Despite the abysmal trail of horrors that have led us to this point in our history, there are those of us who must become the agents of the kind of social change desperately needed by a troubled world. According to the laws of geometric progression, those with vision and consciousness have been adding to what is becoming a critical mass, accumulating exponentially, and approaching an imminent inflection point. The potential to transform in the wake of that hopeful tipping point is unpredictable, but we cannot discount the morphic power that exists within the human mind, both to do harm and also to heal. It is us who are the shapers of our reality and no other imagined outside source.
The slow-moving train of consciousness is gaining momentum and has limitless room for those interested in getting aboard and beginning a personal journey of exploration to heal our relationship with ourselves, our fellow humans, and Mother Earth herself. The destination is not a place, but rather an indefinable realm where minds can connect in a shared vision that employs the power of cooperation, co-creativity and ultimately, our God given gift of decision to walk a path paved in forgiveness and surrounded in gratitude. That choice is the starting point of making a difference through common interest and changing the only thing we can in reality: our minds.
The Brain and Mind
As much as the human brain is the pinnacle of evolution and a marvel of nature, it also has proven to be the source of misperception, misunderstanding and separate interest behaviors that have plagued our species since the beginning. It has allowed our race to survive and prosper through incredible ingenuity from our earliest beginnings to recent scientific breakthroughs that have led to technological advances in all manner of human need. We live longer thanks to modern medicine, travel the globe in a matter of hours and now explore what many refer to as the last frontier in outer space. I would respectfully disagree that outer space in our last frontier of exploration. What will colonizing Mars do to help save the planet we are systematically destroying right here on Earth? Will it feed the hungry masses? Will it solve the age-old curse of history repeating itself in our geopolitical conflicts that now threaten to end life here on Earth? The obvious final unexplored realm, one that can truly induce the kind of change we need, is not out there in the cosmos, it is an inside job of knowing what we are within the infinite expanse of mind. It is inner space we must conquer because what happens beyond the thin membrane between thought and action is a function determined by mind. Body follows mind and mind follows body, but the brain controls everything within the physical realm of human existence. Mind and cosmos are inextricably interconnected and co-created from the inside out. Understand mind and the entire cosmos is at your command.
Because most of what the brain offers in functionality is a kind of artificial intelligence that acts independently and automatically on behalf of its programmer, it largely precludes conscious choice when it comes to decision making within relationships. If neuroscience is correct that 90% of our waking hours are mediated unconsciously, then beyond its immense capacity for creative inventiveness, regulating heartbeat, respiration and other autonomic functions that keep us alive, we are literally at the whim of its processing power. If, as esteemed author Daniel J. Siegal says, the brain is a grand anticipation machine whose primary function is to defend against attack and prolong survival, then it stands to reason that we use a very narrow range of its potential. Not that it lacks the capacity to facilitate conjunctive, warm human relationships, which is a large part of what this book is about, it is unfortunately programmed by the ego to do its bidding in the proliferation of fear, hence its corollary, defense, and attack. One might ask,” but what about our innate power of choice in all this?” Choice is only available in any meaningful way when we possess a greater level of awareness of our motivation and intent, the definition of consciousness. Without constant awareness and enquiry, the brain possesses the power to control our lives through unconsciously mediated self-repeating and harmful behaviors. Simply put, a brain without the guidance of conscience and heart is the most dangerous of all weapons.