Global Shift

Bourne Edmund J.

Description

Global Shift describes a major shift in consciousness that has emerged from the efforts of the many people working to solve the systemic problems plaguing our world today, such as climate change, poverty, and disease. Author Edmund Bourne presents a call to actions we can implement in our daily lives, such as voluntary simplicity, caring for our bodies, nonviolent communication, forgiveness, mindfulness, inclusive global thinking, and letting go. These actions can foster personal healing and bring our lives into alignment with the needs of the planet and a conscious universe.

Sujets

• Mind
• Body
• Spirit

Informations

• Publié par: New Harbinger Publications
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 0001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781608823864
• Langue: English

Extrait

“An essential guidebook for navigating our time. Bourne concisely articulates the elements of our collective emergence to the next stage of cultural evolution. The Aquarian Conspiracy comes of age in this volume with inspiring clarity.”
—Anodea Judith, Ph.D., author of Waking the Global Heart and Eastern Body-Western Mind
“A masterful overview of the shift in global consciousness and how it transforms our personal lives.”
—Duane Elgin, author of Voluntary Simplicity and Promise Ahead
“A truly holistic view of changes now occurring—from global to local and personal. In this book, Bourne combines rare insight into the multiple paradigm shifts due to humanity’s expanding awareness with a comprehensive, sensible set of tools for personal alignment and action.”
—Hazel Henderson, author of Ethical Markets and coauthor of Planetary Citizenship
“ Global Shift offers a roadmap for the new consciousness—a sweeping survey of the key ideas and books of the last few years that describe an astounding shift in paradigms. It provides a wonderful overview of holistic trends emerging in all fields, from quantum physics to transpersonal psychology, and includes practical tools for transforming yourself and creating a more sustainable world.”
—Corinne McLaughlin, cofounder of The Center for Visionary Leadership and Sirius Community and coauthor of Spiritual Politics and Builders of the Dawn
“ Global Shift is a bold and practical work, calling us all to address our global crises at the level of consciousness. Bourne covers an ambitious amount of ground—from concise summaries of the leading thinkers who have shaped our postmodern worldview to implementable steps we can take to reduce global warming—in an entertaining, informative, and easy-to-grasp manner. Not only a summary of causes and indicators of paradigmatic changes, Global Shift is a hopeful and welcome push to pick up the challenges of our times and create a significant shift in our world.”
—Jeff Carreira, director of education at EnlightenNext and host of the EnlightenNext Weekly Webcast
“ Global Shift provides the first comprehensive template for massive evolutionary change in the twenty-first century. It is not only thorough, but also so convincing you will breathe one great sigh of relief for the entire human enterprise. After you have read this book, you will have your finger on the pulse of these challenging times and appreciate the part you are now called to play in this epic story of transformation.”
—James O’ Dea, consultant to Global Systems Initiatives and fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences
How a New Worldview is Transforming Humanity
Edmund J. Bourne, Ph.D.
New Harbinger Publications, Inc. -->
Publisher’s Note
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
Excerpt from “The Cosmological Situation Today,” from Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View by Richard Tarnas, copyright 2006 by Richard Tarnas. Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin group (USA) Inc.
The excerpt from Voluntary Simplicity is used by permission of the publisher and the author. Copyright 1992 Duane Elgin. Published by William Morrow and Co. (now HarperCollins), 10 East 53rd St, New York, NY 10010.
A copublication of New Harbinger Publications and Noetic Books
Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books
Copyright © 2008 by Edmund J. Bourne New Harbinger Publications, Inc. 5674 Shattuck Avenue Oakland, CA 94609 www.newharbinger.com
All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America
Acquired by Catharine Sutker; Cover design by Amy Shoup; Edited by Amy Johnson

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bourne, Edmund J.
Global shift : how a new worldview is transforming humanity / Edmund J. Bourne ; foreword by Matthew Gilbert.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
Epub ISBN: 9781608823864
ISBN-13: 978-1-57224-597-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-57224-597-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Philosophy--21st century. 2. Culture. 3. Civilization. 4. Social change. 5. Spirituality. I. Title.
B805.B68 2008
190.9’0511--dc22
2008039787

12 11 10
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Global Crisis
2 The Rise and Fall of the Scientific-Materialist Worldview (But Not Science)
3 Signs of an Emerging Worldview
Global Shift: A Preview
4 The Re-enchantment of Nature
5 Return of the Feminine 85
6 Toward a Larger Universe: Reality Outgrows the Bounds of Physics
7 Expanding the Scope of Valid Knowledge: Sensory vs. Intuitive Ways of Knowing
8 Toward a Synthesis of Science and Religion
9 A New Map of the Psyche
10 Life-Force Energy: A Step Beyond Physics
11 Understanding Consciousness
12 The Universal Context
13 Toward a Universal Spiritual Perspective
14 Natural Ethics
15 Unity of Consciousness: The Interconnection of All Minds
16 Symbolic Connections: The Role of Esoteric Disciplines in the New Worldview
17 Implications of the New Worldview
18 Making the Shift: From Vision to Action
Transformative Practices: An Introduction
19 Simplify Your Life
20 Build Peace in All Relationships
21 Care for Your Body
22 Practice Meditation
23 Think Larger
24 Take Action
Conclusion
Resources and Further Reading
References
About the Author
Foreword by Matthew Gilbert
As I write this, a barrel of oil approaches $150; floods, droughts, tornadoes, and typhoons wreak unprecedented havoc in certain parts of the world; and the global economy seems poised on a downward spiral. Perhaps by the time you read this, things will have improved; perhaps they will have become worse. Either way, it seems clear to more and more of us that we have collectively created an unsustainable way of life for most of the world’s people and jeopardized our very existence as a species.
I first found out about Ed Bourne’s book when it was submitted to a colleague at New Harbinger. The company had recently entered into a copublishing relationship with the Institute of Noetic Sciences, where I’m director of communications and acquisitions director of our new imprint, Noetic Books. I was stunned by how closely Ed’s narrative mapped onto a new study we had just released, The 2007 Shift Report: Evidence of a World Transforming , and further impressed that he was inspired to write this book by Willis Harman, the late former president of IONS and a renowned visionary thinker.
We wrote that report to help answer the questions we kept hearing: What is going on? Why is all this happening? Where is all this leading? We began by noting the influence of a powerful worldview—scientific materialism—that arose in response to the religious fanaticism and conflicts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It elevated reason, objectivity, and the primacy of the physical universe, and focused on the study of parts instead of wholes. While providing an abundance of impressive advances in such areas as technology and medicine, it also promoted a separatism that has been encoded into many of our institutions. This has led a majority of people to prioritize their own needs over the good of the commons, to disassociate their own well-being from that of the world around them, and to see nature as nothing more than an inert source of raw materials and a vast receptacle for the garbage and toxins of an industrial and consumptive lifestyle. All of this is underwritten by a deeper story that human life is a random accident and human beings are basically no more than complicated machinery run by genes and neuronal programming. As for religion and spirituality, they are merely evolutionary adaptations to keep us interested in staying alive.
It’s a dismal scenario, to be sure, but then look at the stories that feed us every day. For anyone who reads the papers, scans the Internet, listens to the radio, or watches the nightly news, the world seems relentlessly hopeless and complex. Economic uncertainty, ecological collapse, ethnic conflicts, religious extremism, heartbreaking poverty—these harsh realities depict a world filled with fear, pain, and fragmentation while reinforcing a belief that there is little we can do about it. No wonder sales of antidepressants keep spiking upward.
Yes, the evidence is compelling that the arc of human existence is on a self-destructive decline, but it’s vitally important to distinguish between breakdown and emergence , because once the pieces are put together, there is no denying that another reality is fighting through the cracks of the dominant narrative. It is this story that Ed Bourne rigorously presents in this homage to our potential.
In calling our current moment in time a “rite of passage,” Ed shows readers a landscape of fundamental shifts that are broad, deep, and ultimately life-affirming. He presents some dominant themes of a new overarching worldview—a conscious universe, multidimensional realities, interconnected minds, and life beyond physics—and describes the shift as “a movement away from a materialistic to a humanitarian-spiritual orientation toward life.” These are awfully big ideas, pushing the boundaries of our conditioning and beliefs, but our collective future is at stake and this is not a time to be reticent. Braving the currents of postmodern malaise, Ed, and the Institute, and many others believe that we are just beginning to tap into our potential as human beings despite, or perhaps because of, the multiple crises that we are facing.
This new story remains largely unreported. It reflects not an evolutionary model of randomness and survival but an evolution of human capacities that may alter the course of history and tha