Givin' Up the COW

    The scales of consciousness can quantify states of consciousness based not on emotion but by level of activity. Transcendence exists at or can be present at any level of consciousness. Enlightenment however is usually meant for higher levels. The mood, the vibe, has changed. I believe it's that I have spent more time or less in transitory phases? Liminal refers to positions on boundaries or in a state of transition. So why is it when I leave my car to go hike, explore, suddenly I can tell a shift in consciousness? It becomes more pensive. Where am I at on the scales? Am I moving away from the COW? Because once I've been out absorbing my surroundings, this is when I am aware of the newly obtained state of consciousness. What will be a good name for it? A plane.

    Does the plane change upon changes to space and time? Are there more factors than space or time? What, for a fact, constitutes the outside? Everything we perceive which includes space and time, but there are other things that are a part of that list. Anyway, changes in space or time (perception) affects your plane. It is only recently, I suppose, that I became more sensitive to planes. Imagine it like a sun and cloud. You are in the light. The cloud moves and blocks the light. Your perception changes and you are aware it will change again. Then of course it happens. You expect it to.

    So once I open that car door, the plane change has already taken place. It is not until we have stopped moving do we feel certain of our minds and can judge accurately how we feel, but... how does feeling work in all of this anyway? Is feeling separate from perception? Perception is an unconscious or conscious thing. It exists in either state. Feeling is purely conscious. Can you feel what you do not perceive? Then I guess, yes, you can only feel what you perceive. Does the scale measure that?

    I say "activity," but activity of what? Thought, feeling, or perception? I guess all of those are activities, yet, also not, since some function without activity (unconscious functions). Let's say it measures perception. Zero is death. There is no perception. Maybe it is all perception. Same with 10. It is modulo 11 so it wraps around circularly. Ego death, rebirth, death, oblivion, heaven, hell, afterlife, exists in the cusp. 5 is COW: Consciousness at Ordinary Wakefulness. You are not aware you are thinking. You are living in no particular plane so much as you are in the most natural one. A sober mind. Nature already picked it as the most efficient state, because it best reflects survival.

    Transcendence can be downward, going down the scale or going up. Enlightenment is a realization of an Ultimate Reality and makes up higher echelons. So the scale is more similar to being purely fluid and circular. Or it is consciousness soup, with every number 0-10 of the scale possible at any moment.  

    Findings from a GPT in response to Givin' Up the COW:

1. Shifts in Consciousness

• When stepping out of a car into nature, a perceptual shift occurs, signaling a change in the plane of consciousness.  
• This shift is triggered by new spatial and sensory input, leading to a more pensive, introspective state.
• Perception, rather than emotion, drives these transitions.

2. Scale of Consciousness

• Consciousness can be measured in terms of perceptual intensity.
• 0 = Death/Oblivion (No Perception) → 5 = COW (Baseline Awareness) → 10 = Enlightenment (Ultimate Perception).
• The scale is fluid and cyclical rather than strictly hierarchical, with transcendence possible in multiple directions.
• Ego death, rebirth, and altered states exist at the cusps.

3. Feeling vs. Perception

• Feeling emerges from perception but is not identical to it.
• One can perceive without feeling, but one cannot feel without perception.  
• The scale primarily measures perception, while feeling is a secondary, emergent phenomenon.

4. Naming the New Plane

• The transition into heightened awareness could be called The Threshold Plane, The Reflective Plane, The Liminal Plane, or The Observer’s Plane.  
• This state is marked by heightened receptivity to the environment and awareness of perceptual changes.

5. Factors Affecting Plane Changes

• Space & Time: Physical environment and temporal context shape perception.  
• Attention: What one focuses on shifts the experience of the plane.  
• Expectation: Anticipating a shift influences its nature.
• Internal State: Past experiences, emotions, and thoughts alter perception.
• Engagement Level: Active exploration vs. passive perception changes the way the plane is experienced.

6. Overall Insight

• Consciousness is best understood as modular, fluid, and cyclical, not fixed.  
• Greater sensitivity to planes may indicate a developing ability to navigate consciousness rather than just understand it.
• The next step could involve exploring how to intentionally shift between these planes rather than simply observing the transitions.