That blind-spot sees us ignoring the systems and communities that support us. It’s the community and technical infrastructure that enables us to achieve our goals – imagine being dropped into war-torn Somalia, without cells phones, money or an embassy to hide in. What things might we expect to ‘attract’ in that environment?

Those who do our plumbing, our carpentry, cooking and care-taking all play a vital role in each of us achieving our dreams.

It’s the integration and marriage of dreams, desires and potentials with the inherent limitations of systems that is my primary work as a belief doctor. My work involves understanding and explaining how this integration is ignored or denied. It’s this lack of integration of supportive systems with individual desires and potentials that is the primary cause of the growing epidemic of depression in the world today. It’s people’s expectations exceeding the capacity of the present community to support individual dreams and aspirations that causes the upset. Hence my call to gurus to remember the wider community that supports them as they jet around the world, staying in 5 star hotels. If everyone was enlightened, who would pay to listen to a guru? is there space in the present system for everyone to be enlightened?

To some extent seeking and working towards greater material well-being is good – it drives creativity and innovation.

But a deeper, sustainable view recognises that “we’re all in this together” – it behoves any self-respecting motivational guru to consider lifting the community, not just those who want to ‘get ahead’ of the pack. We don’t need more competition or ‘winners’ who win at the expense of others … nor do we need or want perfect harmony. As a recent article in Harvard Business Review emphasises, “Conflict-free teamwork is no way to achieve success. A peaceful, harmonious workplace can be the worst possible thing for a business.”1.

What is desirable is a deeper understanding of the value of an expansive, aware, rambunctious individuality, one that embraces creativity, difference and originality … and community and connection.2. This is not airy-fairy, do-goody thinking. It’s good for business and the bottom line to shift our focus away from simply being more competitive, to being more creative. Research has confirmed that creativity in new markets is around four times more important to the bottom line than out-competing one’s competitors.

As William Butler Yeats reminds us, it is creativity in the form of growth that is the fount of happiness.3.

This blind-spot can’t usually be seen or recognised directly. Like a galactic black-hole, we usually only learn of its presence by how it sucks the life and light out of surrounding bodies – in this case, ourselves and others in our communities, cities and world. We can learn of its presence by the high and growing incidence of depression which is now recognised by the World Health Organization as “the leading cause of disability.”¹

To some extent this black-hole, or blind-spot can be ignored by being busy, taking drugs, acquiring wealth or enjoying ourselves … but it remains in the background, sucking the energy and light from all.

And no more importantly is its effect felt, than in the area of health and wellbeing .. the main focus for my contributions to this column.

It’s about time

I recently learned of this ‘blind-spot’ after reading about a self-development teacher who had achieved success; met and positively influenced world-leaders, and done or achieved many other wonderful things.

Why then did I feel deflated after reading about this person?

Was it that, by way of comparison, I was left feeling inadequate, or a failure? Was it because I felt I hadn’t achieved great things?

No, I realised it went deeper and after sitting quietly and reflecting on the cause, recognised it … the blind-spot that many of us, if not most, don’t seem to notice. Part of the reason it is not recognised is that it is so simple to feel – it’s too obvious and taken for granted. So we ignore it.

And that blind-spot is something that Margaret Thatcher said or implied did not exist … that blind-spot is what we might call ‘society’² – a sense of community, connectedness and shared responsibility for the plight of others.

And no more ignorant of this blind-spot are those gurus who rudely speak of success in the presence of so many unsuccessful, depressed people. Winners and losers. Black and white, us versus them. Where’s the sense of connection, community and shared responsibility when we speak of our success in the midst of those who are unsuccessful and depressed?

I’ve often had conversations with new-age believers who parrot that we create our reality. Indeed we may, but why then, I ask, have we created a reality in which a large and apparently growing part of our “spiritual body” (the local community, nation, world) is in such ill-health?

As a result of that question a curious disconnect occurs, “oh, I’m not responsible for others (subtext) …in my local community, in my reality that I co-created”. Really? That’s like saying, ‘yes I create my reality but I’m not responsible for all of my body … my foot has gangrene, but I’m not responsible…”

And that is the blind-spot that seems to afflict new-age gurus the world over … the shared responsibility for the reality that we collectively and cooperatively create and experience.

Gurus who speak of ‘success’ do everyone a disservice when they do not also speak of their failure to work in their local communities, lifting and enlightening everyone.

As has been more eloquently said by others, “while one person remains in jail, I am not free, while one person remains ill, I am not well.”

Is it not time we call to account those gurus who fail to lift and enlighten all, for the benefit and well-being of all?

Is it not time we realise that a genuine guru would work among the poor, living among them, working with them, as did Jesus, Mother Teresa and Buddha?

Are we not justified in accepting that, by the above definition, there are few, if any genuine gurus alive today?

Perhaps it is time that we call forward (‘attract’ into our shared reality) someone who is willing and sufficiently honest, brave and aware to be another Jesus, Mother Teresa or Buddha.

Well, since then I’ve been working hard at being on track, producing a new work-book for a potential client, with the working title The “What do you want?” workbook. I had expected to meet with some people today to present a first draft (to friends, business people etc.).

An interesting thing has occurred. I’ve started to develop (yet again) a troubling eye condition known as Iritis, a potentially serious eye condition that can lead to permanent eye damage, or even blindness.

Now, being so smart, methinks, “hang on a minute, what’s going on here”. No immediate answer, other than “maybe I shouldn’t be working on the computer 16 hours a day ..

Last night, thinking I had better rest the eye, I decided to relax and go watch some television show (at least it didn’t require such focused attention, I thought).

Strange that the eye got progressively worse. Hmm, maybe I should just go to bed (it’s around 11.oo pm, still hours of potential work to be done), but maybe some rest is needed.

In bed, lights out, the fun begins. Not. From previous experience I’ve learned that one of the serious warning signs, besides the blurred vision, redness and sensitivity to light, is the ’sand in the eye’ grittiness that gets progressively worse, and more painful. A relative of mine once shared with me that the pain of severe Iritis is worse than childbirth. “Yeah, sure”, I replied. “I’ve had four children. I know what I’m talking about,” she replied. I’ve since accepted it’s up there as among the not-most fun things to experience.

Anyway, as I lay in bed, the pressure in the eye, the pain, the grittiness started to worry me. This condition can get serious, and while some steroidal drops can relieve the condition (which I don’t use), some still manage to go blind, even with all the drugs.

And that, I sense, was part of the problem. I had been allowing my illness to grow progressively worse, and worry only made it worse. I could feel the pressure in my eye, somewhat matching the pressure I had put myself under to produce this workbook. Some other circumstances (family) had also caused pressure and added to my condition. All in all, I was under a great deal of pressure.

Even though I was on track, I was placing myself under immense pressure.

Recognising my circumstances, I started to imagine my eye being relaxed, and well again. Now, this proved difficult. The simple fact is that in the midst of pain, it can be quite difficult to imagine a pain-free space. But, in having experience with the creative-wellness process, I knew enough not to expect an immediate,’snap my fingers’ response. I’ve learned enough to let go, and be confident that the pain will ease, and health will return.

This morning I woke, thinking perhaps to cancel all my appointments. That seemed to relieve the eye considerably.

I may still make those appointments, but in allowing myself to relax, and let go, things have improved greatly. Such is the art of life, and wellness, I believe.

Steaphen

Over the last few weeks I’ve worked on a range of business-related assignments for friends and colleagues that while being productive and provided me some financial rewards, left me feeling anxious, vague and weak (despite the positive, productive results).

It was only on the morning of posting this article that I recognised how much I had lost my connection with my soul, my centre and my strength. All as a result of getting side-tracked from that which nurtures and sustains me .. my deep purpose in life.

I think many fail to appreciate the power and the wellbeing that comes from a sense of purpose.

Some years ago (in the late ‘80s) I suffered a severe, debilitating illness that left me largely incapacitated for many months. I relied on my intuitive sense to gain wellness, and only later did I learn that my symptoms and methodology for gaining wellness had been remarkably similar to that of Norman Cousins, author of “Anatomy of an illness.”

In his book, Cousins reveals the great extent to which he relied on building a positive frame of mind, in part by hiring Marx Brothers’ movies to help him laugh his way to health (along with a strict dietary regimen). He concluded that “Drugs are not always necessary. Belief in recovery always is.”

But in having read Norman’s book, and having shared very similar experiences, I sense that something important was left unsaid.

In my diary that I kept prior to and during my illness, I wrote while staying in Zurich, after some six months or so of backpacking around the world, “I don’t want to continue travelling, and I don’t want to stay here and I don’t want to go home.” As I wrote some years later in Be and Become, “It was the most bizarre, contradictory, meaningless sense of lethargy I had ever experienced.” In short, I had lost all sense of purpose. “With hindsight, it was not surprising that when in Turkey a few months later I became ill with suspected food poisoning (which seemed then to be the catalyst for a subsequent serious illness in the months following). At least now I had something of a challenge ahead of me.”

As mentioned in my earlier post to this site, I’ve been slow to act on my intuitions — it was around eight years after my illness before I began writing my first book, a book that turned out to be exceptionally important to my present sense of purpose and wellbeing.

But what surprises me is that during all those years, despite my lack of purpose, and despite not knowing exactly what I should be doing, part of me did know. As I look back now, it’s almost unthinkable to consider not having written my books, of not beginning my present path. And yet, as was exemplified last week, sometimes I forget, get off my path, only to feel its withering effect.

The challenge is to stay on purpose, despite the many side-tracks and detours we might feel we need to travel … in order to pay bills, fulfil obligations to friends, family, and many other reasons.

So, what is my purpose?

Partly to write this column, as one means by which to share my experiences, and relate what I have learned.

I’m naturally inclined, perhaps almost as natural as it is to breath, to question belief-systems of all kinds, be they religious, scientific, new-age or political.

What I have learned is that we are here to learn how to handle energy — or perhaps as some might prefer, to  more fully love and engage our spirit. That I believe is the true secret to life: to engage our energy in ways that lead to growth and fulfilment.

How do we know we’re on purpose?

From my experience, taking time to think and feel about what fulfils us gives tell-tale signals of feeling more centred, relaxed, confident and at peace with the world.

This last week I had some interactions and conversations with various people that were, shall we say, “less than desirable” … and all of them I feel were related to being off-centre, edgy and anxious.

What I now understand and appreciate most of all, is the need for engaging my energy. Some might call it will, or spirit, or holding firm to one’s values. Usually that involves taking action, speaking our truths, or calling someone. I think the so-called law of attraction is way too simplistic, implying we can attract into our lives whatever we desire, but that we don’t need to do anything. Many seem to ignore that to attract a phone call or good deeds by others, requires others to take action – e.g. to pick up the phone and make the call to you.

If the law of attraction is to be useful and meaningful, it seems to me that it needs to be coupled with the law of action. That gets us back to the basic flow of life – of ‘masculine’ action with ‘feminine’ attraction; of focus while letting go; of the journey and the end – a complementary and empowering harmony, working towards individual and collective fulfilment.

“People just want permission”, I offered. An interesting and lively discussion followed (gems for a new book perhaps, more details soon. But I digress).

We’ve been told a gazillion times by countless self-development gurus that we have unlimited potential. Well okay, so what stops us from actually enjoying some of that amazing and limitless potential? What stops us from turning on the tap to be insanely creative and outrageously successful?
Permission.

Walking on hot coals? No problem, once you have permission from the guru. “Insanely creative and outrageously successful” sounds good in theory, but “what will the neighbours think” (friends, family etc.)? How much do we hold ourselves back because of peer-group, rules, social etiquette and the expectations of others? As mentioned in my previous post, during the recession people were happier because many felt that “we’re now all in this together.” We like community, camaraderie, connections and cooperation. It’s vital to our wellbeing. We don’t want to be too different, superior or successful relative to those we care about, or those that care about us (unless we all create and succeed together).

“People just want permission.” This got me thinking about Toni’s ‘Cause: you’re beautiful’ project, and how “getting permission” to live well is often quite different for men and women. For example, “big boys don’t cry” is a catch-cry of many boy’s youth, now and in times past. Boys don’t usually “get permission” to be vulnerable, open and communicative. Crying is seen as a sign of weakness in men, hence part(1) of the reason many are distant, aloof and emotionally unavailable; why they are expected to fight in wars; and why the evidence reveals that “in every known culture, and from what we know of virtually all historical periods, the vast majority of crimes, particularly violet crimes, are committed by men.”(2)

Girls and women on the other hand were encouraged to be ‘vulnerable’ and in need of saving (by the prince on his white steed, or modern ‘Pretty woman’ equivalents). They weren’t given permission to be ‘masculine’ – intelligent, capable, independent, competitive and resourceful.

In recent years things have been changing significantly … we now see men getting cultural permission to be house-husbands and nurturers; women are leading corporations and excelling in other hitherto male-dominated occupations and arenas.

In other words, we’ve seen men becoming more feminine, and women more masculine.

It’s this interplay between the masculine and feminine focuses and energies that fascinates me, in others, in society, but none more so than in my own journey.

The tell-tales of cats and dogs

I’m naturally a ‘softie’ who likes cats(3), abhors violence, is considerate and reflective. I’m perhaps more naturally ‘feminine’ than ‘masculine’ in many respects. However, during my teens and early adulthood I became aware of the pressure to be a ‘man’ who was competitive, aggressive, assertive and successful.

I noticed that when beginning a career in professional sales, and later when taking on the role of company managing director, I became highly sales/results-focused, assertive, disciplined, competitive and single-minded.(4)

In short, I became ‘masculine’ in many respects. While it engendered sales and business success which I enjoyed up to a point, deep down I felt empty and unfulfilled.

In recent years I’ve followed my yearning to write, and only relatively recently recognised my natural, easy ‘like rolling down a hill’ bias towards teaching health and wellbeing. Compared to my company-director persona, this focus requires almost a complete opposite disposition in character.

Recently I had lunch with a wonderful lady who openly admitted her masculine character (I joked that I wouldn’t want to offend her because she’d outrun me if I attempted to run away. She added, “and out-bike you”, being as she is a triathlon athlete. Much laughter was enjoyed).

We discussed getting in touch with the feminine, and how one might best do that. That conversation was a catalyst for this article, as the subject of the feminine nature is central to Toni’s project “Cause: you’re beautiful”.

It seems to me that many people are quite familiar with the masculine focus on achievement, competitiveness, results and action. Our society rewards ‘winners’. To be a ‘loser’ is tantamount to being a social outcast.

So what does it mean to get in touch with the feminine, and why should we do so if society doesn’t reward the feminine? Perhaps because individually and collectively we will remain empty and unfulfilled until we do. I believe that finding a complimentary balance of ‘masculine and feminine’ (of individuality with community; of head with heart; of reason with intuition; of a dependable base of financial and domestic wellbeing while being free to enjoy mystery, discovery and creativity) is vital to fulfilment, ease, health and wellbeing.(5)

It’s been my experience that when this complementary-duality becomes unbalanced or overly biased life becomes less fulfilling, rich and rewarding.

As Michael Leunig wisely observed(6):

… until a man discovers his emotional life, and his gentle, vulnerable side, until he gives it expression, he never will find his woman or his soul, and until he does find his soul he will be tortured and depressed and miserable underneath a fair bit of bullshit.

We can also apply Michael’s insight to our Western life of championing individuality, competitiveness, objective science, technology and materialism. It’s this masculine, competitive culture of winners and losers that is, I believe, the root cause of the epidemic in depression. Until our culture finds its soul, its gentle side, we’ll all feel its depressive effect in our lives, even if we engineer ourselves into the illusory safe harbour of wealth and possessions, or by distracting ourselves with busy lives.(7)

For me, I’ve avoided, delayed and feared acting on my feelings and intuitions in many areas of my life, and perhaps none more so than my yearning to write.

Some years ago I left business life to begin writing. Taking what seemed at the time the audacious step of writing a book on the practical implications of quantum physics was not easy, and I faced many difficulties finishing that book. Chief among them were ill-health and financial debt. But I now recognise that my life has been greatly enriched by taking action and finishing what I set out to do, despite the difficulties. Had I not done so I can sense in that other fork (of not writing) lay many disturbingly difficult, shallow and tortured years.

‘Following the feelings’ is vital to our wellbeing and success. Taking action to become someone we respect when we look in the mirror – of doing what gives us deep meaning and fulfilment – is an art and a science that I’ve barely begun exploring, learning and applying. But most of all, as I’m continually finding, it takes energy, courage and determination to act on one’s feelings – particularly and especially when we’re in the midst of naysayers and gloomy people who would have us play safe, denying permission to live fully and happily. And therein lies a paradox: of needing to be sufficiently masculine, assertive and unwavering to become gentle, generous and fulfilled.

But therein also lies the growth, the risk and the richness of life.

More soon.

1. I also like to put things in context, explaining that part of the cause of upset in the world is humanity’s current lack of maturity. Also, there are some biological/quantum physical impetuses towards competitive individuality by males, and the cooperative-communal by females. As Danar Zohar explains “The particle aspect of quantum matter gives rise to individuals, to things which, however briefly, can be somewhat pinned down and assigned an identity. The wave aspect gives rise to relationships between these individuals.” As will be more fully revealed in a new book, the simplest and most consistent explanation for the difference between the sexes is that men and males in general take on the particle nature, while women take on the wave nature of quantum physics. In other words, “men are particles, women are waves” explains the raw differences between men and women. The bias towards individual-particle or collective-wave nature provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the differences between men and women, together with all aspects of life.
2. The Weekend Australian, News Ltd, Sydney, September 19, 1998 page 23, Focus Section. {Edited excerpt of an essay by Francis Fukuyama in the September Issue of Foreign Affairs journal}
3. I read on a recent Internet forum that men who like cats are suspect – not ‘real men.’ In truth I enjoy the company of both dogs and cats. I sense that ‘real men’ like dogs because an obedient, subservient mutt complements their masculine bias towards being in control and being dominant.
4. A DISC profile taken at the time revealed a stratospheric level D (dominant) character, with little I, and moderate S and C.
5. Decades of research by researchers such as Sir Professor Michael Marmot reveals that supportive social circumstances and beliefs are the primary determinants of health and wellbeing.
6. Gina Lennox, In Search of Heroes, Allen & Unwin, Sydney 1998, p 51.
7. That’s not to suggest being busy is bad, but when it is not integrated with ease, relaxation and reflection we do ourselves a disservice. On the other hand, for feminine women (and feminine men), developing their assertive masculine identity is equally important if they are to find greater ease, peace and fulfilment.

When I received Toni’s invitation to participate in her “Because you’re beautiful” project, I was initially hesitant. I wondered if helping improve women’s wellbeing was the best focus for my work, which is centered on improving the wellbeing of women and men, of One and All.

But in having chatted with Toni, I learned of her passion and commitment, and her belief that focusing on improving the wellbeing of women helps all of us¹.

My journey has largely been one of ’suffering for my art’ – devoting great ’slabs of time and effort’ to thinking, questioning, reflecting and writing on the deeper issues and frameworks of life, most of which has been done at the expense of my financial well-being. As I’ve said to some whom I’ve met or known, thinking about the deeper processes of life is for me as natural and as necessary as breathing.

It seems an odd coincidence but in admitting it here on Toni’s site, I’m coming to recognize that while I’ve often felt at odds with life (due to the ’suffering’ bit, as well as having a somewhat argumentative, socially-awkward persona), throughout it all I’ve naturally questioned and reflected.

Feeling at odds with the world; of not finding one’s place within it; of not feeling a valued member of one’s community can be a difficult place to be. And as I was to learn some years ago, it was for me the catalyst and the cause for a serious illness that left me bedridden for months.

With the benefit of hindsight I can now see the purpose of my past upsets and ailments, and the deeper rhythms of my life.

The coincidence, energy and focus on sharing my experiences for this project, and that it has already triggered some realizations, will hopefully shine some light on the deeper rhythms and processes of life for those who are interested. My interest is not primarily focused on the latest trends in psychology, science,
philosophy or spirituality, but in the underlying principles that will remain valid, meaningful and useful independent of circumstances and belief.

Toni’s “Because you’re beautiful” affords me the opportunity to help others expand awareness of the deeper causes of the ills experienced by women (and men), including violence and depression.

This focus has helped me tune my radar to articles that offer valuable insights into this issue. One that caught my attention recently was the Sydney Morning Herald’s report “Women’s secret revolution stops tribal violence.” It reveals how women from various opposing tribes met in secret to begin campaigning against decades of violence that had resulted in many deaths and considerable destruction. It took the village women to face their fears in order to organize a better world for themselves and their families.²

Such stories echo a common theme throughout humanity’s chequered history of violence against women, and more commonly against men. As many fail to appreciate, or perhaps prefer to ignore, violence against men far surpasses that against women.2 And as far as domestic violence is concerned, research reveals that “women are as physically aggressive, or more aggressive, than men in their relationships with their spouses or male partners.”³ It behooves all of us, in my opinion, to understand the deeper causes of violence in any form, if we are to seriously and effectively begin our journey to a violence-free world.

My work here is to highlight our filters concerning the causes of violence and self-harm, and how our current world-views (cultural belief-systems) have hitherto been relatively superficial perceptions of life.

To that end, and if I may use such a pun, I pull no punches when searching and questioning on such matters.

With good wishes,
Steaphen Pirie
Director/Author
Belief Institute

How can it be?

How is it possible that with our historically high standards of living – enabling most of us to be plugged in and connected via cell phones, Internet, social media and computers – we now have the World Health Organization declaring that “Depression is the leading cause of disability as measured by YLDs” (Years Lived with Disability).⁴

It seems odd that as we get better at making and using technology, we see higher rates of depression and mental illness. Could it be that with all our marvelous inventions, machines and gadgets, we’ve forgotten something important?

Recently I read a report that during the Global Financial Crisis, many people, although obviously not all, were happier.

Why?

The report concluded that many were happier because people had gained a sense that “we’re all in this together now”.

Some years ago a major ‘bush-fire’ swept through and destroyed the national park adjoining the townhouse where I was living at the time. Normally some of the neighbors in the complex barely said hello to one another, or at least to me, yet during and after the fire, those same people were open, friendly and joined in the common cause of fighting the fire. The sense of camaraderie and community was palpable. It was a warm, comforting and reassuring experience, despite the immediate dangers presented by the fire. Yet soon after the fire, within days, many people started to return to their old ways, becoming again aloof and distant.

It seems evident that we enjoy community and camaraderie, but not too much! We also enjoy our privacy, freedom and space, but again, not too much it seems – as evidenced by the trend for people to live in cities throughout the world. We enjoy our freedoms and our connections, but we don’t enjoy (as the above report suggests) being left behind financially, culturally, socially. We enjoy and need a balance between what I like to define as ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ energies and focuses – we enjoy and need a complementarily of community and individuality; intimacy and solitude; cooperation and competition; spiritual and physical; ‘heart’ and ‘head’; intuitive and logical; oneness and separateness, respectively.

If many were to recognize this fundamental duality to life and that we naturally need both, we would save ourselves a great deal of upset. For example, if we were to recognize the underlying cooperation that enables competition, the recent (and current) ‘Global Financial Crisis’ would have been avoided (for reasons that, with courtesy to Toni’s goals here, are perhaps best explained another time, another place).

Another example is the natural bias of ‘masculine’ people towards solitude and keeping a “stiff upper lip” (fortitude, silence) – the “man in his cave” (or garage) aspect to men’s behavior that has been well covered by others. If more people were to understand the natural balance that occurs in relationships – that if the man is feminine, the other partner, be they male or female, will find an urge to be masculine – far more fulfilling relationships could be experienced. The same applies to politics and cultures – a complimentary left-wing/Eastern and right-wing/Western bias by politicians and cultures (collectives) is readily evident in the world today. The vitriol in politics would be avoided simply because we would acknowledge and value the complimentary nature of public and private ownership, of regulation and free-markets.

But what of violence, self-harm and depression? How do they factor in the complimentary nature of human relationships?

Back to basics

It has been widely reported that when Albert Einstein was asked, “what is the most important question facing humanity today?” he replied, “I think the most important question facing humanity is, ‘Is the universe a friendly place?’”

He went on to explain that if we find it unfriendly, we will build walls and weapons to keep out the unfriendliness. Had he been alive today, he might have also suggested we would invent ever more potent chemicals, poisons, weapons and fundamentalisms to kill unfriendly germs, weeds, insects, animals, people, ideas and freedoms. Judging by current world circumstances, and our recent fears concerning unfriendly germs (’swine flu’), unfriendly neighbors (warring tribes and nations); and an increasingly unfriendly climate, we might expect the vast bulk of humanity has answered Einstein’s question.

“Is our universe, and our world a friendly place?” can reveal much about whowe are, and what we believe.

• Is our unconscious, or subconscious a friendly portion of our psyches that can be trusted to safely lead us into spontaneity, surprise, creativity, fun and fulfillment – i.e. do we trust ourselves enough to act on our hunches and gut-feelings, to create a better life for ourselves?
• Is what we experience after death a friendly loving experience that enables ongoing growth, evolution and fulfillment – i.e. do we fret about death unnecessarily, thereby wasting the here and now, and the rich sensate experiences that life has to offer?
• Is genetic evolution of ourselves and our planet’s creatures and plants a friendly process that is invited and guided by loving intent towards individual and collective fulfillment and growth – i.e. do we work with nature to realize a better world, or compete against her, breeding ever more potent viruses
  and antibiotic-resistant bacteria as a result?
• Do we live within what acclaimed physicist John A. Wheeler believed to be a ‘participatory universe’ in which we are all helping to create the reality we know – i.e. do we believe we’re victims to chance, in a
  meaningless universe, or valuable co-creators?
• Do the deeper processes of life join together to form a friendly cohort that nurtures and supports love, peace, health, well-being and growth – or are our religions, sciences, psychologies and social policies out of step with the fundamentals of life?

It would seem many who suffer depression have not found their world, and particularlytheir inner world a friendly place.

In light of all the apparent unfriendliness in our lives it would seem we are justified in working harder, faster and smarter to outpace our competitors, so we can stay safe in this competitive ’survival of the fittest’
world. But is it wise to do so, and moreover, is it helping us to live with more health, wellbeing, ease and peace?

What would happen if individually, and collectively, we began to appreciate, believe and expect that our universe is fundamentally a friendly place? How might our world, our sciences, politics, laws and religions be different, if we were to open ourselves to the possibility that such a simple idea might actually be the fundamental base of life?

What evidence, if we were to begin seeing with fresh vigor and intent, might we find that reveals deep down our universe is a not only friendly place, but one that is overwhelmingly geared towards our personal growth, fulfillment and happiness? Feeling relaxed and supported by life, as one might feel when reclining in a comfortable lounge-chair, requires that we first begin to trust the chair and to use the chair in a way that is productive and sustainable.

If we were to feel amply supported by life, rather than being in a competitive, ‘dog-eat-dog’ world, we’d not feel the need to be quite so rapacious and greedy. We’d not be so anxious that we’d been left behind in the stampede towards money, fame and glamour.

It is this stampede towards the seemingly safe harbor of money and fame that causes much of the world’s ill, and disease. The challenge here is that money (wealth) does actually provide significant protection against disease and premature death. We now know from around 30 years of research by Sir Professor Michael Marmot and others, that, beyond a basic level of living conditions, it is our lack of wealth and social status, relative to our neighbors, that causes the vast majority of diseases and early deaths in the developed world.⁵ What the research is revealing is that it our level of control over our lives that is the primary factor in our health and well-being.⁶

So it is here, on the social issues within our communities and the world, that we need to focus if we are to alleviate the underlying causes of violence, depression and ill-health. Banning alcohol, for example, will do little to address the underlying causes of anxiety and frustration in peoples lives. Vaccinations will likewise do little to stave off infections in those who are in vulnerable demographics. In general, treating or focusing on the physical symptoms does little to address the underlying ‘psycho-social’ causes of ill-health, violence, depression and premature death.

The way forward

I often suggest to people that if we were to model our world on a  small village’ basis, most of the rapacious, greedy behaviors, the violence, the enormous disparities in wealth, and the associated illnesses and rates of depression, would be curtailed.

It is our ‘disconnect’ with the plight and conditions of others that enables the troubles to begin and grow. It is our fundamental disconnections with, or ignorance of the world around us that provides the conditions favorable to disease, depression, corruption and violence.

But most of all it is ignorance of, and a disconnect with our own inner-world, the deeper metaphysical nature of the human psyche, and the deeper meta-physical nature of life and our universe that is the primary cause of current world circumstances.⁷

We now have the benefit of quantum physics, a science that is revealing just how enmeshed, and interconnected, and powerful we really are – with our thoughts we are indeed making our world. With our heart-felt expectations and choices we are realizing possibilities into lived experience. As recent research from Harvard Medical School has confirmed, through belief and meditation we’re able to switch on disease-fighting genes. We are not victims to some fixed past that has fated us to experience disease, poverty and a decrepit old-age.

Culturally we are about to fall off a philosophical cliff. Fortunately a safe landing in a far more compassionate, sane and exciting world awaits those who come to the edge with the understanding of how to fly.

In the months ahead I’ll share my understanding and experiences in coming to terms with these ideas, and the wondrous possibilities that lay ahead for those willing to understand, imagine, engage and fly.

Footnotes:

1. This is a theme that will covered in more detail in the articles ahead – of needing to face our fears in order to bring about a better world.
2. “In comparison to men, however, women have much lower rates of victimization for crime overall and for all major individual criminal offenses, with the exception of rape and sexual assault. For example, according
   to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), men were 42 percent more likely to be victims of violent crime“” [Source: David Levinson, Encyclopedia of crime and punishment, Volume 4, Sage Publications,
   Inc; 1 ed., March 18, 2002. p. 1726]
3. “References examining assaults by women on their spouses or male partners: An annotated bibliography.” [Martin S. Fiebert, Department of Psychology, California State University, Long Beach. Web URL reference
   http://www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm]
4. ‘Depression’, World Health Organization [web URL – www.who.int/mental_health/management/depression/definition/en/ ]
5. “Even in the most affluent countries, people who are less well off have substantially shorter life expectancies and more illnesses than the rich.” [Source: Michael Marmot & Richard Wilkinson, Social Determinants
   of Health: The Solid Fact (Second Edition, 2003). World Health Organization (Europe), p7. (Introduction) Ref. www.euro.who.int/document/e81384.pdf]
6. “Autonomy – how much control you have over your life – and the opportunities you have for full social engagement and participation are crucial for health, well-being, and longevity” [Source: Michael Marmot, The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects Our Health and Longevity, Holt Paperbacks, 2005, p2. ]
7. The use of the hyphenated meta-physical term is in deference to the solid scientific research in the field of quantum physics which is revealing a deeper, at-once (literally a super-physical, faster-than-light)
   interconnectedness of our universe. Our psychologies, politics, religions and sciences have lagged behind these advances. Our awareness of the deeper and ubiquitous meta-physical, interconnected nature of life will begin our evolution beyond the belief in a mechanical, competitive, deterministic world.