Is this an accurate chart of conciousness?....

[Awakened_Mind]

I suppose the problem is that consciousness may occur in stages but those stages are not discontinuos. Meaning it doesn't 'step' up it's a gradual curve. The transition between one stage and the next is what, I think, we are finding trouble to define. That's where the ambiguity lies. We want the 'know how' to move from one stage to the next. Years of meditation and spiritual development seem a big ask for something that's supposed to be 'natural'.

-AM

[Novice]

Correct. Awareness isn't a linear progression. It fluctuates randomly in stops and starts. One can have a fully lucid experience, wake up and then try again only to flail in a dream unable to 'wake up' mentally.

The only consistent thing I've noticed is that the quality, quantity and duration of these experiences improves greatly not only with meditation, but with a continual practice of mindfullness. Even if you only try it once/day, this effort pays off when phasing or OBE'ing.

Years of meditation and spiritual development seem a big ask for something that's supposed to be 'natural'.

Ah, but isn't that exactly what we as a society have done to make it unnatural? We spend most, if not all, of our lives so engrossed in the outside world and the immediate gratification that's available to us everywhere we turn, that we lose our ability to do this one simple thing. In that case, is it really so much to ask for a few measly years to de-program ourselves? 

[Awakened_Mind]

Ah, but isn't that exactly what we as a society have done to make it unnatural? We spend most, if not all, of our lives so engrossed in the outside world and the immediate gratification that's available to us everywhere we turn, that we lose our ability to do this one simple thing. In that case, is it really so much to ask for a few measly years to de-program ourselves? 

Yes, I still think it is. We evolve from a child to a an adult, a more mature being. Why do we stop and not become fully enlightened? If it's natural, not even our culture could stop it. Can our culture stop puberty? Perhaps meditation and spiritual development is looking inward to see what's rising to the surface in us collectively. After all, what's essence in you is essence in me. We are one.

I'd agree these are methods to deprogram ourselves but I don't agree that spiritual practices should be expected of humanity for generations or centuries, spiritual development should be inherent.

-AM