Levels in the Great Chain of Being

Since I have been sharing with you the consciousness views of Ken Wilber in the form of his Great Chain of Being, it might good to give you a break down of the Chain itself. You know, as I read Up From Eden, I rebelled against Wilber's writing style (more towards academia) because the only way I could comprehend it was to rewrite the concepts paragraph by paragraph in my notes. But since then, I guess it is resonating. Am I sold on his philosophies? I am not so sure, but they seem plausible.

The Great Chain of Being is a rather complicated affair (hence his several books about it). But rather than spending all the blog space explain its nuances (do a web search on him and you will find out more), let's look at the levels in general.

1. Level One is "nature” or uroboric (I just like that word). It is an infantile state. One's consciousness is that of being in a state where you do not discern yourself from anything else.


2. Level Two is "body" or typhonic. Consciousness begins to separate one's awareness from everything else, but it is as though one is the center of the universe. Awareness of body and self begin here.


3. Level Three is "early mind" or mythic membership. Consciousness in this area is very superstitious, thus magical. This is a "joiner" or "follower" state of consciousness.


4. Level Four is "advanced mind" or mental-egoic. This is where Wilber feels most of us are in consciousness evolution. The ego or separate-self (individualism) reigns supreme. This is what Eckhart Toll says we need to get past.


5. Level Five is "physic". This is where consciousness is expanded intuitively.


6. Level Six is "subtle" or saintly.


7. Level Seven is "casual" or sagely.


8. Level Eight is "ultimate."