An Invitation to the Global Promised Land

Evolution has set the stage for a crescendo: humanity will either pass into greater consciousness
or descend into extinction holding the solution for our problems-technology with right values-
in its hands.

In the beginning, we humans were put on Earth and had to first figure out how to survive. To do this, we roamed the planet as nomads for hundreds of thousands of years. Then, about 10,000 years ago, our ancestors began to settle down and experiment with various forms of civilization. What resulted is the recorded past of the human tribe, Homo sapiens.

By the years approaching 2000 A.D., the time of this writing, we humans have developed enough technology and know-how to potentially enjoy the abundance of the planet without fear of death from starvation, war, or certain forms of illness. Freedom from basic survival concerns can be assured, if only we all can learn to get along with one another and with ourselves.

However, learning to live in harmony is an achievement that continues to elude our species. Even though for thousands of years the sparks of consciousness have spread through our minds like fire, our essential character has barely changed. Most of us still behave primarily like animals in nature, driven by fears of not having enough, of aggression from the outside, and of lingering illness, infirmity, and death. Despite the profound changes we have forged in the outside world, such as our monumental technological feats, we cannot fully enjoy them. Until all of us change our fundamental natures we will not liberate ourselves from basic survival worries.

And yet, many of us have started to sense that the time has come for the world to evolve toward unity, peace, and a global consciousness that can create a heaven on Earth. As a people of the whole planet Earth, we yearn to free ourselves from the "desert" of starvation, poverty, lack of resources, violent conflict, materialistic consumption, and meaninglessness. For the first time in history this appears possible, since we have developed enough technological know-how to meet our collective basic survival needs.

Unfortunately, humanity's self-evolved gifts-this know-how, and the technology capable of transforming the planet so all can survive in abundance-are still being used unconsciously and threaten the very existence of our whole species. Problems have sprouted up all over the globe that ultimately affect all of us: pollution; holes in the ozone layer of the atmosphere; nuclear arms in destructive hands; deadly diseases such as AIDS; and many more. A final ending, like that of many species before us including the dinosaurs and 90 percent of all species that have ever inhabited planet Earth, now seems possible.

Having been here for only the last one-tenth of one percent of the Earth's history, or about four million years out of four billion, evolution has set the stage for a crescendo: humanity will either pass into greater consciousness or descend into extinction holding the solution for our problems-technology with right values-in its hands.

This is where we find ourselves at this moment in time: in a race against time itself. We have, or are capable of developing quickly, the technology required to win evolution's challenge and save ourselves and the planet. But which are the "right" values? Where will they come from?

About 3,000 years ago, Moses divined the Ten Commandments, and gave them to the Israelites to keep law and order in the harsh desert conditions of the Sinai. He was struggling to deliver one nation from 400 years of slavery in the Egyptian house of bondage, to freedom in their Promised Land, Canaan-modern-day Israel. After forty long, hard years they got there, and their moral code formed the foundation for Western civilization up until now, the end of the twentieth century.

Moses' code altered his people's slave-mentality ways. They were instructed to live by commandments appropriate for the tribal and clan societies of the time, laws that would keep order and harmony among the tribes. The Commandments formed the basis of Judaism. Later they became part of the development of Christianity, Islam, and the rest of Western culture.

The Ten Commandments have fulfilled their purpose over the numerous generations since Moses' time to the present age. Even though war, hardship, and inequity continue to exist, the Commandments reminded Western civilization that there was an ideal for which to strive.

Other cultures developed their own codes, too: the way of the Tao in China; Buddhism's Noble Truths and Pathways to Right Living; the Hindu Bhagavad-Gita in India; and many more. In each case the codes helped to elevate and bring together the culture toward some common purpose and an acceptance of a right way of living in the world as it existed.

We believe humankind has now gone as far as possible with these unicultural guides. They have served us well. They have given humankind a chance to survive thus far. They were developed to speak to people living with common needs, with similar languages and cultural beliefs, in a local geographical region. They were not intended to provide for a multicultural, multi-belief, global society-one in which for the first time in history, all of us now live in the same room with each other.

The struggles we now face require a new universal code to help future generations survive in a global and planetary society, freed from individual or unicultural survival concerns. Too often in history, one group has tried to impose a code upon others who believed in a different code, resulting in tragedy. Enough is enough.

A new universal code of ethics would have to contain those right values that could save our tribe of humanity as a whole from ourselves, and continue our evolution. These guidelines would have to steer us through a transition period, perhaps similar to the forty-year deliverance march led by Moses, toward a global Promised Land. Our march might last from 1988 to 2028.

This code would build upon the original code of ethics of Moses, the Ten Commandments, and also on the other codes developed all over the world throughout history. And yet, this new code should also include the cumulative insight and wisdom developed up until now. These insights have led us to what has been referred to as the upcoming Consciousness Age, or a time when learning and enjoyment supplant survival as the primary reason for our existence.

There are great challenges ahead. As Moses' code altered his people's slave-mentality ways, living by a new code would have to fundamentally change attitudes and behaviors deeply embedded over eons in the human subconscious mind. These are the result of each of us worrying first about our individual or unicultural survival. It's time from now on to also think about the survival of our planet and our species as a whole.

Already, understandably, many individuals are experiencing this massive push by evolution toward a new reality. Until the twentieth century, the constant struggle for survival had provided the purpose for living. But by now, technological improvements have increased standards of living so that even a poor person of today's modern society lives a better life in many ways than the kings of only two centuries ago. We have already begun to take for granted an ever-improving standard of living, and have forgotten how to appreciate the one that we have achieved. The immense impact of change will remain a mystery in our lives until each of us realizes that evolution's course over millions of years has come to a turning point: we no longer need to struggle for survival, but instead are free to pursue learning and leisure. It's time to stop living by the "law of the jungle."

What then are the purposes to live for in a society where there is (or can be) enough for everyone? It is time to begin to live in harmony with our planet and in coordination with all who inhabit it. It is time to adopt a new code right for the needs of today, tomorrow, and as many tomorrows as we can imagine, a global code for all to live by.

Commandment No. 11: Flow
Maximize your time spent in FLOW and happiness.
Engage in the present moment for all it's worth instead of worrying about the future or replaying the past. Do what makes you happy and challenged whenever possible.

Commandment No. 12: Wholeness
Seek WHOLENESS through ongoing awareness and lifelong education.
Integrate your body, mind, and spirit for increasing serenity and satisfaction. Then learn how to become one with everything around you.

Commandment No. 13: Self-Acceptance
Develop greater SELF-ACCEPTANCE by loving yourself unconditionally.
Embrace yourself and your life without blame, guilt, or excuses. Make peace with yourself and your past, and follow the path that allows you to reach your full potential.

Commandment No. 14: BALANCE
Live with BALANCE, priorities, and moderation in all things.
Keep your perspective and set your priorities so that you devote as much of your valuable time as possible to realizing your own highest goals and dearest dreams, in all areas of your life.

Commandment No. 15: INNER VOICE - MISSION
Act true to your INNER VOICE and fulfill your MISSION.
Your INNER VOICE aligns you with a greater intelligence within you that brings out the best in you and weaves us all together. This voice, which you may have been aware of only rarely until now, will also divulge your MISSION as a participant in the Global Brain.

Commandment No. 16: SURRENDER - COURAGE
Exercise mature SURRENDER and unselfish COURAGE.
COURAGE and SURRENDER are key tools to help you contribute, learn, and grow. Knowing when to take a courageous leap of faith and when to surrender to the will of your higher intelligence can make miracles happen.

Commandment No. 17: UNCONDITIONAL LOVE
Feel UNCONDITIONAL LOVE and recognize the oneness of humanity.
Recognize all members of the human family as your relatives. Discover how compassion and forgiveness can bring out the best in you and in others.

Commandment No. 18: BOTTOM LINES
Base your level of relationship commitments on BOTTOM LINES-what you can't live with and can't live without.
Define and live by your BOTTOM LINES. Base your commitments on a clear understanding of your minimum requirements for all of your relationships.

Commandment No. 19: SYNERGY
Create SYNERGY by using WIN-WIN and setting BOUNDARIES.
Synchronize the energy and effort you expend to maximize results. Follow WIN-WIN strategies that allow everyone to win, prevent anyone from losing, and produce results that exceed your expectations.

Commandment No. 20: REPAIR
REPAIR the world by treating others reverently and fairly and doing good deeds.
Be of service by treating people, other species, and the planet reverently and fairly. Do good deeds whenever possible to make the world a better place to live, for yourself and for everyone else.

Humanity, with the aid of technology, is swiftly forming a network that will serve as a Global Brain to provide responsible management of Gaia (Earth as a living superorganism).

Each one of us has a role to play as a cell in the newly forming Global Brain. If we don't all participate in this adventure-perhaps the modern equivalent of being with Moses 3,000 years ago on the way to the unknown, but Promised, Land, with continued slavery as our only option if we turn back-then current planetary problems will grow beyond our capacity to address and solve them.

We've already reached "condition red": the rapid depletion and destruction of our vital natural resources now threatens our survival; and the violent use of cheap, powerful technology for wars, terrorism, and crime now endanger our safety.

The year 2012, or thereabouts, will be a crucial turning point. We don't have much time left to avert an unacceptable future for humanity. Wake up and get the message. Please.

Today's technology is capable of solving all our most urgent problems, and it can provide a decent and sustainable standard of living for every citizen of our planet. But to achieve this goal, we must harness and redirect technology. We must radically revise our priorities through our own goodwill and the adoption of appropriate values that will allow us to live in harmony with each other and with the Earth.

By exercising goodwill and appropriate values on a global scale, we will create a heaven-on-Earth that has no historical precedent. We can achieve this within a few decades.

We need to replace materialism and selfishness, which stem from an individual survival- and security-oriented mindset, with a spirituality that focuses on the welfare of humanity as a family and of Earth as the family home. It's time for a mass exodus from being enslaved in the old ways-to finding the freedom of enjoying the newfound abundance, communal caretaking and joy afforded by our technology.

A grass roots movement is growing around the globe. It is a Gevolution (Global Evolution). Participants are Motofs-Members Of the Tribe Of the Future. If you're not one of them now, you can join.

Motofs are ushering in a new era for humanity, the Consciousness Age. Learning and innovative pleasures will replace consumerism and violence. The deep satisfaction of community will replace the pursuit of self-interest at the expense of others. We will live on Gaia and contribute to a planetary society that is as benign as it is exciting.

We are lucky to live in a time of revolutionary, evolutionary change. But we need a universal code to live by that is based on spiritual principles. To succeed as individuals and as group participants in the Global Brain, we need the Second Ten Commandments. Based on the timeless and time-proven wisdom of spiritual masters throughout the ages and around the world, the new Commandments are presented in contemporary language for contemporary readers. When enough Motofs follow them, these principles will give the Global Brain a Global Heart, and Gaia will finally have a Global Soul.

Excerpted from The 2nd Ten Commandments: Your Guide to Success in the Consciousness Age with permission of the authors. Published by Global Brain™, Palo Alto, California. Copyright © 1996 by Orion Moshe Kopelman.

Orion Moshe Kopelman is president of Global Brain™, Inc., a successful publishing and technology management consulting firm. Marc Lehrer, Ph.D., is an internationally renowned psychologist, biofeedback expert, and stress management specialist.