Cosmic consciousness

Not to be confused with collective unconscious.

Cosmic consciousness is the idea that the universe exists as an interconnected network of consciousness, with each conscious being linked to every other. Sometimes this is conceived as forming a collective consciousness which spans the cosmos,^[1] othertimes it is conceived of as an Absolute or Godhead from which all conscious beings emanate.

History

Throughout history, there have been many renditions of universal unity, connectivity, and the spectrum of considered possibility of mankind. The idea bears similarity to the ancient Buddhist concept of Indra's net, Teilhard de Chardin's conception of the noosphere, Hegel's Absolute idealism, Satori in Zen,^{[2][not in citation given (See discussion.)]} and to some traditional pantheist beliefs.^[3]

Many of those who have used psychedelics such as LSD and Psilocybin mushrooms have asserted that they have had direct experience of the cosmic consciousness.^[4] In the 19th century, Canadian psychiatrist Richard M. Bucke developed a theory which claimed that cosmic consciousness lies in a mystic state above and beyond self-consciousness, the natural state of man's consciousness, just like animal consciousness lies below.^[5]

Studies

Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind is the title of a 1901 book by Richard Maurice Bucke.^[6][7][8] In it, Bucke developed a theory involving three stages in the development of consciousness: the simple consciousness of animals; the self-consciousness of the mass of humanity (encompassing reason, imagination, etc.); and cosmic consciousness — an emerging faculty and the next stage of human development.^[9] Bucke hypothesizes that next stage of human mental development, which he named "Cosmic Consciousness," is slowly beginning to appear but will eventually spread widely throughout all of humanity.

Alexander Zelitchenko in his "Svet Zhizni" (Light of Life, History of Humankind in Psychosphere of Earth)continues this line, joined the directions of thought of Oswald Spengler, Lev Vygotsky, Lev Gumilev, Carl Jung tracing the transformations of human consciousness in course of history.

According to P. D. Ouspensky, as man evolves into higher states of consciousness, e. g. cosmic consciousness, he needs the tools of a higher form of logic, Ouspensky calls Tertium organum given to the title of his 1912 book.^[10]

Bucke’s conclusion one hundred years ago was that these individuals were gifted in the direction of cosmic consciousness but then developed this awareness through self-discipline. It now seems that the gift at birth is not as necessary as the self-discipline and the art of loving. Many of today’s psychologist and theologians make specific reference to Bucke’s work. The list includes Carl Jung, Erich Fromm, Robert de Ropp, Abraham Maslow, and Kenneth Wilbur, to name only a few. The numbers of people who make use of the concept of cosmic consciousness introduced by Bucke in 1901 is even lengthier. This list includes Albert Einstein, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and Alan Watts.

References

1. ^ J. J. Semple The Backward-Flowing Method, p. 14, Life Force Books, 2008 ISBN 978-0979533129
2. ^ Benjamin Walker Beyond the Body, pp. 27-8, Routledge, 1974 ISBN 978-0710078087
3. ^ Paul Marshall Mystical Encounters with the Natural World, p. 126, Oxford University Press, 2005 ISBN 978-0199279432
4. ^ http://ldolphin.org/LSD1.html
5. ^ Richard M. Bucke Cosmic Consciousness, p. 19, Cosimo Inc., 2007 ISBN 978-1596054790
6. ^ Richard M. Bucke Cosmic Consciousness, Innes & Sons, 1905 University of Wisconsin original digitized January 17, 2008
7. ^ Richard M. Bucke Cosmic Consciousness at Google Books (images)
8. ^ Richard M. Bucke Cosmic Consciousness at Sacred-texts.com (html/text)[1]
9. ^ Richard M. Bucke Cosmic Consciousness, pp. 19-82, Cosimo Inc., 2007 ISBN 978-1602069671
10. ^ P. D. Ouspensky Tertium Organum, pp. 219-44, Alfred A. Knopf, 1968 ASIN: B001Q236NE; 1st ed. 1920; paperback ISBN 978-1438237961

Sources

• Krishna , G. (2004). What is Cosmic Consciousness?, Bethel Publishers.
• Paglia, C. (Winter 2003). Cults and Cosmic Consciousness: Religious Vision in the American 1960s. Arion. 10 (3), 57-111.
• Ayre, Don (2011). Meditation and the Evolution of Cosmic Consciousness, Xlibris Publishers.