Planes or Worlds of Consciousness

The different states in the evolution of the cosmos are described as the working of the three Logoi in the various states or three dimensions of evolution: Conditions of Consciousness (CoC), Conditions of Life (CoL), and Conditions of Form (CoF).

These worlds (like the astral, lower and higher spirit world) are the result of what was developed in the three earlier planetary stages of evolution (Conditions of Consciousness), and underlying Conditions of Life and Form (hence the sevenfold substructure).

From this evolutionary dynamic arise different 'worlds'. Man participates in them today, can broaden his consciousness through initiatory practice, and in the future will participate in the different worlds having arrived at states of consciousness much higher than he has today.

Different states of clairvoyance allow the initiate or spiritual scientist to investigate the different worlds, starting with the astral world, and with the highest clairvoyant faculty of intuition adepts are able to do Clairvoyant research of akashic records.

These worlds are also called 'planes', but these should not be thought of as physical in time and space, different, or stacked: they interpenetrate as part of the same single cosmos and the human being functions in all worlds concurrently (see for example Schema FMC00.479A).

Aspects

the different worlds are related to see the evolution of the solar system and the Cosmic breath of Brahma; with each planetary stage of evolution creating a different environment whereby spiritual hierarchies evolve and develop along what can be called a 'CoC-ladder', a ladder of Conditions of Consciousness, see Schema FMC00.077A and more on Twelve conditions of consciousness
more detailed descriptions, see: astral world and spirit world
each major world of consciousness is made up of seven sublayers, due to the sevenfold pattern in the Cosmic Fractal (CoL and CoF) ( - and the three earlier planetary stages of evolution, each of which created a higher and lower band around the middle)
for more details, see the topic pages for astral world and spirit world, as well as Interpenetration of astral and spirit worlds

Inspirational quotes

1917-11-16-GA178

We must be absolutely clear .. that the spiritual world is present everywhere.
.. the world in which the dead are with the dead, in this super-sensible world, the threads that join the dead to those still living, the threads that join the dead to the higher hierarchies, belong to the world in which we stand.
Just as the air is around us, so truly is this world always around us. We are not separated from this world at all; only by Conditions of Consciousness (CoC) are we separated from the world we cross into after death.

Illustrations

FMC00.079 gives an overview of the various terms for the different worlds or 'planes' corresponding to different Conditions of Consciousness.

Schema FMC00.128 sketches the threefold soul with its three components in the lower spirit world, long the Planes or worlds of consciousness. One can see that as the rippling in of the sacrificed substance of the SoF took hold of the astral, then etheric, and then physical body; that it was weaving into the l in the three lowest level of the spirit world, the atmospheric (air), oceanic (water), and lastly continental (earth) regions. When Man creates something new, he is really Free Man Creator in the fourth sublayer. When Man works on the transformation and spiritualization of his lower bodies, he writes into the higher regions and 'overwrites' the scaffolding structure received by the higher hierarchies.

Lecture coverage and references

1912-06-12-GA137

(SWCC)

You see, therefore, it is quite possible to perceive with ordinary intelligence that there are these three styles of consciousness. It would take us too far now to investigate the indications that undoubtedly exist in man of still higher consciousnesses. We have, however, shown that whenever man sets out to reflect on his life as Earth man, he discovers manifestations of higher consciousnesses. It is, therefore, possible to speak to Earth man of these higher states of consciousness. ...
In spiritual science we speak of different states of consciousness. In reality they are different worlds and it has become customary to call these different states of consciousness different planes.

That which can be surveyed with the physical consciousness is called the physical plane;

that which is perceptible to the first consciousness of a super-sensible nature, the astral plane;

to the second, the lower Devachan or mental plane;

and to the third, the higher mental, or higher Devachan plane.

Still farther on, we have the Budhi plane and the Nirvana plane.
All we are doing here is simply to give other names to the findings of spiritual science. In all cases .. it is always man who, in his varying conditions or states of consciousness, is active as member of the different planes or worlds. What we have done is to lead over the knowledge of man from the standpoint of esoteric science, where we speak of different Conditions of Consciousness and different Conditions of Life and Form in evolution, to the knowledge of man from the standpoint of theosophy. For where the spiritual researcher speaks of Conditions of Consciousness, the theosophist speaks of successive planes. Esoteric or spiritual science can in this manner be communicated openly as theosophy

Discussion

Note 1 - Why is the etheric not a 'world of consciousness'?

The etheric body of an organism, be it Man, plant or animal, or Earth, is drawn as a structural bodily principle between the astral and the physical. It forms and maintains the physical. Yet the etheric does not appear as a 'world'. Simply put, spiritual science and Rudolf Steiner speak of three worlds: the physical, the soul (astral) world, and the spirit world (higher unformed, and lower formed).

The etheric consists of etheric formative forces that form and constitute what we see on the physical plane. These forces come from collaboration between the spirits of the Elementary Kingdoms and the elementals of nature; coordinated by H3, the spirits of the third hierarchy.

Various other notes

In various epochs and cultural ages, humanity goes through a special relationship with the CoC at any of these planes as the bodily principles are being developed and refined, see for example in the Current Postatlantean epoch.