Understanding Levels of Awareness
January 14, 2025 DOI: 10.4324/9781003521969-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Proposes that four levels of awareness—ordinary, subtle, awake, and True Self—can be distinguished and that the gestalt awareness continuum supports clients in increasing awareness. |
Abstract
Chapter 2, “Understanding Levels of Awareness,” outlines the four levels of awareness and how they relate to what is present in a session. Ordinary awareness is our normal waking consciousness that includes the ego, personality, id, and acquired ideas about how we should be. Subtle awareness is the direct experience of the here and now, characterized by the ability to sense, perceive, and experience the inner and outer dimensions of the human experience. Awake awareness is the liberated and infinite energy of our deepest dimension, which is experienced as the loving presence of the fundamental core of one&s;s being. True Self awareness is the purity of our essence, which is the transpersonal experience of being one with everything. In gestalt, a series of present moment open questions known as the awareness continuum supports clients in increasing their awareness.