The great unfolding is how I think of life. But I always saw this unfolding as a process set in motion through action and reaction in a physical and egoistic domain. That used to make up my paradigm. And while I do think that a cause and effect universe does contribute to a certain momentum of unfolding, I have come to believe that consciousness plays a significant role. I also believe that there are forms of consciousness that are present at different levels and these forms have varying degrees of influence depending on the level. One caveat here is the problem that I have with ‘levels’ as a label in that they imply clearly defined stages butting up against other levels. I am not sure that this is the case. In nature there only appear to be hard edges. Any edge examined closely enough shows a transition from one level to the next. There is a transcendent evolution that blends those levels. The sublimation of atoms on a bowling ball is the image that comes to my mind.
The five primary forms of consciousness as I see them appear to be cosmic (metaphysical), aesthetic (beauty), social (interpersonal, intrapersonal and public interchanges), environmental (surroundings), and emotional (empathic). Of course, there can be an overlap between these arenas. Your lover may be an enlightened (cosmic) beautiful (aesthetic) person in a romantic restaurant (environmental) where you are on a date (social) and then he/she gazes into your eyes and cries a tear of exquisite joy at being in your presence (emotional). 😊
COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS
The highest level would be a cosmic consciousness that sits outside of time and space. In fact, time and space appear to be an illusory state manifested through our limited sensory capacity. When we find ourselves in a non-dual state our attention is focused inward and we are less entangled with the physical and mental world and more in touch with the spiritual world and that cosmic consciousness. As we distance ourselves from the sensory overload of our physical environment our suffering diminishes, and we become more ensconced in a field of pure love. Our bodies and minds overwhelm us and cloud our insight as the real soul person struggles to reconnect with the all-encompassing spirit that is God/Christ/Atman. The words we use are a pale attempt to name that which is unnamable/ineffable but is manifested in a gnostic state that defies all logic. When we dip our toe in that ocean of compassion, we have a religious or spiritual experience. When this occurs, we desire to communicate our experience to others because we need to affirm what we came to know on a finite human level. We find that it changes who we think we are. It reveals more of who we actually are and through that insight it changes how we interact with the world and in turn influence others. This is like the tenth ox-herding picture – Returning to the Marketplace. This ultimately cuts to the chase. It is not what we do, it is what we do. It is, in the end, what we make of our changed view, our freshly oriented right view, our reborn self. The actions we take should reflect that spirit.
AESTHETIC CONSCIOUSNESS
To me, beauty can be a visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory or palatable sensation perceived by our five senses. How we hold what we perceive is the determinant of its beauty. The way in which we hold that perception is in large part determined by our conscious, subconscious and unconscious minds. This in turn is likely an amalgam of our life experience and our sensitivity to the resonance of that beauty in our soul. As an existentialist I believe that beauty, like meaning, is derived from context but in the end, I think that beauty is a manifestation of love. When we see, hear or otherwise sense beauty we are dancing with God.
I am a firm believer in the trinity of self – physical, mental, spiritual. Our physical bodies provide a tool for experiencing beauty, our minds provide a tool for comprehending beauty and our souls provide a tool for reconnecting with the memory of God. Neuroscientists have discovered that when certain parts of the brain are damaged through a stroke or other physical trauma that their patients cannot experience or recognize beauty. When a person is suffering from severe mental depression, they see their world through a dark lens that filters out the beauty. It simply cannot be comprehended. And when the soul is so buried by thoughts and other sensory distractions it is incapable of recognizing God in the world.
I also think that beauty is much akin to love. In fact, beauty could be called the tangible part of love. Metaphors typically fail to capture the essence of beauty or love but there is one metaphor that I think comes close in describing these critical expressions of God. Temperature. Temperature is not about hot and cold. Temperature is about an arc of increasing and decreasing molecular movement. Temperature is based on a comparison of one temperature versus another temperature. Beauty is not about pretty and ugly. Just as all matter has temperature, all spirit has beauty. We make the mistake of comparing one object to another object and subjectively applying a ‘value’. A competition that only exists in our mind. One of our myths that helps us to make sense of our world.
SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS
The forms of social consciousness are intrapersonal, interpersonal, and public interactions. The dynamic existing within your ‘self’ is intrapersonal and is social because it involves ‘who’ you are, and you are a part of any social interchange. The intimate dynamic existing between your ‘self’ and others is interpersonal and constitutes anywhere from one other to multiple individuals. Intimate because it involves others with whom there is a personal relationship. Public interactions are ones where you are engaged with people with whom you have no intimate knowledge or exposure. Strangers if you will.
Intrapersonal social consciousness is interesting because it requires an intimate understanding of just ‘who’ you are. Most of the time people mistakenly believe that their false self is the real person. This superficial imagined ego self can be filled with anything from bluster and bravado to insecurity and self-loathing. It typically operates in a dualistic state. This mélange of self-perception directly impacts our interpersonal relationships so in terms of understanding social consciousness it is important to understand intrapersonal social consciousness.
So, how conscious are you of the ‘who’ you really are? To fully understand the ‘trinity of self’ would require several tomes but for the purposes here, may it suffice to say that your mental self (the ego/intellect) is heavily influenced by your physical self, spiritual self and your life experiences which are the primary components of social consciousness. The dynamic interplay between these aspects is important to understand. For example, take the hormones that rage in a teenager stemming from their physical self. They drive a great deal of the ego’s desire to be secure and loved. Sexual desire when combined with insecurity can cause a variety of life experiences that further influence the ego and create a cascade of influences from poor decisions. Pregnancy, venereal diseases, early marriages, etc. will put a person on a path of suffering and lifestyle choices impacting his/her entire life. To be fully conscious of the intrapersonal allows some relief from those potential pitfalls.
Interpersonal social consciousness makes up what most people think of as social interaction. In other words, the dynamic interplay between people. I think of it as a dance between egos. The false-self ball. Everyone is invited! Most of the time people are not aware they even have an ego. As far as they are concerned, they are just being ‘who’ they are. This is a lot like the First Ox-Herding Picture. Why would you herd an ox? You don’t even know you own one. By being conscious of this can go a long way to treading a healthy path in your life.
Someone who is socially conscious from an interpersonal level understands the different forms of interpersonal social discourse. There is the nuclear family, spouses, lovers, outlying relatives, co-workers/teammates, close friends, old friends, casual acquaintances and strangers. There are different rules that govern appropriate behavior for each of these. And they are further influenced by societal norms dictated by the particular society wherein you reside. For instance, the unwritten ‘rules’ of behavior in Japan are entirely different than they are in Saudi Arabia which are different than those in a remote village in Sub-Saharan Africa. Aside from those nuances, however, it can be said that there are appropriate and superior ways of behavior that are universal. These would be – respectful tones of voice, body language that shows interest in the other person, awareness of the other people’s insecurities, active listening, not interrupting and appropriate responses to others.
Public interactions are usually impersonal and are different in that there are no visual or auditory clues or other feedback in regard to how people are responding to your message. Unless, of course, you are in front of a live audience where you can make eye contact. To be effective, one needs to know one’s audience or at least one’s target audience. But it is the rare audience that consists of one type of person. Usually to be effective one needs to utilize the tool of cross-cultural puncture points. This requires consciousness of and understanding the cultural similarities and using them as metaphors to facilitate understanding and better communications.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS
I feel there are several levels through which one ascends in becoming environmentally conscious. Being aware of temperature and humidity are probably at the most basic level of consciousness. From there one starts to be attuned to noticing clouds and the effects of wind and by being attentive you begin to understand not only what is going on but also understand what is likely to happen in the near future. Knowing the night sky and phases of the moon as well as the retrograde motion of certain planets. Observing animal behavior and communication in the short term and eventually over longer periods of time would be another logical level of consciousness of one’s surroundings. In time the sensitivity to beauty of your surroundings enters your sphere of awareness. At the highest level you begin to sense the intimate relationship you have with your world and in time begin to see that you are part of a whole and not apart from it.
EMOTIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS
I think that often people are not even conscious of their own emotions, let alone the emotions of others. Emotions tend to sweep over us and influence who we are or at least who we think we are. To be conscious of our emotions affords a modicum of control. We cannot eliminate our emotions, but we can recognize them. The idea of the welcoming prayer is what comes to my mind.
I believe that emotions are a two-way street when it comes to the mental part of the self. At times, the emotions effect the ego and at times it is vice versa. When one suffers from a sense of righteous indignation, we have a sense of being offended by some action perpetrated by some other individual or group of individuals. The ego nurtures a feeling of anger that seeks revenge. It swims in a seething cauldron of resentment. Holding on to anger makes no sense at all. It is the purest form of suffering. While anger itself is a natural reaction, holding on to anger indicates a low level of emotional consciousness. The Buddha said, “Holding on to anger is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die.”
One of the earmarks of being a human being is having emotions. There is nothing inherently wrong with emotions but when emotions take over, we are entering into a relationship with suffering. An emotionally conscious individual pays attention through mindfulness when an emotion hooks the ego. A proper response is to recognize the emotion and let it go. The form of an emotional response can be positive but can quickly become negative. Take love as an example. Love can be twisted by the ego into jealousy. Or it can become infatuation. Unrequited love in the hands of the ego can be disabling. Three powerful twists that lead to significant suffering.
CONCLUSION
To reiterate what I said earlier, I believe that our change in consciousness is only fully realized by the actions that we take. In our contemplative practices we shift our consciousness and in our shift of consciousness we transform our actions in the world. We move toward a state of modeling and facilitating kindness, compassion and acceptance in the world.