7 Levels of Consciousness: An Essential Guide

Every day we observe many things, which leads to understanding things. This understanding, in a way, helps us to perceive the ideology of the existence of the society known as consciousness. There are 7 levels of consciousness to explore and understand its significance.

Humans carry an inquisitive nature that naturally makes us explorers from a young age, but as we grow old, we lose our nature of questioning things. The things we understand in our childhood profoundly impact the mind. Then slowly, the consciousness starts to develop.

Let’s dig deep into the consciousness world. Generally, 7 levels of consciousness enhance our thinking process each time we upgrade to a new level.

A. Types of Consciousness

Consciousness is a way of perceiving things according to our understanding of the outside and inside world. It is just being aware of our thoughts, actions, and emotions. , consciousness is subjective, and everyone has individual consciousness.

One well-known author Richard Barrett introduced the Barrett model, which describes the 7 levels of consciousness in detail.

The trick here is that consciousness when described, can be seen from an individual perspective as well as a spiritual perspective. Now, let’s explore the individual perspective.

•  7 Levels of Consciousness: Individual Perspective

1. Survival Consciousness

Survival consciousness is at the bottom of the pyramid of 7 levels of Consciousness. The people currently in this consciousness tend to be more in their survival mood and are always ready to do the next thing.

This level among the 7 levels of consciousness tends to bring out our deepest human emotions and insecurities.

The limiting values which make you get stuck in this level are manipulation, greed, caution, and controlling behavior.

To overcome this level and upgrade to the next level, we should try to understand our behavior or reactions relating to internal conflict and external surroundings.

2. Relationship Consciousness

This consciousness helps us seek the protection of others. Differently, people who embody this consciousness among 7 levels of consciousness tend to find a home where they can confide themselves.

This consciousness is related to family, friends, and a community where it makes people feel they belong somewhere and are welcomed. The people in this consciousness search for harmony and balance.

The limiting values of relationship consciousness people include being dependent on people for validation and displaying negative emotions like jealousy and revenge.

These values can be overcome by working on ourselves and understanding the reason behind the emotion we feel.

3. Self-esteem Consciousness

This mind consciousness helps us overcome our insecurities and develop our abilities. As the name suggests, among all 7 levels of consciousness, this consciousness deals with self-image and self-esteem.

In this consciousness, people tend to recognize their patterns and work on themselves to improve their lifestyles. People in this consciousness are self-aware of their thoughts and emotions and take full responsibility for their actions. As self-awareness increases, confidence tends to grow. It brings security and stability to the people who are working hard to improve.

Among all 7 levels of consciousness, this consciousness is a big step to understanding ourselves and embodying ourselves. But the limiting values here come from the hard work we put in to reach this level. The values indicate being prideful and egoistic of one’s accomplishments. It also develops a superiority complex and arrogance towards other people.

To overcome these vices, we need to understand that it is great to acknowledge our efforts. As well as, humbling down can help us become a better people rather than comparing ourselves to other people.

4. Transformation Consciousness

Among all 7 levels of consciousness, this consciousness mindset makes us feel free. It allows us to experience the freedom and the responsibilities that come with it.

This consciousness enables us to understand that we are accountable for our actions and we are solely responsible for our decisions. This enhances how we perceive things and gives us the courage to go after anything or everything we want.

As we tend to explore the world, this consciousness has no limiting beliefs. Among all 7 levels of consciousness, this consciousness makes us believe in ourselves and help us grow eventually.

5. Internal Cohesion Consciousness

In the 7 levels of consciousness, this consciousness is regarded as the self-actualization phase. The people in this consciousness tend to develop their abilities and are confident enough to pursue their niche.

The people are authentic and in alignment with their purpose or goal. They are full of integrity, creativity, and trust. These people tend to follow their hearts and have found meaning in their lives.

As the earlier consciousness from 7 levels of consciousness, this consciousness doesn’t have any limiting beliefs. For the people in this mindset, the sky is the limit.

6. Making a difference Consciousness

This state of consciousness develops when we are satisfied with our work and life and want to make a difference in the life of others.

The people of this consciousness radiate positive energy ¹around the world. The people in the mindset of making a difference does that by collaborating, partnering, and forming alliances. This helps them understand the world better and provides it with various opportunities.

The people in this consciousness are intuitive and empathetic, which helps them connect with other people as connecting and understanding keep them grounded.

7. Service Consciousness

The last of the 7 levels of consciousness is Service Consciousness. This consciousness takes up the top position in the pyramid of consciousness.

To attain this level of human consciousness, the hard work and the strength accumulated by the person are admirable. The people in this consciousness tend to serve the community selflessly and have humanity awareness. They are forgiving in nature and filled with compassion and humility.

The people in this mindset usually look forward to contributing to society in many ways. The higher levels of consciousness are attainable, which makes a person god-like.

B. Methods to Understand and Mend Consciousness

Consciousness is like the storage of our experiences. When we describe our experience, we can tell that it is part of our consciousness. Therefore, as our experiences change from one situation to another, just like consciousness also shifts from one level to another.

1. Meditation

Meditation is one of the simplest and most effective ways to understand the inner workings of a human being.

While meditating, we reside in a deep sleep that helps us meet ourselves in a mid-way. This deep sleep connects us with the pure consciousness that is the version we were before we started to adapt and embody different ideas and perspectives.

Good Meditation helps us discover ourselves and acknowledge our way of perceiving things. As we understand ourselves from a higher perspective, we tend to align our actions according to the version we want to be.

By introspecting ourselves through meditation², we can choose a way to change our consciousness. That means adapting to new ideas and embodying those ideas into our personality. Meditation sometimes helps us realize our worst fears and heartfelt desires, enabling us to understand ourselves better.

2. Practicing Mindfulness

The meaning of mindfulness is to be aware of our thoughts and actions. Simply, be aware of thoughts that cross our minds and the actions we tend to do. In simple words, mindfulness suggests we be in the present moment.

Practicing this method helps us enjoy the present moment better rather than indulging in the past or overthinking the future.

In understanding Consciousness, being mindful of our thoughts and actions play an important role. Why do we think or act in a certain way? This question can be answered by observing our actions towards things and thoughts arriving at light speed in the brain.

After understanding oneself fully, one has the power to mend the consciousness by taking control of their thoughts and actions. Mending consciousness is nothing but a shift in perspective for better or worse.

3. Journaling

Journaling ³is a way to express freely by recording our every thought. Journaling can help us recognize the pattern in which we think and plan. We can then analyze the pattern and make the changes accordingly.

To understand our current consciousness, realize our thoughts about ourselves and the surroundings matter the most. These thoughts can show us what is happening inside us.

When we journalize our thoughts, we write continuously without any filter. This process helps us see our true emotions. Then we can understand exactly what consciousness level we are in out of 7 levels of consciousness.

Through journalizing our thoughts, we can predict our actions as well as control them. By analyzing the pattern in the thoughts, we can try and work through it and develop a better understanding of the outside world.

• Conclusion

It is always said that the outside world is just a reflection of our inner world. Sometimes we help someone to understand themselves better and vice versa. This process helps us connect with ourselves and believe in the best version of ourselves, even if it is still in an achievable stage.

So, consciousness in 7 levels of consciousness is dependent on how we perceive things and how we can improve that. By upgrading and mending our consciousness, we tend to serve society in one way or another. At the end of the day, we try to make the world better.

Hopefully, this article gave you a little insight into consciousness and its significance. Also, as the development and shifting of consciousness.

Suggested reading: Importance of Acknowledgement in Relationships

1. Brozovsky, Johannes, Arild Gustavsen, and Niki Gaitani. “Zero emission neighbourhoods and positive energy districts–A state-of-the-art review.” Sustainable Cities and Society 72 (2021): 103013. ↩︎
2. Farias, Miguel, et al. “Adverse events in meditation practices and meditation‐based therapies: a systematic review.” Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 142.5 (2020): 374-393. ↩︎
3. Baresh, Eman Fathia. “DEVELOPING LIBYAN UNDERGRADUATES’WRITING SKILLS THROUGH REFLECTIVE JOURNALING: A CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW.” Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning 3.1 (2022): 27-35. ↩︎

Last Updated on February 19, 2024 by Suchi