Consciousness & Politics 

          Below is rough draft overview of my "worldview" as presented in the
          book I'm working on "CONSCIOUSNESS AND POLITICS".  It is definitely
          a "new age" interpretation of epistemology, metaphysics,
          metapsychology, ethics and politics.    Comments welcome.

          EPISTEMOLOGY: (how we find truth)  We must recognize that knowledge
          and truth will always be elusive and subjective.  As Rupert
          Sheldrake points out, even "natural laws" seem to be evolving.
          They are not static and unchanging.  A balance of intuition, reason
          and empirical methods must be applied in seeking knowledge in any
          field, though the appropriate balance of methods will depend on the
          field.  And these can be used to prove that some viewpoints are
          more accurate than others, even if they aren't the "ultimate, final
          truth".
               Today humans are becoming aware that humans "construct"
          reality, create truth, rather than discovering it.   Reality is not
          some objective, knowable entity created by God or natural law.  It
          is an evolving, ever-changing process.
               Individuals know reality through their particular
          personal/social/political "psychic grid".  What is important is for
          each of us to decide what psychic grid we choose to work from and
          how to change it if we choose.  Each of us can create
          philosophically/emotionally gratifying reality.  We don't have to
          just go along with what the power structure calls reality.

          METAPHYSICS:  (the nature and purpose of reality)  Consciousness is
          both the nature and the propose of reality.  I choose to call the
          nature and purpose of reality "consciousness" because the new
          sciences show principles like consciousness operate throughout
          reality. At the subatomic level I equate the dynamic, yang force
          with imagination and will, and the integrating, yin force with
          memory and creativity.  There is an inherent drive to evolve, for
          the propose of exploring full the potentials of consciousness, and,
          ultimately, to develop into fully self-conscious beings like
          ourselves.

               There may well be an ever evolving "morphogenetic field"
          of human consciousness.   Individual consciousness survive and
          passes from body to body over many life times in a process
          known as "reincarnation".
               The concept of consciousness must replace the concept of
          god. For if we know that consciousness is the basis of
          reality, and if we relate that to the fact that we all have
          consciousness, then it is obvious to all that we are the
          personification of natural, not "divine" principles of
          reality. The word god just confuses people, making them think
          that there is some divinity apart from and above from
          themselves.
               Moreover, as experience has shown, the concept of god is
          so easily corrupted by authoritarianism as to be worse than
          useless -- ie. totally counter-productive.  How many people
          have been persecuted and murdered in the name of this, that or
          the other "god"??
               People of good will must recognize this and give up the
          word god.  We are the product of our own conscious evolution
          for our own conscious purposes.    We created ourselves -- and
          we did not create ourselves to live in ignorance of that fact
          or to make ourselves suffer!!



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          METAPSYCHOLOGY: (spiritual psychology)  We know that the human
          brain is really three brains: the original reptilian and
          mammalian brains controlling automatic and reflexive survival
          functions, and, heaped over these, the unique human "neo-
          cortex" which contains enormous intellectual and creative
          potentials.
               Humans do not have to be content to be ruled by their
          "lower brains," by their most basic needs for survival,
          procreation and status.  Abraham Maslow points out there is a
          psychological need hierarchy.  If humans remain stuck on
          fulfilling the lower needs (safety, belonging, esteem) and
          ignore fulfillment of the higher needs (self-actualization,
          humanistic values, peak experiences) they become frustrated,
          obsessive, and addicted -- to food, drink, sex, power, money.
               The need hierarchy and the concept of chakras describe
          essentially the same phenomena.  Humans rise up the need
          hierarchy or chakras in 3 ways: 1) by being aware that they in
          fact exist; 2) by creating a culture which suggests simple, as
          opposed to extravagant, definition of what fulfillment of
          these basic needs are and then creates institutions which make
          sure these basic need are fulfilled; 3) by having myths,
          symbols, and rituals which reinforce the existence and
          fulfillment of all human physical, emotional and spiritual
          needs.
               Cultures worldwide have too little of the knowledge,
          attitudes and structures needed to boost us up our need
          hierarchies.  However, through education and meditation humans
          can develop their higher brain, move up the need hierarchy,
          rise to higher consciousness.  They can lose the desire for
          obsessive material accumulation, develop a tolerance for
          individual diversity, experience love and connectedness with
          all living things, give up the need to dominate, exploit or
          direct them, fulfill their individual potentials and even
          experience cosmic consciousness, cosmic ecstasy.


          ETHICS:  (What values we should pursue, how we should act
          towards one and other)  I believe in a yin-yang ethical
          system.  One in which hedonism/self-actualization are the yang
          goals, and utilitarian "what's best for all" the yin goals.
               I believe our actions towards one and other must also be
          very "yin-yang".  The yang is the libertarian view that the
          individual is free to do as she/he pleases as long as she/he
          doe not harm others.  The yin is non-violence, cooperation and
          mutual aid.  They are both necessary and totally
          complementary.



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          POLITICS:  We must begin to understand Gandhi's message that
          all conflicts - personal and political, individual and group,
          local, regional and global - should be resolved through non-
          violent mediation instead of police and military violence.
          Today's great nation states  have been created and maintained
          by violence.  Without violence they, would crumble, to be
          replaced by networks of non-violent communities.
               Individuals must be free to establish or choose their own
          ethical system and then join in free, self-governing
          communities with those who share those views.  However, this
          "yang" commmunitarianism must be complemented by the "yin"
          values of non-violent conflict resolution between communities
          and mutual aid to all afflicted humans, whateve their
          community.
               Our means to creating this society should be nonviolent
          as the ends we seek.  We should be assertive as possible,
          starting as soon as possible.



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