Writers on consciousness sometimes speak of people progressing from one level of consciousness to another. for example, one might move from a mythic consciousness (Piaget's con-op) to a rational consciousness (form-op). But I don't think that that's how it actually happens. We are all taking part in the same culture, and barring physical injuries, I think that most of us have similarly-working structures of consciousness. We just aren't using them all. So when someone moves from mythic to rational consciousness, he is merely realizing the rational. This is similar to the debate within buddhism regarding whether someone attains enlightenment or merely realizes that he is already enlightened.