A thousand years ago, Europe experienced a small rebirth after the Dark Ages. The start of the Second Millennium saw social revitalization, improved living standards and a growing interest in learning. It was nipped in the bud by the Church's suppression of differences, symbolized by the Crusades and the Catholic Inquisition.

The latter half of the millennium was largely shaped by European Renaissance science and re-emergence of Natural Philosophy as a counterweight to religious Supernaturalism. However, in the 19th and 20th centuries, Industrial Materialism co-opted both to become the dominant force shaping human assumptions and behavior. Consequently, without conscious change, the current rate of consumption of non-readily-renewable resources will soon deplete the Earth's carrying capacity. Devastation from human-induced climate change can no longer be totally avoided. Continued maldistribution of resources and confrontational social norms will lead to further fragmentation of the global community. The result could be another Dark Ages.

Have we learned our lessons, or will Globalization of Economy be the Crusades of the Third Millennium? Will the dual blinders of Industrial Science and Otherworld Religion be our new Inquisition? Second-millennium lessons can provide a constructive guide for the 21st century. To the extent they re-shape personal and societal assumptions, they give hope for the new century. If key thinkers and entrepreneurs (including media, educators and spiritual leaders) incorporate the following lessons into their basic assumptions, a New Renaissance can blossom.
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1. All Universal Laws Testable

During the three centuries following Newton's law of gravitation, scientists identified four laws of physics to explain the physical universe. They facilitated modern transport and communications, changing life on Earth forever and making possible escape from Earth's gravity and remote sensing of deep space. Understanding of the electro-magnetic (E/M) spectrum led to radio, TV, lasers, x-rays, and many devices. Once considered the basis of all things physical, the E/M spectrum now appears to be only the tip of the iceberg.

Our nuclear research broke into the sub-atomic level. It saw the vacuum of space as a plenum of charges. At this level researchers became aware of the influence of their own consciousness. This strata of experience formally labeled "para" or "anomalous" could no longer be ignored. Channeling, remote viewing, prayer, telepathy, psychokinetic experiences -- in sum, all aspects of the non physical realm formerly reserved to metaphysics-- will become exciting fields for 21st century science.

2. Earth on the Edge of the Universe

Discoveries in physics and mathematics made possible a realistic picture of the universe, destroying the image of the Earth as the center of creation. The use of off-planet technology revealed the potential for life everywhere. Prehistory and current experience include evidence of Advance Being influence on humanity. The idea of humans as members of a cosmic family is replacing the notion of unique and special creatures.

Direct human experiences with other beings and out-of-body, near-death, and inner sensing of other consciousness reveal we are neither alone nor the most highly developed. Progress for humans in the 21st century will come from seeking entry into the more mature cosmic community.

3. All Life Has a Common Base

Peeking into the sub-cellular level, we uncovered the role of DNA in the transmission of instructions that shape life. We learned that all organic life has a common DNA base. We learned to suppress fertility with pills, create test-tube babies, manipulate genes and even create clones.

However, working physically with the foundations of life, we noticed our consciousness affecting changes in unknown ways. Conscious intent and focused emotion appear to be a more direct way to re-pattern DNA. Working with the inner principles we avoid breaching the physical walls of bodies, organs and cells and eliciting rejections by the immune system. Personal satisfaction in the 21st century will result from conscious healing and self-directed micro evolution.

4. Multiple Dimensions Make Joint Creation

The universe has more than four dimensions. It includes subtle energies and the general field of consciousness that is the ground of all being. Humans exist in this multi-dimensionality, unfolding physically, emotionally, and mentally in the image of the creators of our universe. The mind-body-spirit connection is becoming more apparent in health and physical performance. The intermediary role of emotions and subtle energies is becoming more self-evident in disease and behavioral maladjustments.

As multidimensional beings, our conscious intentions, through their effect on matter and energy, make us joint creators of local reality. The appealing challenge for humans will be to make constructive contributions to the whole.

5. Cause and Effect Has a Pervasive Web

The focus of most of the Second Millennium was on the study of different details. But by the end of the 20th century, the connectedness of anything to everything else could no longer be ignored. Physicists dealing with the microcosm of sub-atomic particles and metaphysicians dealing with the inner senses of communication found that what we sow one day, we reap in the future.

The new science of ecology recognized the interdependence of all aspects of a physical system. The even newer science of quantum interactions recognizes the inter-connectedness of all feelings and thoughts among all beings throughout the universe. Profound 21st century joy will come from conscious participation in that cosmic dance.

WE HAVE JUST SCRATCHED THE SURFACE.. Subtle laws await discovery, revealing even more ephemeral energies and powers of consciousness. Cool, gentle fusion verges on replacing hot fission and fusion as the new frontier of physics and chemistry. Use of gravitation and magnetic fields foretell new technologies. Using our hands to direct subtle energies will likely replace deadly radiation in the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Communications with other beings will become routine. Traveling between dimensions will become commonplace.

Humans will perceive themselves as assistant creators of the universe instead of its products or victims. The shift from Newtonian physics to quantum mechanics will be followed by a transition to "spectral consciousness" in the 21st century.

Paul Von Ward is a cosmologist emphasizing the fields of prehistory, frontier science, and consciousness studies. Visit his web site www.vonward.com for samples from his work in progress on the Emerging New Human Story. His recent book, SOLARIAN LEGACY: Metascience and a New Renaissance, is available in bookstores, at www.Amazon.com, or by calling the publisher at 207/374-3831. Contact Paul by e-mail at paul@vonward.com.)