From	The SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory in Psychology, (2016), H.L.	Miller (ed.). Thousand	Oaks,	CA:	Sage	Publications,	vol.	1.,	pp.	409-411. Heightened	Consciousness Heightened	consciousness	has	become	a	common	expression	in	daily	conversations, but it expresses a number of different concepts depending on the	meaning of the speaker and is related to other phrases or terms that have slightly different connotations. This entry explores the different	meanings of the term heightened consciousness	and	similar	phrases	in	regard	to	personal	development. The phrase	may	merely refer to a state of increased alertness, as	when one feels endangered or on the verge of an exciting breakthrough. One may also use the phrase to indicate a sense of new understanding or awakening to a new a perspective;	expanded	consciousness is	used in this same	way,	without the	vertical implications. One may make reference to getting high or being on a high, both implying	simply	feeling	good,	though	the	former	also	hints	that	externally	supplied chemicals	are	involved.	Politically,	certain	groups	like	feminists	or	critical	theorists (for example, Paulo Freire) have written of consciousness-raising, meaning to awaken	to	the	oppression	that	one	has	been	conditioned	to	accept. Another meaning of heightened consciousness refers to breaking through the habitual patterns or limitations of one's ego or self-concept to new awareness. Beyond these meanings is the use of the phrase to express transcending the isolation	of	one's	inner	self	in	a	mystical	experience	in	which	self	and	world	or	self and	God	are	united. Stages	of	Development It	is	generally	assumed	that	infants	can	make	little	differentiation	between	self	and world,	and	it	is	this	differentiation	that	marks	a	first,	early	stage. The	discovery	of one's body,	motion, and control of the environment soon follows. However, it is only when the toddler begins to interact (play) cooperatively with others that a sense	of	self	and	other	emerges. This	is	soon	followed	by	the	beginnings	of	language acquisition late in the	second	year	enabling the	child to	refer to	herself	as	me	or I (the	so-called	"mirror	stage")	and to	gain	self-consciousness	around five	years	old when	narrative	memories	usually	begin. Cooperative	play	and	shared	intentionality	are	necessary	for	language	development and cultural integration, so the child who enters this stage is able to learn with others and to gain a similar understanding of the culture-world in	which s/he is immersed. As	children	mature,	they	gain	independence,	the	ability	to	control	their impulses and to think in the abstract	more freely. At this point, they are usually thought	to	enter	adulthood	and	guide	themselves	(and	significant	others)	through	a lifetime. Heightened	Consciousness 410 Except	in	the	more	mundane	definitions	mentioned	above	(for	example,	being	on	a high or expanding consciousness with knowledge), most widely cited developmental psychologists do not postulate a heightened-consciousness stage that	transcends	or	at	least	decenters	the	mature	ego. The	best-known	stage	theory is	Jean	Piaget's,	but	his	final	stage	–	"formal	operations",	meaning	abstract	thought	– begins when the child is 11 or 12 years old and no further cognitive stages are ahead. Albert Bandura views the individual as having achieved full personhood with	adult	self-efficacy-	that	is,	confident	decision-making. Erik	Erikson's	stages	of psychosocial identity may suggest a sort of heightened consciousness when one enters	old	age	and fully	embraces	one's	past,	but this is	more like the	generalized wisdom	sometimes	attributed	to	the	elderly. There are	notable exceptions, however, as	well as	whole areas	of thought	beyond developmental	psychology	in	which	such	higher	states	of	awareness	are	the	purpose of	life. Lawrence	Kohlberg,	who	modeled	his	early	moral	stages	of	development	on Piaget's,	went	further	than	Piaget	in	positing	a	postconventional	sixth	stage	wherein individuals use abstract thought to take the perspective of another and possibly stand against the conventions of their own culture. Kohlberg then moved into controversial territory by speculating a last, seventh stage only a rare few ever attain that he called transcendental morality, that is, the discovery of universal morality, which sounds much like the highest stage of attainment of the philosopher-king	in	Plato's	Republic. Similarly,	Abraham	Maslow's	well-known	hierarchy	of	human	needs	originally	had self-actualization	at its	pyramidal	summit;	this is	the	state	of	mature	confidence	in which one can express oneself creatively without anxiety over being judged by others. After discovering the human-potential	movement,	Maslow added another level, even rarer (presumably floating above his pyramid) that he called selftranscendence. Influenced	by	postmodernism,	Robert	Kegan	also	added	a stage	of consciousness	beyond	his	previous	final	stage	of	mature,	loving	adulthood	in	which even the sense of oneself as a distinct individual is transformed into interindividuality. To	this	list	must	be	added	Mihaly	Csikszentmihalyi's	concept	of	flow, which	also	refers	to	a	stage	of	heightened,	or	even	self-transcendent,	consciousness. Heightened	Consciousness	As	Self-transcendence It appears, then, to many psychologists, developmental or otherwise, that there naturally exists an attainable state that might be known as heightened consciousness. Most of us, however, will be lucky to achieve and retain the confident ego of mature adulthood, as we often slip back to earlier stages of cognitive	or	emotional	development	(and	some	never	manage	to	leave	them). A	few of	the	theorists	consider	the	state	of	heightened	consciousness	so	rare	that	they	list examples from	the	usual	great	suspects like	Gandhi,	Mother	Teresa,	Martin	Luther King, Buddha, etc., but the majority opinion seems to be that heightened consciousness is a state that implies degrees of self-transcendence (going beyond Heightened	Consciousness 411 the inner	monologues	of	self-centeredness) that	are,	at least	occasionally,	attained by	most	people. The psychoanalyst C. G. Jung wrote of individuation as the crisis that, for many, begins after middle age in the discovery that their economic stability or social achievements leave them craving for deeper meaning. This is why he called his work depth psychology. (Jung obviously did not work with the poor or disenfranchised.) If	the	individual	successfully	negotiated	the	trials	and	tribulations of doubt, fear, anxiety, and disturbing dreams and fantasies, she would have decentered	her	ego-self	(the	objective	self,	learned	from	the	outside-in)	and	found	a new center of consciousness in the Self (the capitalized version suggests soul, though	Jung	avoided	that	term	because	of	its	religious	connotations). The Self is the doorway to what Jung called the collective unconscious, the bottomless repository of all life experience on Earth, which he sometimes characterized as being the anima mundi, the soul of the world. One who had individuated	appeared	no	different	on	the	outside,	except	that	he	or	she	was	more alive,	more	focused	outwardly	on	the	world	and	other	people	for	reasons	that	had nothing to do with personal gain. The individual's heightened consciousness indicated	that	he	or	she	had	discovered	(or	created)	a	meaning	to	her	life	that	was beyond	the	superficial	needs	of	the	ego	for	acceptance	or	recognition. This	state	will	sound	familiar	to	anyone	who	has	read	so-called	Eastern	philosophy. Transcending the ego, both in Buddhism and certain sects of Hinduism, means awakening	to	higher	consciousness. Often,	after	years	of	meditation	or	asceticism,	a transcendent experience occurs – sometimes called	moksha in India and satori in Japanese	Zen	Buddhism. In	Indian	Buddhism,	Jainism,	and	some	Hinduism,	the	ego dissipates and becomes the Ātman (much like Jung's Self), which, in Hinduism, identifies with Brahman (absolute reality; here, now, and beyond; a deity). Buddhism calls this entering Nirvana (absolute nothingness, egolessness, not a deity). These "Eastern" disciplines that seek awakening or the highest consciousness by extinguishing	the	ego	appear	much	different	than	those	of	the	West	that	more	often portray	the	ego	only	as	decentered,	that	is,	put	aside	until	needed	as	a	social	mask (persona). D. T. Suzuki, a Japanese monk who taught the West about Zen Buddhism, has suggested that transcending the self does not mean attaining hidden spiritual treasure	or finding	union	with	God. In fact, he	makes the	point that	we	moderns have	lost	our	sense	of	meaning	by	losing	touch	with	the	very	real	world	around	us	in the self-made prison of ego (or self-consciousness). For Suzuki, "'To transcend' suggests 'going	beyond,' 'being	away	from,'	that	is,	a	separation,	a	dualism. I	have, however,	no	desire	to	hint	that	the	'something'	stands	away	from	the	world	in	which we	find	ourselves"	(1964,	p.	196) Heightened	Consciousness 412 Transformative	Experience It	seems	clear	that	heightened	consciousness	is	an	actual	state	of	awareness	beyond mundane, daily consciousness, but its interpretation into words limits understanding and draws it into cultural relativity. A reader	who has never had such an experience	may	well	wonder	what it is like. A famous answer from Zen Buddhism	is	"Nothing	special." Because,	in	satori,	void	consciousness	is	thought	to replace	ego	consciousness,	this	statement	is	at	least	ironical. However, if putting aside the idea of extinguishing the ego, heightened consciousness	may	be	more common than is	usually thought. If one	of the	major indicators of being in this state is inner silence – the loss of the critically selfabsorbed,	interior	monologue	and	loss	of	attention	to	oneself	–	along	with	intensely awakening to the	moment	at	hand, then there	may	be	occasions	when individuals experience	moments	of	heightened	awareness. Users of psychedelics or entheogenic (spirit-awakening) substances, such as ayahausca, mescaline, or LSD, claim to have attained breakthroughs in consciousness,	but	many	natural	experiences	may	also	lead	to	momentary	forms	of breakthrough. For example, athletes "in the zone" become self-forgetful for the moment,	and,	as	they	have	often	expressed,	it	is	as	if	they	performed	unconsciously, perhaps	caught	in	Csikszentmihalyi's	flow. Those	lucky	enough	to	be	caught	up	in	a	moment	of	aesthetic	arrest	while	viewing	or hearing	or	participating	in	an	artwork	seem	also	to	have	united	self	and	world. In the same	way, the creator of art	may be caught up in the fervor of inspiration in which all else melts away while he or she attempts to give form to this fleeting vision. In	a	sudden	a	crisis,	many	have	spontaneously	acted	and	done	just	the	right thing,	without	taking	time	to	plan	their	actions.	These	examples	show	that	one	need not	be	deep	in	prayer,	suffering	years	of	self-denial,	ingesting	chemicals,	or	chanting a	mantra	while	in	meditation	in	order	to	experience	transformed	consciousness. Heightened	consciousness	used	as	a	term	for	a	permanent	state	of	exalted	spiritual awareness	with	a	largely	extinguished	ego	is	something	else	again. But	if	there	is	no ego-self, there is	no	observer and	no	memory, so there is little	one can say about such	a	state. Gregory	Michael	Nixon,	UNBC Suggested	Further	Readings Bentov, I. (2000). A brief tour of higher consciousness: A cosmic book on the mechanics	of	creation.	Rochester,	VT:	Inner	Traditions/Bear. Csikszentmihalyi,	M.	(1990).	Flow:	The	psychology	of	optimal	experience.	New	York, NY:	Harper	and	Row. Heightened	Consciousness 413 Maslow, A. (1993). The farther reaches of human nature (2nd ed). New York, NY: Penguin.	1st	edition	1971. Suzuki,	D.	T. (1964).	The	awakening	of	a	new	consciousness in	Zen. In J.	Campbell (Ed.).	Man and transformation: Papers from the Eranos yearbooks. Bollingen Series	XXX	-	5.	Princeton,	NJ:	Princeton	University	Press. First	published in Eranos-Jahrbücher	XXIII,	1954 Warren,	J.	(2007).	The	head	trip:	Adventures	on	the	wheel	of	consciousness.	New	York, NY:	Random	House. Wilson, C. (2009).	Super consciousness: The quest for the peak experience. London, UK:	Watkins	Publishing.