What is The Shift In Consciousness? (Metacrisis)

A primary driver of the founding of Collective Evolution was responding to the feeling that something inherent is shifting in the way we live, relate, connect, and make sense of our human experience. This can be anything from societal design to our worldviews and includes a spiritual sense of who and what we are beyond our cognitive and material forms.

What's unfolding in all of this is a complex and interconnected set of global challenges that transcend individual issues. These challenges are generally all happening at once, and are driven by our current ways of thinking and doing (consciousness.) They also act as an evolutionary pressure for us to pause, wake up, and consider what's going on.

When realizing all of these interconnected challenges exist, we can either orient to them from a limited scope, looking for surface level solutions or trying to maintain our existing systems as we attempt to solve, or, we can look at them from many layers and disciplines. A holistic systems view that also tends to ask what about us as humans are driving these challenges seems the wiser approach. Re-examining about who we are, why we are here, and what we want to create in the process.

This concept of a mass global change was introduced to me back in 2008 as an "ongoing shift in consciousness" that would reshape the human experience. I was intrigued by this idea as it profoundly resonated with how I thought my whole life, and it touched on things like spirituality and re-examining our worldview which was a big passion of mine.

My goal with CE was to create a platform that would begin to discuss this idea, and all inter-related subjects, to provide a place online for people to connect with and explore these somewhat ineffable feelings and ideas. In 2009, there weren't many websites that offered this kind of content, as it was primarily only found in books. One of our goals was to help popularize these ideas to get more engaging with them.

We began writing about things like the origins of consciousness, quantum science, UFOs, systems thinking, alternative view of society, alternative health, wellness, critical thinking, societal re-design and more. In my mind, these subjects are all connected and feed into each other in interesting ways.

Here in 2016, I feel we've done that. We have just surpassed 1 billion views of our content and these conversations are permeating the masses all over. Of course, we do not take full credit for this as many giants have seeded these ideas long before us, and many side by side with us now. Truly a timeless collective effort.

To me, here are some key elements of this 'Shift in Consciousness' or what some are calling 'The Metacrisis.'

1. A Felt Sense of Introspection

One of the most common elements of the Shift is the growing awareness of or feeling a felt sense that something feels 'off' with our world. A great metaphor is within the film The Matrix where Morpheus says to Neo:

"You're here because you know something. What you know, you can't explain. But you feel it. You felt it your entire life. That there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there. Like a splinter in your mind -- driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

When it comes to the Shift, this feeling of something being not quite right with the world is palatable among many. They look out at the world and the way it currently functions and not only see something 'wrong' but also a staleness to the way it is. It's a deep sense of "we're capable of more. Something needs to change. And I don't quite fit into this world."

These feelings don't come with stress, they come with a sense of stillness that KNOWS. This is very different from a stress response that might have us feeling like we need to bail or get out of the situation, and we suffer as long as we stay in. This is different. This feeling is something profound, coming from the soul of people.

This felt sense brings about the curiosity to answer big questions.

2. System Complexity

Within this concept, we must acknowledge that our world operates as an intricate system with various components that are interdependent. This is to say, if we adjust one independent component, it will affect others but it's unclear exactly how. Unlike a car which is a complicated system where you can predict what will happen when you remove a part, things aren't this simple within complex systems like nature, the human body, or our society.

Things like economic instability, environmental damage, political polarization, social inequality, and technological disruptions are all part of a larger, interconnected web. Addressing one issue in isolation can often lead to unintended consequences in another area, making it essential to understand and approach problems systemically.

For this, I feel we might aim to build a culture where we are more open to complexity and defining problems at their core. This would involve fixing our systems of news and media, moving them away from political bias and limited hangouts to something oriented toward goodness for all.

3. Compounding 'Crises'

Many ongoing global events seem to be culminating at once, environmental degradation, geopolitical conflicts, resource depletion, economic degradation, a loss of trust in systems and governance etc. All of these 'crisis' have drivers, and often interplay with one another in clearly connected loops. My sense is these will continue to intensify over the coming years.

I think of things like the recent economic collapse of 2008 and 2009, the ongoing wars following the events of 9/11, and the increasing lack of trust in media and government given their consistent failures and misleading of the public. All of these things interplay with one another at the same time, often making each other more intense in the process.

As a note, I personally don't love calling what is unfolding a 'crisis', even though that's how most see it. To me, challenges are important as they reflect on what we're doing and causing. They can snap us out of slumber and get us thinking and feeling more deeply. (This is where our embodiment framework comes into play, more on this soon.)

4. Loss of Trust & Social Cohesion

The Shift also encompasses the erosion of social trust and the fragmentation of communities. We are seeing this incredibly as political polarization is building across the globe. Further, the rise of independent media is offering a different look at current events, creating a divide in how people make sense of the world.

On one hand, this can be disorienting, on the other it's a necessary part of breaking free from outdated and limiting worldviews. Yes, this also comes with misinformation and low quality media, but that in itself provides yet another push to learn to slow down, communicate, and discern more effectively.

As institutions continue to fail to address the interconnected nature of global problems, and as they continue to lack transparency - turning to corruption instead - public trust will continue to diminish, leading to increased polarization and social unrest. This fragmentation will ultimately slow down our ability to perform collective action and cooperate, which is a crucial part of addressing these complex challenges.

5. Cultural & Psychological Elements

We have begun hearing about rising rates of mental health issues. From my lens, these are driven by a generational culture built on doing without thinking much of how we're being. This plays into the fact that our social systems and economy create constant work for many, pushing them past points of natural amounts of stress and into states where stress begins to affect health and well-being.

Add in a rapid pace of change, a sense of existential uncertainty, and an inability to see where our future is headed and we can see how this whole process can be very disorienting if we don't have mental, emotional, physical and spiritual resilience on board.

Widespread anxiety and a crisis of meaning and purpose seem only appropriate as a response. This psychological strain affects individuals' ability to engage constructively with global issues and fosters a sense of helplessness. Polarization is a natural outcropping.

There are likely other elements that could be included, like specifically discussing economic issues, job loss, automation etc, but they seem to be covered in some of the above main drivers.

Embracing The Shift In Consciousness

As more and more people have connected with this idea over the years, we've heard from many thousands about what seems to be working to navigate the Shift with greater capacity and resilience.

CE has always focused on individual transformation as an important part of this whole process and so I'll lay out various ways people can embrace change within themselves and how it will play into the larger collective picture.

1. Holistic Thinking & Embodied Sensemaking

Tackling all of this requires us to move beyond reductionist approaches to making sense of our world and instead embrace holistic and complex thinking. But this isn't just about cognition either, it's about waking up to parts of ourselves that have gone dormant in our highly cerebral world.

Things like a sense of our own emotions, sensations, energy, interconnectedness and spirit. Our culture has been so focused on the material that making sense of our world has become clinical, leaving little room to feel more deeply into what is truly going on.

At CE, we internally teach a loose framework I've developed where we consider some of our content from a more complex way of looking at the world via a process of deep listening and embodiment, making space for our cognition to be open to more information about how we and others feel about what's being discussed. What about the human condition is producing an event? How do our ways of thinking play into it? What about our worldview and emotions? With all of this, how might we consider a solution?

This involves recognizing the interconnectedness of various issues and developing strategies that consider the broader system that INCLUDES humans and the way we think and feel. Interdisciplinary collaboration and skill building are important for this process.

Ultimately, if we can better make sense of our world at a deeper level, and truly define our problems accurately, we can provide solutions that get to the core. Otherwise, we are just chasing our tail.

2. Adaptive Resilience

Building resilience in the face of the Shift involves developing the capacity to navigate our stress and hold the vision of new possibilities without succumbing to hopelessness, exhaustion or navigating back to limiting ways of thinking.

Resilience comes from effective stress management and reduction, and fostering a deep embodied sense of ourselves. This brings on greater curiosity and energy efficiency that gives us more ability to be OK in the face of change and maintain a sense of being open to solutions.

Interestingly, fostering a meaningful connection with other humans and building relationships is crucial for human thrivability. Yet we exist in a time of rising social media use that is actually fostering weaker connections.

In conversation, we're more effective and empathetic when resilient, likewise is our thinking. By practicing things like meditation, embodiment, breathwork, and learning new skills around how to think in complexity, we not only build resilience but how to apply it to the given situation.

As we practice this individually, we can also bring it together in the local community, effectively building community resilience. This support is crucial for fostering a sense of collective agency.

3. Beyond Sustainability To Thrivability

There is a lot of talk about sustainability right now, but much of this is built on ideas to keep things going and sustained, without considering what it would mean to thrive. Further, sustainability is built within the concept of keeping our systems generally the way they are, but with less destruction such that things can be sustained.

Instead, what does it mean for a human to thrive? What would it mean for the planet to thrive? We must come back to the question as a way of reimagining what's possible so we don't end up having our old ways of doing things limit what we believe is possible.

When we look at human biology and consciousness, we have many interesting signposts that suggest what would be an ideal environment and way of living for humans. Nature also gives us many clues. It's time to embrace that and quit the fetish-ing over human suffering as a way of showing "strength and resilience."

4. Localism & New Forms Of Stewardship

It's hard to wrap our minds around the ENTIRE world and how it will change. In fact, I don't think that is necessarily the goal. As mentioned above, beginning locally is important. How do we foster more meaningful and connected ways of solving community challenges locally? If we can't come together and get on the same page within a local group of 100 or 500, how can we expect it to happen on a larger scale?

Certainly, some local changes, especially if they happen at scale, could result in instability in other ways as our world is so interconnected. This needs to be held. But it still seems to make sense to begin here.

Existing governance models are outdated and ineffective. Their incentive structures are off and the lack of transparency is concerning to many. Effective governance (or stewardship) structures must be formed to navigate the Shift.

Enhancing transparency, accountability, and inclusivity in the decision-making processes is important. Voting as we know it today is more of a pacifying formality than anything else. Innovative governance models that prioritize long-term thrivability over short-term gains are essential for creating systemic change.

5. Cultural Transformation & Consciousness Expansion

In a way, all of this happens as the above takes place as cultural change is an emergent phenomenon of embracing the above. As the culture shifts we'll see greater empathy, cooperation, and stewardship. This includes fostering a sense of global (maybe even galactic) citizenship and recognizing our shared responsibility for the planet's future and each other's wellbeing.

I have also found that many of these feelings and realizations are emergent qualities of expanding our individual consciousness into the non-material, into a sense of our own interior and the fact that our consciousness is not bound to our body. While this is more of a metaphysical angle here, there is an incredible amount of literature and scientific study that has revealed people have marked shifts in their individual consciousness when they have profound experiences that connect them to something beyond themselves.

A greater sense of love, empathy, compassion, connection - and even a desire for humanity to stop destroying ourselves and the planet - emerge from these experiences. In my own experience, these can be a guide for what might be the natural state of a human being, not veiled and colored by stress, trauma and separation.

The Takeaway

The concept of the Shift (metacrisis) highlights the need for a paradigm shift in how we approach ourselves and global challenges. By understanding the interconnected nature of crises and adopting holistic, adaptive, and culturally transformative strategies, we can begin to address the root causes of systemic problems. It's not necessarily an easy task we face, but I believe our own thrivability is built right into our DNA just like it is for other natural creatures. But can we get out of ou own way enough to culturally remember it? I think so. But we'll need to slow down to nurture the process.

As our motto says Change Starts Within. While there is always an interplay between how we shape our world and how our world shapes us, to become more conscious is to see this interplay more clearly. With consciousness, we have more choices and intentions.