Have you noticed that lately there’s a trend towards exploring consciousness? I thought maybe it was my social media algorithm or perhaps I was part of a niche group of people, but then I came across Dan Brown’s new book The Secret of Secrets.
Maybe you’ve heard of Dan Brown – the guy who wrote the Da Vinci Code many years ago? His writing style is thriller/exploring cool cities/getting readers to question things they’ve learned about religion, history and the government. His latest book takes place in Prague and is all about consciousness and whether it’s local or non-local (and a lot more). The main character eludes to a friendship with the author Michael Pollen (author of How to Change your Mind) and explores the conspiracy theories around the USA’s research on these topics via Stargate and other covert operations. The controversy of consciousness!
Local vs. Non-local Consciousness
If consciousness is local, then all the information we carry resides within our brain. If consciousness is non-local, then all the information we carry resides outside of our brain in the ether so to speak. If you have seen a psychic or someone who connects with past-lives or the Akashic records (or you are one of these individuals) the experience of consciousness is non-local. And if you’re a person hard-wired into the world of science,that concept will probably seem like science-fiction – when the body dies, consciousness disappears.
Whether you veer towards the local or non-local theory of consciousness, we all have access to the part of ourselves that can be present and watch all of our thoughts, emotions and reactions.
For The Spiritually Minded Person
If you’re into Meditation, you might call this the Witness. I think Michael Singer’s book The Untethered Soul does an incredible job guiding individuals with the “how-to” process for accessing this part of themselves.
For The Psychologically Minded Person
If you’re doing any psychotherapy, then there are many models that help individuals anchoring in this place of Witness/Self/Consciousness. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) calls it Wise Mind and offers a more practical introduction to the concept. If you want to go deeper, Internal Family Systems (IFS) calls this Self energy. Polyvagal theory premises it all within the model of the nervous system.
IFS is a therapy model that teaches people how to step into their “Self” energy and witness all the parts of themselves that have opinions about things. If this is a new concept to you, start with my posts: Internal Family Systems & Energy Healing
and The Spirit World & Psychotherapy.
If you’re looking for any books that merge both worlds, take a read of my post 3 Books to Explore Real Magic.
Listening to the Feminine & Masculine parts of Ourselves
The concept of Consciousness is shifting into so many areas. For a few years now I’ve been sitting with how to access more of my Self-energy and listen more to my intuition & more feminine aspects and also lean into the parts of myself that carry more masculine energy – my will-power, ambition & pleasure in planning. This exploration has been a big theme in my life – here’s a post I wrote on the topic 6 years ago How Valuing Both Femininity & Masculinity Can Heal Ourselves & The World.
I’ve been following the spiritual entrepreneur Scott Britton for a couple of years first via his podcast EvolutionFM and then his Substack. He just published the book Conscious Accomplishment, and I went ahead and bought it after reading some parts he shared online. This book looks like an exploration of working with both the feminine & masculine energy, but with different language around these concepts.
Whether you’re into meditation and/or therapy, a big part of the process of both is learning to be present and accept your emotions. Britton delves into the nuances of what it means to accept things in life and then what it means to surrender. In chapter 13 he writes,
“Acceptance is about acknowledging the reality of a situation, while surrender is about relinquishing the need to control it. Usually acceptance paves the way for surrender. And together, they show us that peace arises not from control, but from releasing our resistance to how life unfolds”.
If you’re looking for a fun read about consciousness and getting a feel for current topics that are trending in this area, be sure to check out Dan Brown’s new book. I’ll be reading Conscious Accomplishment and I’m sure I’ll have something to say after reading this book.
What has your journey been like exploring consciousness? If you’ve got a favourite book or spiritual influencer, let me know!
