Consciousness Is Everything

Welcome to The Liberation Lens

Let’s face it—there’s a lot of chaos and seeming madness swirling through the collective atmosphere right now. For some, it feels more chaotic than ever. For others, it’s always been this way, and people are just starting to notice. Still others may be blissfully unaware, focused on their own lives and priorities.

Wherever you find yourself on that spectrum, my hope is that The Liberation Lens podcast can offer you a new way to view what’s happening—a perspective rooted in both personal and collective freedom. As the name suggests, our focus here is liberation: freedom from the discord, limitations, and injustices that hold us back from experiencing the fullness of life.

I share the conviction of Dr. Ernest Holmes, founder of my spiritual tradition, who said:

“The ultimate goal in life is emancipation from discord of every nature, and that goal is sure to be attained by all.”

But how do we move toward that goal?

We must use the tools of consciousness available to us. We must align with the spiritual laws of the universe and awaken to a deeper moral connection with one another. This isn’t just about personal growth; it’s about collective awakening—choosing a path that uplifts humanity as a whole.

To guide this journey, I’ve created what I call the 8 Pillars of the Liberation Lens. These pillars serve as points of study and reflection for examining our individual and shared experiences. They offer us opportunities to shift our awareness, make empowered choices, and direct the creative energy of the universe toward the lives we desire to create.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing more about each of these pillars—both here and on the podcast. Each will have its own dedicated post and discussion, so stay tuned! And to my paid subscribers, thank you. Your support allows me to dedicate more time to this work and make it accessible to everyone.

Now, let’s dive into the first pillar.

In the Beginning:

The foundation of The Liberation Lens is the understanding of consciousness. It’s the starting point for everything we experience and everything we seek to change.

So, what is consciousness?

Consciousness is the state of being aware—of your internal world (thoughts, emotions, sensations) and the external world around you. It’s the foundation of all subjective experience: the “what it feels like” to be alive and aware.

But here’s the deeper truth: consciousness doesn’t stop at your awareness of it. It simply is. It exists as an intelligence that is both within you and beyond you—a universal intelligence expressing itself through all things but not limited to any single expression.

We experience this intelligence through the doorway of our own consciousness, manifesting as our individual experiences, thoughts, and emotions. Yet this intelligence is far greater than any one of us—it is the vast creative force behind all of existence.

The First Pillar: Consciousness is Everything

The first pillar of The Liberation Lens is the realization that consciousness is everything. Everything we can feel, touch, describe, or interact with is an expression of consciousness.

What appears as “your consciousness” or “my consciousness” is simply our individual experience of this universal intelligence. And here’s the empowering part: while we are part of this larger consciousness, we also have the ability to direct it. Through our awareness, thoughts, emotions, and intentions, we shape how consciousness manifests in our lives and in the world around us.

Consciousness and Liberation

So, what does this have to do with liberation?

When we understand that consciousness is the foundation of all that exists—and that we can direct it—we realize that we are not powerless in the face of life’s challenges. We are not merely at the mercy of the world’s conditions; we can choose how we respond to circumstances and shape our experiences.

Even more importantly, we see that the world’s greatest injustices—racism, sexism, poverty, violence—are not driven by some external force of “evil.” Instead, they are sustained by the collective consciousness of individuals who perpetuate, promote, or passively allow such systems to exist.

If we want to change the world, we must start by changing the consciousness that underlies it. Justice, peace, and wholeness for all beings cannot be achieved through surface-level fixes alone. They require a shift at the level of thought, belief, and awareness.

The Call to Action

This is the heart of The Liberation Lens: working at the level of consciousness to create a better world.

It starts with each of us. By examining our own thoughts, feelings, and actions, we begin to influence the collective consciousness. And as we do, we align ourselves with the universal intelligence that is always moving toward greater freedom, love, and harmony.

This is our journey. This is our work. And I’m so grateful to have you here as part of it.

Stay tuned for the next post, where we’ll dive deeper into another pillar of liberation. Until then, remember: you have the power to shape consciousness, and in doing so, you have the power to shape the world.

Let’s get to work.

Rev. David Alexander D.D. is the spiritual director of the of Spiritual Living Center of Atlanta, author of Freedom from Discord: The Promise of New Thought Liberation Theology and Recovery from the Lie of Whiteness.