| REVIEWS
Consciousness In Action
Discussion points
- This book is about finding one’s soul while healing our
culture and our planet.
- It describes a lifelong process that is a fascinating adventure
whose essence the author refers to as Natural Harmony—the
mutually beneficial reciprocity woven into the web of life that
has allowed life on Earth to endure and evolve over billions of
years.
- We stand at the confluence of two rivers of energy. One features
the scientific-production-consumption worldview of the past several
hundred years. The other is an emergent stage of consciousness
in which the living planet, Gaia, is the center of attention.
Will we poison our children with nuclear waste and destabilize
life with irresponsible genetic manipulation? Or will we deepen
our understanding of the web of life and act on what we learn.
- Consciousness in Action presents insights about the evolution
of consciousness that Andrew Beath has distilled from decades
of social and environmental activism, weaving a tapestry of wisdom
that features inspiring stories from numerous progressive leaders.
Julia Butterfly Hill, Joanna Macy, Deena Metzger, John Mack, Ralph
Metzner and many others offer commentary that elaborates Beath's
themes and provides pathways to personal and global transformation.
Their focus is on seven attributes of consciousness that they
have employed in their activism and that have demonstrated their
viability across time and cultures to bring about change.
Themes:
- Our perspective, our view of the world, our attitude is physically
creating our own destiny and the fate of the Earth.
- The damage we are causing to the Earth is the impetus for the
next step in the evolution of human consciousness.
- This book describes the human condition in broad context. It
does so in personal terms by incorporating inspiring
stories of beauty, love and courage that address the mystifying
dilemmas facing each of us: Who are we? How did we come to inherit
our current circumstance? What can we do to resolve our time of
discontent?
- In some respects this book could be considered a creation myth—one
that could only be born of our epoch—in that it defines
our purpose as individuals and as a species in different terms
than earlier creation myths have done. Its essence is Natural
Harmony.
- Personal healing and deepening are in many respects the same
process—and this individual course of action is the first
step in social and global change. Guidance for this process is
provided by the seven attributes of conscious activism.
- Conscious activism is engagement in the world that expresses
and reveals our most profound understanding of the nature of reality.
And it is opening the compassionate heart of every individual.
The seven attributes are:
- Non-violence--kindness in the midst of
passion
- Not Knowing and spontaneity in the moment
- Introspection for self-discovery
- Eros, the art of loving-kindness
- Co-creating a healthier world--there is
No Enemy
- Vision, free of reaction
- Being Joyful without attachment to goals
One reader observed that the book reminds him of Gulliver’s
Travels because it includes various adventures involving the plot
lines of humanity’s existence on Earth, weaving through the
intellectual terrain of many remarkable participants, who ground
the presentation with relevant personal stories from their own life
experiences. Sharing insights and techniques that enable us to turn
the wheel of human destiny from destruction to reverence, Consciousness
in Action makes a vital contribution to ongoing efforts toward a
peaceful, habitable earth |
