Like Kegan’s Level 6, this stage points to something ancient and intimate. A way of being that is both deeply personal and universally human. Continue reading →
This article continues the journey through adult development by exploring what lies beyond the MetAware mind. It draws from Terri O’Fallon’s STAGES model and integrates insights from Robert Kegan, particularly the theoretical ideas around Level 6 of consciousness. While Kegan officially defined up to Level 5—the Self-Transforming mind—many thinkers and spiritual teachers have pointed to a further developmental stage. This next level is sometimes called transpersonal, non-dual, or unity consciousness.
In O’Fallon’s STAGES model, these advanced stages belong to what she calls “Tier 4,” level beyond the MetAware mind of “Tier 3.” In simpler terms, this is the shift from deeply self-aware, perspective-shifting consciousness to something more expansive—where awareness itself becomes the center of experience. It’s not about thinking better or seeing more, but about being differently. If you’re new to the MetAware stage, this related article explores how to enter that stage.
What happens when self-awareness becomes effortless? When clarity deepens into peace? When meaning-making dissolves into quiet presence? Beyond the MetAware stage lies a deeper unfolding—not into complexity, but into wholeness.
At the heart of this new way of being is presence. Not the kind that watches and analyzes, but the kind that simply is. This awareness is not something to grasp—it is the space in which everything already lives.
Spiritual teachers like Thich Nhat Hanh describe this as mindfulness without effort. A peaceful resting in what is. No striving. No fixing. No seeking.
Thoughts come and go. Emotions rise and fall. And yet something remains still and untouched. That stillness is not a state to achieve, but a truth to remember.
Beyond the thinking mind, identity begins to blur. The sense of “me” and “you” softens. What remains is a deep feeling of unity. Not just understanding interconnectedness—but embodying it.
This feeling is not lofty or abstract. It shows up in how we walk, how we breathe, how we meet others. Life moves through us, not as a task to complete, but as a rhythm to join.
O’Fallon refers to this as the Transpersonal or Unity stages. Some associate it with Kegan’s Level 6. Words fall short here. It is no longer about holding many views—it is about becoming the space that holds them.
In earlier stages, knowledge builds structure. But in this new space, structure gives way to mystery. Knowing becomes intuitive, subtle, and felt.
Language becomes quieter. Silence becomes a teacher. Poetry, nature, sacred rituals—they resonate deeply, not because we understand them, but because they awaken something wordless inside.
To live in mystery is not to give up thinking. It is to know that thought is not the whole story. We do not lose clarity—we gain a deeper form of trust.
In this way of being, service is not a goal. It is who we are. There is no need to plan it. It arises naturally from stillness.
There is no separation between giver and receiver. Life gives through us. Action flows not from effort, but from connection.
This path reflects ancient wisdom—of saints, sages, and silent helpers. Their presence heals, not because of what they do, but because of who they are.
In the end, nothing needs to be extraordinary. The sacred is everywhere. In a breeze, in a bowl of soup, in a smile from a stranger.
There is no longer a need to reach higher. The divine is already here. The moment itself is the teaching. The ordinary becomes luminous.
This is not escape from the world—it is a deeper arrival into it. O’Fallon notes that the most advanced stages are marked by radical simplicity. Life feels full, even in stillness.
The journey beyond the MetAware mind is not a ladder to climb. It is a softening into being. A homecoming.
These experiences—resting in awareness, living in unity, trusting mystery, becoming the gift, and seeing the sacred in the everyday—are not goals. They are natural unfoldings. Markers of a life aligned with presence.
This is not about becoming someone else. It’s about remembering who we’ve always been.
Like Kegan’s Level 6, this stage points to something ancient and intimate. A way of being that is both deeply personal and universally human.
To begin, one need not strive. Just pause. Breathe. And feel the quiet invitation of this very moment. It is already enough.
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