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Cosmic consciousness is the concept that the universe exists as an interconnected network of consciousness, with each conscious being linked to every other. Sometimes this is conceived as forming a collective consciousness which spans the cosmos, othertimes it is conceived of as an Absolute or Godhead from which all conscious beings emanate. Throughout history, there have been many renditions of universal unity, connectivity, and the spectrum of considered possibility of mankind. The idea bears similarity to the ancient Buddhist concept of Indra's net, Teilhard de Chardin's conception of the noosphere, James Lovelock's Gaia theory, to Hegel's Absolute idealism, Satori in Zen, and to some traditional pantheist beliefs. It is also reminiscent of Carl Jung's collective unconscious. Many of those who have used psychedelics such as LSD and Psilocybin mushrooms have asserted that they have had direct experience of the cosmic consciousness, although some have suggested that naturally occurring mystical experiences and those induced by psychedelics are of a different nature. In the 19th century, Canadian psychiatrist Richard M. Bucke developed a theory which claimed that Cosmic Consciousness lies in a mystic state above and beyond Self-consciousness, the natural state of man's consciousness, just like animal consciousness lies below. In the 20th century, Canadian born psychologist Nathaniel Branden, originator of Bio-Centric Psychology, stipulated that as life advances from simplicity to complexity, consciousness evolves from the vegetative through the animal to the natural human condition of self-consciousness.

Book: Cosmic Consciousness

Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind is the title of a 1901 book by Richard Maurice Bucke. In it, Bucke developed a theory involving three stages in the development of consciousness: the simple consciousness of animals; the self-consciousness of the mass of humanity (encompassing reason, imagination, etc.); and cosmic consciousness — an emerging faculty and the next stage of human development. Bucke hypothesizes that next stage of human mental development, which he named "Cosmic Consciousness," is slowly beginning to appear but will eventually spread widely throughout all of humanity.

Alexander Zelitchenko in his "Svet Zhizni" (Light of Life, History of Humankind in Psychosphere of Earth)continues this line, joined the directions of thought of Oswald Spengler, Lev Semenovich Vygotskiy, Lev Gumilev, Carl Jung tracing the transformations of human consciousness in course of history.

According to Lao Russell, wife of Walter Russell, Richard M. Bucke is the authority on Cosmic Consciousness but he errs in attributing Jesus the state of Cosmic Consciousness for Jesus actually attained a state of consciousness much higher than the Cosmic: the state of Christ Consciousness.

According to P. D. Ouspensky, as man evolves into higher states of consciousness, e. g. cosmic consciousness, he needs the tools of a higher form of logic, Ouspensky calls Tertium Organum.

Related Ideas

Unlike the commendations made by George Boole in the Laws of Thought as to the right work of the intellectual function through a science of the intellect, Patanjali's recommendations on the right preparation for the inflow of higher consciousness is practically expounded in the Yoga Sutras. The first fulfils the requirements of right thinking while the second, through non-thinking, presumably is the best preparation of all for higher states of consciousness, especially OBE.

Some pantheists believe either that the Earth is a conscious entity (see Gaia theory), or that the universe as a whole is conscious, or both. While this is not a necessary belief in pantheism, some pantheists see a cosmic consciousness as a good way of explaining the patterns in nature which seem to act almost wilfully, independent of physical laws.

References

1. J. J. Semple The Backward-Flowing Method, p. 14, Life Force Books, 2008 ISBN 978-0979533129
2. Benjamin Walker Beyond the Body, pp. 27-8, Routledge, 1974 ISBN 978-0710078087
3. Paul Marshall Mystical Encounters with the Natural World, p. 126, Oxford University Press, 2005 ISBN 978-0199279432
4. http://ldolphin.org/LSD1.html
5. http://www.paradigm-sys.com/ctt_articles2.cfm?id=19
6. Richard M. Bucke Cosmic Consciousness, p. 19, Cosimo Inc., 2007 ISBN 978-1596054790
7. Nathaniel Branden The Psychology of Self-Esteem, pp. 36-7, Nash Publishing Corp., 1969 SBN 8402-1109-0
8. Richard M. Bucke Cosmic Consciousness, Innes & Sons, 1905 University of Wisconsin original digitized January 17, 2008
9. Richard M. Bucke Cosmic Consciousness at Google Books (images)
10. Richard M. Bucke Cosmic Consciousness at Sacred-texts.com (html/text)
11. Richard M. Bucke Cosmic Consciousness, pp. 19-82, Cosimo Inc., 2007 ISBN 978-1602069671
12. Lao Russell God Will Work With You But Not For You, p. 63, University of Science and Philosophy, 1981 ISBN 978-1879605206; 1st ed. 1955
13. P. D. Ouspensky Tertium Organum, pp. 219-44, Alfred A. Knopf, 1968 ASIN: B001Q236NE; 1st ed. 1920; paperback ISBN 978-1438237961
14. George Boole An investigation of The Laws of Thought, pp. 3, 7, Dover Publications Inc., 1958 ISBN 0-486-60028-9; 1st ed. 1854, Macmillan
15. The Yoga-system of Patanjali
16. P. D. Ouspensky In Search of the Miraculous, p. 118, Harcourt Brace & Co., 1977 ISBN 0-15-644508-5; 1st ed. 1949

• Gopi Krishna - What is Cosmic Consciousness ; 2004 ; Bethel Publishers

See also

• Higher consciousness
• Richard Bucke
• New Thought
• Panentheism
• Transcendentalism

External links

• Experiences of Cosmic consciousness
• Swami Omkara about Cosmic Consciousness
• Cosmic consciousness as mystic experience
• CCism

• Consciousness studies