A Cosmic Perspective

I was just remarking to a friend that reading Rudolf Steiner's body of writings has really given me an insight into the evolution of human consciousness. People generally are so immersed in and almost blinded by the prevailing worldview of their era, they forget that ~all of this~ is just a blink of an eye in cosmic terms. We have our way of relating to the world, and bygone civilisations and peoples had totally different views of the world, and one isn't necessarily more right or more advanced than another.... just different. We're arguably more advanced technologically and intellectually now than in any other period in recorded history (with that said, I'm inclined to believe in 'lost civilisations' like Atlantis ;) ) but in so becoming we've had to sacrifice our connection with nature and our spiritual awareness. Time will tell if we can reclaim those gifts.

People don't HAVE to inherit society's worldview, sacred cows, or whatever beliefs and customs are fashionable at the time. What you perceive isn't a given; in fact I'm increasingly coming to believe that perception is an active, not a passive process. If we wanted to, we could create a totally different society - one centred on human relationships instead of economic growth perhaps. This goes back to the Paradigm Conspiracy quote in my previous post, about how most people are funnelled (largely by our education system) into a narrow worldview that tells them they merely have to find their place in the society that exists, to imitate what's already there rather than creating anew. That's why this quote from Steiner on education struck a chord with me:

"The question is not: what knowledge or skills does a person need to have in order to benefit the existing social order. But: what predisposition does this person have, and what is capable of development? Then it will be possible to channel new energies from the rising generation into the social order. Then the rising generation will not be fitted into the mould of the existing society, rather society will be what these newly recruited adults make of it" [Rudolf Steiner, quoted from my book on Language Teaching in Steiner Schools].

Anyway, my main message for today is: no matter how enlightened or educated your view of the world may be, it's still just one person's perspective, conditioned by personal experience and the prevailing beliefs of the society you grew up in. Contrary to popular opinion, i.e. that we're at the pinnacle of human evolution and we have the most advanced, objective and scientific understanding of how the world works........really, our heads are in a box.