Mark Wenz, Unity Church of Sun Lakes
Many of us think of consciousness as being awareness, but it is also a way of being and interacting with the world. Science looks at consciousness mostly in terms of brain function, but, again, it’s more than this. The seven levels of consciousness are described in Handbook to Higher Consciousness, by Ken Keyes, founder of the Living Love Center, which has been in existence since 1975. Keyes’ book, which is the source of the information imparted below, enables you to measure your journey toward higher consciousness. These are the seven levels, the first three being “lower centers” and the other four “higher centers”:
The Security Center: This Center makes you preoccupied with food, shelter, and other matters of personal security. This programming forces your consciousness to continuously battle to get “enough” from the world to feel secure.
The Sensation Center: This Center is concerned with finding happiness through more and better pleasurable sensations and activities. For many people, sex is the most appealing of all sensations. Other addictive sensations may include the use of drugs or alcohol, the taste of food, etc.
The Power Center: When your consciousness is focused on this Center, you are concerned with dominating people and situations and increasing your prestige, wealth, and pride in addition to thousands of more subtle forms of hierarchy, manipulation, and control.
The Love Center: At this Center you see yourself in everyone–and everyone in yourself. You feel compassion for the suffering of those caught in the dramas of security, sensation, and power. You are beginning to love and accept everyone unconditionally–even yourself.
The Cornucopia Center: When you reach this level, you experience the friendliness of the world you are creating. You begin to realize that you’ve always lived in a perfect world. As you reprogram your addictions, you will experience a continuous enjoyment of the here and now in your life, and you become more loving and accepting. At this level, your world provides more than you need to be happy.
The Conscious-Awareness Center: At this Center your conscious-awareness watches your body and mind perform on the lower five centers. This is a meta-center from which you non-judgmentally witness the drama of your body and mind. From this Center you learn to impartially observe your social roles and life games from a place that is free from fear and vulnerability. You have become The Witness of your own existence.
The Cosmic-Consciousness Center: When you live fully in the Sixth Center of Consciousness, you are ready to transcend self-awareness and become pure awareness. At this ultimate level, you are one with everything: You are love, peace, energy, beauty, wisdom, clarity, effectiveness, and oneness.
Are you interested in evolving toward a higher level of consciousness as we are at Unity Church of Sun Lakes? Then please join us on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. in the Arts and Crafts Room at Sun Lakes Country Club. All are welcome!