How does the consciousness of a planet change?

talking with
BARBARA CONDRON
about the purpose of the School of Metaphysics

This excerpt illustrates the timeless and timely nature of the School of Metaphysics course of study. It is from an interview first published in THRESHOLDS QUARTERLY in 1995.

Thresholds: You touched on this a little bit in the beginning and I'd like you to elaborate on it. In addition to how it will help somebody individually, when more and more people will know about interpreting their dreams, how do you think that will change the world?

Condron: Such knowledge will eliminate a great deal of fear and the elimination in mankind's existence of just that one thing alone will revolutionize the way we see ourselves and the way we see each other and the way that we understand the universe and our Maker, God, Brahm, Krishna, Ahura-Mazda, however the Supreme Being is known in your physical language.

There are so many people who are motivated by fear. There are so many people who are paralyzed by fear. It keeps them from doing good. It can be anything from being afraid to leave your door unlocked in your house, to being afraid of walking to your car at night, to being afraid when your kids leave home that something is going to happen to them, to being afraid that there are chemicals in your food that are going to hurt you. Ultimately, probably the biggest fear for most of humanity is the fear of dying. It's not so much perhaps the fear of death but rather how you are going to die because you believe and know that physically you're going to die and there is no way of avoiding it. In the ways that people try to cope with their own mortality, there is still so much pervasive fear that rules people's existences.

Where there is that much fear you cannot expect there to be cooperation, peace, love, goodwill, optimism. So what potentially can occur from dreams and the understanding of them is not only a greater Self understanding but by realizing that there is a universal language that the whole mind speaks a new realm of how you understand communication is opened. One of the most obvious ways this greater understanding becomes evident is how you read the Holy Scriptures of the world. I speak of this often in terms of classical literature because any classical literature, whether it's Shakespeare or Emerson or Shelley or any of the great poets [probably more so true of those people rather than Aristotle and Plato even though they were obviously great thinkers and deep thinkers] who use imagery in the choice of physical language, endures over centuries. The works of such thinkers have a life of their own and centuries later you are still reading their works because they are embedded with that universal quality. When you understand the Universal Language of Mind then you not only gravitate towards that kind of literature because of the deep thinking involved in it, but it also brings such thinking out in you.

The same thing is true for the Holy Scriptures. When you interpret them in the Universal Language of Mind, the beauty of it is that they all describe virtually the same Universal Laws and the same Universal Truths. It's just that the characters are different. Much of the activities are the same in the stories and you find that they really are talking about who we are as individuals and who we are as a humanity, as a group of individuals, and our relationship to our Creator. This understanding alone will alleviate much of the destruction, unholiness, that tends to exist in the world due to religious prejudice. It's such a privilege to me to live in the United States where people of any religious faith can freely exist and can worship the way that they choose. There needs to be some place like that on earth and we've had it here for quite some time. I do think that it is most of what the rest of the world wants and yet we still have religious conflicts on all parts of the globe. You know, people killing each other, in the name of religion, which makes absolutely no sense to me and I think to any thinking person it makes no sense.

So the more that the people understand the Universal Language of Mind and they become more open-minded to reading the Holy Scriptures of other religions, I think a lot of the fear is removed. In some way an open-mindedness, a right sense of duty to God or whatever you call It, has to occur in order for us to live in peace. It's not that we all have to agree. It's not that we all have to have the same understanding but we need to be pursuing understanding and we need to be open to embracing the best in everything and in everyone. When this occurs then you find that there's outwardly a kind of revolution in consciousness and in behavior, in the way that we interact with one another. I think it's very, very important, and I think the understanding of the Universal Language of Mind is one of three significant gifts that the School of Metaphysics has to offer the world and I have absolutely no doubts that the more people become familiar with this language, we'll be able to live more of the kind of life that we are all seeking.

Thresholds: You said that there were three gifts that the School of Metaphysics has to offer, would you like to talk about the other two?

Condron: Yes. I thought a great deal about this when I was attending the Parliament of the World's Religions in 1993. Being with that kind of eclectic group of people from all over the world and bringing to it the kind of consciousness and activity -- not necessarily physical activity but more spiritual activity -- that I'm involved with in viewing that group and being a part of it, there was an imminent and personal urge for all of us to realize the need for a common language which of course we've talked about. With a common language, possibilities are unleashed. When two people can speak the same physical language, the ways that they can grow, relate, inspire, encourage, learn, are limitless. When they don't speak the same language, they are hampered. They're isolated. They're separated. They're handicapped. So common language is important in terms of physical communication yet being in the realms and endeavor of research that I explore, in terms of metaphysics, the language that transcends the physical is even that much more important and that much more effective, I believe. So again and again this truth hit home when I was at Parliament, that if and when all these people can understand we really do have a common language the possibilities of what's going to happen from that are consciousness raising.

I also noted that in terms of what the School of Metaphysics offers, the understanding of Universal Laws and Truths is the second gift we offer to the world. This is particularly in recognizing that these laws and truths are present in the teachings of all the world's religions, that they are present in every endeavor that man has attempted at any time -- we can call it art or we can call it science. The laws that emanate through our universe, we're very much subject to, and at this stage of man's evolution particularly we tend to get a little bit egotistical and think that we're a little bit bigger than we actually are or a little bit smarter than we actually are. That attitude manifests everywhere in small ways. I kind of have to chuckle when the news comes out that margarine is a poor substitute for butter. You know for years the manufacturers have been marketing it as much better than butter and now it really isn't good for you after all.

I've been particularly invested lately in how I'm going to give birth to the child I'm carrying and after much research and thought I've chosen the way that birth was intended, as far as I'm concerned, naturally. Yet for years in this country and throughout the West there has been a whole attitude of there being something wrong with natural childbirth, and a practice of man's intervention, most of the time unneeded by and unproductive for mother and child, in this very natural process.

Then there are the killer bees which have moved from Brazil to North America during the last two decades and are an example of how man tries to create bigger and better with incomplete understanding. These bees are the result of man's desire to create a new strain of bees by breeding tame European bees with aggressive South American bees. The result is a bee which can indeed endure cooler temperatures and also demonstrates dominant aggression. These are examples of how man becomes very egotistical and in terms of his fledgling efforts to learn to be a creator, to learn to be compatible with his God.

I appreciate them for what they are and I take advantage of many of the developments that mankind has made throughout history yet it's important to keep them in perspective, to realize that when you get down to it anything that man creates -- if it is an imitation of something that's already found in nature -- is not going to be quite as good as the natural existing substances. For instance, vitamins. Synthetic vitamins are not as good as those that are found naturally, whether they are in fruits, vegetables or meats; from plant or animal life. Part of the difference between natural and synthetic is our compatibility with the earlier root races and our ability to assimilate and use those forms. The lesser quality of what is manmade is not a reflection on man's inadequacy. It's a reflection on mankind being able to respect and utilize our place in the Universe.

This kind of understanding tends to elevate the consciousness because there are a lot of people who have prejudices that are very physical in nature and they may have a very good purpose to them but the purpose is not known. For instance, in some cultures there is a religious stigma attached to not eating particular types of meats. In reality there is a very good reason for not eating that kind of meat in that culture, in that part of the world. Lack of means of preservation causes the meat to deteriorate rapidly and become rancid, eating the meat will make you sick or kill you. To protect the people, concepts involving the religion and beliefs that already exist -- this is not a clean behavior or it's not an acceptable behavior -- are created so the people avoid eating the rancid food and therefore live longer. It's these kinds of understandings that science has brought about that have accelerated man's understanding of himself and the world around him.

It must become a part of man's understanding that he is part of the Universe, that there is an inner relationship not only between people but between life forms, recognizing that there might be more intelligent life than what we exhibit right now in the Universe. Of course that is what science, and so-called science fiction is built upon. As a child I thought that it was very egotistical for man to think that he was the only intelligent living being in the solar system. Then I learned that there were even bigger things like universes and then there was more than one universe. The more expansive space became the more the probability grew of intelligences out there. Even the concept of that is probably scary to most people if they think about it in reality terms. Move away from Star Trek and put it really in your own backyard. How would you relate to someone who is more intelligent than you are; how do you relate now to others who are more intelligent than you?

The exploration of the principles which cause our Universe to function -- the Universal Laws and Truths -- needs to become commonplace. It should be part of what is taught and learned throughout schooling, for the more we understand our Universe and how it functions, the more we will understand every part of that Universe including ourselves. All great master teachers gave instruction in the Law, and encouraged their disciples to live in harmony with those Laws. They were well acquainted with the Truth that thought is cause. This universality, the knowledge of the Universal Laws, the Universal Truths, is the second gift the School of Metaphysics has to offer the world.

The third gift is the idea that freedom is responsibility. During Parliament there were so many ideas, and indeed arguments, over what are we going to do about over-population? The arguments were very long and sometimes very vehement depending upon the religion's particular code of ethics that is many times seen physically rather than in its spiritual light. Is abortion an effective means of birth control and if so what does that say about our existence? For many people based on their religious ideas, abortion is not an alternative or a viable means of birth control because it is believed to be murder. I don't think it's a viable means of birth control either but not from this kind of religious standpoint rather from a very pragmatic standpoint. The idea that freedom is responsibility has an application in every moment, in every instance.

Freedom and responsibility are not two separate things. In our example of populating the earth this means that when you come of age and are able to reproduce a physical child then you possess a freedom that demands your responsibility. There are all kinds of ways that you can be responsible with this freedom. The kinds of conflict that arise after the fact are a result of an abuse of freedom with very little responsibility. In China, you can only have two children and many people abort and even starve their newborn daughters because they want sons. Limiting the number of children is one way that these governments try to control population growth and that's in an effort to make sure that there is enough food to go around for the people who already exist. In many ways their reasons are very noble, their efforts many people may disagree with, but there will always be ways for people to understand that freedom and responsibility are the same thing.

Problems only occur when you think they are separate. A good example of this in this country is the concept of freedom of speech and what's happened in the last several decades. Most people who immigrated to this country in its formative years did so in search of the freedom in responsibility. However, in this century, we have collectively, as a society, supported freedom with no responsibility. So now you are supposed to be able to say anything, you can insult anybody, you can be rude, you can be inhumane, you can be intentionally antagonistic in your speech and wave the flag of "free speech" and it's acceptable. But more and more people are seeing that that's not acceptable. It's uncontrolled. It's irresponsible. And it does not foster Self awareness nor does it make good relations with other people.

There has to be responsibility in the freedom. In being able to discipline the mind, in being able to understand will power and visualization or imagery, in being able to understand that you are more than a physical being, you are a soul or a spiritual being and that there is a great deal that you are here for that is beyond the physical, your vantage point of your Self changes and your level of responsibility is heightened because your freedom is heightened. You are no longer limited by what used to control you. You are no longer tantalized by everything that looks good or tastes good or smells good. You know the Buddhists say that the physical is an illusion. The true illusion is the attachment to the idea that the physical is all there is and that relates to what we were talking about earlier with the fear of dying. When people realize that there is more to them than the physical and they experience that more, their consciousness changes. They know what the more is; it is them. This is often what happens with people who have near death experiences. They come back with an awareness of the temporariness of the physical life and of the purpose for it which is giving love and receiving love. These people are transformed in that they realize the physical body is only a shell. It's a marvelous piece of machinery and man cannot duplicate it, it's that marvelous, yet it is nothing more than a shell. It is not the real person. When you know what the Real Self is, and that's what you're striving to develop, your level of freedom increases and your level of responsibility increases and you realize they really are one and the same. Your sense of your ability to respond is to a higher calling, to a deeper authority, to a more Holy cause.

You know people would describe this idea different ways but it is an adhering to your spiritual mission for existing. If you can imagine a planet where all the intelligent and sentient beings have that sense of mission -- that's based in universals therefore it automatically is based on the whole, it is cooperative and whatever that mission is, people are about it -- then you've got an entirely different community of people than what we tend to experience right now. Much of the spiritual disciplines -- the teachings, the practices -- that the School of Metaphysics offers brings this awareness forth from a person. It brings out more than your best. The Bhagavad Gita has a wonderful line talking about what God is and it says that "God is man's self at his best, magnified to infinity." This is one of my favorite lines because the concept is so expansive. It has no limitations at all. That's the image that I have of consciousness -- just continual expansion that is better than the best -- and to imagine a world where people have that kind of awareness which motivates them and is what is behind their actions is transforming.

Yes, I whole-heartedly believe and I know that these three gifts that the School of Metaphysics offers transforms the consciousness of individual aspirants and thus will transform the world for the better.•
©1995 SOM from Thresholds Quarterly interview Vol. 13 No. 1