Changing Course

Redirecting the Evolution of Human Consciousness

Why are human beings behaving the way that they are? And is that behavior simply “human nature” and fundamentally unchangeable or can that behavior be modified in significant ways? A major influence on human behavior is worldview. If a person’s worldview can be changed then that person’s behavior will change since that behavior is powerfully influenced by what they believe the nature of reality to be. History gives us an example, of how powerful the influence of a narrative can be.

Part of the worldview of Columbus was that he could discover a shorter sailing route to the Indies by going west rather than the already discovered eastern voyage routes. When he landed in what we now call the West Indies he thought he had made landfall in an area of the world that was in fact very far from where he thought he was. He was, to put it bluntly, lost. Humanity is similarly lost today. We are not where we think we are. Our behavior is based on where we think we are rather than the much different reality of where we actually are. And unless we figure out where we are we will continue wandering around lost in the world and bewildered by problems that often seem overwhelming.

Where are Americans going to get the energy and motivation for “changing course?” Throughout our history immigrants have been coming to America seeking political, religious and economic freedom. This was the positive “pull” or desire that motivated them. There was a reality also that “pushed” them out of the old world and that included religious persecution, political oppression, economic exploitation, poverty and lack of opportunity. So both types of motivation provided the energy and the willingness to take the risk of an uncertain future—the desire for something better in a new world and the aversion or need to escape from the suffering of the old world.

In the context of Simple Reality we need to “re-language” the story. The negative push, the aversion to the Old World (P-B), is the unfulfilling, meaningless life of suffering. This can express itself in the endless pursuit of material “stuff”, the desperate distractions that we label pleasure, and the pointless and futile attempts to exercise power and control over people and events in our delusional lives. If we had a choice similar to those who emigrated to America in the past, you might think that we would have sufficient reasons to climb on board the first boat out of here.

If we need more reasons to risk a scary, unfamiliar voyage to P-A then perhaps the following will suffice. In the “New World” (P-A) the illusion of death and the experience of suffering are transcended. With the Point of Power practice we attain a mindfulness which enables us to choose response over reaction and live in the Now growing ever more out of reach of our conditioned afflictive emotions. Compassion, joy, happiness, freedom and peace of mind become our constant companions and Heaven on earth becomes an apt description of our New World. Get on that boat now but make sure that you have a more accurate map than did Columbus—make sure your chart is labeled Simple Reality.

___________________________________________________________________ 

For a much more in-depth discussion on Simple Reality, read Simple Reality: The Key to Serenity and Survival, by Roy Charles Henry, published in 2011.