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THE MULTI-SENSORY HUMAN BEING
It took me around ten years, but I finally got around to reading Gary Zukav'
s The Seat of the Soul published in 1990 by Simon & Shuster. Zukav'
s earlier work was about the New Physics, The Dancing Wu Li Masters, similar in many respects to Caprov'
s best seller, The Tao of Physics. In The Seat of the Soul Zukav talks about the emergence of "the multi-sensory human being", a development that he sees as part of the evolution of consciousness.
We are evolving from five-sensory humans into multi-sensory humans. Our five senses together form a single sensory system that is designed to perceive physical reality. The perceptions of the multisensory human extend beyond physical reality to the large dynamical systems of which our physical reality is a part. The multisensory human is able to perceive, and to appreciate, the role that our physical reality plays in a larger picture of evolution, and the dynamics by which our physical reality is created and sustained. This realm is invisible to the five-sensory human. It is in this invisible realm that the origins of our deepest values are found….
All of our great teachers have been, or are, multisensory humans. They have spoken to us and acted in accordance with perceptions and values that reflect the larger perspective of the multisensory being, and therefore, their words and actions awaken within us the recognition of truths. (Pp. 27-28)
Zukov goes on talk about what he calls the "physics of the soul" (p.67) that is reflected in the changing view of the universe over many centuries. In the earlier Ptolemaic and Copernican views humanity believed itself along with the earth to be at the center of the universe. With the advent of Newtonian physics we gained confidence "to grasp the physical world through the intellect" though we learned we were no longer at the center of things because the center was everywhere and infinite in expanse. With Einsteinian relativity we came to understand "the limiting relationship between the absolute and personalized perceptions" of the universe (we are always limited by our relative position in time and space), though we are coming to recognize our interdependence and connection to all things and events. With the revelations of quantum mechanics we are becoming "a species that is becoming aware of the relationship of its consciousness" to the micro and macro dimensions of reality. The nature of our consciousness conditions what we see and perceive.
Though I have not yet finished reading Zukav'
s book I am enjoying his fascinating exploration of the meaning of the soul that includes what science and psychology have revealed and relates it as well to eastern concepts of reincarnation, karma and the soul lessons that life on earth have to teach us.
Zukav seems to assume that as we become more attuned to our multi-sensory faculties (the psychic counterparts of our physical senses) we will in turn become more moral and ethically sensitive in our responses and actions. He believes that the great teachers of humanity through the ages were more evolved in terms of their multi-sensory awareness and more clearly in touch with that "invisible realm" where "the origins of our deepest values are found." I think he'
s onto something here, but I am also aware of the fact that there are those who, though psychically gifted, are not necessarily more moral, kind and compassionate in their thoughts and behavior than those who are primarily oriented around a five-sensory perception of reality.
I am reminded of the lessons of the Star Wars Sci-Fi films about "the dark side of the Force." It is possible to use the powers of consciousness (five-sensory and multi-sensory) for both good and evil ends. The choice is always ours. You may be more multi-sensory aware than your neighbor, but that does not make you any better, morally or spiritually, than anyone else. In fact one of the things that many great teachers warn against is to become ego-attached or ego-inflated by our wonderful multi-sensory psychic gifts. Better to leave them behind than to be captive to their illusory powers. When we truly learn that we are deeply connected to one another not only physically, but also psychically and spiritually, than we will be moved to use our powers of consciousness to help, not to harm, and to heal, rather than to destroy. It is a lesson that apparently takes many lifetimes over many ages. May we learn the lessons of our current lifetime on planet earth well, that what we think and do may be a gift to future generations and lifetimes yet to come.
(Richard M. Fewkes – President, UU Psi Symposium)
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