I wrote this book to help people and groups understand why they think and behave the way they do. With this awareness, they can make a conscious decision to make changes to live a more fulfilled and sustainable life individually and collectively. I believe that a major part of human thinking and behaviour is the result of our programming. Much of this programming occurs during our first six years but continues to evolve throughout our lives. A great deal of our programming happens without our conscious involvement. We sometimes become mindless drones of the collective. It is not by accident that several generations within the same family or culture have the same religious, political, and other beliefs. When we think that our values and beliefs are the only correct perceptions of truth and reality and impose them on others, we cause much human pain and divisiveness. Our diversity should be an asset, not a wedge.
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Humans are gregarious animals, and we have a fundamental need to be accepted, to belong and fit in; in essence to be loved. As a result, we often conform to the norms and rules of the collective culture rather than expressing our individuality. We abandon our unique identity to fit in with the collective identity and in the process, we rob both of our full potential. The exercises in this book are designed to expose and transcend our programming allowing us to connect with our inner essence, the spirit or genie within.
A human soul consists of a mind, a body, and a spirit. Our thoughts come from the mind, our emotions are the body’s reaction to our thoughts and our instincts come from our spirit. Our spirit is the fuel or breath of life energy that animates our being. When we die, this spirit energy leaves our body, becoming a cold empty vessel. Our instincts are preprogrammed into our minds and DNA and do not require conscious thought. They are there in part to help ensure the survival of our species. Fish spawn, birds fly, and horses stand and walk instinctively; they do not need to be taught. Feelings of hunger, thirst, sexual arousal, and many others exist to cause us to take the appropriate action for survival. The flight or fight response is also instinctive.
The human body is a miracle of design that ensures our health and our continuation as a species. There is intelligence in every cell and organ. The body knows how to care for itself. The autonomic nervous system controls our breathing, heartbeat, digestion, tissue repair and healing and many other things and does not require our conscious involvement. Our mind and intellect however can alter, enhance, disrupt, or even block the natural flow of our life energy. As such some consider our mind and intellect as cocreators of life. I believe that our level of consciousness or awareness determines whether our thoughts and behaviour enhance or disrupt the natural flow of our life energy. A fully conscious, sane intellect would not intentionally harm itself, other life or the environment that sustains it.
Apart from mental illness or drugs that interfere with the brain’s natural functioning, the damage we inflict on ourselves, others and our environment is a result of our unconscious programming. As individuals, this programming manifests as our ego, a mind-generated construct of whom we think we are. Collectively it manifests as the cultures of the groups to which we belong. Culture reflects the collective egos of its people. Unfortunately, those in positions of power and control and those with the most oversized egos have the biggest influence on the evolving culture whether it be a family or social, religious, or business group. The result is that many cultures do not fairly represent all members’ needs, values, and beliefs.
The reality is that we are infinitely more than this illusory mask we wear. The ego however thinks it is real and fights for its selfish survival often harming itself and others in the process. I equate our programming (ego and culture) to the shutters on a house. The house represents the world we are born in and includes those things over which we have no control. These include the environment, culture, social status, parents, ethnicity, sex, physical attributes etc. These factors are the cards we are dealt with and are like the confines of a zoo in which an animal is born. They are fundamental to our early programming. Compared to the sun, the shutters are of no consequence except to those in the house who are deprived of the life-giving rays of the sun’s energy. Likewise, our ego is of no consequence compared to our spirit, but it can block our access to the spirit. Both the shutters and the ego can keep us in the dark.
The solution is to change our perspective. As Max Planck said,” When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” This is also a fundamental principle of quantum physics. Those in the house need to run outside to be liberated and enlightened by the sun’s energy. Those trapped in ego need to become the observing presence of their thoughts and behaviour. By doing this habitually the ego begins to lose its influence. The book aims to raise awareness of our programming, help us transcend it, connect with our spirit, and make our world a better and sustainable place for all. As humans, we have far more in common than what makes us different Our DNA is over 99% the same in all humans. The other less than 1% determines our ethnicity, colour, sex, and physical attributes, yet it is this 1 % that the ego focuses on.
We are at a critically urgent transition in human evolution. Our survival as a species requires us to awaken from our ignorance, transcend our programming and connect to our spirit through which we are all interconnected and interdependent. We have evolved from the Stone Age to the current Information Age. Each age has left its mark on the human psyche. Our journey is now entering a new phase which I call the Spirit Age, a new level of human consciousness. By connecting to spirit, we connect with each other, our World, and the infinite power of the Universe. I have faith that our spirit will win out over the illusory ego.
A human soul consists of a mind, a body, and a spirit. Our thoughts come from the mind, our emotions are the body’s reaction to our thoughts and our instincts come from our spirit. Our spirit is the fuel or breath of life energy that animates our being. When we die, this spirit energy leaves our body, becoming a cold empty vessel. Our instincts are preprogrammed into our minds and DNA and do not require conscious thought. They are there in part to help ensure the survival of our species. Fish spawn, birds fly, and horses stand and walk instinctively; they do not need to be taught. Feelings of hunger, thirst, sexual arousal, and many others exist to cause us to take the appropriate action for survival. The flight or fight response is also instinctive.
The human body is a miracle of design that ensures our health and our continuation as a species. There is intelligence in every cell and organ. The body knows how to care for itself. The autonomic nervous system controls our breathing, heartbeat, digestion, tissue repair and healing and many other things and does not require our conscious involvement. Our mind and intellect however can alter, enhance, disrupt, or even block the natural flow of our life energy. As such some consider our mind and intellect as cocreators of life. I believe that our level of consciousness or awareness determines whether our thoughts and behaviour enhance or disrupt the natural flow of our life energy. A fully conscious, sane intellect would not intentionally harm itself, other life or the environment that sustains it.
Apart from mental illness or drugs that interfere with the brain’s natural functioning, the damage we inflict on ourselves, others and our environment is a result of our unconscious programming. As individuals, this programming manifests as our ego, a mind-generated construct of whom we think we are. Collectively it manifests as the cultures of the groups to which we belong. Culture reflects the collective egos of its people. Unfortunately, those in positions of power and control and those with the most oversized egos have the biggest influence on the evolving culture whether it be a family or social, religious, or business group. The result is that many cultures do not fairly represent all members’ needs, values, and beliefs.
The reality is that we are infinitely more than this illusory mask we wear. The ego however thinks it is real and fights for its selfish survival often harming itself and others in the process. I equate our programming (ego and culture) to the shutters on a house. The house represents the world we are born in and includes those things over which we have no control. These include the environment, culture, social status, parents, ethnicity, sex, physical attributes etc. These factors are the cards we are dealt with and are like the confines of a zoo in which an animal is born. They are fundamental to our early programming. Compared to the sun, the shutters are of no consequence except to those in the house who are deprived of the life-giving rays of the sun’s energy. Likewise, our ego is of no consequence compared to our spirit, but it can block our access to the spirit. Both the shutters and the ego can keep us in the dark.
The solution is to change our perspective. As Max Planck said,” When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” This is also a fundamental principle of quantum physics. Those in the house need to run outside to be liberated and enlightened by the sun’s energy. Those trapped in ego need to become the observing presence of their thoughts and behaviour. By doing this habitually the ego begins to lose its influence. The book aims to raise awareness of our programming, help us transcend it, connect with our spirit, and make our world a better and sustainable place for all. As humans, we have far more in common than what makes us different Our DNA is over 99% the same in all humans. The other less than 1% determines our ethnicity, colour, sex, and physical attributes, yet it is this 1 % that the ego focuses on.
We are at a critically urgent transition in human evolution. Our survival as a species requires us to awaken from our ignorance, transcend our programming and connect to our spirit through which we are all interconnected and interdependent. We have evolved from the Stone Age to the current Information Age. Each age has left its mark on the human psyche. Our journey is now entering a new phase which I call the Spirit Age, a new level of human consciousness. By connecting to spirit, we connect with each other, our World, and the infinite power of the Universe. I have faith that our spirit will win out over the illusory ego.