In addition to the various types of Fundamental Wellbeing represented as locations along the continuum, there is a vertical axis of layers of depth for each location. As a result, there are many different ways that each location can be experienced. These layers of depth are what the majority of literature on Fundamental Wellbeing focuses on, and are often what is being referred to when traditions and teachers refer to different types of Fundamental Wellbeing.

Unlike the locations, which appear to be related to a rewiring of neural networks and are thus not present before someone transitions to a location, the layers appear to be related to fundamental aspects of the nervous system that are always functioning. All the layers are always present and contributing to the perception of this moment, but the deeper layers are not normally part of people’s subjective experience.

Most people’s perception is centered in Layer 1, the most shallow layer, which essentially comprises the conceptual mind. With the transition to Fundamental Wellbeing, it is possible for deeper layers to be experienced. Finders are capable of accessing and centering their perception in any layer, as well as fluidly accessing, and even integrating, two or more layers.

There are four fundamental, subjectively experienced layers in the nervous system. The subjective experiences associated with each layer were uncovered through researching the experiences of thousands of Finders across cultures and continents. They have also been described for millennia in religious and spiritual traditions that are oriented to experiencing forms of Fundamental Wellbeing.

These layers are also reflected in modern understandings of the brain and consciousness. As one deepens through the layers, one seems to effectively be moving subjective experience from being centered in more recently evolved, complex parts of the nervous system, to older, more foundational parts. If you are interested in a deeper understanding of the layers from a neuroscience perspective, we recommend the work of Antonio Damasio.

Normally, the deeper layers are obscured by the activity at Layer 1, which primarily involves the mind. Although the other three layers are also present and impacting perception, they can be difficult to distinguish. This means that subjective perception is effectively locked into a narrow band of experience that primarily focuses on the most complex layer of evolution in the nervous system. Although this layer is a masterwork of nature, to isolate perception in it is highly limiting in the context of the full potential of human consciousness.

Subjectively, each further deepening of subjective perception into the more foundational layers feels as though it opens up a vaster paradigm of experience. Each successive layer feels as though it contains or enables the content and existence of the more shallow layers beneath it (with the exception of Layer 4, which will be covered in more detail later on). Each deeper layer feels like a greater or more foundational context for the unfolding of experience at preceding layers. Movement deeper into the layers subjectively both transcends and includes the layers that came before. Deeper layers feel more foundational and absolute than the shallower layers.

Deepening through the layers involves getting beneath processes that structure and filter perception at various levels, revealing progressively more foundational and undifferentiated levels of experience. This brings with it progressively deeper qualities of stillness/silence and degrees of peace. The terms “stillness” and “silence” are used interchangeably, with some Finders preferring one term over the other. “Stillness” in this context does not refer to everything being perceptually motionless, and “silence” does not refer to an absence of audible sound. Both “stillness” and “silence” are used to point to an existential quality of experience itself that emerges as the perceptual filters, are progressively removed.

If there is not a sudden, deep shift into a layer, deepening through the layers typically begins with sensing the qualities of a deeper layer and the deeper stillness/silence associated with it from within a preceding layer. This progresses to more direct experience as subjective perception centers in the deeper layer, which can be temporary at first. As the experience becomes more stable and deep, there is an association with the qualities of the layer, and consequently, a shift in the sense of self.

The nature of Layer 1 can produce a sense of personal/individualized self. Moving subjective perception into deeper layers leads to distance from this personal sense of self and to progressively more impersonal and undifferentiated qualities of self, and finally a loss of a sense of self altogether. The nature and degree of this change depends on the location it is experienced from.

The subjective experience of each layer is colored by the location in Fundamental Wellbeing that it is experienced from. Any layer, or combination of layers, can be experienced from any location, though each layer is generally more accessible from specific locations, and some layers can be very difficult to access in a given location.

Each location appears to have intrinsic perceptual gravity towards a particular range of depth, and, consequently, a particular layer or combination of layers in which subjective perception tends to center. It appears to be difficult for subjective perception to reach far beyond the natural perceptual tendencies of a given location, and deepening in a layer that is far out of reach in a given location typically requires moving to a location that is more aligned with that layer.

Most traditional conceptions of Fundamental Wellbeing have been linear and unidimensional in nature and directionality, and each tradition has targeted what it considers to be the “best” or most desirable endpoint of its development. The goal is often to exclusively lock in this “best” combination of layer(s) and location, and leave behind prior states of perception.

However, Fundamental Wellbeing is not linear and unidimensional in nature. Subjective perception rarely isolates in a single layer, and most locations have a range of layers that they have a degree of natural access to. In addition, it is possible for subjective perception to move fluidly between a range of layers within and across locations. This range will depend on the location or locations that a Finder has access to, and the extent to which s/he has developed access to the layers. It is also possible to experience the integration of some or all the layers, making them simultaneously accessible to subjective perception. In the case of integration involving all four layers, this usually occurs for Finders who have gone to later locations and come back to earlier ones.

Fluidity and/or integration of the layers give the system as a whole greater flexibility and enhance perspective. In the case of integration, this flexibility is not one of moving between perspectives, but of having multiple perspectives simultaneously available and thus capable of informing experience and being acted from. This greater perspective, in turn, leads to greater capacity in terms of what can be experienced and expressed. It allows one to meet each moment through whatever quality of perception it calls for, which can significantly enhance the capacity to respond to the situation at hand. It also brings about a more all-encompassing and multidimensional experience of reality.

Both fluidity and integration of the layers diminish fixation in a single perspective. Fluidity achieves this through the capacity to move between perspectives and allow them to inform one another. Integration does this through the capacity to experience and internally reconcile multiple perspectives simultaneously. By nature, fixation in a single perspective is dualistic, even if it does not feel that way. It places a limitation on the system as a whole and often leads to imbalance. In contrast, the non-fixation that can result from fluidity and/or integration allows myriad perspectives to be held simultaneously, all of which represent an aspect of reality and can inform every other aspect. Like a diamond with many facets, the entirety of what is cannot be contained in a single perspective. The same is true of the human system in every moment.

The following sections contain detailed descriptions of the qualities and tendencies associated with each layer of depth in Fundamental Wellbeing. Bear in mind that these are best attempts at descriptions and are not equal to the subjective experience itself. The descriptions are literal, not theoretical or metaphorical, although they may seem abstract or incomprehensible to someone who has not subjectively experienced them.

By nature, the mind is incapable of forming an accurate representation of the subjective experience of deeper layers, and thus these materials should not be regarded as something to understand conceptually. They are a map of the territory that can help people to recognize and contextualize where they are, if they currently experience a particular layer, have in the past, or ultimately end up there. These descriptions are also useful for Finders who already experience two or more layers, as they can have greater clarity regarding their experiences.