#21 Awakening Consciousness

The Not-Yet God:

Carl Jung, Teilhard de Chardin and the Relational Whole by Ilia Delio, OSF

Précis by Helene O’Sullivan, MM

 Last part of Chapter 7 ~

The Development of Godself

 Twentieth-Century Studies in depth psychology and levels of consciousness have made tremendous development since Jung and Freud. There are different schools of thought on how consciousness develops in the human person, but the basic trajectory is a movement through stages from the isolated ego to the self as a fully integrated person.

 These stages of consciousness are models of development, especially in light of what we know today about the brain and its capacity for change, described by the term “neuroplasticity.”

 The process of conscious maturation is complex, and various sciences, such as quantum physics, chaos theory, and emergence, are helping to define the mysterious workings of the mind. While I do not subscribe to any particular model of conscious growth, I do think such models are helpful in understanding the evolution of the human person. Here I rely on the stages of conscious growth described by Jim Marion, whose work on Christ consciousness was inspired by Jung.

 The following is a brief summary of each of the seven stages:

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#1-Archaic Consciousness:

This stage begins with the infant’s differentiation of its own body from that of its mother, and second, the differentiation of the infant’s emotions from those of the mother.  This level is primarily a physical (and later emotional) level of conscious-ness, one ruled by sensations and impulses.

 According to Jung, human beings begin life in a state of original wholeness in our earliest infancy, when neither ego nor consciousness formally exist; however, the latent ego is in complete identification with the structures of the unconscious. The infant experiences him/herself “quite literally as the center of the universe.” The earliest encounters with reality fracture this original unity as the infant’s demands eventually begin to be rejected by the world. This limitation displaces the child from its place of privilege. The child is thus exiled from paradise, and a permanent wounding and separation occur. Jung calls this wounding alienation.

 #2-Magical Consciousness:

This level of consciousness is the level of magical thinking in a young child, usually between the ages of two to seven years old. In the state of magical consciousness, the child cannot clearly distinguish between its own emerging mental images and symbols and the external world. With respect to religion, this is the level of animism, which sees the sky, thunder, and other natural phenomena as “alive” and controllable by magic words and ceremonies.

#3-Mythic Consciousness:

This is the level of consciousness that emerges around age seven and continues to adolescence, around age fourteen. Here, the mind begins to grasp and understand general rules. The child also begins to realize the importance of specific cultural roles, such as mother and father.   This is a conformist “law and order” stage of development. Confusion can arise by opposing laws or rules. The inner world at this level is popularized by cultural gods, such as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

 On the institutional religious level, it is the stage of the “sky God” who can rearrange the world, works miracles, and punish, if necessary. Religious people who are stuck in mythic consciousness will see the followers of other religions as “evil” or “heretics.” People at this level are psychologically incapable of thinking “globally.” This is the level of monotheistic religions, in general.

 #4-Rational Consciousness:

This level of consciousness is more or less attained by the average adult in contemporary society. The passage from mythic into rational consciousness is the primary spiritual task of adolescence. A person who thinks on the lower level of rational consciousness usually has few original thoughts or insights. A higher level of rational consciousness seeks to expand the mind to embrace complex ideas. To be reborn into rational consciousness, one must die to the mythic worldview, which can be difficult.

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Higher-level rational consciousness domi-nates the world in terms of education, government, science, technology, busi-ness, and politics.

 #5-Vision-Logic Consciousness:

This is the highest of the three mental levels of consciousness and is associated with the abstract mind. At this level, persons are more grounded within themselves and unafraid to take bold steps or advance original ideas. This is the level of the integrated personality.

 At this level, we have a global perspective, and no longer define the self in narrow terms of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin. Tolerance and appreciation for diversity also mark this level.

 #6-Psychic Consciousness:

At this level, one no longer identifies the self with the rational mind. Instead, one identifies the self with the inner witness that observes body, emotions, and mind.

 Evelyn Underhill called this level, the “awakening of the self,” that is, awakening to the deeper part of the self, the psyche that transcends space and time. We awaken to the energies of the psyche and astral body; we awaken to the energies of the soul.

 This stage is the beginning level of mystical knowing, clairvoyance, religious intuition, energy alignment, and prophecy.

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 #7-Christ Consciousness:

As one progresses through the depth of psychic consciousness, one encounters the dark night of the soul, including the stripping of senses and emotions, the feeling of abandonment and darkness. However, a small wisp of inner light can hold the traveler through this rugged terrain of the soul, as one plods on through darkness, strengthened by faith and hope. Eventually, there is a breakthrough or a piercing of the veil that hides the infinite ground within.

 Meister Eckhart advised emptying yourself of everything, that is to say, emptying yourself of your ego and all things and of all that you are in yourself, and consider yourself as what you are in God.

 THE WORLD CAN BE RECREATED IN JUSTICE

Every single person has the divine light within; every single person radiates the life of God. When we awaken to the reality of God as the deepest center of our existence, we live in hope that the world can be recreated in justice, that the future will be different.

 When we live in God, we live in the future; we dream, hope, create, and travel lightly on this cosmic journey. The future depends on our choices in the moments we are given.

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 We can help build up this world in love and radiate the glory of God or we can tear it into pieces in a bloody battle for survival.

 What Jung and Teilhard help us realize is that God’s life and our lives are a single entangled life.

We are bound up with each other, our lives with God, God’s life with ours,

and our lives with each another and with every living creature.

 Our task is to actualize this entangled whole by making the inner journey in the flow of evolution.

 Wholeness beckons us because it is already within us. We potentially have the life

we are looking for!