People are concerned with the survival of the species on the physical plain at this level. They only think about themselves and their material needs. Survival is key. Is my belly full? Is my house safe? And are my people OK? First level consciousness considers individuals as cogs in a bigger machine. Serving the needs of the greater local society or protecting their clan is paramount. Global consciousness is not part of first level thinking.

Protectionism is a worthwhile concept and seems like a higher form of consciousness. However it doesn’t take into account an individual’s sense of self, self worth and personal integrity. First level consciousness can be likened to an ant colony where the colony is more important than each and every member. This allows individual points of view, people and ants to be expendable if they differ from the collective.

With this line of thinking people relate to their deity much like a child relates to a parent. Deities protect and take care of humanity in first level thinking. Many people believe they are powerless in their world and need to follow leaders of their group or suffer consequences. Loyalty to accepted ideology or dogma becomes more important than an individual’s point of view.

Rules, structures and laws are seen as the only way to survive the slings and arrows of our harsh, cruel world and are the hallmark of first level consciousness. Societies embrace limits because they are designed for the greater good… or so we thought. A good guide to consider when assessing levels of consciousness is to look at the number of rules a society has for their members.

More governance equates to a lower level of consciousness for any collective. Marriage vows and traditions have reflected first level consciousness throughout time. Women vowed to obey their husband until recently in this country. When there is a fear and belief that people won’t gravitate to goodness, connectedness and love, it is often felt that fear, structure and rules are the glue to keep families, marriages, religions and countries together.

Rules and law have been necessary and important steps mankind has used to evolve from primitive man until now. The price people pay for first level consciousness is lack of individuality, and situational ethics that require flexibility in unique circumstances. Honoring of each person’s individual soul path and our creative ability to manifest a soul-directed dream gets lost in the process.

First level consciousness requires adherence to the culture’s, religious and/or patriarchal dream. While many of these dreams are well intended, the enforcement and strict adherence to these ideals from this fear-based level of consciousness has exacted a heavy toll on individual creativity, passion and soul directed behavior whenever someone goes against the norm.

People have suffered greatly from the discipline and punishment used to maintain order. The end justifies the means is the cliché the fits this line of thinking. The perceived greater good has allowed people to use any means possible to control, manipulate and kill others. Righteous indignation is the energy that starts wars between countries or two children fighting over a toy in a sandbox. This is the energy of the first level of consciousness that is used to maintain the status quo.

Many times the intent of a law is positive but their mistaken underlying belief misses the critical and immensely important concept that people inherently want order, peace and love. Human beings naturally want to share and give from their spiritual core. We are all creators, can cooperate and support one another without coercion, fear of punishment and isolation as motivators.

First level of consciousness is the initial stage of the natural evolution of man. Look how many times Europe had to go to war before they partnered and became allies. Wars teach humanity about polarity. The agony of war gives us what we don’t like and forces us to consider an alternative that’s often difficult to embrace.

First level consciousness teaches us that the world is dangerous and we need to be loyal to our clan. Dangerous and loyal oppose each other. If we are loyal to our clan then something will oppose us is the underlying belief. It could be another person, town, country or idea. Our history is full of examples such as Catholic/Protestant, Cain/Able, White/Black and lately American/ Muslim/Latino. Countries have always had feuds with one another. Our world has consistently been evolving into tighter circles and closer clans to the exclusion of more and more people when first level thinking rules. Science fiction writers have expanded this same idea to humans vs. aliens. It sells more copy.

First level thinking created deities that require loyalty. There is no tolerance for individual expression and soul directed behavior designed to explore the world on our own. Dogma requires us to think, feel and behave in a certain way. When the deity of our religion can override what our soul or innate instinct directs us to do, and then it is only logical that we can expect the same from our spouse, children or country.

This idea that a deity can’t be complete unto him/herself or OK without humans becoming what the deity of our religion wants us to be sets an unfortunate pattern. How can we have tolerance for our spouse, child, neighbor or another country when our deity doesn’t? This level of thinking has also caused tremendous harm to the institution of marriage and how we tolerate differences with our spouse or children. Is the divine really this controlling or could we only imagine a needy deity when we are mired in first level consciousness?

The evolution of consciousness is a fascinating process. The human race has had many prophets and inspired people connected to divinity throughout time that were crucified and shamed if they presented anything different than the accepted dogma of their time. First level notions of danger, loyalty and control have dominated the way mankind has related to one another for eons. So why wouldn’t the deity we create be anything less or more than humanity’s first level consciousness.

Mankind and the cultures we created have coerced others for eons of time to do our bidding. Slavery still exists today. The consciousness that allows people to think it is OK to conquer another country, dominate another population and/or discriminate against another is the same as a slave-owner.

This is the reason we couldn’t fully embrace and embody immortal teachings about love, tolerance and compassion for everyone. We couldn’t grasp a concept that the divine is only love and isn’t like our autocratic kings and queens from the muddle ages. First level consciousness creates paternalistic deities that are strict and punishing to motivate people to follow rules, laws and commandments.

Perhaps we’ve had enough look and want something more at this crucial time in history. Do we have the courage to go beyond what our ancestors have taught us? Is there a voice inside begging to be heard and expressed that is tired of the old energy that doesn’t serve the world and us in general? I would like to invite everyone to explore the second level of consciousness. Then we may realize that we are one people, one family on one planet working together to create love, peace and harmony.