A CRISIS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

by Peter Russell

At its root, the crisis of our times in not so much an environmental crisis, an economic crisis, a population crisis or a political crisis; it is in essence a consciousness crisis -- a mismatch between our psychological development and our technological development.

Our species is facing its final examination -- a psychological examination, a test of our true intelligence. In essence we are being asked to let go of our self-centered thinking and egocentric behavior. We are being asked to become psychologically mature, to free ourselves from the clutches of this limited identity, and express our creativity in ways which benefit us all.

Moreover, this test is not something that is going to happen in the future; we are taking this final examination right now.

And the question that has been set is very simple: Are we as a species able to use the awesome power we have developed for the good of the Universe? Do we have the intelligence to do it? If not, we fail the test -- and fail as a species. Moreover this test is one with a time limit, and I fear the time left is running out fast.

This test is not just being posed to governments, corporations, and scientific institutions. It is being posed to all of humanity. Can we each personally realize that our real identity is not dependent upon the things we gather around us, the way others see us, or the way we like to see ourselves?

Can we realize that the ego-mode is not the only mode, and certainly no longer the most appropriate. And can we then release ourselves from its grip, and allow our true intelligence to shine into the world?

We know this shift is possible for we have seen many examples of people who have lived it -- the St. Theresas, the St. Francises, all the other saints, whether they be called saints or just simple people. We know inside that this is how life can be lived and should be lived, but somehow we feel it is too far away, or not for us. Or we are too caught up in the world, with no time to spare. Or we feel trapped in other ways.

We also know that it is not beyond us. Many of us have at times known what it means to simply be oneself, secure in one's own existence. It may have been triggered by a beautiful sunrise, through falling in love, in meditation, or in a confrontation with death. Suddenly the mind falls back into its natural state, a state of ease.

Perhaps we need the psychological equivalent of the "Manhattan Project." Whereas the original Manhattan Project was founded to win a war against other people, this inner Manhattan Project would help us win the war against ourselves. The wisdom of the human psyche already exists in many spiritual traditions, philosophies, and psychologies. But it needs to be pulled together and researched in order to bring out the essential wisdom in a manner which the person in the street can relate to. This is not to advocate a return to religions of the past, but to rediscover the sacred within us in the language and technologies of the Twentieth Century.

Certainly we need to do everything we can to reduce the damage we are causing to the environment. But if this is all that we do, we shall find the same inner malady reappearing in other symptoms.

The root of our environmental crisis is an inner spiritual aridity. Any truly holistic environmental policy must account for this in its approach. We need not only to conduct research in the physical and biological sciences, but also need to explore the psychological and more sacred sciences.

Peter Russell studied mathematics and theoretical physics at Cambridge, later turning to psychology as he became fascinated by the study of consciousness and the untapped potential of the human brain. He traveled to India to study Transcendental Meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and became a teacher of TM. Later, he researched the subject of TM at the University of Bristol. His book The TM Technique has been a best-seller, while The Global Brain is considered a classic in the field of global consciousness. He is now a consultant on creativity, mind set, and stress management to major corporations and lectures frequently on human consciousness.