Human development starts from the body and moves up to the mental. The further development to spirit is not considered here. Human consciousness consist of three levels or planes – the physical body, the vital plane of life energy and the mental plane of conscious awareness. The physical is the plane of form. The vital is the plane of energy. The mental is the plane of thought. Each of these three planes can be further subdivided into physical, vital and mental components, because each of these elements exists in all planes. See also, a detailed analysis of each of the Nine Levels.