You can only be sure of a person’s stage of consciousness that is equal to or less than your own, and what people can’t verify, they tend to disbelieve or misunderstand, then fill in the blanks with wild imagination. For hundreds of years, a person risked ostracism, persecution, jail, or death for expressing unorthodox ideas or experiences out of the norm.

Another excuse for secrecy was that if the benefits of consciousness work were revealed, people would pursue higher consciousness for all the wrong reasons, wasting theirs and others’ time. There might have been some element of truth in that during the last century when a person thought to have higher knowledge might have been inundated with seekers. That would hardly be a problem now when curiosity about spiritual matters is at an all time low.

In present times, there is nothing to lose by revealing information on higher states, and there is the possibility that some readers might benefit. It is worth noting, though, that you cannot take as truth anything you have not experienced for yourself. Everything has to be self verified to be believed.

When Gurdjieff and Ouspensky mentioned the “Higher Emotional Center,” they did not describe it at all or even muddled the matter. Other systems vaguely refer to magical energies that might be released by certain kinds of meditation, but give no realistic accounts of how they might be attained or what they might be like to experience.

Once the leaks of inattention and negativity have been largely stopped and enough positive emotion has accumulated, there will be a breakthrough that feels like waves of bliss and ecstasy. Attaining the Higher Emotional Realm can have a number of mental, emotional, and physical side effects that many feel are best done with an experienced teacher, but this is not essential. A spiritual advisor can help keep you grounded. True spiritual bliss is a way of going sane. It is not mania or insanity, but a sense of extreme well-being.

This state is called by some the state of vibrations, by others the activation of Kundalini. In yogic terminology it is upward rising consciousness coursing up the spine to Satchitananda, Being-Consciousness-Bliss. This is reflected in the caduceus, the serpents entwining around the staff or spine seven times through each chakra, then emerging at the crown as angel wings. The books of Lee Sanella and Gopi Krishna give a good deal of information on navigating emerging higher emotion.

It is important to note that bliss and ecstasy are actually side effects of an expanding higher consciousness and not an end in themselves. Admittedly they are very compelling, and any human can be forgiven for immersing herself in them for a time. It may be hard for the average person to believe, but even bliss becomes an obstacle at some point. Ultimately there will come a recognition that the higher emotional realm is one stop along the way and not the real goal. Stopping here would be to accept the booby prize of false enlightenment.

The sudden emergence and system disruption of the previous realm is not a feature of the Higher Intellectual Realm. It establishes itself gently and gradually as the bliss of the higher emotional realm eventually settles. What marks the higher intellectual realm are greatly increased mental focus, perceptions, and intuition.

Because there is a baseline of constant euphoria, one is very content with simple things. A Buddhist saying is that after enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. The mental creative force can take any direction. You might write books, teach, dance, or paint pictures depending on your natural inclination. What will be distinctly different is the vastly increased ability and productivity you can bring to any endeavor you choose.

A person can be told about the joy of having a clear, empty mind, but can only conceive of it when having the actual experience. There is a tremendous freedom in getting out from under the inner monologue. With the mind free, when you willfully think, there is a great deal more power and focus, so it’s much easier to accomplish things.

Right and wrong seem obvious in this state. One intuitively senses what is the next right thing to do and has an aversion to anything wrong. This is called a Conscience, and it is ever present in a person of higher consciousness. If everyone had one, there would be no need for laws of any kind because we would all treat one another with respect.

The books of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, like other mystical writings of that era, include many pages of explanations and diagrams explaining the layers of existence, a map of the cosmos. This schematic representation of consciousness and being is also predominant in the writings of Patanjali, in alchemy, and in most esoteric works.

This book has not stressed that side of things because they can only be understood abstractly or intellectually until a person has actual experience of more than one level of consciousness. Once having that experience, contemplating the scheme of things can help a person grasp the bigger picture. It’s a mistake to try to achieve higher consciousness by the intellect alone. Without the experience, one is left with words and vague ideas, but can never get to the real meaning of it.

All of these paradigms have in common looking at existence as having seven basic layers, which Gurdjieff refers to as the Ray of Creation. At the very top is the Absolute, God, or complete unity and oneness. As it descends, it splits in two and there is duality. Farther down, multiplicity of being increases. Taken as vibratory energy, the higher up on the ray, the finer are the vibrations, the lower on the ray, the coarser. High on the ladder of being there are no or few laws, and low on the ladder there are numerous laws. As one ascends, consciousness, unity, and freedom increases.

This pattern can be recognized in rainbows, creation stories, and myths, and many indicate the theme of “As above, so below,” the concept of macrocosm and microcosm. It can be enlightening and comforting to contemplate that there really is nothing else than the Absolute taking many forms of the lover and beloved, the knower and the known. Man as asleep, as an unconscious and mechanical machine under a multitude of laws could be seen as the Absolute having descended the ladder so far as to enter forgetting, and waking up or ascending the way of remembering the truest One.

Higher Centers Glossary of Terms

Conscience – Permanent and constant intuitive knowledge of right and wrong

Higher Emotional Realm – A higher state of consciousness distinguished by entirely new and extraordinary emotional perceptions and experiences, including the ability to sustain a positive emotion for any desired length of time

Higher Intellectual Realm – Stage after higher emotional realm. Marked by greatly increased energy and focus of mental abilities, intuition, and conscience.

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