Under Construction 11.12.24

Prologue

Please Note: At Universe Spirit, we now call the Universe Evolutionary Worldview, the principles of Progressive Evolution, and the Universe Principles "the Way of the Universe" to emphasize that they, in many ways, contain the most time-proven, reoccurring patterns of successful and sustainable action found within the 13.7 billion-year-old evolution of the universe.

Click here now to review a brief overview of what the new "Way of the Universe" is and involves if you have not done so already.)

Introduction

The new Universe Evolutionary Worldview is directly associated with the new Second Enlightenment era. The breakthrough thinking and analysis processes of Dialectical Meta-systemic Thinking are also fundamental to understanding the new Evolutionary Worldview and progressive evolution theory. The new Dialectical Meta-systemic thinking methodology will act as a powerful driving force to help bring a great Second Enlightenment period for humanity.

For perspective, the 1st Enlightenment (18th-century Europe and America) is estimated to have been launched by approximately 1,000 advanced minds. These minds held and propagated the enlightenment ideas with only an estimated 10 individuals willing to finance the spread of these new ideas. They created the First Enlightenment from the development of rational, analytical thinking, which led to the development of science.

(Please note: There is another Second Enlightenment. It was a minor early 19th-century religious movement far from the importance of the advances of the major breakthrough in thinking and analysis processes that occurred in either the new rational, analytical, and scientific thrust of the First Enlightenment or now found in the new Dialectical Meta-systemic Thinking of the Second Enlightenment.)

The 1st Enlightenment initiators did not have the Internet. They were not even remotely motivated by the critical current global problems or new technologies threatening the whole biosphere and the survival of humanity. The power of the evolutionary rational, analytical, and scientific ideas of the 1st Enlightenment soon spread everywhere and profoundly changed the most fundamental ways we think and learn today.

Because of the importance of the new Universe Evolutionary Worldview inspired 2nd Enlightenment opportunity, Universe Spirit will be active in promoting the spread of the new Universe Evolutionary Worldview and the Dialectical Meta-systemic Thinking advances essential to understanding this new worldview and the problems of the mini complex adaptive systems of the 21st-century such as are various ecosystems economic systems social systems and political systems.

Empowered by the Internet's dissemination power, the new ideas of this second Enlightenment are beginning to spread globally. They are reaching the most progressive sections of our universities, businesses, science and social research centers, and even a few sections of governments and advanced religious groups around the world.

"The worldview change of the Great Scientific First Enlightenment period has affected our world beyond what anyone could ever imagine. The new ideas of progressive evolution and Dialectical Meta-systemic Thinking contained within the Universe Evolution Worldview will also usher in a new and equally great Second Enlightenment period for humanity." Lawrence Wollersheim

To Help Co-Create the expanding Second Enlightenment, Keep Reading this whole page!

As more artists, writers, and musicians become inspired in their work by the 2nd Enlightenment Universe Evolutionary Worldview, these new ideas and ways of being and thinking (Dialectical Meta-systemic Thinking) will filter rapidly into every other level of the global society. If you are new to the 2nd Enlightenment worldview, we urge you to first review all the information about the Universe Evolutionary Worldview, progressive evolution, and the Dialectical Meta-systemic Thinking. Get up to speed and get into the adventure of what you can do with these new perspectives.

If you are already aware of the beginnings of the 2nd Enlightenment and the dynamic forces propelling it forward, we invite you to assist us in simplifying the materials for sharing this ground-breaking work, expansion, and development. The new artists of the 2nd Enlightenment Universe Evolutionary Worldview are now inspiring new songs, plays, novels, books, news stories, movies, animations, graphics, flags, logos, icons, and other artistic works and symbols that will become optimal carrier waves for delivering the new ideas of this second great enlightenment to the multitude of cultures, ethnicities, races, and demographic groups of the world. If you are an artist or pioneer willing to help us support the expansion of the 2nd Enlightenment or you want to join the collaboration, please continue reading…

If you are interested in helping as a volunteer to co-create this new Universe Evolutionary Worldview, please email us at [email protected]. Let us know if you want to be a volunteer co-creator, and include any relevant credentials or experience you have relating to this subject. Also, include an estimate of how much time you have available on a monthly basis to assist the collaboration on this subject. We welcome you to the co-creative adventure of the expanding Second Enlightenment and the Universe Evolutionary Worldview.

Here are the Attendees of the First Planning Meeting for the Second Enlightenment (San Francisco, Sept 2011)

At this first launching meeting for the ideas and concepts of a new second enlightenment period, the individuals below were also introduced to the dialectical meta-systemic thinking breakthroughs of Otto Laske. The goal of this first meeting was to introduce dialectical meta-systemic thinking breakthroughs to the attendees unfamiliar with it and to build a global training "escalator" for this new thinking skill because of its importance to the future of humanity.

The ongoing development of the ideas for a great second enlightenment period has been carried on by the Universe Spirit website and many of the individuals below in their own ways.

John Stewart has been instrumental in this ongoing process.

John Stewart is an Australian-based evolutionary theorist and activist who is a core member of the Evolution, Complexity, and Cognition Research Group of the Free University of Brussels.

As an evolutionary theorist, his main focus has been on the trajectory of evolution. His work on the directionality of evolution and its implications for humanity has been published in a number of key papers in international science journals. These include papers on the potential for humans to enhance their psychological capacities through the future evolution of consciousness.

He is the author of the internationally acclaimed book Evolution's Arrow: the Direction of Evolution and the Future of Humanity. In 2008 he was a keynote speaker at the first international scientific conference on “The Evolution and Development of the Universe,” held in Paris.

As an evolutionary activist, he uses a science-based understanding of the trajectory of evolution to identify how humanity must evolve if we are to continue to succeed in evolutionary terms. He has summarized his approach in The Evolutionary Manifesto. The Manifesto demonstrates the potential of an evolutionary worldview to provide meaning, purpose, and direction for human existence. It shows that humanity will need to intentionally advance the evolutionary process on Earth if it is to participate positively in the future evolution of life in the universe. This will involve intentionally re-organizing our political and social systems and further developing our consciousness and cognition.

 Otto Laske is the author of Measuring Hidden Dimensions of Human Systems, which is quite possibly the leading book on integral, dialectical thinking for complex systems. Otto is a theoretician of adult development. In 1999 he founded the Interdevelopmental Institute (IDM), in Gloucester, MA, USA, of which he is currently the Director. Otto’s studies at the Frankfurt School (1956-66) with Th. W. Adorno and M. Horkheimer, and the Kohlberg School (1992-1999) with R. Kegan, K. Fischer, H. Gardner, and M. Basseches have allowed him, since 1999, to focus on the intrinsic relationship of adult cognitive and social-emotional development, detailed in his two-volume book entitled Measuring Hidden Dimensions (IDM Press 2005, 2008). His theoretical work is found at www.interdevelopmentals.org. For 3 reviews of Measuring Hidden Dimensions of Human Systems, click here.

Anodea Judith, Ph.D., is the founder and director of Sacred Centers. She holds Master's and Doctoral degrees in Psychology and Human Health along with lifelong studies of healing, mythology, history, sociology, systems theory, and mystic spirituality. She is also a world-class author and speaker on the interpretation of the chakra system as a template for our times. Through her decades of writing and teaching on this subject, she sees the chakra system as a simple and elegant map for the interface between personal and collective evolution. Her books have examined this system as a template for global evolution (WAKING THE GLOBAL HEART), as a model for Western psychology (EASTERN BODY, WESTERN MIND), and as a philosophical model (WHEELS OF LIFE).

 Michael Dowd is a veteran sustainability activist and big history / big integrity evangelist. An enthusiastic and outspoken religious naturalist, he is the author of the bestselling bridge-building book, Thank God for Evolution: How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World (Viking 2008 / Plume 2009), which was endorsed by 6 Nobel Prize-winning scientists and other science luminaries, including noted skeptics, and by religious leaders across the spectrum.

Michael and his wife, Connie Barlow, an acclaimed science writer and gifted evolutionary educator, permanently travel North America and have addressed more than 1,500 religious and non-religious groups since 2002 — ranging from Unitarian Universalists and secular high school, college, and university students, to Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical Christian churches, to New Thought, New Age, IONS, and Integral groups. They show how the science-based history of everything and everyone can be interpreted in ways that inspire people to cooperate across political and religious differences in service of a just and thriving future for all.

In December 2010 Rev. Dowd hosted the acclaimed conversation series, "The Advent of Evolutionary Christianity," and in June 2011 he and Connie launched a 5-week online course, titled "Evolutionize Your Life."

Celebrated by liberals and conservatives alike and uniquely gifted at building bridges between believers and non-believers, Michael shares “The Great Story” — humanity’s common creation story — in ways that uplift and expand heart, mind, and soul. His passion is showing how a sacred view of death, human nature, and the trajectory of big history can inspire and empower each of us to live with greater integrity, joy, and zest for life.

Michael and Connie are co-creators of the leading Religious Naturalism / Epic of Evolution educational website: TheGreatStory.org and they blog at EvolutionaryTimes.org. Michael also blogs at EvolutionaryChristianity.com/blog and ThankGodforEvolution.com

Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, Ph.D., is a Professor and founding Chair of the Integral Theory Program at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, California. He is founding Director of the Integral Research Center, which supports graduate and post-graduate mixed methods research. In addition, he is the founding Executive Editor of the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice. Recently, he co-founded and co-organizes the biennial Integral Theory Conference, which began in 2008.

Sean is a leading scholar-practitioner in Integral Theory. He has worked closely with Ken Wilber for a decade operationalizing the integral (AQAL) model in multiple contexts. He is a founding member of Integral Institute and currently serves as their Vice President of Applications and Research. He is currently the most published author applying the Integral model to a variety of topics: education, sustainable development, ecology, research, intersubjectivity, science and religion, consciousness studies, and play. His articles have appeared in academic journals such as the Journal of Consciousness Studies, World Futures, ReVision, and Journal of Humanistic Psychology. Sean co-edited Ken Wilber’s book The Simple Feeling of Being and co-authored an 800-page book with environmental philosopher Michael Zimmerman: Integral Ecology: Uniting Multiple Perspectives on the Natural World. Recently, he co-edited the anthology Integral Education: New Directions for Higher Learning and edited the ground-breaking anthology Integral Theory in Action: Applied, Theoretical, and Constructive Perspectives on the AQAL model. He is currently working on a number of articles and books.

Sean has over twenty years of leadership experience, always serving in multiple major roles simultaneously. His passion as a leader comes from his love of being alive, his commitment to looking directly at reality without blinking, and his desire to increase people’s experience of intimacy with Being. He is a practitioner within both Tibetan Buddhism (Shangpa Kagyu linage) and A. H. Almaas’ the Diamond Approach. Recently, he has begun to explore the Faery tradition as well. He lives in Sebastopol, California on five acres of stunning redwoods with his wife and two daughters.

Jonathan Gustin, MFT, is a meditation teacher, purpose guide, and psychotherapist with offices in San Francisco and San Rafael. He is the founder of Integral Awakening Center (www.integralawakeningcenter.com) and has taught throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, at places such as: Spirit Rock, Green Gulch, CIIS, JFK University, The Non-Dual Wisdom and Mental Health Conference, iEvolve, Bay Area Integral, Marina Counseling Center, Bank of Marin, Drew High School,  iRestInstitute, and Vajrapani Institute.

Jonathan has co-taught with human potential pioneer George Leonard, Buddhist activist Joanna Macy and depth psychologist Bill Plotkin. Jonathan teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mind-Body Medicine, and Integral Life Practice at San Francisco Kaiser Permanente.

In 2000, Jonathan also founded Green Sangha, a spiritually engaged environmental activist organization with chapters in the East Bay, Marin County, and San Francisco, and is featured in the movie documentary “Renewal,” a film on spiritual communities' responses to environmental challenges.

 Dustin DiPerna is Educational Director of the Center for World Spirituality in San Francisco. He also serves as Director of Integral Affairs at the World Council of Religious Leaders. He is author of two books to be released later this year, Developmental Religious Pluralism: An Introduction to Integral Religious Studies and The Heart of Conscious Evolution: Toward a Model of Spiritual Development for an Integral Age. Dustin has been a close student of Integral Philosopher Ken Wilber since 2004 and currently practices in the lineage streams of Mahamudra and Dzogchen under the guidance of Daniel P. Brown. He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and is currently pursuing a Master of Liberal Arts Degree in Religion through Harvard University.

 Malena Gamboa is a visionary with a background in promotions, advertising, and design. Since 2002, she has spearheaded promotional campaigns for both small and larger boutiques in the Los Angeles area.  She has consulted, led, and overseen various on-air promo spots for Telemundo and NBC, including the first-ever cross-cultural campaign for the 2004 Olympic Games.

In 2009 she launched the We On Earth Organization, a not-for-profit organization established to draw greater awareness to environmental and humanitarian global issues. In 2010, Malena co-founded Global Resolutions Organization with Marta Mobley, in partnership with the New Media Foundation. Together they are launching The Global Resolutions Initiative and the "I resolve" campaign, a call-to-action campaign that re-brands New Year's Eve resolutions in a strategic effort to promote and usher in deeper global awareness of our interconnectedness and a sustainable world. Malena is the Chair and Producer of the Midnight Rose New Year's Eve celebration. She is also a dedicated proponent of social and environmental transformation and a member of the Integral Think Tank.

 Vidyuddeva (Vid Deva) is an executive coach who, in partnership with Stagen Institute, is pioneering new integral methodologies engaging our shared humanity and guiding business leaders in the discipline of sculpting the passionate purpose of their lives into the art of being freely and fully alive.

As a Zen Priest, Biblical Mystic and Tantric Evolutionary he integrates Eastern and Western wisdom traditions with constructive developmental, somatic, and archetypal psychology.

Vidyuddeva works closely with leading teachers from various world religious traditions including Zen, contemplative Christianity, and Jewish Kabbalah as well as with philosopher Ken Wilber. He has been organizing and leading spiritual communities with a focus on "God's glory is the human being fully alive" for the last fifteen years. He is a core faculty member of the iEvolve Global Practice Community and was one of the spiritual teachers comprising the Integral Spiritual Center.

As a somatic artist, Vidyuddeva is an avid practitioner of martial arts, qi gong, and bodywork.

Terry Patten is a leading voice in the emerging fields of integral evolutionary leadership and spirituality. In his cutting-edge writings, talks, and teachings, he not only inspires transcendental awakening, love, and freedom, but also calls us to accept and incarnate our full humanity. This expresses itself in a profound sense of purpose, spiritual inspiration, and evolutionary activism.

He worked with Ken Wilber and a core team at Integral Institute to develop Integral Life Practice, which distills ancient and modern practices into an intelligent contemporary transformational lifestyle.

He hosts the acclaimed teleseminar series, Beyond Awakening: The Future of Spiritual Practice, http://beyondawakeningseries.com which has spawned a large international community. There, he has held a series of dozens of ground-breaking conversations with leading-edge spiritual teachers ranging from Ken Wilber to Ram Dass, from Andrew Cohen to Adyashanti, and from Byron Katie to Steve McIntosh on how spiritual practice is evolving to help conscious individuals rise to the evolutionary challenges of our global crises.

Terry is a faculty member in the Integral Executive Leadership programs at Notre Dame University, a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, and serves on the board of the Wellsprings Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan and John F. Kennedy University.

Earlier, for 15 years, he lived immersed in a life of intensive spiritual practice in the monastic setting of Vision Mound Seminary with the great spiritual master Adi Da Samraj. There, he was a founding editor of the award-winning Laughing Man magazine. Upon leaving that ashram he founded the catalog company Tools For Exploration, which defined the field of consciousness technologies. While at the helm of Tools, he co-developed a series of biofeedback devices and psychoacoustic recordings, including the Institute of HeartMath's original widely-used heart-rate variability monitor.

Terry is also a social entrepreneur involved in supporting restorative redwood forestry. As an entrepreneur and consultant, he has worked for almost thirty years to help leaders bring higher consciousness into practical actions that transform complex human systems. He is also a teacher, coach, and consultant who travels widely, challenging and connecting leading-edge individuals and organizations worldwide.

An Integral coach, consultant, teacher, and author of four books, Terry lives in Marin County near San Francisco, CA. He is the senior writer and co-author, with Ken Wilber, Adam Leonard, and Marco Morelli, of Integral Life Practice: A 21st-Century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening. His 8-session course, Integral Spiritual Practice guides students step-by-step in establishing a heart-centered, do-able daily integral practice. His personal websites are http://gobeyondawakening.com, http://theispcommunity.com and http://integralspiritualpractice.com.

Lawrence Wollersheim is one of the directors of the Universe Institute and Universe College. He is also the Executive Director of Universe Spirit (formerly known as Integrative Spirituality,) an organization that has helped to birth the new Universe Worldview and the Universe Spirituality movement.

For 18 years Lawrence was also a managing director at FACTNet Inc., (www.factnet.org) a non-profit educational organization that is the oldest Internet resource for victims of cults and abusive religious practices who are seeking information and recovery. Lawrence was mentored for over 20 years by Dr. Margaret Singer, Professor Emeritus at UC Berkeley, who was, before her passing, the world’s leading authority on mind-control, destructive religious practices and cults.

Over a 32-year period, both before and during his tenure at FACTNet, Lawrence was involved in a series of lawsuits against the infamous Scientology cult. His success in these lawsuits against Scientology established important new legal precedents on freedom-of-thought and informed consent in alleged religious settings. These new legal precedents are now part of the first-year constitutional law studies of many US law students. To date, Lawrence has been the only individual to ever successfully sue and collect from the Scientology cult.

As a social advocate, Lawrence also helped to win the largest California SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) lawsuit to date against an organization that was using excessive and unfair litigation tactics to financially overwhelm, harass and intimidate an under-funded non-profit social advocacy organization. His SLAPP legal precedent has been a powerful legal aid to all non-profit organizations in legal battles with big corporations filing meritless lawsuits designed to bankrupt their less wealthy opponents.

In addition, Lawrence spent over 20 years as the founder and managing director of HealthKeeper Inc., a software company specializing in assisting dieters, diabetics, and individuals with cardiovascular problems related to weight and nutrition. At HealthKeeper, Lawrence invented the NutriCode, which is a colored bar code that allows the user to understand a food label’s nutritional content and its impact on their daily diet goals without having to do any math. From his various experiences, Lawerencehas an extensive 30-year background in both day-to-day business operations and information technology, which he is able to draw from for his work in the non-profit, for-profit, and social advocacy sectors.

Here are the original agenda notes for the planning of the Second enlightenment and its first meeting.

For much more on dialectical meta-systemic thinking also see this page!

Please Note: The following paper on the development of the Second Enlightenment was done in 2004.

We have preserved this original "thinking" paper again because of historical perspectives on the First Enlightenment and because you can see how our new Universe Worldview ideas on the Second Enlightenment have since developed and evolved.

Many parts of it have been included in our new and superseding Second Enlightenment work found by clicking here or on the new Universe Worldview description. We have continued  to work on co-creating the Second Enlightenment and have helped though a secular sister organization to sponsor a conference on some of the key secular aspects of it. As you will discover our organization has made great progress in creating the spirituality of the future described in the position paper below in the form of the new Evolution Spirituality.

Position Paper created for Universe Spirit in 2004

By Jordan S. Gruber

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Goals of The Second Enlightenment Project
3. The "Second Enlightenment": Meaning and Viability of Term
4. The European (Western) Enlightenment, Eastern Enlightenment, and The Second Enlightenment Project
5. Authentic Forces and Currents Driving The Second Enlightenment
6. Concepts/Ethics/Lifestyle to be Embraced by The Second Enlightenment
7. Contributors to and Sources of The Second Enlightenment
8. Conclusion

I. Introduction

Universe Spirit has requested a preliminary analysis of the concept of the "Second Enlightenment" and all that goes with it.

This Preliminary Analysis seeks to address four questions:

• What might be the goals and meta-goals of The Second Enlightenment Project?
• What is already known about the idea of the "Second Enlightenment," and what are the best ways to think about this idea?
• Would a project to develop the Second Enlightenment concept, including the necessary expenditure of time, focus, and money, be a worthwhile and sensible endeavor in alignment with Universe Spirit’s core mission?
• If further development of The Second Enlightenment Project is to go forward, how might that best take place?

To begin with, the goals of a potential Second Enlightenment Project will be considered. Then the Second Enlightenment will be looked at more directly, including a brief identification of the forces or authentic currents that might be driving it, and the concepts and ethics that it might embrace. Past and current contributors to the concept of the Second Enlightenment will also be briefly identified. As will be shown, although there is much that has already been accomplished towards the actualization of The Second Enlightenment, there is a great deal more to be done, from the undertaking of thorough analysis to the acceleration of new ways of being and communicating.

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II. Goals of The Second Enlightenment Project

Why would Universe Spirit undertake The Second Enlightenment Project? Such a project would have at least the following goals and meta-goals:

• Create the "Best" Possible Statement of the Second Enlightenment: Through careful consideration and the use of web-centered and real-world feedback mechanisms, Universe Spirit will co-create the best possible statement of the Second Enlightenment, with "best" defined as most authentic, powerful, synthesized, and transcendent in the realms of beauty, truth, and goodness.

• Forge Best Possible "Second Enlightenment" Statement as a Powerful Ideal or Carrier Wave that will Catalyze Transformation: By creating a concise, authentic, synthesized, best statement that can serve as a working platform and inspirational nexus, Universe Spirit will be creating a tool that will inspire and motivate everyone from "ordinary" individuals to journalists, artists, scientists, and policy makers. The Second Enlightenment can be thought of as a master constellation of ideals, and as it is said, "there is nothing as powerful as an ideal whose time has come."

• Authentically and Self-Consciously Co-Create "The Second Enlightenment" as a Maximally Effective Transformational Meme: The Second Enlightenment already exists, in potential form, along with many other possible futures. It is an authentic possibility, one that can be made more likely through conscious focus. In accordance with the notion of a "meme" as an informational virus that can spread through a human population, by helping to skillfully forge the meme of The Second Enlightenment in as true, beautiful, and useful a way as possible, the likelihood of actualizing the Second Enlightenment will be greatly increased.

• Consciously Make Use of the Universe Spirit Website and the Internet as a Technical Vehicle in Service of the Above Four Goals: On a par with, and perhaps eventually going far beyond writing and mass media as we have known them, the Internet embraces almost unimaginable transformative potential. The Second Enlightenment Project can be crafted to synergistically dovetail with the Universe Spirit website and the many unexplored interactive possibilities that can be brought to bear through the Internet.

• Participate in Co-Creating the Spirituality of the Future: Universe Spirit holds as a central tenet that the spirituality of the future will be co-created by many individuals and organizations and will represent a transcended blend of the best of spiritual wisdom and knowledge that currently exists and that will come to exist in the future. By focusing on the Second Enlightenment, Universe Spirit will help to co-create a future that in fact has the Second Enlightenment as one of its leitmotifs.

Co-creating the Spirituality of the Future is Universe Spirit’s first and most general goal here. A focus on The Second Enlightenment Project and creating the best possible statement of The Second Enlightenment will help to advance this most general goal. Next, it is important to recognize that such a best statement of The Second Enlightenment can be consciously forged so that it will serve as a powerful ideal and carrier wave for transformation.

Going one step further in this same direction, it may be extremely useful to work with and from the notion of a transformational "meme," a living unit or current of information, so that once again the likelihood of actualizing a Second Enlightenment can be maximized. Finally, the conscious, skilful, and innovative use of the Internet, with all of its possibilities for interactive consciousness-raising multimedia and collaboration, could substantially boost the future probability of actualizing The Second Enlightenment.

Once again, while all of these goals are closely related, each goal puts a somewhat different spin or perspective on the overall endeavor. By first separately identifying and focusing on each of these goals and meta-goals, it then becomes possible to consciously include and transcend the individual goals, thereby maximizing the likelihood of eventually actualizing The Second Enlightenment.

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III. The "Second Enlightenment": Meaning and Viability of Term

What, exactly, does the term "Second Enlightenment" mean and refer to? How do the words themselves sit, fit, and feel? Given the goals described in Section II above, and the critical importance of clearly delineating a solid and attractive meme that the carrier wave of the spiritual future can ride on and be guided by, a careful look at proposed terminology is called for.

This section will therefore focus only on the proposed terminology and its alternatives, including general popularity, general observations with respect to the term, and some of the advantages and disadvantages of going forward with this particular word formulation. Sections IV–VII will be more aimed at fleshing out some of the actual content associated with The Second Enlightenment.

Current Popularity of Term

To begin with, starting with popularity and attractiveness, the term "Second Enlightenment" or "The Second Enlightenment" is not at present a popular or well-known term. In fact, http://www.SecondEnlightenment.com or http://www.2ndEnlightenment.com, and all of the other forms of these terms (.net, .org, .info, .us, etc.) are freely available for domain name registration by anyone at the time this analysis is being written. While the availability of a domain name is not a final indicator of the importance or popularity of a term, it does indicate that at least until now, no one has taken this term, in any of its forms, seriously enough to spend the $8.95 a year needed to register it.

Similarly, a general search on Google for the term "Second Enlightenment" returns rather sparse results. After half a dozen or so individuals who use the term along the lines that are being considered with respect to Universe Spirit’s Second Enlightenment Project, the results thin out very quickly. There are, however, some references to Buddhism, as well as to historical periods following The Enlightenment (such as the 1960’s, or the Scottish Enlightenment) that might justifiably deserve the term "Second Enlightenment."

In sum, there are relatively few references to the term Second Enlightenment as is being contemplated herein. There are both upsides and downsides to this present lack of popularity. The downside is that the term "Second Enlightenment" has not yet shown itself to be an especially attractive, memetically self-propagating, term or concept. The upside is that with a relatively novel term it is possible to give it the best possible shape and to adjust it to the true needs of the time. Just as with intellectual property terms, a novel, essentially made-up term can be imbued with the greatest possible strength and recognizability.

Constituent Parts of Term

One question, then, is whether the term "The Second Enlightenment" is inherently a good one – or the best one – to use for the set of Universe Spirit goals outlined in Section II. Breaking the term down into its constituent parts may seem like an elementary exercise, but it can be quite revealing and worthwhile.

First, although this formulation is not always used, the most natural way to present the concept of "Second Enlightenment" is to precede it with the definite article "The," as in "The Second Enlightenment." (For this reason, the very title of this analysis is "The Second Enlightenment Project: A Preliminary Analysis.") Starting with "The" gives a great deal of strength to the term, but also implies that it is something that is already known with certainty or definiteness, or is something that shall almost certainly come into being. Is this something that can be confidently promised?

Also, there is also a small problem with respect to others who might claim that their’s is "The" Second Enlightenment, as shall be discussed below in this section. As for using "A," as in "A Second Enlightenment," this is a much more indefinite and therefore weaker way of presenting the concept. It does not flow from the tongue as smoothly, and it probably does not speak to the type of memetic attractiveness that The Second Enlightenment Project would hope to generate. It is possible that the "The" could be dropped at some point, and that just "Second Enlightenment" would be the term naturally used in speech and the written form, but once again, this would probably only happen after the overall term had grown familiar to many and was used in everyday discourse.

Second, turning to the term "Second," we all agree that there was a first Enlightenment. As discussed briefly in Section IV, The Enlightenment was a historical period in 17th and 18th Century Europe that saw reason, science, and democracy come to the forefront and change the world for the better. By using the term "Second" here, there is an explicit suggestion that some type of motivating historical force or trend has come around again, and that the thing of which a powerful "First" has already happened is now coming back for its "Second" round.

On the positive side, as a historical generalization, this may be a true assertion, especially when seen through the lens of the Spiral of Development. Also, the notion "since it has happened once, it may happen again," may give hope, strength, and inspiration to many people.

On the negative side, there may be limitations to defining something not in and of itself, but as a recast of something that has already happened. If the spiritual concrescence that we are aiming at is a true, powerful, and even inevitable one, does it not deserve – even demand – to have its own name? If this new movement will eventually spontaneously burst forth with its own name, isn’t there a chance that it could be dampened, diminished, or even halted by trying to force it into the rough boundaries of something that once was?

There are no easy solutions here, but serious meditation and contemplation as to the term "Second" is strongly advised.

Third, the next constituent part of the term is "Enlightenment." In addition to the well-known historical usage referred to above, which can be thought of as the Western notion of Enlightenment, this word is also suffused with meaning from Eastern spiritual traditions. Associated with ideas such as nirvana, liberation, peak experiences, and spiritual awakening, it is one of the most powerful concepts in the entire psycho-spiritual domain.

Once again, there are upsides and downsides here. The upside is that, in fact, we are hoping for a historical spiritual concrescence that does indeed take part in and draw form the more Eastern meaning of the term "Enlightenment."

The downside is that "Enlightenment" can be perceived as a "loaded term," one that already has many meanings for many people. Some people find the term itself overbearing, or suggestive of a state or stage of consciousness that they do not feel is possible or that they will ever achieve.

Further, if the most important of all characteristics of The European Enlightenment was its focus on reason, and reason, in the sense of scientism and less-than-vision-logic, has now become a burden, does it make sense to further rely on this term? Although Wilber and others have shown that reason itself is certainly not the problem (reason is merely a developmental stage that ultimately gives way to included-and-transcended trans-rational states of and stages of awareness and being), there are nonetheless many individuals who would generally resonate with Universe Spirit’s objective but who might be "turned off" by a terminological focus on what they consider to be part of the problem. Perhaps this would amount to pandering to what the Spiral of Development followers think of as the Green meme, but on the other hand, the Green meme folks are exactly who need to be brought along in the next century or so if we are to achieve The Second Enlightenment.

Other Claims to the Term

If the term "Second Enlightenment" is indeed gone forward with, another possible source of confusion is that there are certain groups or historical periods that already lay some claim to the term.

For example, one web page cites Russell as referring to the classical Greek flowering of culture as the Greek enlightenment, and then what we normally think of as The Enlightenment as the second enlightenment:

The Elements were the normative model for the science that arose out of the Greek enlightenment, and fulfilled a similar role in the second enlightenment for Descartes, Kant and others (Russell, 1946). (http://ksi.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/articles/NewPsych92/ )(emphasis added)

And:

The origins of this information explosion, although three centuries in the past, have much relevance to our understanding of the problems of today. The second enlightenment was seen as an emancipation of human thinking from the weight of authority of the church which had taken the fruits of the Greek enlightenment and turned them into a ritual and static form. http://ksi.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/articles/DigitalJ/ (emphasis added).

Similarly, "Some of the philosophers who founded what became known as Logical Empiricism explicitly thought of themselves as part of a "Second Enlightenment." ( http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:46fNNxqdSuUJ:www.tc.umn.edu/~giere/SWL_intro.pdf "second enlightenment"&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 ). Sometimes, the 1960's is thought of as being a type of Second Enlightenment: "Indeed the "second Enlightenment" of the nineteen-sixties, with the events of 1968, rocked the then communist world and Western Europe, albeit very differently." (See http://www.svu2000.org/whatwedo/halik.htm .) As will be briefly discussed in Section VII, the Scots also have a claim to the term "Second Enlightenment," with the notion being that the Enlightenment was started in England and France, but then came over to Scotland.

If the term used for The Second Enlightenment Project is, in fact, "The Second Enlightenment," then it is likely that its increased usage would not be problematic with respect to any of these other claimed uses of the term. It is, however, important to note that they are out there, and that some confusion could be generated.

Alternative Terms

A number of alternative terms come to mind that might be worthy of consideration, either with or without a "the," including the following:

• New Enlightenment (see Richard Kirby; http://www.wnrf.org/enlightenment.shtml#anchor3
• Next Enlightenment
• Universal Renaissance
• Second Renaissance
• Global Awakening
• New Natural Theology (see Jean Houston, Enlightenment.Com interview)
• Third Enlightenment (see Section IV on Kimura)

Making a Final Choice

If The Second Enlightenment Project is to go forward, then either the term "The Second Enlightenment" or some alternative term will need to be settled on. There are no easy answers as to whether this is the best possible term to use (with "best" here defined in terms of the goals set out in Section II). As with all questions of word choice, it ultimately comes down to how hearers and readers will react to the term viscerally, cognitively, and even spiritually. Will it be conducive to communication? Will it truly advance the goals of the project? Is it shiny? Is it sparkly? Does it make people feel good? Does it inspire? Is it weighty enough? Is it the right term?

One possible way to go forward would be to do user feedback tests with small groups, both online and in the real world, with respect to the term and some of its alternatives. Another way would be for a small group to get together and work on the "naming" process. At a certain point, intuition must be trusted. Moreover, a terminological change can always be made mid-stream (whether that is in 6 months or 60 years), but it would be preferable for reasons of continuity and memetic momentum not to have to do so.

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IV. The European (Western) Enlightenment, Eastern Enlightenment, and The Second Enlightenment Project

Given that The Second Enlightenment Project, if it goes forward under this title, is consciously and willingly resonating with the historical period known as The Enlightenment, a quick review of that period is justified and may yield some worthwhile insights.

Dictionary.com gives us a good starting point with all 3 of its definitions of "enlightenment":

1. a. The act or a means of enlightening. b. The state of being enlightened.
2. Enlightenment A philosophical movement of the 18th century that emphasized the use of reason to scrutinize previously accepted doctrines and traditions and that brought about many humanitarian reforms. Used with the.
3. Buddhism & Hinduism. A blessed state in which the individual transcends desire and suffering and attains Nirvana.

Taking it a little more deeply, Yasuhiko Genku Kimura, who has written extensively on what he calls the Third Enlightenment, has given us given us an excellent historical summary as part of his way of bringing together the Eastern and Western notions of Enlightenment:

The word "Enlightenment" has been used to designate two distinct traditions: the Enlightenment tradition of Western civilization, originating in the Age of Reason of the 17th and 18th centuries; and the Enlightenment tradition of the world’s esoteric spiritual teachings, especially of the East, and particularly of Buddhism. The Enlightenment of the Age of Reason denotes an intellectual awakening, wherein the educated public discovered the power of reason, and thereby freedom from the shackles of the religious dogmatism that had dominated Western culture for centuries throughout the preceding Middle Ages. This Enlightenment was the secularization of the human mind. The Enlightenment of esoteric, spiritual traditions denotes the individual’s deep experiential process of spiritual awakening, of "being awake and alight." It is the sacredization of the human being. Although it refers to the luminous experience of individual human beings, spiritual enlightenment has engendered multitudinous cultural traditions around the world, spanning from paradigmatic ways of communal, ethical practice to what constitute the fundaments of culture, such as philosophy, literature, art, and music. I call the spiritual enlightenment of esoteric traditions the "First Enlightenment" and the intellectual enlightenment of the Age of Reason the "Second Enlightenment." The Third Enlightenment designates the higher unity of the First and Second Enlightenments, existing as a unified, universalistic cosmovision, co-evolutionary with a new mode of consciousness.

There are thousands of descriptions of The European Enlightenment available in books and on the web. A detailed analysis of how The European Enlightenment occurred, what its key turning points were, and who if anyone was most responsible for it occurring, is far beyond the scope of this initial analysis. (Ken Wilber’s notion that The Enlightenment was financed by a very small group of people and really only consisted of the contributions of 1,000 or so minds is an intriguing one; if it proves true, it might offer some valuable lessons for how to "trigger" The Second Enlightenment.) It may, however, be useful to briefly turn to one of the greatest philosophical minds of The Enlightenment: Immanuel Kant.

In "An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?" Kant wrote the following in 1784 (see http://www.knightsofenlightenment.net/Kant.html ). As you read through these excerpts (the full essay is much longer), consider whether what Kant is saying here would be equally applicable to The Second Enlightenment Project as conceived herein:

Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one's understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another. Sapere Aude! [dare to know] "Have courage to use your own understanding!"--that is the motto of enlightenment.

Laziness and cowardice are the reasons why so great a proportion of men, long after nature has released them from alien guidance (natura-liter maiorennes), nonetheless gladly remain in lifelong immaturity, and why it is so easy for others to establish themselves as their guardians. It is so easy to be immature. If I have a book to serve as my understanding, a pastor to serve as my conscience, a physician to determine my diet for me, and so on, I need not exert myself at all. I need not think, if only I can pay: others will readily undertake the irksome work for me. The guardians who have so benevolently taken over the supervision of men have carefully seen to it that the far greatest part of them (including the entire fair sex) regard taking the step to maturity as very dangerous, not to mention difficult. Having first made their domestic livestock dumb, and having carefully made sure that these docile creatures will not take a single step without the go-cart to which they are harnessed, these guardians then show them the danger that threatens them, should they attempt to walk alone. Now this danger is not actually so great, for after falling a few times they would in the end certainly learn to walk; but an example of this kind makes men timid and usually frightens them out of all further attempts.

Thus, it is difficult for any individual man to work himself out of the immaturity that has all but become his nature. He has even become fond of this state and for the time being is actually incapable of using his own understanding, for no one has ever allowed him to attempt it. Rules and formulas, those mechanical aids to the rational use, or rather misuse, of his natural gifts, are the shackles of a permanent immaturity. Whoever threw them off would still make only an uncertain leap over the smallest ditch, since he is unaccustomed to this kind of free movement. Consequently, only a few have succeeded, by cultivating their own minds, in freeing themselves from immaturity and pursuing a secure course.

But that the public should enlighten itself is more likely; indeed, if it is only allowed freedom, enlightenment is almost inevitable. For even among the entrenched guardians of the great masses a few will always think for themselves, a few who, after having themselves thrown off the yoke of immaturity, will spread the spirit of a rational appreciation for both their own worth and for each person's calling to think for himself.

But it should be particularly noted that if a public that was first placed in this yoke by the guardians is suitably aroused by some of those who are altogether incapable of enlightenment, it may force the guardians themselves to remain under the yoke--so pernicious is it to instill prejudices, for they finally take revenge upon their originators, or on their descendants. Thus a public can only attain enlightenment slowly. Perhaps a revolution can overthrow autocratic despotism and profiteering or power-grabbing oppression, but it can never truly reform a manner of thinking; instead, new prejudices, just like the old ones they replace, will serve as a leash for the great unthinking mass.

Nothing is required for this enlightenment, however, except freedom; and the freedom in question is the least harmful of all, namely, the freedom to use reason publicly in all matters….

If it is now asked, "Do we presently live in an enlightened age?" the answer is, "No, but we do live in an age of enlightenment." As matters now stand, a great deal is still lacking in order for men as a whole to be, or even to put themselves into a position to be able without external guidance to apply understanding confidently to religious issues. But we do have clear indications that the way is now being opened for men to proceed freely in this direction and that the obstacles to general enlightenment--to their release from their self-imposed immaturity--are gradually diminishing….

Here as elsewhere, when things are considered in broad perspective, a strange, unexpected pattern in human affairs reveals itself, one in which almost everything is paradoxical. A greater degree of civil freedom seems advantageous to a people's spiritual freedom; yet the former established impassable boundaries for the latter; conversely, a lesser degree of civil freedom provides enough room for all fully to expand their abilities. Thus, once nature has removed the hard shell from this kernel for which she has most fondly cared, namely, the inclination to and vocation for free thinking, the kernel gradually reacts on a people's mentality (whereby they become increasingly able to act freely), and it finally even influences the principles of government, which finds that it can profit by treating men, who are now more than machines, in accord with their dignity.

Immanuel Kant, obviously, has much to say with respect to what was necessary for men and women of a few hundred years ago to do in order to attain Enlightenment and an Enlightened Age. From his writing we can get a sense of what a consummately brilliant mind from the period of the European Enlightenment thought was most important. A deeper analysis of the European Enlightenment might prove useful to The Second Enlightenment Project, as will a deeper analysis of the Eastern notion of Enlightenment We will now turn to the question of whether the authentic forces and currents that are or will be driving The Second Enlightenment are the same forces and currents that drove The European Enlightenment.

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V. Authentic Forces and Currents Driving The Second Enlightenment

In pursuit of the goals of The Second Enlightenment Project as outlined in Section II, one of the critical functions of Universe Spirit will be to identify the authentic forces or currents that are shaping our co-created future. These currents, sometimes thought of as "Genesis Currents" or "Master Currents" or "Evolutionary Flows," can be thought of as the historical, evolutionary, and spiritual forces that are "pushing" us or carrying us into The Second Enlightenment. By identifying these critical currents and giving them a voice, and articulating them so that they have maximum natural attractiveness, The Second Enlightenment would be most likely to actualize.

A great deal of research and time could deservedly be focused on this task, because it is of such great importance and because, as the fish swimming in the waters of our own consciousness, it may be difficult, very difficult, for us to successfully identify these great historical, social, biological, and spiritual currents. Even finding a way to succinctly go about thinking about and delving into these currents is no easy task. One way to begin, however, would be to analyze Reality as we know it according to one of several different schemas:

• a Wilber 4-Quadrant model, focusing on the intentional, behavioral, social, and cultural domains of being
• a more general Integral model, using not only Wilber but other acknowledged modern thinkers and philosophers
• a "Big 3" evolutionary model focusing on Matter, Mind, and Spirit (see, e.g., Joseph Chilton Pearce, The Biology of Transcendence)
• a Spiral of Development or Spiral Dynamics model, coming off the works of Clare Graves, Don Beck, and others
• a Marxian or techno-economic model, looking at how the base substructure of social reality makes possible and drives human advancement

There are of course many other analytic frameworks that could serve as the basis for this task. Given their great explanatory power, and given that there seems to be a natural affinity between them, starting with a combined Spiral of Development and Integral or Wilber-like analytic platform might make the most sense.

Finally, it should be mentioned that one of the greatest set of forces of all – the forces of technology – which were in part responsible for The European Enlightenment, have now been unleashed with such fury and momentum that they may pose a danger to the achievement of The Second Enlightenment or, indeed, any human future at all. As identified by the futurist Charles Ostman and others, we are seemingly facing a convergence of info-technology, nano-technology, and bio-technology. Handled poorly, these great technologies could spell doom for humanity or even the planetary biosphere (which some think of as the living planetary goddess, known as Gaia). An interesting analysis of other severely negative future scenarios is provided by the Scottish Policy Net at http://www.scottishpolicynet.org.uk/scf/publications/oth21_iff01/page6b.shtml .

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VI. Concepts/Ethics/Lifestyle to be Embraced by The Second Enlightenment

The previous section discussed why and how to identify the major currents driving The Second Enlightenment. While these currents can be thought of "pushing" us forward, and being something that we are attempting to identify and more perfectly articulate so that we can synch up with them, we can also approach The Second Enlightenment from the perspective of the concepts, ethics, and lifestyles that individuals will grow to embrace over time. The concepts, ethics, and lifestyles can be thought of as "pulling" us forward, that is, they are a type of attractor that, once identified and clearly communicated, will naturally draw more and more individuals (and groups) into their ambit.

Most easily thought of as a "new way of thinking, being, doing, and having," what we are searching for here is to identify a constellation of ideals, values, lifestyles, and processes that are naturally akin to an evolving, healthier, citizen of the spiritual future. (This analysis can also be approached from a group, cultural, societal, or nation-state level, although it is easier, for practical purposes, to addresses individuals rather than larger groupings of individuals.)

We must consider, then, not only what the emerging, universal, model or ideal of "thinking, being, doing, and having" will look, feel, and act like, but once again, how we will even go about undertaking an analysis that could authentically and accurately identify thee concepts, ethics, and lifestyle choices to be embraced by those – perhaps called Unipolitans – who co-create The Second Enlightenment. Just some of the likely characteristics of Unipolitans are as follows:

• global political and cultural awareness;
• environmental and ecological consciousness;
• recognition that not only body is real, but that mind is real and effects body, and that soul/spirit is real and affects mind and body; note that this amounts to a reintegration of the material and the non-material, aspects of Being which were to some extent unfortunately split from each other during the European Enlightenment;
• awareness of the reality of spiritual states and stages, and of spiritual development as a value;
• the possibility and desirability of the achievement of a particular stage of the Spiral of Development once maturity is reached;
• recognition of the value of all stages of consciousness (the hallmark of what Ken Wilber has called "Second Tier Values");
• the necessity and possibility of individually and collectively raising our levels of consciousness so that we can solve the problems that our previous level of consciousness has created; and
• recognition of the reality and criticality of a co-created spirituality (e.g., no single guru or prophet will lead us into a Golden Age, but rather, it is the combined co-creation of the wisdom and experience of each soul that will bring about The Second Enlightenment).

As with the identification of the authentic currents, a great deal of focus, time, research, and energy could be deservedly spent in identifying these concept, ethics, and lifestyle choices. A global, cross-cultural, analysis would be desirable, and all of the schemas identified in the last section for the purpose of identifying the great currents pushing us forward could also be applied here. As with the process of identifying the authentic currents, the key here will be to not only recognize and validate the relevant concepts, ethics, and lifestyles, but to somehow transcend, synergize, and project them forward into the near future so that they can be articulated with maximum attractive effect.

Finally, as the author of the present analysis has previously written about, individuals who participate in co-creating The Second Enlightenment will undoubtedly have a very pragmatic, experimental, and nuts-and-bolts approach to both physical and spiritual reality. Thus:

Figuring out "What Works," how to communicate "What Works," and having a sustained focus on the collection, creation, and distribution of enlightenment technologies and transformational tools, is squarely within the pragmatic American philosophical tradition, and yet is also completely consonant with most varieties of mystical traditions, past and present, as well as some but not all varieties of Eastern Mysticism. If a second Enlightenment is possible, why not start it here and now? (http://www.enlightenment.com/blogs/j/jordan/archive/000246.html )

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VII. Contributors to and Sources of The Second Enlightenment

Dozens of research entry points have already been suggested in this Preliminary Analysis. However, there are many other thinkers, organizations, and organized movements to be taken into account and at least roughly considered if the goals listed in Section II are to be expeditiously achieved and The Second Enlightenment is to be most powerfully manifested.

The following list is by no means complete, but is rather suggestive of the scope of who and what should be included in any detailed future analyses:

• the major European Enlightenment thinkers, from scientists and economists to philosophers and religious figures (see http://www.bartleby.com for a good listing of these)
• the major spiritual teachers and teachings of all ages, from the earliest known societies through the major world religions
• authentic modern spiritual teachers and teachings, both gurus and pandits, including, e.g., Ken Wilber, Michael Murphy, Sir Aurobindo, William James, Thomas Maxwell, Ulrich Beck, Richard Kirby, Aldous Huxley, Ram Das, Alan Watts, David Bedden (see http://www.opendemocracy.net/themes/article-5-1434.jsp ), Walter Truett Anderson (author of the recent The Next Enlightenment), Peter Russell, Gary Zukav, Allan Combs, Don Beck, Bill Granstaff (see http://www.urantiabook.org/archive/sfj/enlightn.htm ), Dr. Volker Mueller (see http://www.ibka.org/en/articles/ag02/mueller.html ), Jean Houston, and many others
• great historical figures, from politics, science, art, and other domains, e.g., Martin Luther King, Einstein, Ghandi, Alan Ginsberg, Leonard Cohen, and many more

In addition, there are specific movements afoot or modern organizations that are already aiming at something very much like The Second Enlightenment. These include:

• the Spiral of Development of Spiral Dynamics movement
• the Integral movement, generally conceived, including Wilber and the disowned transpersonal psychology movement
• various Utopian movements, both residential and in cyberspace, that need to be identified and analyzed – there may be dozens or hundreds of these
• progressives movements in the Arts, Sciences, and Business, that once again need to be identified and analyzed – there may be dozens or hundreds of these)
• the Scottish Tartan Transformation Project (see http://tartan.communitiesofthefuture.org/second-enlightenment.htmland http://tartan.communitiesofthefuture.org/articles/a-second-enlightenment.html ); interestingly, one of the strongest existing efforts towards catalyzing what has been specifically denominated as a Second Enlightenment comes from a Scottish organization which takes deep pride in the role that the Scots (starting with David Hume) played in the later part of the European Enlightenment:

Today, we face the same need for a new framework of "ideas" that will undergird a new type of society. Instead of the standard, one size fits all, approaches and hierarchical structures so important to the success of the Industrial Age, there is a need to shift to ideas and methods that give rules and principles consistent with a dynamic age in which there is constant change. It is becoming apparent that there is a need for a 2nd Enlightenment akin to the significance of transformative thought that occurred in Scotland in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Of course, standard religious views of the future of spirituality – everything from the Hindu and Mayan views of history to the Judeo/Muslim/Christian influences on today’s world – should also be taken into account. Will there be a Second Coming? Is this the Kali Yuga? Are we at the end of a Great Cycle? The mythical significance and deep meanings that are transmitted in tradition religious accounts can have great usefulness in the co-creation of The Second Enlightenment, especially if history and evolution is ultimately more cyclical (or holographic) in nature than it is linear.

Similarly, recent cultural outbreakings of awareness, such as the 1960’s generally and the "Age of Aquarius," should be taken into account. Was there a genuine flowering of consciousness in the 1960’s? If so, what caused this, and what, if anything, was transmitted that is still alive and vital today? Can that transmission be identified, cultured, and nurtured? If so, how?

Ultimately, the best tool for determining what should be considered in a more thoroughgoing analysis of The Second Enlightenment Project is our collective intuition. An old trick is to attempt to cast oneself into the possible future that one most desires (one, for example, in which The Second Enlightenment has been fully realized), and from the perspective of that possible future, to feel one’s way back into the present and then take action. In this way, we can draw sustenance and guidance from our best possible future, and bootstrap that future into existence. For a poetic statement of this possibility involving the end of time and the necessity of bringing to bear all the love that ever has or ever will be, please listen to the interview conducted with Bruce Damer available at http://www.enlightenment.com/b_archives/000466.html .

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VIII. Conclusion

Actualizing The Second Enlightenment is a huge undertaking, but it may be the most worthwhile undertaking imaginable. This Preliminary Analysis has attempted to give an idea of the different pitfalls and possibilities inherent in an undertaking of this scope. Undoubtedly, a great deal has been left out, but that, in part, is the point: it would not be possible to easily bring all of the relevant data, information, knowledge, and wisdom into one place, analyze it, and come out with simple solutions.

Instead, The Second Enlightenment Project, whether or not it goes forward by that name, is a work in progress, just as each of us, and humanity as a whole, and life as a whole, and our planetary system as a whole, and our solar system as a whole, and the galactic system as a whole, and so on, is a work in progress. We each do the best that we can, and recognize, eventually, that not only is this true of ourselves personally, but it is true of all human beings and of all life itself.

The Second Enlightenment Project, by whatever name it may finally take, and in whatever form it may ultimately manifest, is our future to envision, embrace, and co-create. If we simply get out of our own way, the future that we have all always wanted may be closer than we think it is.