Three levels of consciousness

In PSYCH-K® we distinguish three levels of consciousness: the subconscious, the consciousness and the higher consciousness. While doing a Balance, these three aspects of consciousness are active. First I will tell you what the qualities of these three aspects are and then how we use these qualities during a PSYCH-K® Balance.

At the top is your higher consciousness – our spiritual core. That is where the knowledge that transcends logic is. In your higher consciousness you find your destination and life purpose. It is that which connects us with each other and with everything around us. Some people call this God, Allah, Higher Self, intuition, your source, or the principles of nature. Because this consciousness cannot be pictured, not even as a metaphor, I have chosen the circle here as a visualisation.

In the middle we have our daily consciousness. It is that part of our knowing with which we make decisions in the now, explore new things, and compose the weekend shopping lists. The resolutions for the new year are also made here, which may have faded a bit around January 10… It is a very agile, fast and flexible consciousness. For this reason this consciousness reminds me of a hummingbird.

The subconscious is an enormous source of power and strength in our lives. The subconscious has a processor a million times more powerful than that of our consciousness. It is that which consumes our food, which makes our heart beat, with which we can drive, skate and type texts without thinking (assuming we have ever learned to do so in such a way that we have automated it). It helps us to survive.

The subconscious is an unequalled power source. It is the sum total of our life experience, recorded in automatisms and beliefs.

Until about the age of six or seven, the subconscious mind is wide open to absorb all knowledge, information, methods and gestures. This means that a child carries the “legacy” of the environment. This can be anything: a trauma or the thoughtfulness of a parent, the complaining attitude or the language of an older sister or the sharp attentiveness of a grandparent.

After the seventh year of life the subconscious is less flexible or agile but still very powerful and fast. Except for traumatic experiences, it will not quickly change of its own accord without a command from the consciousness. It can be compared to an elephant. Its enormous power can be to your advantage and it can also invariably want to go the other way. And then try to stop him!

It turns out that about 95 per cent of the time our elephant is in charge of what we do and don’t do. This means that we only function on the basis of the hummingbird 5 per cent of our time. This explains why our good intentions often end in disappointment. If your hummingbird formulates a good intention and your elephant doesn’t know anything about it, he won’t go to the gym just like that. The elephant follows the old programme until you instruct him to change in a way that the elephant understands.

For a change that works down to the cellular level it is necessary that all levels of your consciousness are in agreement. The consciousness often knows what it wants and it needs the help of the subconscious to achieve its goals. Without the support of the subconscious mind, life can feel like an ongoing battle that you regularly lose. What we want is a life in flow. A life in which the consciousness and subconscious are aligned with each other. In my life the higher consciousness gives direction to my life, my higher destiny. With my consciousness I give direction to this. If all goes well, my subconscious is a great executive force that helps me to get where I want to be. If this does not happen, it is time for a Balance.