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