THE 8-CIRCUIT MODEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS
by Timothy Leary & Robert Anton Wilson

I. The Terrestrial Circuits

1. The Biosurvival Circuit:

imprinted in infancy. Concerned with sucking, nourishment, cuddling, biosecurity.

2. The Emotional-Territorial Circuit:

imprinted in the toddling stage. Concerned with territorial demands, emotional power tactics, political domination-and-submission strategies.

3. The Semantic Circuit:

imprinted by human artifacts and symbol systems. Concerned with handling the environment, invention, calculation, prediction, building a "map" of the universe.

4. The Sociosexual Circuit:

imprinted by the first orgasm-mating experiences and tribal "morals." Concerned with sexual pleasure, local definitions of "moral" and "immoral", reproduction, nurture of the young.

II. The Extraterrestrial Circuits

5. The Neurosomatic Circuit:

imprinted by ecstatic experience via physiological or chemical yogas. Concerned with neurological-somatic feedbacks, feeling high, somatic reprogramming (Christian Science, faith healing, etc.).

6. The Metaprogramming Circuit:

imprinted by advanced yogas. Concerned with reimprinting and reprogramming all earlier circuits, relativity of "realities" perceived, cybernetic consciousness.

7. The Neurogenetic Circuit:

imprinted by advanced yogas. Concerned with evolutionary consciousness (past and future), DNA-RNA-brain feedbacks, Jung's "Collective Unconscious."

8. The Neuroatomic Circuit:

imprinted by shock or near-death experience. Concerned with quantum consciousness, non-local awareness (beyond spacetime), so-called "PSI" or "magick" powers, Illumination.

Adapted from 'Exo-Psychology', by Timothy Leary.

(R. A. Wilson, Illuminati Papers, pp.17-18.)

The material on these pages collected from various sources on the Net. Apologies to all those whose names remain uncredited.

See also:

[A Lurker's Guide] [The Eight Basic Winner/Loser Scripts] [Galactic Archives] [More On The 8-Circuit Model] [John Lilly and Metaprogramming]

8-Circuit Model of Consciousness @ Wikipedia

Compare to:

Abraham Maslow: Hierarchy of Needs @ Wikipedia

Kazimierz Dabrowski's Positive Integration Model: Synopsis of Maslow and Dabrowski [Introduction to Kazimierz Dabrowski] [Kazimierz Dabrowski @ Wikipedia]