Transcript

In everyday speech, waking up means leaving the dream state and returning to waking consciousness. The path of waking up builds upon this principle. The idea is that if we can move between waking and dreaming, there might be other states of consciousness out there too. As it turns out, there is a number of increasingly open states of consciousness available to our mind. As you progress through these states, your sense of being a separate self becomes ever more fluid until it finally dissolves, waking up culminates with the direct recognition of your identity with the entire universe. This may sound like esoteric mumbo jumbo, and sometimes it is, but the states we are about to cover have been reported worldwide by various traditions. What's more, each and every one of them is open to you. Should you undertake a consistent practice under an experienced teacher?

Consciousness can spontaneously enter altered states, near death experiences extreme exertion and extreme emotion, are some cases where this may happen. Wilbur writes, around 60% of people have had a major altered state experience in their lives, but generally, waking up requires consistent effort on the part of the individual, it requires some sort of practice. Various traditions have developed such practices ranging from meditation and breathing techniques to ecstatic dancing and plant medicine. Each of these has its particular strengths and limitations, but that's the topic for another time, here, we'll map the various states your mind can experience integral theories cross cultural analysis has concluded there are five of them. Each of these states reveals a new dimension of yourself and unlocks new ways of experiencing reality.