Because of books read, the last few blogs have been concerned with spiritual evolution. Most writing on this today agree that we are on the cusp of a grand new awakening, akin, as Ken Wilbur put it, to the rise of democracy as a form of government, but with much greater consequences. These writers point to the shrinking world brought about by technology, and how technology runs parallel to other outlooks or views. Thus, as we all come into communication with each other, so we are approaching a more integrative or holistic mentality - one that will pull the spiritual energies of the world together to create the New Tomorrow. Wilbur and David Hawkins even point to tests that have been run which show that this new integrative mentality is rapidly rising in America's population -going from near zero 50 years ago to 5% today, with a predictive rise to 10% shortly. At some point, the critical mass will be reached and the New Age will truly become the dominant mentality.
I do not have studies to show the reverse - only, rather, the sharp musings of the perennialists who point to the decline in art and sharp rise of materialism. And it is true that church attendance and religious belief is on the wane, although the evolutionists would contend, as Wilbur does, that the view, or ground, of most religions is still based on a mythical (literal) mode of thought now incompatible with the emerging world mind. This would explain the rise of the violent fundamentalist Muslim sects, their anger and violence reflecting both their archaic viewpoint and their sense that they are losing what they feel is central to their world (which they are.)
However, a friend of mine who has taught at the university, high school and middle school levels over the years tells me anecdotally that a "greater" spiritual mentality is, in fact, rapidly falling to shallowness and a need for instant gratification. As one writer put it, the world culture is a much larger pond than the disparate pools of cultures past, but also much shallower. Statistics can also obliquely point this out: commitment to such things as marriage comes and goes now with the feeling, more and more in the industrial societies are choosing to live off the dole, and video games far outpace spiritual interests in the young. This friend contends that the optimists are primarily baby boomers who saw the fall of many of the old cultural values in the 60's and experienced the thrill of a promising enlightenment through group activism and experience with psychedelics.
And this is true: in my book, Dream Weaver, I spend the first chapter detailing my own experience with both activism and hallucinogenics, and yes, it did lead me to believe that we were on the cusp of a new age. In fact, after completing the book, I hesitated as to whether I should add the subtitle of "A Hitchhiker's Quest at the Close of the Aquarian Age," or "...at the Dawn of the Aquarian Age." I chose the latter, which was technically correct. Contrary to some critics who said the Aquarian Age ended in the 60's - as if it were dependent on the Broadway hit , "Hair" about just this topic - the Age of Aquarius is, astrologically speaking, only in its infancy and will continue to progress over the next 2 thousand (or so) years. But this was not why I chose the more optimistic view. In the book, I speak of my experiences with a rapidly changing America, where new forms of lifestyles and spirituality were being discovered or employed. I struggled with the sub-title because I did not find any one superior ideology coming out among the rest; in fact, I found a lot of slackers and aimless drug users generously thrown in among the serious seekers. Yet I stuck with the latter title.
The decision was not easy and I still see-saw between the two. My friend's anecdotal evidence for decline is certainly valid. But what of the tests that show an increase in higher levels of spirituality? As all the evolutionists have said, there will be turmoil in this great change - one, Cynthia Bourgeault, also calling this transition period a time of death - of death to the old, bringing forth confusion and conflict before the birth; and as we all know, there is always pain and messiness in a birth.
And yet - I continue this blog, not only to help me understand the spiritual sphere better, but to get others to consider it more in their lives exactly because I do see a rise in flat materialism, one that has continued over the centuries. Yes, there have been "great awakenings" during that time, perhaps including the 1960's, but the overall trend has been to materialistic flatness.
And so we have our perspectives and reasons for them set up, both sides convinced that they are right, and both giving good cause. We are changing rapidly, and something has to break in the process. In fact, many things have already been broken, but does this process lead to a New Tomorrow? In fullest consideration at this point, I would have to give a qualified "yes.." In fact, the perennialists agree that we are headed for a breakdown, sooner rather than later. It might be, then, that what is being argued is not the inevitable massive change that is coming, but whether or not the current process is helping us towards this change in a positive way or a negative way. That is, is the process going lead to a true breakdown and a return to a simpler, more direct spirituality, or is the process part of the solution, leading not to a catastrophic demise, but to a smoother change to a level beyond what humans have ever seen before?
We may look at this in several ways, but I will further this one: is the process blessed by the Absolute, or condemned by it? Are we, in other words, in the hands of God all along, or have we grown too distant from the divine source and so, like the Tower of Babble, we must fall on our faces from our own blindness and hubris?
I am tending more and more towards the optimistic view myself - for God or All That Is is most certainly involved in our every moment. And yet - "It" was there at Auschwitz and in the killing fields of Cambodia. "It" was there with the fall of the Aztecs as well as with the much gentler Taino of Puerto Rico and Cuba. Are there really, then, more enlightened people now every day? Or will the dead weight of non-spirituality drag all of us down, whether or not some have obtained some subjectively determined "higher" self?
The sun is shining today and all is alive with pure, beautiful energy. But the clouds and cold will return. There is still much to ponder on this subject. FK
I do not have studies to show the reverse - only, rather, the sharp musings of the perennialists who point to the decline in art and sharp rise of materialism. And it is true that church attendance and religious belief is on the wane, although the evolutionists would contend, as Wilbur does, that the view, or ground, of most religions is still based on a mythical (literal) mode of thought now incompatible with the emerging world mind. This would explain the rise of the violent fundamentalist Muslim sects, their anger and violence reflecting both their archaic viewpoint and their sense that they are losing what they feel is central to their world (which they are.)
However, a friend of mine who has taught at the university, high school and middle school levels over the years tells me anecdotally that a "greater" spiritual mentality is, in fact, rapidly falling to shallowness and a need for instant gratification. As one writer put it, the world culture is a much larger pond than the disparate pools of cultures past, but also much shallower. Statistics can also obliquely point this out: commitment to such things as marriage comes and goes now with the feeling, more and more in the industrial societies are choosing to live off the dole, and video games far outpace spiritual interests in the young. This friend contends that the optimists are primarily baby boomers who saw the fall of many of the old cultural values in the 60's and experienced the thrill of a promising enlightenment through group activism and experience with psychedelics.
And this is true: in my book, Dream Weaver, I spend the first chapter detailing my own experience with both activism and hallucinogenics, and yes, it did lead me to believe that we were on the cusp of a new age. In fact, after completing the book, I hesitated as to whether I should add the subtitle of "A Hitchhiker's Quest at the Close of the Aquarian Age," or "...at the Dawn of the Aquarian Age." I chose the latter, which was technically correct. Contrary to some critics who said the Aquarian Age ended in the 60's - as if it were dependent on the Broadway hit , "Hair" about just this topic - the Age of Aquarius is, astrologically speaking, only in its infancy and will continue to progress over the next 2 thousand (or so) years. But this was not why I chose the more optimistic view. In the book, I speak of my experiences with a rapidly changing America, where new forms of lifestyles and spirituality were being discovered or employed. I struggled with the sub-title because I did not find any one superior ideology coming out among the rest; in fact, I found a lot of slackers and aimless drug users generously thrown in among the serious seekers. Yet I stuck with the latter title.
The decision was not easy and I still see-saw between the two. My friend's anecdotal evidence for decline is certainly valid. But what of the tests that show an increase in higher levels of spirituality? As all the evolutionists have said, there will be turmoil in this great change - one, Cynthia Bourgeault, also calling this transition period a time of death - of death to the old, bringing forth confusion and conflict before the birth; and as we all know, there is always pain and messiness in a birth.
And yet - I continue this blog, not only to help me understand the spiritual sphere better, but to get others to consider it more in their lives exactly because I do see a rise in flat materialism, one that has continued over the centuries. Yes, there have been "great awakenings" during that time, perhaps including the 1960's, but the overall trend has been to materialistic flatness.
And so we have our perspectives and reasons for them set up, both sides convinced that they are right, and both giving good cause. We are changing rapidly, and something has to break in the process. In fact, many things have already been broken, but does this process lead to a New Tomorrow? In fullest consideration at this point, I would have to give a qualified "yes.." In fact, the perennialists agree that we are headed for a breakdown, sooner rather than later. It might be, then, that what is being argued is not the inevitable massive change that is coming, but whether or not the current process is helping us towards this change in a positive way or a negative way. That is, is the process going lead to a true breakdown and a return to a simpler, more direct spirituality, or is the process part of the solution, leading not to a catastrophic demise, but to a smoother change to a level beyond what humans have ever seen before?
We may look at this in several ways, but I will further this one: is the process blessed by the Absolute, or condemned by it? Are we, in other words, in the hands of God all along, or have we grown too distant from the divine source and so, like the Tower of Babble, we must fall on our faces from our own blindness and hubris?
I am tending more and more towards the optimistic view myself - for God or All That Is is most certainly involved in our every moment. And yet - "It" was there at Auschwitz and in the killing fields of Cambodia. "It" was there with the fall of the Aztecs as well as with the much gentler Taino of Puerto Rico and Cuba. Are there really, then, more enlightened people now every day? Or will the dead weight of non-spirituality drag all of us down, whether or not some have obtained some subjectively determined "higher" self?
The sun is shining today and all is alive with pure, beautiful energy. But the clouds and cold will return. There is still much to ponder on this subject. FK
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