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Cosmic consciousness is the concept that the universe is a living superorganism with which animals, including humans, interconnect, and form a collective consciousness which spans the cosmos. The idea bears similarity to Teilhard de Chardin's conception of the noosphere, James Lovelock's Gaia theory, to Hegel's Absolute idealism, and to Satori in Zen. It is reminiscent of Carl Jung's collective unconscious.

Cosmos refers to the universe as a whole, which is conceived to be an orderly, harmonious system; a complex orderly self-inclusive system; inconceivably extended in space or time.

Consciousness refers to the complete alert state of the mind, and its sensory systems. Often considered the upper state of existences, in which self-awareness and individuality originate within the brain.

Humans can be conceived as partaking in this greater Consciousness. The idea does not contradict science or biology. While the modern conception of consciousness is that of a physical phenomenon taking place within the brain, there is no evidence to support this, and it does not seem feasible to construct an experiment which would put this idea to the test, given the completely subjective nature of consciousness. It is clear that the identity and personality of a human being is stored in the brain, but consciousness seems to be altogether a different phenomenon which remains when everything else is stripped away (ego death). Thus it is possible to imagine the brain as a receiver for an external consciousness, instead of as a machine in which it takes place. The idea, however, remains impossible to test using the scientific method.

Various religions and concepts of existence accept the idea that a cosmic consciousness exists, and through various forms of conditioning of the body, it is possible to interconnect with this cosmic consciousness and interact with it. In many yogasystems exists a 'cosmic consciousness' as a consequence of the higher steps of samadhi like the Nirvikalpa-Samadhi. Therefore this consciousness is experienced in the higher bodies and not in the material body. It is not just the feeling of unity with nature which some mystic people may have. It comes from a perception of the world from a higher plane where space and time and especially the speed of light are different than in the material plane.

Book

Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind is the title of a 1901 book on historical forms of mysticism by Richard Maurice Bucke.

External links

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