This is an edited, updated and interpreted edition of Richard Maurice Bucke’s spiritual classic Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind. Bucke originally published his magnificent treatise in 1901 and it has been read, admired and even revered ever since. In this edition you will find the same insights and inspirations of the original text written in modern language and edited with modern sensibilities. The purpose here is not to improve upon the original, but to make its great wisdom more accessible to readers and spiritual seekers of today.

When Jeff Carreira first encountered the book Cosmic Consciousness, he found a vision of conscious evolution that rang deeply resonant with his own spiritual experiences while contextualizing them within a vast narrative of universal history. Of course, the language and ideas of even a work as great as this can become dated with time. Languages change, new ideas develop, and many readers find the original text difficult to approach. Often the wisdom of spiritual classics is simply incorporated into the books and insights of present-day authors with minimal reference to the original source. This edition offers a different possibility. It attempts to preserve the wisdom and logical flow of the original book in a creatively edited and interpreted text that can be freshly appreciated by a new audience.

This edition of Cosmic Consciousness is offered to honor the spirit and brilliance of the original.