Is there a spiritual awakening upon us?

It depends on who you ask.

Evangelicals are looking for the return of Jesus to save believers. Without Jesus, they say we have no hope. We need to be rescued. We are, after all, just lowly creatures. 

This sentiment is echoed by Silicon Valley. Yes, humans are lowly creations! And tech entrepreneurs have concocted the solution. Artificial intelligence will shape your soul. In this all too real scenario, tech bros position themselves as savior, engineering the upgrade of human consciousness. With almost a religious fervor, they envision a future where we all have brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). 

After all, they’re doing us a favor. According to the narrative, if humans don't get an upgrade in consciousness, we will, according to Elon Musk, “be as useless as a house pet.” Apparently, that’s how artificial intelligence will view humans in the near future.

The spiritual awakening upon us

Religion has told us we are lowly creatures that need to be saved and now tech entrepreneurs gladly reinforce the notion that we are inferior and need rescuing.

However, there is a vastly different path to spiritual awakening - that doesn’t rely on being saved at all. This scenario relies on discovering our untapped human potential.

Before we passively accept what some say is our inevitable transition from homo sapiens to techno sapiens, why not get more curious about our innate human capacities - without technological enhancements?

After all, scientists aren’t sure how human consciousness actually operates (dubbed ‘the hard problem of consciousness’). It’s still not known how a bunch of neurons produce our subjective experiences and feelings. 

If we are still a mystery, why not do a deeper exploration into our natural abilities before rushing ahead to alter humanity as we know it? 

Because quite possibly, the assumption that we are inferior is just that – an assumption.

The deeper exploration…

Let’s explore some of what is known about our natural abilities that is astounding but not widely shared. If we just begin to examine what is now known about human sensory perception – our ability to see, hear, and touch – we will realize that we are not as limited as the Silicon Valley elites suggest.

Before I dive into the research, let’s get one thing straight – these studies were not conducted with the altruistic aim of educating and inspiring humanity. The latest research on human sensory perception isn’t driven by an aim to bolster the human spirit. 

Instead, not surprisingly, the focus is profit. The motive: how can we create a product that will mimic what humans already do? How do we create virtual reality that feels as real or as close to real experiences as possible? Folks like Mark Zuckerberg are intent on you giving up regular life in favor of living in the Metaverse. So far, that has been a flop; it wasn’t the success that he had hoped. However, other tech billionaires are banking on developing sensory technology to take AI and virtual reality to the next level. 

Our sense of touch 

It turns out that creating an artificial sense of a tactile experience is a challenging proposition. And we are only beginning to understand why – recent research reveals that our sense of touch operates not only on the physical level but also through quantum principles.

Science is now revealing that human touch perception is based on sensing vibrational fields at a quantum level of reality. Our sense of touch is physical and also multidimensional; we perceive invisible waves of energy. 

This finding suggests we have more bandwidth than we might have imagined. We sense more than we consciously recognize. This research on sensory perception tells us that our sense of touch, which we take for granted every day, is far more than we have realized. It is operating, regardless of whether we consciously know it or not, based on quantum principles.  

“Consciousness of our powers increases them.” Vauvenargues

Our sense of sight

We can see just what is in the physical dimension. Right? Wrong! Research has shown that humans have the capability to perceive visually at the quantum level of one photon.  

This little-known science reveals what the mystics told us: we are far more than simply physical creatures. We are multidimensional beings. 

There’s a lot to consider here. If we operate not just in the physical, material world but in the quantum world, then that is a game-changer. For in the quantum world, nothing is fixed.

According to a key principle of the quantum world, everything is in superposition, which means it’s all up for grabs. Nothing is fixed. Our fate is not determined. Instead, our consciousness will dictate our reality. The decisions we make, the way we perceive our life, our relationships, determine what we experience. Our reality is far more subjective than we have been told and we have the power to change it based on our perception. 

Possibly, scripture was referring to the quantum world: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). Instead of waiting for a savior, maybe this was pointing us to discover the vast potential within us to transform reality. 

Maybe the difference between an ‘average’ person and a famed mystic is that they have fine-tuned their awareness to become conscious of information that we have access to but are simply not trained to realize.

It’s possible that through spiritual practice we evolve human consciousness. No need for the tech upgrade - the simple but powerful solution is to explore spiritual practices that have been around for centuries. Research shows that meditation can help us to “realize our innate human potential…at the limits imposed by quantum mechanics.”

We are at a crossroads: either we reclaim our sovereignty of consciousness or forfeit it to those who wish to exploit it for profit and power. We can awaken spiritually and become the savior instead of waiting for one. After all, Jesus himself said, "..and greater things shall you do."