This post is an overview of the 7 stages of lucidity as described by cognitive scientist and philosopher Joscha Bach. It’s a simple philosophical model to reflect on how lucid we are in the present moment.
Lucidity refers to mental clarity
Lucidity can be achieved by gradually becoming more aware of reality. The process of gaining mental clarity can be described as non-linear and it progresses in seven distinct stages:
- Stage 1: reactive survival
- Stage 2: personal self
- Stage 3: social self
- Stage 4: rational agency
- Stage 5: self-authoring
- Stage 6: enlightenment
- Stage 7: transcendence
The level of lucidity increases at every stage, but we don’t go through them in numerical order. There is no linear path. Sometimes we revisit a stage, and sometimes things happen in parallel.
It’s a useful framework to analyze what’s present — the current stage — in order to understand how people interact with the world, how they relate to each other, and how self-aware they are.
1: reactive survival
At first, when we are born, we don’t have a real self yet. Instead we have a reactive self, and this reactive self is nothing but an engine in the brain that can track and predict sensory data. This mental engine is the initial model of the self and is necessary for survival. It is guided by natural reflexes and it learns from rewards and punishments.
2: personal self
The personal self of stage 2 is the agent that interacts with the outside world. This is the entity that refers to itself in the first person. At this stage it’s important to note that the “outside world” is not the physical universe, but rather a construction that has been generated based on sensory data. Our personal self interacts with representations of the outside world which have been crafted by our own mind.
Apart from sensory data, feelings represent another interface with the outside world. They pose problems to us. Feelings are attitudes that our mind creates. They tell us what’s needed in the world; things that we are drawn to and things that we are afraid of. We are tasked with satisfying our needs, avoiding our aversions, and following our inner commitments. This leads us to the third stage.
3: social self
When we have our “personal self” online, most of us move on to form a social self. The social self allows us to participate in group activities. It’s like we are playing in a team. We don’t just see our self as a single node that is reaching out into the world, we learn to see from a group perspective: we see how people in the group view us (as individual cells), and we see how each individual is participating in the group spirit.
In this stage we gain social awareness. We interact with people and the world around us and gain insight in the way we act in social situations. We feel part of a group, learn intuitive empathy, and develop a perceptual sense to feel what others feel.
As stated earlier, we don’t go through the stages in order. Bach noted that some people bypass stage 3 and focus on stage 4 instead. The best way to revisit stage 3 is by loving other people and by being loved by others. To be close to somebody is the best way to learn how to connect more deeply and really feel where somebody else is at.
4: rational agency
At stage 4, we start to understand what is true or false. We learn to think independently, decide to disregard what others believe, and gain agency over our own worldview. In this stage we discover epistemology, the rules determining what’s true or false. The development of the rational self is an intrinsically reflexive process which requires us to be conscious. Without consciousness, we cannot think.
5: self-authoring
At stage 5, we discover how identity is constructed. This can lead to self authoring — realizing that our values are not set in stone. The more we realize this, the better we understand how identity is constructed. We understand that identity and interpersonal interaction is a costume, and that we have agency over our costume.
Sometimes it’s useful to be in costume: it communicates something to others and allows us to interface in roles. However, being locked into them is a major limitation. A costume is never a good representation of who we really are. We may feel trapped. Another thing to keep in mind is that we cannot control what other people see in our costume. This depends on the context they understand. In some way we become prisoners of the costume, captured by what everyone else expects us to do.
We cannot not wear a costume
In stage 5 we get why people have different identities. We understand that the difference between people who vote for competing parties — people with vastly different opinions and values— is often the result of where they were born, what happened to them after that, and what traits they got before they were born. At this stage, we realize that everybody could be us in a different timeline, if we just flip those bits.
People change their role in each situation. If somebody is a parent they put up a parent personality at home, and when they are at work they present a professional personality. The social persona is for many people is a puppet they’re playing like a marionette. But if they play this game too long, they might forget that there is something deeper.
6: enlightenment
The experience of enlightenment in stage 6 is rather humble. It’s a state of surrender, of moving sideways instead of forward. Language to describe this stage quickly becomes poetic.
You realize that everything you experience is a representation. You become aware of how experiences are implemented. You smile while qualia are deconstructed and remain calm in the midst of chaos.
You may reach a point at which you suddenly notice that you are no longer a person, and instead you feel one with the universe. This unity with the universe is not an accurate representation, since you are still inside your own mind and thus bounded by the patterns produced in your biological brain, but you no longer identify with the constructed self.
Some people will experience ego death in this stage. They get there via meditation, via psychedelics, yet others get there by accident. You realize you are the vessel that creates a person. The self is still there, but more in the background and you can observe it for what it is: a creation.
Towards the end of stage 6 you become aware of your creative potential. You gain the power transform your thoughts, your feelings, your atoms, your habits and your values. If you renovate your self rigorously, your personas may become free from selfish tendencies.
7: transcendence
This is the stage in which the mind fully realizes how it’s implemented and how it could shift into different modes in which it would still function. One way to see this, is that you’ll get access to deep levels of meditation where you may tap into forms of collective (sub)consciousness. This experience has been described extensively in spiritual and religious traditions. A more futuristic way to look at this is that you’ll integrate with other beings to form Hybrid Intelligence networks— but it remains hypothetical whether these beings will be artificial, extraterrestrial, or multidimensional.
For now, let’s get back to reality.
Lucid Reality
The stage of lucidity you are in reveals how aware you are of your self, how you relate to others, and how you participate in the group. You can use the model to understand your own experiences better and get more familiar with the perspectives of others.
At any stage, you can be happy or unhappy. It’s your job to have some basic hygiene in the way you develop your mind. You cannot keep blaming your environment for how you feel. You live in a world that’s highly mobile, so it’s up to you to create an environment you thrive in.
It is important to note that this lucidity model is not prescriptive. There are no score boards, nor specific levels that people need to advance to. Higher stages are not necessarily better.
Live your life in the mode that works best in the present moment. According to Bach, the vast majority of the world population operates in stage 3. If you want to explore your own lucidity, you could consider joining or organizing Listening Circles:
That’s all for now.
Thank you for reading!
