Global Awakening
This essay relies and builds upon the metaphysical world view discussed elsewhere and it is closely related to the essays:
The New Science: some
comments on the emerging scientific/spiritual revolution,
The
First Cambrian Explosion or the Global Cellular Meta-System
Transition,
The
Second Cambrian Explosion or the Global Human Meta-System
Transition,
Metaphysical
Context
Analysis
of Regimes and Resistance A Consultation with the Great Sage (I
Ching),
Approaches
to the Problem of Civilisation,
Descent
into Chaos an allegory for modern times,
Comments
on my Experiences Regarding Authoritarianism,
SMN,
Computational Metaphysics, Free Will and Duality: see section
"Re: Computational Metaphysics"
(#1470)
Religion/Spirituality, Energy/Information and the Unification of
Material and Spiritual Science
(#1495)
Relative/Absolute Reality, Empirical/Transcendent,
Experience/Knowledge, Unification of Material and Spiritual Sciences
and the Coming Paradigm Shift
(#1570)
The World is my Guru and my Sustenance, Attaining Transcendent
Experience, Aspects of the Model of Intention
(#1638)
Trusting the flow, the Cosmic Dance, the natural holistic process
(#1638)
(#1639) Breaking the Code of
Secrecy, the Cosmic Dance includes Light and Dark, the Process of
Awakening, the Human Collective Paradigm Shift, plus some comments
from the I Ching (#1639)
(#1640)
Paradigm Shifts and the Changing Nature of what is 'Fact'
(#1640)
(#1663) System Theoretic
Metaphysics and the Unification of the Transcendent and Empirical
Sciences
Also see some Assorted Brief Writings on Awakening
and the World.
Also
see these quotes, taken from the book The
Coming of the Cosmic Christ.
In brief, the global awakening that I speak of is a massive low level paradigm shift that transforms consciousness and thereby shifts the very foundation of our experience of reality.
It is an old Chinese curse that says “may you live in interesting times” but such an eventuality is only a curse when seen from the narrowest of perspectives. We do indeed live in interesting times, in such times great things happen and many individual lives are disrupted, there is a great transition occurring and a great re-balancing, thus there is great movement in the world as vast and subtle energies are flowing. For those who are attached to the old or attached to the stability of habit and complacency these times are indeed a curse. But this is a time of opportunity. For those who are awake and alert, who see the opportunities and are eager to escape old ruts and reach for greater and more abundant Life, these times are the answer to all of their prayers.
“When faced with radical crisis, when the old way of being in
the world, of interacting with each other and with the realm of
nature doesn't work any more, when survival is threatened by
seemingly insurmountable problems, an individual human - or species -
will either die or become extinct or rise above the limitations of
their condition through an evolutionary leap. This is the state of
humanity now, and this is its challenge.”
(Eckhart Tolle, "A
New Earth: Awakening to your life's Purpose", Penguin, 2005)
There is so much happening on so many levels that if one delves into the details without a good map and a firm orientation in ones Self, then one instantly becomes lost in the miriad particulars. There are many ways of looking upon the turmoil of the world, many ways of trying to comprehend its overall dynamics. One can disect it along countless lines, draw out different aspects and contemplate their relationships. Each approach produces a subtly different perspective and only through numerous perspectives can we develop a clear vision of the whole.
There are I'm sure countless analyses of the situation derived from mechanistic perspectives and which are expressed entirely from a materialistic or empiricentric perspective. These would speak of politics, economics, nations, religions, technologies and so on. I have not undertaken a survey of these but they would shed some light on details of the process, however the underlying and overall aspects of the process are not driven by mechanistic influences in the world, they are driven by much deeper processes.
One need only turn on the television news to see much of what is going wrong with the world but there is one story you aren't likely to hear there. Even in the midst of a seeming taildive into a mechanistic nightmare we are living in the midst of the greatest new age revival of all time. In terms of the diversity and maturity of the ideas, the numbers of people involved, the numbers of websites and books, the numbers of organisations and freedom of communication of ideas, although this is diminished by the propaganda barrage of the 'mainstream'. People in countless different ways are turning away from old ways of thinking and are converging on a new paradigm that will reshape the world as we know it.
In general it is a process of 're-imagining' the nature of reality and thereby the nature of ourselves, the world and our place in the world. See (#1663) System Theoretic Metaphysics and the Unification of the Transcendent and Empirical Sciences and also (#1430) Metaphysics of Virtual Reality for an indication of the nature of this paradigm shift.
I have discussed one aspect of what is happening in the world from the perspective of system theory and evolution; this is covered in the essays on The First Cambrian Explosion or the Global Cellular Meta-System Transition and The Second Cambrian Explosion or the Global Human Meta System Transition. System Theory attempts to take into account the intricate connectivity between systems and to comprehend their complexity as a general phenomenon that drives their dynamical evolution. The conclusion is that not only are cells alive and organisms made of cells but also organisations made of organisms. Through civilisation we are undergoing a meta system transition and creating beyond ourselves a super system that is a being in its own right. It is largely its growth process, metabolic process and dis-eases that shape the large scale dynamics of human civilisation. We are its cells and through our interaction we breath life into it, thus through our interactions we can bring health or disease to it. This idea then connects in with the discussions related to Systemic Health such as those mentioned next.
There is also a context of non-physical dynamics refered to by some as the Akashic Field which is essential to every aspect of the creation, maintenance, evolution and decay of living systems and this is analysed further in the essay The Akashic Field and Systemic Health where there are some profound ramifications regarding the issue of holistic Systemic Health such as the possibility of awakening to a greater and more abundant life, one in which suffering, dysfunction, decay and death are not an intrinsic inevitability. Furthermore there is also the survey of what some ancient traditions have said in regards to this phenomenon and this potential for deep holistic harmony that exists within all complex dynamical systems or living systems.
Just as ecosystems can persist and evolve indefinitely without any built in mechanism for death, so too can organisations and individual organisms grow and evolve indefinitely if they remain firmly centered in the true reality of their being and they don't engage in destructive egoic delusions.
It is exactly this kind of awakening that this world is evolving toward, however it is not an easy process. It is exactly analogous to the process of the attainment of enlightenment in an individual life, and this is not an easy process. It is subtle and complex, it is so deeply simple and primally effortless, and this is what makes it so difficult for many people who have aggitated minds that are caught up in the story of "the world"; they struggle and strive their way toward it when they should surrender and effortlessly let themselves become it. See (#1639) Breaking the Code of Secrecy, the Cosmic Dance includes Light and Dark, the Process of Awakening, the Human Collective Paradigm Shift, plus some comments from the I Ching for some more comments on the unfolding process, especially the comments from the I Ching, which are profound.
There are many compelling indications that individual consciousness functions according to holographic principles and so too does collective consciousness. When an image is holographically recorded each element within a holographic medium encodes a particular low resolution representation of the whole image from its particular perspective. Thus when all of the elements combine collectively they recreate the image in great detail, whilst a small group will recreate the whole image with less detail. This is fundamentally different to a photograph where a small group encodes a full resolution representation of only a part of the image. A photograph is analogically like traditional scientific domains where each 'pixel' represents only a minute region of the whole image in incredible detail whereas a collective of generalists and seekers of truth can form a hologram where each attempts to comprehend the whole as best they can from their perspective.
Thus as each of us builds a “world view” within our minds we are each a holographic element encoding a low resolution representation of the 'whole' from our own unique perspective. Although each individual consciousness may feel totally 'private' and isolated at times it is one element within the hologram of collective consciousness. As we come together and combine our many and varied perspectives these resolve an image of the whole with greater and greater detail. As more of us come to comprehend the whole better we collectively resolve the holistic image with more fidelity, just like a hologram. Thus we collectively come to pierce through the illusion of the phenomenal world and bit by bit come to comprehend the wider reality.
Furthermore, as this collective vision is better and better resolved we can each perceive it better and communicate it better so we each come to embody it better thus collectively resolving it better. This creates a feedback loop and a resonance effect where we could at some point exponentially explode into mass spontaneous enlightenment! Once a certain critical mass is exceeded there is nothing that could stop this process. I have had a feeling for a couple of years that I was part of a process working toward a global awakening and phase change involving mass spontaneous enlightenment however I didn't understand the details of how this would arise, but this could be the mechanism.
Indeed this is a general phenomenon, if enough people focus their minds on a particular world view and collectively communicate that, they holographically resolve that world into existence. By focusing on fear, retribution and distrust we create an authoritarian Hell on Earth and by focusing on love, healing and cooperation we create a flowering of Heaven on Earth. In this way, it is with our thoughts that we make the world, quite literally! Hence small groups and communities create their own worlds with their own attributes and mass society creates a vast super-hologram that envelopes the globe. This adds a new dimension to the effects of mass media propaganda, where it is effectively creating and maintaining a global mechanistic, political, economic regime within our minds and throughout the collective consciousness which then holographically resolves the world that we experience. Hence the “modern western world” is a hologram in collective consciousness and other worlds can be similarly formed, which are just as real and tangible.
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Below are some quotes from (“A Treatise On White Magic; or The Way Of The Disciple”, by Alice A. Bailey, Lucis Publishing Company, written 1934, 14th printing 1979)
In particular I will draw attention to these passages:
“Like much else in the world at this time, from two great lines of thought, such as the mechanistic and the introspective or subjective..., a third will manifest which will embody the truth in both positions and duly adjust them to each other. On a larger scale this is working out in the fusion of occident and orient, of mysticism and occultism... in the evolution of thought the main trends of ideas at this time are rapidly approaching each other and from them a synthesis will emerge which will prove an adequate platform upon which the coming cycle may make its stand.”
“The outstanding characteristic, however, of the coming cycle will be an outgrowth of psychology. It will be the emergence of ... the recognition of the soul. The mechanistic school of psychologists ...serve as a needed brake upon the more speculative and mystical school, which is dignified by the name introspectionist [or subjective]. [There are] three lines of thought, roughly speaking in the field of psychology. The mechanistic, laying the emphasis upon structure ... The introspective school, positing a self or a conscious something which is responsible for conditions... Then ... the vitalists, who admitting the fact of structure, yet regard it as subjected to the influences of energies and forces emanating from an outer environment.
The truth which is safeguarded in all these schools is one truth and each aspect of it is correlated... The three present schools are therefore, in embryo, custodians... These three schools are occupied largely with disproving each other's theories. But they are all three of them correct in their facts though wrong in their deductions. They all three need each other and from a blending of the three presentations there will emerge the fourth, which will be nearer the truth than any of the separated three.”
Too often transcendent truths have been interpreted through a mechanistic delusion and corrupted so that they become utter nonsense and thereby turn many seekers of truth away from transcendent truth and into the world or arbitrary human opinion and arbitrary human laws and power. Such people come to see sacred truth as a trap for the superstitious but it is the mechanistic world of arbitrary opinion that is a very subtle trap for the superstitious.
This has been the case throughout the history of Christianity in particular because there has been a sustained and powerful political attack upon it throughout its history, and a deliberate attempt to confuse and subvert its teachings. This phenomenon is not confined to the western world but it has been particularly pronounced there. This attack was initiated by the Roman Empire, the seat of the great ego of the materialistic world at that time. This earthly empire sought to protect its earthly power from transcendent Truth; this earthly power is the ego of the collective and is referred to as the beast, which is described in detail in Revelation:13, also see these comments. After more than 500 years of unsuccessfully attempting to annihilate the Christians the Romans then changed tactics and created the Roman Catholic Church that imposed a human bureaucracy between people's hearts and God, and it also created the Bible, which is a sterilised version of the earlier teachings and which was made the focus of a sustained campaign of misinterpretation. This underlies much of the confusion, strife, egoism and mechanistic development of the western world. It also explains the culture of secrecy regarding the Dead Sea Scrolls and other such findings that present the earlier teachings in uncorrupted form.
The beast could not hide from the truth for long, in a cosmos that is composed of Truth one may plug up many leaks in ones delusion but the truth always seeps in somehow. Throughout this period Christianity has survived and evolved, and it has been growing stronger and reconnecting with its own inner truth; its mystic core. In this way all denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church may redeem themselves. For an indication of the nature and the depth of the Western Christian mystic tradition see these quotes from the book The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, and in the context of this page see these quotes especially: Global Awakening. Although there has been untold suffering and destruction, this period of darkness, confusion and strife was foretold and expected, even required. It is a part of the process of individuation of the human collective organism, it is the growth and maturation of the collective egoic delusion, it is an adolescence of sorts. As a result of the past two thousand years of darkness in the west the beast now encompasses the globe and it has grown exceedingly strong. But this need not be a disaster, this global civilisation is a being in the world, it is ignorant but it can be brought into the Light (see The First Cambrian Explosion and The Second Cambrian Explosion). The two principle products of this process of misunderstanding and descent into the materialistic delusion are science and economics; politics was already strong two thousand years ago. These form the three aspects of the beast; science is its intellect (the satwic aspect), politics is its will or power nexus (the rajasic aspect) and economics is its belly or metabolism (the tamasic aspect). The will has always been strong but now we are nearing the end of the phase of individuation in which the egoic delusion is driving us into a political crisis that will eventually force us to have to overcome our collective ego or to die. The strength of our political will only feeds the crisis. The collective appetite is likewise becoming so rapacious that we are being driven into a similar crisis and the egoic delusion is fueling its own demise.
Throughout this the intellect has been growing and has fed the delusion with great power and technology, but it has also sought truth and understanding. Having been denied access to the garden of sacred spiritual truths by a veil of misunderstanding it was forced to strike out alone on the long and dangerous journey through the dark night of ignorance. It has succumbed to countless illusions over time but it has struggled on and as the crisis approaches, this intellect is reconnecting with Truth. It has stored up its virtue in heaven rather than in earth, and whereas the other two have acquired enormous power and wealth, it has acquired enormous understanding, which may in time evolve into wisdom and transcendent vision. It has fought its way through the materialistic and mechanistic delusion, right down to its root. Through quantum physics it has come to see parallels with ancient wisdom and it is coming to see beyond some of the fairy tales of its misunderstanding and it is rapidly making contact with Truth, especially in the form of Deep Ecology, Transpersonal Consciousness, System Theory and the Computational Paradigm. These carry the mind of the collective beyond the mechanistic delusion and it sees into the transcendent realm, discovering for itself the underlying reality; here it encounters things such as what some call the Akashic Field.
Thus, just as the Truth may set one free, the collective may yet be brought out of delusion and set upon the path toward ever greater life and abundance. For it to truly reconnect with truth and commune with reality it must overcome the fog of its misunderstanding and come to comprehend the deeper meanings of the ancient spiritual truths. This is the awakening of the collective consciousness of humanity and in this we each individually play our part and we are each individually effected in different ways. To reconnect with truth on all levels we each must seek the truth of our own lives and the truth of our relationship with each other and the whole of creation. It is through we individuals and our intricate relationships that the collective takes on life, if we circulate light the collective will resonate with light and grow to greater life, but if we circulate the darkness of ignorance and confusion the beast thrives and the collective darkens into degeneration and ever greater suffering unto destruction. But this is not something that we must all try and understand and do, in the sense that we must grip it with our minds and force the situation along some intricate and dangerous path. That would be the undoing of the process, what we must do is open up to the process and let the creative will of the cosmos flow through us unimpeded by our crude mechanistic interference. We must tune into the rhythm and resonate with the world, flowing effortlessly in the currents of the cosmic dance of energy.
In this global awakening, all the ancient traditions will serve a vital role but they must look deeply at themselves and see to it that they do not harbour the darkness of separation and mechanistic delusion within themselves. Many of these ancient traditions can over time develop a hardened outer shell, through constant rough contact with a delusional and destructive world, these callouses form and harden into dogmas and blind attitudes that are obstacles in the light and are therefore sources of evil in the world. They must not seek to manipulate and control the world through the world. On the mechanistic level they should be meek, merciful, pure of heart and peacemakers, their power lies in the transcendent realm, in that realm they may be conduits for the creative will of God, but by struggling in the world they only engage in strife and evil, they only reinforce the delusion that the mechanistic world is the only theatre of struggle and that worldly might and manipulation is the only means of success. They should be bestowers of the abundant heavenly virtue that is descending upon our world, they should be encouraging the virtue or the transcendent awareness of the people and nurturing the collective virtue of the world. By this I mean assisting in the awakening from delusion, subtly transforming peoples perceptions, minds and beliefs, and bringing them into alignment with truth and reality.
By squabbling over meaningless details one teaches that the Truth dwells in meaningless details, and people look to find the most appealing set of arbitrary opinions. But the Truth dwells beyond all representation and all such representations are inherently flawed, we must look through them and beyond them to make contact with Truth. We must revere the Truth more than our own understanding of it, we must be in awe of God more than we are in awe of our own ways of approaching God.
Science too will play an essential role, but it must let go of its clinging to mechanistic materialism in order to be able to align with the process. This world has opened up to the rationalist approach to life, this is a common collective language understood by most. Whilst rationality confined to a narrow context is irrational in the wider context, when it evolves to comprehend the widest context it becomes equivalent to the mystic vision of reality, but it has the added bonus of an explicit rationalist foundation. In this way the transcendent realm can be fully comprehended in the full light of day, and relies not only on subjective and metaphorical approaches, but it is amenable to direct scientific analysis and discussion, leading to a flowering of understanding throughout human civilisation.
Only then can the will and metabolism of the collective, i.e. the political and economic realms be gradually brought into stillness. Not stagnation, but release from agitation. Then the ego of the collective, the beast will evaporate and the collective will be at peace with its Self and its world.
Christianity has a vital role to play in this process, it has been intricately involved throughout, however there is still enormous confusion and misunderstanding surrounding it and permeating its teachings, and even the very words that are used to speak its truths are infused with mechanistic confusion. Therefore seekers of Truth should be wary of how they approach it and they should not interpret things naively. It is also always useful to have numerous sources of sacred truths so that one may thereby discern what is inherent to the underlying Truth and what are mere artefacts arising from the format of the presentation or the misunderstandings in ones own mind.
“The Proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of
Israel;... The fear of the Lord [a mind open with
'awe'] is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and
instruction... My Son, hear the instruction of thy father, and
forsake not the law of thy mother... if sinners [deluded ones]
entice thee consent thou not... If they say, Come with us, let us
lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without
cause... We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our
houses with spoil... Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one
purse... [devotees of Mammon, worshipers of earthly power and the
mechanistic delusion]
My Son, walk not thou in the way with
them... For their feet run to evil [delusion], and make haste
to shed blood [mechanistic delusions always lead to
destruction]... They lay wait for their own blood, they lurk
privily for their own lives [we are all one, to despise the
'other' is to despise one's inner most Self]... So are the ways of
every one that is greedy of gain [mechanistic fulfilment]. How
long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners
delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at my
reproof [the primal despair that we feel as we turn from the
light and the suffering we endure within the mechanistic nightmare]:
behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you [prana, chi, the water
of life], I will make known my words unto you [the Divine
Will, the Akashic Record]... For they that hated knowledge, and
did not choose the fear of the Lord [the closed minded]: They
would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof [feedback,
often as pain, which is denied and fought against in a mechanistic
manner]. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way,
and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth
unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
My
Son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with
thee [not just learning them but assimilating them deep into
one's organising principle]; so that thou incline thine ear unto
wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest
after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou
seekest her[wisdom] as silver, and searches for her as for hid
treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord [an
open mind], and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth
wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He
layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous... He keepeth the paths of
judgement, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou
understand righteousness, and judgement, and equity; yea, every good
path.
When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowldege is
pleasant unto thy soul; discretion shall preserve thee, understanding
shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man [those
identified with their delusions]... That thou mayest walk in the
way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright
shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the
wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall
be rooted out of it. [dysfunction leads to decay unto
destruction, function leads to growth and life]
My Son,
forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For
length of days, and long life, and peace shall they add to thee [the
Divine Law is the law of our inner being, our energy system]...
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding [be intuitive, mystic and deeply perceptive rather
than rational, intellectual and mechanistic]. In all thy ways
acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths [surrender to the
transcendent flow that dwells within all things]. Be not wise in
thine own eyes [do not bignote yourself in the context of a
mechanistic delusion]: fear the Lord [experience the world
with awe rather than a mind jaundiced with opinions and assumptions],
and depart from evil [delusion]. It shall be health to thy
navel [vitality and power], and marrow to thy bones [substance
and depth]. Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the
firstfruits of all thine increase [align with the Way and flow
with the cosmic dance]: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty
[holistic abundance], and thy presses shall burst out with new
wine [a paradigm shift, new ideas, a new organising
principle].
My Son, despise not the chastening of the Lord;
neither be weary of his correction: for whom the Lord loveth he
correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth [pleasure
and pain are not to be liked or disliked, sought out or shunned, they
are signals from our inner being, they are God speaking within us, to
listen is to enter upon the path of wisdom]... The curse of the
Lord [suffering] is in the house of the wicked [the
mechanistic delusion]: but he blesseth [with peace] the
habitation of the just [wisdom or awareness of truth and
reality]... his secret is with the righteous... Surely he scorneth
the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly [humble]. The
wise shall inherit glory; but shame shall be the promotion of fools.”
(Bible, Proverbs, 1,2,3)
“Thus saith the Lord God; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come... I will even gather you from among the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered... And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you, and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people and I shall be their God. But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord God.” (Bible, Ezekiel, 11:16-21)
The Tree of Life
“And the Lord God commanded the
man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
But
of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:
for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
(Genesis:2:16-17)
“[After they ate of the tree] Unto the woman [the Lord God] said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children...
And unto Adam [the Lord God] said, Because thou hast ... eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake: in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee;...
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return....
And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” (Genesis:3:16-24)
“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that
getteth understanding... She [wisdom] is more precious than
rubies; and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared
unto her... Her ways are of pleasantness, and all her paths are
peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon
her: and happy is every one that retaineth her... Then
shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble...
Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the
wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and
shall keep thy foot from being taken...
Wisdom is the
principle thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get
understanding. Exalt her and she shall promote thee: she shall bring
thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thy
head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to
thee... when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble... Enter not into
the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men... The way
of wickedness is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble...
But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more
and more unto the perfect day... Keep thy heart with all diligence;
for out of it are the issues of life... Ponder the path of thy feet,
and let all thy ways be established.” (Bible, Proverbs,
3:13-35, 4:7-26)
In the eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge we developed discriminative knowledge, a neocortex, a rational mind, an isolated fearful suffering ego and we could no longer commune with the universe as we once had. We perceive the world through our senses and rational mind, we peer only into the materialistic and mechanistic delusion and this opens us up to ignorance, delusion, suffering and evil which may enslave us within its agenda. We are banished from the garden and forced to till the earth from whence we came and unto which we return. If one believes in the materialistic delusion, one is but dust blown about by random forces and one may only return to dust.
We have embarked upon a process of evolution, this has cast us out of harmony with the universe and into the materialistic delusion and countless aeons of suffering. However we are not cursed forever; if we eat of the tree of life, the tree not of discriminative analytical knowledge but of holistic, systemic wisdom we will evolve to a stage of conscious union with the dance of creation. In this way we may traverse the valley of darkness and attain oneness with the world once again, but on a higher level. We may become conscious creators, hence “the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us” and wisdom “shall give to thy head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory”. To overcome the materialist, mechanistic delusion is to enter upon life eternal, no longer must we return to dust for we know ourselves as intrinsic to the universe and not merely as dust stirred up by random forces. We identify with our deeper nature, thus re-defining the very concept of 'I', thus 'we' are re-born in spirit and the world is seen anew.
To use some terminology from western esoteric philosophy, we are currently nearing the end of the Aryan age, the fifth age or phase of humanity's evolution that follows the Atlantean age. The Atlantean age was characterised by a preponderance of atlantean type humans who are people with a preponderance of atlantean characteristics (we all have mixtures of all characteristics in different proportions). An Atlantean's consciousness is centered in their solar plexus chakra, they primarily encounter their world through the agency of glamour or energised thought forms and they progress mainly through bhakti yoga. When something is defined as illegal or authorised or exclusive or taboo and so on this weaves a glamour over that something and this is primarily what atlanteans perceive and respond to. They weave vast systems of hierarchical power structures out of this glamour, they come to see themselves and their world through the lens of this glamour. Brand names, money, legislation, fashions, licenses, officials wielding authority and so on are all examples of the use of glamour. To them these things are the only things that seem real, but to one who can only dimly perceive that glamour, these people and their world seems very strange indeed. The Atlantean age was the cultural driving force behind the growth of civilisation and we still dwell amidst its legacies.
An aryan type person is centered in their third eye chakra, they primarily encounter their world through the agency of the intellect or rational thought forms and they progress mainly through jnana yoga. They seek truth, knowledge and understanding, and they respect only these. Whilst atlanteans may come to a consensus and thereby define their understanding of reality, aryans enquire into their world and seek to discover their understanding of reality. There has been for some time a growing preponderance of aryans being born into this world and the world is changing but this transition is difficult for all. The atlanteans see hoards of delinquents being born who have no respect for their authority. These aryans can only dimly perceive the existence of these thought forms and they certainly cannot believe in them so the atlanteans must intimidate and coerce the aryans into at least conforming with them. From the aryan's perspective the world is ruled by people who are irrational, superstitious and engaged primarily in arbitrary power games; things seem crude and primitive, civilisation seems corrupt, nonsensical and much like a board game where people have forgotten that they are only playing a game and have come to confuse the game with reality.
There have been many aryans who have survived the privations of the atlantean aspects of the world in the past, with their sanity and their love intact, and who have left their legacy; such people are the driving force of the future. One example that comes to mind is Kahlil Gibran a mystic poet and social commentator, reviled by some because he spoke the truth but known by many as the prophet from Lebanon. I will briefly paraphrase some words spoken about his life, his perceptions and his hopes and dreams; such words are equally applicable for many aryans:
“In his youth [he] conceived the universe as perfect and devoid of evil. He pictured a joyous world free of suffering, a world of enlightenment unflawed by ignorance, a world whose great minds rejected superstition, a world of progress that abhorred corruption. Justice and wisdom lived side by side... and unity and good will prevailed among men ... the heads of state and hierarchs of the religions ... provide examples of justice and wisdom ... their privileges were their due for the noble services they rendered ... on this account the people yielded them honour, trust and obedience.
He began to perceive the realities of life ... and he felt disappointed and embittered ... he saw the rich abusing the poor who lived under the yoke of slavery and despotism ... “tyranny” masked itself under the name of “politics”. Every kind of ruler has won power except the ruler with a mind. The honest man is forced into deceit, the impostor holds sway ... success is gained by the sacrifice of conscience and honour. The man of integrity sinks into the jaws of poverty. The honest man is reviled and the liar admired and rewarded with possessions.
The people are chained by custom ... they do not follow the light of their own minds or the dictates of their own hearts. This has led the people into narrow, separated faiths and suspicious, unfriendly, separated nations, instead of a universal faith and a world nation. Thus they remained victims of superstitions.
Gibran's life was an example of the belief in the authority of the great mind. The world that [he] imagined is a place illumined by reason and understanding ... a world of logic, and of positive thinking. In it superstitions melt like ice under the rays of the sun. The people of such a world are not beguiled by impostors and do not cling to superstitions. For them the mind is the only lamp that illuminates the dark path of ignorance, and this lamp should be kept eternally lit.” (The words of Anthony R. Ferris from the preface to “Thoughts and Meditations” a collection of writings by Kahlil Gibran, translated and edited by A. R. Ferris, The Citadel Press, 1971)
I have not even mentioned the lemurians who's age has passed but there are still many around, they are centered in the root chakra, they encounter their world on a physical level, on the level of physical and organic appetite, vitality and strength, and they progress mainly through karma yoga. These people must find this world extremely bizarre. The stage after the aryan age is referred to as the “dweller on the threshold” where all types are united into one, the dweller, and are overcome by the soul through the crown chakra and via the process of raja yoga. These ages and types are used to describe processes that exist throughout society and also within ourselves individually and they mark the stages of evolution toward individual and collective enlightenment. If you wish to read a good introduction to these ideas I can recommend the book “Glamour: A world Problem” by Alice A. Bailey, Lucis Publishing Company.
The above is one representation of the dynamics of the situation, there are many others. Most of which share very similar characteristics, and most of which suggest that consciousness is tending toward a more collective and transpersonal form. One that is less fragmented, isolated and ego driven, less self centred and more holistically in tune with the wider cosmos.
Transhumanism (link to faq) is a movement that envisages radical future transformative change but mostly in a physical, mechanistic, biological context. What I and others propose is a form of transhumanism but on the level of individual and collective consciousness, and in the deepest aspects of how we conceive of reality and relate to the experience of existence. It doesn't involve a transformation 'within' the realm of matter but instead an opening up to deeper possibilities that 'underlie' the realm of matter.
Related to the Transhumanism movement is the work of ???? (link), a professor of philosophy at Oxford University, and of particular relevence in relation to this work is his idea that we are in fact living within a simulation (link), similar to the cognitive virtual construct portrayed in the movie "The Matrix" (link).
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