Different States of Consciousness

The Need to Train Your Untrained, Wandering Ego

The basic idea: Know thyself! Know the truth of who and what you really are; understand your different levels or realms of consciousness and how to be in them at will; know, realize, and deeply experience this truth and the truth will set you free!

Who are you? Defining Spirit, Soul, and Ego

"It is extremely important for students of meditation and spiritual seekers to watch the wanderings of their egos in the realms of consciousness." -Yogananda

Important points:

1. We are never wholly unconscious; we may be deeply resting or seem not to be conscious, but there is always a link; human consciousness is never wholly suspended, even in death.
2. Ask yourself the question, "Which level of consciousness am I currently inhabiting?" Be fully AWARE of your location at all times!
3. Take control of your state of consciousness. Learn to be in any of the states of consciousness listed below at any time and AT WILL. Gradually you will be able to change the center of your consciousness toward a predominance of superconsciousness. It is possible to do with practice, prayer, and deep attunement.

Levels of Consciousness

1. The Conscious State - generally predominates, with subconsciousness and superconsciousness trailing behind, because we concentrate and try to stay on a plane of physical consciousness; a waking state; attachment to operating through the senses; the ego stays grossly excited by gross sensations; the average person thinks 12,00 thoughts a day! Two things generally lead you from consciousness to subconsciousness: (a) fatigue by which you are passively led to subconsciousness and (b) drugs or such things by which you are forcibly led or enticed into subconsciousness.
2. The Subconscious, Dream-Subconscious or Semi-Conscious States - an abode of memories; a lower state of energy than the regular conscious state; a time of a mixture of activity and restfulness; a time of dreaming, light sleep, or even daydreaming, woolgathering, "spacing out," etc; the ego is still subtly excited, but not as much as in the conscious state.
3. The Semi-Superconscious State - "turiya" or deep, joyous sleep; unalloyed enjoyment of impermanent peace; we temporarily regain our normal and true state of calmness, peace, and joy. Swami Muktananda said that falling asleep during meditation gave us "the sweetest sleep," or turiya.
4. The Superconscious State - positive peace, attained actively, not passively; complete cessation of unrest, the soul's awareness of un-ending expansion, unhampered by friction-producing sensations; the ego is in a temporarily peaceful state
5. Immanent or Christ Consciousness - a high state of energy wherein you perceive your consciousness in every pore of creation; you realize that your soul is present in all creation rather than trapped in the little self or ego.
6. Transcendental Cosmic Consciousness or God Consciousness - when you lift your consciousness from creation and realize the vast eternal joy of God alone; your soul is fully merged with the Divine Spirit which is beyond all creation; the gaze is fixed, the heart and breath are stilled, the cells are inactive, and you are absorbed in Aum, the cosmic symphony of all vibrations.

The ordinary or untrained ego can sustain only one state of consciousness at a time, but when you are in Cosmic Consciousness, you can be at all or several of these states, just as you please. When we gain control over the ego, life becomes bliss. The soul, when confined to it's body-prison, is never truly happy because it is constantly longing for "it knows not what." The soul identified with the body (ego) is never appeased. Take control of yourself and all of your states of consciousness!