The story of humanity on this planet has so far been about unconscious biological and cultural evolution. Homo-sapiens reached a point in consciousness some time ago where we could have chosen a different direction for our narrative. The good news is that we can still radically alter our individual human condition, as well as our experiences in community with one another. How do we do that?
First, it will help if we can understand the historical context in which past paradigm shifts have happened. As an example, some 1,000 years ago, an evolutionary cultural shift occurred from what could be called a medieval, Romanesque, manor or cloister-centered culture to a market-driven, Gothic, town-centered culture. Let’s look at the details of that shift to better understand how paradigm shifts will naturally happen when the false self controls the process.
We will focus briefly on social and political institutions, ways of thinking and changes in church, secular and artistic life. What usually happens with such shifts is a lot of reaction as the “old” resists the “new” even to the point of warring factions meeting on the battlefield. The following table can help visualize the elements in the conflict and the characteristics of the old and new paradigms. Note that there are conflicts within a paradigm as well as between the old and the emerging paradigm.
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Romanesque |
Gothic |
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| Political | Church vs. Holy Roman Empire (Pope vs. Emperor) | Southern Europe vs. Northern Europe (Rise of nationalism) | |
| Social | Feudal and monastic organization kept the religious and secular institutions separate | Towns and cities bring religious and secular interests into conflict | |
| Economy | Landed aristocracy | vs. | Urban Bourgeoisie and guilds |
| Religion | Monastic orders | vs. | Clergy growing more secular |
| Arts | Expressing the aspirations of the next world | Expressing the beauty found in this world | |
| Artists | Serving god anonymously | vs. | Competing for worldly recognition |
| Literature | Latin | vs. | Vernacular languages |
This is an example of what the evolution of human history has looked like, century after century, millennia after millennia with tribes, empires and nation states struggling for dominance with the general human populace having no control over the results or only the illusion of directing the outcomes. The extraordinary individual could attain liberation from the tyranny of the false self by connecting with and surrendering to the guidance of inner wisdom but that was and is extremely rare.
Today the corporations and oligarchs have replaced the popes, emperors and monarchs but their motivations are the same, their energies are still directed at maximizing material wealth, pleasure and power. At this point in time however, the pattern could be broken as the wisdom of human history is synthesized into a paradigm that would break the cycle of always submitting unconsciously to the little understood dynamics of human behavior.
The dawning of a new paradigm, the advent of Simple Reality, can shift the human narrative to one in which each individual becomes self-reliant using their authentic power for transformative change and then on to transcending the influence of the old paradigm altogether. We can each do this whether or not our fellow citizens care to join us, but a more general paradigm shift is also possible.
We can choose the paradigm shift beyond unconscious evolution.
We can choose P-A.
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Paradigm B |
Paradigm A |
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| Worldview | Shattered, unrelated fragments | Oneness | |||
| Identity | Separate from others and vulnerable; emotions are guilt, shame, regret, etc. | Compassionately connected with all of creation | |||
| Behavior | Survival strategy relying on the intellect, and having, doing and knowing. Mindless, conditioned, habitual reactions. | In service to others expressing the good, the true and the beautiful. In response rather than reaction to the gift of life. | |||
| Power | The illusion of power | Liberating Point of Power Practice | |||
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“Power without love is reckless and abusive, love without power is sentimental and anemic.” |
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| Energy | Fear | Compassion flowing from the implicate order, the perfect source of all that exists without beginning or end. | |||
| Experience | Predominantly reaction to afflictive emotions | Responding to Reality as it really is |
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Why has humanity failed to achieve a sustainable community after many millennia of evolution, after technological innovation and dazzling inventions, after centuries of political, social, artistic and intellectual achievements, after all our so-called progress? Because we have failed to acknowledge the very experience that we have each moment of each day. Immersed in P-B, we see it not. Like live frogs in the soup kettle we adapt to the increasing water temperature thinking that everything is ok. We are inured to the fact that we are becoming the soup on the menu of the false self.
Nature gave us the guidance system, i.e. intuition, perfectly suited to our species and for navigating life’s challenging seas. Foolishly we ignore the instrument and prefer our physical senses which have another purpose. We fail to “sense” that the world of form, even our ideas as form when taken as ultimate reality, is a fatal illusion, a toxic mirage. Our ancestors were more in touch with their inner wisdom than are we. We are lost at sea, the storm clouds approach, our vessel is leaking and the ship’s sails are tattered. What now? The inner navigator awaits our instruction—we would do well to make a choice soon—it is only going to get worse.
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Much more can be found in the book Simple Reality: The Key to Serenity and Survival, available for purchase on Amazon.com.
