How often do you hear people say, โWe are all oneโ? Even though you probably agree to some extent, the deeper meaning has been lost within the ambiguity of a cliche, and you might wonder what this notion means.
On the surface level, we are all so different, yet energetically, we are fragments of a much bigger system. The belief that we are all the same at a deeper level of consciousness has been a staple view of various religions and cultures around the globe, since the dawn of humanity.
Iโm going to explain what the collective consciousness is from my perspective, and how we can tap into it to realize our fundamental nature, as one being with an infinite amount of manifestations.
What Is the Collective Consciousness?
The collective consciousness refers to a deeper level of consciousness that all living things are connected to. This all-encompassing consciousness is also known as the universal consciousness or source.
For this to make sense, you need to understand that reality has layers, and weโre all fundamentally connected to otherย dimensions of consciousness. On this level of reality, you may not be able to perceive the other layers, however, you can tap into them via spiritual discipline.
Onย thisย level of reality, we are all manifestations of a universal consciousness or ultimate reality. On a deeper level, we are souls embarking on individual journeys. Yet at a deeper level than the soul, there is no separation; there is one consciousness manifesting all things.
You may feel separate from the homeless person you pass on the streets or a child experiencing famine in the deserts of Ethiopia. On this level of reality, you are a separate being, but at a deeper level,ย youย are also experiencing these lives.
At its core, we are all the same consciousness experiencing oneself via the mechanism of individuality. Weโre all fragments of consciousness that have split off from the source to undergo different experiences.ย Even though we all appear as individuals, energetically, weโre all tethered to the collective.
Understanding Dimensions of Consciousness
Imagine the collective consciousness as a tree. The base of this tree is the collective consciousness. This is the primaryย rootย of consciousness. No manifestation exists without it because itโs the deepest level of truth.
At this level, there is no such thing as a soul, individuality, or separation.
Different dimensions act as thresholds of separation. This is where the role of the soul comes in, to act as a fragment of consciousness that can undergo experience. Your soul vicariously experiences different dimensions like a spotlight being cast through panels of glass.
On the outer peripheries lies our dimension โ reality. Our experiences here are like the leaves of this interdimensional tree. We feel very separate as leaves dangling on the tips of these branches, but we are still the tree.
Dimensions that are further in the peripheries are more disconnected from the collective, meaning thereโs more space for individual experience. The more peripheral the layer, the greater the soulโs disconnection from the collective, meaning the more diversity can be experienced.
But whatโs the point?
Variety.
The collective wants to experience stuff, and you are a way of achieving that.
In the scheme of things, we are very disconnected from the source, to the point that we donโt even know it exists or how it works. But weโre experiencing this level of reality because there is so much diversity, meaning there is so much to experience and learn from.
The Collective Consciousness: Like Cells Forming the Body
Is the tree analogy not doing it for you? Hereโs another way to look at it.
Just to be alive, you are the work of trillions of tiny organisms working together to create the complex system that you are. Individual cells certainly canโt comprehend the collective that they create, yet somehow, a much broader consciousness than any individual is created.
The cells that compose your body arenโt individually conscious in the way we perceive it. Everything you are, however, including your senses, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, is a byproduct of these cells working today. A whole new form of experience is created, and itโs immeasurably more significant than any individual.
Imagine the collective consciousness as the spiritual equivalent of cells forming a body. Every individual โ at a fundamental level is just a little part of a much more expansive consciousness.
Shaping Reality via Collective Consciousness
Reality is dependent on the collective consciousness, not the other way around. In this sense, we can imagine this reality as a projection of sorts because it is constantly influenced spiritually by the collective consciousness.
We are all individuals, but as we are all manifestations of the collective consciousness, the individual experience may be more intertwined than you would have previously thought.
With that said, what happens at an individual level influences the collective. What happens at a collective level influences the individual. There are a lot of influences imposed via technology and media, but all of these things are creations of the collective consciousness.
Humans are just worker bees. We would never create something as sophisticated as the internet, space travel, orย artificial intelligenceย if the idea wasnโt planted in the collective consciousness.
Ideas and constructs ripple through the collective, marking collective changes and periods of humanity.
During wars, people who arenโt remotely involved may experience collective trauma, resentment, hatred, and energy because weโre all energetically connected. If something affects enough people, itโs going to vicariously affect you, too, in one form or another, because you are part of the collective of humanity, regardless of how separate you think you are.
We see this phenomenon withย ancestral trauma, where healing ancestral trauma affects the entire collective while causing trauma that also affects that collective.
Traumatic world events may cause seemingly unrelated issues, such as higher levels of crime, addiction, and abuse, because we are all affected at some level of consciousness.
On the other hand, energies of love, peace, gratitude, and high vibrations also ripple through the collective. This means that on some level, we all feel the experiences of others, and we all can tap into these experiences.
How Ideas Penetrate the Collective Consciousness
Similar themes within humanity seem to emerge at the same time around the globe. As different stages, eras, and constructs seem to be synchronous, this suggests that there is some common denominator (or underlying force of the collective).
Events such as the Neolithic revolution, the Axial Age, the formation of classical empires, colonialism, and industrialism have all occurred worldwide, around the same time. Widespread revolutions and movements have also been synchronous around the world.
Likewise, there have even been mass meditations where synchronously, the world paused conflict, because the collective was affected by these events. Currently, spirituality is making a resurgence once again too, which is evident in every country and culture.
This shows that the collective humanity might not be so disconnected after all. Even though we could attribute this to the spread of information and ideas, many of these occurrences were marked well before we could exchange ideas or influence.
Dynamics change over time. Collective ideas and belief systems sway regarding culture, norms, morality, ethics, and so forth. As with the hundredth monkey effect, could these synchronicities point to a collective consciousness that may have outliers but a common denominator?
It goes to show that we are all connected in ways we canโt quite understand. At least not while weโre looking at the surface level.
We Are Drops in the Ocean
As weโve looked at how different movements shape the collective, now letโs explore how the quality of energy affects the vibration of the collective.
Imagine the collective consciousness as a giant body of water. The quality of energy that we experience in the form of emotions, thoughts, and beliefs is like adding drops to this body. It doesnโt seem like much, but trillions of beings on this planet all experience different qualities of energy all the time. Thatโs a lot of water being poured into the collective.
If one person has a traumatic experience, it would be like adding a drop of murky, dirty water to this collective. One drop wonโt do much, as one drop of dense energy divided amongst billions of people isnโt much of a burden to carry. But if many people experience trauma, fear, hatred, and other forms of suffering, all those drops of dense energy start to add up.
Hypothetically, if most of the population were to suddenly suffer, then reality would transform to accommodate this suffering as a critical mass is reached. The outliers (people having a heavenly experience) are going to be pulled into this collective suffering.
On the other hand, high vibrational energies are like adding drops of a cleaning agent to this body of water. If most people were to suddenly feel love, gratitude, compassion, and other high vibrational energies, the entire reality would shift to resonate with that collective energy.
In this case, as people who are suffering are outliers, their energy would start converging to the high vibration that the collective is experiencing. So, these people would start healing, growing, and waking up because a critical mass has been hit. This is essentially the same idea as 5-dimensional reality, that if enough people awaken, the entire collective will.
Reality Is a Spiritual Tug of War
Look at reality as a spiritual tug of war.
There is so much diversity, that the collective balances itself out in one way or another. But if the collective of humanity leans in any particular direction, the projection of this consciousness follows suit.
After all, reality is malleable.ย We create our realities on an individual level via vibration, but this phenomenon works on a collective level, too.
Reality needs to have a congruency with the consciousness that creates it. Therefore, if we want a create a heavenly world for humanity, it can only happen by changing the collective. By healing, contributing high vibrational energy, and helping one another, we start tugging the collective towards a high vibrational reality.
So letโs apply this to the current world situation. Humanity is reaching a boiling point where there are all sorts of nasty influences being dredged to the surface. Because of the pain this is causing, more people are waking up to the truth, that we are in a three-dimensional matrix.
But the collective is shifting towards a higher vibration as weโre illuminating and healing a lot of our collective trauma. Once a critical mass is hit, meaning most people wake up, the entire reality is going to shift toward a five-dimensional reality.
If the powers that be succeed by reducing the vibration of the collective via fear, hatred, and division, then the collective will shift further into the three-dimensional matrix.
Tapping Into the Collective Consciousness
Certain practices can help you tap into a higher, interconnected realm of consciousness that transcends the individual ego. Thatโs theย purpose of the ego: to act as the separating mechanism between the self and the collective.
Everyone can tap into this universal consciousness through spiritual practices. Some people call this the godself, as it is the deepest level of consciousness that contains an infinite amount of wisdom.
Spiritual practices help you connect to deeper dimensions of consciousness by bypassing the ego.
Meditation is a lens into the soul. By regularly meditating, you distance yourself from your ego. The more you do it, the more you start connecting with a much deeper level of self where the distancing between things thins.
Some people can enter states ofย ego death, transcendence, and unity of the collective consciousness through meditation, but this can take some practice.
Every culture has different ceremonies and rituals. Each ceremony connects with different spirits and energies, which can help with the healing process of both individuals and the collective.
In my opinion, thereโs no better way to experience the collective consciousness than through connecting deeply with oneself and spirits via ancestral ceremonies.
Plant medicines are spiritual tools that help dissolve the ego and deepen your connection with your spiritual nature. As someone who has worked closely with shamanic traditions in Latin America, plant medicines are a very powerful key for accessing the collective consciousness.
Regardless of how we connect to the roots – to the part of consciousness that is inseparable from the collective – this has been an age-old understanding that has bridged cultures, traditions, and religions around the world. We are not so different after all.