Time to let your light shine

The increasing polarisation in the world shows that the shadow of the human race is deepening. Developments with far reaching consequences will inevitably affect us all. But we individually and collectively have the responsibility and also opportunity to generate a new field of consciousness. From such an emergent field will crystallise out humanity's next evolutionary phase.

Back in 1936 Jan Smuts issued a warning and offered a way out of our human dilemma:

"Our race and our civilisation are to-day confronted with the alternatives of integration or disintegration ... Holism points the way to the former as against the latter alternative. It ... supplies a clue not only for philosophy but also for a programme of action ... such is the ultimate influence of thought on action that the philosophy may yet prove no less important than the programme of action which the dire necessities of our time so urgently call for."

Sadly, humanity was not yet ready to hear that message. Already in 1927, almost ten years earlier, he had warned:

“It must be clear to those who look below the surface of things that far-reaching changes ... are setting in ... the world of to-morrow will be a very different?…?a grave duty arises ... for our science and philosophy (it) ... should regard itself as dedicated to service and should make its distinctive contribution towards the upbuilding of a new constructive world-view. We are passing through one of the great transition epochs of history; we are threatened with reaction on the one hand and with disintegration on the other ... the torch of new ideas has to be kindled for our guidance?…?it is nothing but a spiritual structure of the dominant ideas expressing themselves in institutions and the subtle atmosphere of culture."

Limitations of the scientific paradigm

Here I intercept Smuts' quote on the spiritual nature of transformation with my own experience. In 2017 I was privileged to attend a conference of Science Nobel Prize-winners in Norway. They were challenged whether science should be purpose-driven. The response was both predictable and bland; the purpose of science was simply to follow the knowledge. Technology would decide to what purpose to put their discoveries. Clearly, Smuts' 'grave duty', identified in the quote above, for science and philosophy to dedicate itself to the upbuilding of a new constructive worldview, was not yet comprehended. His notion of spiritual structure being created out of the dominant ideas that would express themselves in institutions and culture, fell outside of the parameters of what is permissible in scientific consideration. Hence, despite having already presented the case for holism to scientists at a major conference in 1931, his deeper holistic insight was not yet comprehended. So his earlier warning continued:

"If the soul of our civilisation is to be saved we shall have to find new and fuller expression for the great saving unities – the unity of reality in all its range, the unity of life in all its forms, the unity of ideas throughout human civilisation, and the unity of man’s spirit with the mystery of the Cosmos in religious faith and aspiration."

Today the soul of western civilisation is surely under threat. Whilst its 'liberal' excesses, like Woke-ism etc, are despised by the rise of autocrats, its legacy of neoliberal capitalism as manifest in the global economic order is decried as post-colonialism and Neo-imperialism.

Consequences of societal secularisation

Smuts' foreboding was that the secularisation of society, following the general abandonment of the idea of 'the unity of man's spirit with the mystery of the Cosmos', would result in the barren prevailing materialistic and mechanistic worldview. This has served to enslave humankind's appetite and aspiration. And since that worldview is still largely underpinned by conventional science, the 'soul of our civilisation', humanity's deeper longing for unified Self, lies buried under the noisy rhetoric of political point-scoring and business opportunism.

Humanity's greater challenge

Matters are rapidly coming to a head. We face even greater dangers now than when Smuts issued his warning. It was his lot to help lead the world through two tragically destructive world wars. He is no longer here to guide us. In our social disintegration we face the following:

• The imminent danger of the misapplication of the burgeoning power of technology with its accompanying threat to human freedom.
• The increasingly destructive impact of climate change.
• Growing human conflict with ominous threats of the employment of nuclear weapons.
• Far-reaching consequences from the the degradation of our air, oceans and soil.
• Extractive economic activities continuing to threaten the living systems milieu on which we depend.?

Human shadow surfacing

Our collective complacency is shaken by the consequences of the very conditions we have created and the human shadow is surfacing. We seem to be up against an invisible glass consciousness ceiling. ?Consequently the challenge of addressing the fundamental causative factors seems to be beyond capacity of the current generation of political and business leaders. They struggle to comprehend its dimension and even know how to begin to respond.?

But this issue of the invisible paradigm is of cardinal importance. In his statement Smuts’ stressed the importance of philosophy in informing practice. Ultimately, for those who are ready, it’s about acquiring new eyes, new values, and engaging in new holistic practice. It's about building the 'field' that Smuts described as 'spiritual structure'.

Green shoots

After a number of false starts, maybe already beginning with the hippies in the sixties and followed by the New Age movement, today there seems to be a proliferation of new transformative initiatives at grass roots level. And that is exactly where it needs to start. Science too remains confounded with the perplexing implications of quantum physics - and there are indeed a few courageous scientific 'souls' willing to think again about the deeper nature of reality.

We commend all these explorative initiatives. There is no final blue-print for change - we do not have a ready-made GPS system. We will have to find our way to navigating the growing complexity and even chaos, through experiment and collaboration. AND there is no ultimate enemy to blame - this disruptive transition arise from the human evolutionary process.

Free introductory workshop

But here we can indeed take some guidance from Smuts - the predominant principles are of necessity holism and integration. That is why we are proud to make our humble contribution to advancing human consciousness with our Holistic Systems Practice training program. https://holos.earth/holistic-systems-practice/

Personal Holistic Integration

This on-line training program consists of two three-month semesters. The first semester, beginning in September this year, focuses on Personal Holistic Integration - pursuing the Socratic injunction, "Know Thyself'. The opportunity will be to cultivate an even deeper personal alignment with the natural evolutionary forces from which that deeper self arises.

Holistic Systems Practice

The second semester, beginning in January 2025, focuses on the application of Holistic Systems Practice - how to facilitate local empowerment in our own personal spheres of influence. https://holos.earth/holistic-systems-practice/

In our free, one and half hour, introductory on-line workshop on coming 25 July we will share key insights and practices covered in the program set against the background of the challenging world conditions described. We will focus on enhancing our opportunity to make a positive personal contribution by employing the application of Holistic Systems Practice. In the coming free workshop we'll cover the following:

1. Understanding the dynamics of human perception
2. Understanding Self more clearly and compassionately.?
3. Understanding the influenceable hot buttons - motivations and intentions
4. Recognising the opportunities in ‘edge of chaos’ conditions.?
5. Learning about collaboration/co-creation with holistic creative evolution.?

Join our free online event - Thursday 25 July @ 19h00 CET.

To join our free on-line event e-mail: [email protected]

“…The way of reform, the way of salvation lies through the fostering, the purification, the enrichment of the human personality. There the divine light shines most clearly in the dark world.” J. C. Smuts - Holism and Evolution