1. The Great Mystery
Among the great mysteries in the world — the origins of life, space, time, and gravity — the mystery of consciousness is perhaps the least understood. No one knows from where it first came, nor where it goes after we die. The only thing we know with absolute certainty is that this virtual world of complex energies exists. And its exploration has never been more important.
As the Dalai Lama of Tibet said, “Perhaps now that the Western sciences have reached down into the atom and out into the cosmos finally to realize the extreme vulnerability of all life and its value, it is becoming . . . obvious that the field of what we call ‘inner science’— dealing with inner things—is of supreme importance.”
Neglect consciousness—denigrate it, violate it—and like the earth, the individual suffers, and often causes suffering too. On the other hand, nurture consciousness— understand its nature, inhabit it wisely, liberate it from delusions —and we flourish, and elevate society too.
Albert Einstein said it this way: “A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. They experience themselves, their thoughts, and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of their consciousness.
This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of love and compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”