Lessons on the Layers of Consciousness

It was hundreds of realizations stacked upon one another. It took me a few days to understand the magnitude of what was unfolding when it fell into my awareness. I want to note that this lesson isn't finished, but I am compelled to start writing about it. With that, I expect to get some things wrong here, and I trust I will be course-corrected as things continue to be revealed to me. I also recognize that I'm not the first to be shown this, so for me, it's amazing, and I'm forever grateful, but for others, you might think, "Yeah, Heidi, this was written about 2000 years ago in blah blah blah…" I would say it's one thing to read about in scripture and another thing to see, feel, and know. 

If you know me or are familiar with my writing, you'll know I am guided by several different "beings," including my Soul Partner. I call him John* here to protect his identity as he's incarnated. In a vision, John* brought me into the next layer of consciousness. This was a layer that I was not yet aware of. And just like that, I realized something bigger was at play here. I was being taught about the next and final (within our human reach) layer of the Universe. 

As I looked up at him, he changed form from his astral individualized version of John* to his soul version. I have seen his soul version many times before. In the past, he has appeared in this way to break me of the attachment to his form. To teach me about how the Universe is structured. To teach me about Love, the real kind, the unconditional kind. I reach up and pull the cloak back from his soul form, and suddenly, we are both in pure awareness. In the nothingness. 

Later, I realized we were in the next layer of consciousness; some call this Brahman Consciousness, Some call it awareness or some version of 12D. I call it the Womb. This is not my first taste of this layer. I realized this is what I experienced almost a year ago - this feels like ego death, but without fear and with a much better understanding of what I am.

Here's what I've learned: 

We all live in the different layers of consciousness at all times. We just aren't all aware of it. We control the layer of consciousness we live from based on where we focus our attention.

Think of all of the things in your life that capture your attention! Do you think this is by design? Work, social media, the news cycle, societal expectations, etc. 

Think of how you can focus on the different layers of consciousness—meditation, living in the present moment, gratitude, earthing, etc.

When we are in these different layers, we perceive the Universe differently based on that layer of consciousness. So, when living from the Ego, we perceive from the Ego. When we live from awareness, we perceive from awareness. 

There have been a lot of spiritual teachers who have said things like "everything is an illusion." Well, this is true and not true at the same time. Everything is an illusion when you perceive it from the Awareness (Womb) layer of consciousness. But at the same time, everything is true (not an illusion) when you perceive it from all layers at once. One thing to note is that the Ego layer is temporary to the Ego layer (we die). And that's why I think many people get stuck in this idea that "everything is an illusion." I will go deep here for a moment: because there is no time and space, meaning every moment is eternal (we call this the eternal now). This means that we never really die, but again, this is from the holistic view of the layers. So you see, there is nothing and everything at the same time. We call this non-duality. "Everything is balanced" is a good natural law to remember whenever you try to figure this out with your mind (Ego consciousness). 

Here are a few additional examples:

1. Space and time exist when perceived from the Ego, but when you perceive them from the Soul, they don't exist. Both are accurate. 

2. The feelings of anger are from the Ego. There are no feelings in any other layer of consciousness.

3. When we are in the Ego, we see things as right and wrong; when we are in the Soul, we see that there is no right and wrong; there is just nature, and it is balanced.

4. When we are in Ego, we see that you and I are separate people; when we are in God consciousness, we know we are the same. 

5. In Ego, we see a cow as less important than a person. When we are in Soul consciousness, we understand that everything is equally valued and equally loved. 

"God" (let's not get caught up on the word "God." You can use the Source, Love, the Devine, whatever you want here). God perceives from all layers at all times, which is how we can also perceive. This is what we mean when we say the alpha and the omega, the I AM; this encompasses everything, including every layer of consciousness. The first step is to understand the layers and start recognizing them. Then, live from them in a more balanced way. Sometimes, we must work from our Ego mind to get something done - like spreadsheets! We were born here on earth with a mind, so we get to use it. The mind is not bad! But we also need to understand that the mind or Ego isn't in control and that there are other layers of consciousness to live from and be aware of. This is the truth of who we are. 

Johns* transition during my vision outlined three layers of consciousness, but there are more. In the section below, I'll outline a few in which I feel confident. We also reach layers in our sleep, like dreams and out-of-body experiences. I'm not going to go into those here. I suspect there are additional layers we humans have never experienced as they are out of reach for us at this time. The Universe doesn't ever stop expanding, so who knows what else is out there! 

We'll start at the innermost layer and work our way out. 

1. The Womb. This is where nothing exists. That's how it feels. It's empty, dark, and peaceful. It feels like rest; there are no thoughts, only being and awareness. It is where everything is birthed or manifested. It is point zero. It is pure potential, aka Love. Some call this Brahman consciousness.

2. The Observer. Aka, God is this intelligent milky white energy source that encompasses everything and nothing. With no duality, it is the ultimate observer and manifestor of our Universe from the Womb. It is watching, mirroring, and balancing. It is guiding. This is creation. We are one here; everything is balanced, loved, and equally valued. 

3. The Soul. Individualized God orchestrates your life, manifesting and pulling all the strings for all your incarnations. This is where incarnations start to take form. When I see John* in this form, he looks like the starry Universe in a cloak. I can feel and recognize his energy, but no reference to his looks, character, or personality. This is a being of pure Love that has been incarnated many times and is an offshoot of God. This Soul encompasses lifetimes of knowledge and experiences and continues to observe, evolve, and push us to our limits. You are pure, supportive, intelligent Love in this form. The Soul has access to everything God has access to. Seeing all space, time, and consciousness levels all in the eternal now. 

4. The Astral or Higher Self. This is an even more individualized version of you. Here, you look and speak like you; you have your personality and emotions. But it's better because it's more like your potential; it's more like your Soul. Still full of Love, gratitude, and forgiveness, this version of you is so free; you are yourself here. It looks and acts like you but is better- a mixture of Soul and a little Ego because imagination is in the driver's seat. You can do anything here; the sky's the limit. Note: there might be two layers here.

5. The Ego. You know what this feels like because you live most of your life here. This is separation, senses, feelings, emotions, opinions, and beliefs; everything from the mind and the body is here. 

Now that you have a basic understanding of some of the layers of consciousness, you can start to ask yourself in every action and thought., What layer is this coming from? Sometimes, it might be two or three because some layers share characteristics. If it's too confusing, Start simple. Is this coming from the Ego or the Soul?

Then, when you determine that it's coming from the Ego, ask yourself, "What would my soul do?" Some might say, "What would God do?"