Ken Wilber’s levels of consciousness

17 Feb Ken Wilber’s levels of consciousness

In a previous post I wrote about the earlier stages of Ken Wilber’s 10 stages of consciousness. For those of you who are interested here is a very brief description of all 10;

The 10 stages of consciousness   (Ken Wilber)

1. Physical self ~1 yr One-dimensional, experience dominated by physical needs and driven by physiology. Realization that ‘I’ am separate from ‘you’.

2. Emotional self 2–3 yrs Two-dimensional, emotions give depth to experience. Formal self-identity starts to emerge based in how ‘I’ feel. And ‘I’ may feel different things from ‘you’.

3. Conceptual self 3–6 yrs Three-dimensional representation of the world. Language is the main gain here and the ability to label the world.

4. Concrete self (talk the talk) 7–11 yrs and most adults Clearly recognizable ‘consciousness’ or awareness. Engagement with the material world. Rules and roles drive behaviour.

5. Transpersonal self (talk the walk) 11–15 yrs and many adults Interior world opens up properly for the first time. Thinking about thinking emerges, abstraction and algebra become possible.

6. Integrated self (walk the talk) Major development work completed, emotional baggage resolved and ‘shadow’ integrated.

7. Pure being (walk the walk) More consistent ‘being’ state, with nourishing personal presence, phenomenal energy and powers of concentration, incredible selflessness. Experienced by others as a ‘spiritual person’.

8. Unity in duality Experience of ‘divine’ union, ‘oneness’ with an object (God, golf ball, lover), but subject and object remain. Can foster an obsession with the focus of the ‘union’. Duality as there is a witness observing the union.

9. Pure awareness direct experience where ‘observer’ has gone, transcends subject–object relationship, transcends time, space and concepts of such. ‘Formless union’. Tinged with bliss.

10. Non-dual Same as 9 but with an evolutionary spin; vast transcendent blissful emptiness, immediacy, pure presence