Transcending The Levels Of Consciousness: The Stairway to Enlightenment

by David R. Hawkins

Perception is replaced with vision that allows for the awareness of the intrinsic value of all that exists.

Love is a quality of Divinity and as such illuminates the Essence and therefore the lovability of others. From calibration levels 500 to 539, the love is still subject to conditions and partialities based on considerations and qualitative values, as well as the influence of belief systems. The limitations may be frustrating to spiritual aspirants who try to ‘see past the behaviors and love the person’, which is easier said than done. Limitations may be consequent to unpleasant past experiences as well as karmic influences and also affected by social programming and belief systems, some of which may be outside of awareness and operate unconsciously.

The relinquishing of judgmentalism greatly increases the capacity of Love, as does surrendering the wanting of anything from others. Thus, people are not perceived according to what they have or do b...

Love is self-fulfilling and thus does not seek gain or to compensate for lack. Because it does not need to ‘get’, it is therefore free t...

To continue to advance requires surrendering the limitations of conditional love to unconditionality.

Love as a mode of existence requires no ‘others’ as objects for fulfillment or expression. It is an independent quality with no subject, object, verb, or adjective and thus is nonlinear and unlimited.

A key to making Love unconditional is the willingness of forgiveness to undo past reservations, experiences, and viewing people as unlovable. By the willingness to forgive and surrender one’s perceptions, they may be recontextualized and now seen simply as limited or influenced by programming as spiritually underprivileged and reflective of the ego’s proclivity to be blind to falsity.

By intention, awareness may be changed from the perceptual duality of good/bad to witnessing ‘desirable’ versus ‘less desirable’, or even just preferable or less preferable.

transformative mechanism is the relinquishment of faith in the validity of one’s ideas and thinkingness itself and seeing that they are only images from the past, with no current validity or reality.

surrender, the request to the Holy Spirit for a miracle is thereby the willingness to surrender one’s perceptual positionalities and their egoistic gain to the revelation of Truth.

As Love becomes increasingly unconditional, it begins to be experienced as inner Joy. This is not the sudden joy of a pleasurable turn of events but instead is a constant accompaniment to all activities. Joy arises from within each moment of existence rather than from any outer source.

Characteristic of this energy field is a capacity for enormous patience and the persistence of a positive attitude in the face of prolonged adversity.

This capacity to love many people simultaneously is accompanied by the discovery that the more one loves, the more one can love.

Unconditional Love is a condition and quality of being with oneself in the world that arises and emerges by virtue of serious commitment to the spiritual principles of willingness to surrender obstacles and all limitations or positionalities and their (often unconscious) pay-offs.

Acceleration of spiritual energy is facilitated by the relinquishment of narcissistic, egoistic self-interests, such as the seeking of personal gain. The energy is facilitated by the intention and alignment of humility, mercy, compassion, and dedication to the relief of suffering of others in the forms of benevolence, mercy, and kindness.

In this reorientation, phenomena are discovered to be happening spontaneously of their own rather than via the usual presumed premise and perception of cause and effect. Pleasure is no longer something one acquires but is innate consequent to the power of the field rather than via some agency or personal decision. It is also progressively discovered that there is actually no ‘doer’ of actions, and one witnesses the autonomous unfoldment of karmic potentiality from a new paradigm of reality that is beyond the presumptive dualistic principle of causation. Thus, life becomes an endless series of revelations of intrinsic charm and delight that initially seem amazing.

The transcendence of spiritual ecstasy and joy depends on the willingness to surrender all to God, no matter what, including even the exquisite state of ecstasy, which is of a dimension beyond description.

Great works of art, music, and architecture that calibrate between 600 and 700 can transport us temporarily to higher levels of consciousness and are universally recognized as inspirational and timeless.

Everything that exists is perfect and complete. Creation does not move from imperfection to perfection, as is witnessed by the ego, but instead moves from perfection to perfection. The illusion of moving from imperfection to perfection is a mentalization. For example, a rosebud is not an imperfect rose but is a perfect rosebud. When half open, it is a perfect unfolding flower, and when completely opened, it is a perfect open flower. As it fades, it is a perfect faded flower and then becomes a perfect withered plant, which then becomes perfectly dormant. Each is therefore perfect at each expansion of its expression as the emergence and unfoldment of the evolution of Creation. Thus, the illusion of ‘change’ is replaced by the witnessing of the process of the manifestation of actuality from potentiality (transition, emergence, unfoldment, metamorphosis).

Dynamics of Peace and Illumination. In ordinary life, the ego claims to be the author of action. This egoistic claim, which is experienced as an inner reality, is a delusion based on the unrecognized function of the ego, that of instant editing. This phenomenon happens 1/10,000th of a second after a phenomenon has actually occurred. The best analogy to this function of the ego, as mentioned previously, is that of the tape-monitor function of a tape recorder. As sound is recorded on the tape, the tape-monitor function allows one to hear what has just been recorded a split second ago. Therefore, one is not experiencing the source but that of a recording with a split-second delay. This delay is intrinsic to all ego experiencing of ordinary life by which the mind does not experience reality but its delayed instant playback through the screen of perception. At level 600, this delay disappears and with it the delusion of a ‘this’ or a ‘that’, for without the processing delay, the ‘this’ and the ‘that’ are joined in a unity that is not artificially separated. Without the inner position of the ego’s screening device, phenomena are experienced directly and not via the illusion of a spectator.

This is the level of Divine Grace, which can potentially evolve up to 1,000, the highest level attained by any persons who have lived in recorded history, such as the Great Avatars for whom the title ‘Lord’ is appropriate: Lord Krishna, Lord Buddha, Lord Jesus Christ, and Zoroaster.

The consciousness levels of the 700s are historically classified as the levels of Self-Realization or of advanced mystics, such as those represented in recent times as Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Sri Aurobindo, Mahatma Gandhi, and Patanjali. Familiar writings at these levels are the Zen teachings of Bodhidharma; the Cloud of Unknowing; the Diamond, Heart, and Lotus Sutras; the Koran; the New Testament (without Revelations); and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, as well as the Rig Veda. (For convenience, a representative list is included at the end of the chapter.)

The oldest sources of the highest spiritual truth historically came down from the great Aryan sages of ancient India (i.e., the Vedas, the Upanishads). These originated in approximately 5,000 B.C. (The Buddha lived approximately 563 B.C.).

enlightened sages that influence mankind have been limited down through the centuries, their teachings have been essentially the same, even though they arose independently in different parts of the world, in different cultures, and in different millennia. Thus, it can be said that truth is always true because there is only one truth to be discovered.

If the state of Void (Nothingness) were the ultimate reality, it would be a permanent condition, and there would be no entity to report it. However, it is not, and therefore, sooner or later, one leaves the Void and returns to conscious existence. Next occurs the subjective experiential phenomenon of suddenly emerging into Existence from the oblivion of the Void.

The limitation (incompleteness) of the Void is reached as a consequence of intense dedication to the pathway of negation; however, missing is the realization that Love is a primary quality of Divinity and is also nonlinear, and that spiritual love is not an attachment. The error of the pathway of negation is to misidentify and refuse Love because, in its general, ordinary human experience, it is a limitation and an attachment (between a ‘me’ and a ‘you’ or an ‘it’).

In contrast, Divine Love is predominant, powerful, overwhelming, and the primary quality or essence of the Presence. It is profound and unconditional, with no subject or object. It is not an emotionality but a condition or a state that is liberating rather than limiting. The Void (cal. 850) is comparable to infinite, empty, conscious space. In contrast, the Presence of Divinity is like the heart of the sun. There is no mistaking it for the Love is realized as the very core and Source of one’s primary Self.

One reason for the seemingly endless delays on the way to Enlightenment is doubt, which should be surrendered as a resistance. It is important to know that it is actually extremely rare for a human to be committed to spiritual truth to the degree of seriously seeking Enlightenment, and those who do make the commitment do so because they are actually destined for Enlightenment.

Spiritual progress does not follow in convenient, definable, progressive steps, as a description such as this on transcending the levels of consciousness might seem to imply. On the contrary, unexpected great leaps may very well occur at any time, and all students should be advantaged by having the necessary information of what to know at certain points along the way. The knowledge that is needed at ‘the end’ is essential right from the ‘beginning’.

Consistent application of any spiritual principle can unexpectedly result in a very major and sudden leap to unanticipated levels. At that point, memory may not even be available, and instead, the Knowingness of Spiritual Truth presents itself silently. Spiritual students should accept the reality that they are already gifted. A serious reader of a book such as this could hardly be otherwise. Divinity knows its own; therefore, to accept that truth is to already feel joy. To not experience joy by understanding this means that it is being resisted. This awareness is reinforced by understanding that, contrary to the dualistic Newtonian paradigm of reality, one is not just the consequence of the past. On the contrary, the present position is due to the attraction of potentiality, because both the past and the future are illusions. Therefore, commitment to Enlightenment now becomes like a magnet pulling one towards it, and the rate of evolution is up to the individual’s willingness to surrender resistances.

Enlightenment is not a condition to be obtained; it is merely a certainty to be surrendered to, for the Self is already one’s Reality. It is the Self that is attracting one to spiritual information.

The progression of the evolution of consciousness is accelerated by the combination of intention plus attention. In worldly terms, the process is explicable as the Heisenberg principle, whereby the potentiality is activated to actuality by the introduction of consciousness and intention.

The influence of spiritual intention can therefore be over one thousand times stronger than ordinary intellectual effort (calibrates as ‘true’).

When phenomena appear that are beyond the expectations of logic or reason, they tend to become described as ‘mystical, ineffable, or miraculous’ to denote the consequence of intention and the response of the contextual field that results in emergence. Therefore, to ‘expect a miracle’, or ‘pray for the highest good’ accelerates the resolution of a perceived problem. This is facilitated by surrendering judgmentalism or the desire to control outcomes. Thus, one is ‘responsible for the effort and not the results’ (a dictum of twelve-step spiritual groups).

Surrendering the control of outcomes is also beneficial in that it precludes either self-blame or pride about them. Whether a conclusion is seen as desirable or undesirable depends on the level of consciousness of the observer (i.e., positionalities).

Because the mind, by virtue of its innate structure, is unable to differentiate perception from essence, or res cogitans (interna) from res extensa (externa),it makes the naive assumption that it experiences and therefore knows ‘reality’, and that other viewpoints must therefore be ‘wrong’. This phenomenon constitutes illusion, which is the automatic consequence of the limitation resulting from the mental process.

Academics deal with predictables and statistics. The clinician deals with outcomes and results. Thus, to ‘have a heart’ is requisite for the clinician but is not a measurable in academics.

is decidedly totally ‘unscientific’ and very purely, solely spiritual yet profoundly powerful and effective. Often an active alcoholic comes to AA only after having run the gamut of standard academic treatments. However, the primary requisite for recovery is ‘unscientific’ humility and surrender to a Higher Power.

Thus, the spiritual and scientific are two totally different paradigms, and each has its appropriate place in society. The fact that there is fraudulent science does not disprove good science anymore than pseudospirituality disproves true, authentic spirituality.

Temptations. Spiritual evolution is a process of unfoldment, emergence, and purification as a consequence of what one has become rather than as a result of what one is doing or has been. Spiritual errors can be concluded by humility and caution as well as forewarning. Temptations occur along the pathway and have been alluded to in the discussion of the various levels. It is best to periodically review them so as to be on guard. Those temptations that represent levels below 200 are often suppressed and therefore may suddenly reemerge unbidden at levels over 200.

Vulnerability persists as long as there are still desires for gain, pride, vanity, control, wealth, or sensual pleasure. With spiritual maturity, perception is replaced by vision that reflects essence and spiritual truth, resulting in the capacity to see through self-deceptions. Vision is associated with spiritual wisdom, which makes clear that exploitation leads to loss and descent rather than progressive ascendancy.

Spiritual purity is the consequence of self-honesty, which is a result of true devotion. To be a servant of God is to align with Divine Guidance that leads to looking to the Self rather than catering to self or the world.

Doubt can also be resolved by the utilization of consciousness calibration techniques that are very simple, such as merely asking whether an action or a decision would serve the highest good.

The kundalini automatically rises to its own appropriate level in accord with the energy field of the prevailing level of consciousness. This occurs as a consequence of what one has ‘become’ and ‘is’.

While mantras and certain repetitious practices have some value, depending on the calibrated level of their truth as well as the intention behind them, they can also become a substitute for the progressive realizations that underlie and substantiate true spiritual advance.

The true state is reflected in what one has become rather than what one believes or does.

Progress is facilitated by the willingness to surrender ambition to God. Error can be precluded by being alert to the ego’s desire to survive by taking over the spiritual process.

The spiritual ego sees progress as gain or status rather than as a gift and, therefore, responsibility.

To desire a siddhi for its own sake is a warning that the spiritual ego is seeking specialness.