1.   Human Consciousness

Introduction

Since the time of Descartes, philosophers have struggled to comprehend the nature of consciousness. Stuart Sutherland wrote:

Consciousness is a fascinating but elusive phenomenon: it is impossible to specify what it is, what it does, or why it has evolved. Nothing worth reading has been written on it.^[1]

Some definitions of consciousness include:

1. A sense of one’s personal or collective identity, including the attitudes, beliefs, and sensitivities held by or considered characteristic of an individual or group.^[2]
2. Sentience; awareness; the ability to experience or to feel; wakefulness; having a sense of selfhood; or as the executive control system of the mind.^[3]
3. Anything that we are aware of at a given moment forms part of our consciousness, making conscious experience at once the most familiar and most mysterious aspect of our lives.^[4]

The main reason why the nature of consciousness is not understood is that it has never been addressed scientifically. Mind and consciousness are non-physical phenemona and to date scientists have only addressed the physical state and have generally left analysis of non-physical phenomena to philosophers.

At some stage, science will have to address the non-physical state as it is just as ‘real’ as the physical state –  and, crucially, a full understanding of the universe, life, mind, and human concsiousness is not possible until the non-physical state is included in the analysis.

Physical and Non-Physical

The states of ‘physical’ and ‘non-physical’ can be described as follows:

1. Physical (or physical universe) can be defined as all forms of matter, energy, and momentum, and the physical forces, laws, and constants that govern them.
2. Non-physical (or non-physical universe) can be described as everything other than the physical. The non-physical state can be viewed as pre-physical or pre-particle – in other words, the state that existed (and still exists) before elementary particles emerged.

Blog (1) (see end notes), presents logical arguments, based on scientific concept, to support the following hypotheses:

1. The present scientific view of reality, as shown in Figure 1, is illogical
2. The black hole state is the source of all
3. Dark matter and dark energy emerged from the black hole state in the Planck epoch
4. The physical universe emerged from dark matter
5. A non-physical universe emerged from dark energy in an analogous way.
6. When conditions allowed, physical entities and non-physical entities united to form life.

Points 2 to 6 are summarised in Figure 2.

To understand mind and consciousness, it is necessary to have some understanding of the non-physical state and the non-physical universe – if only by analogy.

Non-Physical Universe

In the absence of any scientific understanding of the non-physical state, the best way to describe the non-physical universe is to use the physical universe as an analogy.

The physical universe emerged from dark matter in two fundamental states, namely mass (matter) and energy. Einstein’s equivalence of mass and energy theory (E = mc²), concluded that mass and energy are actually the same ‘stuff’. This conclusion is logical once it is accepted that they both emerged from the same source – and if they were ‘one’ before they emerged, then they must be related afterwards. Also, the physical universe emerged from lower complexity (quarks, atoms, molecules) to higher complexity (galaxies, stars, planets).

In summary, we can say that the physical universe emerged from dark matter in two fundamental states, namely physical entities and physical energy.

In an analogous manner the non-physical universe emerged from dark energy in two fundamental states, namely non-physical entities and non-physical energy.

Non-Physical Entities

Physical entities can be viewed as individuated packets of dark matter which are at a lower complexity than ‘pure’ dark matter; so also can non-physical entities be viewed as individuated packets of dark energy which are at a lower complexity than ‘pure’ dark energy.

Also, just as there is a hierarchy of physical entities from higher complexity to lower complexity; so also there is a hierarchy of non-physical entities from higher complexity to lower complexity. A significant difference is that physical entities emerged from lower complexity to higher complexity whereas non-physical entities emerged from higher complexity to lower complexity.

The non-physical entity of the human being is the highest level of complexity of which we are aware, with the exception of dark energy. However, logic strongly suggests that there is a hierarchy on non-physical entities of increasing complexity between humanity and ‘pure’ dark energy. Of course there are also non-physical entities at lower complexities that humanity, for example the non-physical aspects of animals, birds, fish, trees, plants etc.. In fact anything with DNA has a non-physical aspect.

Non-Physical Energy

Consciousness can be viewed as a non-physical energy. In the absence of any scientific understanding of mind and consciousness, it is necessary to have some analogy by which we can describe them.

In 1864 Maxwell wrote A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field in which he first proposed that light was undulations in the same medium that is the cause of electric and magnetic phenomena. The concepts of near-field and far-field phenomena in this theory can be used as an analogy to explain mind and human consciousness.

Near-Field Phenomena

Electrical currents directly produce a magnetic field which dies away rapidly with distance from the current. In a similar manner, moving charges produce a type of electrical field that also dies away very quickly with distance. Neither of these phenomena directly produces electromagnetic radiation (EMR); instead they cause electromagnetic field behaviour which transfers power to a receiver very close to the source. An example of this phenomenon is magnetic induction in an electrical transformer. These near-fields do not ‘propagate’ freely into space, but rather oscillate back and forth, returning their energy to the transmitter if it is not received by a receiver.

Far-Field Phenomena

By contrast, the far-field is associated only with the electromagnetic field (EMF) which is far enough away from the moving charges that produced it, that absorption of the EMR no longer affects the behaviour of these moving charges. The far-field is composed of radiation that is free of the transmitter, in the sense that it (the transmitter) requires the same power to send out these changes in the fields, whether the signal is immediately picked up, or not. This distant part of the EMF is the source of EMR.

The far-fields propagate without ability for the transmitter to affect them, and this causes them to be independent in the sense that their existence and energy are completely independent of both transmitter and receiver. A simple definition of EMR is that the far-field that composes EMR, is generally that part of the EMF that has travelled a sufficient distance from the source so that it has become completely disconnected from any feedback to the charges and currents that were originally responsible for it. It now freely generates itself, as a result of changing fields.

Mind and Consciousness from this Perspective

Again, as summarised in Figure 2, life includes both physical entities and non-physical entities, for example a human being has a physical aspect which can be described as a physical entity and a non-physical aspect which can be described as a non-physical entity. Darwin’s theory of evolution describes the process by which the physical entity evolved but cannot describe the evolution of the non-physical entity – that is why there is no scientific understanding of mind or consciousness.

If life has both physical and non-physical aspects, it is logical to suggest the following:

1. One strand of our DNA is encoded by dark matter for the physical aspect of life and one strand is encoded by dark energy for the non-physical aspect
2. Mind is an energy generated in our DNA (double helix) – analogous to the way a magnetic field is generated by an electrical coil.
3. Mind is then transferred to the brain for ‘processing’ – before mind is processed by the brain it is unconscious and after processing it becomes conscious. Therefore mind can be viewed as a ‘near-field’ phenomenon.

Consciousness, on the other hand, is a far-field phenomenon. Once emitted, it becomes independent of its source (like EMR) and travels freely through space.

The source of human consciousness is mind. However, it is also influenced (via the mind) by other sources/forces – the main ones being politics, science, and religion. There are, of course, other influences as well, such as art, music, literature, philosophy, etc, but these are usually voluntary, while we cannot live in a society that is not influenced/controlled by politics and religion, and influenced/informed by science.

It is important to understand that all forms of life (everything with DNA) emit consciousness. Therefore, when in New York City, one feels the ‘hurried and high-octane’ consciousness of human beings. On the other hand, when walking through the forest in the middle of the country, one feels the relaxed and tranquil consciousness of nature – and they are two distinctly different feelings.

How can Science address Consciousness?

Scientists have no understanding of the non-physical phenomena of dark matter or dark energy or of the non-physical universe.

Furthermore, they are still continuing their research of dark matter and dark energy based on the science of the physical. The LUX project in the USA has for the past ten years been trying to find particles of dark matter, and to date they have been unsuccessful. The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. It is understandable and necessary that scientific research should progress in this manner.

It will probably take scientists many years of research to ask the question: What if dark matter and dark energy are non-physical in nature? At that point they will have two options:

1. They can attempt to gain an understanding of ‘pure’ dark matter or ‘pure’ dark energy, which will be an extremely difficult task.
2. Or alternatively they can first attempt to gain an understanding of some other non-physical energy which is at a much lower level of complexity than dark energy, for example human consciousness, or animal consciousness, or plant consciousness, etc. This is the approach that evolved to date in their research of the physical universe; where the first gained an understanding of the physical entities and energy which make up the physical universe – and only now are they attempting to understand dark matter.

The wisdom of the second approach can best be explained by the following example: It is much easier to examine the nature of a water molecule than to examine the nature of the sea. Of course, knowing how a water molecule behaves tells you little about the behaviour of the sea – but it is a good place to start. In a similar manner, knowing the nature of human consciousness will not provide a full understanding of dark energy but it is a good place to start.

As stated earlier, one gets a completely different feeling when in NYC, than when having a walk in the forest. We can easily dismiss this difference of feeling  as imaginary (in the head) or alternatively we can attribute it to the auditory and visual senses –  the fast moving people and traffic, the hooting of horns and sirens, the constant activity in NYC,  compared to the calm and serenity of the forest.

Obviously the auditory and visual senses have an effect on our feelings. However, at a very subtle level, there is also a non-physical energy, called consciousness, which influences the way we feel in both situations. The consciousness in NYC is dominated by human consciousness; whereas the consciousness in the forest is dominated by nature consciousness.

We can understand this situation much more easily if we go back to the analogy of EMR. Because of all the street lighting and other light sources in NYC, the background lighting level at night is much greater than that in the forest. Similarly, if we accept that people emit human consciousness, then it is obvious that the background level of human consciousness is much higher in NYC than in the forest.

However we need to acknowledge that the non-physical energy we call human consciousness is every bit as ‘real’ as the physical energy we call EMR. Of course we can easily measure and quantify the lighting levels, where as we have no way (yet) of measuring and quantifying human consciousness, or of discriminating between human consciousness and nature consciousness for example.

However, the human brain (especially when properly trained) can obviously discriminate between human and nature consciousness and therefore must be able to ‘measure’ consciousness in some way. Therefore if science can study in more detail how the brain performs this function, they may at some time in the near future be able to design equipment that can measure consciousness and discriminate between the various kinds.

Since human consciousness is at a much lower level of complexity than ‘pure’ dark energy, I believe that if we start by analysing human consciousness, we will gain an understanding of dark energy much faster than if we attempt to understand dark energy right from the start.

2.   Human Consciousness based on Present Knowledge

Eventhough much has been written about human consciousness; in the words of Stuart Sutherland, “nothing worth reading has been written about it”. An understanding of consciousness is not possible until science adresses the non-physical aspect of life as explained above.

However, until science seriously addresses consciousness, it is necessary to analyse what is already known about it, and identify the stumbling blocks that are keeping humanity stuck in a paradigm that is causing so much poverty, starvation, conflict, war, and suffering.

Note: In the interest of simplicity,either masculine or feminine pronouns are used, rather than joint pronouns like ‘he/she’.

Overview

When a child is born, his mind is essentially a blank, apart from survival instincts and the rich evolutionary history up to humans, which comes as part of the package. Immediately after birth, the child starts to learn and become aware, first of his physical boundaries, then his emotional boundaries. He later becomes aware of his responsibilities to his caregivers, then his family, later still his social group, then his country, and after that to all humanity. These are all expanding states of consciousness. They bring with them increasing responsibilities and duties of care, which require the child/adult to embrace each new stage with an increasing level of love, compassion, and responsibility. While the journey from birth to enlightenment is a continuous, gradual process, it can be broken down into ten stages. Each stage includes all the previous stages, in much the same way that matter includes molecules that include atoms that include particles that include quarks.

How Do We Negotiate a Stage?

There are three steps involved in negotiating any stage – awareness, attention, and responsibility.

Awareness

If you are not aware of a stage, you can do nothing about it. Awareness  normally comes naturally but can also be prompted by your group or society. The awareness for any particular stage usually comes towards the end of the preceding stage.

Attention

Once you become aware of a stage, you must identify with it by giving it your attention, analyse it, and become fully informed about it. Children and adults will, by nature, give the required attention to each stage, but ‘nurture’ sometimes gets in the way, as will be discussed later.

Responsibility

After you identify with this new level of awareness, you must then enfold it within your being, and take responsibility for the increased level of love and compassion that the new level of awareness demands.

A good analogy for this three-step process is learning to ride a bicycle. When a child is about four years old, she becomes aware that she would like to ride a bike. This awareness may have been prompted by a friend having learned to ride a bicycle, her parents having bought her a bike for her birthday, and so on. Prior to that time, riding a bike wasn’t in the child’s awareness; she was probably too busy learning how to crawl, walk, and talk. However, once riding a bike came into her awareness, the child gives it attention, and after much practice, which includes falling and being frustrated, the child eventually acquires the ability to ride a bicycle. This newfound ability can be dangerous unless the child learns that she must be responsible when riding a bike, which means wearing a helmet, not going too fast, obeying the rules of the road, and so on. Once she has learned to ride a bike as described, that ability is then enfolded into her being, and barring a serious accident or traumatic experience, she will never lose that ability, as once you have successfully negotiated a particular stage, you can never go back; you will always have that stage of awareness enfolded within your being.

The Four Quadrants of Consciousness

The individual’s evolutionary process has two aspects that move to higher complexity in tandem – the physical and the non-physical. This process can be compared to that of a computer, which has both hardware and software dimensions. In the 1980s, computer hardware was simple, speeds were slow, and storage capacities were small; accordingly, the software applications were basic. Today we have PCs that have processing speeds in excess of 6 GHz, memories (RAM) of over 8 GB, and storage capacities in excess of 1 TB. Therefore, we can have software applications that are much more powerful and complex. Just as the software of the computer evolved in tandem with the hardware, the physical (hardware) and the non-physical (software) of the individual evolve in tandem.

But the individual’s physical and non-physical aspects do not evolve in isolation. In tandem with the evolution of the individual is the evolution of the collective, which also has physical and non-physical dimensions – the social and the cultural, respectively. Diagram 1 summarises these four quadrants in relation to humans. It shows ‘mind’ in the middle, as it is with mind that we see, feel and understand the four quadrants.

Diagram 1: The Four Quadrants of Consciousness

These four quadrants interact with, and influence, everything we do and think. For example, each quadrant influences how I play a game of golf as follows:

Influences of UL

• I must first have the thought that I have the option to play a game of golf. If I had been born before the Middle Ages,I would not even have the thought, as golf didn’t exist at the time.
• I must have the desire to play.
• How I feel inside, as every golfer knows, will have a major impact of the quality of my game.
• My feelings and emotions will influence my game.

 Influences of UR

• My physical body (my physical strength, fitness, flexibility, and so on) has a major influence on my golf game.
• My brain also has an influence – eye-to-ball co-ordination, choice of club for various shots, judgement of slopes on greens, and so on.

Influences of LL

• My desire to play golf is greatly influenced by the culture and the belief systems of the society in which I grew up. For example, if my society considered golf only a game for women, I probably would not wish to play the game.
• My knowledge of golf and the best way to play it is greatly influenced by the people I talk to and play with, and by how the books and newspapers I read describe the game.

Influences of LR

• My society provides the golf course on which I play. If there were no courses, I couldn’t play the game.
• My society also provides the golf clubs, bag, trolley, balls, and other equipment; without them I could not play.
• My country’s political system influences the availability of good golf courses through, for example, policies regarding funding and planning and how golf may be used to promote tourism.

The Evolutionary Stages

The evolutionary journey can be divided into ten stages. Each stage must be successfully negotiated before we can negotiate the next one, so we cannot skip a stage. Although we can be aware of and start negotiating a higher stage before we have successfully negotiated the stage below, we cannot complete the higher stage until we have successfully completed the lower stage, as each higher stage includes all the lower stages.

The stages of an individual human’s evolution starts at birth and can be broken down into ten stages as follows:

H1 – Physical

H2 – Emotional

H3 – Ego

H4 – Reason

H5 – Reflection (This is where humanity is stuck at the present time)

H6 – Integrated Personality

H7 – Nature

H8 – Non-Physical Universe

H9 – Causal

H10 – Non-dual

The ten steps from H1 to H10 make up the ‘human journey, or the H journey. When we are born, we are generally unaware of our surroundings, our family, our society, our country, and everything else. The journey of life is to bring all these aspects of the human experience into our awareness with love and compassion for all.

Each stage is described under three headings:

Goals

The goals that will be achieved as the stage is negotiated. The goals for any particular stage usually comes into our awareness towards the end of the preceding stage.

Developments

The aspects of the individual that will undergo major development as the stage is negotiated.

Worldview

The view of the world that usually accompanies the successful negotiation of the stage.

The H Journey in General

The word ‘environment’ refers to everything outside the particular aspect that is being addressed or the aspects that have been addressed and integrated up to that time.

The age bands for the various stages shown in Diagram 2 are approximate, as every child and every generation are different.

It is with our mind that we see and understand our individual and collective reality.

Each stage in the H journey brings with it a different view of the world, the self, and others – in other words, a different worldview. In the H journey, the order is irreversible, and stages cannot be bypassed, so the individual must go from stage H1 to stage H2, to stage H3, and so on. Each stage includes all the previous stages.

When you are born, you start at H1. Then you quickly evolve up to the stage to which your society has evolved, at which point you generally ‘join the herd’. The rate of your development from then on is usually dictated by your society.

During stages H1 to H4, the child’s consciousness moves to shallower and narrower perspectives, see Diagram 2.

Diagram 2: The Evolution of Human Consciousness, H1 to H4

In addition, the child does not initially complete any of these four stages fully; for example, when the child moves to H3, he does not enfold and take responsibility for his emotions. Thus, if a child at H3 gets angry, he blames his sister/father/mother, or if he is feeling bored, he claims ‘this place is really boring,’ and so on. H1 to H4 is a process of learning about oneself. It can be compared to a trainee car mechanic who, in order to understand how the engine works, first takes it apart and analyses each part separately. However, when he has taken apart and analysed the carburettor, he does not responsibly put it back on the engine but leaves it on the floor while he disassembles and analyses the next part. Another way of looking at this concept is that, during this familiarisation process, the child moves to shallower and shallower waters until eventually he can comfortably stand up with his head above water, take a few breaths, and get ready for the enfolding process that occurs at H5.

During H5 our mind is still dominated by the physical aspect of our being as we continue to learn, understand, and navigate our way through the physical world. Our non-physical aspect is also evolving during this time and influencing our behaviour to the extent that it is being nurtured and respected. On completion of H5 we are a fully integrated person and aware that we should extend love, care and compassion to our fellow man.

It is at this point that humanity is stuck – we cannot complete H5 or negotiate H6 until we become aware of, and focus on, the non-physical aspect of our being.

3.  Description of the Evolutionary Stages

H1 – Physical (0 to 9 months)

Goals

This stage is called Physical, because it is during this period that the child develops his physical boundaries.

Developments

When a child is born, she cannot differentiate between mind, body, and environment – in other words, these aspects of life are all fused together, and she cannot tell the difference. Immediately after birth, the baby undergoes rapid development, although the rate of this development is significantly influenced by the level of love, care, nurture, and stimulation she receives from her caregivers during this time. At birth, the baby’s mind is not a complete blank.  Instead, it includes all the rich evolutionary history up to humans.

While the self at this stage is more than just physical, it is still predominantly oriented to the lowest and most basic dimension of all, the gross or physical world. The physical self and the physical world are still fused, or to put it another way, they are not yet differentiated. The infant can’t tell the difference between his own physical body and his surroundings. Some people suggest that the baby is ‘one with all’ at this stage and, therefore already at H10, but the baby does not transcend subject and object (non-duality); it simply can’t tell the difference between them. The development during this stage is selfish and narcissistic because the physical world and the physical self are still fused. During H1 the child starts differentiating his own physical body from that of its surroundings by a series of experiments and experiences. For example, when the baby bites his mother’s finger, it doesn’t hurt, but it does hurt when he bites his own finger, so the child realises there is a difference. This differentiation is usually completed between 5 and 9 months, at which point the baby has established realistic boundaries of his physical self.

Worldview

The worldview at this stage is referred to as archaic, a term that represents the totality of the rich evolutionary history up to humans, which lives on in each of us as part of our complex individuality.

H2 – Emotional (9 months to 2 years)

Goals

After about nine months the infant has realistic boundaries of her physical self but has not yet established the boundaries of her emotional self, which is still fused or identified with those around her, particularly her mother. The goal for this stage is to establish realistic emotional boundaries.

Development

All aspects of the child continue to evolve and develop, significantly influenced by the level of love, care, nurture, and stimulation the baby receives from her caregivers during this time. The development at this stage is still egocentric and narcissistic because the child has no real emotional boundaries, so she cannot differentiate between her emotional self and the environment. Somewhere around 12 to 24 months, the emotional self differentiates from the environment, at which point the child realises that she is a separate individual who is not really fused with her mother. This realisation brings with it its own fear and heralds the start of the ‘terrible twos’. At this stage the infant is beginning to wake up to the fact that she is a separate and sensitive emotional being, but since she cannot yet take on the role of ‘other’ (or empathise) and does not yet realise that everybody else is also an emotional being, she still thinks selfishly.

Worldview

The worldview at this stage is called magic. The child lives in a world that she can manipulate by magic.

H3 – Ego (2 to 7 years)

Goals

The goal for the child at this stage is to continue to acquire a better understanding of himself by continuing to differentiate to narrower and shallower aspects of himself. During H3 the child differentiates to and identifies with the ego, see Diagram 2.

Development

At this stage the child begins to transcend the emotional level by identifying with the representational mind, which consists of images, symbols, and concepts. Images emerge at about 7 months, while symbols dominate from about age 2 to 4 years, and concepts from about age 4 to 7 years.

During this stage the child becomes aware of impulses and emotions, and begins to recognise symbols and concepts. He then starts to talk and write, which opens up a whole new world.

Worldview

The worldview at this stage is called mythic. The child realises that magic doesn’t work anymore, and he hopes that mythical forces, such as fairy godmothers, tooth fairies, Santa Claus, and other special forces will help him achieve his aims. This mythic worldview of stage H3 continues into stage H4.

H4 – Reason (7 to 14 years)

Goals

The goal at this stage is to continue the differentiation of the self to a point at which the child is comfortable putting the parts back together again, thus forming a whole and integrated person. By the end of H4 (approximately 14 years of age), the child will have differentiated to and identified with his persona and may have removed from his conscious mind that which he found too traumatic to remember – this is sometimes known as the shadow self.

Developments

By the end of stage H3, the child is able to reason. During stage H4 he develops the capacity to form mental rules and to take mental roles, so the child learns to take the role of other and to see that his view is not the only view in the world.

Worldview

 The child’s worldview switches from the egocentric stance of the previous stages to socio-centric, extending love and compassion to ‘my friends, my group, my tribe, my religion,’ but no farther.

H5 – Reflection (14 years to ?)

Goals

During stages H1 to H4, the child differentiates to shallower levels, but he doesn’t really complete step 3 (take responsibility) for any of the stages. As stated earlier, if a child at H3 gets angry, he blames his sister/father/mother, and if he is bored, he claims, ‘This place is really boring,’. In the analogy of the trainee mechanic, he has taken the engine apart in stages H1 to H4, and he must now put it back together again in H5.

The goal for H5 is to integrate and take responsibility for the physical, emotional, ego, and shadow aspects of the self. From the perspective of the four quadrants (Diagram 1), the teenager must integrate the two upper quadrants – the individual’s physical and non-physical. By the end of H5, the young adult usually feels ‘happy in his own skin’.

Diagram 3 depicts stage H5 graphically. By the end of H5 the child also becomes aware that he should extend love, care, and compassion to all humanity.

Diagram 3: The Evolution of Human Consciousness, H5

Development

The development during this stage is, to say the least, hectic. During H4 the child develops the capacity to form mental rules and to take mental roles, but at H5 she develops the potential to reflect and form her own views on existing rules and norms. At this stage, the teenager has the ability to analyse and think about the physical world but also to analyse and criticise the norms, rules, and ideals of her society. The teenager can now imagine different possible worlds and grasp ‘what ifs’ for the first time. To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw: During stage H4, children see things as they are and ask why. During stage H5 teenagers dream things that never were, and ask why not.

At this time teenagers are full of imaginings, idealistic thoughts, and dreams. They will challenge the status quo and all authority, particularly that of their parents, whose belief systems they see as conservative and outdated at best and utterly stupid at worst. It is the age of revolution, where teenagers think they can change the world. It is also the age of sexual blossoming, when hormones run wild. Any parent who has raised teenagers will readily admit that the ‘terrible twos’ is a walk in the park compared to this stage.

Because teenagers can now think about thinking, they can start to judge the roles and the rules that they previously accepted without question. They can agree or disagree with the norms of their society and, therefore, transcend them to a degree. By the end of H5, the teenager can usually see the humour in this old joke:

When I was 15 I thought my parents knew nothing; by the time I was 25, I was impressed by how much my parents had learned in ten years.

Worldview

If you are lucky enough to negotiate this stage successfully, you will have gone from socio-centric at H4 to a world-centric and global perspective. While you have not yet reached the stage at which you can extend love, care, and compassion to the global community, you still want to know what is right and fair – not just for you and your people, but for all people.

Why is Humanity Stuck at H5?

Before we move on to describe H6, it is necessary to understand why humanity is stuck for so long at H5. In spite of all the major scientific and technological advances over the past 150 years, and particularly over the past 50 years, human consciousness has not evolved in any meaningful way for thousands of years – the culture of selfishness corruption, abuse of power, and greed that brought down the Roman Empire two thousand years ago is no different to that which caused the global financial crisis in 2008.

As stated above, the goal for H5 is to integrate and take responsibility for the physical, emotional, ego, and shadow aspects of the self. From the perspective of the four quadrants (Diagram 1), the teenager must integrate the two upper quadrants – the individual’s physical and non-physical aspects. By the end of H5, the individual must also become aware of the goal for H6 which is to extend love, care, and compassion to all humanity. However, for two reasons it is not possible to complete H5:

1. It is not possible to integrate the physical and non-physical aspects of the self, if one is unaware of the non-physical aspect. Of course, we are aware of our feelings, emotions, ego, etc, but we consider them to be emergents of our physical aspect. In reality, our non-physical aspect also influences our mind, emotions, feelings, etc but we are unaware of that fact.
2. It is not possible to conceptualise extending love, care, and compassion to all humanity from the perspective of a purely physical reality. The natural propensity of matter (the physical) is to evolve to lower complexity as explained by the second law of thermodynamics and the concept of entrophy. In terms of human consciousness, the lowest level of complexity is selfishness – and it is not possible to love all humanity from a state of consciousness that is dominated by selfishness.

In a nutshell, that is why humanity is unable to complete H5. The scientific arguments supporting the above two points are detailed in blog (2).

The main sources that inform our understanding of reality are religion/theology, philosophy, and science.  Unfortunately most religious institutions have, down through the years, fallen victim to the scourge of corruption and abuse of power, and have consequently lost credibility with many people, especially in developed western democracies. On the other hand, philosophy has not managed to keep pace with the rapid expansion and growth of scientific knowledge and is, to some degree, left behind as far as the general public are concerned. Therefore, science is the only credible source at the present time that informs our view of reality.

As described in blog (1), the present scientific view of life is based on the mindset that life is purely a physical phenomenon; and it is this mindset that underpins the present paradigm which is the source of so much poverty, starvation, conflict, war, and suffering.

It is necessary to state at this point that there are many honest, hardworking, generous people in all walks of life. However the significant point is that selfishness has reached a critical mass level in all societies, which means that not only is it self-sustaining, but it fuels further growth. This ensures that corruption and abuse of power will always dominate in our main institutions. See blog (2), for the arguments supporting these points of view.

It is difficult for any society to embrace a more enlightened paradigm when the public service institutions of nearly all modern societies are afflicted by corruption and abuse of power. A few examples will explain this point:

1. In most modern western democracies, the culture of corruption and abuse of power is blossoming at all levels of political, public service, financial, and religious institutions. If we honestly analyse the financial crisis of 2008, we have to admit that the culture of corruption and abuse of power is largely to blame.
2. In many emerging countries, dictators and tribal leaders accumulate vast fortunes for themselves and their families at the expense of their people, whom they control by force and terror.
3. Many religious institutions are controlled by leaders who are interested only in maintaining the status quo, particularly their own positions of power and control over their followers.
4. In many societies there is a massive increase in religious fundamentalism, where misguided religious leaders brainwash their young followers to carry out horrendous acts of violence in the name of their god.

These are but a few examples which demonstrate that all modern societies are to some degree afflicted by the culture of corruption and abuse of power.

Unfortunately then, when our young men and women reach their early twenties, they quickly realise that their teenage idealism gets them nowhere and that, if they are to be successful in their careers, they must ‘join the herd’, and the herd in all modern societies is controlled by institutions that are dominated by a culture of selfishness, corruption, abuse of power and greed.

H6 – Integrated Personality

Goals

The goal for this stage is to extend love and compassion to all humanity. To achieve this goal it is necessary to develop a fully integrated personality by integrating the four quadrants, see Diagram 1. The upper two quadrants (the individual’s physical and non-physical) were integrated during H5, and in H6 the goal is to extend this integration to include the two lower quadrants (the social and cultural) plus the mind. At this stage the observing self begins to transcend the mind and body; thus, the mind and body become integrated to create, for the first time, a fully integrated personality. When this happens, the observing self becomes centred in the non-physical, which then becomes the ‘seer’ or the ‘witness within’ (see Diagram 4). In other words, the mind becomes dominated by the non-physical aspect of our being which empowers us to extend love care and compassion to all humanity.

Diagram 4: The Evolution of Human Consciousness, H6 to H8

The physical, emotional, and ego are all aspects of the integrated body/mind. Up to this stage the mind is dominated by the physical aspect of our being; however,  at this point we begin to go transpersonal as the mind becomes dominated by the non-physical aspect of our being. H6 is a transition stage, and it is only on the successful completion of this stage that we can say that our observing self is centred in our non-physical aspect. By the end of H6 we have gone transpersonal, so stages H7 to H10 are known as the transpersonal stages.

Note: The top line of Diagram 4, which represents the completion of H5, shows Physical/Emotional/Ego. These are all aspects of the integrated body/mind, and therefore in the lower lines, the words ‘body/mind’ are used to represent all of these aspects.

Development

The main development at this stage is learning to embrace the non-physical and allowing it to dominate and inform the mind because it is virtually impossible to extend love and compassion to all humanity from the perspective of a mind that is dominated by the physical aspect.

Loving all humanity is extremely difficult for many reasons , some of which are as follows:

1. You may have worked hard all your life to support your spouse and family, but your neighbour, who has never worked a day in his life, lives off the welfare system and seems to have a better standard of living than you do.
2. Every day you come across people in all walks of life who are corrupt and seem to buy their way to success, while you must earn every penny the hard way.
3. Every day you read of religious fundamentalists who carry out the most horrendous acts of violence on society and whose beliefs, from your perspective, are evil.

These are just a few examples to demonstrate how difficult it is to extend love and compassion to all humanity when your mind is dominated by the physical aspect of your being.

The only way to extend love and compassion to all humanity is to allow your mind to be dominated and informed by the non-physical aspect of your being. Doing this is not like flicking a switch; but instead is a long and difficult process of soul-searching and doubt, and making this transition requires honesty and authenticity. Therefore, H6 can be an unhappy place, because while you have not yet fully gone transpersonal, you have experienced all that life can offer and find it to be unfulfilling and profoundly meaningless.

In summary, extending love and compassion to all humanity is counter-intuitive when your mind is dominated by the physical aspect of your being, because the physical aspect naturally draws you toward selfishness. However, as the evolution of consciousness continues, and more depth is disclosed, the observing self starts to transcend mind and body by shedding the lesser identifications with both, in order simply to witness them; which is why both mind and body are experienced as an integrated self. At this point, the observing self begins to transcend mind and body and to go transpersonal.

The only way to eliminate the present injustices and contradictions in our societies is for the collective society to extend love, care, and compassion to all people, which can only happen when a critical mass negotiate H6. In an ideal world, H6 should begin to emerge in each individual’s mid-twenties, but for the reasons outlined above, this does not happen.

The greatest obstacle preventing humanity from completing H5 and negotiating H6, is the scientific view that life is purely physical in nature.The reluctance of science to acknowledge the non-physical aspect involved in H6 and subsequent stages has serious implications for the evolution of human consciousness to a more enlightened worldview, where care and compassion will be extended to all people. Again refer to blog(1) and blog (2), for the arguments supporting this viewpoint.

The reluctance of scientists to acknowledge any phenomenon that cannot be verified by observation or experiment is understandable, but the fact that scientists do not understand at least 96 per cent of reality has not prevented them from positing that dark matter and dark energy exist and influence the universe at a macro level.

In a similar manner, it should be equally obvious that dark energy influences life and is the force that is responsible for the evolution of human consciousness to more enlightened levels. If we could teach our children, as a scientific fact rather than a religious belief (for teaching religious beliefs can be very divisive), that life has both a physical and non-physical aspect, then humanity would quickly evolve to a more enlightened paradigm where love care and compassion would be extended to all people.

Worldview

The world view at this stage is world-centric and includes all humanity. At H5 we learned to love ourselves, and we became aware that we should love all humankind. However, at that stage we only ‘talk the talk’, whereas at H6 we learn to ‘walk the walk’.

All subsequent worldviews are world-centric, but they come with greater and wider levels of inclusion (see Diagram 4).

H7 – Nature

Goal

The goal for H7 is to extend love and compassion to all sentient beings and to all of nature.

Development

The main development at this stage is an expansion of consciousness to include all sentient beings and nature. Up to this point, the journey has taken us from matter to body, to mind and to the non-physical, and in each case the observing self transcends a lesser and shallower dimension and identifies with a deeper and wider consciousness. In stage H7 we complete our identity with the complete physical universe.

Traditional science and many religions do not acknowledge the transpersonal stages, so this is where the mystical, contemplative, and yogic traditions pick up the story. They push deeper and deeper, not just into their own awareness, but into the source of awareness itself. Few people, including writers on the topic, have negotiated the transpersonal stages, so we must rely on the great mystics to inform us about them. The great mystics say that, when they quiet their minds, allowing their awareness to go beyond the ego and the individual self and rest in the source of awareness itself, they become aware of a subtle essence that pervades all reality and that this reality is the fertile ground of all that is. This reality is pure non-physical. The great mystics are to the non-physical world what the scientific community is to the physical world.

However, they are viewed with sceptisim by a large number of people because their ‘findings’ cannot be validated, and also mystics of different traditions may come to different conclusions. Therefore, the non-physical or transpersonal stages will only be embraced by a critical mass of people when science acknowledges the non-physical aspect of reality.

Stage H7 is the first of the transpersonal stages. The defining characteristic of this level is an awareness that is no longer confined exclusively to the individual ego or mind. Your sense of self can dissolve, and you can identify with an entire physical experience, such as watching a beautiful sunset, where you become part of the experience. Suddenly there is no one looking – you and the sunset are one; you have become part of the sunset. In other words, there is no separation between the subject and the object, between you and the entire natural world. At H7, nature is a part of you, so you treat it with respect.

To somebody who has not reached H7, all this might sound weird. However, it is possible for people at earlier stages to have peak experiences of nature mysticism – for example drug-induced experiences, or those due to extreme stress, near-death, or moments of sexual passion. However, such peak experiences are only temporary, as it is necessary to evolve sequentially through all the previous stages to hold this level permanently.

Worldview

The worldview at this stage is world-centric, but it’s a world-centric view that has moved from including all human beings (H6) to including all sentient beings and nature (H7).

H8 – Non-Physical Universe

Goal

The goal at this stage is to expand the awareness to include the non-physical universe. On completion of H7, you extended love and compassion to the complete physical universe, but the challenge in H8 is to extend that love and compassion to include the non-physical universe. The non-physical universe is comprised of a hierarchy of non-physical entities that emerged from the pure non-physical state, as shown in Figure 2.

It is at this stage that the various deities enter the equation, whether they be Christ, the Buddha, Mohammad, or others. However, in the interest of helping humanity evolve to a more enlightened paradigm, it is necessary to maintain our arguments at a logical and scientific level. Therefore we can only progress our understanding of this stage (and subsequent stages) when science develops a better ubderstanding of the non-physical state.

Development

At this stage you transcend nature mysticism and identify with highly evolved non-physical entities. This is where confusion regarding God usually arises. The name ‘God’ (or what ever alternative name you prefer to use) should be reserved solely for that which is the ‘Source of All’. On the other hand, deities are highly evolved non-physical entities which emerged from the ‘pure’ non-physical state.

One’s individual background, cultural background, and social institutions all influence how one interprets this stage. As you negotiate this stage, you develop the ability to be aware of various highly developed non-physical entities and forces, which may bring with it various degrees of fear and even terror.

Of course, when you move to any new and higher stage, there is always fear of the unknown, at least initially. For example, when a child leaves the security of the home and goes to school for the first time, she usually feels anxious and frightened. When we move to H8, we are for the first time aware of the awesome power and myriad forces of the non-physical universe, which may be terrifying at first.

Worldview

The worldview at this stage is world-centric. It includes not only the physical universe but also the non-physical universe.

H9 – Causal

Goal

The goal at this stage is to become aware of the ‘pure non-physical’ states of dark matter and dark energy, or whatever name you prefer to call this infinite, unmanifest essence.

Development

The challenge at stage H9 is to move our awareness from the non-physical universe to the ‘pure’ non-physical state. This supreme state is the source of infinite bliss, love, and compassion; and is often described as an infinity experienced in a fullness of ‘being’. It is a unique, pure-energy state of being that cannot be contained by any manifestation; in fact, it is prior to any manifestation.

At this stage, the witness within (the seer) actually becomes one with the ‘pure’ non-physical state, which is the creative intelligence of all manifest dimensions. This is why it is named ‘Causal’, as it the cause or source of both the physical and non-physical realities.

When our awareness rests in this pure non-physical state we  can still see the real world, including our ego, our mind, and our body, but we are not any of these things. Instead we are pure awareness itself, and we exist as that awareness.

Worldview

The world view at this stage is still world-centric, but it includes not only the complete manifest universe (physical and non-physical) but also the pure non-physical state.

H10 – Non-dual

Goal

When we move to H10, we can see both pure dark matter and pure dark energy  from a place of unity or non-duality. In other words, the witness within completely vanishes and becomes everything that is witnessed. The contemplative traditions believe that at stage H10 we experience total unity. The phrase ‘form is emptiness; emptiness is form’ is perhaps the most celebrated paradox associated with Buddhist philosophy. Ken Wilber explains unity or non-duality as follows:

‘The pure Emptiness of the Witness turns out to be one with every Form that is witnessed, and that is one of the basic meanings of non-duality.’^[5]

Development

At H10 we integrate the witness within with the manifest and unmanifest worlds. We are now resting in and experiencing unity, which cannot be a discrete state but is the reality of all states since it includes and enfolds all other states. All states continue to arise in the moment, but there is nobody watching; there is just the brilliant display of great perfection. You have moved from the causal to the non-dual, which is the very nature of the ‘Source of All’. Only extremely evolved entities can experience this non-dual state.

Worldview

‘Worldview’ is meaningless at this stage because in unity there is no other; there is nothing to describe. There is only unity, and that unity is all.

Some Comments on the Human Journey

Progress to Date

Most people can relate to some of the stages of the human journey. Any parent who has raised children will easily understand H1 to H5, and all people will remember some of stage H3 and onward in their own lives. The stage of collective awareness that is reached by even the most enlightened cultures at present is mid to latter H5, where care and concern is extended from the individual to his tribe or country (‘from me to my country’) but no further. A few cultures are struggling to complete H5, where a world-centric and global perspective starts to emerge, or perhaps its more accurate to say that a few pioneering souls are leading their people through stage H5, moving from socio-centric to world-centric. They want to know what is right and fair, not just for them and their people, but for all people.

Lines of Development

There are several lines of development or evolution that humans must negotiate, including the cognitive, moral, interpersonal, intellectual, emotional, and aesthetic, see  Diagram 5.

Diagram 5: Human Consciousness, Lines of Development

While the descriptions of the H Journey have assumed, for the sake of simplification, a balanced or average development across all of these lines of development, in reality a person can be at a different level on each line.

How do we Progress to a more Enlightened Paradigm?

We must first realise that humanity cannot evolve to a more enlightened paradigm until we acknowledge and nurture the non-physical state which is the source of our love, compassion, creativity, intelligence, etc.

Secondly, we must realise that a critical mass of people will never acknowledge and nurture the non-physical state until it is first acknowledged by science.

At a macro level, scientists now posit that dark energy and dark matter permeate the universe, comprising approximately 96 per cent of the ‘whole’, and that dark energy is responsible for the expansion of the universe, which is still expanding at an accelerating rate. I believe that, with continued research into dark energy and dark matter, scientists will conclude that dark energy also influences life, that it is responsible for the expansion of human consciousness, and that it is the source of our love and compassion.

When this time comes, science can declare that life is influenced by both the physical and non-physical aspects of our being. This reality can then be taught to our children as a scientific fact, rather than as a religious belief (since teaching religious beliefs in schools can be divisive). In a relatively short time, a critical mass of people will embrace this new view of reality; which will then seep into our political, public service, religious, and financial institutions and we will be on our way to a world in which all people will be afforded love, care, and compassion. Over time, this will put an end to wars, poverty, and starvation and will herald a new beginning for humanity.

This is Humanity’s path to freedom from selfishness, corruption, abuse of power, greed, poverty, starvation, conflict, and war.

4.  Citations and Reference Blogs

Citations

[1] Stuart Sutherland. (1995) The International Dictionary of Psychology. 2nd ed. New York: Crossroad,

[2] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, 2013 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, Boston.

[3] G. Farthing. (1992). The Psychology of Consciousness. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

[4] S. Velmans & S. Schneider. (2007) The Blackwell Companion to Consciousness. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

[5] Ken Wilber. (2000). A Brief History of Everything. Boston, MA : Shambhala Puiblications Inc., p. 206

Reference Blogs

1. A New Scientific View of Reality based on the Grand Interactive Model.
2. Corruption and Abuse of Power are the Source of all the Major Problems in our World.