Insight into Group Consciousness

The Celestine Prophecy (Redfield, 1996) was not a great work of literature, but it contained many good insights (and more than 9).

In 2000 I copied the description below of a group process based on intuitively sensing the flow of energy in a group conversation.   You could also say it’s based on extremely fluid listening, and non-attachment – which are not easy to come by in groups, but which can make any group process much more effective.

The question is, how can this level of group consciousness be developed?  A simple answer is that it can if there is a great deal of motivation on the part of group members, and if at least some of the members can model the method and help coach the others.

Is this really a “method” – or actually a level of collective consciousness that many groups experience, regardless of the particular method or process used?   Which methods are especially good at culturing listening and dropping ego-attachments?

(Excerpt follows from the Celestine Prophecy pp. 214 – 215 – this book is available for “Search Inside” on Amazon) 

“Part of the Eighth Insight is learning to interact consciously when in a group.  But don’t get self-conscious.  Just understand the process.  As the members of a group talk, only one will have the most powerful idea at any one point in time.  If they are alert, the others in the group can feel who is about to speak, and then they can consciously focus their energy on this person, helping to ring out his idea with the greatest clarity.

“Then, as the conversation proceeds, someone else will have the most powerful idea, then someone else and so forth.  If you concentrate on what is being said, you can feel when it is your turn.  The idea will come up into your mind.”

“The key to this process,” Sanchez said, “is to speak up when it is your moment and to project energy when it is someone else’s time.”

“Many things can go wrong,” Julia interjected.  “Some people get inflated when in a group.  They feel the power of an idea and express it, then because that burst of energy feels so good, they keep on talking, long after the energy should have shifted to someone else.  They try to monopolize the group.

“Others are pulled back and even when they feel the power of an idea, they won’t risk saying it.  When this happens, the group fragments and the members don’t get the benefit of all the messages.  The same thing happens when some members of the group are not accepted by some of the others.  The rejected individuals are prevented from receiving the energy and so the group misses the benefit of their ideas.”

Julia paused and we both looked at Sanchez who was taking a breath to speak.  “How people are excluded is important,” he said.  “When we dislike someone, or feel threatened by someone, the natural tendency is to focus on something we dislike about the person, something that irritates us.  Unfortunately, when we do this–instead of seeing the deeper beauty of the person and giving them energy–we take energy away and actually do them harm.  All they know is that they suddenly fell less beautiful and less confident, and it is because we sapped their energy.”

“That is why,” Julia said, “this process is so important.  Humans are aging each other at a tremendous rate out there with their violent competitions.”

“But remember,” Sanchez added, “in a truly functional group, the idea is to do the opposite of this, the idea is for every member’s energy and vibration to increase because of the energy sent by all the others.  When this occurs, everyone’s individual energy field merges with everyone else’s and makes one pool of energy.  It is as if the group is just one body, but one with many heads.  Sometimes one head speaks for the body.  Sometimes another talks.  But in a group functioning this way, each individual knows when to speak and what to say because he truly sees life more clearly.”

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