afraid of ourselves that created the outlook you have, but even that is just part of the game...

casualmaker13 said:1. The first state of consciousness is sleep—deep, heavy sleep where everything just vanishes. It’s like we don't even exist; our awareness hits absolute zero. I guess everyone has been there.
2. The second state is dreaming. We're actually aware of the dream while we're sleeping, and sometimes we even catch glimpses of them when we wake up. Again, pretty much everyone has experienced this.
3. The third state is wakefulness—your typical alert state. We're aware of ourselves, our thoughts, our emotions, and maybe a little bit of our surroundings. This is where most of us spend our lives when we aren't asleep.
4. The fourth state is a transcendental one. It pops up occasionally if you practice meditation or some other technique designed to expand your awareness. You hit this experience of pure consciousness or the "self," where you basically transcend everything else except your own existence. Most people who have felt this are usually those who've put in work with spiritual development techniques.
5. The fifth state is what many call cosmic consciousness, or enlightenment. It’s mostly the result of intense self-work. After enough time passes, a "meditator" becomes constantly aware of themselves, their environment, and all those internal interactions—thoughts, feelings, senses—24 hours a day. It's a pretty rare experience, though.
6. The sixth state is divine consciousness. This represents every possibility an individual could possibly imagine—things like total knowledge, invisibility, flight, bilocation, clairvoyance, heightened perception, and so on. It builds right on top of that fifth state, and like the others, very few people ever actually reach it.
7. The seventh state is the consciousness of oneness. Someone who reaches this level sees themselves in everything, or rather, sees themselves as everything that exists. They realize that everything is one and that nothing exists outside of that unity. This follows on from the sixth state.

The first three states are basic; I mean, every single person has gone through them.
The rest of these states are generally the result of intentional self-work and expanding your awareness. They're really only experienced by those who have actually "arrived" at them.

Can you give me some specific examples of individuals who have actually achieved these 6th and 7th states of consciousness?

Nicole Kelly3 said:Man, reading this actually bummed me out. I'm really sorry you see things that way. I hope it's just a phase and you're just going through a rough patch right now...
Life isn't some punishment, and our planet isn't a jail cell. The human spirit is incredible, capable of creating pure beauty... Everyone is just in a different stage of life's "school," which looks like chaos sometimes, but there's wonder in all of it if you actually stop to look. You can actually hear the "music of the universe"... it's such a beautiful melody, you can just lose yourself in it...
Being born is a privilege and an honor. Every single person deserves respect just for being part of the living world. Living is a choice made by the soul. Just look at art, architecture... languages, math... it all speaks to that beauty. Humans are the most perfect form of life; we carry something divine within us. It's only voluntary slavery and being afraid of ourselves that created the outlook you have, but even that is just part of the game...

On Earth, we certainly are—though there may be outliers, I suppose😁—but when you look at the vastness of the universe, we definitely aren't the pinnacle.

Honestly, I feel like those barriers are just built by people who lack the imagination—or maybe they just don't have a good enough reason—to wonder what's actually waiting on the other side. The human mind doesn't really know how to set limits... so it's pretty awesome when someone finally starts vibing with that rhythm.