How Understanding the Four Levels of Consciousness Supports My Spiritual Path
One Sunday I was listening to a talk at my spiritual center. The speaker, Rev. Joel Fotinos, referred to one of my favorite teachings of Rev. Michael B. Beckwith, the Four Levels of Consciousness or Spiritual Awakening. While Rev. Beckwith didn’t invent this framework, I believe he popularized their characterization.
As we step away from religion and into lives of peace and freedom, it can be helpful to identify new ways of looking at life and our place in it.
Have you ever wondered why life sometimes feels like a struggle while other times it flows effortlessly? That’s because life as we know it, being spiritual beings occupying bodies on this planet, is designed to have ups and downs thanks to the universal law of polarity. Rev. Beckwith’s Four Levels of Spiritual Awakening framework can support your understanding of life’s ups and downs.
Understanding the upward spiral from victim consciousness to being consciousness helped me to see my spiritual journey in a new light. Poor, unskilled choices in my younger days created space for me to grow in awareness as I moved through the other stages. It’s not a straight line. Sometimes, I slip back when I forget who I am. But the grace of spirit always reminds me that I am perfectly imperfect, and all is well.
1. Victim Consciousness: Life Happens To Me
When I was a young woman living knee-deep in victim consciousness, I had zero boundaries and low self-esteem. I allowed men to use me and leave me, and then I’d have the nerve to ask, “Whys is this happening to me?” I’d feel powerless and victimized as if the world around me was the source of my troubles.