The life of the spirit is not a horizontal sprawl, seeking comfort in the world’s endless distractions. It is an ascent. To be a Christian is to be a pilgrim moving toward a secret, silent encounter with the living God—a journey that demands we turn from the noise outside to the inner room of our own soul. Drawing inspiration from the ancient wisdom of the Fathers and the modern mystics, we can visualize this difficult, beautiful path not as a rigid structure, but as the rising of the soul, floor by floor, into the Great Silence. This is the structure of the soul’s surrender, the stages of its long, loving gaze upon the Unseen.
The “Skyscraper of Consciousness” is a metaphor for personal development, conscious development and spiritual evolution that uses a skyscraper to represent a person’s journey through emotional and conscious growth. It provides a framework for understanding one’s current level of awareness, emotional state, and progress, with each floor of the skyscraper representing a different level of development. The model is used for Tracing the Soul’s Ascent to God and to provide a roadmap for moving from a more primitive survival state toward greater self-awareness and fulfillment, measuring your progress, energy, consciousness and progress at every step of the way.
The Soul’s Ascent to God
In the clamor of our world, the soul seeks a secret, silent place to meet God. This journey inward can be seen as an ascent, not of a skyscraper built by human hands, but of the spirit rising, floor by floor, into the great stillness of God’s presence. Each level is not an achievement, but a deeper surrender, a stripping away of the false self to find our true life hidden in Christ.
The Ground Floor: The Prayer of Simple Presence
All spiritual life begins here, on the ground of our own being. Before we can ascend, we must first be present. We learn to quiet the frantic mind by attending to the simple gifts of God: the rhythm of our own breathing, the feeling of our feet on the earth. This is not a mere technique, but a hallowing of the present moment. In this silence, we begin to listen. In this stillness, we learn to wait for the God who is already here. This is the foundation—a simple, watchful presence.
The Skyscraper of Consciousness Scale: Floors 1-100 Basement Levels (1-20): The Survival Zone (100-200 Joules)
This zone of the Tracing the Soul’s Ascent to God is dominated by primal survival instincts. Individuals here are trapped in fear, reacting to perceived threats with fight, flight, or freeze responses. Emotions are raw and unfiltered, including terror, rage, and despair. Perception is limited to immediate survival, and the world is seen as hostile. Archetypes include the Victim and the Addict, highlighting a state of helplessness and reactive defence. 5 Sensory perception.
- Floors 1-5: The Primal Core (100-120 Joules)
- Dominated by the Survival Minds F9 responses: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Flop, Fawn, Fiddle, Faint, Friend, Forget.
- Raw, unfiltered emotions: Fear, terror, rage, despair.
- Consciousness is limited to immediate survival.
- Perception: The world is a dangerous, hostile, malevolent and unsafe, uncertain place.
- Archetypes: The Victim, The Lost Soul.
The Inner Rooms: The Prayer of the Heart
As we learn to be still, we are invited to go deeper. Here, we move from simple attention to a prayer of the heart. We practice a sacred reading (Lectio Divina), not to analyze the Word, but to let the Word read us. We cultivate a loving-kindness (Metta) that is the faint echo of God’s own love for His creation. The mind’s own striving gives way to a gentle, focused love. This is not about building mental muscle, but about opening the heart to receive a wisdom that reason cannot grasp. We are learning to see the world, and ourselves, through the eyes of Christ.
The Upper Chamber: The Prayer of Quiet
The higher we ascend, the less there is of our own doing and the more there is of God’s. Here, in the upper room of the soul, we enter a prayer beyond words, thoughts, and images. It is a state of simple, loving awareness, a resting in the presence of God. This is the wilderness of the spirit, the cloud of unknowing, where we are asked to let go of our need for answers and simply be with the One who is. We do not find God here through effort, but are found by Him in our surrender.
This zone begins to move beyond pure survival, but remains largely reactive. Individuals experience emotional instability, driven by external validation and perfectionism. Power struggles and manipulation are common. However, a “glimmer of awakening” begins as individuals start to question their limiting beliefs and emotional patterns. Archetypes include the Pleaser, the Controller, and the Questioner. 5 Sensory perception.
The Summit: Union in Love
At the summit is not an idea or a final achievement, but a reality to be lived: union with God. This is the end for which we were made. It is a profound, unshakable peace that comes not from escaping suffering, but from finding God in the midst of it. From this union flows a boundless compassion, a love for all beings that is God’s own love flowing through us. We see the world transfigured. We have not escaped the world, but have found its sacred center, and we return to it as instruments of His peace.
This aspect of Tracing the Soul’s Ascent to God represents the highest levels of pure consciousness, characterized by deep inner peace, non-judgmental observation, and constant gratitude. Individuals experience complete self-realization and embody courage and resilience. Perception is rooted in the understanding of oneness and the inherent goodness of life. Archetypes include the Peaceful, the Wise, Self Love & Courage. Extrasensory.
Conclusion
We do not climb this mountain through a rigid system of self-improvement, but through grace and the simple, persistent act of saying ‘Yes’ to God in the depths of our heart. The summit is not a destination we claim, but a state of being we receive: the unitive life, where the distinction between the self and the divine will dissolves into perfect charity. Having made the long ascent into the silence of contemplation, the pilgrim is fully prepared to descend back into the world, bearing the Christ they have found. For the work of contemplation is simply the beginning of love, and love is always for the world.
The The Skyscraper of Consciousness measurement scale we use for Tracing the Soul’s Ascent to God presents a progressive model of psychological and spiritual growth, moving from primal survival to transcendent love, self-actualization and God realisation. Each level builds upon the previous, offering a framework for understanding for navigating the complexities of human consciousness.
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