The Seven Heavens
The spiritual reality of human beings is not limited to the material world. There are seven heavens, seven states of existence, or planes of consciousness, which spiritual initiates and masters have identified over the millennia. These heavens are not just symbols but experiential realities, each with a higher degree of light, vibration, and wisdom. They are also described in Christian, Eastern and esoteric traditions as levels of consciousness and manifestations of the soul.
The first heaven is the Material Plane, the three-dimensional world of matter, which includes planet Earth, our solar system, and all the galaxies of the physical universe. Everything that is perceived through our senses belongs to this level. It is the heaven of the materialized mind, the world where divine ideas are expressed in solid form.
The second heaven is the Double Etheric of the material world, a subtle, vibrational replica of the physical plane. Every material object has an etheric counterpart, and this subtle layer surrounds and interpenetrates matter. It is the world in which vital energy circulates and sustains physical life.
The third heaven is the Psychic Plane or Emotional World. Here, human thoughts, emotions, and desires manifest themselves in the form of vibrations and entities called elementals. It is a living plane, where all human feelings leave traces and take shape. This psychic world is an emotional world, with a lower density than physical matter but more subtle and influential on the soul.
The fourth heaven is the Double Etheric of the Psychic World. It is a subtle and more refined copy of the emotional world. Every psychic entity and every feeling and thought has an expression in this plane. It is the world where the psyche is reflected and finely processed.
The fifth heaven is the Noetic Plane, or the Divine Mental World. It is the world of archetypal ideas, primordial causes, and divine principles. Here, consciousness accesses pure knowledge and eternal wisdom. It is the heaven of the spiritual mind, where the answers and causes of all things are found.
The sixth heaven is the Double Ether of the Noetic World. It is a subtle manifestation of divine wisdom, in which everything that exists on the noetic plane has a refined and pure expression. All celestial bodies, planets, and solar systems are united on this plane, unlike the psychic and material planes, where they are separate.
The seventh heaven is the Spiritual World, or the Archetypal Heaven. It is the highest plane, that of Essence, where there is no longer form, but only Being. It is the world of the Spirit, of Ultimate Reality—beyond good and evil, beyond duality. Here dwell the immutable Divine Causes and Laws. It is the place of rest and contemplation of the Soul, uniting individual consciousness with Supreme Consciousness.
These seven heavens are, in fact, within us. Christ said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” They correspond to the seven subtle bodies of the human being: the physical body (1), the etheric double (2), the psychic body (3), the psychic double (4), the noetic body (5), the noetic double (6), and the spiritual body (7), which is more a state of Being than a body.
To access the higher heavens, we must consciously leave our lower bodies and project our consciousness onto the higher ones. This is the art of exosomatosis. The first exosomatosis involves consciously leaving the physical body and entering the psychic body. The second takes us from the psychic body to the noetic body. And the third, the rarest, leads us to the world of Spirit, to the Archetypal Heaven.
Thus, through purification and introspection, our consciousness can ascend until it reunites with the Divine Self. Every person has these heavens within them and is destined to find, know, and integrate them into their consciousness. This is true knowledge: to become what you truly are.