The new Intelligent Optimist is out with The Consciousness Issue
Features articles on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s approach to world peace.
The Intelligent Optimist, formerly OdeWire, is a magazine that pays attention to what’s good in the world. The new Consciousness Issue shows people meditating, connected to everyone else, with the words: The revenge of the spirit: A new consciousness is coming—and it will change everything. The Jan/Feb 2013 issue will be posted on their website. The editor-in-chief, Jurriaan Kamp, is inviting readers to receive The Consciousness Issue in digital format in their e-mailbox, for free.
There are two major articles on Maharishi’s approach to world peace: When monks rule: Rigorous research shows that group meditation reduces conflict and violence in society (pages 44–48), and Levitating for a better world: Selling his telecom company made Paul Gelderloos rich. Now he plans to spend millions reducing world poverty—through meditation (pages 50–53). You can also download PDFs of the articles: When monks rule and Levitating for a better world.
The Dutch-American publisher, Jurriaan Kamp, has written a most intelligent article. It’s actually one of the most enlightened pieces I’ve ever read about our approach to collectively transform society from within through the ongoing global world peace project. I especially loved his piece on Paul Gelderloos, our “Flying Dutchman!” 🙂 You’ll know what I mean when you see the photo they put together. I believe it was Paul who encouraged Jurriaan to write about Maharishi’s World Peace Project and the means to transform society. He did a brilliant job! You’ll enjoy it.
Of interest are Jurriaan Kamp’s Letter from the Editor: Your attention, please (page 5), and his editorial article (pages 36–40): The revenge of the spirit: Humanity stands at the threshold of a new era: the era of consciousness. After conquering the external world, human beings will discover their inner selves.
Here is an invitation from the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of The Intelligent Optimist, Jurriaan Kamp.
March 07, 2013 | By Jurriaan Kamp
Our new issue is out. Don’t miss our stories about the relation between negative emotions and happiness, the end of ADHD, the year of Quinoa and a fantastic eco-voyage from Ecuador to the Galapagos Islands. On top of that, immerse yourself in stories about the consciousness revolution. Our future will not be dominated by more technology, more market and more speed. Instead, it will be about our inner potential. Start reading our cover story on consciousness here.
We need something new.
The daily news makes the case for very different approaches and solutions. Whether it is the next storm of the century that some say is linked to our own behavior, the political stalemate in the U.S., the financial system that keeps failing most people or expensive health-care structures that don’t truly heal, the call for change is everywhere. Not just change. Fundamental change.
Future scenarios do paint a radically different world. However, most solutions are cast in terms of ever more clever technology. In fact, if today’s society is characterized by the interplay between technology, communication and the market economy, the conventional view of the future is more of the same:more technology, more communication and more market. Simply put: We are waiting for an even more compelling iPad. Add to that more speed, and the future becomes an accelerated extension of the past. But that’s exactly what the hunter thought before the farmer replaced him. And the coachman never saw the automobile coming.
No, our future probably won’t be one in which technology, communication and the market dominate even more. “I don’t believe the science fiction like Star Trek where people are essentially the same 400 years in the future,” says renowned physicist Stephen Hawking. He predicts that biological systems will continue to evolve to keep ahead of electronic ones and rejects the idea that technological inventions will remain the focus in a world devoid of new social breakthroughs.
Could it be that our ancestors foresaw our challenges? Many ancient traditions have predicted a new era at this time. The Mayan calendar with its end date of December 21, 2012, is the most famous sign of such a new beginning. The stories of these traditions speak about a new phase of our development that is not about technology but about harnessing our inner potential. The promise is that we are at the threshold of a consciousness revolution. Some compare the opportunity to the cultural renaissance of 15th-century Italy, which made room for humanity in a world ruled by an omnipotent God. The new, spiritual, renaissance opposes our god—the power of the market and technology—and offers humanity a new social place.
In past centuries, humanity has enthusiastically pursued the discovery of everything that can be seen and touched. The overwhelming question regarding the “why” of our existence—the understanding of consciousness—was shoved aside for the sake of convenience. But that doesn’t mean evolution can escape the question. In fact, physicists have been discovering ever-smaller particles. There is no smallest piece of matter. It seems that matter is ultimately dissolving in energy. At the same time, recent brain research shows that our thoughts—the proof of our consciousness—are energy as well. So it may well be that the science of matter is leading to the question of consciousness and bringing us closer to our biggest “why?”
Read more about how the revolution in our own consciousness will change everything: receive The Consciousness Issue in digital format in your e-mailbox, for free.
Jurriaan Kamp
Tags: a new humanity, ancient traditions, biological systems, communication, consciousness revolution, editorial, evolving consciousness, group meditation reduces conflict and violence in society, human evolution, instant communication, Juriaann Kamp, levitation, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Maharishi Vedic Pandits, meditating monks, meditation, modern technology, monks, Paul Gelderloos, peace, Science, social breakthroughs, society, spiritual development, spiritual renaissance, The Intelligent Optimist, the science of matter, Transcendental Meditation, transforming society from within, World Peace
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