All Souls on Deck

Why you were built for this moment

Sayings become commonplace, lose their meaning, and drift from our consciousness. Einstein’s ‘Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them’ is one of them. Well, welcome back Albert Einstein.

Often, in the requoting process, ‘level of awareness’ is replaced by ‘level of consciousness.’ Einstein would not object, I’m sure, since consciousness was one of the master’s favorite topics, along with two others: Energy and our near complete ignorance of how the universe works.

Which leads to the present moment and an obvious question: Are we headed toward the next level of consciousness?

It seems obvious the answer is yes. Deep crisis has forced the collective energies of humanity to begin to hum in rhythm. As COVID-19 heats up our consciousness, visible elements of the old world have faded, replaced by a collective cloud of anxiety and creativity swirling globally in ways never experienced by humanity. The outbreak of global concern, global experimentation, and a sudden sense of shared destiny and mortality is melding us quickly into one race.

This is a good thing — a very good thing. I believe we will look back on the virus as a teacher, friend, and desperately needed stimulus for change.

But Einstein had deeper introspection in mind. We’re experiencing a strange intersection of crisis, energy, and consciousness. It’s through that lens, I believe, that we should examine the present moment by taking up Einstein’s work. That doesn’t mean enrolling in a crash online course in physics; rather, this seems the perfect moment to have a worldwide identity crisis. Who the heck are we? What is consciousness? Why do we talk about the ‘mind’ as if it’s a reality? Why do viruses succeed?

This is not a philosophical exercise. Conventional science shows that elements exist in a solid state until a sudden infusion of heat provides energy to transform a solid into a gas. Right now, we operate in a solid state, in the form of perceiving our bodies as a mechanical, biologically based organism which can be invaded by a strand of DNA. The body is visible, tangible, touchable. Our encounter with COVID-19 is a ‘battle’ for territory and supremacy.

But never have 8 billion minds been so intently focused and connected through a digital cloud. Speculation about the nature of immunity, a healthy lifestyle, and a protective, positive attitude will grow exponentially. The conversation inevitably will heat up and force deep questions about the mechanics of the body. And there’s only one place to find answers: Energy.

Of course, we’re prepped. Millions of us routinely invoke ‘energy’ as a driver of virtually every activity in life. Many people believe the body is a kind of masquerade. But the weight of science, medicine, and skeptical friends counterbalances any real inquisition and keeps life in its lane. Now, with energy as critical as a vaccine, the dam will break. The fading of the visible world will include the body. Time to go deeper.

At some point it will get interesting. A solid view of the body acts as a huge enabler: It allows us to sidestep the problem of consciousness, about which we know nothing. With nothing but the mechanical explanation to guide, science claims consciousness is a function of brain cells working together. So far, that’s turned out to be a biological handhold used to build theories that lead nowhere. If brain cells account for energy, how does that work? How does energy translate into a thought? How do thoughts have impact? No one has a real clue.

Admitting ignorance is a good start on a solution. If consciousness isn’t a function of brain cells, it must be a function of energy. If its energy, it has no limits. If its collective, more so. Maybe signals travel all the way to…who knows where?

So, I expect a portion of the population to do some quick addition: If conscious energy makes the universe a collective cloud of consciousness, then each of us partakes of the whole and each of us contributes to the whole. Ok, that’s interesting. Seems simple enough. But if we’re all part of the network, we’re each a node — a conscious node.

I really hate to bring this up, but that’s close to the definition of a soul. It has form, shape, a signature pattern, a being. It’s just not visible.

It gets more complex because — and we’re a few decades and several more crises removed from this question — there’s an obvious line of inquiry, but now driven less by religion and more by self-awareness: Who’s in charge? Even in a far future I would expect considerable backlash on this point, but once you leave the mechanical model of life behind the new model of the universe looks pretty damn intelligent.

It’s a different kind of intelligence, however; it’s a collective now. For several thousand years, a majority of humans convinced themselves otherwise. God is up there and the Bible or the Koran or the Talmud or whatever is available as a direct source. But the old model doesn’t hold up to analysis. It appears we’re all in this cloud together and one entity can’t be assigned sole responsibility.

So, let’s skip the decades. Events are moving fast. It’s much more likely that we’re in charge. It’s very likely that those nodes (think: you) go back into the collective cloud, bask a while, get some direct instruction, and then decide that you’ll come back, get visible, and do the work necessary to move this earth enterprise along.

It’s your moment. Welcome back.