Consciousness isn't flat. It's multidimensional—operating across 12 fundamental
ways of being aware.
Here's an overview of each dimension. This is the map. The platforms built on
this framework let you explore the territory.
Raw sensory input—sight, sound, touch, taste, smell. The immediate data your body
receives from the world. This is consciousness at its most fundamental: pure perception
before interpretation.
Example: The feeling of warm sunlight on your skin, the sound of rain, the taste
of coffee—before you think "that's pleasant" or "I like this."
Your sense of being in a body. Proprioception, physical presence, the feeling of
"being here." This dimension tracks how connected or disconnected you feel from
your physical form.
Example: The difference between being absorbed in a book (low embodiment) versus
playing sports (high embodiment). Feeling grounded versus feeling like you're
floating through your day.
Understanding where you are in physical space and how you relate to objects and
environments around you. Navigation, orientation, spatial memory.
Example: Knowing where your hand is without looking. Navigating your home in the dark.
Understanding how to fit your body through a doorway.
Active thinking—reasoning, planning, problem-solving. The "voice in your head"
that analyzes, judges, and strategizes. Linear, logical, deliberate cognition.
Example: Working through a math problem. Planning your day. Analyzing why a
relationship isn't working. Any moment you're consciously "figuring something out."
Access to past experiences. Not just remembering facts but re-experiencing moments,
emotions, contexts. The dimension that gives you continuity across time.
Example: A smell triggering a childhood memory. Recalling how to ride a bike.
Remembering why you distrust certain situations based on past experiences.
Symbol manipulation—words, syntax, communication. How you encode experience into
shareable forms and decode what others share with you.
Example: Finding the right word to describe a feeling. Understanding metaphors.
The difference between what you mean and what you actually say.
Felt states that color experience—joy, sadness, anger, fear, love. The dimension
that tells you what matters and motivates action.
Example: The warmth of love. The weight of sadness. The energy of excitement.
Emotions aren't just "feelings"—they're how consciousness values and responds to situations.
Feeling into others' experiences. Understanding perspectives different from your own.
The bridge between isolated awareness and shared consciousness.
Example: Knowing how your words will land before you say them. Feeling someone's
pain as if it's your own. Understanding motivations you don't share.
Understanding group patterns, hierarchies, roles, norms. How consciousness operates
in collective contexts—teams, cultures, societies.
Example: Reading the room. Knowing when to speak and when to listen. Understanding
unspoken rules and power dynamics in groups.
Seeing connections across contexts. Recognizing similarities, analogies, and structures.
The dimension that lets you learn from one domain and apply it to another.
Example: Noticing that relationship dynamics mirror workplace dynamics. Seeing the same
mistake repeated in different forms. Understanding archetypes and recurring themes in your life.
How you construct meaning through stories. The plots you tell about who you are,
where you've been, where you're going. Identity as ongoing narrative.
Example: The story of "how I became who I am." Seeing your life as a hero's journey.
The narratives that shape your choices and self-concept.
Awareness of awareness itself. Moments when consciousness recognizes its own nature—flow
states, mystical experiences, the observer observing itself.
Example: Realizing you're the one watching your thoughts. Peak experiences where self
dissolves. The moment of recognizing you're consciousness experiencing itself.