FRONTIER SCIENCE/SOCIAL CHANGE

by Paul Von Ward

"Why Should We Correct History?"

Before addressing the title question, it is important to remember that what we call "history" is not necessarily reality. What historians write and we read is a mixture of selected facts and further selective interpretations of them. In human struggles, those who come out on top write the story, whether it's religious or military.

Notables such as Joseph Campbell, in a Bill Moyers interview, and Stanley Krippner, with colleagues in The Futurist, have called for a revised human story, a more accurate myth for the new millennium. Several books, including my Solarian Legacy, make the case for a revised story of the universe and the human race, including its origins and development. Brian Swimme's and Barbara Marx Hubbard's work offer differing perspectives. Any effort "to set the story straight" is worthwhile just for the sake of the truth, but there are even more practical reasons: exposing sources of power, widening access to knowledge, facilitating individual and societal progress, and others.

Implications of the revised story emerging from the frontiers of science reveal why there is opposition to dissemination of some discoveries. Human civilization is older and has experienced more "peace and harmony" than current church and political institutions. Frontier science undermines conventional scientific articles of faith: random birth of the universe, evolution by chance-based selection, biological determinism of mental processes, and the exclusivity of the five physical senses for accessing truth. Compelling evidence indicates that humans are not the most advanced conscious beings and all of nature is alive, with consciously interacting parts.

That larger reality is now partially manifested in differing religious, philosophical, and scientific perspectives. While a number of research and education efforts facilitate the emergence of a new story, three groups in which I am involved seek to empower individuals and serve the larger society through a multidimensional examination of knowledge. These groups realize that revealing the untold story--bringing to light new evidence in a different framework--transforms our perception of reality and therefore our behavior, which, in turn, influences the way the world works.

The Nature's Spirit effort (based near Clemson, SC) comprises a series of planned retreats for representatives of the major world religions and philosophies, including science, to engage in the process of "insight dialogue." Summaries of the exchanges are expected to offer a more complete mosaic of the Earth's history and human knowledge, one that provides new approaches for grappling with many of the health, social, environmental, and political challenges that face humanity.

The Scientific and Medical Network program (based in England, but comprising an international membership) seeks to "deepen understanding in science, medicine, and education by fostering both rational and intuitive insights." Its approach is based on open-mindedness, disciplined thought, and concern and respect for others. The Network produces a highly regarded international journal, organizes conferences, and maintains a wide network of groups engaged in penetrating research and education.

The Association for Global New Thought (based in Chicago, IL) supports a broad range of religious and social activists who seek to blend the contributions of diverse traditions into practical ways of living. Two of its major efforts in 1999 involve meetings to synthesize the understandings of several intellectual disciplines with a variety of religious insights. One involves the Dalai Lama and selected spiritual leaders and scientists in Synthesis Dialogues. The other is a conference for participants to engage in dialogues that pool humanity's collective wisdom and identify ways to facilitate the evolution of a new global society.

Individuals and groups who have vested interests in restricting information about our multi-track history and how the world really works will resist the dissemination of such new knowledge. Just think how many officials and leaders in power benefit from followers accepting limited versions of truth. They include not only the religious/political demagogues who fan the fires of partisan/sectarian strife around the world (even in the U.S.), but the less obvious elites of churches, universities, associations, and businesses whose power derives from the many who think such leaders, experts, and scholars have unique access to truth.

What happens to the follower-leader relationship when followers discover that they have been kept from the whole truth about other groups and their collective history? Will the same blind obedience to specific rules or assumptions continue? Will the so-called divine rituals hold the same allure? Will people be willing to give their lives and resources to causes whose foundations are not based in the realities of universal human experience? For a large percentage of the population the answer will be "NO."

From the rejection of outmoded beliefs will come many positive benefits to human society: Fundamentalist scientific researchers and students will be freed to explore multiple modes of research, opening the way to whole new fields of study and progress. Religious believers in denominational and sectarian tenets will be liberated from divisiveness and judgments, to enjoy the beautifully complex reality of all creation. New ceremonies connecting the universal elements of life will be celebrated together by diverse groups.

The mother lode of traditional knowledge will be mined by researchers and practitioners in the fields of health maintenance, ecological stewardship, and psychological growth. Old principles will be dusted off to complement or replace current technologies in energy, communications, and transportation. There will be a widespread understanding of the intrinsic equality and power of individuals; people will sense this empowerment and give themselves permission to manifest their greater potential.

At the beginning of a new age, people who have the most to gain from the status quo resist the new the most. This inertia is a natural phenomenon that provides enough time for the consolidation of stepping stones to the future, but when its beliefs become too dogmatic to permit self-correction, the old myth is replaced by new stories that liberate and energize . The last significant renaissance on the planet was largely European-based, but the one to come, as we enter the new millennium, will be a Global Renaissance.

Copyright 1999
Paul Von Ward
All Rights Reserved