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In my opinion, consciousness is understanding.
The more you understand about the world and the creatures in it and how each thing affects the other(physically or otherwise), the more conscious you become.
Basically I would say that the more you learn about everything, and the more connections you make with the things you know, consciousness levels up.
Opinion:
So one can truly enter onto the level of saint if their life's focus was Loving and helping those in need
just as one so consumed with all that is evil eventually transforms into a fallen angel...........
Consciousness has been attempted to be defined by many, starting with the dualistic meme of Descartes, "I think therefore I am" to Sam Harris who does not see a higher state from a dualism perspective at all. So, where on this continuum does a "higher level of consciousness" fall?
One thing to be admitted before any meaningful conclusion is perhaps we don't know enough, so a sufficient definition appears out of reach. Although this may apply to anything we experience, spiritual abstracts are obviously the most unknowable.
Nevertheless, the direction to discover should be the reversal of scientific methods which mainly focus on facts and at the same time create a feeling all science stances are at the other end of the spectrum of knowledge. So at least it's the longer path to reach what we would want.
Thus, maybe theism or religious relevant methods such as meditation should not be ridiculed. The only thing is to screen-out nonsense as it exists everywhere regardless of theism or scientism.
One idea to start with are the notions about the sole and mind. Are they integral or composite? The former path would soon face deadend because then who is the authentic judge for its "level status"? Accepting a composite mind, it's obvious that what's more complex could be considered "higher level", though not in any means objective or absolute, because say a big bunch of rubbish remains rubbish. So humans have higher level of consciousness because their mind has more ingredients. Quantity is for counting which is easier than quality where you need a common measure.
From an evolutionary perspective, consciousness might be viewed as picturing your place in a mental model (or map) of a particular scenario. As a social creature your survival depends on the behavior of others, so you try to predict what their response would be to your own actions. Thus you are conscious (self-aware) of your place in the world, and are able to recognize yourself in a mirror.
A higher consciousness might be the ability to look at more complex scenarios involving various interactions of multiple players, as well as your own -- the ability to map other people's expected thinking and the effects of their interactions to the nth degree. In a effect, you're looking two, three, or four chess moves ahead instead of just one. You gain a more holistic perspective on the community to which you belong, and the world in general.
Long seeking it through others,
I was far from reaching it.
Now I go by myself;
I meet it everywhere.
It is just I myself,
And I am not itself.
Understanding this way,
I can be as I am.
Consciousness has been attempted to be defined by many, starting with the dualistic meme of Descartes, "I think therefore I am" to Sam Harris who does not see a higher state from a dualism perspective at all. So, where on this continuum does a "higher level of consciousness" fall?
Is it something that evolves solely through meditation (which Harris and Tolle endorse), do psychotropic drugs unlock some of it, or is it something completely different? What does "a higher level of consciousness" mean?
I'd be interested in discussions on that question, as there is enough problems with agreement on what consciousnesses itself even is. Most of us agree that humans have a higher level than a mouse, but what about going down the evolutionary time scale. What about an octopus? A fish? A shrimp? Is there a collective consciousness when one sees a murmur of birds? What about bacteria? Or a plant? Does every biological
organism have some level of consciousness? I would suspect not, but when does it dim?
No one can define consciousness and no one can understand it. The only way to know is to experience a higher state of consciousness. I have, thus feel no need to define it.
Consciousness has been attempted to be defined by many, starting with the dualistic meme of Descartes, "I think therefore I am" to Sam Harris who does not see a higher state from a dualism perspective at all. So, where on this continuum does a "higher level of consciousness" fall?
Is it something that evolves solely through meditation (which Harris and Tolle endorse), do psychotropic drugs unlock some of it, or is it something completely different? What does "a higher level of consciousness" mean?
I'd be interested in discussions on that question, as there is enough problems with agreement on what consciousnesses itself even is. Most of us agree that humans have a higher level than a mouse, but what about going down the evolutionary time scale. What about an octopus? A fish? A shrimp? Is there a collective consciousness when one sees a murmur of birds? What about bacteria? Or a plant? Does every biological organism have some level of consciousness? I would suspect not, but when does it dim?
When you are under a strong emotional response, you experience it and at the same time, may be after ypu calm down a bit, you are aware that you are experiencing it. What is experiencing the body, with all the manifestation of great emption, and the mind-ego that is under the thrall of the emotion. What seems to be observing what you are experiencing, pr experienced, is your Consciousness. There is no higher or lower, just one single Consciousness.
Consciousness is in everything, like everything, rocks, cells, water. Its is lowest in gross objects such as rocks and highest in organisms that have subtler aspects such as a mind, ego, intellect, which humans possess to highest levels.
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