Category: The Essays

I did not set out to become a mystic. I was never among those New Agers actively seeking to transform consciousness through meditation or yoga……..

However, the skepticism that I had held about religion did little to prevent the occurrence of my spiritual awakening. Without my consent, transformations were brewing within me. An inner mandate had been tugging at my soul…… At the time of my awakening, I did not know that humankind is on the brink of profound transformations in consciousness. Nor did I understand much about the human’s potential for enlightenment. You too may be unacquainted with the whole story. Nevertheless, right now, you could be undergoing, knowingly or unknowingly, changes that are similar to what happened to me….. However, I hope that some of my insights into this spiritual “hatching” process can help you along on your journey.

But my wish for this book does not end there. My main intention is to put into language the shift that has occurred in my thinking. I hesitate to refer to this alteration as a “paradigm shift” because this term has been haphazardly applied to all kinds of changes …. We must be clear that an actual paradigm shift will produce radical changes in our basic unstated assumptions and understandings.

I believe that Thoughts From A Contemplative Beast speaks to just such a shift—a new paradigm with adaptive value for the human species. For this reason, this book is intended for all human beings.

I first became aware of the metamorphosis that thad been percolating within me when I unexpectedly had an out-of-body experience. ………

At this stage in our species’ evolution, we humans are still tethered to our animal origins. Consequently, we spend much of our psychic energy dealing with worries about our own physical and psychological safety. With self-preservation dominating our thoughts, we obviously are not concerned about living as humble creatures in God’s garden.  Rather, our preoccupation with security actually encourages our self-centeredness.

Because we peer out from behind our own eyes, each one of us is immersed in a subjective viewpoint. We have little if any awareness of how the dominating fears and desires of our animal mind work to distort our perceptions.

Because of our bestial self-centeredness, we seldom think about our lowly status within the universe.  We rarely, if ever, step outside of our own subjective frame of reference. As a result, we do not perceive ourselves as animals. Our egocentricity actually discourages us from considering our human predicament from a more transcendent perspective. And, unfortunately, these limitations in our ability to take in the big picture lead us astray.

We tend to feel separate or isolated from the rest of creation; and, then we carry on as if the laws of cause and effect do not apply to our own set of circumstances. Governed by these delusions of omnipotence, we conduct ourselves as if our Creator’s designs need not concern us. We like to pretend that we can mistreat our bodies, our children, and our rivers with no ill effects. Unaware of the implications of our humble status, we humans are flawed with a maladaptive trait.   ……..