‘Humanity needs to take up that which flows down from the spiritual heights into earthly life. It can be rejected. If it is rejected there then ceases for those people who have rejected it the possibility of human progress, of cultural progress, of human civilization, and the further development of humanity will have to be sought among other peoples, and in other areas…’

Rudolf Steiner

A revelation, or renewal, of the inner life of the human being is now of paramount importance. This is the window of time, of opportunity, as humanity finds itself fraught with uncertainties and many unwelcome forces. What is required is nothing less than a human re-evolutionary revival from lower impulses and stunted understanding towards a fuller realization of self. This is time for a ‘reckoning’ with oneself, for there to be any chance of developing our innate human higher faculties. This is not a time for drawing back and retreating into one’s inner cave of darkness and ignorance, like an individualized expression of the medieval ages. Collective ignorance was a state that had to be passed through for there to be a stepping into an individualized self-awareness. A period of ‘inner sleeping’ has enabled humanity to be in a position to regain its spirit-consciousness faculties as if anew. And abstract truths were dominant so as to force people to reach forth for more recognizable inner truths. Modernity was arrived at through this period of gradual individual awakening from a slumber of mass formation, or mass conditioned mentality. To remain at this level would be disastrous for human development, for it would indicate a falling back into lower states of vibration based upon base instincts and appetites. It would also lead to opening the door towards further, and much increased, domination and enslavement. What is needed is for a significant number of individuals to recognize the inner tools and capacities they already possess, and to relate to these.

What this entails is not to get caught up, entangled, in the narrative of existing as singular beings adrift in a world populated by other singular beings, cut-off from meaningful and resonant connections. The human being is a relational creature; that is, we are constantly in correspondence, and communication, with an abundance of life external to us. And yet the mainstream narratives of psychological conditioning are compelling people to ‘protect rather than connect.’ This is not a time for closing down but of opening up. There have been preparations made for this time; the human being has been rewired so that resonant syncing will fall into place. Yet this can be blocked if people close down their receptors through fear, anguish, anxiety, and so on. These external fear stimulants have been deliberately unleashed for this purpose of closing people down to their innate inner facilities and abilities. The point here now is to allow more rather than shutting out. The over-abundance of external stimulus – misinformation, media dissonance, extreme visuals, scare-mongering, etc., – all work to interfere with a person’s own relation to self. And the immediate response to this can often be to close up into a selfish mode of anxiety and anger.

The grasping onto one’s anxiety raises the spectre of protectionism and pity; and this state suggests an acceptance that one may be wounded. And to be wounded also is suggestable of being in ‘victim mode.’ This immediately shifts a person into a lower vibratory state. Also, this state of mind/being causes a person’s vital forces to contract, pull in, and close off. A person then becomes an island unto themselves. Paradoxically, the need to ‘belong,’ when one is in this state, is not relational – i.e., reaching out to specific contacts or friends – but rather mass-minded. In other words, a ‘wounded person’ seeks solidarity and comfort within the security of the masses. And this also entails accepting the mass narrative consensus, along with the ‘security’ of the authoritative body (e.g., the state) that supports and maintains this mass minded dominant narrative. The reckoning of self accordingly calls for a readjustment to self. This readjustment is, in my view, an allowance – a receptivity – to the developmental impulse that is flowing into physical life from without. As Austrian mystic Rudolf Steiner stated in the opening citation, humanity now needs to take up that which is flowing ‘down from the spiritual heights into earthly life.’ It can be rejected, he notes; yet if it is rejected then there is the consequence that those people who have rejected it lose the possibility for their further development. And in this, they also hinder the progress of human civilization as a whole. This may sound dramatic, yet we need also to recognize what is at stake in these times.

The more we close ourselves off – to protect and disconnect – the more we are in danger of calibrating our lives in alignment to a machinic character. That is, to a mode of automation. This then clears the path towards transhumanism and the domination of technocratic impulses. A closed-down person is the ideal candidate for inclusion into a socially managed and mind-programmed mass. This must be seen now for these forces and impulses are arriving with increasing speed and ferocity. This is a transitioning point for humanity, for at this point comes the moment of choosing a particular developmental path for the species. It is imperative that we do not get caught up within a mesh of materialism that supplies many fantasies and promises, yet ultimately delivers a package of containment and control. Instead, we can align ourselves from a differing point of place, for this is indeed our right as sovereign individuals.

The impact and consequences of the incoming forces and impulses very much depends upon the state of consciousness with which they are met. And this will determine how humanity progresses, and whether it develops in evolutionary alignment or not. Certain forces, both those operating within visibility and those non-visibly, would prefer that humanity resides in a state of unknowing. To this end, it is our present responsibility to strive to be more and more conscious, and to stimulate conscious awareness in as many people as possible. It is no longer a long-term feasibility to remain in ignorance of the aims behind world affairs, or the processes that target people’s beliefs and thinking patterns. Similarly, to be absent of the transcendental impulse in our lives is ultimately a path to stagnation in terms of inner development. As a species, we either evolve and develop, or we do not. And the evolvement of the human species entails that we become receptive to, and aware of, the cosmic impulses that connect us to Source consciousness. This knowledge needs to become more generally known and spoken about, rather than kept occult as it has been for ages past. Otherwise, the human species is in danger of succumbing to entropic influences that will work to diminish critical thinking, imaginative expression, and freedom of the life experience.

The increasing role of machinic logic, of cleverness, now being praised and encouraged is a different path to that of genuine wisdom. As the elusive Japanese sage Setsuna once said: ‘It is not wise to be clever.’ The more people that can meet their external influences consciously, the more realization will be gained. The outer trend of these times is deceit. Deceit in our once-trusted institutions; in our socio-cultural systems; in our bodies of information, education, and entertainment. These are none other than forces of decay rather than development; and they represent the withering rather than the blooming of the seed. Such entropic forces are the forces of opposition regarding the spiritual advancement of humankind. And these forces have been compelled to make their move now, before enough individuals within the collective gain conscious awareness and recognize the reality of the transcendental impulses that connect humanity with Source. This is the period of spirit-consciousness, which is why the counterforces are working desperately to act against these developmental processes. It is in this period that the conscious, individualized, independent thinking human being is required to emerge. It is the moment for revelation – a human revival – or our reckoning.

A period such as we are facing now calls for dedication and commitment; for if not, then the encroaching impulses of apathy and impotence will serve to diminish the human being’s receptive capacities. And these receptive capacities are required for the conscious receiving of transcendent impulses – otherwise they will be turned into mechanical, materialistic efforts. Independent, self-willed perceptive thought (which includes the heart resonance) is necessary for regaining the intuitive insight that once was natural to the human being. Humanity is poised upon this path of potential advancement; only to be hindered by forces that deliberately aim to hold us back. The choice here is to remain dumbed and numbed – that is, psychologically mummified – by the mainstream mind-programming of the dominant consensus reality, or to work quietly and persistently with our personal efforts. Through self-discipline and focused awareness, each person can work to develop their own forms of heightened perception. And this begins by claiming one’s self-identity before it is lost amidst a cultural confusion of manufactured identities and deliberate ‘politically correct’ fluidities.

The decision here is between aligning oneself with those developmental forces that seek to bring humanity into a merger with Source consciousness; or the entropic forces that push for selfish, egoistic domination. This is the distinction between choosing from cleverness or wisdom. The present work for the human being – here and now – I would say, is the acceptance of, and receptivity to, what is called the ‘Spirit’ (Source consciousness), and to facilitate its emergence through the material realm. The human being can act as the transformative force in the material world by being in the world whilst simultaneously transcending it.

Photo: Author’s Collection (Auroville, 2020)