The Best of Both Worlds

“Put it out there, and see what happens.” That was the advice of one researcher who spoke on YouTube about the concept known as “collective consciousness,” which is essentially a theory that human thoughts go in and out of what is essentially a meta-cloud that has existed since the beginning of human history. Why the meta-cloud, or “collective consciousness,” is so important is because human thoughts shape reality. Thoughts go in and out of collective consciousness to and from human beings, and it has been this way throughout human history. One would assume that external reality shapes thoughts. But the more potent argument through the course of human history has been that thoughts shape reality. And reality, as mentioned before, is the totality of all things which exist. “God is whatever you want him to be,” as one scholar put it.

Humans collectively operate with one another through a collective consciousness. We are all part of this meta-cloud, and it is what interconnects people throughout the globe. Today’s technology is merely a physical reflection of what is known as “collective consciousness.” When Hegel and others spoke about the “Universal Mind” and so on, part of it pertains to what is known as the “collective consciousness.” One comic book aficionado also recently said in an interview with Al-Jazeera that when you are a writer, you put things out there as someone who is lonely and not knowing who it is that actually reads your stuff. You feel like you are putting your stuff out there into the ether without really knowing who it is that receives your work. But there are people who receive it and digest it, regardless of whether you are aware of it or not. This is due to nature’s meta-cloud, otherwise known as “collective consciousness.”

Thus, “collective consciousness” and in turn today’s technological progress have essentially dispersed power. And as mentioned on a number of occasions, power is the ability to control or influence the thoughts and actions of others. But paradoxically, the dispersal of power has also hyper-centralized power within one entity or individual. As Hegel wrote: “The essence of the state is the universal, self-originated, and self-developed – the reasonable spirit of will; but, as self-knowing and self-actualizing, sheer subjectivity, and – as an actuality – one individual.” This individual can be above humanity or above the fray. But the reality is that appearance does not do justice to reality. The individual is often hidden and misunderstood, and is neither comprehended or encompassed by reason or thought.

Nevertheless, as mentioned before, power in a postmodern age revolves around an individual or a set of individuals. Some are both immanent and transcendent. Much of the transcendence relates to the epistemological status, scope, and ultimate source which underpins the contemplation and thoughts of the individual. “One moment of contemplation is greater than an eternity of prayer.” With the power of contemplation comes the key to collective consciousness, and with collective consciousness comes access to the meta-cloud of thoughts throughout human history which have shaped reality. That is power in a nutshell. And although some people crave money and recognition, God-given legitimacy and power — even without people’s recognition — are far more important.