When God Speaks, Do We Notice?
Updated: Jan 29
“It is not we, who invents myth; rather it speaks to us, as a word of God.” – Carl Jung ~ Memories, Dreams, and Reflections; Page 340.
From the earliest beginnings, human beings have endeavored to find deeper meaning in the experiences of their lives. One of the most ancient of all human traditions is the art of dramatic storytelling and parable—what we commonly refer to as mythology. It was renowned Swiss Psychoanalyst Carl Jung who posited that a myth is a “living story” in a sense. He theorized that the mind contained an infinitely vast expanse at its lowest depths; a repository of knowledge, image, and ideation that streams up into conscious awareness in response to the circumstances confronting us in our waking reality. He referred to this psychic database as the collective unconscious.
To wrap your head around this idea, it might be helpful to think of the mind as another type of body. Instead of organs, it has layers. And at the deepest layer, there’s a wellspring of repressed, forgotten, or misremembered spiritual artifacts that has been buried over the course of an evolutionary march spanning millions, if not billions of years. Perhaps most importantly of all, the collective unconscious is shared between all humans. This is the phenomenon that could perhaps explain the reoccurrence of various symbols all around the world in way that transcends geographic boundaries or time periods. Consider how many ancient societies across the ages have built pyramids of similar design and structure all around the world—almost as though the symbol of the pyramid lives inside of us.
If Jung’s theory of mind is correct, then it would suggest that certain recurring mythological narratives, motifs, and ideas should be detectable in our own society. The wellspring known as the collective unconscious should be actively informing and persuading us towards inner transformation, wellness, and vitality; after all, that is its function. In the same way that genes inform the evolution of body, the unconscious informs the evolution of mind or spirit. It feeds the growth process with the vital information it needs to see its way through. What the theory says is that the body is analogous to the mind. Just as DNA guides cells to the proper formation of an organ, the unconscious guides healthy formation of the inner world—that vast landscape known as mind.
One of the most repeated mythological narratives of the last few thousand years is that of the spiritually embodied Sage—the Buddha, the Prophet, the Christ. And when it comes to the specific case of “Western” societies, this narrative has been expressed most prominently through Christ. It’s certainly not the only way that this recurring story has “contacted” us but nonetheless, it has maintained the biggest presence in our culture. To be clear, I personally believe that such contact amounts to a conversation with an active superintelligence that is at work in our Universe—what some have referred to as God, Source, the Most-High and so on. Jung suggested the same in his writings. His studies into the unconscious led him to believe that not only is God real, but God lives in us.
In this article, we’re going to discuss a very recent example of what communication with the collective unconscious looks like in a global context. It is my hope that by the end of it, you’ll see reality in a different way than you did before.
On March 27th, 2022, the world looked on in stunned amazement as Will Smith, one of Hollywood’s most celebrated and accomplished talents took to the stage during the 94th Academy Awards ceremony and slapped comedian/actor Chris Rock on live TV. It was in response to a joke that Chris Rock made that referenced Jada-Pinkett-Smith’s bald head—a symptom of an autoimmune disorder known as Alopecia. While Will Smith initially laughed at the relatively tame joke made at his wife’s expense, his laughter quickly turned to anger when he saw her distressed reaction. Within a few moments, Will Smith approached the stage, smacked Chris Rock across the face, and returned to his seat in the audience. It was one of the wildest moments in television history.
The incident quickly made its way to the internet as the hottest trending topic, leading to a flood of tabloid articles, news reports, blog posts, think pieces, and social media reactions from industry insiders and outsiders alike. To be clear, this story will go down as one of the most talked about moments of the year. In a time where people clamor for attention-grabbing headlines, dramatic narratives, and sordid tales of misfortune, stories like the Chris Rock slap draw us to them like moths to a flame—people absolutely revel in the thrill of witnessing chaos and discord in this age of widespread social media usage. It’s the car crash effect magnified a thousand-fold. We’re all waiting for the next big headline to engage or dissect. For better or worse, the hyper sensationalized, shock-inducing grip of mass media has brought us to this place. And by now, the Oscars debacle has been covered from nearly every conceivable angle by countless individuals and media outlets. It has sparked conversations about violence, toxic masculinity, chivalry, the power of words, open marriages, infidelity, mental health, and many other related topics. And while I believe those are perfectly valid discussions to have in the wake of what happened, here at Intellects Digest, we challenge ourselves to look deeper into the events and circumstances of our day. We approach reality with the investigative spirit of the shaman, alchemist, or psychedelic explorer. The world that we inhabit is vividly alive—an interactive, communicative, highly connected web of ever-evolving intelligence. As such, reality has a magical quality to it; a mythological richness whereby we are all playing out the cosmic drama of coming into higher consciousness…together.
What higher consciousness means for human beings is greater spiritual awareness in our waking lives—expanded perspectives and viewpoints that reimagines life as a meaningful quest to become our best selves so that we might be of better service to the miraculous project taking place on Earth and throughout the Universe. At Intellects Digest, we understand that all of our inner and outer experiences are ultimately connected to the growth and expansion of consciousness—this includes an awards show that drew the attention of practically an entire planet for a week. If you’re wondering what that incident had to do with consciousness—my answer to you is everything. That moment that Will Smith and Chris Rock shared on stage was a powerful synchronicity about humanity waking up to its profound spiritual potential in what is shaping up to be our darkest hour on Earth.
Chris Rock
It stood out to me almost immediately. There was something being communicated that night on a subliminal or unconscious level. At a glance, it wouldn’t be difficult to confuse the name Chris Rock with CHRIST’S ROCK. In fact, the name Chris itself translates to “bearer or carrier of Christ.” It’s an overtly Christian name. And as it turns out, the term “Christ’s Rock” is also a biblically significant reference. According to the Bible, it’s a title that refers to Peter, The Apostle. In Matthew 16:18, this is made clear—"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Peter is the rock. In other words, he represents the foundation of the kingdom that Christ prophesied would someday, manifest on Earth in a distant future. Of course, Peter is one of the most important figures in Christianity. It was he who famously denied his association to Christ three times during the lead up to the crucifixion. And it was Peter who found himself at the center of the greatest redemption story of the Bible when he later affirmed his love for Christ through tearful and heartfelt remorse. This leads to Christ’s assertion in Matthew 16:19--"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth will be loosed in heaven." This is quite the statement.
According to Christian mythology, Peter is said to have been granted the keys to God’s kingdom. Not only is he given the keys, but it’s made clear that his actions on Earth directly correspond to what that kingdom will look like in “Heaven.” The verse lays out that the promise of God’s kingdom advances or retreats from us based on what is loosed or bound on Earth. Put another way, “Heaven” is built from the work of human agency—our choices, our decisions, and our relationships. Scripture further supports this view when we turn to Luke 17:21—"Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Peter was given the key to a place that exists within man. In essence, humanity must unlock and build itself.
This is exactly what the events of the night were pointing to. To demonstrate the strength of this “communication,” consider Will Smith who will be playing the starring role in a slavery-era thriller called Emancipation set to release this year. His name in the film? PETER! In Will Smith’s next film, he will play a character named Peter who in the Bible, is described as Christ’s Rock. In essence, what we saw play out on that stage on a symbolic level was Christ’s Rock slapping Christ’s Rock. It could be likened to a man standing in a hall of mirrors facing only himself. Talk about a synchronicity! Now to truly appreciate the message, we have to understand that Peter represents mankind itself; specifically, its journey towards higher consciousness—or what you might refer to as Christ Consciousness. He was the fallen man leading a life of sin and frivolousness. He had no conception of his greater responsibility to himself, his planet, or his fellow man until he crossed paths with Jesus and his message of compassion, forgiveness, and spiritual renewal. Peter the Rock is a symbol of mankind’s spiritual redemption and the kingdom that stands on the other side of it.
When you consider where the human race is in history and where it appears to be headed, the slap becomes an unmistakable warning. There was a communication that occurred that night—and it was meant for all of us. In that moment, Chris Rock and Will Smith were unknowingly serving as messengers from Source. To be clear, I believe this message and others like it are orchestrated by God; the active super-intelligence that works through nature and cosmos—indeed, through all things. When a powerful synchronicity aligns on a global stage at such a critical moment in time, you can rest assured that on some level—it was orchestrated by a force beyond our control.
In 2022, human civilization faces ecological, economic, political, social, and moral upheaval to the likes that it has never witnessed in the historical record. By nearly every conceivable metric, the human race is destroying itself at an ever-quickening rate—along with the planet in the process. Overconsumption, wealth inequality, climate change, warfare, inflation, political tribalism—you can take your pick on which problem is sinking our world faster but either way, humanity finds itself assailed on all sides by disasters of its own making. In essence, what we face is either the prospect of our extinction or our redemption. There are two doors in front of us now and time is running out for us to decide which one we’ll walk through.
Figure 13 – Choices
If you think of humanity as an exhausted driver veering dangerously off course, then you can begin to understand why we might need some sense slapped into us so to speak. At this point, our sleepiness is so pronounced that the force of a slap would be an act of salvation in this dangerous period in human history. It would potentially shock us into a wakeful state, allowing for crisis to be averted. THIS is what the night was truly about. It’s Time to Wake Up.
The world had its eyes fixated on the drama between two actors but it was really pointing to humanity’s collective drama—the unfolding of consciousness; a spiritual remembrance playing across time and space. The appearance of Christ’s Rock at an awards show where some of the world’s wealthiest people gather to celebrate themselves is truly a message for our time. If you recall the night, it was a joke that triggered the slap. Which poses the question—should we really be laughing now? The memes started rolling out almost immediately after the altercation. Admittedly, many of them were quite funny. Memes are great entertainment. But given life’s precarious situation, we have to ask ourselves if we’re just laughing the pain away. Are we trying to mask the knowledge that our way of life is collapsing around us?
The materialist, consumerist, profit-driven yoke of capitalism is pushing our sanity to the brink and threatening the vitality of our planet’s biosphere in ways that she has never known in her lifetime. Greed. Selfishness. Indifference. These toxins have been coursing through our societies since the days of the prophets; slow-acting venom that has accumulated in the collective body to such an extent that it is beginning to shut down. Over 2,000 years ago, there was a penniless sage who taught a message of spiritual redemption and renewal for mankind. In his day, he opposed an empire that saw dominance, power, and wealth as the highest human endeavors. It was the Roman Empire then. Today, it’s the global corporatocracy—an engine of unsustainable economic growth spearheaded by the United States.
A society founded upon the idea that there isn’t enough to go around can only end in mutual self-destruction. Here, we are told that the fulfillment of God’s entire law is accomplished by loving each other with the same regard that we love ourselves. We are told that if we can do that, we will find the kingdom together. We will be its builders. But such a promise hardly seems realistic when we live a way of life that essentially puts every human being into a survival-of-the-fittest style competition whereby we devour each other until there’s nothing left of ourselves or the planet. We are now forced to reconcile with what was written thousands of years ago about a desert mystic. As though his words are living and breathing, they confront us everywhere we look. Christ’s message of compassion, understanding, and forgiveness is an inescapable reality for our species. And in truth, the collective longs to receive it. It’s a story that’s chasing us as much as we’re chasing it! This is why Peter Parker has proven to be such a resonant character in our age. Spider-man No Way Home was the highest grossing film of 2021 by far and it’s about a truly Christ-life figure. You see, Peter Parker has actually made a way of life out of using his gifts to serve others. He’s known as “Everyone’s friendly neighborhood Spider-man” precisely because he works tirelessly on behalf of his neighbors. And if you think it’s a stretch to say that the character is channeling the narrative of Christ, consider how both his mother and his primary love interest are named Mary; Mary Parker, and Mary Jane Watson, respectively. You can’t make this up. Our stories are speaking to us. We don’t notice because we’re distracted. We don’t see that something is trying to act upon us on a very deep level. Whatever it is, it’s trying to save us now—it’s trying to bring us home before we end up lost at sea.
Here at Intellects Digest, we strive to cultivate spiritual growth and awareness. One way we do that is by demonstrating that reality has a magical aliveness to it. We peel up the deeper layers of experience so that we can reveal the underlying spiritual meaning behind them. It is our hope that readers will come to approach life as though they are in active communion with it—as though it is talking, informing, and communicating at all times. Whether you refer to the active intelligence behind this process as God or something else is beside the point. What is important to understand is that there is a connective force at work in the cosmos and it is reaching out to every single one of us right now. And it’s telling us to choose love for ourselves and each other. It is the destiny that we have been imagining.