Collective consciousness refers to a set of beliefs, ideas and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society. To put it rather simply, we are one. Whatever you think, feel and do is felt by everyone else. Our society as a whole is a culmination and reflection of our attitudes and how we display them internally and externally. Therefore, each one of us is playing a role in collectively creating our own reality as well as the reality of those around us.
As human beings our main collective energy used to be based on survival, we were hunters and gatherers. Our collective energy went into being interdependent with one another and with nature. In order to survive our connection to our tribe and to nature had to be strong. Our sense of belonging was nurtured.
Today most of us are trying to nurture this belonging in other ways. We still have that same desire to connect and belong but it's highly challenged as we live more individualized lives than our ancestors. We live in a world that is hyper-stimulated, a world where media is constantly fighting for our attention. It seems that no matter where we try to place our energy there are constant distractions trying to convince us of who we are and what we want. It's no wonder that most of us are striving to find our purpose and connect to who we really are. We are stressed and when we are stressed we lack that sense of belonging and connection to one another and to our environment.
The reality is that something is not quite right in our world today due to our lack of connection. The news displays catastrophe and chaos and we "feel" this. We feel the pain and overwhelm and for a short time we are in a state of disbelief and sadness. Most of us want to see change and want to do something but we have absolutely no idea what to do. We are deeply connected to what we are seeing but feel powerless and hopeless. After this we sink back into that safe, comfortable zone where we grumble and complain about what has happened and then try to forget about it. What we aren't realizing is that we have more power for change than we think. As Deepak Chopra writes in his book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, "The source of all creation is pure consciousness.... pure potentiality seeking expression from the unmanifest to the manifest. And when we realize that our true self is one of pure potentiality, we align with the power that manifests everything in the universe."
The Power of Thoughts
Many spiritual traditions and cultures have linked our inner world to our outer world. Ghandi stated that if we wanted to see something happen in the world than we must first make that change for ourselves. There were many Eastern religious teachings on the law of attraction and how we can visualize what we want to become reality. One teaching of the Buddha is that "We are our thoughts. We create the world with our thoughts."
Experiments of Dr. Jeffrey Goodman show us how we can change the world through what we think. He states that the energy of our thoughts continuously create thinking patterns that define and shape our physical environment, the world we live in. Dr. Goodman calls this phenomena "bio-relativity". One of the most astonishing studies on this topic comes from the Global Coherence Initiative and their research of the earth's magnetic fields during the September 11 attacks. The GCI has an astonishing Scientific Advisory Board with scientists from a broad range of fields. Their Global Coherence Monitoring System (GCMS) measured how the earth's fields were effected by human emotions. With the presence of fear, anger and worry the earth was greatly effected. They even saw the GCMS generators creating abnormal readings hours prior to the attack which suggested a worldwide collective intuition.
You can imagine the energy that can be generated if we were to all channel positive change. An amazing documentary exploring the power of the mind is "Heal". The film is now a bestseller featuring the brilliant minds and hearts of those such as Deepak Chopra, Bruce Lipton, Marianne Williamson, Michael Beckwith, Gregg Braden, Anita Moorjani, Anthony William the Medical Medium, and more.
At this moment in time there is a conscious revolution happening where more people than ever are understanding that what they create within and what they put out has profound influence. It is a time of 'waking up' to the power of energy. Awakening to this collective energy puts us back in the position of understanding that we are not separate, that we belong to the larger tribe of humans and other living creatures on the earth that serves us everyday.
What can we do?
If you haven't already asked yourself what you could be doing to aid in the shift toward a more conscious, collective world than you probably should. As creative beings with the freedom to express ourselves there is great power within that creative force. Here are 6 ways you can start raising the collective consciousness.
1. Create a healthy vessel
Putting chemicals and processed foods into your body will create internal blocks and not allow you to be the highest form of yourself. Put clean, nourishing foods from mother earth into your body so that you can be your purest self. Moving energy blocks within your body can be done with some simple yoga, Qi Gong, or Tai Chi exercises. You will increase circulation within the body and mind that will have you feeling more grounded and clear.
2. Connect to nature
Spending time in nature is the easiest way to connect with the highest consciousness. Being in sync with our earth allows us to connect with our truest essence and purpose. When we connect on this level we can be sure that what we put out into the collective field is from a place of true connection. For those of you who are unaware, tree hugging in now completely validated. In a recently published book, Blinded by Science, the author Matthew Silverstone, proves scientifically that trees do in fact improve many health issues such as concentration levels, reaction times, depression, stress and other various forms of mental illness. He even points to research indicating a tree’s ability to alleviate headaches in humans seeking relief by communing with trees. Go hug a tree!
3. Meditate
Meditation will enable you to increase your awareness, become more mindful and will enable you to reach the truest version of yourself. Even minutes of meditating per day can make profound differences. We become more connected to ourselves and our environment when we meditate and this assures that what we put out into the collective field is coming from an authentic, connected self.
4. Release your emotional baggage
Every one of us has had experiences that have caused us to hold negative emotions deep within us. They effect us so deeply on a subconscious level and really have a lot to do with what we put out in the world. These buried emotions are negative energy and releasing them will help you create more positivity within. Deep emotional wounds also draw more of that same energy towards you. There are many techniques of releasing emotions that no longer serve you, from hypnosis to daily mantras, but one simple way to start is to send love, healing and forgiveness out to those that have hurt you in the past. Doing this daily can make dramatic shifts in truly releasing what no longer serves you and jumping on a higher frequency emotional field.
5. Find your tribe
Finding others out there who wish to connect and share a higher vibration is essential. There is a great power in numbers and sharing ideas that create more positivity and awareness makes a huge difference. This is why mass meditations or group meditations are very powerful. When many people join to send out a higher vibration the power of that vibration becomes stronger and the collective energy is altered in a stronger way. You may think that these like-minded individuals are not out there in your community but they are, keep searching. If you cannot find anyone in your own community to connect with on this level than connect to the vast amount of resources and high-vibe people on the internet to raise to a higher energy.
6. Connect to the collective energy daily
Make it a daily ritual to send some positivity, healing and higher vibes out there. It can even just be a minute of closing your eyes and imaging waves being emitted to create a change in the direction of well-being. It can be directed at someone you know who needs help, a general cause, or just sending some love and hope out into the universe.
It's really not as overwhelming as we may sometimes think to make a big difference. Don't make the mistake of not doing anything because you are only able to do a little. We are in this together.