The Theory of Six Main Levels of Consciousness: A Study of the Third Level

Abstract

Based on the Arka's theory of the six main levels of consciousness, this study predicted that people would show a trend towards a more Feeling-Mind heart-based consciousness after being trained to go below their thinking mind. In order to test this, a scale was constructed under the name of the Feeling Consciousness Scale (FCS). The scale items were based on Arka´s work and information derived from interviews with people who had practiced the Intuitive Meditation (IM) method for more than 7 months. Using a repeated measures design, the FCS was filled in by 8 male and 23 female participants comprising of five different groups, before and after attending five Intuitive Meditation training sessions spread over 6 weeks (a total of 13.5 hours). A significant difference at the .001 level was found between both scores. Due to the small sample size and that the scale is a project in development, these results are tentative. This research supports the third level of Arka´s theory and suggests that we have a level of consciousness associated with the heart which is characterized by certain traits such as intuition, unity, peace, positivity, awareness of emotions, and connection to one's inner Self, sometimes expressed as soul, inner being, or atman. The drawings by one participant after each intuitive meditation session indicate that the inner journey of Self-discovery is a process. In suggesting other levels of consciousness including a feeling based experiencing consciousness associated with the heart, Arka's theory might also offer a solution to what Chalmers calls the hard problem of consciousness. The other levels of Arka's theory still need to be researched.