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The
next big step
We
are witnessing a dramatic polarisation between the “dance on the volcano”
and profound reflection. Humankind is facing a shift from purely mental
awareness to a more holistic kind of awareness, an indispensable shift
from the cold reasoning of the mind to solidarity and the power of the
heart. Georg Herberstein Georg Schmertzing
1 - The problem: the currently accepted myths In our global world culture, the following myths are accepted as inalienable, natural facts: 1. The battle for existence is ruled by the law of the jungle or won by “strong-arm tactics” 2. There is a separation between subject and object, good and evil, friend and enemy, human beings and nature. 3. Human beings are ruled by their brain. 4. The world functions like a machine. 5. The efficiency of parts is improved to the detriment of the whole. 6. State sovereignty and state borders are regarded as very important. 7. There is a separation between thoughts and feelings. 8. There is a separation between the public world of work and private views of the world. 9. Material and economic growth are unstoppable. 10. The World order must be maintained through complicated rules and laws. 11. Anonymous power is held by organisations of increasingly huge size. 12. War is a natural instrument of selection. 13. Every religion and world view perceives itself as final and exclusively legitimate. 14. Responsibility for future generations may safely be ignored, for the future is none of our business.
2 - The causes – the evolution of humankind between progress and destruction The above-mentioned myths create problems. They stem from the obsolete views of the outgoing mechanistic-materialistic-rational age. They are in no way unalterable or god-given. They exist only in our minds. Although science has long adopted a new paradigm, our global civilisation is still committed to these old views of the world. A lack of orientation is spreading. Separation along the lines of either-or, subject-object, good-evil, matter-energy-information, etc., prevents the development of solutions. We are caught up in dualist thought patterns. It is not surprising, therefore, that we try to separate human beings and nature, are wasting our resources, poisoning our environment and simply accepting the poverty of many millions of people. The affluent think they can close themselves off from the poor, and those who exploit nature from the natural environment. This is a recession not so much of the economy but of the mind.
3 - The new importance of the one-heart paradigm Many people still trust in a paradigm which leading minds have long recognised to be obsolete. The new insights of science have not reached the minds and heart of those in power. One is reminded of Einstein’s statement:
For our case this means: purely rational rules and laws, peace treaties and environmental accords, purely intellectual efforts will not build a world with a sustainable system of ethics and new life styles and behaviours. We have to follow the logic of self-extermination back into the human heart, because only there can the logic of salvation be initiated. The dualist-materialist world view of “pure reason” has to make way for a new integral, multi-dimensional and consciously emotional paradigm evolving from the centre of human nature. This seems to be the only way to develop solutions that are not rooted in the old way of thinking. We will learn to let all too familiar insights go and enter new fields of consciousness. We will be rewarded by unlimited mental growth!
4 - The development of human beings from the primordial unity The world-renowned scientist and visionary Pierre Teilhard de Chardin foresaw the way this was going to take: He described the atoms as smallest complex units composed of even smaller particles. The smallest of them are the famous quantum particles whose state fluctuates between matter and information (according to the latest findings, two quantum particles can act as a unit and emit perfectly identical impulses even when separated by huge distances). The next larger units are “corpuscles”. Molecules, cells and multiple-cell structures are assembled to complex units that can multiply and are defined by boundaries. Viruses are the first level of life. The chain reaction of “corpuscle formation” gives rise to plants and animals. The direction of growth goes towards the development of greater consciousness. From the “collective consciousness” of this biosphere human beings are created as a genus without subdivision into species. This genus “suddenly starts becoming a collectivity” and covers the earth with a thinking layer which Teilhard de Chardin calls the “noosphere”. His reflection runs as follows:
This point has now been reached.
5 - The vision of a better world The further development of humankind will be represented as a field phenomenon in this “planetisation”. We are heading for a completely new, biological-psychological leap of development: The planetary human consciousness. This requires a new, integral mindset: awareness of the fact that human beings are both unique and an intrinsic part of humanity, the noosphere. It will only be realised in a community that resonates “from mind to mind or from heart to heart”. A new central organ must emerge to effect these changes in us: The resonating organ of the heart as the centre of human mind and nature. In the last development stage it was the brain which took care of the development and individuation of human beings up to the level of the noosphere. Now it is the force field of the heart which can bring about final planetisation through a universal heart-to-heart resonance. This will give rise to a “humanity force field”, to being “one heart and one soul”. Science has discovered this phenomenon in the quantum coherence of subnuclear waves and particles, and also in living systems and groups. According to Einstein/Infeld, its laws apply to “large gatherings of individuals”. The 14th Dalai Lama notes on this topic:
6 - The heart as the core of human nature Karl Friederich von Weizsäcker writes:
This means we have to find within us a driving force or a place which by its nature overcomes this dualism of mind and matter: let us call it the vibrating “force field of the heart” where all our feelings of “I am” originate. According to Weizsäcker, “the division of the world into separate objects is just an approximation. Although our way of thinking is based on it, this approximation is wrong, strictly speaking. Reality is not a machine.” Mechanistic world views fall short of reality. Marcel Proust said: “The heart is the highest and ultimate authority of intelligence” What we need is an integral way of living and thinking that springs from the core of our nature, which we equate with our “heart” in the centre of our chest and call our “self”. This central core of our nature will help us solve the global problems of this world. There, the vibrations of consciousness and life, information and matter fuse in a unique way. In this way our communication
turns into a communion. 7 - The unity of mind and heart At present, humankind is divided in those who trust exclusively in the mind and its control, and those who open their hearts and become open for all of creation. While “Heart people” also use their mind, they do not use it as a central organ that incessantly passes judgment, but further its ability for teamwork with the software of the heart and the hardware of the entire human being. The hard disk of our brain performs miraculously and is far from reaching its limits. But its programming is based in the “feeling intention” of the heart. The neurologists put it this way:
Let us therefore strive for a “listening heart”, like King Solomon in the Bible, and life will add an abundance of happiness and wisdom. In our heart, the self and all fellow beings meet for a celebration of love. Let us not forget: there is no greater power than love. With its energy that comes from the heart the world can be renewed. This is not an illusion but a scientific insight, also described as “planetisation” by Teilhard de Chardin. Here is an affirmation for all people who want to live and act from their heart:
8 – The solution: the new paradigm Any partial realisation – every instance of replacing the above-mentioned outdated myths that threaten to destroy humankind by the following myths of a one-heart world – must be seen as a success: 1. The laws of love, humanity and solidarity for the world. 2. Development of the world towards a heart-guided unity. 3. Transition from a dividing and judgemental paradigm of the mind to a wholistic, sympathetic paradigm of the heart. 4. The world functions like a single, large organism. 5. The parts are nothing without the whole, and the whole is nothing without the parts. 6. The natural acceptance of living together, learning from each other and sharing. 7. The congruence of thoughts and feelings. 8. The congruence of the public world of work and private world views. 9. Mental growth without limits instead of material-economic growth. 10. Maintaining the world order on the basis of world ethics. 11. Rejection of greed as witnessed in anonymous and unprincipled financial transactions 12. Rejection of war as a principle of selection. 13. Rediscovery of the common origins and common principles of all religions and world views. 14. Success of sustainability as the one great economic challenge of our time and a responsibility for future generations. The development of humankind has in no way reached its culmination or end. We are heading for a new way of life which challenges us to feel individual responsibility for the whole of creation; we are heading for a civilization of the heart.
9 - Steps, initiatives, action Let us act according to the official peace declaration of the world religions of 4 September 1993:
Let us start today, let us open our innermost self, the central core of our heart in love for all beings and develop a listening heart which always respects the dignity of fellow human beings and bundles our global energies. There are so many indispensable things that seem obvious but have not been done so far
We address our idea to all people: take part in transforming our world towards the emotional intelligence of the heart. Share your ideas with us. The more and more detailed, the better. |
