In his newest book: “The Next Enlightenment” Walter Truett Anderson explores his vision of human evolution.
Today’s world challenges us, more than ever before, to understand what we are and look at what we created. Our growing awareness presents us with choices, ànd with responsibilities, to question our ways of being in the world.
We are, in WTA’s view, on the brink of a next step in the natural process of human growth: a maturation (a growing up) of vision or in other words: enlightenment.
The most important characteristic of this enlightenment is that it is accompanied by a reorganization of conscious thought: a true shift in perspective. Once we realize we live in a world of man-made constructs (in other words: created by ourselves) we have the choice to become liberated from the grasp/illusion of our creation. We start to explore ways of being in the world beyond our “universal truths”.
WTA suggests that it is not necessary, even desirable, to describe this “growing up” as a religious or spiritual experience.
The fact that we have reflective cognition (ability to think about thought itself) gives us a tool to develop a wider perspective to view the human condition. Transpersonal: yes, spiritual: not necessarily.
WTA sees enlightenment as an evolutionary phenomenon: a growth process in which a restructuring of cognition takes place – sudden or gradual – that involves a fundamentally changed understanding of the universe, of self and of truth. In his vision the un-enlightened I-centered consciousness matures into the direction of an enlightened transcendent no-self consciousness.
Most important is that “enlightenment” (in itself “just” a concept) is pointing in the direction of more supple levels of consciousness were we remember what we are beyond our what-we-made-of-it selves.
And enlightenment is attainable, in various levels, to every one of us.
MATURATION?
For me this is no spectacular news.
Let us assume that maturation is what we want, and in a larger perspective something that humanity strives for.[1] It is interesting to analyze what we envision maturation to be, and how we arrive at this definition (=human concept).
WTA writes about his view of human maturation and sees enlightened cognition, Maslow describes the characteristics of his[2] self-actualized persons.
Evidently we humans have some inner drive that pushes us, as individuals and as humanity as a whole, towards higher levels of consciousness.
Why is it that we seem so utterly lost. Do we have a sense of direction?
For centuries we humans created gods and religions (with their living examples) to give us lights to follow and truths to know our way(s). Now we seem to be at crossroads where everything we once thought to be true is unveiled as man-made or in other words just how we look at it.
Now we want to be mature enough to create our reality in such a conscious way, (or better: realize our consciousness of reality) that we can really be responsible for what and how we are in this reality.
This is complicated, because in effect we learn that there is really no such thing as truth. “Our truths” are ever-changing, fluid-like processes. Our drive to consciousness is no longer a journey we make with a more or less fixed destination; we just discovered that there is no such destination and that – if we insist on being something - we àre the journey or the process.
The existentialist principle of “become what you are” turns on us, because what you are is no longer an attainable goal – in this new vision it is an experience to realize or to be rather than something graspable you can become.
For a Gestaltist, for me, this no direction notion is difficult.
The underlying principle in Gestalt-therapy is that as an organism we possess a self-regulating system that provides us with fore-grounds of the stuff we need to look at/work on in order to grow (growth being the healthy thing to do).
Intuitively the idea of a self-regulating system fits me[3].
In a larger context the notion of an underlying order that “governs” is basic to almost all human religions and truths.
We need to realize that any “underlying order of things” we could envision is again but a human construct. With an enlightened view however we can, for the sake of this discussion, assume that by imagining this underlying system to be there, we actually create it into being.
What then is this underlying system we imagine striving towards? What is the direction, and if one dares to ask: what is the meaning?
Somehow it is difficult for me, and I guess for other humans, to let go of the need to understand or know per se or – more important even - to give up my faith in a “system” that knows.
When I realize that any truth I can possibly come up with is per definition a human concept and never an absolute certainty, it becomes another exercise to get going/growing simply because I have no clue what the direction of this growth should be.
As an individual, I have certain ideas about what would be important areas of growth or how I should actively pursue maturation. I feel an intuition of what is true or what is wrong. I try to consciously follow (the light of) my in-spiration[4]. My organism seems to encompass an evolving personal (?) system of values.
However, all this said, I cannot escape the fact that these values and my truths with it are subjective, often ego-motivated and, most importantly, changing all the time.
And again I stumble onto the importance of awareness (understanding?[5]) of the what we make of it aspect of our knowledge, and in a wider perspective of what we make of consciousness itself.
Sometimes it seems to me that consciousness uses us to be(come?). The dreamer exists in her dreams within a dreamed world. Whatever consciousness is conscious of exists. It is so ungraspable, so vaporous an image…
What makes WTA’s “next” step of maturation extremely difficult is that we seem stuck with the consequences of ages and eras of not-so-conscious human civilization. Let us be honest: we live in a blind, sickened world.
It seems that now that we grow up, we realize how blind we have been, how sick we are and the extend of the mess we made. No wonder we feel quite overwhelmed by the task of opening our (and other people’s) eyes, licking and healing our wounds and cleaning up.
And yet – we, or at least the lucky ones among us, see the overwhelming beauty of our world too; the abundance of magic[6], of love, of life; the endless possibilities. This makes it more than worthwhile….
Where to begin to make this world a better place?
QUALITIES NEEDED?
Growing, maturation and eventually enlightenment in its various degrees is in this time and age much more than surviving or adapting to the environment. With most of our other, more basic needs covered, growth seems to be more and more about becoming aware and (re-)gaining consciousness.
Maslow has a point: we seem to have outgrown the stage of deficiency motivation (Ego) and are maturing towards growth motivation (transpersonal) and being-cognition.[7]
It is a good idea to study people who seem advanced (in Maslow’s terms self-actualized) and look for clues as to what “it takes” to grow towards maturation. What are the qualities these people have in common?
What happens when a person has a peak -, flow - or enlightenment experience?
What are the common factors in these human experiences – what can we learn about the direction of growth from them?
Some “mature” qualities of perception prominently present in WTA ‘s higher degrees of “enlightenment” show up in Maslow’s “growth motivation”-theory as well. I encountered these qualities[8] also in previous explorations (f.i. TS507-V) of ways of looking at (and being in) reality that transpersonal psychology, quantum physics and the feminine self-in-relation perspective share.
It is
interesting to look at some of these “new” qualities here, since I believe they
could show us the way to a maturation that would benefit the world as we know
it:
The
openness to look beyond existing constructs/theories,
realizing
that they are just the “what-we-made-of-it” aspect of reality and in that sense
subjective, situation/context-dependent and relative.
This
quality is characterized by the willingness to let go of the known and shift
the attention to what goes on beyond it. It contains the ability to realize we
can actually get glimpses of the flow by watching the individual waves; to
envision the parts of the iceberg beneath the water and perceive of its
interconnection with, and origin in the sea.
Transpersonal
psychology for instance, looks beyond our five sensed personal psyche, and comes
up with (a model of) a dimension that could explain many phenomena that could
not be explained in any scientific way.
This
perspective takes the meta position;
it listens to an inner knowing that intuits a transpersonal dimension
underlying our psychological reality.
This is
the quality to quest for truth by opening up to realities beyond the boundaries
and limitations that traditional theories posed.
On a
day-to-day practical level we should for example become aware of the failing of
our systems. For instance: democracy seems such a truth, and yet… when we look
at the last (few) elections in
Or freedom
of speech? Great human principle, but last week a Dutch journalist was murdered
in
The
flexibility to see reality and our knowledge of it as an ongoing, fluid process.
The
realization that we and our knowing are continuously developing, growing and
evolving. A willingness to live in a universe not fully explained – perhaps not
even explainable.
Our
relationship with reality (and thus our coming to knowledge about it) is an
ongoing process in which observer and observed are both part of the same field
and consequently inescapably interconnected and interrelated.
On a
personal level this could mean a conscious awareness of the what we make of it component of our knowledge and an willingness
to change ours views.
On a much
larger scale, we could re-consider and
re-define traditional language and terminology in all fields with a willingness
to evolve it by continuously tasting and weighting it against what is
experienced.
We are so
caught up in our words, concepts and systems that to realize they are “just”
our (fixed-in-time-and-place) representations[9]
of an ever-changing reality that is not graspable in words, concepts or systems
is mind-boggling.
We have
learned to connect to the world with words. Concepts give us our place in it.
Now we seem trapped by our own tools, almost unable to see beyond their grasp.
And yet,
letting go of our need to know (in an absolute sense) seems a logical,
necessary step: the realization that we have outgrown this stage of evolution
and need to proceed to a level where we connect with a different set of tools –
without the need to fix or grasp reality with words/concepts etc..
When I
think of new tools come up with:
- awareness,
- the present , the here and now
- a
language based on human relatedness (self-in relation theory –
that evolves with us and our reality
-
myths/dreams/symbols as archetypal means of communication
-
visionary and inspirational creativity
The
perspective that our knowledge actively interferes with our world
and its subjects and objects. Knowledge itself can be viewed as a living thing with the ability
to actively pursue goals of its own.
This seems
a paradox: this new way of looking forces us to actively participate and adapt
to the evolving knowledge, yet asks also for our willingness to let go of our
“ control”
over reality and surrender to its process.
WTA talks
about how an enlightenment experience fundamentally transforms the perspective
of a person and restructures cognition.
We wake up
and realize we were both dreamer and dream.
With this
quality we are willing to accept that we do not know, probably can never know,
and certainly can not absolutely know
everything there is to know.
This seems
like a small step, but it is not. Maybe it is this sense of humility and
reference, a more or less conscious surrender to a larger order of things that
makes a real shift in perspective
possible. In accepting that man, separate as individual and seemingly
autonomous as species, is actually “just” part of a much larger whole, calls
for a major shift in consciousness.
The
interrelatedness and interconnectedness of everything is realized in
consciousness and with it come qualities as commitment, communion and
compassion.
Compassion
as a tool of perception.
The heartfelt willingness/urge to take responsibility for ourselves, the world
and for all the creatures in it. The commitment to life and nature that stems
from the realization that all is one.
In this
perception the heart – compassion – is considered a valuable source of knowing.
There is a willingness to listen to emotions and feelings and a growing trust
in and respect for the information given.
Inner
knowing and creative thinking are accepted as valuable input; intuition and
synchronicity too. Visions and dreams are taken as serious as empirical data.
Transpersonal
psychology for instance uses archetypal symbolism and the “language” of myth to
interpret what our unconscious is telling/asking us. Bioenergetics and
meditation have become accepted tools to further the dialogue between the
personal and transpersonal worlds we seem to inhabit.
Compassion
is a perspective. To look at the world and see it as part of self, and self as
part of it, is transforming; cognition restructures and our perspective,
consciousness widens.
These
“new” qualities of perception are in my view the most important aspects of the
new perspective, the “next enlightenment”, WTA is writing about.
The
willingness to perceive what is in a different way, from an altogether
different point of view.
Where we
were looking and defining our reality from a more or less static, passive
scientific model, this new perspective invites us to open up to a interactive,
adaptive new knowledge.
Instead of
looking as outsiders or separate observers at a world of space, time and
matter, we are challenged to look at it from within, as participants in a
ongoing process of creation.
Instead of
taking pictures we are learning to direct real-time movies,
instead of
getting our information from a personal library we are exploring the internet.
Only when
we are willing to see reality from these new, fluid perspectives our man-made
constructs will loosen their grip. Then we will be able to transform our
worldview and with it our world into a better place.
[1] how would it be to consider that “maturation”, even growth itself, could be a human drive, not in the least essential to survival or for instance happiness?
[2] in his subjective view
[3]Or is this just because with it I separated myself from the whole of being, naively resisting full response ability?
[4] I wrote an article on the subject: The Awareness of Inspiration – see www.hypnogestalt.com
[5] I would suggest awareness to be the first step – understanding is again pointing in the direction of concepts, which are exactly what we want to avoid in this effort
[6] no wonder “magic” is in the air (in books, media – from witchcraft and shamanism to Harry Potter and Jonathan Strange…)
[7] Abraham H Maslow, Toward a Psychology of Being, 1968
[8] I called these qualities “qualities of knowing and relating to reality” then, but now I think the term “qualities of perception” (even consciousness) describes much better what I mean
[9] determined and colored by all kinds of historic, cultural, religious etc. etc. influences…