Accessing the ‘group mind’: a spiritual perspective on the underlying dynamics of a reflective learning class
Paper presented at SCUTREA, 32nd Annual Conference, 2-4 July 2002, University of Stirling
Donal Crosse, Tipperary Institute, Clonmel, Ireland
Introduction
In this post-modern era, spirituality is gaining legitimacy in academia as a paradigm to be integrated into our ways of knowing and our ways of making sense of the world. In keeping with the theme of altered states of adult education, this paper presents an alternative view of the underlying dynamics of a reflective learning class, a view informed from a spiritual perspective. This paper draws on a phenomenological study of a group of adults engaged in a graduate course in reflective learning at a large state university in the United States. The course under study was a 15 week (3 hours/week) course entitled ‘Reflective Practice in Education and Psychology’, conducted in a discussion format. One of the research questions of the study related to the underlying processes of the class. In the main part of this dissertation study (Crosse, 2000), I delineated the underlying processes of the class related to interpersonal relationship processes and dialogical learning processes. However, several of the class participants had a deep spiritual awareness and this came out in their descriptions of their experiences of the class. These experiences were excluded as they did not seem to fit within traditional theoretical perspectives. This paper attempts to give voice to and put some structure around these experiences.
Participants’ experiences of a spiritual dimension of reality
In examining those experiences that appeared to be spiritual in nature, one of the first themes that emerged was that participants described a transcendental dimension of reality. Several participants had an intuitive sense of universal connectedness, or an acausal communication between all aspects of the universe that they saw as spiritual in nature. There was a sense that we participate in a larger Absolute consciousness that underlies everything. As one participant suggested, ‘the consciousness that we have I think is shared with other people at a level that is maybe not always conscious’. Participants labelled this sense of universal connectedness as ‘the Silence’. One class member described this dimension of Silence as ‘the interconnectedness of everything, the acausal connecting functions of the universe’.
This sense of universal connectedness or transcendental reality was also described as a benevolent source or Divine essence within each of us. Some participants labelled this sense of universal connectedness in religious terms. As one participant put it, ‘Jesus (God) is within everyone’. Participants believed that because all of life has this underlying Divine essence, all of life (human and otherwise) is sacred.
Jung (Pascal 1992) in his psychological theory distinguished between the little self or ego (the centre of our conscious self), and the big Self, which refers to the whole being (which includes the ego, along with the personal and collective unconscious). Spirituality is often associated with the unconscious and so the big Self is often used to refer to this spiritual dimension of one's personality. Figure 1 attempts to graphically depict the relationship between our everyday and our spiritual/transcendental consciousness.
This experience of a spiritual dimension of reality/consciousness described by participants is referred to as the perennial philosophy by Huxley (1946). It is a common feature of all the key religions of the world (Smith, 1991; Wilber, 1979; Rinpoche, 1992). A metaphor used by eastern mystics for understanding this notion of a spiritual dimension of consciousness is that of the waves and the ocean. It's like each of us are the waves on the surface of the ocean. Our lives are transitory. Even though we see ourselves as waves we have an intuitive sense that we are all connected somehow and that we are part of something bigger like an ocean. Staying with the theme of water, Progoff (1992) described this sense of spirituality metaphorically as a well within each of us leading down to an underground stream that connects us all.
The notion of spiritual connection or connecting with this spiritual dimension of consciousness stood out for a number of participants. There were two main ways in which participants viewed the process of spiritual connection. Some participants saw spiritual connection as a short-term experience of a high, sense of well-being, of intellectual ecstasy which one can momentarily experience in certain situations (in the appreciation of art and poetry; and dialogue with others). Other participants saw spiritual connection as long term commitment to self-transformation so that they might learn to more permanently manifest this spiritual or Divine essence in their everyday lives.
Participants also suggested that achieving a sense of spiritual connection can be energising or enlivening. One can draw energy from this source and can experience a sense of joy and well-being. Another theme suggested that this dimension of our consciousness, in terms of insights we may receive, and can serve as a rich resource to inform our lives.
An alternative view of the underlying processes of the class
Participants with a spiritual awareness perceived a number of the key processes of the class differently. Specifically they viewed the processes of self-reflection, listening and understanding, and collaborative learning very differently.
From self-reflection to Self-reflection
Participants’ experiences of the process of self-reflection can be grouped under a traditional view of self-reflection, and a spiritually informed view of the process of self-reflection. Jung’s distinction between the little self and the big Self provides a convenient way to distinguish between these two types of self-reflection.
From a traditional perspective, participants described the process of self-reflection(small ‘s’) as a process of learning about oneself (ego/little self) by reflecting on one's lived experience and behaviour. It involved two dimensions: (i) self-reflection as a process of raising one’s tacit beliefs, assumptions, etc. to a level of conscious awareness and critically reflecting on them, and (ii) self-reflection for personal development. Overall the goal of self-reflection was to foster increased critical self-awareness and to foster a strong, healthy, accurate ego which disposed one to be more independent and self-determining.
From a spiritual perspective however, participants described the process of Self-reflection (large ‘S’) very differently. For participants with a deep spiritual awareness, the goal of Self-reflection was to begin a journey of self-transformation or metanoia whereby they would learn to connect with and identify with this spiritual/transcendental dimension of our consciousness. It seems that there may also be two levels of engagement in Self-reflection: (i) Self-reflection as self-transformative journey towards a secular meditative perspective; and (ii) Self-reflection as a self-transformative journey towards the religious ideal of identifying with and manifesting the Divine presence in one’s life.
So what is the nature of this self-transformative journey? One class participant shared what was a deep insight for him, that the basic problem of our human condition is one of mis-identification. He suggested that ultimately our challenge is to get rid of our ego (disidentify from the ego/little self), escape from this ego-centered way of life or way of perceiving (‘escape from my selfish self’), and to get reconnected to, or identify with, the Divine essence within.
That data also suggested that if one embarked on this self-restructuring process, it forces you to take on a new way of being, ‘to put on another lens’. We will realise our true nature which is to live in a loving and compassionate way towards the world and others (with Jesus or the Buddha as our models). Another aspect of this new way of being is the call to service. When we get rid of the ego then ‘the purpose of it (one's life) is no longer to serve itself’. This new way of being also calls on us to collaborate rather than compete. One participant suggested that she now believes that ‘caring and sharing is the way to go’.
Approaches to Self-reflection
Participants talked about three practices that would help foster spiritual connection: (i) contemplation of death; (ii) practice of prayer; and (iii) practice of meditation. These practices were part of participants’ ongoing journeys of self-transformation in an endeavour to become centred, to be-in-the-moment, to come home to the true nature of their minds.
On one level, participants described meditation as a process of ‘stilling the mind’ or slowing down the conscious contents of one’s mind, and dwelling in the Silence between our thoughts and feelings. On a deeper level the practice of mediation was seen as a process of ‘getting rid of the ego.’ One participant, using Jungian terms, suggested that: ‘Getting rid of the ego is the purpose of meditation, getting rid of the conscious flow, and getting as close to the surface of your unconscious as you can’. Participants acknowledged that disidentifying from the ego and identifying with the Absolute I is not an easy state to reach and could take a lifetime. ‘It's like Nirvana, you know. It's that ecstatic state where you're actually totally aware of your whole Self, which, is a very hard state to reach’. We must struggle to get rid of our ego throughout our lives (we must die to our egos/little selves every day). The practice of meditation can lead to a sense of spiritual connection and a clear calm detached perspective (conscious reflective presence). The challenge then was to maintain this meditative perspective by ‘learning to live in the Silence’.
Drawing on the philosophical literature, the notion of the transcendental dimension of reality, spiritual connection and the process of meditation described here could relate to what Heidegger referred to as Being and our need to develop a rapport with Being. Heidegger suggested that in order to get more in touch with our Being we must practice 'meditative thinking’ versus ‘calculative thinking’, which is the essence of science and technology. According to Heidegger, meditative thinking ‘can allow things to appear as they are rather than in the forms the mind imposes on them. Ultimately it can let them appear in the light of Being’ (Kneller, 1984: 69).
Comparing self-reflection and Self-reflection
The data appears to suggest that self-reflection and Self-reflection go hand in hand. In order to successfully engage in Self-reflection, we need to have a high level of awareness of the ordinary mind. It is also interesting to note that the goals of self-reflection and Self-reflection seem contradictory. The main goal of self-reflection was to foster a strong, healthy, accurate, independent ego, whereas the main goal of Self-reflection was to get rid of the ego.
Towards a deeper sense of listening and understanding
Two models of listening and understanding were identified: (i) a traditional model of listening and understanding; and (ii) a spirituality-based model of listening and understanding. From a traditional perspective, participants described the process of listening and understanding in terms of bracketing one’s presuppositions and taking on the perspective of the other. From a spiritual perspective listening and understanding was based on the phenomenon of ‘listening from the Silence’. ‘Listening from the Silence’ is similar to the traditional model in that one seeks to bracket one's presuppositions and take on the perspective of the other. However, it goes a step beyond the traditional model. Listening from the Silence referred to the process of listening from a meditative perspective where one has dis-identified from the ego and identified with the Silence. It involved taking on a profoundly respectful stance towards the other (an Absolute I ---Absolute I way of relating), similar to Buber’s (1958) I-Thou way of relating. Listening from the Silence also involved taking an open, appreciative, even loving stance towards the other. Most importantly, participants suggested that, if we are listening from the Silence, we can see reality as it truly is, unobstructed by the typical biases and prejudices of an ego-centered consciousness. One class participant suggested that by listening from the Silence we can be truly present to each other.
‘I think, if we suspend our minds, in that meditative stance I was talking about, if we keep pushing out our own stuff, we see what everybody else has to contribute ... It's almost like when we suspend who we are, then we can listen to someone else.... And if we can learn to live in the Silence, we can be very much aware of each other’.
Comparing the two models of listening and understanding
It appears that both models focus on empathically understanding another person. However, the spirituality informed model of listening and understanding effects a more comprehensive notion of bracketing. It included bracketing one’s presuppositions but it also involved getting rid of the ego itself. When our identity is seated in the ego, we are inherently self-interested and this shapes our interpretive perspective. By disidentifying from the ego we essentially drop our self-interested perspective and take on a more impersonal, benevolent, loving, compassionate perspective (in some ways a perspective of justice, fairness, truth and of the common good). It seems that when we have an ego-centered consciousness we inadvertently distort our knowledge of the world. So to know reality as it really is we must experience it, not from our own ego perspective, but from the impersonal (egoless) perspective of Silence. The mystics suggest that this is the perspective of the Wisdom mind.
Models of collaborative learning
Participants also shared divergent experiences of the collaborative learning process within the class. Two models of collaborative learning (or group reflection on a particular phenomenon/topic) were identified: (i) an inductive lived experience based model of collaborative learning; and (ii) a Spirituality informed model of collaborative learning. Theinductive lived experience based model of collaborative learning was described as a process of weaving the experiences shared by all participants into a more comprehensive picture of the phenomenon/topic under discussion. In this model, a lot of emphasis was placed on empathically understanding the experience/perspective of each participant, and then on the analytic-inductive process of weaving these experiences into an overall picture of the phenomenon/topic under discussion. The spirituality informed model of collaborative learning was based on the notion that there is a spiritual dimension to each individual and when a group of people is gathered together, this spiritual dimension is present to an even greater extent. Class participants reported that there were several occasions during the class when participants were caught up in ‘magical moments of conversation’. These discussions were non-analytic and free-flowing in nature. These magical moments of conversation seemed to have a buoyancy of their own and led the group to creative new insights that could not have been anticipated. These occasions of magical free flowing conversation were seen as occasions when the group accessed what participants called the ‘Group Mind’. This phenomenon of accessing the Group Mind and the notion of the Silence are connected. As one participant stated: ‘Well I think the Group Mind probably is the Silence’.
It seems that during these occasions when participants were caught up in these magical free flowing conversations, participants didn't consciously disidentify from their egos and identify with the Silence. It sort of happened naturally. Participants lost themselves in the conversation rather than participating in more strategic self-interested ways. Meanings flowed freely between them and were explored freely in the conversation. When the group was engaged in these free-flowing conversations, there was also a sense that the conversation had a dynamic of it own. Participants talked about ‘the current of the Group Mind’. One participant described participating in these discussions as being almost effortless, like someone else was doing the thinking. There was a sense of synchronicity in the group that suggests that participants were acting as a whole. We often hear of artists and other creative individuals being led/inspired by a creative force or Spirit. In the context of the class, it seems that participants were swept up into a dynamic, magical and free-flowing conversation that was animated by the Spirit inherent in the Silence itself. Class participants talked about ‘being moved to speak’ and suggested that a ‘voice from the Silence’ may have been participating in and even directing the conversation in the group. One participant described this notion of the Spirit animating the conversation in a group as follows:
‘There's a phenomenon that underlines what appears to be present in the group. And actually, I see that as a Spirit of some sort or another, and that Spirit, whatever it is, if I'm conscious of it, will sometimes move me to participate in ways that I might not otherwise do in more rational frame of mind, in very similar ways in which the Quakers believe about groups’.
It seems that the group accessing the Group Mind represented a peak experience or ‘a high’ for the class and happened only occasionally. Participants experienced a sense of connection with each other (sense of community) and a sense of being energised and enlivened: ‘There was a kind of investment in something bigger than life ... and, the sense of energy around that was apparent’.