Christmas Consciousness by Marshall Davis
Christ is the Universe Conscious of Itself
I first heard it articulated in a book by Alan Watts entitled The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are. He wrote: “You are the universe experiencing itself.” Carl Sagan put it in a scientific framework: “We are a way for the universe to know itself.” I phrase it in a Christian context: The universe is conscious, and that consciousness knew Itself in Jesus Christ.
This is the thought that comes to mind as we begin Advent. The connection between this truth and Christmas might not be readily apparent to most Christians as they light the first candle of the Advent wreath this Sunday. Yet this is the way I experience the doctrine known as the Incarnation.
Incarnation is the theological heart of the Christmas season. John’s Gospel begins with this: “In the beginning was the Word (Logos) and the Word was with God and the Word was God.... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” It is important to realize that the Greek text literally says, “dwelt in us.” The apostle Paul wrote, “Have that mind in you that was also in Christ Jesus.”
The Incarnation is not just about the Christ Child in a manger. It is about the Eternal Christ in us. As Colossians put it: “Christ in us, the hope of glory.” Incarnation is not just about one special child coming into the world. For one thing, children do not come “into” the world; they come “from” the world. They are the world becoming conscious in human form.
I just finished rereading Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. The Stoic philosopher talks a lot about living in harmony with “Reason,” which can be misleading. He wrote in Greek, and the word he used was Logos. This is the same word the Gospel of John translates Word. They are not talking about logic here, but the eternal essence of the universe.
As I was reading Meditations, I saw a lot of parallels between Stoicism and earliest Christianity. It is no accident that the Stoic philosopher Seneca was a contemporary of Jesus and John. It makes you wonder if the disciples of Jesus and Seneca ever met. Stoicism was in the air during the Roman empire of the first century. The two movements surely interacted during the first century.
I see Jesus as one who incarnated this Eternal Essence of the universe. He was one with the Consciousness of the universe that we call God, and he knew it. “I and the Father are One.” Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” Jesus was awake to his Origin; he lived it and proclaimed it!
He called people to awaken to this Reality, which he called the Kingdom of God. When we wake up from the dream of separation, we realize that we are one. We are “in Christ” and Christ is in us. God was enfleshed in Christ, and Christ is enfleshed in us. The apostle Paul said we are the body of Christ. Advent is not just about looking forward to celebrating a birthday. It is about celebrating an eternal truth. The truth is that the universe is conscious, and we share that consciousness.
There is one consciousness, which is the Ground of Being, the Source of Creation. Individual humans are expressions of this one consciousness. Yet that consciousness is present in all life forms. When I look at one-celled organisms swimming under a microscope, I see Life. I see consciousness, even though it is elementary. I see Logos.
All life is one Life. All life is conscious. All consciousness is One Consciousness. This consciousness is self-conscious in human life. It became consciously aware of its universal nature in Jesus. “In Him was Life, and that Life was the Light of humankind.” This Life awakens in all who heed the message of the Kingdom of Heaven.
This is eternal life. Eternal Life is not resurrected bodies inhabiting a heavenly theme park. It is waking up to our Life as the universe now. All forms of life on earth are our Life. The universe is us. All life forms are the universe conscious of Itself/Themselves. We are the universe conscious of itself. That truth is the heart of Christmas.
Realization of this big truth in our little lives is what I celebrate during Advent. This season is not just about a babe in a manger, although it includes that. This is about every baby born on earth. Every infant – whether born in Gaza, Sudan, Russia, or Ukraine – is the Christ Child, born to become aware of the wonder of what they really are. Different traditions call it by different names. At this time of year, I call it Christmas Consciousness.