For those of us who have grown up in Western cultures and have been well-trained in the uses of the intellectual, rational, discriminative mind, it is often very difficult to recognize that this mind is only one element of our total self. We frequently think that we are our mind, located somewhere inside our heads. Unfortunately, this self-image is literally half-witted, for our brains have two hemispheres, right and left. The rational, verbal, discursive mind is governed by (although not necessarily located in) the left hemisphere of the brain. We rely on it as if it was the whole brain, which it is not. The right hemisphere is that half of our intelligence that sees wholes, rather than parts; patterns rather than objects; experiences feelings and intuitions rather than thoughts; that moves and flows rather than taking positions.

 

With spiritual growth processes, that which has been ignored or repressed must be reclaimed and restored to function in order that wholeness may become an experience of life rather than a concept. Being nonverbal, spiritual impulses of the self are often most easily recognized by right-hemispheric functions. However, our rational selves, disconnected as they are from our nonverbal processes due to educational and cultural influences, often are unable to comprehend spiritual experiences. Our intellects then go into a “tizzy” of sorts, denigrating these experiences as “crazy” and “dangerous” due to a lack of understanding or framework. The importance of the map, then, is that the left-brain or intellectual side of ourselves has something to hang onto, a framework, a “pacifier” that allows it to begin to comprehend a rational and beneficial order to the unfolding spiritual growth (and then get out of the way). Marilyn Ferguson noted this in The Aquarian Conspiracy when she wrote: “those who undergo personal transformation have a left-brain need to know. Intuition has leaped ahead of understanding. What really happened?”

 

This brings us to the Theory of Process, developed by Arthur M. Young over many years and described in his books, particularly The Reflexive Universe: The Evolution of Consciousness. Using the all-encompassing framework established by his theory and extending it to the evolutionary development of consciousness in humans, we will begin to arrive at a picture of human growth that describes the awakening and maturing of the inner (spiritual) self.

 

If you are not interested in this evolutionary process and how it is grounded in a comprehensive science of the emergence of the physical universe, then skip ahead to The Seventh Stage: Evolution of Consciousness in Humans. In an Appendix to The Reflexive Universe, Young presents a brief summary of this theory as follows in part below: A

 

Brief Outline of the Theory

1. The universe is a process put in motion by purpose.

2. The development of process occurs in stages.

3. There are seven stages.

4. Each stage develops a new power.

5. Powers are cumulative; each one retains the powers developed in the previous stages.

6. Powers are evolved sequentially in what are called kingdoms.

                               POWER                              KINGDOM

                      1.     Potential                                  Light

                      2.     Substance               Quantum/Nuclear Particles

                      3.     Form                                        Atoms

                      4.     Combination                        Molecules

                      5.     Organization                           Plants

                      6 .    Mobility                                  Animals

                      7.     Dominion                                (Man)

7. Arc of process: The early stages of process take on increasing constraint until constraint becomes maximal, at which point there is a turn. The later stages of process see the conquest of the constraints and the development of freedom. Freedom in the first half is random, controlled in the last.

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9. Levels : The "descent" (involution or coming into physical being) and “ascent" (evolution or development of consciousness) pass through four levels in a V-shaped arc. Levels have successively zero, one, two, and three degrees of constraint, and three, two, one and zero degrees of freedom. The stages on the right— and left—hand branches of the arc at the same level have properties in common:

                                  Level I     Purpose               3 degrees of freedom   0 degrees of constraint

                                  Level II    Substance            2 degrees of freedom   1 degree of constraint

                                  Level III   Form                     1 degree of freedom     2 degrees of constraint

                                  Level IV   Combination        0 degrees of freedom   3 degrees of constraint

10. 1-1-2 Pattern: Each even stage begins at the beginning of the previous stage, and each odd stage begins at the end of the previous stage.

11. Self-mapping: Each stage of process (or kingdom) is itself a process in which the power of the stage develops . The development of this power occurs in stages called substages, whose description correlates with that of the main stages.

Note: A point which is easily forgotten and which must therefore be reiterated is that atoms, molecules, cells , etc. are not separate things,but expressions of the monad (or evolving entity) at successive stages of its evolution. At each stage it acquires a new power.

 

Since the powers are cumulative, a monad cannot achieve cell-ness, say, without having previously mastered molecular combination; it cannot deal with combination (as a molecule) unless it has previously learned individuation (as an atom).

 

The message of our study is therefore that nothing comes of itself except the initial venturesomeness. This venturesomeness, which started it all off, is always present, pushing process through its stages and acquiring greater and greater competence.

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        Purpose

        Value

        Concept

        Material Universe                                        Formed Substance

                                                                      Involuntary     Voluntary

It should be noted here that the "descending" and "ascending" branches of the arc also have characteristics which are of interest to our study. As shown above, the descending branch is involuntary in its development , while the ascending branch is voluntary.

Other aspects are as follows:                                     Descending        Ascending 

                                                                                      Random              Controlled

                                                                                      Involutionary       Evolutionary

                                                                                      Externalizing       Internalizing

                                                                                      Formational        Transformational

                                                                                      Entropy rules       Syntropy rules

 

Also significant to our study are the characteristics of the four levels, in addition to the degrees of constraint and freedom already noted for each level by Young . These characteristics include:

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     Level I (Stages 1 & 7):     nonphysical, projective, particular, intentional, all first causes: purpose, dimension, action                                                (quantum of), the photon, and control (dominion)

     Level II (Stages 2 & 6):    physical, projective, general, having charge, mass, energy, as well as value, emotion,                                                        continuity in time

     Level III (Stages 3 & 5):   nonphysical, objective, general, and includes all conceptual entities: forms, classes,                                                          definitions, generalizations, patterns, etc.

     Level IV (Stage V):           physical, objective, particular, and includes all actual physical objects having both form                                                    and substance): molecules, houses, tables, bodies; perhaps also specific attributes such                                                  as proper names, etc.

 

Further elucidation of Young's theory is given in a paper written byJohn Saloma, Ph.D., a colleague of Young. A few long excerpts:

“It might be helpful to describe briefly the seven powers of process in their sequential development. Process begins as potential—undefined purpose, unrestricted choice, complete freedom and dynamic potency . The goal for the arc of process that is to follow is projected. Process, as it falls into increasing constraint, creates means. The first means, substance or extension in time, introduces charge (binding), the motivating force that sustains process in its forward thrust. Process moves by charge, the experience of incompleteness that drives it on compulsively. With added constraint, process takes on form or its own center which stabilizes the experience of charged substance but creates an illusory reality of objective identity or separation (from the whole). The two means of form and substance combine to yield formed substance or combination and provide the uniquely determined universe, the fixed setting, where process can learn to control or use means (through the turn).

 

Process, to achieve its goal, must recall that goal and reverse its direction. First it gains the competence of organization. Through growth and reproduction it gives off centers or seeds, conquers time, and eventually transcends the limitation of separate identity. With mobility process learns to control the compulsive nature of desire energy that has sustained it. It now uses charge to move consciously toward its goal, to manipulate the psychic energy (substance). Having mastered the means it created, having achieved dominion, process attains its goal and completion."

 

"Process is initiated by a purpose, the projection of a goal, and is not completed until the goal is attained. Because process incorporates experience and learning, it does not return to its origin unchanged. The advance from stage I to stage 7, while returning to Level I, suggests a new level of development. Alternatively, one can visualize a spiral to a higher level rather than a closed cycle. Process can return to I only by going ahead. We can never go back to stage I to some remembered "golden age.” Nor can we anticipate the outcome at stage 7. The universe is truly open and creative and process is an adventure in the fullest sense of the word.”

 

By definition, within the context of the Theory of Process, the evolution of man is the evolution of conscious awareness, or soul; i.e., consciousness as a whole experienced within the particular individuality. To recapitulate, stage 7 has the following characteristics according to the structural analysis of the Theory: as part of Level I, it is non-physical, projective, has zero dimensionality (total freedom), is beyond space and time, and has the nature of unity. It is also particular in nature and has dominion as its goal.

 

Let us assume for a moment that the entire evolutionary process indicated by the Theory of process is in fact the evolution of " consciousness" from a state of complete unconsciousness to full and total conscious awareness of the unity of being. During the evolutionary course, then, consciousness would find expression of the unconscious potentials it contains in the varying kingdoms that develop successively out of each other. Each new stage would bring a more extensive expression of latent possibilities, but without awareness of what was being developed.

 

In other words, at stage 5 plants may indeed possess a rudimentary form of awareness in the sense of an ability to respond cellularIy to environmental influences such as sound, or the emotions of a caretaker. The plant is the first "Iiving" process, and at this stage consciousness may for the first time become aware of the environment in a rudimentary fashion. At stage 6 , animals clearly have instinctual and behavioral awareness of their environment and their cohabitants, thereby achieving the ability to interact with the same rather than just react as a plant may do. However, they may not be said to have self-awareness at stage 6 . This element of consciousness can only appear at stage 7, in that self-awareness is particular rather than general, individual rather than collective. To sum up , then, at stage 7 we have the ability of consciousness to know itself as an individual self, and by that knowledge to gain dominion of the entire field of consciousness or evolutionary activity.

 

At the end of stage 7, then, it can be postulated that the direct experience of the individual awareness is that of unity with all of the kingdoms of nature as well as with the underlying (and originating) field of consciousness. Conscious awareness then meets the requirements to serve as the identifiable force to be developed in stage 7: it is non-physical, projective, particular, has zero dimensionality, is beyond space and time (Levels III and II, respectively), and can achieve the nature of unity.

 

As the discussion moves into an elucidation of the seven substages of stage 7, it is important to remember that the characteristic attributes of each substage will be elements of consciousness, and t/herefore non-physical (as well as individual/particular) in nature. The effects of these elements of consciousness may be observable, however, in the individual's physical presentation, such as facial gestures and bodily posture.

 

Therefore, the hypothesis of this book is that the Seventh Stage of the Theory of Process can be found in the evolution of conscious (self) awareness in humans. It is assumed that the stages of the human aspect of evolutionary process correspond to the definitions given within the context of the theory and to the stages of the arc at all levels of evolutionary development. This assumption leads to the further assumption that this theory is therefore an appropriate context for creating a contemporary map of this evolutionary development of conscious awareness in humans.

Finally, it must be stated that the ideas to be explored in the coming pages are primarily those of the writer alone. They are frequently speculative in nature, without statistical verification, but with high recognition value to all the individuals to whom this work has been presented.  

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                              The Seventh Stage: Evolution of Consciousness in Humans

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Overview of the Seventh Stage: Human Evolution

 

The Seventh Stage of the Theory of Process is the evolution of consciousness, or conscious awareness, in humans. This evolution proceeds in stages which can be described in general terms . It is essential, however, to bear in mind that this paradigm provides a context for evolutionary development but does not describe in any way the particular content of that development for any given individual. Just as a map describes a particular geography, each traveler following that map will experience the region differently, as his encounters with the area are filtered through his past history, his philosophical perspective, his purposes for the trip, his physical capacities and so forth. In the same way, the map to be given here is abstract, describing the objective territory to be traveled. However, it cannot describe the inner meaning, perceptions, insights and values that may arise within each individual traveler.

 

In the ensuing discussion, the Seventh Stage will be discussed in terms of seven stages, with each stage assumed to include seven substages. Bear in mind that, within the context of Process Theory, the transformational process begins with the turn at the middle of the fourth stage and continues to its conclusion at the seventh stage. This is the evolutionary, voluntary, internalizing, transformational phase of the development of conscious awareness or the ascending branch of the arc.

 

Being aware of the kinds of developments that characterize these stages may facilitate how you, the reader, self-organize and transform in your own unique path to Oneness. In The Travelers’ Guide that follows, some of those potentials will be fleshed out and illustrated in a more story-like fashion. So let’s begin.

 

Following the turn, there is a reorientation, a reversing of the direction of spin, so to speak. This is the beginning of the quest – to reunite with the Reality that has been momentarily glimpsed, and to thus become one with it. The last half of fourth stage is a clearing-out process, as noted earlier, of whatever obstacles may prevent setting out on the quest.

 

Fifth stage is the quest proper, as the difficulties, problems, antagonists and opposition met along the way represent unregenerated and suppressed psychic energies. By encountering these shadows, aligning with them and thus transforming their energy from resistance to empowerment, the neophyte or hero climbs Mt. Meru or “real-I-zes” her full potential and power. When the alignment process at stage five is complete, the individual finds himself in full possession of all his human powers and faculties in addition to being in direct relationship with his soul or higher self and thus able to channel transpersonal energies.

 

As she descends the mountain back into the concrete world of experience, she brings with her not only her powers but also a sacred task – the activity of her soul in the world via her personality-form. She has become the instrument of the divine will which she now recognizes as also being her own individual or personal will for her remaining time on earth.

 

Now what remains is to perform the dharma or sacred task. This is the sixth stage, that of the projection of the qualities of the soul into the world by means of the individuality now cleansed of personal form (ego) and its issues and conflicts. Depending on how well he performs his task, he may undergo further changes, of which we know little.

 

When the goal is finally reached in the seventh stage, she has been changed and transformed within at every level of her being, down to molecules and atoms. Her experience of the world is entirely different from anything we may be able to imagine.

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STAGE 1 - INSTINCT

 

According to the Theory of Process, all processes begin with purpose, intention, impulse, or an act. This purpose or potential arises from a completely free state, is spontaneous and unrestricted. In terms of the evolution of conscious awareness, this first stage can be considered to be the unconscious and infinite potential to be.

 

Young states this potential as follows:

            "Such evolution does not concern his physique, which is an inheritance from the animal, nor is it concerned                    only with intelligence. It is, rather, a combination of all his human faculties: intelligence, emotion, intuition,                  will, and, above all, the integration of all his talents into a single whole. What is the source of this initiating                    impulse, defined to be unconscious?"

             A brilliant exposition is found in The Atman Project where Wilber states:

           "At the extreme point of involution — which is simply the pleroma or the material world — all of the higher                   and highest states of being lie enfolded as undifferentiated potential."

 

The material world in the form of the human (animal) body is the ground or stage one for the development of conscious awareness, as a sensitive physical organism is the absolute prerequisite for the development of self—consciousness. Wilber continues:

             The highest and the lowest, the infinite and the finite, spirit, mind and matter — all are enfolded as the                         undifferentiated and unconscious potential and that is the ground-unconscious. Evolution is simply the                         unfolding of that enfolded potential. All the various modes of being can then eventually emerge from the                     ground-consciousness, starting with the lowest (pleroma) and ending with the highest (Atman) . At the end                   of evolution, all of the structures enfolded in the ground-unconscious have emerged in consciousness, which              drains the ground-unconscious and leaves only Atman, or Consciousness as Such.

 

Human development begins at the first stage with the crowning glory of creation through the Sixth Stage the mobile, sensitive, responsive, self-regulating physical (animal) body. This is the human starting point in the development of self-awareness: an awareness of the self as a body. This awareness is mediated by and derived from the senses and directs the instincts.

 

At first stage, the body moves in sequence, but awareness does not. It is flooded by sensory input, but there is no response or movement in awareness. There is only awareness of that which is in the immediate now, which is then perceived as a result of simple sensory stimulation. A similar state is often experienced by users of marijuana, in that a highly intoxicated state results in an intense awareness of sensory stimuli while the ability to establish or maintain any awareness of sequence (awareness moving through time) is often difficult or impossible to achieve.

 

Awareness is anchored in the senses in the moment. The body may instinctively respond to the intense stimulation, but awareness remains fixated on the sensation being experienced in the immediate present.

 

When conscious awareness is flooded with a sensation, then, such as hunger, unconscious action is triggered in the body as directed by instinct acting on the autonomic nervous system. First stage awareness, however, is unconscious of the bodily response except as sensory input into awareness is changed — and then there is no awareness of a sequence or cause and effect relationship. Everything remains unconscious except the sensation of the moment.

 

It is important to distinguish between the involuntary instinctual movements of the body, which are never accessible to conscious awareness or control from the moment of inception until stage seven, although they operate unconsciously at state one, and the involuntary motions of consciousness, or stage two of Seventh Stage. Conscious awareness is moved, at Stage 2, by involuntary attraction to or repulsion from images, feelings, memories. dreams and archetypal energies. These movements of consciousness we call emotions. They are not derived from the physical realm of the animal body, such as the sensations of stage one, but are in fact the prima materia or basic substance of consciousness, which is non—physical. Therefore, while the body is moved by instinct via sensation, consciousness is moved by impressions via emotion (the pleasure—pain principle). This will be explored further in discussion of the second stage. In understanding the nature of stage one in relation to conscious awareness in humans, it may be most helpful to draw on what we already know of human development. Let us assume that stage one bears a relationship to the earliest state of human awareness, that of the infant.

 

Young compares this state with that of the primitive hunter, using the developmental process of humanity as a whole, rather than within each individual. However, the two perspectives are essentially the same. What is it, then, that characterizes the consciousness of the individual infant and the primitive, solitary hunter? In considering this question, one of the first realizations is that both the infant and the hunter inhabit a consciousness governed by instinct. Both instinctively seek food, warmth, physical comfort, a sense of safety. In addition, the awareness which arises from the instinctive impulses is derived entirely from sensory input, a "rudimentary body awareness."

 

The infant lives in a world of sensory awareness, where sound or light or sensation fill his awareness entirely during the moments of stimulation. He has no sense of himself apart from these eruptions into his otherwise uninterrupted state of unconscious being. The instinctive impulses which move him to cry, suck, move, etc. arise directly from sensory input into his delicate and highly responsive nervous system. Hunger, pain, cold, wetness, satiation, warmth, containment - these "moments" of awareness are experienced as the entire state of being. There is no awareness of sequence, of past or future, only of the immediate sensation being experienced now.

 

Thus hunger, for instance, becomes absolute hunger, commanding the entire field of awareness without reference to past episodes of hunger and satiation or of the possibility of future satisfaction. At the moment of hunger, the infant is hunger - period. This state of being hunger itself sets into motion a process seeking fulfillment, i.e., that of being or achieving a state of non-hunger or satiation. This is not a consciousIy-chosen intention, but is rather an unconscious action, purpose or intention which we may also term instinct.

 

In the same way, the primitive hunter lives in a world shaped by his instinctive responses to sensory awareness. When he is hungry, he seeks food; when he is cold or wet, he seeks shelter. The steps taken during these processes are steps directed by an instinctive sensitivity to available sources for fulfillment of the unconscious intention. In this primitive state of awareness, survival is the only issue. Man is literally unaware of the existence of any other conditions or beings in nature except as they may contribute to the fulfillment of his most basic needs.

 

The awareness of the infant or the primitive hunter (or the individual highly intoxicated from marijuana) is also, from our point of view, a state of blessedness, in the sense that ignorance is bliss. Because pain or hunger are immediate and in awareness only momentarily, there is no being who suffers, since there is no continuity of consciousness to establish a "being". Therefore, there is no resistance to these sensations as they are received, and the infant or primitive simply moves in response to them until they are satisfied or otherwise disappear from the forefront of his consciousness.

 

Awareness of pain or suffering requires the existence in time (or sequential awareness) of "one who suffers and who can thereby respond to his current state of awareness with a value-based response because he also has memory. of earlier moments without pain and can contrast the two states” (this is stage two conscious awareness).

 

At this point, it is important to review the evolutionary step just previous to this first stage of the Seventh Stage, i.e., the seventh substage of the Sixth (or Animal) Stage. The evolutionary attainment of the animal is the development of the central nervous system (the notochord) extending along the animal’s back and encased in a protective bony spine. In addition, Young notes the emergence of the eye.

                               "The eye is a conspicuous feature of all vertebrates, and its morphological and functional basis as                                   the upper end of the nerve cord, and hence its link with the brain, adds a convincing argument                                       that the nerve chord has its origins very early in the evolutionary chain and is not derived from                                         the annelid, and certainly not from arthropod, ancestors."

 

Young notes that the nervous system which develops here is dual, i.e., it has two separately functioning subsystems: the autonomic system and the voluntary system. Young also notes "experiments show that the voluntary nervous system can take over the autonomic functions if an effort is made to that end. He goes on to state:

                                The seventh substage, like the seventh stage, must introduce a new principle. The principle must                                   be one that has a control function. And it is appropriate that it embrace control of the organism                                     itself, as well as control of the environment. The voluntary nervous system can, in fact, be thought                                   of as an inner eye, an agency of self-consciousness which cannot be explained in terms of the                                         purely sensory awareness which would arise from the autonomic nervous system alone."

 

What does this tell us, then, about the first stage of seventh Stage, and of the evolutionary purpose of the Seventh Stage as a whole?

 

As we have seen, the infant and the primitive rely on the autonomic nervous system, the highest state of development in the animal, for their primary state of sensory, instinctual awareness. However, enfolded within the central nervous system is the evolutionary possibility of self-regulation or self- conscious awareness in the form of the voluntary nervous system - the eye that sees but cannot (yet) see itself.

 

Perhaps at least one of the purposes of seventh Stage or human evolution is, therefore, to evolve from involuntary (sensory) awareness stimulating automatic, instinctual responses in the immediate moment to a voluntary, self-conscious, learned response to the immediate moment in which the voluntary overrides the automatic response and exercises conscious control of the person at all levels including the most basic level — the body and its senses.

 

If true, this process would then be a manifestation of the spiritualization of matter, "the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting", the creation of the enlightened body where the “light" of consciousness (i.e. , voluntary control) permeates throughout all the realms of being, down through the cellular structure to the molecules, atoms, and constituent nuclear particles, finally re-connecting, re-membering with the original source, the photon — recognizing itself as what it is now and has always been — pure light.

 

The first stage of human evolution, then, can be seen as characterized by immediate awareness of pure sensation in a single, timeless moment resulting in an unconscious and involuntary action, structured by instinct (i.e., the autonomic nervous system), to neutralize the sensation and return to a state of unconscious rest.

 

These instinctual actions include some usually thought of as emotions, but which are really instincts; i.e. anger and fear. The "fight or flight" mechanism cannot be said to be an emotion or motivation, per se, but is much more comprehensible as an instinct, operating below the collective unconscious of humanity because it arises from, and exists to protect, the previous level of development, the animal body. Anger or fear, in this instance, operate as unconscious intentions or impulses (direct actions).

 

More precisely, fear, anger and hunger can be located within the arc of stage one process at substage two — the "movers" of sensory awareness seeking a return to equilibrium. They are primal in that they are exhibited by even the most primitive levels of human development. (The hunter is a prime example of reliance on anger/ fear or "fight/ flight" for survival.) These instincts arise from the body's unconscious intention to survive, to continue existence in the world, and are the mechanisms by which that intention may be realized.

 

It may be, therefore, that the substages of stage one reflect a process which is the unconscious development of the "fight or flight" (and therefore control function) response. For an infant, this would probably appear as the cry/ smile mechanism, used to elicit need gratification from the environment. Before the further stages of evolution can proceed, there must be an un-conscious control function to ensure the survival of the organism bearing the seeds of consciousness. It is proposed here that sensory awareness - which triggers the autonomic nervous system, source of unconscious and instinctual actions in the service of physical survival, meets this requirement.

 

In summary, then, first stage sees the translation of the Sixth Stage control function, the central nervous system including the activated autonomic nervous system and the potential voluntary nervous system, to the earliest stage of human development, that of conscious awareness of sensory perceptions. This rudimentary stage of consciousness is, of course, intermittent, discontinuous, and immediate in nature and contingent on sensory stimulation followed by an instinctual act (or control function) leading to a return to equilibrium of (un)consciousness.

 

In essence, at this stage of the development of conscious awareness, the universe is the immediate contents of consciousness. The infant is not the center of the universe; rather the universe is the infant now, either in absolute conscious awareness of a single sensation or absolute unconscious awareness of equilibrium or rest. In other words, consciousness at this first stage, like the light of Stage One, may be both continuous (unconscious equilibrium) and discrete (sensory awareness), with the moments of awareness (particles) coexisting with the unconscious instinctual adjustments (waves) within the unconscious that maintain equilibrium. This light-like quality of consciousness at the first stage helps to ensure the survival of the vehicle required for conscious development, the mobile physical organism (the body or pleroma of seventh Stage).

 

 

STAGE 2 - PSYCHE

 

The second stage in the process of the evolution of conscious awareness is the development of the power of binding. In human development, this is the emergence of memory, the element of consciousness which is able to link moments of awareness into a sequence by “charging” them with either positive or negative value. This sequence is the primitive experience of time, with uni- directional flow, as memory is always of the past, experienced in the present, and arising from an unknown future.

 

In order for the binding power of memory to be established, there must first be a differentiation and polarization of the contents of conscious awareness. This can be identified as a tendency to move either toward or away from a stimulus, depending on whether that stimulus is remembered to be painful or pleasurable. Certain sensory moments apparently break down, like the photon, leaving traces in the unconscious that are translated into memories imbued with either positive or negative charge — the protons and electrons (nuclear forces, Stage Two) of nuclear physics are analogous. The charge associated with these memories depends on whether the initial sensory moment of awareness is perceived at the second stage as painful or pleasurable.

 

Rudimentary motivation then appears at the second stage in the form of movement toward repetition of positively-charged moments now reduced to memories or away from situations that might result in the reoccurrence of the negatively-charged memory moments.

 

In addition to being the seat of memories of a single entity, the second stage is also the reservoir of memories of the collective, sometimes known as the racial memory or collective unconscious. Recalling that Level II or second stage is both projective and general, the memories, dreams, and impressions of the individual psyche are as much a part of the collective psyche of humankind as waves are part of an ocean.

 

Since there is as yet no subjective sense of a self apart from the whole, at second stage, there is no ability to discriminate between memories, dreams, and desires of the entity and those of the collective. Those associated directly with the entity may have a more potent charge, however, resulting in a waking awareness of a sequence of experience while the collective memories and impressions may appear most frequently in dream consciousness. The charged elements of the second stage which are associated with the collective unconscious are usually referred to as "archetypes ", a term coined by Jung. These core racial memories and feelings are dynamic forces within the psyche, manifesting as emotions, motivations, aspirations , and other mobilizing projections of the collective unconscious .

 

It is important to remember at this point, however, that these projections of the collective psyche are random at this stage of the evolutionary process, often setting into motion responses or actions which appear to be whimsical, illogical, or otherwise without apparent cause. Like the nuclear forces of Stage Two, responses at this stage can be predicted as “probabilities” for people as a whole but may or may not be manifested by a given individual. For example, the sight of a voluptuous woman will "probably" excite a sexual response in most men, but not necessarily in a particular man at a particular moment in time. The individual himself may not be able to predict when he will be subject to arousal or desire.

 

While memories act as the binding force for the embryonic psyche, the "charge" that sets off motion arises from desire. Desire, in its turn, arises from a perception or feeling of incompleteness, of a lack, and stimulates movement to relieve this lack of ease by re-unification with the polar opposite. The difference between this movement and the movement of instinct in stage one is that the desire may arise in the absence of any sensory stimulation in the present but instead may be based upon memory of a past experience.

 

This is a significant difference, as it is the first activity of awareness to be without a direct connection to physical reality.

 

Emotions and aspirations experienced during the second stage of development might, then, more appropriately be termed desires, as they appear to be strongly associated with appetites and aversions. Rather than being absolute, they usually emerge as strong preferences or tendencies, again similar to the probabilities of quantum physics in their indeterminacy. Like sexual desire, however, these desires act below the level of consciousness, moving the person quite capriciously in first one direction and then another. Because they act as forces, having charge, these desires may vary in duration before the charge is either satisfied or exhausted.

 

We see this in small children, who insistently and intensely lobby for pleasures (not necessarily needs) such as candy, but who may also be distracted by an equal or greater charge such as another treat or a punishment. Either way, the original charge is defused for the time being.

 

Because the person at second stage has not developed a sense of self apart from his context, being instead identified with the sequence of events that occur within that context as well as with his unconscious desires and motivations, he quite naturally finds some sense of affiliation or identity with the group or collective in which he finds himself, whether it is the family of a small child or the Inca Empire in which twelve million peons coexisted as a collective entity, as Young reports. This is tribal consciousness, usually maintained by elaborate rituals to ensure a balance among the local gods or spirits (nuclear energies).

 

In the same way, a small child will establish (and expect others to adhere to) very specific rituals and routines by which he maintains an internal sense of homeostasis. It could be surmised that the local gods or spirits are projections of desires or forces within the psyche, and that the rituals established to balance these energies are the control function of the psyche or stage two, resulting in some protection for the emerging awareness from complete uncertainty.

 

The absolute freedom (and uncertainty) of the first stage are exchanged for indeterminacy (probability) in second stage, allowing the evolving entity to establish a sense of ability to influence the contents of his conscious experience in the direction of continuity and stability.

 

Since stage two is where we find the collective unconscious or "psychic sea”, it is also the stage of the developing awareness where psychic abilities are quite frequently manifested. These may include telepathy, clairvoyance, PK or telekinesis, poltergeist activity, and mediumship. In mediumship, in particular, ego consciousness is set aside, and the unconscious is allowed to manifest.

 

This is also the often-unhappy state of consciousness of schizophrenics, who find themselves adrift in this psychic sea without a paddle (locus of self-identity in the ego). “In schizophrenia, attention is greatly disrupted. It is hard for a patient to remain focused on any one stimulus for any length of time. He is unable to ‘tune out' or ignore other surrounding stimuli. The schizophrenic is unable to dis-identify with the contents of his individual and collective unconscious and thus is inundated by wave after wave of psychic material. This may be accompanied, however, by an apparent increase in psychic sensitivities or abilities, but these usually manifest randomly and compulsively.” Like the young child remarked on earlier, the schizophrenic awareness is commanded willy-nilly by first this desire, then that impression, and so forth, with no consistency or control. Depending on the specific contents of awareness, feeling states may become very intensely positive or negative as they are largely unconstrained (while at the same time being relatively short-lived and subject to rapid change).

 

From the above, it becomes clear that altered states of consciousness which have often been interpreted as an expansion of awareness into a higher state may in fact be an expansion of awareness into a less structured but regressive state, much as air escaping from a punctured balloon returns to its previous state of unity with the atmosphere but with a concomitant loss of function . This is devolution, not evolution — evolution never requires the loss of any acquired state, but rather incorporates each new state of being into an ever-greater whole.

In summary, due to its limitless nature it is impossible to define the second stage of consciousness. Like the quantum field, it may be described in terms of probabilities, but it will always remain indeterminate. The law of the conservation of matter teaches us that energy in the universe is inexhaustible. In the same way, the potential motions in consciousness are also unlimited. There is no end to desires, and the suffering that accompanies them, for the very good reason that further evolution requires a powerful push that will maximize the opportunities for increasing awareness and learning. Like seeking the perfect sexual partner with whom reunion may finally be achieved, the effort to gain fulfillment by satisfying desires is doomed to failure. Yet the merry chase goes blindly on, right into the third stage of process.The first and second stages have been described here in some detail in order to establish a clear picture of the earliest states of awareness. This is of some importance for an accurate understanding of the differences and similarities between the early and latter states of conscious awareness; i.e., those belonging to Level I (stages 1 and 7) and Level II (stages 2 and 6) which could be characterized as pre-conceptual and trans-conceptual (the primarily conceptual stages being 3, 4 and 5).

 

To read the rest of the Stages of human consciousness development, and much more, see The Enlightenment Journey by Susan E. Galvan on Amazon. Arthur M. Young was my mentor and John Saloma was my Thesis Advisor for my M.A. Thesis in 1981: Seventh Stage: The Evolution of Consciousness in Humans, the source of this material.For the full description of Process Theory, see The Reflexive Universe: Evolution of Consciousness, by Arthur M. Young. Paperback edition, March 6, 2021.

                      Integrating the findings of modern science with ancient wisdom, this seminal work offers a paradigm for                        resolving the schism between spirit and matter. Arthur Young's Theory of Process provides a model for                          the evolution of consciousness out of light (the quantum of action), offering hope for an age in search                            of value and meaning. This is a facsimile of the original 1976 Delacorte edition, with typographic                                    corrections in the text and a new introduction by Huston Smith.”