C plus. Hawkins

 With spiritual practice focused directly on the ego and its experiencer function, the importance and identification of self with the body automatically diminishes of its own accord. When meaning, significance, and value are withdrawn from it, the body-image sense recedes and only recurs when actually necessary (e.g., to sleep, eliminate, hydrate, etc.) In the state of Bliss (cal. 600), or even at the consciousness levels of the higher 500s, the seeming needs of the body diminish. One can dance tirelessly for hours in ecstasy and go without food for days in Samadhi/Bliss. In higher states, care of the body may be neglected, as its importance is lost when no longer hypothesized to be the self.

The Discovery of the Presence of God - Chapter fifteen - Progressive States of Consciousness

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This passage from The Discovery of the Presence of God describes a classic theme found in many mystical traditions: as identification with the ego weakens, identification with the body and ordinary psychological concerns can also diminish.

The author is describing a progression where:

• the “self” is no longer experienced primarily as the body or personality,
• attention shifts from survival and personal desire toward states of peace, bliss, or transcendence,
• bodily needs can temporarily feel less compelling during intense contemplative or ecstatic states.

Similar ideas appear in:

• Buddhism — especially non-attachment and non-self (anattā),
• Advaita Vedanta — the body-mind is not the ultimate Self,
• Christian mysticism,
• Sufi traditions,
• yogic descriptions of samadhi.

At the same time, there’s an important distinction between:

1. a temporary altered state where bodily awareness recedes, and
2. a stable, healthy integration of spiritual insight into ordinary life.

Many traditions caution against neglecting the body entirely. Even teachers who emphasize transcendence often still describe the body as a vehicle or instrument that requires care. In practice, prolonged fasting, sleep deprivation, or ignoring medical needs can become physically dangerous, especially if someone mistakes dissociation or mania for spiritual advancement.

The passage is also using a specific “calibration” framework (“cal. 600”) associated with David R. Hawkins. Those numerical consciousness levels are part of Hawkins’ own spiritual model and are not scientifically validated measures.

Philosophically, though, the core insight is recognizable:

the less tightly consciousness clings to the ego, the less central the body feels as the definition of identity.