[Consciousness] [1REED] Themes in the Future of Consciousness

Tue May 29 21:01:04 EDT 2007

in considering the possibilities. ...I came across a book called The Black
Swan, which basically says that it is not the predictable occurrences that
count, but the ones that were not forseen that have the most overwhelming
impact on the course of human events....

I am struggling somewhat to see your view on this---and it sort of reminds
me of waiting for Y2K--all the hoopla about some catastrophic event that
never occurrs... what does occurr is a groundswell of smaller events that
lead to more and more transformation--subtle but pervasive.

I guess I was at least one of the people who mentioned non-dual awareness
(As in Byron Katie and Tolle) And Tolle seems to be saying that the
revolution is the speeding up of human evolution through more and more
people being able to achieve this non dualistic state without the same level
of suffering that was once needed to propel people out of their conditioned
consciousness...So to me --- I think this is fascinating -- what the world
would be like with more people "plugged in" to a higher awareness that
allows for all kind of solutions to problems that we can't even dream of
right now.

I'm not looking for catyclisms of a physical nature-- though I don't say
they are impossible.  And I don't think that Tolle and Katie have problems
with loss of boundary....so what is it about their state of consciousness
that people are so attracted to and how might it change the way the world
works if more and more people achieve it. And After all-- aren't we entering
the Age of Aquarious -- where peace is to reign for a thousand years? :-)

Those are the thoughts that I am drawn to. What if we used more of our
expanded consciousness to move forward embracing more of the wholeness,
instead of the fragmented thinking we have today...what would that future
look like? 

The cataclysmic thing tends to look comic book to me-- I guess because there
have been so many bad movies about it.  That doesn't mean there might not be
a cataclysmic event, but that is not the most interesting line of thinking
to go down, in my opinion.

What if leaders tried to declare wars but nobody showed up (To paraphrase a
Jonie MItchell song?) --because of a shift in consciousness across
boundaries and nations in enough of the people....how would that pan out?  I
guess I'm just an aging hippie after all.

Maggie

Have A Great Walk Today, 
Maggie Spilner 
President 
Walk For All Seasons, LLC 
670 Cider Press Road 
Easton, PA 18042 
610 253 WALK 
walkforit at rcn.com 
www.walkforallseasons.com 

-----Original Message-----
From: consciousness-bounces at mail.ls.net
[mailto:consciousness-bounces at mail.ls.net] On Behalf Of Henry Reed
Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 6:24 PM
To: consciousness at mail.ls.net
Subject: [Consciousness] [1REED] Themes in the Future of Consciousness

Hi Folks:
Are you still enjoying getting updates on consciousness? I've got a moment's
break from my required writing routine to flash out this bit of musing to
you, something I've been pondering for awhile and I'd appreciate your input.
As I get more volunteers to do book summaries, the more new book topics
arise that seem to need attention. Given my nature, I like to keep focus on
the target, yet not be blinded by assumptions. I was wondering, what shall
be included?
One in our community wanted to deal with near-death experiences. Another
mentioned non-dual awareness. I was familiar with both areas, and it got me
thinking.
Take near-death experiences. Do we learn about the future of consciousness
from these studies, or mainly that life goes on after death? It profoundly
changes the experiential perspective of those who've had the NDE, but does
our second hand knowledge of it have any bearing on the future of
consciousness? Life has always existed after death, so maybe there's no news
here, thus nothing regarding the future of consciousness.
Non-dual awareness is the new term for the old notion of satori,
enlightenment, pure awareness, unconditioned awareness, etc. etc. I've had
enough tiny moments of it to know they are talking about something real,
that consciousness itself, or awareness itself, exists in its own right, and
is the supreme "being" we've all confused with ourselves. Anyway, that
truth, even though it is being discovered by more and more people and
gaining its own western psychology, is something that has always been true,
so it is no news.
On the other hand, might we not consider that the type of psychology, the
quality of consciousness, of humanity's most evolved beings, and the kind of
consciousness, or mentality developed by some of us, as a result of therapy,
vision questing, volunteer service, a life of spirituality, or
whatever-might these observed trends in humans who are creatively growing be
signposts to the future of consciousness? Can we predict the future of
consciousness by looking at the trends in those people who evolve themselves
in their lifetimes? If so, then many of the various spiritual development
schemes (Course in Miracles, NeoJungian psychology, Transpersonal,
Holotropia, etc. etc.), each with their own descriptions of the kinds of
improved functioning, shifts in awareness, etc. that can be obtained, these
assertions could be clues to the direction of evolving consciousness.
What about other factors, having little to do with humans working it out?
Can spiritual forces play a role? If so, what kind of role and to what
effect? What books are best to describe that possibility? What about cosmic
events? Might a natural disaster, like the comet researchers today said may
have wiped out the Neanderthals, wipe out all but a few humans, those left
initiating a new trend in consciousness? Could there be a "singularity" in
our future, something that only certain folks survive, folks who share a
certain attribute? If so, could such a culling result in a "transformation
of consciousness"? I'm asking.
While we are together at the Indiana conference, we'll employ a variety of
intuition technologies to "channel" information about the future of
consciousness. And we'll use intuitive methods as well as intellectual ones
to discover the common patterns in the various theories we'll be able to
review, and we'll experience their various methodologies and their impact
upon our consciousness. In preparing for these events, it is helpful to
develop some kind of preview, or overview of the territory, to help focus
the questions we want to explore. 
As I've mentioned, my own research has focused on one challenge that is in
our future that has profound implications on consciousness-that of our
dissolving boundaries in almost every aspect of earthly life-and one quality
in the transformation of consciousness (it has many names, "to know yourself
to be yourself and one with All," universal heart awareness, Christ
Consciousness, Universal matrix, Self, etc. etc.). When I combine those two
studies, what emerges is a crossroads, a "Rapture or Rupture" in the
experience of humans. Rupture comes for those overwhelmed by the psychic
resonance with millions of others who have repressed hurt, anger and other
destructive emotions. Rapture comes to those who have surrendered to an
"empty self," who witnesses experiences to flow by. Influenced by science
fiction themes that have attempted to envision a schism in the future, I
have envisioned a group of people who, when physical life is temporarily
unviable, join psychic hands in going into an out of body limbo, helping one
another keep focus until the crisis is past, then re-incarnating in
uninhabited physical bodies whose previous owners had died of fright. I'm
sure I'm having some cryptomnesia, and this fantasy is reflective of some
science fiction novel I've encountered. However, bizarre sounding that
fantasy is, one theme is certainly emerging in the news: some folks are
getting by better than others and the divide is widening. That "divide"
could cut many ways, depending upon the nature of the pressure on the
population. The devastating Tsunami divided those natives who "sensed"
danger and evacuated in time, and those immigrants who hadn't a clue.
Different pressures will divide us differently, but challenges that elicit
the "survival of the fittest" seems to be inevitable. 

--
Posted By Henry Reed to 1REED
<http://1reed.blogspot.com/2007/05/themes-in-future-of-consciousness.html>
at 5/29/2007 06:22:00 PM 

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