Choice Point

Choice Point Healing our Hearts Saving our Earth

For The Sake Of Our Earth Imperiled A Hard Reign Soon Will Fall

A.W. Antony

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Copyright Š 2012, A.W. Antony

Contents

Introduction The Mystery and the Mirror Truth Impermanence Three Part Harmony The Pervasiveness of Spirit The Cross The Light of God The Continuum of Creation Radiant Beings Love and Beauty The False Free Will Co-creators with God The Visitor A Radical Idea A Fruit Called Doubt The Anti-Christ Principle The Circle and the Serpent The Fall of Man The Tree of Knowledge Journey No Punishment/No Abandonment The Loss of the Universal Consciousness Damnation The Disruption of Awareness The Ascendance of the Ordinary Cosmology The Unknowable Dark Matter Dark Energy Ordinary Reality

7 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

The Experience of Isolation Distance, Space, and Time Disruption of Awareness Creative Self-Manifestation Spiritual Evolution Thirst Adaptation Attachment Altered Evolution Thoughts and Feelings Psychological State Evolution Rites of Passage Identification The Unnatural State of Normalcy The Experiential Self Cogito Ergo Sum No Integrity Psychological Disharmony Perceptual Filter Devils and Demons The Unconscious The Changing Self Dreaming A Separate Reality Self-concern From Love to Lack Control Personal Power Dependency Birth, Aging, Disease, and Death Inequality Competition Poverty Violence Innocence Lost Worshiping Images

49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86

The Romantic Ideal Addiction Sacred Urge Religion The Chosen of God Division Into Isolation Into Separation Into Despair Oblivion Love Alone Futility Divine Law The Faith of God The Perfection of the Divine Design We Are the Other Choice Point The End Times A New Beginning A Return to Innocence Chaos The Ancient Way/The New Way The Way of the Cross Choice No Condemnation The Truth Forgotten The False Legacy Turning Inward Faith Out of the Maze Resting in God Redemption Holy War The Practice of Resting in God Alternatives Down the Stream of Consciousness

87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122

Wandering Paradox No Urgency Expanding Awareness The Dark Night Into the Darkness Special Experiences Grief Self Care Grace Code of Conduct Householders Oligarchy/Plutocracy Fear Mongering Guarding the Senses Be Cautious Ups and Downs Carry On Seeing the Way Clear True Service Humble Satisfaction Silence From Selfish to Selfless The End of Things and Beyond The Harvest of a Single Seed

123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148

Introduction “We have Paleolithic emotions, Stone Age emotions – we’ve inherited those nice and pure. We have medieval institutions. And we have godlike technology. Put those three together and you have a very dangerous mix. So, somehow I think we ought to develop a new kind of selfunderstanding, self-reflection, and self-imaging. Then we might be able to actually get somewhere together.”

E. O. Wilson, OnEarth, Winter 2011

A massive species extinction is underway across the globe at the present time – as has happened before.

Scientists estimate that there have been five previous periods of accelerated species loss and, by way of example, around 65 million years ago an extinction of perhaps fifty percent of all species took place, which included the passing of the age of the dinosaurs. The present extinction event is different from all the rest, however, being the result of human activity (most fundamentally the unintended influence of technological advance), whereas all the previous ones resulted from natural cataclysmic events such as volcanoes, asteroid strikes, etc. A recent UN report (Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3)), released in May of 2010, warned that the world’s ecosystems are currently in danger of “rapid depredation and collapse" and that if present trends continue, the ecosystem may be impacted to such an extent that life as we know it may [7]

no longer be viable. In a similar vein, ten highly respected scientists, including Paul Ehrlich and E. O. Wilson, wrote a letter to the U.S. Senate a few years back stating that, “The future of humanity is inextricably tied to the fate of the natural world. In perpetuating this, the Earth's sixth mass extinction, we may ultimately compromise our own ability to survive."

Based on such accounts it seems that we may be at an unprecedented point in our evolutionary history, for never before, since humans have walked the Earth, has the rate of species creation been surpassed by the rate of species extinction. One cannot help but wonder how extensive the current die-off will be? How long will it last? Will the human species survive? And perhaps most importantly, what can be done about it?

From the perspective offered herein there is no simple technological fix available. Indeed, the premise of this book is that no less than a revolution of consciousness may be necessary, and soon, if we are to avoid unimaginable catastrophe. This is not to suggest that a focus on consciousness change is either a new proposition or a standalone singular solution to the challenge of sustainability. Indeed, many individuals, including those who call themselves deep ecologists and eco-psychologists, have been asking for such for some time now as a part of a multifaceted approach to the challenge of sustainability. What makes this book different is that I use a western-oriented cultural/religious context (complemented with Buddhist concepts) as the foundation for providing: [8]

1. A new perspective on how it is that we have come to a place where such a transition has become necessary, 2. A detailed description of the kind of consciousness change that is required 3. A clearly delineated path to the same.

To provide some sense of where I am heading here, let me begin by stating that I believe everything and everyone arises from, and are a part of, a single Source.

Most theologies acknowledge a Creator as the basis of all that is; however that which is in manifestation (commonly, the Creation) is often considered to be something separate and essentially different from the Creator. There are notable exceptions, but this is certainly the predominant view of the major contemporary theistic-based religions across the globe.

I also believe that the notion of the Creation being something essentially different from the Creator has not always been widely accepted and, in the pages to follow, I suggest that the idea of being absolutely “separate”, from each other and also from the Creator was actually nonexistent on the Earth prior to the initiation of the era that began with what is commonly referred to as the “Fall”. I also assert that this epoch in human history actually came into existence as a result of the embracing of this, then foreign, idea by humans and that, as a result, most of humanity experienced a deterioration of consciousness which, among other things, included the experience of profound limitation, vulnerability, and fear for the first time.

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Since this fateful event, humanity has been living with this relatively diminished state of consciousness.

Of late, however, something has changed: the consciousness of “separation”, which has been the basis of most of that which humans have wrought over the Earth for so very long, is no longer compatible with the current level of technological advance. Indeed, the combination of the two has created an unsustainable kind of synergy where the dis-ease of human consciousness is actually manifesting as a very real disease – a disease of the ecosystem – that threatens all life as we know it.

To elaborate: while continuing to operate at a level of consciousness that is more or less the same as that which became manifest with the Fall, we have over the past one hundred years or so evolved technological capabilities of incredible scope and magnitude. This became problematic for a number of reasons including the fact that profit-based commercial interests drive development across the globe for the most part. Why is this a problem? Because those who manage decisions about research, development, and marketing often do so with a rather myopic or shortsighted perspective (a feardriven perspective that often puts the “bottom line” before the needs of the people or the general welfare of the Earth) and, in an effort to get the “competitive edge” and maintain market share, often exercise inadequate restraint. In addition, because governmental entities often function under the indirect (political) control of [10]

the same commercial interests, governmental oversight or regulation is often lacking.

The BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the Japanese nuclear reactor meltdown that both took place in 2011 come immediately to mind by way of example and, on a more global level, perhaps the most dire (indirect) effect of this lack of foresight with respect to the development and application of new technologies is the ongoing global population explosion, which is being sustained by a massive conversion of natural lands to commerciallybased applications (with a massive loss of species), ever-increasing utilization of petroleum-based products (fuels, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, etc.), and the unsustainable utilization of natural food resources as in the over fishing of the oceans. In spite of our best efforts to keep up with the growing population of the Earth, however, starvation and disease are rampant throughout the world and the conversion of natural lands and the utilization of petroleum based products is causing the now familiar, if not completely understood, greenhouse gas effect that is associated with climate change.

Another expression of the inadequacy of the political/commercial paradigm to effectively manage global development is the fact that there are literally thousands of chemicals being used commercially across the globe that have never been evaluated for health or environmental impact! In the United States alone, approximately 80,000 chemicals are currently in use with relatively few (perhaps 2% according to a report released by the President’s Cancer Panel on May 5, 2010) having [11]

been evaluated due to woefully lacking regulations. The net result is that the Earth is being systematically poisoned and, to demonstrate, a preliminary report released on June 20, 2011, by the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), warned that ocean life is "at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history”. The report goes on to state that the deleterious synergistic effects of over fishing, pollution, and climate change are advancing the deterioration of the ocean ecosystem at a pace that is much more rapid than that which was previously thought. This situation is quite dire for all life on the Earth for, were the ocean’s ecosystem to collapse completely, perhaps half or more of the Earth’s supply of oxygen would be no more; many appreciate that trees (and land-based green plants in general) function like one of the Earth’s lungs – converting carbon dioxide into oxygen – but it is generally not understood that the ocean is the other lung.

Turning to a very different manifestation of the current incompatibility of human consciousness and the level of technological advance, humanity came alarmingly close to self-destruction some years ago related to what is often referred to as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Having occurred around fifty years ago, this event is only historical to many who live today but its relevance has never been greater. When the crisis occurred, nuclear armaments were basically under the control of two countries whereas today nine (and [12]

perhaps more) separate countries have some form of nuclear weaponry and terrorist groups are actively seeking the same. And so I ask: can we afford to live in a world where weapons of such enormous destructive power are even considered as a viable approach to conflict resolution, let alone be available for use as is presently the case?

I think not and, as such, believe that we may no longer risk the perpetuation of the status quo, the ongoing management of our world based on the prevailing political/commercial paradigm, because the implications of misdirection have now become potentially catastrophic on a global level – due to the incredible power and sweep of technological advance we can no longer count on always having an opportunity to “learn from our mistakes”. I assert, therefore, that the time for radical change is at hand – for a transition to a new kind of consciousness where we would no longer regard ourselves as stewards of the Earth but, instead, as one with the Earth and all that dwell upon it.

In this regard, imagine that the limitations of space and time are surmountable – that we are actually capable of emerging from these boundary constraints to thus acquire, or re-acquire in my opinion, the ability of communing with the totality of the All that we are, in fact, a part of – the expanse of the universal reality and beyond.

I believe that we were once, at least potentially, capable of such but lost touch with this capacity long ago and in these pages I suggest that there is a way for us [13]

to “remember” this latent potential. Not merely intellectually, however, but rather more viscerally, such that having done so we might not only penetrate the barriers of space/time and be able to access the wisdom/perspective of a universal reality far beyond our ability to imagine, but also never again experience vulnerability, isolation, fear, or a sense of lack! What I am talking about is a return to the Garden. I want to be clear, however, that I am not suggesting that we must go backwards, in order to move forward, but simply that we must “open our eyes” if we are to effectively vision, in a timely manner, efficacious solutions to the global challenge we now face. The Garden is, from this perspective then, first of all a state of mind – a new paradigm out of which a new world may also evolve. In short, I believe that a more sustainable world is ours for the choosing and that for this to transpire we need to simply rediscover what it means to be truly human!

Before going further, I want to make it clear that this is not a scholarly work; I will not be “proving” anything in these pages. Rather, what I am offering herein is, in part, akin to a tale (I would suggest based on a true story) about why things are the way they are – in brief, a reworked and more hopeful perspective on the ancient and mostly obscure topic of the “Fall”, including a description of some of the myriad and profound influences that the internalization of the idea of “separation” has had on both the evolution of human consciousness and culture over time.

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Following this, I move into the realm of possibility, exploring the prospect of a different way of living founded upon the preceding reformulation of the “Fall” story. A way of life based in an alternate mode of being where we would be capable of experiencing a broader, grander, and more unified sense of reality along with a shared awareness of what actually serves the greater good. Put differently, I believe that if we were to consciously awakened to the truth of our essential unity with all that is, we would be innately capable of “intuiting” or “sensing” whether a particular endeavor is consistent with the health of the collective “being” and, as such, be able to utilize this reclaimed natural sensibility to ensure that harmony is inherent to all of our creative endeavors.

I close the book with a detailed description of a path leading ultimately to the manifestation of this more natural, discerning, and inclusive kind of consciousness – a path that might be described as being based upon a kind of faith rekindled. Not of a kind that is about belief, supplication, or public pronouncement, but rather more about the embrace of a different way of relating to life on a moment-to-moment basis. Essentially, a path that is capable of removing the barriers that have so grossly limited the potential sweep of human consciousness for so very long and of allowing each of us to discover our unique potential and to participate in the collective creation of a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world.

Introductions now complete, I would like to extend to you an invitation to journey with me – back to the [15]

Garden. In preparation for the journey, I suggest leaving all preconceived notions behind. A caveat: you may perhaps find yourself traveling in unfamiliar and sometimes difficult terrain at times but know that, in the end, a thorough reading will surely lead you back to your beginning.

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