Knowing Capacities (Nine Bodies Map of Consciousness)
An Elaboration of an Ancient Teaching
Knowing Capacities, also referred to as the Nine Bodies of Consciousness, offer a practical, experiential map of consciousness. Rooted in the ancient Indian teaching of the Three Levels of Being—Manifest, Subtle, and Causal—this framework refines and expands that model into nine distinct ways that consciousness functions. The Nine Bodies map of Consciousness comes from Sri Swami Balyogi Premvarni. Components of this map were developed into a meditation practice and integrated into the Naturally Arising Practice Method by Phillip Moffitt.
Why Practice with the Knowing Capacities?
Engaging with these teachings supports practitioners in deepening mindfulness, concentration, and insight. This practice offers tools to recognize and untangle deeply ingrained patterns of thought, emotion, and reactivity. As practitioners become more adept at identifying and resting in these various capacities, they experience greater clarity, emotional balance, and an increased capacity to respond skillfully rather than react habitually.
Practicing with this framework can support:
Greater clarity and stability in meditation
The ability to recognize and work with energetic or emotional patterns
A deeper sense of integration across body, mind, and heart
Insight into the impermanent and impersonal nature of all experiences
A growing capacity to rest in awareness itself, free from identification
In addition, in deep meditation, practitioners often encounter energetic movements, altered states, or expansive moments of stillness that defy everyday categories. These experiences can be illuminating—but they can also lead to confusion or grasping. The Knowing Capacities offer a map that helps locate and understand these states, allowing them to unfold more fully without clinging or fear.
Who is this Practice Suited for?
This practice is particularly suited for meditation practitioners who are looking to deepen their insight and mindfulness practice. It is valuable for anyone interested in understanding the nature of consciousness and for those committed to a path of inner transformation. It can also profoundly benefit individuals seeking to integrate their meditation practice more fully into everyday life, making the Dharma accessible in practical, immediate ways.
Knowing Capacities’ Connection to Buddhist Practice
The Knowing Capacities, as taught as part of the Naturally Arising Practice Method, are not an alternative to Buddhist practice—they’re a support for it. They offer language and perspective for making sense of subtle experiences that can arise naturally in insight or concentration practice. They are a skillful means to help the practitioner stay grounded in the unfolding of impermanence, not-self, and the possibility of freedom.
As concentration strengthens and mindfulness matures, the mind naturally begins to open to experiences below the surface. This framework helps orient the practitioner within those experiences, so that insight can keep unfolding and the practitioner is empowered to keep walking the path offered by the Buddha.
Guided Practice of the First Four Knowing Capacities
In this 50-min guided meditation, Dana DePalma leads a practice of the first four Knowing Capacities: Physical, Vital, Emotional, and Etheric.
Further Study & Practice of the Knowing Capacities
Programs at Dharma Ground
Dharma Ground regularly offers an “Intro to Nine Bodies Insight” class that is an experiential introduction to the first four Knowing Capacities: Physical, Vital, Emotional, and Etheric. This is a great way to get started with this practice.
Once you are oriented to the practice, there are many additional classes that explore different facets in more detail, including an Etheric Body Class and a Subtle Bodies Class. There are also regularly offered weeklong retreats dedicated to exploring this practice.
Find upcoming programs on our events page here.
Resources
Phillip Moffitt’s book, Awakening through the Nine Bodies, explores the full Nine Bodies map of Consciousness. Please note that some of the ways we are currently teaching this material has significantly changed since the writing of this book.