Does the GB have a spiritual dimension?
Although most researchers have addressed the GB idea from a scientific or technological point of view, authors like Teilhard de Chardin and Peter Russell have explored some of its spiritual aspects. Similar to many mystical traditions, the GB idea holds the promise of a much enhanced level of consciousness and a state of deep synergy or union that encompasses humanity as a whole. Theists might view this state of holistic consciousness as a union with God. Humanists might see it as the creation, by humanity itself, of an entity with God-like powers. Followers of the Gaia hypothesis have suggested that the “living Earth” of which we are all part deserves awe and worship; it therefore could form the basis of a secular, ecologically inspired religion. The Global Brain vision could conceivably offer a similar sense of belonging to a larger whole and of an encompassing purpose.
