The Psychology of One Mind

I’m rather a fan of William Blake, and am also fascinated by how psychology has determined historical psycles, so imagine my delight when Blake is quoted by Yale University psychologist Bandy Lee, who has long warned of the threat to society and civilization posed by the current US president, based on his easily diagnosed malady of pathological narcissism (backed up by firsthand reports of childhood incidents from his cousin, Mary, also a psychologist, and over 200 other psychologists, so far).

Lee’s idea of humanity functioning as a collective, interconnected consciousness is one to which I’ve subscribed for a while. Saints since time immemorial have said as much. Authors like Aldous Huxley and Richard Alpert aka Ram Dass were likely the first I read about it, and they reference saints, etc. I read Fritjof Capra’s The Tao of Physics when it was published, and so much since then. Today there’s much more evidence from neuroscience supporting the idea.

Embracing the idea of one universal mind can transform individual behavior, social systems, economy, politics, and global relations, promoting empathy, cooperation, and ecological sustainability. Viewing ourselves as parts of a unified consciousness would reduce conflict, prioritize collective well-being, and dissolve perceived separations, ultimately guiding humanity toward awakening, interconnectedness, and a more harmonious future. I’ve written that in a few essays to date, most recently https://outofunitedstates.com/p/the-web-of-consciousness, but also https://outofunitedstates.com/p/reality-101-part-1 (and parts 2-4), https://outofunitedstates.com/p/transcending-illusion, https://outofunitedstates.com/p/the-way-of-the-one-light, https://outofunitedstates.com/p/vision-for-a-sustainable-future, https://outofunitedstates.com/p/discourse-on-the-unified-principle

and many others. Anyway, here’s most of Dr. Bandy Lee’s latest: How to Emerge from Our Current ‘Death Spiral’, Session 2 (on Substack):

Human experience reflects a collective consciousness that cannot be easily reduced to its individual parts. More and more, across the disciplines of neuroscience, biology, psychology, and sociology, we find evidence of individual minds engaging and blending into collective awareness—which points to an emergent, unified consciousness.

For example, neural synchrony, or inter-brain coupling, reveals that during shared activities such as conversation or teamwork, spatiotemporal brain activity aligns across individuals (Hasson et al., 2012). Using hyperscanning functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or electroencephalogram (EEG), researchers demonstrate how coordinated neural oscillations facilitate communication, cooperation, and shared understanding—suggesting a distributed, collective cognitive field (Dikker et al., 2021).

We discussed mirror neurons, which are activated when observing others’ actions, which provide a neural mechanism for empathy and emotional resonance (Keysers and Gazzola, 2009). When observing others acting, these facilitate internal simulation of their behavior (Baird et al., 2011). Shared pain or joy engages overlapping neural pathways, reinforcing the sense of shared experiential space (Preston and de Waal, 2002).

Psychologically, cognitive contagion and implicit mimicry, often unconscious, strengthen bonds within groups. Studies document how shared moods and unified responses (Hatfield, Cacioppo, and Rapson, 1994) allow individuals to align intentions, experiences, and mental frameworks.

Language imbues thought patterns with shared cognitive frameworks (Whorf, 1956), creating socially constructed mental landscapes. Digital networks and global media now catalyze real-time collective cognition—rapid meme diffusion, crowd behavior, and shared narratives emerge from synchronized group information exchange (Heylighen, 2007). These systems facilitate a “global brain” hypothesis, theorizing a planetary mind synthesized through interconnection (DeLanda, 1997).

Sociologist Émile Durkheim’s concept of “collective effervescence” illustrates how group rituals dissolve individual boundaries, generating a shared communal consciousness (Durkheim, 1912). Priest-scientist Teilhard de Chardin’s “noosphere” conceptualizes a planetary sphere of consciousness arising from human mental activity—a historical evolution culminating in collective awareness (de Chardin, 1955).

Panpsychism and integrated information theories further broaden the horizon: consciousness may be a universal substrate, instantiated in complex systems—brains, societies, and possibly the biosphere (Tononi and Koch, 2015).

Taking this into consideration, what would happen if we genuinely believed that humanity shared a single mind? This is not merely a metaphorical question, but a philosophical inquiry intended to challenge our assumptions about selfhood, separation, and responsibility. If we saw others not as separate beings, but as extensions or expressions of a unified consciousness, our behavior—toward ourselves, toward one another, and toward the planet—would likely change radically.

In daily life, minor acts may take on deeper significance…Parenting would shift from control to mutual learning, as adults and children recognize their shared mind. Bullying in schools would decline if students were taught, not just kindness, but identification and empathy:..

An economy guided by a One Mind logic would prioritize cooperative well-being over competitive profit…Chief executive officers would not earn hundreds of times more than their employees, because such imbalance would indicate dysfunction in the system. Instead of hoarding land or housing units, property would be managed as a shared resource, ensuring shelter for all parts of the whole. Economic “winners” would naturally reinvest in education, health, and infrastructure—not out of charity, but because lifting others lifts the whole.

Politics motivated by a One Mind logic would shift from adversarial gridlock to collaborative problem-solving…Prisons would be replaced by restorative justice centers. Universal healthcare would not be a moral debate, but an obvious necessity—for why would a body let any of its parts suffer untreated?

On the global stage, borders would soften, if not disappear. National interests would be reframed as regional organs within a planetary body. War would be seen as self-mutilation…

Climate change cooperation would be non-negotiable. Countries like the U.S. or China would not see emissions cuts as sacrifices, but as ways to regulate the shared metabolism. Refugees would not be viewed as threats, but as displaced cells needing reintegration into a healthier tissue. Global education, clean water access, and pandemic response would be coordinated with the understanding that neglecting any region weakens the whole.

Spiritually, this shift would dissolve the illusion of isolation. Loneliness would diminish, not because we are constantly surrounded, but because we would know ourselves to be part of something vast and intimate. Individual consciousness would not disappear, but would be seen as a window rather than a wall—a unique aperture through which the One Mind experiences itself.

In this manner, to believe in One Mind does not erase identity, but honors interdependence. In every sector…The shift is not impractical; it is behaviorally, politically, and ecologically not only practical but urgent for our survival. And, in achieving this, it may even lead to humanity’s awakening.

In Wholeness and the Implicate Order, quantum physicist David Bohm states: “In the implicate order, the totality of the universe is enfolded in everything, and each thing is enfolded in the totality” (1980). More poetically, in Auguries of Innocence, William Blake expressed: To see a World in a Grain of Sand, And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand, And Eternity in an hour (1803). https://bandyxlee.substack.com/p/how-to-emerge-from-our-current-death-979

I edited it a bit. Again, the above represents the kind of mental outlook that saints since ancient days have advocated. Now there’s more scientific evidence than ever that it’s a more accurate understanding of reality than the idea of atomized consciousnesses. Think about it, read about it, listen to podcasts about it, meditate. Here’s the easiest meditation in the world: self-enquiry—in Sanskrit, "vichara," a meditative technique popularized by Ramana Maharshi that involves repeatedly asking "Who am I?" to uncover the true nature of the self beyond the ego and limited identity. You must ask until the question is always at the back of your mind when it’s not at the front, and not miss a day, to be sure of success.