seven stages of spiritual consciousness

[ArmsMerchant]

I keep making references to these stages, and decided it is high time I bit the bullet and got down to explaining just what the heck I'm talking about.

In Deepak Chopra's awesome book, "How to Know God -- The Soul's Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries," he describes seven stages of spiritual consciousness. (This ties into the books main thesis, that the brain is hardwired to know God. The human nervous system has seven bio0ogical responses that correspond to seven levels of divine experience. They are not shaped by any specific religion--the book is pretty much totally dogma-free--but by the brain's meed to take an infinite, chaotic universe and find menaing in it. In the process, he discusses religious awakening, ecstacy, genius, telepathy, multiple personalities, past lives, clairvoyance--all parts of the "miond field" that quantum physics discovered almost a hundred years ago. This invisible place, although it appears to be an empty void, is actually the womb of creation. Here God is our co-creator in the constant process of self-creation that is life itself. Whew.)

Please note that these stages are not the same as the well-known stages of brasin wave activity--beta, alpha, theta, delta.

Stage One--Fight or flight. God is the protector, and is vengeful, capricious, quick to anger, jealous, judgemental, unfathomable, sometimes merciful. We live in a world of bare survival, we fit in by coping, and we find God through fear and loving devotion.

Stage Two--The reactive response. God is almighty, and is sovereign, omnipotent, just, answerer of prayers, impartial, rational, organized into rules. We live in a world of ambition and competition, fit in by winning, and find God through awe and obedience.

Stage Three--The Restful Awareness response. God is one of peace, and is detached, calm, offering consolation, undemanding, conciliatory, silent and meditative. Our world is one of inner solitude and self-sufficiency and. We fit in by staying centered, and find God through meditation and silent contemplation.

Stage Four--The Intuitive Response. God as the redeemer is understanding, tolerant, forgiving, nonjudgemental, inclusive, and accepting. We live in a world of insight and personal growth, fit in by understanding, and find God through self-acceptance.

Stage Five--Creative response. God the creator is characterized by unlimited creative potential, control over space and time, abundant, open, generous, willing to be known, and inspired. We live in a world of art, creation, and discovery, and invention, fit in by intending, and find God through inspiration.

Stage Six--Visionary response, God is one of miracles, and is transformative, mystical, beyond all causes, existing, healing, magical. We live in a world of prophets, sages, and seers, fit in by loving and find God through grace.

Stage Seven--Sacred response--God of Pure Being -- "I Am." This God is unborn, undying, unchanging, unmoving, unmanifest, immeasurable, invisible, intangible, infinite. We live in a transcendent world, fit in by being ("I am"), and find God by transcending.

These stages work in order--I personally cannot really imagine skipping any of them, although it is possible to jump around once one has attained stage seven. . None is better or worse than any other--they all "work" accodring to where we are at the time. Chopra says at one point that it is far more spiritual to honestly be in stage one, haunted by fear and driven by guilt, than it is to pretend to be saintly.