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Introduction to the Revised Edition

IT has been nearly a decade since I first began the research for this book, originally published as Our Origin and Destiny, an Evolutionary Perspective on the New Millennium. In the intervening ten years, there have been a great many changes in our world on many fronts. Our worldview has certainly changed, in geopolitical, economic, and social terms. Equally important, although less recognized, is how our perception of ourselves, as the human species, is changing. A new self-view of humanity is emerging, a view that embraces three primary ideas:

1) We are threefold beings, possessing a physical body, a mental faculty called mind, and a spiritual aspect, known as the soul.

2) We are multisensory beings who possess more than five physical senses; as a species we are beginning to manifest sensory abilities that connect the mental world of thought with the spiritual world of energy.

3) We are creative beings who can consciously direct our creative abilities in the physical, mental, and spiritual realms; we create our future.

These three concepts were the focus of my original work, as I sought to examine humanity’s origins, so we might better understand the potential of what we can become in the future. In looking at our past, I examined the how and why of our creation, our purpose for existence, and the true nature of our being. In looking to our future, I focused on three areas of change: a change in the sensory perception of the human species, a change in human cognition or consciousness, and geophysical changes on a global level. The first two represent developments within microcosmic (species) evolution while the latter is evolution on the macrocosmic (global) level. The main premise of the book is that humankind is standing at the threshold of a quantum leap in our evolution, a transformation in terms of physical, cognitive, and spiritual development, as well as geophysical change on a global level. I also took an evolutionary perspective by proposing that these changes are the result of millions of years of preparation and development on the physical, mental, and spiritual levels of our being.

In conducting my research, I drew upon both scientific studies and religious teachings. I then tried to find a common ground of understanding between the two by applying the interpretive lens of metaphysics to scientific findings and cross-cultural religious material. A metaphysical approach considers an issue from a factual perspective and then evaluates it in terms of symbolic meaning, mental states of consciousness, and spiritual awareness. A metaphysical approach, therefore, provides a holistic framework through which we can study the spiritual, mental, and physical aspects of any issue.

While this approach was considered somewhat unorthodox ten years ago, the methodology is very similar to that used by a number of scholars and authors whose writings fall under the broad umbrella of what can be called “evolution of consciousness” studies. Major works in evolution of consciousness theory include the Spiral Dynamics of Don E. Beck and Christopher C. Cowan, who based their work on Dr. Clare W. Graves’s Value Systems theory of levels of human existence, the calibration of consciousness theories of psychiatrist David R. Hawkins (Power versus Force), and the Integral Psychology of Ken Wilber. Related studies include the multisensory perception theories of Gary Zukav, James Redfield’s insights from The Celestine Prophecy, the unified field theories of Rupert Sheldrake, and the paradigm shifts of Steven Covey, Thomas Kuhn, and Joe Barker.

These studies, which have gained a popular following in recent years, take an integrative approach and apply a biological-psychological-spiritual framework to the study of human development. They also adopt an evolutionary perspective, demonstrating that changes in human thought and culture are the result of adaptation to environmental conditions. As such, they provide a holistic map of who we are, where we have been, and where we are headed. They demonstrate our evolutionary potential for positive change through new models of individual and collective transformation.

All propose a new self-view of humanity, a view that acknowledges the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of our being, recognizes the development of new cognitive and sensory abilities that allow us to perceive phenomena beyond the five physical senses, and advocates the belief that we can harness and direct our creative abilities to bring about a positive transformation of the human species. Together these have a global impact on the development of human thought and culture.

I believe that this new self-view will prove to be one of the most important paradigm shifts human thought has ever experienced. It not only enables us to recognize the true scope of our creative potential, but it also empowers us to work to bring about positive change in our lives. It further demonstrates the interconnectedness of all existence at the spiritual or energetic level and shows us how each individual can affect the whole of humanity by his or her thoughts and actions.

The Mosaic of Human Experience

I acknowledge there are those who will be uncomfortable with the approach taken in this book. Hard-core scientists will reject it outright as being subjective speculation based on unverifiable myth, legend, and psychic nonsense. I would remind them that “one generation’s miracle may be another’s scientific fact.”¹ Orthodox religious purists will reject it as being contrary to the word of God as recorded in scripture. I ask them not to denounce something they have not taken the time to understand. Science is not the tool of the devil; it is the product of human reason seeking to understand the world around us.

I believe a synthesized approach to the study of humankind is necessary, for each body of knowledge—religion, science, and metaphysics—addresses certain aspects of our being. Any one by itself does not encompass the whole of who we are, how we came to be, why we are here, and where we are going. Yet take the pieces of each and blend them together, and you have a magnificent mosaic which encompasses all aspects of the human experience.

“I see science and mysticism as two complementary manifestations of the human mind, of its rational and intuitive faculties. The two approaches are entirely different … However, they are ‘complimentary,’ as we have learned to say in physics. Both of them are necessary, supplementing one another for a fuller understanding of the world.”2

As this quotation of physicist Fritjof Capra demonstrates, the time is ripe for acceptance of a methodology that considers religion, science, and spiritual principle. Medical science is the first area to demonstrate the effects of this quiet revolution, which began with discoveries in quantum physics that showed support for ancient metaphysical principles concerning the unified nature of the universe. Evolution of consciousness studies are continuing this integrative, holistic approach.

The greatest minds known throughout history, whom I call the “Great Teachers,” recognized the physical, mental, and spiritual dimensions of human existence. The Greek philosophers Socrates and Plato, Pythagoras, the Stoics Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, the religious innovators such as Lao-Tzu, Buddha, Jesus, St. Thomas Aquinas, the mystics of Christian and Islamic traditions, and the modern-day scientists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Schweitzer, and Albert Einstein, all knew that the human experience was much greater than that taught by religious tradition or observed through scientific measure. They did not allow themselves to be limited by the narrowly defined beliefs of their day but sought to rise above their contemporaries, understanding that there were times when religion and science could join hands and learn from one another. As we examine our past and look to our future, I believe we must learn to put aside restrictive, outmoded ways of thinking and embrace the totality of human experience. It’s time to join with the Great Teachers who tried to show us that we are more than we appear to be.

A Time of Transformation

There are many sources, both ancient and modern, which agree that humanity is standing on the brink of a most important time in its history, a time of significant change and transformation. According to the Mayan calendar, the year 2012 C.E. marks the end of our present age of the Fifth Sun, followed by a shift or movement that will create a new world order. One need only point to the establishment of Israel as an independent nation to realize that this is but one of the many biblical prophecies that was to precede the “end of the world,” and it has come true in this generation. Further, according to the Hopi prophecies, many events that signal the end of this, the Fourth World, and the subsequent Purification Day, have occurred in the last one hundred years. The Hopi belief in their prophecies is so fervent, that they sent delegations to the United Nations in 1948, 1973, and 1992, seeking to share this knowledge with other nations.

In addition to these ancient prophecies, more modern prophecies, such as the quatrains of Nostradamus, the Edgar Cayce psychic readings, and the Marian revelations, to name only a few, all indicate that this time in history will be marked by world change and transformation. Modern interpretations of the Great Pyramid of Gizeh have proposed the idea that it was built as a “chronogram,” whose timeline indicates that the current “age” of humanity will come to a close by the year 2033 C.E. when a new era begins. In terms of astrological cycles, which are determined by the constellation in which the sun rises on the vernal (spring) equinox, our sun is moving out of the constellation of Pisces, which it entered 2,000 years ago, and into the constellation of Aquarius, signaling a shift in the paradigms of human thought.

I do not believe that the changes we will experience will be instantaneous or magical, for these changes are actually the culmination of thousands, if not millions, of years of natural and orderly development on this planet. As a part of God’s divine order and plan, they are a result of the natural evolutionary process we experience on the physical, mental, and spiritual levels. The changes we will encounter should not be feared, but viewed as stepping stones, albeit major ones, on the path back to oneness with our spiritual source.

The Changes Ahead

I believe that the changes we will encounter fall under the purview of three separate yet interrelated areas:

1) a change in the sensory perception of the human species (microcosmic evolution),

2) a change in human cognition or consciousness (microcosmic evolution), and

3) social, political, and geophysical earth changes on a global level (macrocosmic evolution).

As regards the change in our sensory perception, I believe that the human species is changing from a five-sensory species to a multisensory species, an idea proposed by Gary Zukav in the late 1980s.³ In addition to our senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste, humans have developed a sixth sense—our sense of imagination. We are now experiencing a seventh sense, which I call intuition. While our first five senses are capable of interpreting stimuli received from the physical world of matter, imagination is a mental sense that allows us to perceive thoughts and ideas and is responsible for our ability to symbolize. Intuition is a spiritual sensory ability that allows us to “know” beyond the world of physical matter and perceive the world of energy (spirit). Development of this newest sensory ability has been in progress for generations but so gradually that we have not been aware of it until recently.

All that we know of human development shows that it has been a slow and gradual process. Evolutionary changes within a species or population are subtle and undetectable at first, and only through retrospection can we point to structural and morphological changes within a population and proclaim that certain specimens belong to one species or another. The fossil record of well-documented species clearly demonstrates that you don’t have a population belonging to one species one day and a totally new species the next. In fact, the record indicates that, in some cases, there may be a “transitory period,” when a population contains individuals that either are difficult to assign to one species or the other, or may possess traits characteristic of two distinct species.⁴

It is no different with intuition, for the development of our seventh sense has been ongoing for generations. Many of the Great Teachers possessed these capabilities. It is quite possible that the experiences of so-called seers, mystics, and shaman who heard voices or saw visions were the first-documented cases of this new sensory ability. Their ability to perceive input from nonphysical stimuli was simply not understood in their day. The recent rise in the number of psychic or intuitive experiences being reported by people today could very well be evidence that increasing numbers of humans are now manifesting this new sensory ability which will one day be accepted as a natural part of human experience.

While the change in sensory perception is a physical adaptation, the evolutionary process is not limited to biological change alone; mental processes also evolve over time. Human cognition, or the way we perceive and analyze the world around us, is such a mental process. Human cognition is intricately linked to what is commonly referred to as human consciousness, which includes those universal beliefs, values, and attitudes that the human species, as a whole, holds to be true. As human cognition changes, so does human consciousness. It is the changes in this area that have had the most profound effects upon society and culture. We need only consider the development of symbolic thought to realize that the impact of such change is often immeasurable.

I believe that the development of new sensory perception will result in a change in human consciousness, as we move beyond the limited paradigms of “divergence” which have kept us separate from one another and embrace the paradigm of “oneness” or “unity,” which sees beyond surface differences and acknowledges our true identity as spiritual beings. This shift will have an impact on human consciousness as great as those that followed the discovery of fire, the development of language, and the emergence of culture.

You need only review history to realize that humanity has been making steady, forward progress in this respect. For thousands of years, power belonged to the strong, wealth was reserved for the few, slavery or serfdom was commonplace, human rights were nonexistent, and life for the “commoner” held little hope or promise. Yet gradually, we made a little progress here and there. Brutal laws that once exacted physical punishment or death for minor crimes were gradually replaced by a more equitable “tooth for a tooth” mentality. These laws were eventually replaced with codified laws specifying more humane punishments for crimes committed. In many countries today, the law has evolved into a system of justice which guarantees the accused certain rights with respect to arrest, trial, and conviction. Power no longer belongs only to the strong. While it is true that in some countries we still see a disparity between rich and poor, overall the standard of living for the “common man” has shown steady improvement over time. In many countries, slavery has been abolished, and certain human rights are not only acknowledged but also guaranteed and protected by law.

If you still doubt that human consciousness is changing, consider the ending of apartheid in South Africa or the fall of the U.S.S.R. and the Soviet bloc countries. As a young child, I remember hearing about the building of the Berlin Wall, a wall designed to keep people in and freedom out. I prefer to think of myself as an optimist, yet I never believed that I would see that wall come down in my lifetime. The very thought was almost inconceivable. Yet the wall did come down! But it didn’t come down through military might. It came down, literally brick by brick, through the will of the people, who would no longer accept the beliefs of the old world order. Who of us, in this generation, ever believed that this would happen in our lifetime?

I acknowledge that, despite great progress, there are still areas of the world that are held in the grip of old divergent paradigms that bring about war and destruction. The terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, are certainly evidence of this. But I believe that those who still hold those views are now in the minority and will continue to diminish in number as more and more people begin to perceive the world through the paradigm of unity. The scientific principle of critical mass states that it doesn’t require a one-hundred-percent shift in force to change the tilt of a fulcrum. I believe that we are rapidly approaching that critical mass. As we reach it, we will experience the “hundredth monkey” effect. This means that when the fulcrum tips toward the paradigm of unity consciousness, all of humanity will be drawn with it and propelled at an even faster rate toward a new perception of the world.

As our species experiences biological and cognitive change, I believe that we may also experience geophysical or earth changes as well, because the global world without reflects the physical and cognitive changes humankind is experiencing within. This idea is expressed in the concept “as above, so below,” or “as within, so without,” a metaphysical axiom dating back thousands of years. It has been echoed in many cultures, traditions, and religions. Even the “Lord’s Prayer,” taught by Jesus of Nazareth, reflects this thought in the words “on earth as it is in heaven.” Two thousand years later, medical science acknowledges the truth of this statement as it confirms the link between mental attitude and emotions and the state of one’s physical health. Negative attitudes and emotions (within), such as fear, anger, jealousy, resentment, and hate can be manifested in the body as “dis-ease” (without). Carrying this idea a step further, we see that as humanity changes, so will the physical planet.

The earth changes we may face, however, are more than reflections of ourselves. They are the consequence of our choices and actions in times past. On the whole, we have badly mistreated Mother Earth, and it may be time to reap the seeds we have sown. For this reason, some of the changes may be inevitable, for their cause was set in motion hundreds of years ago. Yet, it is true that many have realized the error of their ways and have tried desperately to correct the damage that was done. Recycling programs, conservation efforts, and legislation designed to protect the environment are some of the steps taken to ensure that humanity’s mistreatment of our planet will not continue. We have learned the lesson. We have changed! Why can’t prophecy be changed also? I believe that it can.

While some earth changes may be inevitable, I believe that the manner in which these changes may manifest can be modified. If it is true that we are constantly creating our world, then it must follow that our future is not set in stone; it is fluid and variable. The shape and form of our future not only depend upon our past choices but also upon those we make in the present moment. Prophecy is based on conditions as they are at the time the prophecy is given, and the prediction made is based on the continuation of those conditions. Change the conditions, and you change the prophecy. I call this principle the “Nineveh Factor.” Love, prayer, and positive thought are the most powerful forces in the world. If we apply them, as many are, we can influence the way these changes will manifest. It’s possible that some predictions may be avoided entirely, while others, which must be met as the effect of prior causes set in motion, will be tempered with mercy and grace.

About This Book

The premise of this book is that humankind is experiencing a major transformation in terms of physical, cognitive, and spiritual development. It takes an evolutionary perspective by proposing that these changes, rather than being sudden or unexpected, are actually the result of millions of years of preparation on the physical, mental, and spiritual levels of our being. The purpose of this book is not only to describe what those changes may be, but to explore the reasons they will occur, so that we can better understand and accept them.

In order to understand the why behind the changes, we must first understand that the past leads to the future. Any event, also called an effect, is based upon a prior cause. Science calls this the “law of causation.” Albert Einstein expressed it thus: “The scientist is possessed by the sense of universal causation. The future, to him, is every whit as necessary and determined as the past.”⁵ Metaphysical sources refer to this as the Universal Law of Cause and Effect, which states that the future is the effect of causes previously set in motion; nothing happens by chance. This concept was repeatedly emphasized in the Cayce readings: “For each entity in the earth is what it is because of what it has been! And each moment is dependent upon another moment.” (2823-3)

Both science and metaphysics thus agree that, to understand the future, we must first understand the past. In addition to examining the past, we must also consider the present, for the future is also affected by choices and actions made in the present moment. Once we, as individuals and as a species, understand this concept, we can perhaps make wiser decisions and choices, knowing that our actions today will shape our tomorrow.

Metaphysical beliefs are based on the premise that all physical phenomena are manifestations of spirit or energy. Energy—be it human thought and idea, the physical forces of nature, or Divine Will—is the cause, while the physical condition is the effect. Metaphysics thus acknowledges the physical laws that govern the universe but seeks to find the spiritual meaning behind those laws, or the reasons for which they were brought into existence by the universal Creative Force. The philosophy of metaphysics extends back thousands of years, transcending time, religion, and culture, and is evident within many Eastern religions, the writings of Western philosophers, and even within the Judeo-Christian tradition.

The material presented in this book is thus a synthesis of traditional religious belief, scientific findings, and metaphysical principle. Religious material was drawn from a cross-cultural sample of religious doctrine, including Judeo-Christian biblical scriptures, ancient Mayan texts, sacred Hopi teachings, and the Polynesian philosophy of huna. Scientific material includes the cosmology of the creation of the universe, the latest discoveries in paleoanthropology and human prehistory, recorded history, ethnographic studies, current theories in cognitive psychology and perceptual studies, linguistics, quantum physics, geophysics and paleogeology, and recent controversial theories regarding the origin of the Egyptian pyramids. This second edition also draws upon the evolution of consciousness studies noted above.

The primary source for metaphysical material comes from what is perhaps the most thoroughly documented and consistently reliable source of metaphysical teachings, namely the Edgar Cayce mystical readings. Other metaphysical sources include A Course in Miracles,⁶ Sanskrit teachings, shamanic studies, and the prophecies of Nostradamus, a fourteenth-century seer. Given their use as the primary source of metaphysical information, a brief description of the Cayce readings is provided in Appendix A. Those desiring additional information are directed to the web site of the Association for Research and Enlightenment: www.edgarcayce.org.

Part One of this book, “Microcosmic Evolution,” focuses on evolutionary changes occurring within the human species. It begins by taking a look at humanity’s origins, both spiritual and physical. We discuss the spiritual creation of the soul, the physical creation of the human body, and the development of human consciousness. We then review changes in human biological evolution, i.e., the emergence of the multisensory human, and examine how these changes are impacting the evolution of human consciousness. Part Two, “Macrocosmic Evolution,” takes the big-picture view, as we look at social, political, and geophysical changes that may soon impact human culture. Included here is a cross-cultural look at various prophecies, a discussion of the nature of prophecy, and the presentation of a timeline for anticipated change.

Making a Choice

No man, woman, or child is on this planet by accident. Each soul present has chosen to incarnate on the earth plane at this particular time. Some have returned in this generation for it offers them a second chance to right old wrongs. Others have come to learn one of the many lessons this time will offer, while others have come to serve as teachers. Still others have chosen to be here simply out of love for their brethren; their role is to aid and comfort those who have forgotten why they are here. We must remember that each one of us made the choice to be here at this most momentous time in human history.

Yet, even as we stand at a critical turning point in human history, there is still one choice yet to make. We can either honor the purpose for which we entered the earth or forget that purpose, as we become entangled in the fears and doubts that all too often distract us from our chosen path. We must face the changes ahead with a sense of wonder and anticipation, knowing that we are about to take a great step forward in our journey home to God.

As I consider what lies ahead, I am reminded of a proverb of unknown origin, which goes something like this:

Two men stood on a hillside, each looking at the same night sky.

One man sighed, filled with despair, for he saw only darkness.

The other man, smiled, overwhelmed by great joy, for he saw only stars.

Which would you rather see, darkness or stars? The choice is yours to make.