Chaos, Creativity, and Cosmic Consciousness

by Sheldrake, Rupert

• ISBN13: 9780892819775
• ISBN10: 0892819774
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-11-01
• Publisher: Park Street Pr

Summary

Are the eternal laws of nature still evolving? In this book of "trialogues, " the late psychedelic visionary Terence McKenna, biologist and author of the morphogenetic field theory Rupert Sheldrake, and mathematician and chaos theory scientist Ralph Abraham explore the relationships between chaos and creativity, and their connections to cosmic consciousness.

Author Biography

<p><b>Chaos, Creativity, and Cosmic Consciousness</b> <p>Illustrations <br>Acknowledgments <br>Foreword by Jean Houston <br>Preface <p>Chapter 1: Creativity and the Imagination <br>The new evolutionary cosmology. The regularities of nature as evolving habits. The basis of cosmic creativity. The cosmic imagination as a higher-dimensional attractor drawing the evolutionary process toward itself. The Omega Point. Imagination welling up from the womb of chaos. Psychedelic experience and the mind of Gaia. Gaian dreams and human history. Dark matter as the cosmic unconscious. <p>Chapter 2: Creativity and Chaos <br>The chaos revolution. Chaotic attractors as eternal mathematical realities. Indeterminism in nature. Chaos and the evolution of order. Form in the cooling process. The organizing fields of nature as related to mathematics and the cosmic imagination. Mathematical models. Attractors, attraction, and motivation. The freezing of information in crystals and in written language. The primacy of spoken language and abstraction. <p>Chapter 3: Chaos and the Imagination <br>Chaos in Greek mythology. The myth of the conquest of chaos. Fear of chaos and the suppression of the feminine. The partnership society and the rise of patriarchy. Seasonal festivals of the repression of chaos, and the creation of the unconscious. The inhibition of creativity and its relation to global problems. The Eleusinian mysteries. Creativity and Christology. Plans for the recovery of chaos and the imagination. The significance of the chaos revolution. <p>Chapter 4: The World Soul and the Mushroom <br>Randomness in the evolutionary process. The limited nature of models. The computer and chaos revolutions. Coevolution of mathematics and the material world. The mathematical landscape. Sensory qualities in the cosmic imagination. The similarities of souls and fields. The primal unified field and the fields of nature. Rebirth of the world soul. Interplanetary transfer of the human psyche via the psychedelic experience and the spores of magic mushrooms. <p>Chapter 5: Light and Vision <br>Physical light and the light of consciousness. Light and vision. The location of visual images. Mind extending from the eyes.The sense of being stared at: a new kind of field or the electromagnetic field? Hierarchy of fields in nature. Coupling between electromagnetic and mental fields. Physical light and self-luminous visions. Tryptamine hallucinogens. The world soul. Fields as the medium of divine omniscience. Gaian mind and the light of the sun. <p>Chapter 6: Entities <br>Discarnate intelligences and nonhuman entities: creatures within the human mind or truly Other? Entities and shamans. The use of language by entities. Angelic communication in the birth of modern science. The dream dimension and entities. The effect of science and humanism on entities. Nature magically self-reflecting and aware. <p>Chapter 7: The Unconscious <br>The three great bifurcations. Creation of the unconscious, the origin of evil, and the rejection of chaos. Escape from evil by the resurrection of chaos. The suppression of psychedelics, the patriarchy, and the rise of booze. Partnership and dominator drugs; the addiction to addictions. Habits and the formation of the unconscious. Holidays and the reinforcement of awareness. Prayer, magic, and astrology for enlightenment. <p>Chapter 8: The Resacralization of the World <br>Ralph's religious background. The sacred in India. Rediscovering the sacred in the West. The revival of ritual and the resacralization of music. Feminism and the archaic revival. Gothic cathedrals and animistic Christianity. The green movement, saving the Earth, the greening of God. Psychedelic churches. The resacralizing of science. <p>Chapter 9: Education in the New World Order&nbsp; <br>Education as initiation. The dominance of rationalism and humanism. Rites of passage. Summer camps. Testing and accreditation. Institutions and administrations. Workshops as a model for a new pluralistic and decentralized system of education. Religious initiations. Reform of existing professions. A possible pilot project. <p>Chapter 10: The Apocalypse <br>The apocalyptic tradition: a mythic model motivating religious history or an intuition of the ending of history or time? Modern millenarianism and scientific versions of the apocalypse. The possible end in 2012. The self-fulfilling quality of apocalyptic prophecy. The speeding up of history and the inevitability of planetary metamorphosis. Death and transformation on a cosmic scale. Intensifying conflict and the power of faith. <p>Glossary <br>Bibliography <br>About the Authors

Table of Contents

Illustrations	ix
Acknowledgments	x
Foreword	xi
Jean Houston
Preface	xvii
Creativity and the Imagination	1	(20)
The new evolutionary cosmology
The regularities of nature are evolving habits
The basis of cosmic creativity
The cosmic imagination as a higher-dimensional attractor drawing the evolutionary process toward itself
The Omega Point
Imagination welling up from the womb of chaos
Psychedelic experience and the mind of Gaia
Gaian dreams and human history
Dark matter as the cosmic unconscious
Creativity and Chaos	21	(20)
The chaos revolution
Chaotic attractors as eternal mathematical realities
Indeterminism in nature
Chaos and the evolution of order
From in the cooling process
The organizing fields of nature as related to mathematics and the cosmic imagination
Mathematical models
Attractors, attraction, and motivation
The freezing of information in crystals and in written language
The primacy of spoken language and abstraction
Chaos and the Imagination	41	(18)
Chaos in Greek mythology
The myth of the conquest of chaos
Fear of chaos and the suppression of the feminine
The partnership society and the rise of patriarchy
Seasonal festivals of the repression of chaos, and the creation of the unconscious
The inhibition of creativity and its relation to global problems
The Eleusinian mysteries
Creativity and Christology
Plans for the recovery of chaos and the imagination
The significance of the chaos revolution
The World Soul and the Mushroom	59	(16)
Randomness in the evolutionary process
The limited nature of models
The computer and chaos revolutions
Coevolution of mathematics and the material world
The mathematical landscape
Sensory qualities in the cosmic imagination
The similarities of souls and fields
The primal unified field and the fields of nature
Rebirth of the world soul
Interplanetary transfer of the human psyche via the psychedelic experience and the spores of magic mushrooms
Light and Vision	75	(18)
Physical light and the light of consciousness
Light and vision
The location of visual images
Mind extending from the eyes
The sense of being started at: a new kind of field or the electromagnetic field? Hierarchy of fields in nature
Coupling between electromagnetic and mental fields
Physical light and self-luminous visions
Tryptamine hallucinogens
The world soul
Fields as the medium of divine omniscience
Gaian mind and the light of the sun
Entities	93	(18)
Discarnate intelligences and nonhuman entities: creatures within the human mind or truly Other? Entities and shamans
The use of language by entities
Angelic communication in the birth of modern science
The dream dimension and entities
The effect of science and humanism on entities
Nature magically self-reflecting and aware
The Unconscious	111	(14)
The three great bifurcations
Creation of the unconscious, the origin of evil, and the rejection of chaos
Escape from evil by the resurrection of chaos
The suppression of psychedelics, the patriarchy, and the rise of booze
Partnership and dominator drugs; the addiction to addictions
Habits and the formation of the unconscious
Holidays and the reinforcement of awareness
Prayer, magic, and astrology for enlightenment
The Resacralization of the World	125	(16)
Ralph's religious background
The sacred in India
Rediscovering the sacrd in the West
The revival of ritual and the resacralization of music
Feminism and the archaic revival
Gothic cathedrals and animistic Christianity
The green movement, saving the Earth, the greening of God
Psychedelic churches
The resacralizing of science
Education in the New World Order	141	(14)
Education as initiation
The dominance of rationalism and humanism
Rites of passage
Summer camps
Testing and accreditation
Institutions and administrations
Workshops as a model for a new pluralistic and decentralized system of education
Religious initiation
Reform of existing professions
A possible pilot project
The Apocalypse	155	(15)
The apocalyptic tradition: a mythic model motivating religious history or an intuition of the ending of history or time? Modern millenarianism and scientific versions of the apocalypse
The possible end in 2012
The self-fulfilling quality of apocalyptic prophecy
The speeding up of history and the inevitability of planetary metamorphosis
Death and transformation on a cosmic scale
Intensifying conflict and the power of faith
Glossary	170	(8)
Bibliography	178	(3)
About the Authors	181	(3)
Resources	184