Peeking at The Infinite Invisible Conscious Universe
One important lesson I learned from the Bible is that it points to an evolution in the concept of God in human consciousness.
We witness a substantial difference from the anthropomorphic concept of God during the early years of monotheism (mostly the times from Abraham to Moses) to Jesus’ more elevated concept, a God of unconditional love.
“My Father”
Although Jesus frequently employed the word Father, it cannot be said that he had an anthropomorphic idea of God. That expression simply indicated that Jesus felt a trusting, yielding, and loving relationship with the Divine — without necessarily having an idea of God as a being, but rather as the is-ness and lovingness of pure Spirit.
The metaphysical movement
In the late nineteenth century in the United States, there was an active metaphysical movement with teachers such as Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910) who delved into the nature of God.
The major issues of metaphysics and spirituality were freshly addressed well into the twentieth century by teachers such as Joel S. Goldsmith (1892–1964) and in current days by teachers such as Deepak Chopra (born 1946), Eckhart Tolle (born 1948) and others.
The latter teachers and their contemporaries are part of a generation that has been exposed to the findings of quantum physics, which impressed upon many a new vision of what is considered to be reality, as well as new ideas about the role of the human mind in the process of perception.
At the same time, these findings created a bridge between spirituality and science for many, if not all, scientists.
Just as the concept of God evolved from Abraham to Jesus, there is no reason to believe that the concept of God must remain forever exactly identical even to what Jesus expressed as best as we can understand it in the New Testament.
It is normal to expect that this evolution in consciousness will continue so long as there are God-seeking men and women.
God is consciousness
Believing does not discourage thinking. In fact, didn’t Jesus say that we should “love God with all our mind” in addition to loving God “with all our heart and soul”? It followed that when Joel Goldsmith declared that “God is Consciousness” — which seems to echo the belief of ancient Hinduism and Buddhism — it felt like doors had been opened to a new way of conceptualizing God or Absolute Reality.
When we think of God as the God of unconditional love, there is at some level of our awareness a sense of duality because this implies a God with the attribute of love — in other words the idea of God and Love — wherein lies duality.
However, in spiritual truth there is no duality. There is no God-and anything or anyone else. God is all inclusive. God is All and God is One. That divine “All-ness” is both inclusive and expressive of Love in every aspect.
Collective consciousness
The nature of God’s creation is wholly and altogether spiritual. The material and physical world is not of God. By default, the material and physical world can only be the product of the human mind — a collective consciousness that reflects the mental activity of humans since the beginning of time.
This idea concerning the nature of the material and physical world finds viability from the findings of quantum physics.
Jesus told us, “My kingdom is not of this world,” as a way to express that our physical reality is not the work of God. Indeed, the material world is a world of duality in contrast to the divine realm of Oneness.
An evolution in consciousness
Just as thinking of God as love was an evolution from the prior concept of a God we fear, the idea of God as Consciousness can be instrumental in reducing our traditional, but erroneous tendency to personalize the Divine — to give human attributes to God.
I find the idea of God as Consciousness to be helpful because with a ‘broad’ vision of consciousness, we can see that Consciousness is not an attribute but rather that which is encompassing all that is spiritual, the very divine essence or substance of All — whether expressed or still awaiting to be expressed.
Since the word “God” carries so many misconceptions, it is constructive to have a new way to think about God as this ‘broad’ idea of Consciousness, even if it is still a subject full of mysteries.
Oneness
The word “Consciousness” communicates more clearly the idea of Oneness. It is easy to fall into the trap of personalization again when we try to relate to the statement of Paul that we are “offspring of God” and “joint heirs with Christ”.
Put another way, we need to see ourselves — all humans — as created in God’s image, that is, as Consciousness individualized.
One of Paul’s most important visions was expressed when he said, “For in him (God) we live and move and have our being” (Act 17:48). Today, we could say, “I live, I move, and I have my being in Consciousness.”
Focal points in consciousness
We can envision each one of us as an individualized expression of Consciousness, existing in Consciousness, and bestowed with our own specific individual field of awareness that some have described as a “focal point” in and of Consciousness.
Simultaneously we are all of the same divine consciousness-substance, existing in an infinite, invisible universe of Consciousness characterized by the divine qualities of love, peace, and bliss among others — and also characterized by an absence of anything ungodlike.
The conscious universe
The conscious universe within which we exist has no limits in time and space. It is the constant provider that maintains life within Itself.
This vision makes us better understand why Jesus said, “the kingdom of God is within you (i.e., in our consciousness) and why Jesus urged us to look inwardly for fulfilment of our spiritual needs.
With our conceptualization of what I like to refer to as The Infinite, Invisible, Conscious Universe, we still have: God IS Consciousness. God IS Love. God IS Life. The same can be said of joy, peace, and bliss.
We can think about all these pronouncements without the slightest sense of duality. Therefore, the ultimate truth — All is One — is easier to understand.
The ultimate source
All constituent focal points of awareness, of which we are one, in Truth and in Reality, have their existence in Consciousness. All are eternally provided for by the infinite bounty of Consciousness as the ultimate Source:
Ø “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
Ø “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33).
In closing
Let’s remember Lao Tzu’s wisdom:
“The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.”
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The unnamable is the eternal real.”
The Reality of divine Spirit transcends any word or concept.
Nevertheless, in our search for God, we benefit from thinking about whatever brings us closer to an understanding that we can embrace — an understanding that evolves over time as our individual state of consciousness progressively unfolds.
Text derived from, Religion, Politics, and Reclaiming the Soul of Christianity: A Spiritual Imperative for Our Time and Our Nation, by Jon Canas. Available at: https://Reclaimingthesoul.info
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