What is the collective field?
(Uplift | Jacob Devaney) The strange thing about the Collective Field is that we rarely consider it, or even know that it is there yet it influences us in huge ways. It is the collective emotional, psychic energy that builds in the unconscious, just beneath the surface of our awareness and bursts into consciousness spontaneously as if it came out of nowhere. An awareness of this internal process can empower you to manifest your highest potential.
Collective field: together we rise
The Multiple Discovery Hypothesis concept describes the phenomena of individuals around the world working independently and without knowledge of each other while making the same discovery at practically the same moment. For many years, people thought it was impossible for a runner to break the four-minute mile. As soon as Roger Bannister did it, he gave dozens of other athletes ‘permission’ to do the same within the same year. What is apparent is that there is a collective field of thought/belief that dictates, to some degree, what is possible and these limits are continuously being expanded.
Emerging into the conscious realm
The term most often used is ‘emergent,’ which describes the place where unconscious properties are birthed into the conscious realm. It is a process whereby larger entities, patterns, and regularities arise through interactions among smaller or simpler entities that themselves do not exhibit such properties individually. When we apply this concept to human social systems, we begin to recognize the importance of thinking collectively, as well as individually. This can be difficult in a culture that emphasizes the power of the individual over the collective.
Vladimir Vernadsky used the term ‘Noosphere’ to describe the sphere of human thought as a distinct realm that shapes the physical world and thus the life-forms that inhabit it. In Vernadsky‘s theory of how the Earth develops, the noosphere is the third in a succession of phases, after the geosphere (inanimate matter) and the biosphere (biological life). Just as the emergence of life fundamentally transformed the geosphere, the emergence of human cognition fundamentally transforms the biosphere.
We begin to recognize the importance of thinking collectively, as well as individually. Image: Chang Duong
Together we are the collective field
With these ideas swirling through one’s head in contrast to the immense global problems we are facing, it is apparent that a ‘mind-shift’ is in order. We have the ability to bring about transformation and expand our notion of what is possible, but this will only happen when we begin to think collectively.
We all know what it is like to walk into a room full of tension and anxiety, as pressure builds we can feel the potential for violence to break out. Likewise, we know what it feels like to walk into a room that is filled with safety and love. These vibrations and emotions cannot be seen, yet they are very contagious while contributing greatly to what is created within a given space. When people consciously focus their mindful energy together simultaneously towards increasing the vibration for positive outcomes globally, we can alter outcomes.
Lifting each other up
An analogy I love is about a bucket of crabs. Each time one reaches the top and almost escapes, the others pull it right back down into the bucket. We do this to each other when we let jealousy, competition, and pride rule us rather than wishing to lift up those around us. It takes self-awareness to think collectively so that we can separate our own personal insecurities from our desire to see prosperity, success, and healing for everyone. Clearly, we have the potential to push each other down or lift each other up, the choice is ours. What we do for or to others will always eventually come back to us, this is the beginning of understanding the collective field.
The noosphere is global, we are all in the same ‘room’ and each of us affects the collective field. The vibrations of fear and violence are powerful and mostly unconscious. The antidote is a conscious, mindful strengthening of the collective field with love, trust, and gratitude. This is not ethereal or mystical, it is a practical response to the situation we find ourselves in right now on the planet. Some say that humanity is doomed to self-destruct, but people also once said humans could not break the four-minute-mile. Possibilities are endless, the wave of consciousness and transformation is contagious.
Together, we can BE the change.
Source: Uplift
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