I’ve been thinking lately about what we mean when we talk about raising our collective consciousness.
Wikipedia shares this on collective consciousness:
Collective conscious is the set of shared beliefs, ideas and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society.
And I came across this blog post by Pauline McDermott. Here are two excerpts:
Consciousness shifts
Raising our consciousness involves self-reflection and acknowledgement that not all of the beliefs we held so dearly are in fact true for us and serve us at this moment in time. This realisation may come about gradually as we mature or it may be brought about by a crisis in our lives. Crisis brings about a shift in our thinking. Shifts can be continuous or discontinuous. Continuous shifts are those that we make when we try to adjust our thinking to fit the situation. Discontinuous shifts occur when we break with the past and make a new beginning. In these cases we embrace new learning situations which may challenge us to reach into a deeper level of our consciousness.
The bigger picture
At this deeper level of consciousness we realise that we are connected to a larger system, a web of life, which is interdependent. In other words, we are part of a bigger picture in which our thoughts and actions influence the whole. We are not insignificant by-standers, we are players with a lot to contribute. We matter, our thoughts matter. Our thoughts contribute to the collective consciousness that is expressed in the actions of our society. Negative thoughts keep us in lower realms of our consciousness. Positive thoughts and actions are uplifting and help us to raise our own consciousness and that of others. Never was it more important that we raise our consciousness to balance the negativity that is being worked out on the world stage.
My work with circle and the Art of Hosting is about this kind of raising our collective conscious. About discovering a different way to be together. About seeing how we are all connected. How we are not insignificant by-standers. About how everyone has something to contribute to the areas that matter to them. And how all this might shift the trajectory of our human species and our earth.
Juicy stuff.
