How to Measure Your Own Level of Consciousness in the Next Eight Minutes

What is consciousness and why does it matter?

We’ve been talking about consciousness lately.

Consciousness can be defined as a scale or framework of human spiritual development. Living at a higher level of consciousness means living a life of greater love, especially when it comes to relating to “the other.”

Why is this important?

Moving into the higher levels of consciousness opens us up to greater experiences of the Divine. And depending on where we’re at on the scale, we can implement certain actions and behaviors to help us move through these layers more rapidly.

By the end of this post you’ll have a better understanding of where you’re currently at on the scale of consciousness and the steps you can take to progress forward.

We need a map to know where we’re going

The most useful map or scale of consciousness I’m aware of is the stairway model created by Tara Springett:

The nine stages of consciousness by Tara Springett

We all start at level zero, Innocence. By age two or three we reach the Dominance level. Around age four we reach the Obedience level. (This is all normal childhood development.)

From there people progress to subsequent levels at varying speeds. Some never leave Obedience. (And unfortunately, some never leave Innocence or Dominance, and the results are disastrous.)

We all must go through each of these steps, in their exact order, and there’s no skipping a step, no exceptions. Everyone (unless you’re a self-realized being) starts at zero.

Now we’ll cover a few of the most common levels and how to place yourself within them, and how to move through and beyond them:

The Obedience Level (2)

This level is defined by: submission and adherence to moral and social rules for the greater good of all; hierarchical structures in groups of people; self-denial and judging of others; the individual says, ‘I do what is expected of me.’ Fear, repression, and judgmentalness.

Individuals at this stage are often disciplined rule-followers who are motivated to fit in with their group, whether that be religious, familial, or political, in order to achieve security and belonging. At this level it isn’t safe to go against the rules of one’s tribe.

I’d estimate about 40% of individuals in the United States are at this level. And many churches remain stuck at this level.¹

Higher education or extended travel outside of one’s hometown can often open one up to breaking free from the Obedience level. Tragedy can also be a catalyst if, for example, one is forced to reconcile a tragic event with their rudimentary beliefs about God.

The Ambition Level (3)

This level is defined by: rational world-view; creating a successful self-image; materialism; competitiveness; the individual says, ‘I want to achieve more than anyone else.’                 

Rationality dominates this level and much of Western society is currently in this stage.

Many individuals at this level are experiencing deconstruction of lower-consciousness Christianity and while that can be exciting or freeing, it can also be scary. Oftentimes to overcome this fear (of Hell or an angry God) the individual has no choice but to declare that there is no Divine Presence.

The Ambition stage can be fun and bring tremendous freedom. Eventually, however, it can also be lacking:

There is only one area where people from the ambition stage do not succeed and that is in finding deep emotional and spiritual fulfilment. Unfortunately, at this stage the spiritual and psychological dimensions of life feel scary and ambition people strongly dislike the vulnerability that comes with these topics. Instead, they prefer to focus entirely on the aspects of their existence that are logical, rational and materialistic.

Ambition people are always working on the ‘outside’ of themselves – their looks, their knowledge and their possessions. They are constantly trying to create a better self-image because they don’t yet dare to get involved with the core of their being. In other words, happiness is equated with ‘looking good’ in the eyes of one’s surrounding competitors.

No other stage of consciousness is as competitive as the ambition stage. Unfortunately, it is this very competitiveness that creates the considerable amounts of stress that is so typical in our times. What’s more, at the ambition stage the lack of spiritual and emotional fulfilment eventually leads to dissatisfaction and even depression. When this depression is tackled rather than suppressed, it marks the ascent to the next stage of consciousness.

Good or bad, much of society (probably 30%) is currently at this stage and many of our current challenges can be tied back to the darker side of this level.

Pastors and churches at this level will often push their mission forward no matter the human cost. Many of you reading this have experienced this cost.

At a personal level our courage and willingness to display vulnerability is often a powerful catalyst to help us move beyond the Ambition stage and into the Sharing stage.

The Sharing Level (4)

This level is defined by: search for compassionate relationships; exploration of one’s emotions; egalitarianism; living in harmony with nature; the individual says, ‘I am close to others and to nature.’

This stage represents the landing of Tara’s consciousness staircase. It’s the point at which we can begin to turn around and see where we’ve come from, without necessarily being so judgy about others who are still at those previous levels.

In the terms of Ken Wilber’s Integral Model this means we’re able to transcend and include. We can begin to see that every stage is a necessary part of our journey.

The Sharing stage is also where we can begin to truly feel and share in the suffering of others, which drives us to take action to alleviate that suffering. This is different from the charitable actions of the Obedience level that are often rooted in pity or condescension and done at arm’s length.

While the Sharing level (estimated at around 20% of the population) is currently emerging at the societal level in the West, we unfortunately see almost daily reminders of the shadow side of this stage.

Those at the Sharing stage can become so focused on helping that they seem to lose all sense of wisdom and common sense in their attempts. They start out well-intentioned, but because they lack the responsibility of the next level up, they can sometimes end up doing as much harm as good.

Individuals at this stage can fall into the trap of blaming parents or society-at-large for all that’s wrong with themselves and/or the world.

In waking-up to the reality that society isn’t perfect they may seek to completely dismantle that same society, rather than taking a responsibility-based approach that is based on sound principles.

Moving beyond this stage can be difficult, as there aren’t too many Responsibility-level individuals to model or Responsibility-level institutions to provide support.

It’s great that the Sharing stage has opened our hearts to the many problems of the world, but to progress to the Responsibility level we’ll need to drop any latent self-pity and stop seeing ourselves (and everyone else) as a helpless victim that needs to be saved by someone else.

The personal work required for this growth will be difficult, necessary, and empowering.

The Responsibility Level (5) (and above)

This level is defined by: taking full responsibility for every single problem in one’s life; keen interest in personal development and following one’s vocation, the individual says, ‘I realise my dreams for the best of humankind.’

The Responsibility level is where true power resides. This is the stage where all the excuses and blame stop. We drop the self-pity and take full control of our lives, while living in a manner that is altruistic and beneficial to everyone we encounter.

Society isn’t perfect and so we do what we can to make things better, while simultaneously requiring both ourselves and others to take full ownership in the parts we all play.

I love what Tara says about this level…

Everyone in our society who takes full responsibility for all of their problems, has an open-minded pragmatic approach to life, is playful yet disciplined, is able to achieve and has a keen interest in realising their altruistic dreams, is likely to be at the responsibility stage of consciousness.

Probably less than 5% of the U.S. has reached this stage of development, so there currently aren’t very many Responsibility-level individuals or institutions for us to model or receive guidance from; but they are coming. And in the next forty years these leaders and the communities they create will lead us toward a better way of living.

Beyond the Responsibility stage we have the Love Level (6) and above, where spiritual development and altruistic love become one’s primary focus in life. We won’t dive into those levels today but they are fascinating, and it’s exciting to use these levels to project where humanity might be in a thousand or ten thousand years.

The future will be wilder and more exciting than you could probably ever imagine.

What level are you currently at?

Using the information above you should be able to get a good idea of which stage of consciousness you’re at most of the time. Certainly there will be variation based on circumstances and setting, but as long as you’re willing to be honest and relatively self-aware then you should now have a fairly good idea of where you’re at, and where you’re going.

You were born with potential.
You were born with goodness and trust. You were born with ideals and dreams. You were born with greatness.
You were born with wings.
You are not meant for crawling, so don't.
You have wings.
Learn to use them and fly.

-Rumi

What questions do you have about the levels of consciousness? Let me know in the comment section so I can reply…and so we can cover them in future posts!

Tara’s book on consciousness changed my life. You can get your copy here. We’ll go deeper on many facets of this topic in the coming months. I hope you’ll join us and please invite any friends or family members who share these interests.

If you feel this topic is helpful or important please join our mailing list as we explore these important insights.

Hope you have an awesome week ahead!!❤️

1. If you want to understand why our society sees so many pastors, politicians, and police officers fall for the temptations of their roles it’s likely because many of these individuals are at the Obedience stage which is only one level up from the Dominance stage, and none of us are beyond regression.