Video Blog Transcription:

(00:00):
When relating to or connecting with other human beings, it can be very useful to understand levels of consciousness. Your level of consciousness is the way you see the world. In one sense, it's how much of the world you're able to see.

Your level of consciousness determines your reality and your beliefs about the world. So as you grow spiritually, your level of consciousness expands. The world can look totally different from one level of consciousness to another. And I think we forget this.

We tend to think that everybody sees the world the same way that we do, and that’s not necessarily true. It can be very different. So sometimes when we think someone's not intelligent or they're being stubborn. They're not necessarily unintelligent, stubborn or whatever else. It's that they are seeing the world differently than you are.

(01:09):
The psychologist, Piaget, actually did some ground-level work around levels of consciousness. He called them stages of cognitive development. And these are developmental stages that he mapped how kids develop through childhood. And actually, some of us are still in some of those stages, so actually, these stages extend to adulthood as well.

You may remember he called pre-operational is kind of that magical, seeing the fairies in the forest, level of consciousness, I guess you could say. And you see this in little kids and how they play and everything is just like, wow, it's spiritual and everything's connected.

(01:57):
And then as we mature, we go into concrete operational, or con-op as it's often called, that's where things are more like black and white and more concrete. And there are more rules, and you don't break the rules which is a useful level of development.

And then after that, we go into formal operational, and this is a more rational and scientific, maybe a little more intellectual way of seeing the world.

Then beyond that, there are other levels of consciousness too, that we develop when we grow spiritually. And I'm not going to get into all of those, but there are people like Ken Wilber and Don Beck that have studied these. And then also some of the spiritual traditions, like Tibetan Buddhism, really studied higher levels of consciousness.

(03:05):
So the intention of this video isn't to explain the different levels of consciousness, but rather to give some pointers on how to connect with people at a level of consciousness that's different than yours. So a few rules of thumb:

A lower level of consciousness cannot comprehend a higher level of consciousness. Anything beyond your level of consciousness, you just don't even know that it exists.

So if you're trying to connect with someone at a lower level of consciousness than you are, they're going to be trying to take what you're saying and plug it into their reality, or they'll discount it altogether thinking that you're full of crap, or too woo-woo, or too whatever. But they're not going to be able to comprehend it the same way that you do.

(04:00):
Now the other way is true too. A higher level of consciousness can comprehend a lower level of consciousness, because you used to be there, if you remember it, it may be too painful to remember, but you used to be there.

But the tendency is for a higher level of consciousness is to not really understand why a lower level of consciousness doesn't just see the world in a different way. We wonder, “Why are you seeing the world so black and white? Why don't you just see it grayer? As if they're able to do that. If they were able to do that, they probably would.

The second rule of thumb is there is this vane tendency to try to change other people's level of consciousness, usually to make it more like ours in the context of a conversation or interaction. The reality is it takes time and a lot of energy and a lot of growth to change someone's level of consciousness.

(05:03):
When you changed your level of consciousness from one to another, it might've taken therapy, a spiritual practice, some painful lessons, or confronting belief systems or fears. And yet we arrogantly think that we can just change someone's level of consciousness in the context of a conversation which is just not very realistic.

So some of these polarizing topics that we tend to discuss with people who have a different level of consciousness including Donald Trump, climate change, birth control, human rights, or more recently whether to get vaccinated or not, can get very contentious. And we have these heated discussions, you see them on Facebook, and people are getting angry with each other, and it's just not necessary.

(05:50):
The third rule of thumb is that some relationships with people at different levels of consciousness work better than other types of relationships. So acquaintances, friendships, family relationships, or work relationships can work really well, providing that you don't try to change each other into your own level of consciousness.

Now, other relationships such as marriages, intimate relationships, or business partnerships that you're living with and you're spending a lot of time together, or you have this common goal that you're trying to make happen or this shared journey, they do not work as well in different levels of consciousness.

Because you're really living in different realities or different worlds. It was Martin Ucik that said that a love relationship really doesn't work very well if you're more than about one level of consciousness apart, because it's just too big of a gap to bridge.

(07:01):
And lastly, here are a few takeaway suggestions: Similar to last week, it all begins with accepting people the way they are. In this case, it's accepting them having the level of consciousness that they have and not needing to change it. And not needing their level of consciousness to be more like yours so you can connect with them or so they can understand you. It's unrealistic, and it’s kind of disrespectful.

Instead, I'd suggest trying to find common ground. What things can you agree on? What things can you agree to disagree on? It really is about respect and respecting that they have different views than you do and that their views are every bit as valid as yours. You're not more advanced or more right than they are. It's about respect.

(07:58):
And an inquisitive mind and being curious about the way they see things can go a long way for this. One of the ways I see intimacy is about discovering the way another person sees things. So be curious.

And then when they see things differently, celebrate the diversity. It's saying, “Wow, how interesting that you see it that way. That explains why you see things this way, and I'm more this.” And have it be a cool thing. You don't need to see it the same way.

And lastly, I recommend that you choose your battles when you're connecting with someone with a different level of consciousness. It takes a lot of time, energy, and compassion to connect with someone with another level of consciousness. So maybe do that sometimes, but then other times hang out with people that have a similar level of consciousness which takes less energy and is a little less frustrating.

So anyway, that is my video for this week. Thank you for watching. I hope you have an awesome week, and they're able to connect with people that have the same and different levels of consciousness as you do. I will see you in a week.