Cosmic consciousness was a theme Phil Canville, author of The Geomic Code: Unlocking the Mystery of Unconscious Choice, often referenced when he talked about the nature of human interconnectivity. Phil believed that our choices, both conscious and unconscious, were tethered to a universal cosmic consciousness.

The first reference I could find, when I researched the idea of cosmic consciousness, was a 1901 work titled Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind. Richard Maurice Bucke, the book’s author, was a Canadian psychiatrist. In his book, Bucke explored this concept of cosmic consciousness, which he defined as “a higher form of consciousness than that possessed by the ordinary man.”

Bucke identified three forms, or degrees, of consciousness:

1. Simple consciousness, possessed by both animals and humans
2. Self-consciousness, possessed by humans, encompassing thought, reason, and imagination
3. Cosmic consciousness, which is this “higher form of consciousness than that possessed by the ordinary man” that Bucke defined

According to Bucke, cosmic consciousness:

…shows the cosmos to consist not of dead matter governed by unconscious, rigid, and “unintending” law; it shows it on the contrary as entirely immaterial, entirely spiritual and entirely alive; it shows that death is an absurdity, that everyone and everything has eternal life; it shows that the universe is God and that God is the universe, and that no evil ever did or ever will enter into it; a great deal of this is, of course, from the point of view of self-consciousness, absurd; it is nevertheless undoubtedly true.

This enlightened view of consciousness was precisely Phil Canville’s understanding of the multiverse we call “home”. Phil was inspired by Richard Bucke’s writing to continue the study of consciousness and unconsciousness in terms of the decisions humans make that affect themselves and the collective good. (In the field of quantum physics, as Phil tells us in his book, this is sometimes referred to as “quantum activism”.)

The dictionary defines consciousness as individual awareness of your unique thoughts; memories, feelings, sensations and environment.

One of the challenges with the study of consciousness is the lack of a universally accepted operational definition. Descartes proposed the idea of cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am). This understanding of consciousness suggested that the very act of thinking demonstrates the reality of one’s existence and consciousness.

Today, consciousness is often viewed as a person’s awareness of internal states, as well as the events going on around the individual. Indeed, Phil Canville Sr. believed there was a soul code that helps each of us interact effectively with the world around us, and it could be unmasked through the use of an assessment that reveals our individual preferences for shapes, symbols and colors.

While philosophers and scientists have studied consciousness for thousands of years, we clearly have a long way to go in our understanding of how our consciousness (and, more importantly maybe, our unconsciousness) influences our life choices and interrelationships.

The Geomic Code Research Institute continues Phil Canville’s work and the study of many before him by further exploring the role of consciousness and how humankind interacts within its perspective reality.

The Institute encourages anyone interested in personal and professional development to take the Geomic Code Assessment and join us in this fascinating study of how our interactions can help lift humankind to that higher level of consciousness that gives individual and collective life meaning and purpose.