There is a book called Power Verse Force by David Hawkins (click here to read it for free). Recently someone asked my view of the book. I read it a while ago, but recently picked it back up, it's quite a magnificently profound and accurate book on my experience with the 'levels of consciousness' towards enlightenment.
***This is just my personal story of enlightenment (including the research of common experiences of the enlightened). Enlightenment can be 'seen' by "anyone" at any moment, despite so called 'levels'.***
In the book, David Hawkins describes the top levels as something that is difficult to obtain and compared to all the levels in his chart, that is true, but chances are if you are reading this site, then you are likely in these top levels.
In this article I am going to focus on the top portion of this chart and explain in detail the challenges of the top levels and how to keep 'moving up' to enlightenment. This is based on the story of 'my experience' and similar qualities of most any 'enlightened individual'.
God-view.....Life-view...Level..............Log..........Emotion
Self..................Is...................Enlightenment..700-1000..Ineffable
All-Being........Perfect...........Peace.................600............Bliss
One.................Complete.......Joy.....................540............Serenity
Loving............Benign...........Love....................500...........Reverence
Wise...............Meaningful....Reason...............400...........Understanding
Reason
The Level called: Reason (on the very bottom of the map above) is the highest form of logic and logged at 400. At 499 you would be considered a genius because that is as far as the mind of logic will take you. In order to move on to the Level of Love at 500, you need to be willing to drop logic into the background and that is a very difficult thing to do when one identifies with mind/thoughts as who they are.
Signs of Someone in This Level:
►They are always experimenting to see what works and what doesn't work.
►Their main concern is finding answers.
►They often have some type of influence in society.
►They feel the need to research, read, and are information driven.
►Often very creative.
Love
Once you can drop conventional logic and mental construction to the background, then the heart opens up. You start seeing the world through 'your heart' and you can see how everyone is seeking Love in many different ways.
The trap with this level is that one can see through the eyes of the heart, but they are hesitant to make the full leap to loving EVERYONE unconditionally because at this point there is still some pain issues and they are unaware of how to observe the pain but not be in the pain observed. They are unaware of the self that is Never-Changing and Always-Present (not just the awareness that they are, but the Awareness Aware of Itself).
In order to move up from this level, one has to have heart-logic. In other words they have to map out for themselves a way of knowing why love is ALWAYS the answer. Once you know why, the how becomes easier. If you feel stuck on this level, read this article: "Nobody Understands Me..." (it will help to explain why love is the answer in every situation and how to apply it).
Signs of Someone in This Level:
►They often focus on love and fear being the foundation of life.
►They are often positive, upbeat, and happy.
►Often meditation is a big part of their lives.
►They relate to a heart-logic understanding of oneness and often talk about how everything is oneness.
Joy
At the Level of Love, oneness is often talked about from a heart-logic, but at the Level of Joy, you deeply intuitively know what Oneness really is. True Love is seen in this level as love for no other reason than realizing the One expressing the One (there is no how or why but it seems the heart-logic in the level of Love has to understand the why in its own heart-logical way to move onto this level).
At this level Oneness is a shift that is felt on all levels of your being. A seeing beyond senses open up. A sudden, spontaneous, profound, and unexpected showing that you are not only the body/mind. This is the point where you become aware of the Never-Changing Always-Present Awareness (not just an awareness, but an Awareness Aware of Itself). Along with this comes a feeling that this life is enough, everything is well, and always has been.
Most people call this enlightenment, but this is just a taste of non-duality through seeing the One of Oneness. Your whole entire consciousness and body feel different and even strange (nothing actually changes except a wider perspective beyond the five senses and through this 'perspective shift' a sense of something new arises). Overtime one gets used to this new strange feeling and they often feel like they lost what they were shown (or the mind puts this Non-conceptual Perspective into a conception understanding).
Sometimes out of confusion, one will try to get that strange feeling back and seek for an experience like that again (the mind can think it was an experience due to its conceptual tendencies). In order to uncloud the Non-conceptual Perspective, one has to realize that nothing was lost. When one clings onto an experience, they are forming an identity perspective that completely stops 'progress'.
However there is many traps in this level. This level is about transcending mind completely (not being stuck on the identity of mind/thoughts). This level is where the ego/mind sneaks in the back door and with no awareness of what is happening consciously (Awareness is always Aware of Itself but doesn't always realize Itself.), the ego/mind claims itself as being enlightened, no-self, nothing, etc...(in order to move on, one has to realize that Oneness can't be claimed)
Claiming Oneness at this level is very subtle and innocently unnoticeable.
For example, I am going to tell you of how this unfolded in my story of experience:
I realized that nothing was lost and I began to form a collection of videos on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/user/nicholaspowiull) of people who I felt have had this realization of enlightenment awareness. I was judging almost everyone: "That person is not enlightened because they don't point to it directly.", "That person is not enlightened because they are not talking slow with ease.", "That person is not enlightened because they are still seeking different ways of understanding this, there is no understanding this.", "That person is not enlightened because they are talking about enlightenment as if there is more to it.", "That person is not enlightened because I can see their ego."
The thoughts were not as obvious as what I just described (much more subtle and unnoticeable), but this was my ego trying to claim enlightenment. Since I was claiming myself as being enlightened (egoless) and repressing my ego, I saw almost everyone else who talked about enlightenment as not being enlightened (ego). In short, my repressed ego starting showing up in others.
The key thing is to remember that whatever you are repressing, you will start to see it everywhere else except yourself. If there is still conflict for you after seeing Oneness beyond the senses, the conflict is a sure sign that repressing is taking place.
Repressing can and does happen on the lower too in a very dramatic way, this level is much more subtle.
This level is a two fold process: Oneness can NOT be loss or claimed.
Signs of Someone in This Level:
►If you question the authority of someone at this level, there will be a conflict. They will be causing the conflict then projecting it on you. "There is no conflict here, you don't have to prove anything to me. Why are you being defensive?"
►They will often stick on the idea that this can't be explained (it can't be explained, but once you reach higher levels, that stops being a factor) and they will judge some words as misleading/conditioning and other words as better (that is true but when the mind is stuck in this identity it feels more real, rather than something lightly held).
►They often think that there is only one way to enlightenment. They judge other ways of pointing that don't point the way they do.
►They will often trip over their words. "There is no-self here and when I decide to.. well not I because there is no-self here."
►They will think that they are 'helping people' and do not see that they secretly want something out of it.
Sometimes it takes a while to get used to this level, you can feel like a schizophrenic. It becomes way too much expansion and infinite boundlessness, that the mind/ego will fight it the whole way (many times a lot of fear will surface).
This level is the last selfish act. The last fixated physical identity to be dropped.
Peace
At this level there is another new 'perspective shift' that is felt intensely. In the Joy Level, there is an intuitive Knowing and Non-conceptual Perspective that there is only One here and all is well, but the Perfection of this wellness was not clear (so to speak) on the level of Joy.
In other words, the clearness of this Perfection is seen at this level so clear: that not even a dust particle is out of place. This allows one to drop the selfish-self completely and only leaving a slight shadow non-self. You see that you don't matter. You see that cause and effect have no substance. There is no causality to anything. There is no doer. Time becomes timeless because there is no mental idea of time flowing from past to future (nothing changes with time and how it's used, you can just see through the illusion of time in a very dramatic way, very intense).
At this level it's common that people will remove themselves from the game of life and just sit back watching it unfold without them. They see the Perfection of It All so clearly that they are unaware of how this body is part of the life flow of this One. For people at this level, they claim there is never a set perspective of where they exist (although there is an unnoticeable lean to the Absolute). They is no central point of Awareness or localized reference that confirms who they are (except a small shadow element that they are nothing).
At the level of Joy, you meet the Awareness that is Aware of Itself as Always-Present Never-Changing (also known as God/Source/Formless/Emptiness/Oneness/Vastness/etc..) which confirms Oneness. At this level of Peace, you see that the Perfection of Oneness is perfectly operating without you. Since you can't find a localized reference-point as you, this body becomes just another appearance on the screen of Awareness. All duality: labels, concepts, ideas, names, and separation are removed completely.
At this level there is no going back down to lower levels, you are forced to move up or remain stuck here. The trap with this level is that there is a tendency to check-out from the game of life, just siting back and soaking-up the Bliss/Perfection of It All. You see that you don't matter and that everything is and always will unfold perfectly, so what is the point to do anything?
At the level of Peace you let go of yourself, but there is still a little bit of the 'creature in the machine' (so to speak). To 'move on' from this level, you need to realize that now that you don't matter, the only thing left is allowing the One to arise through you as the One. The shadow non-self can show up in many ways but a good term is: nonacting (or nonheart) egolessness. At the level of Joy a good term is: ego hiding in the egolessness.
Once this nonacting/nonheart is let go of, a new perspective of unconditional love arises (the nonheart or one-heart opens up into the unconditional loving heart) and action is born, which always seem to move as service or pointing.
Signs of Someone in This Level:
►They are willing to lose everything.
►They are content with any situation.
►Nothing physical matters to them.
►They are fixated in calling the world an illusion.
►They are often described as: dull (non-fixed to form) but interesting.
This level is the last selfish non-act. The last fixated absolute identity to be dropped.
Enlightenment
At the level of Peace, there is an unnoticeable lean to the Absolute (also known as Awareness/God/Source/Formless/Emptiness/Oneness/Vastness/etc..) and a drop of the images/appearances on the screen of Awareness (also known as the physical/relative/form/limit/etc..)
At the level of Enlightenment, there is no lean to one or the other, unless in the moment it feels right to do so. This level is about being 100% flexible in allowing whatever Is to be what It Is in the changing Eternal Moment. All you see is Isness.
There is just what Is as what Is. The 'creature in the machine' (so to speak) is completely gone and now what moves just moves the way It arises. There is no identity until there is.
Signs of Someone in This Level:
►Since there is no-one in the machine, the words and actions that arise come forth from the Isness Source Itself. Words sometimes arise like: "I am the Light and the Way.", "I am the One speaking and the One listening to the speaker.", "I am God, God and I are the One, you are God, God and you are the One, I am you, you are me, we are the One", "I am Everything That Is and Everything That Is Not." The reason these words arise is because the enlightened see their true nature and when one sees their true nature they realize the true nature of everybody else. They realize that the body is only a mask (oneness wearing a mask as a speaker and oneness wearing a mask as a listener).
►There is no conflict with any expression because every expression is the One.
Everything/Nothing is seen as Non-Truth Truths. There is no landing on one or the other or neither or both unless the urge of the moment is there.
►Absolute Paradox and Irony become the non-real reality.
►Life is the Infinite Intelligence meeting Itself through Itself but not adding to Itself.
►Beingness of the One Life is the Infinite Intelligence bringing Its Infinite Knowledge to Beingness through the One Life which is translated as the Unknown Mystery of Unknown Knowledge Being Beingness or Lifeness.
A Basic Map
At the Level of Reason: Logic is moved to the forefront. To move on, Logic must be dropped into the background.
At the Level of Love: The Heart is opened and to move on, Heart-Logic must be found.
At the Level of Joy: Oneness is known beyond senses. In order to move on, the idea of losing Oneness and owning Oneness must be transcended (leave ego completely).
At the Level of Peace: Now that ego is completely gone, the Perfection of Oneness is seen and the physical is left behind. In order to move on, the Absolute must be transcended (returning to the physical).
At the Level of Enlightenment: The Absolute and the physical is seen in balance and is held very lightly. Life is lived in complete unconditional trust to the Absolute and the physical: in the Eternal Now. You have no self/ego concerns.
Light Identity
At the Level of Enlightenment it's about being extremely flexible/light with identities. There is always an Aliveness to any identity taken in any moment, Aliveness through any identity and even no identity. Awareness can not be pined-down by any box or label, It is Free to move as It appears.
Identities are just what is arising and it's allowed. However Oneness (God) wants to move, It is allowed to move as That. Since a Viewless View Perspective is free, then any View Perspective that arises is always allowed and is held very relaxed. In other words because flexibility is the key: Viewless View begets View begets Viewless View begets...repeat.
Example of How Identity, Views, & Perspectives Work for the Enlightened
In the viewless view there is Emptiness, but this Emptiness is Vastly Intelligent, the Ultimate Intelligence (also known as God/Source/Formless/Oneness/Vastness/etc..). The enlightened trust this viewless view (Ultimate Intelligence) to lead them into the view they need for that moment.
If they feel the urge to hold a view/identity/perspective it is held very lightly because they know that the Ultimate Intelligent Emptiness often asks them to be viewless and if the mind starts cling onto a view/identity/perspective, the Ultimate Intelligent Emptiness will lead them to an experience that allows them to see how they are clinging (going through the level of Joy & Peace is very helpful in noticing these clingings quickly).
If one has children, then the parent identity shows up often. If one is in a relationship, then the relationship identity shows up often. If one has a job, then the work identity shows up often. If one has animals, then the pet owner identity shows up often. In other words, nothing really changes to much except the flexibility about the identity of who you are in the Eternal Moment.
Anger, Emotions, & Balance
This goes with all levels of being. If anger arises in the moment, then the identity with anger shows up and it can also show up often too but the difference is when at the Level of Enlightenment the anger arises from a place for humanity, rather than for self.
For example, you may be angry that your life is not working the way you want it to, you may be angry that everyone seems to be walking all over you, you may be mad that nobody is listening to you.
At the Enlightenment level that same anger will arise without self: you may be angry that the innocence of humans are so easily disrupted, you may be mad that people don't listen to each other.
Until they are not angry for only humanity, enlightenment is about no limits, whatever arises is allowed to arise (even if it is about self concerns). Enlightenment can not be pinned down into a label or concept. Enlightenment is about giving you a concept and using another concept to disregard the first concept, in such a way that neither concept can be used. Enlightenment is always a paradox: ALWAYS.
Therefore, if you are angry for selfish reasons, it's perfect that you do: always be one with emotions and honest with how you really feel. If you are not one with your selfish emotions, then you are denying the Ultimate Intelligent Emptiness to work through you (as you). Your anger will always lead you to exactly the right place, so listen to it when it arises and be one with it completely. It might inspire something that is needed at that time.
Of course if a person is not being one with their emotions, then it's perfect that they do not and if you feel inspired to coach them to be one with their emotions, then it's perfect that you do.
However don't walk around with the concept that everything is perfection so you can do whatever you desire because that is not being true with yourself or your integrity. The mind loves to have an excuse to do whatever it pleases based on trusting the word of a concept. Don't trust anything I say, find out for yourself. Yes if you decide to not listen to that warning, then it's perfect that you don't, but balance will sometimes show up in hash ways when you are intentionally not being ethical to your values.
Unfolding Perfectly
I just trust life to know that it all unfolds perfectly and this is what is seen at the level of Peace (this life does what it does on it's own, it's not MY life, it's life being played out naturally and spontaneously). "I" don't always see the perfection because I don't cling into that identity, but I don't need to keep seeing that identity in order to know it. Going through the Peace level is about knowing that identity so you can drop it and allow trust unconditionally. If you're always holding the identity of perfection then you would not be willing to take on any other identities that you are called upon (this is why the level of Peace is challenging, seeing perfection everywhere/all the time, is heaven). As an example, I can't always see the perfection and sometimes anger will arise, but it's perfect that it does because it might help to share a better article.
In fact, this article would have never been written if I was not flexible enough to listen to the natural and spontaneous urges that are unheard in the level of perfection. Someone asked my view on the book called Power Verse Force by David Hawkins and I felt an natural impulse to pick it back up based on that asking. Can you see how all levels work together to create the balance?
Another example of how this works, I was listening to Adyashanti speaking of reincarnation on an audio called "Seeing Through the Core Story" and the way he described reincarnation I felt an urge to hold the same perspective because it made sense at the time (not to have the answers, figure anything out, or for personal gain, but because I naturally & spontaneously felt the urge to play with that perspective).
As I was listening to the audio and holding that perspective/identity, I got an email (I have a program that is connected to my inbox, so every-time a new email arrives, it notifies me within that instant), so I paused the audio and checked the email. In the email someone was asking my view on reincarnation and since I felt the urge to hold a view/identity/perspective/concept about it at that time, I shared that view/identity/perspective/concept.
After I sent a reply to the email, I finished listening to the audio and by the end of the audio I felt the urge to not hold that view/identity/perspective about reincarnation anymore.
The Balance
If I was not listening to that audio then I would have had no view perspective and whatever the Emptiness wanted to share with this person through email, would have not been shared (or at least not through this vessel). I know this might seem insignificant and coincidental, but at that time it was crucial that the identity/concept was held and shared. Once it was shared, then it could be let go of and allow the Mystery to unfold how It sees fit.
In my experience this Intelligent Emptiness does this to 'meet people' (Itself really) where they are at on 'the levels' and helping them to 'upgrade' (so to speak) to the next stepping stone that they are able to reach. 'Reaching' (so to speak) enlightenment from any level (even Peace, maybe especially Peace) is quite a difficult transformation.
It can be done, but it's very rare, however I will say this: it doesn't matter what level one is on, if they are open and willing to hear; they can jump to the level of Joy or Peace by simply being aware of the Never-Changing Always-Present Awareness (not just an awareness, but an Awareness Aware of Itself) that they really are. The way to be aware of this is by direct non-duality pointing. Here are some good examples: The Enlightened Awareness, The Secret of All Life Revealed!, Life As it is, Rather Than How it's Believed to Be
What was seen in the level of Peace is that not even a piece of dust is out of place, what is seen at the level of Enlightenment is that everything is perfectly happening and never out of place because of the spontaneous balance like the example described above.
Using the example above, for some reason unknown to me, that 'person' at that time needed to hear that perspective/identity/concept. The reason is always unknown, but the why is always the same: to keep balance in the collective consciousnesses of the planet.
Let's say you believe in reincarnation and that belief is really getting you depressed and you see no way around it, through this process, now you have a chance to look at reincarnation in a different light, so you can move on to the next 'stepping stone'. Eventually you might be lead to drop the belief all together (that seems to be where everyone is always being lead in the end: back to the mystery).
If an enlightened one is in a viewless view perspective and someone asks for their view or has a question about enlightenment, the enlightened will either instantly have a memory of an experience that relates (in this way they have an example of how to provide an answer and at the same-time use that example to point to the non-conceptual awareness beyond the answer), they will have an inspirational thought of how to point to the answer (not a conceptual thought, but a way of seeing without thought that gives a content to explain and using this way of explaining to point the questioner out of the confusion), or they will use direct pointing (infinite ways really).
Direct pointing is a way of explaining non-conceptual awareness. This kind of pointing leaves no room for the mind to get stuck on an conceptual idea. This kind of pointing doesn't provide an answer, it invites you to drop the question completely, since in the truest manner: no question can lead you to the answer (although some questions can lead you to a place that break down all questions) and no answer can lead you to non-conceptual awareness.
Whatever the way the pointing comes about, it is coming from the truth itself. They may use ideas or concepts but they are not speaking from the place of ideas or concepts. They are speaking from their own knowing and direct experience, their own realization of truth. The words ALWAYS arise out of the truth of their true nature.
The job (so to speak) of the enlightened is to be an instrument to allow anything to flow through at any moment straight out of the Ultimate Intelligent Emptiness. The Emptiness just simply knows what view/identity/perspective to hold through you (you as Emptiness) at anytime because it just feels natural at that time (no different than the parent identity or the pet owner identity).
In fact everybody's job (so to speak) is to keep the balance by being integrious and ethical to their own views and how they really feel in every moment. Consciousness (no matter what 'level') is always giving Itself exactly what It needs in each Fresh Moment (rather it's through the enlightened or not).
What Do I Know?
In this article I know I am making it sound like there is a purpose to life, but if there is a purpose, the only purpose is for you to reach enlightenment (or better put: realize there is no you to reach enlightenment).
Therefore, don't try to take on the qualities of the Enlightenment Level because it doesn't work that way. I don't try to hold a veiwless view, it just comes naturally and spontaneously. When I do hold a view, it comes naturally and spontaneously. When I let go of a view and return to the veiwless view, it is done naturally and spontaneously, I don't have a choice in the matter. I never force, practice, or try because there is 'no-me in the machine' and when you know that then the illusion of it holds nothing, it's just what is happening.
I don't know if life has a purpose or if life is purposeless because there is no-self trying to figure everything out, there is no-me pretending to run the machine. The reason there is no-me pretending to have a choice is because the levels I went through showed me that nobody is there: no separate person in control (the same is true for you and if you been reading the recent articles on this site: The Enlightened Awareness, you may have discovered this).
Skipping the Levels to Enlightenment
Now that this article mapped out the levels to enlightenment, you can take the concept of levels and throw that concept out the window, they do not exist, but hopefully a pointer that helps you to realize your actual nature.
Really there only two levels that you are on at any given moment: the level of knowing your true nature (enlightenment) or the level of thinking yourself to be an illusion. The illusion is always the same, you are identifying with a concept. The concept is always the same: identifying with any label, idea, name, separation, belief, knowledge, past, future, experience, story, etc... anything and everything observable or not, if you are stuck in an identification then you are stuck in illusion. Be who you really are: naturally flexible to anything that arises.
However, your true nature is always there and when it's not seemly there, it's just the illusion hiding it. Really the only level is your true nature (enlightenment) and everything else is feeding an illusion. No illusion has power unless you believe it. Enlightenment doesn't stop the illusions, the illusions NEVER stop, you just see through them.
Until you don't see through the illusions, but even when you are not seeing through the illusions, you can still accept illusions as something that is happening now. There is nothing wrong with illusions, it's just an illusion, it only becomes a problem when you believe the illusion to be real.
Enlightenment is not an experience, it can seem like an experience to the mind, but it's a recognization of your true being/ true nature or an experience that reveals the Emptiness of the experiencer.
In This Moment
Right now in this moment, my view is this: We are not here to figure this life out, we are here to allow this life to naturally unfold. Living in the mystery is when life really begins. The more you try to understand the mystery of this life, the more life will lead you right back to the mystery of it. The more you seek, the more you will think you know, but the less happy you will be.
Truth
Nothing anybody can say will ever be the truth because truth is who you really are: Never-changing Always-present Awareness (not just an awareness, but an Awareness Aware of Itself). Truth can only be pointed to, I never accept what I am saying is the truth. Words can never be truth, NEVER. Truth can not be held or found because once you know the truth, the truth will dissolve you (the seemly separate individual).
However, words have there place and can be very powerful. Some words phrased in the right way when one is ready to hear them, can awaken one to their true nature. Sometimes the spaces between the words can snap one awake to their true nature. There are infinite ways awakening can happen, but don't be stuck on the ways: Truth is Unlimited.
My perception of Ultimate Reality is more limited than I thought, and Truth is more unlimited than I can imagine.
Loving Itself
Awareness Loves to recognize Itself and the enjoyment of recognizing Itself is where words form to speak about It to Itself. Moving from the Level of Peace into Enlightenment is the realization that there is joy in pointing to Itself and serving Itself through talking about Itself. Limiting Itself to an identity for a moment, just to Unlimit itself again, is also this same joy. There is a Light (so to speak) that happens in noticing Itself and re-noticing Itself again and again in every New Fresh Moment. It seems to Love the Mystery in which It is.
And Now, in this Timeless Moment, it goes on: Fresh and New. No end, No beginning, No conclusion. It just continues to Unfold and remains in the Mystery (Viewless) until It doesn't.
Posted by: Nicholas Powiull
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