Religion
PROBLEMA the Film
Who are we in the 21st Century?
A cinematic interpretation of the world’s largest round table gathering, PROBLEMA is a visually imaginative, thought-provoking invitation to a world of global dilemmas. Spanning seventeen questions confronting who we are and where we’re going, the film follows the insights, perceptions, reflections and views of over 100 people from more than 50 nations sat together in one circle.
A not-for-profit production, PROBLEMA is freely available to watch and to download via their website. If you’d like to support the film, we encourage you to host a screening, to sign our guestbook or to consider making a micro-donation to help further its human connection.
My Uncle Kamal Boullata was one of the guests invited to speak.
Through the Wormhole
We have 5 senses: touch, taste, sight, smell and hearing. But are there more? The idea of a 6th sense has been touched on by popular culture, serious magazines and now mainstream TV on Discovery channel hosted by my favorite voice over guy (well, besides me) Morgan Freeman.
I see this as even more evidence that we are getting closer to what I call The Nous Age. Click below to watch:
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
IONS: The Institute of Noetic Sciences
I’ve been a fan of Dan Brown’s writing for many years. As someone who grew up on a healthy diet of movies and popcorn, I found his aggressively “cinematic” writing style attractive.
Ironically, in the summer of 2009 when I heard about his (then) forthcoming book, The Lost Symbol, I was on a family vacation to Washington D.C. If you’re familiar with the book you know that it takes place entirely in the U.S. capital. I can honestly say that I don’t think I had ever anticipated a book as much.
When it finally arrived in the familiar brown Amazon box I ripped it open and started in on it on the spot. I think I got through the 1.8 lb (hardcover version) in about a week and a half…was entertained, informed about some very interesting things but most importantly…I discovered the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
What is IONS
A quick Google search brought me to the IONS website and it instantly opened a door to a plethora of information. Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t my first exporsure to the information, I had been reading and talking to my friends about the subject for years, but here was an organization who’s entire raison d’être is the study of consciousness…it’s scientific and spiritual implications!
Fast forward to this past week where I found myself sitting comfortably on an airplane, soaring at 36,000 ft. to San Francisco to take part in the 14th International IONS conference titled: Noetic 2.0 Tools and Technologies for a World Transforming
The Highlights
I arrived early for the pre-conference institutes. First up Dean Radin with Daryl Bem and Jonathan Schooler to talk about the evidence and implications of precognition. I’ve known about Dr. Radin’s research since What the (bleep), a movie which also introduced me to the quantum activist himself Amit Goswami, who’s book The Self Aware Universe explained what I had been instinctively feeling about the construct of the Universe for 20 years.
The second pre-conference was a one man show, Rupert Sheldrake on his concept of morphic resonance and the extended mind. I wish I could tell you every mind blowing thing he shared with us but 5 days later I’m still struggling to processing it. Needless to say I downloaded his book Morphic Resonance to my Kindle and am only taking a break from reading it to write this post. I’m anxiously looking forward to his book ‘The Science Problem’ which he says will be out this fall. (NOTE TO AMAZON: find a way to have an author sign the Kindle version of their books, thanks) :0)
One of the emotional highlights for me came on opening night when Dr. Edgar Mitchell the 6th man to walk on the moon and incidentally the founder of IONS got up to speak. The bravery to be able to break from the materialistic world view is hard enough…but that gets compounded when you are such a high profile personality.
Conclusion
I have met so many amazing people with whom I was able to discuss some of my own ideas and interpretations of consciousness sciences. Based on the people I met and seeing the work IONS continues to do we are in for an interesting future.
One Negative Experience
The only downside of the conference was the hotel’s elevators…they were too fast. On the first day I boarded an elevator and found myself alone, face-to-face with Dean Radin, 3.5 seconds was hardy enough time strike up any kind of meaningful conversation. I ended up blurting out something about Chett Snow… :0/
Learn more about IONS here
Welcome to The Nous Age
I‘m thrilled you’ve discovered my corner of the world wide web and I hope you decide to jump into the discussions below or at least subscribe in the top right corner. I don’t care if you disagree vehemently or agree with me whole heartedly (or are somewhere in between like most of my readers) I personally invite you to become a part of our discussion.
Why This Website
This website is a sketch pad for my ongoing research, which I plan to publish as a book tentatively titled The Door to The Nous Age. It’s where I am connecting the dots between cutting edge scientific research in quantum physics and psi, and religious traditions from around the world. It’s a place for me to pose theories and hypotheses on this building alignment of science and spirit and what it means to our modern “connected” world. It’s also a place for me to field criticisms and be inspired to move my research into new directions. And along the way, you’ll get a sneak peek into what you can expect from my book.
Full Disclosure
I am neither a scientist nor a theologian and I don’t pretend to be.
What I am is a journalist with an insatiable curiosity and desire for taking things apart to understand why they work and how they work. From a journalistic point of view I am documenting new scientific discoveries and attempting to coorelate them to what religions have been saying for thousands of years. And because I like Indiana Jones so much (who doesn’t), a bit of archeology to help us better understand the world dominant Abrahamic religions and what clues to our past they’ve been hiding in plain site all this time. Is it possible that we are only re-discovering what a civilization that predates known history already knew?
Objectivity
Some would ask what business I have talking about science when I’m not a scientist; or talking about religion when I am likewise not an expert. In two words: objective journalism. I think it’s precisely that I don’t have any so called professional truths to uphold that I am able to explore ideas unencumbered by either religious, scientific or archaeological dogma.
What I Believe
We are in the midst of some kind of paradigm shift, NOT a cataclysmic shift like many doomsday-ers are predicting but simply a change in the way we see ourselves as a society, as a species, as a planet. And this change in perspective that we are moving into is what I call The Nous Age…welcome!
Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith
Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith is the founder and Spiritual Director of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles, author of the award-winning book, Spiritual Liberation, and featured contributor to the book and film, “The Secret.”
The core of his message is that, “Oneness is the foundation piece of every authentic spiritual path. Spiritual practice provides the right conditions for people to wake up to the awareness that we are not separate from each other, from nature, and from God and that we are all intricately connected in a field of unity. This awareness liberates us from the thought forms that create fear and doubt and we see that life is conspiring for our good.”
He was recently interviewed by Connections Radio (Spirit Radio Network) click here to go to the interview with Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith The stream will automatically begin.
I urge you to listen to and understand his message as his is an integral part of “The Nous Age Principal”.
War Is Over, John Lennon’s Christmas Wish for Us
With the Orwelian chant of “War is Peace” alive and well, blaring at us through the news media and the so-called world leadership, we’ve arrived at the 30th anniversary of John Lennon’s assassination and I wonder if his message died with him that day on the cold concrete of 72nd avenue in New York City.
“War Is Over” is not as much an announcement as it is a declaration that war is no longer necessary, that it’s gone out of vogue. However, with major wars in places like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Palestine, and low level conflicts in places like Somalia, India, and Sudan not everybody seems to have received the message. Why?
Cain Is Still Killing Abel
Since the beginning of time itself Man has been engaged in conflict, killing his brother for land and for natural resources. Billions of people have been killed, empires collapsed, cities burnt and destroyed, civilizations lost and land torched and contaminated. Despite that the so-called civilized modern Man of today is still not convinced that wars do not solve conflicts but exacerbate them.
Wars are still being waged, Cain keeps killing Abel, despite the wide spread anti-war movements and many vocal peace activists. How is it possible that the few are controlling the many? And why have we given up on what we know to be true…that War Is Over?
The New World Order
We have evolved as human beings. It’s time for us to recognize that, to see our new selves by expressing our desire for oneness through co-operation on the local level and by electing people to power who believe what we believe…not the business as usual politicians who’s mantra is “War Is Peace”. We control the new world order, not them.
Don’t let them marginalize you for thinking this way either. It’s not pie-in-the-sky. This is our new reality, our new age…our “Nous” Age. It’s here if you want it.
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God Has An Image Problem
From someone who’s entire working life is dedicated to image building in one form or another, as a marketing consultant or broadcaster, I have come to the professional conclusion that God has an image problem.
For a large part of the world God is seen as an old man with a long white beard who’s not only angry but spiteful…he sits on his throne up in heaven somewhere above the clouds and judges us…all of us on an ongoing basis. We accept that as fact and go about our lives cowering accordingly.
For another chunk of the world they just don’t believe in him at all…possibly because they can’t buy into the image…it’s ridiculous!
And I couldn’t agree more.
George Carlin spells it out better than me in this video.
Who’s Image Is It?
God’s image problem can’t be solved by a make over. The trouble is that we are the one’s who made him that way….in our image!
Yes, yes, I know…I can hear the evangelical’s getting ready with their verbal slingshots to tell me “WE were created in HIS image”. No. That is simply a vicious rumour.
Our concept of someone that is all knowing and all seeing can only be of an older man who looks down at us with utter contempt because he is so much better than us. If you were all knowing and all seeing you’d probably feel the same way about those beneath you too, right? Ergo …we created him in OUR image.
God has been miscast. He is not a he or an ‘it’. God is a never ending energy that is closer to you than you can imagine.
God’s New Image
God’s new image can only start inside of you and that’s because that is where God is in the first place. Use prayer or meditation to look inside of yourself, look carefully and you will soon see God. Yes, through quiet contemplation you will soon discover your divinity!
When you begin to feel a warmth in the middle of your upper chest that seems to radiate out the longer you hold your focus on it, you’ll know you’ve discovered it. That powerful sense of peace, calmness, creativity is God. I don’t mean god-like…it is actually God. Right there inside of you! Crazy!
It Starts with You
Once you are able to recognize and accept what’s been inside of you all along and others around you are able to do the same we will be able to change the world. For the lack of a better analogy God is a co-op and we all need to participate.
I tell my kids all the time that there are 2 ways to do something, the easy way and the right way. It’s easy to blame somebody else for your problems, most people do that on a regular basis “I was late to work because of the traffic”, “the dog ate my homework”, etc. But the right way is to take responsibility, accept your divinity and let’s start co-creating the world of our dreams!
Welcome to The Nous Age…it’s here if you want it!
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Make Your Own Path
There’s a Buddhist saying that describes religion as being like a raft, once you’ve crossed the river you don’t carry that raft on your back to your destiniation, do you? After you’ve made it to the opposite shore leave your raft there and continue on foot without the oppressive weight of your raft (or religion) on your back.
Likewise there is another Buddhist saying that insists that if religion were a raft don’t stay on it too long or you will get washed out to sea where you will be forced to stay and deal with the consequences.
Religion A Good Start
I’ve always said that religion is an excellent starting point for a spiritual life…sort of like ‘Spirituality 101’. But after that you’re on your own, you need to make your own way.
Most of the problems on Earth are caused by people who are trying to carry their raft…or who have stayed on their raft too long.
Your Path to Enlightenment
There are 6 1/2 billion people on the planet and there are 6 1/2 billion paths to enlightenment. We are creative souls…get creative…ask questions!
Don’t carry your religion like a raft, don’t stay on your raft too long and mostly importantly, don’t follow me….make your own path.
Our World Within A World
On a recent visit to New York City I was thrilled to finally be able to stop and visit the United Nations. Although I have been to New York many times in my life I never had the time to visit.
After passing through security I was taken on a tour by a brilliant yet soft spoken young Japanese man and learned many things about the history of the U.N. I highly recommend taking the tour when you’re in The World’s City as they call it.
After the indoor tour I made my way outside to the North west corner of the U.N. plaza to see for myself, upclose and in person the sculpture which sits there called Sfera con sfera or Sphere within a Sphere. I had been anticipating this for quite some time.
The sculpture was created by an Italian named Arnaldo Pomodoro who lives and works in Milan. It was presented as a gift to the United Nations by Lamberto Dini, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Italy and unveiled on November 21, 1996 in New York City.
The first time I saw a picture of this sculpture I was dumbstruck not because of it’s apparent message but because of it’s placement…not here at the U.N. but at the Vatican! There, a duplicate of the sculpture sits in the middle of the Cortile della Pigna, placed like a child’s discarded toy in the middle of the walkway. (picture below)
Courtesy @l+q's photostream at Flickr
The Connection
So what’s the connection between the Vatican and The United Nations? And what’s the message of this sphere with in a sphere sculpture?
I’ve dubbed it The World within a World sculpture because I believe that we live in 2 worlds. The first is the one that we perceive as being real with our daily struggles and concerns, errands to run, problems to fix. The second is the true world with it’s infinite beauty and simplicity.
My Interpretation
The second world is hidden from us by the first world, perhaps on purpose. Our struggle as human beings is to be able to see through the illusion of the first (material) world and discover this inner world of peace…of becoming illuminated.
Are these spheres placed where they are to give us a clue to what lies within? Will the “lifting of the veil” described in the book of Revelations in the Bible be our discovery of this “world within the world”?
The Nous Age 