Yogic Concept: Seven Layers of Consciousness

Vyasa described these layers as such:

1. Inhibited Samskaras (mental colorings that are usually caused by suppression.)
2. Samskaras that cause a person to act in very specific ways, drawn from hereditary traits. They are often created before birth and can be deterministic of talents, weaknesses and even illness, such as the genetic tendency toward heart disease, Alzheimer’s or depression.
3. Latent, unexpressed memories from a past that the person does not specifically recall. These are stored in the collective unconscious, and can relate to big events in history, such as 911 or the Nazi invasion of Germany, Poland, Denmark, Belgium, France, Norway, Yugoslavia, etc. Although some memories are stored, many are too traumatic and become pushed into the collective unconscious, but good memories can be stored there as well. New research has proven that random generator machines are less ‘random’ when placed at large concerts, or large gatherings of people (consciousness). The Institute of Noetic Sciences is studying these occurrences further, “Provocative evidence suggests that there are significant departures from chance expectation in the outputs ofrandom number generators (electronic devices that produce truly random bits, or sequences of zeros and ones) during times of collective upheaval, global crises and major celebrations.”
4.  Instinctive reflexes (like animal reflexes) that we come into the world with – without the necessity of learning them. For instance, our bodies already know how to breathe, digest food, open our eyes, etc. although human beings take longer to express some of these traits, many animals know how to burrow for food or protect themselves from enemies within the first hours of their conscious awareness.
5. Our bioplasmic energy – also called Prana – that allows all functions to be carried out. Without prana, the mind would not be able to have a thought. This is also called the animating force in some yogic texts. This energy is in everything from a blade of grass to the bioplasma in black holes.
6. Innate fluctuations of the mind. Just as there are seasons, and cycles, rotations of the planet, the formation and dissolution of stars, and solar systems, the expansion and contraction of Universes, the consciousness itself is made up of its own rhythms.
7. Supernormal powers like psychic thought, telekinesis, clairaudience, clairvoyance, etc., take place in the Cosmic mind, or consciousness. Interestingly, new research is showing that people with these rare skills often connect with the energy or essence of another ‘form’ in order to experience its consciousness, and this is how a psychic intuits the future or someone else hears voices form the past. The Cosmic mind is not confined by material form, and moves through it easily. Russian experiments as well as the work of some quantum physicists have proven what ancient yogis already confirmed – that siddhis, or supernatural powers are available to anyone who can tap into this layer of consciousness.

“The best way to find out if you can trust someone is to trust them.” –Ernest Hemingway