There are many stages of human development and many states of consciousness within which we can find ourselves. It is possible to attain a very high state of consciousness briefly, as when we fall in love – or take a drug. However, this state cannot be sustained if the level of development does not match the state. We all know how quickly ‘being in love’ fades into something else, like coming off a high from a drug. States are highly changeable; stages represent solidly attained levels of development that are not lost as we progress.

As a practitioner of any system of human evolution, knowledge of the entire journey of human evolution in terms of stages and states is very helpful in being able to assess where we ourselves are in our journey towards a more enlightened condition, and where our clients are. In this way it becomes clear to us which practices are going to be the most useful in guiding someone on their journey, one small step at a time. So often, I have found, I want my clients to do leap frog across rivers, when in fact they need stepping stones. I have sometimes underestimated where people are on their journey too and given practices that were elementary and insulting to them. A deep understanding of the evolution of consciousness is a way to accurately assess and helpfully guide your client. Ultimately, as I understand it, the purpose of life is to bring ourselves back into alignment and harmony with nature, to live into the natural state of our own souls and the order and beauty of the Universe. As Ken Wilber says,

“That all-pervading Beauty is not an exercise in creative imagination. It is the actual structure of the universe. That all-pervading Beauty is in truth the very nature of the Kosmos right now. It is not something you have to imagine, because it is the actual structure of perception in all domains. If you remain in the eye of Spirit, every object is an object of radiant Beauty. If the doors of perception are cleansed, the entire Kosmos is your lost and found Beloved, the Original Face of primordial Beauty, forever, and forever, and endlessly forever."

Hopefully our discussion about stages and states on the journey of life will enhance your practice of Feng Shui by deepening your understanding of the grand adventure of life in which we are all participating and by deepening our inner and outer ecological awareness and understanding.

"Ecological wisdom does not consist in understanding how to live in accord with nature; it consists in understanding how to get humans to agree on how to live in accord with nature". ~Ken Wilber