Verry interesting

Noetic Sciences

The Noetic Sciences study the mind - consciousness, human potential and beliefs. 'Noetic' comes from the Greek word for intuitive knowing.

Civilization is rapidly approaching a critical juncture, a great divide in history. Many voices tell us that a major period or cycle is ending and another is beginning. Astrologers say Planet Earth is "on the cusp" between two ages. Various metaphysicians and psychics point to the year 2000 as the turning point. Quite apart from the occult/esoteric field, others tell us that our world is at a watershed.

Some environmentalists point to roughly the same period-within, say, a decade or generation of this century's end-as the time when human influences on the global ecosystem will culminate in a dire manner, unless checked. And in the political realm, population forecasts also show the number of people reaching criticality in many parts of the world, placing unsupportable burdens on delivery systems for food, housing, transportation, medical care and so forth. Although the arms race between superpowers seems to be abating, until all nuclear, biological and chemical weapon stockpiles are dismantled, the threat of a military Armageddon remains.

Will humanity survive these looming disasters? What is to come can be a "better world" if we don't destroy ourselves before then. Insofar as the problems facing us are of our own making, they originate in the human mind and can be solved there. But a problem cannot be solved at the level which generated it.

The solution to our global crisis is not simply more of what caused it: ignorant exploitation of nonrenewable resources and undeveloped peoples, callous pursuit of political power and wealth, thoughtless application of technology and disposal of waste, rampant consumerism, greed-the entire spectrum of selfish desires and stupid actions arising from the egocentricity of Man. If all that is to be alleviated and eliminated, mere science and technology are not the answer. Something more, something from a higher level of awareness is needed, something beyond ego and its mindset. Lower mind is the problem; higher mind is the answer-a fundamental change of consciousness in the human race.

I contend that a change of consciousness is precisely what is happening now. Around the globe there are strong signs of an awakening to higher consciousness. Some call it the coming of the Age of Aquarius. Others speak of the consciousness revolution, the human potential movement, the Aquarian Conspiracy. Still others refer to it as the New Age.

Something unprecedented is happening in the world, something transformative. The human condition is changing, thanks to the human potential-our potential for self-transcendence and growth to enlightenment. In its grandest dimension, I see a higher form of humanity emerging. I've named it Homo noeticus.

That evolutionary advance is occurring right now, in accelerated fashion, all over the planet. Various lines of activity are converging, albeit in an uncoordinated fashion and at varying rates, to produce a "new breed." The burgeoning interest in psychic and mystical phenomena, in psychotechnologies, spiritual traditions and sacred lifeways especially indicate a deepening and expansion of awareness going on around the globe-a Great Awakening to Ultimate Reality. That change of consciousness defines Homo noeticus and the New Age.

In its best aspect, then, the New Age movement is conscious evolution-a healthy response to promptings from the cosmos which would have us move toward the light and grow to a higher state of being. It is trite but true that man's extremity is God's opportunity. Thus, in response to global emergency, there is global emergence. That evolutionary advance could ultimately create a new and unified world culture based on life-affirming values, unconditional love and the perennial wisdom, in the manner demonstrated humanistically by Jesus of Nazareth.

After all, the term "New Age" is conceptually derived from the biblical Book of Revelation: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth" (21:1). However, the concept of a radically new social order is found in many traditions-both sacred and secular-which envision a change in human life, a change which resolves societal disharmonies and allows people to fulfill their deepest longings for peace, truth, self-expression and freedom from the age- old problem of man's inhumanity to man and nature's privations. The most familiar is called "the American dream," a profoundly spiritual vision expressed in words on the Great Seal of the United States, beneath the all- seeing eye of wisdom: Novus Ordo Seclorum, "the new order of the ages."

Reference: The Meeting of Science and Spirit: Guidelines for a New Age John White 2001