Seven Levels of Consciousness

The seven levels of consciousness. For the past six years, I have worked with small business owners as a marketing and business coach and consultant. In that time, I have often come back to my own point of origin. That point is understanding that one of the biggest challenges people have in building wealth through conscious marketing and conscious capitalism is maintaining a high level of consciousness. Even as I type this, I can hear my old business in the corporate world saying “OK, Geiger, what the hell do you mean by that?” To help you understand, I’m going to revisit a blog post I wrote a few years ago. And together, we will explore how it applies to be an entrepreneur.

Let’s Start by Understanding what Human Consciousness Even Is

Our level of consciousness is the filter through which we view the world. My training and experience in coaching have taught me that that filter affects our awareness, what we notice, the way we perceive things, and the meanings we give to things – and, by extension, our actions and results. The chart below illustrates the seven states of consciousness.

These seven levels of consciousness have been referred to by Deepak Chopra as “stages of consciousness”.

Let’s Start at the Beginning of the Seven Levels of Consciousness?

Levels one and two are often called “levels of unconsciousness”. This is because people on those levels tend to take their feelings and beliefs as fact, without consciously examining them and understanding what is truly creating their circumstances and worldview. At level one, people are in a state of victim consciousness. This is characterized by a mindset of “I lose.”

People at this level of consciousness often say things like “I could never do that”. They often hope that someone else will do it for them. And they believe that the life they want is out of reach because of circumstances beyond their control.

They expect people to give them training or tools for free because they don’t believe in their own ability to assemble the finances they need, and when they don’t succeed, they blame their seemingly unchangeable circumstances instead of finding out what they need to do differently.

You Work Backwards in These Stages…

In this state, a person is actually using the Law of Attraction AGAINST themselves. Their beliefs, thoughts, emotions, and actions all say that bad things happen to them. And they can’t have the life they want, so that’s what they attract. One of the reasons why people slip into this state is because they aren’t sure what they truly need. So, they’re perpetually unhappy, for reasons they don’t fully understand.

Before you do ANYTHING as a small business owner, you need to get clarity on what you need and want, and what “winning” looks like to you. If you don’t know where you want to go, you’ll never get there.

And the Second Level of Consciousness?

At the second level of consciousness, their consciousness becomes characterized by conflict, and a desire to make other people lose. This results in toxic environments where people are frequently at odds with each other. Even for people who are content with being in this state, it’s constantly stressful. This stress causes your body to release cortisol, which shuts down your prefrontal cortex. This is the part of your brain that controls higher-order thinking. It also controls essentials like digestion, excretion, and blood flow to extremities.

This level of consciousness can lead people to ruin important business relationships, use unscrupulous business practices that get them in trouble, and experience serious and chronic health problems. If you’re in one of the earlier stages of consciousness, don’t beat yourself up or lose hope. This is not a condemnation, but simply an invitation to understand what’s currently driving you, and what is possible for you as you reach a higher state of consciousness.

If level one and two don’t sound like what you’re currently experiencing, that’s great! To find out which of the other five levels of consciousness you ARE operating on, let’s ask a simple but important question:

Are you Winning in Your Entrepreneur Venture?

If you answered “yes”, then you are probably using operating at level three or five consciousness.

If you answered “no”, then you’re probably using level four consciousness as a driver.

Level Three is Defined by an Attitude of “I Win”

At this stage, you begin to regain the control and use of your prefrontal cortex. And you will begin to take responsibility for your own life. You also find it easier to forgive and cooperate with others. This is healthier for you than levels one or two. But it carries the risk that you’ll be indifferent to how the interaction affects the other people involved. This can lead you to use manipulative or unscrupulous strategies to get your way. This includes things like dishonest marketing or pressuring people to make a purchase they’ll later regret.

What if You Answered, “Yes, I Am Winning in My Business”?

That’s good news. But it doesn’t necessarily mean things are optimal. As I mentioned above, this answer usually means you’re operating at consciousness level three or five.

Let’s Explore the Effect that Stage Four Consciousness has on Your Life

Level four is characterized by concern, and a mindset of “you win”. Most small business owners and entrepreneur coaches get into their business because they have a passion for helping people. This is especially true of many women entrepreneurs. Service is what their business is all about. Because of this, when a client rejects their advice, product or program, they feel like they aren’t good enough. “If only I was better,” they think, “I would be successful.”

I’ve experienced this myself. For me, it often comes in the form of thoughts like, “You’re just like your mother, you will never finish anything”. For some people, their self-talk and self-judgment are extremely cruel. So cruel in fact, that if they talked to others the way they talk to themselves, they probably wouldn’t have any friends.

Sometimes, the talk shifts to feeling victimized by external circumstances, such as “men cannot do what they want, only women can”. This can cause you to shift to level one consciousness. Ironically, this victim consciousness will cause you to attract more and more people you who need your help, but you won’t be able to help them. Until you remember that you need to put your own oxygen mask on first before helping others and take care of yourself and your own level of consciousness, you’ll never be successful. This is a major contributor to the high failure rate of small businesses.

Level Five Brings an Attitude of “Win-Win”

At this level, you care about both you AND the people you’re working. The goal is that you both benefit from the transaction or interaction. The easiest way to gauge which level you’re working at in your business is to look at your customers’ experience. How many of them come back to make additional purchases? Are you getting positive reviews?

If you have a low rate of return business, and your reviews are sparse or negative, your customers are probably not winning. This means, whether deliberately or unconsciously, you manipulated them into buying products or services that they didn’t need. Or things that they wouldn’t benefit from. If that’s the case, you need to find out what you need to improve in your services, policies or pricing. Through that improvement, your customers will become raving fans. Fans who will buy from you repeatedly. Rather than staying a disappointed one-time buyer.

If You’re in a Win-Win State of Level Five Consciousness, You’re Ready to Start Changing the World!

If you and your customers are both winning, then, congratulations! You are operating at a relatively high level of consciousness. And you and the people around you are reaping dividends from it. But there are greater heights you can reach. And higher levels of impact and abundance you can achieve for yourself and the people in your life.

Level Six…

At level six, life becomes a lot easier. It still takes some effort on your part to make things happen. But your deep understanding of others, of life, and of your field of work does much of the creative work for you.

And at the Highest End of the Spectrum, Is Level Seven…

Some people refer to this level in the seven levels of consciousness as “God consciousness.” At this level, truly effortless creation happens. And we gain the power to make a much larger impact on the world. We don’t judge other people, ourselves or life as “good” or “bad”. But rather, simply accept them for what they are. At this level, the Law of Attraction and the power of intention are working for you at their strongest. We no longer need to actively search. What we desire comes to us. This includes clients, business relationships, resources, tools, strategies, and more.

How Can You Achieve These Higher Levels of Consciousness and Avoid Old Patterns?

Even after you reach a high level in the seven levels of consciousness, it’s important to understand that the seven levels of consciousness are like seven radio stations. You can tune into different stations. And many people switch which one they’re listening to at different times of the day. They also switch at different energy levels and different work or life settings. The station you’re listening to controls the filters through which you look at life. And, by extension, your feelings, thoughts, actions, and results. It can be easy not to notice when you switch stations. Or how often you tune into ones that aren’t serving you. That’s why it’s vital to have a clear, objective way to assess your level and patterns of consciousness.

Not Sure Where to Start with Your Marketing Plan?

The world of marketing is rapidly expanding. What’s trending and helping you gain new customers today won’t necessarily be the best way to grow your business tomorrow. With so many moving parts in both the digital and physical marketing space, it’s no wonder small business owners are unsure where they should even start. That’s where the Pittsburgh marketing agency onCOREventures Strategic Marketing comes in. We created onCOREventures for honest business owners wanting to operate in harmony with their core values. If you’re trying to create positive change in the world while also attracting customers who share your values, our “strategy first” methodology may be exactly what you’ve been looking for!