Contrasting Higher Consciousness and Psychological Development
Here’s the excerpt from some research. Note that only 27% of the subjects who reported “stable higher consciousness” were also in advanced stages of psychological development.
“Contrasting Higher Consciousness and Psychological Development
The most advanced range of [recognized] Psychological development – post-conventional – unfolds fully the feelings and ego levels, which are the basis of sound ethical behavior*. Higher consciousness is related to unfolding Transcendental Consciousness [samadhi or turiya into Turiyatita or Self Realization and further].
These two developmental ranges to a large extent unfold independently of each other. This means that higher consciousness may be available before one has reached for instance the post-conventional range. A study of a group of people reporting stable higher consciousness found that only 27 per cent of them were measured to be in the post-conventional range of ego or self-development (Travis & Brown, 2009). Although this is about three times the current norm of 10 per cent, it nevertheless indicates that full psychological development may not be a prerequisite for higher consciousness. Other researchers have found that persons in a wide range of psychological developmental enjoy peak experiences (Maslow, 1968; Panzarella, 1980), and this is also evident from our own research on world-class performers and their controls [research related to whole-brain functioning].”
*this from Kohlbergs model for background:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Kohlberg%27s_stages_of_moral_development
David Buckland
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“…full psychological development may not be a prerequisite for higher consciousness”
Certainly seems true from some of the behavior we see in the spiritual teacher rank and file.
Claimed stable higher consciousness can and does happen without full psychological development.
So what exactly is “full psychological development”?
If what is commonly considered Enlightenment occurs to someone who is deemed to not be fully psychologically developed, is something wrong with this picture?
Colloquially speaking, did Divine screw up and accidentally bestow enlightenment upon someone not worthy or deserving of it?
Or is our limited/incomplete definition of so-called ‘full psychological development’ not really necessary in Divine’s eyes for advanced and stable higher consciousness? Must one be psychologically perfect before stable higher consciousness should be allowed? (good luck with that).
Maybe flip the coin… Perhaps ‘stable higher consciousness’ is actually a temporary ruse bestowed by Divine in order to catalyze the emergence of hidden incomplete areas of psychological development? I’ve seen or read a number of such cases with people ‘given’ extrasensory siddhi powers which were then abused in some fashion. That abuse served to highlight areas of incomplete psychological development.
**
On another note, I see that Kohlberg thought that his 6-stage model may have a 7th stage, “Kohlberg suggested that there may be a seventh stage—Transcendental Morality, or Morality of Cosmic Orientation—which linked religion with moral reasoning.”
This 7th stage, esp including aspects of the 6th, seems more appropriate for what is being discussed here. With stable higher consciousness, human-derived morality tends to drop away as a ‘transcendent morality’ takes over.
I am reminded of chapter 18 of Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing) by Lao Tzu
Translation 1: “When the great Tao is forgotten, kindness and morality arise.”
Translation 2: “When the way of the Tao is forgotten, morality and ethics need to be stressed.”
Translation 3: “When humankind strayed from the natural way of life, relative social disciplines began to appear.”
Using these Tao excerpts as a basis, one could argue that the Enlightened, residing in their ‘natural state,’ have a better grasp of transcendent morality than the unenlightened. Right Action would/should come naturally to them at every turn.
So of course we see ‘bad’ behavior by an enlightened person being self-justified because he ‘follows a higher morality than mere mortals can understand.’
And so we have the clear need for ASI to sort it all out… 😉