In the Trails to Empowerment community we frequently use the Consciousness Chart, created by David R Hawkins and reviewed in his book, Power vs Force, to assess how conscious and aware we are. We use it to assess where we are in a particular moment and what we feel is our “base level”, the level we operate at when nothing particularly good or bad is happening. As we support our community partners in their personal development, when we become aware that they are acting from the low levels of the Consciousness Chart, we can remind them to take a look at the Chart and they can then use this as a way to move themselves back to a positive mindset. Read on to learn about the levels that David Hawkins identifies in his consciousness chart, broken into three groups. He assigns an energy level to each line of the consciousness chart, from 20 – 1,000.
Victim and Abuser Mentality
The lowest level is when you are at your least conscious. In order from least conscious to most conscious, these emotional states are:
- Shame – 20 level
- Guilt – 30 level
- Apathy – 50 level
- Grief – 75 level
- Fear – 100 level
- Desire – 125 level
- Anger – 150 level
- Pride – 175 level
People who operate on this level come from a place of lack. This means they have the mentality of “If I can’t have it, no one can” which means if they aren’t happy, empowered or anything else they desire, they don’t want anyone else to be either and may even actively make other people’s lives miserable. They also use the principle “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. So if someone acts angrily to them, steals something or hits them, they will respond in kind. A bar fight is a good example of this low level of consciousness.
This grouping on the consciousness chart is where the victim mentality is displayed. These people believe they have no control over their lives, that both good and bad things happen to them because of other people or external circumstances and they are powerless to change them. People in this category also display an abuser mentality, it is a survival state and so these people will use others to get what they want.
Self-empowerment
The middle level is when you become more conscious. In order from least conscious to most conscious, these emotional states are:
- Courage – 200 level
- Neutrality – 250 level
- Willingness – 310 level
- Acceptance – 350 level
- Reason – 400 level
This is the stage where people are becoming more conscious and aware and have more agency to make changes in their lives, believing change comes from within and so is possible because of their mindset. This level can be summarized as “everyone and everything is inherently good”. This means people are able to see the good in everything and are also more independent of others.
This stage is categorized as self-empowerment as people realize they aren’t dependent on others to survive or be happy. This is similar to Maslow’s hierarchy level esteem. In the Trails to Empowerment community, living in this grouping of the Consciousness Chart or higher allows us to be more productive and have a positive, supportive community.
Self-realization
The highest level of consciousness, in order from least conscious to most conscious, includes these emotional states:
- Love – 500 level
- Joy – 540 level
- Peace – 600 level
- Enlightenment – 700-1,000 level
This grouping can be characterized as “Your joy is my joy”. This is because people in this grouping are most joyful when other people are too, regardless of whether they have had any part in creating this joy. This doesn’t mean they only experience joy when those around them are also joyful. They are joyful in and of themselves without any external stimulus, but they know that everyone is connected and the greatest joy comes in collective joy.
This is the group level where people can achieve the most and are the most successful on their journeys of personal growth as they operate from a desire to contribute to others, their actions align with their values and principles and they know the world is good. This stage is known as self-realization and spiritual. This is similar to Maslow’s hierarchy level of self-actualization.
Using the Consciousness Chart
The key thing about the consciousness chart is that you don’t have to constantly be in the highest level to be conscious and aware and just because you sometimes get angry or feel shame doesn’t mean you aren’t progressing on your human potential journey. When you are conscious and aware, you are able to access a full range of emotions, but know how to appropriately express them, you also doesn’t get stuck in a negative emotion. Once the stimulus that triggered the negative emotion is gone, you don’t dwell on those feelings or the event but learn from the experience and move onto the next thing.
If the content you have seen on our Institute for Human Potential website resonates with you, you are likely already in the self-empowerment or self-realization levels of the consciousness chart. Want to learn more about the consciousness chart and how to apply it in your own life? Take a look at the content in our Self Study program where you will see how we are always learning from the consciousness chart, or sign up for Online Training or Immersion Training:
