The idea of a universal mind (or universal consciousness or collective consciousness or Collective unconscious) is a fascinating subject to me. The universal mind is the universal higher consciousness where we subconsciously connect with other beings around the world. Collectively, as humans, we can predict when almost any type of major event is going to happen.
When I was at a paranormal event with the Paranormal Research Society a couple of months ago, tech specialist, Sergey Poberezhny was discussing the concept of collective unconsciousness with us and was talking about something called the “Random Event Generator (REG),” which is supposed to help us explore the direct impact of consciousness on the physical world. Research has been done for over a decade now with the REG and there are currently over 60 active eggs in the network in areas including Europe, the US, Canada, India, Fiji, New Zealand, Japan, China, Russia, Brazil, Africa, Thailand, South America, Australia. The hypothesis is that the REG will show some sort of anomaly deviations associated with major global events when there’s major participation or some sort of major reaction to the event; such as 9/11.
While the REG basically flips 200 coins a second to generate random numbers on the graph, it is supposedly affected by the collective unconscious to help “predict” the future. While I personally doubt that a piece of technology can really predict the future and some of the studies have been very far off, I do think that as creatures on this earth, both human and otherwise are connected somehow subconsciously.
I think that this concept of a universal mind plays into people having psychic abilities as well as religion and spirituality; which I believe the paranormal and religion/ spirituality go hand in hand. As I have sat down and thought through the concept of collective unconsciousness, my thought process lead me to this hypothesis; so many people believe in an almighty God, Gods or some sort of higher being that is separate from humans. That there is some big, invisible God out there in the universe that we can’t hear, see, smell or touch but what if WE are God? In theory, I think collectively as humans, we are God because according to many faiths, God is everywhere, in everything and (from what I learned in Sunday school as a child) is IN us.
This is just a theory I have but please feel free to discuss and disagree with me down in the comments below.
I was discussing this with a friend of mine and she told me about this story on tumblr. I don’t know who wrote it and I do not take credit for this story, but it gets the point that I’m trying to make across. Please don’t feel like I’m trying to change your beliefs in any way, because I’m not. You just cannot talk about the paranormal, without talking about spirituality.
You were on your way home when you died.
It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.
And that’s when you met me.
“What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?”
“You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.
“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…”
“Yup,” I said.
“I… I died?”
“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said.
You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked.
“Is this the afterlife?”
“More or less,” I said.
“Are you god?” You asked.
“Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.”
“My kids… my wife,” you said.
“What about them?”
“Will they be all right?”
“That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s
good stuff right there.”
You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn’t have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.”
“Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?”
“Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.”
“Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,”
“All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.”
You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?”
“Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.”
“So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A
baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.”
“Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.”
I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. “Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you’ve gained all the experiences it had.
“You’ve been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.”
“How many times have I been reincarnated, then?”
“Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.” I said. “This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.”
“Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?”
“Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.”
“Where you come from?” You said.
“Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.”
“Oh,” you said, a little let down. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.”
“Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.”
“So what’s the point of it all?”
“Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?”
“Well it’s a reasonable question,” you persisted.
I looked you in the eye. “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.”
“You mean mankind? You want us to mature?”
“No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.”
“Just me? What about everyone else?”
“There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.”
You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…”
“All you. Different incarnations of you.”
“Wait. I’m everyone!?”
“Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.
“I’m every human being who ever lived?”
“Or who will ever live, yes.”
“I’m Abraham Lincoln?”
“And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added.
“I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled.
“And you’re the millions he killed.”
“I’m Jesus?”
“And you’re everyone who followed him.”
You fell silent.
“Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.”
You thought for a long time.
“Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?”
“Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”
“Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a god?”
“No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you’ve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.”
“So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…”
“An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.”
And I sent you on your way.
Citations
1) Lew, Daniel .. "Random Event Generators Predict the Future." Damn Interesting. Damninteresting.com, 10 Dec. 2005. Web. 18 May 2013. .
3) Gamble, Maureen .. "Universal Consciousness." Universal Consciousness. Lighttouch.com, Summer 1997. Web. 18 May 2013. .
4) "Collective Unconscious." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Apr. 2013. Web. 18 May 2013. .
5) "Universal Mind." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 Dec. 2013. Web. 18 May 2013. .
6) "Psyleron, Inc. - Consciousness Research and Technologies Using Random Event Generators." Psyleron, Inc. - Consciousness Research and Technologies Using Random Event Generators. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2013. .
7) "The Egg." The Egg. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2013. .
