Clearly, to me and many others, the problems we now face in the world have existential roots. They stem from an increasing loss of meaning in life along with the assumption that meaning can be found only in organized religion and that existential thinking must necessarily begin with a belief in God and, concomitantly, a worship of that God, whatever He, She, or It might be. The belief that Science has impeached Religion has encouraged an abandonment of such thinking and led to a nihilistic mindset among many people, resulting in a loss of hope and lives of melancholy or despair based on fears of eternal extinction. Such fears are generally subconscious but they constantly seep into the conscious mind and significantly influence our behavior and mental state.
Those who live more hopeful and positive lives fall into two basic categories: 1) those who have succeeded in embracing life through basically meaningless activities grounded in escapism while blocking out any attempts by the subconscious mind directed at existential thought; 2) those who have succeeded in open-mindedly recognizing that the evidence strongly suggesting that this life is part of a larger life, one not necessarily requiring the God of religions or worship of that Being. That is, those who have developed a conviction that consciousness survives death in a greater reality that is beyond human comprehension but is not the humdrum heaven and horrific hell of orthodoxy. However, humanism ultimately fails in this regard.
The basic paradox here is that finding or identifying God is not a prerequisite to accepting the greater reality, but that in accepting the evidence for consciousness surviving death does lead to a Creator or Supreme Being of some kind, not necessarily an anthropomorphic one. That Creative Force or Supreme Being need not be worshipped in the normal sense of the word.
The evidence comes to us through Science, though inexact, in such fields as near-death studies, credible mediumship, past-life studies, instrumental trans-communication, deathbed phenomena, and other paranormal phenomena. No one study or case will provide absolute certainty, but the cumulative evidence, closely examined, will provide a strong conviction for the open-minded examiner. Some doubt is necessary for the "Divine Plan" to effectively work.
Unfortunately, few are those who can separate religious thinking from the metaphysical or existential thinking, and therefore a Wisdom Council would likely fail. The only person who comes to mind as a candidate for this council is Robert Bigelow of the Bigelow Institute in Las Vegas.
Lots of elements you have going here. You are in my field of who are we and what we're doing here, with an either/or that doesn’t seem right, or how any of it relates to a Wisdom Council. Check out Brian Swimme’s work that's in a lineage from Teilhard de Chardin through Thomas Berry: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/767509795. Just forget the idea of God. It’s that there’s one evolutionary event going on and the cosmos itself is giving rise to each step. We are of the Earth, not on it and using it if we have our heads on straight. The universe is the creator – of itself. That understanding fills you with such awe and gratitude that you only want to take care of your wonderful home. It would be the key to getting humanity on a positive course. And it’s possible that all it would take to convince humanity would be some good ideas.
Jeffrey Mishlove, Ph.D. was the winner of the essay contest. As I understand it, he is now a full-time employee of the Bigelow Institute for Consciousness Studies. It seems to me you should bounce some of your ideas off him, if he is not already aware of them. See
No, I don't know Robert Bigelow personally. Just know of his support for research supporting the survival of consciousness at death. In addition to the 2021 essay competition offering over $1.5 million in prizes (I was one of the runner-up winners, if that is not an oxymoron). The overall winner of that contest, whose name now escapes me, is now employed full-time by the Institute to further explore other efforts in research supporting the survival hypothesis.
Right on for how good Jeffrey is. He's is a longtime ally of mine. He won half a million dollars in that Bigelow essay contest!!! He has been putting out interviews, as New Thinking Allowed, for decades: https://www.newthinkingallowed.org. That's his gig and he wouldn't be an employee of anyone's.
He's not so available right now for thinking about anything except the writing he's doing for entering another contest!!!!
Clearly, to me and many others, the problems we now face in the world have existential roots. They stem from an increasing loss of meaning in life along with the assumption that meaning can be found only in organized religion and that existential thinking must necessarily begin with a belief in God and, concomitantly, a worship of that God, whatever He, She, or It might be. The belief that Science has impeached Religion has encouraged an abandonment of such thinking and led to a nihilistic mindset among many people, resulting in a loss of hope and lives of melancholy or despair based on fears of eternal extinction. Such fears are generally subconscious but they constantly seep into the conscious mind and significantly influence our behavior and mental state.
Those who live more hopeful and positive lives fall into two basic categories: 1) those who have succeeded in embracing life through basically meaningless activities grounded in escapism while blocking out any attempts by the subconscious mind directed at existential thought; 2) those who have succeeded in open-mindedly recognizing that the evidence strongly suggesting that this life is part of a larger life, one not necessarily requiring the God of religions or worship of that Being. That is, those who have developed a conviction that consciousness survives death in a greater reality that is beyond human comprehension but is not the humdrum heaven and horrific hell of orthodoxy. However, humanism ultimately fails in this regard.
The basic paradox here is that finding or identifying God is not a prerequisite to accepting the greater reality, but that in accepting the evidence for consciousness surviving death does lead to a Creator or Supreme Being of some kind, not necessarily an anthropomorphic one. That Creative Force or Supreme Being need not be worshipped in the normal sense of the word.
The evidence comes to us through Science, though inexact, in such fields as near-death studies, credible mediumship, past-life studies, instrumental trans-communication, deathbed phenomena, and other paranormal phenomena. No one study or case will provide absolute certainty, but the cumulative evidence, closely examined, will provide a strong conviction for the open-minded examiner. Some doubt is necessary for the "Divine Plan" to effectively work.
Unfortunately, few are those who can separate religious thinking from the metaphysical or existential thinking, and therefore a Wisdom Council would likely fail. The only person who comes to mind as a candidate for this council is Robert Bigelow of the Bigelow Institute in Las Vegas.
Lots of elements you have going here. You are in my field of who are we and what we're doing here, with an either/or that doesn’t seem right, or how any of it relates to a Wisdom Council. Check out Brian Swimme’s work that's in a lineage from Teilhard de Chardin through Thomas Berry: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/767509795. Just forget the idea of God. It’s that there’s one evolutionary event going on and the cosmos itself is giving rise to each step. We are of the Earth, not on it and using it if we have our heads on straight. The universe is the creator – of itself. That understanding fills you with such awe and gratitude that you only want to take care of your wonderful home. It would be the key to getting humanity on a positive course. And it’s possible that all it would take to convince humanity would be some good ideas.
You don't know Bigelow, do you? https://www.bigelowinstitute.org/contest_winners3.php. Is he aces as a person in addition to as a philanthropist? If so, he could be a starter for a Wisdom Council. Good idea.
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Jeffrey Mishlove, Ph.D. was the winner of the essay contest. As I understand it, he is now a full-time employee of the Bigelow Institute for Consciousness Studies. It seems to me you should bounce some of your ideas off him, if he is not already aware of them. See
https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/353002/bigelow-institutes-winning-life-after-death-essays-published
No, I don't know Robert Bigelow personally. Just know of his support for research supporting the survival of consciousness at death. In addition to the 2021 essay competition offering over $1.5 million in prizes (I was one of the runner-up winners, if that is not an oxymoron). The overall winner of that contest, whose name now escapes me, is now employed full-time by the Institute to further explore other efforts in research supporting the survival hypothesis.
Thank you for your reply.
Right on for how good Jeffrey is. He's is a longtime ally of mine. He won half a million dollars in that Bigelow essay contest!!! He has been putting out interviews, as New Thinking Allowed, for decades: https://www.newthinkingallowed.org. That's his gig and he wouldn't be an employee of anyone's.
He's not so available right now for thinking about anything except the writing he's doing for entering another contest!!!!