Grofians Unauthorized
Discussion Group
GLOBAL CRISIS AND CONSCIOUSNESS EVOLUTION
[NEGATIVE PERINATAL MATRICES AND LIFE STRATEGY]
"Numerous observations suggest that an individual who is dominated by one of the negative perinatal matrices approaches life in a way that not only fails to bring satisfaction, but also can be, in the long run, destructive and self-destructive. If the psyche is under the influence of the second basic perinatal matrix [BPM II; no exit], but not strong enough to result in manifest pathology, the individual will show a generally passive, resigned, and submissive attitude toward life. Under similar circumstances, BPM III [death-rebirth struggle] will generate what can be referred to as a "workaholic", "tread-mill", or "rat-race" type of existence....
In this frame of mind, other people are seen as competitors and nature as something that is hostile and has to be conquered and controlled. Historically, the first explicit formulation of this attitude can be traced to Francis Bacon, who defined the basic strategies for the new empirical method in Western science. Referring to nature, he used such terms as: nature has to be hounded in her wanderings, raped, placed on a rack, tortured, and forced to give her secrets to the scientists, put in constraint, made a slave, and controlled (Bacon 1870). It has taken several centuries to realize that Bacon's suggestion was dangerous and ultimately destructive and self-destructive. With the development of modern technology, it proved to be a reliable recipe for planetary suicide.
On a collective and global scale, this frame of mind generates a philosophy and strategy of life that emphasizes strength, competition, and unilateral control; it glorifies linear progress and unlimited growth. In this context, material profit and increase of the gross national product are considered to be the main criteria of well-being and measures of the living standard. This ideology and the economic and political strategies resulting from it bring humans into a serious conflict with their nature as living systems and with basic universal laws.
Since all biological systems depend critically on optimal values, maximizing the pursuits is an unnatural and dangerous trajectory. In a universe, the very nature of which is cyclical, this strategy advocates an irreversible linear trend and unlimited growth. Seen from a broader perspective, this means in the long run depletion of nonrenewable natural resources, particularly the fossil fuels, and accumulation of toxic waste, which pollutes the air, water, and soil - all vitally important for the continuation of life. In addition, this approach to existence glorifies competition and the Darwinian 'survival of the fittest' as natural and healthy principles of existence, and is unable to recognize the urgent need for synergy and cooperation." --THE ADVENTURE OF SELF-DISCOVERY (pp. 260-262)
[LONG-TERM CHANGES IN PERSONALITY STRUCTURE, WORLD VIEW, AND HIERARCHY OF BASIC VALUES ]
"When the individual experiences during in-depth self-exploration a major shift from negative to positive perinatal matrices, the ability to enjoy life and the degree of zest increase considerably. The original experience of undisturbed prenatal existence and nursing associated with these matrices involves a sense of satisfaction and timelessness of the present moment. When these elements underlie the experience of everyday life, it becomes possible to draw intense satisfaction from each present moment and from many ordinary situations and functions....This reduces considerably the irrational drive to pursue complicated schemes in the false hope of achieving satisfaction. In this state of mind, it becomes quite clear that the ultimate measure of one's living standard is the quality of one's life experience and not the quantity of achievements or material possessions.
The above changes are accompanied by the spontaneous emergence of deep ecological consciousness and awareness. The Baconian attitude toward nature ('Mother Nature') described earlier is modeled after the precarious and antagonistic experience of the fetus with the maternal organism in the process of biological delivery. The new values and attitudes reflect the symbiotic experience of the fetus with the mother during prenatal existence and during nursing. Synergistic, mutually nourishing, and complementary aspects of this situation tend to replace automatically the competitive and exploitative emphasis of the old value system. The concept of human existence as a life-and-death struggle for survival in a world governed by the law of the jungle gives way to a new image of life as a manifestation of a cosmic dance or a divine play.
The level of aggression decreases considerably and the sense of connection and fundamental unity with the world leads to sexual, political, national, cultural, and racial tolerance. In the new context, differences are not threatening any more. They are seen as interesting and desirable variations of the one undivided cosmic web. This new vision of the world often leads to 'voluntary simplicity' in Duane Elgin's sense (Elgin 1981) that is now seen as an expression of profound wisdom. It also becomes obvious that the only hope for a political, social, and economic solution of the current global crisis can come from a transpersonal perspective that transcends the hopeless us-verses-them psychology, which produces at best occasional pendulum-like shifts in which the protagonists exchange the roles of oppressors and oppressed." --THE ADVENTURE OF SELF-DISCOVERY (pp. 262-263)
"In view of these facts, the increase of interest in spirituality and the inner quest is certainly one of the few hopeful developments in our troubled world. If this trend continues, inner transformation of humanity could become a major force in averting the present suicidal trend and the global catastrophe toward which the world seems to be moving at a frightening pace. The rapidly processing convergence between the new science and the mystical traditions of perennial philosophy offers an exciting perspective of a future comprehensive worldview that will heal the gap between scientific research and spiritual quest. Such an encompassing new paradigm could become an important catalyst in the evolution of consciousness that seems to be a critical condition for the survival of life on this planet."
--THE ADVENTURE OF SELF-DISCOVERY (p. 273)
"Whatever questions one may have about the feasibility of this strategy as a world-changing force, it could well be our only real chance under present circumstances. In practical terms the new approach means to complement whatever one is doing in the external world with a systematic process of in-depth self-exploration. In this way the pragmatic technical knowledge of each of us can be complemented and guided by the wisdom of the collective unconscious.
Inner transformation can be achieved only through individual determination, focused effort, and personal responsibility. Any plans to change the situation in the world are of problematic value, unless they include a systematic effort to change the human condition that has created the crisis. To the extent to which evolutionary change in consciousness is a vital prerequisite for the future of the world, the outcome of this process depends on the initiative of each of us." --BEYOND THE BRAIN (p. 432)
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