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Special to United Methodist Insight | February 7, 2026
The reality of our cosmic connectedness affords us another big-picture look at the spiritual life–our communion with God and others.
Made in the image of God, we are in communion with God. Made along with all the other parts of creation, we can be in communion with them. Consciousness studies are showing how this is so in both respects. They further confirm our interbeing with everyone and everything. [1]
Through the portal of consciousness we enter the possibility of communion. I say “possibility” because communion occurs through the exercise of our wills by attentiveness and appreciation.
When I think of this, I remember a train ride Jeannie and I took near Mount Rushmore as evening came. The light and shadow fell on the landscape, including a variety of plants and animals that the engineer pointed out along the way. It was a beautiful and memorable experience.
But two people across the aisle from us missed it. For almost all the trip, they were staring at a map to plan their next-day activities. As St. Francis would have put it, “God was doing cartwheels in creation,” but they missed it because they were focusing their attention on tomorrow, not on the present moment. It was so obvious, I wondered why they paid to go on the train ride in the first place.
We are connected ontologically to a bespangled cosmos, but to commune with it we must tune in. Yogi Berra said, “You can see a lot by looking.” Communion is the fruit that grows in the soil of consciousness.
[1] Ralph Lewis, “An Overview of the Leading Theories of Consciousness” (Psychology Today, November 25, 2023).
Steve Harper 2024
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The Rev. Dr. Steve Harper is retired seminary professor, who taught for 32 years in the disciplines of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies. Author and co-author of more than fifty books.. He is also a retired Elder in The Florida Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.