Customer Reviews

Conscious Evolution: Awakening Our Social Potential

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The first 100 or so pages of this book nearly sent it to my shelf for good. I've never known somebody to find as many different ways to say the same thing over and over and over and over again. With each paragraph ending upbeat and inspiring, I was like "Okay, now here's where we get into the meat and potatoes". But we wouldn't. I started uttering about this new agey fluff being worthless. But by the time I finished reading it, I have to say it was good.

Of course, the core messages in the book are critical to us. They speak of a visionary truth both past and future that we all need to recognize. So, skim if you have to, but make it to the second half of the book. That's when she stops pontificating about loving the vast cosmos and starts pointing the book in a direction. But be wary that the ideas she suggests are her own legacy. They're a wonderful start and I believe are designed only to be a launching point, so don't feel bound to them as the only way through this mess of civilization we've created.

Although it sounds cliche, Conscious Evolution truly does give you a sense that you are not alone - that there are many others who realize that society as it exists today simply does not work. It is clear that if we continue to behave and live as we do now, we're essentially committing suicide as a race.

What's inpsiring about Conscious Evolution is that it gives you the sense that there are numbers here, in which you can find power. It's difficult to sit as an independent island, pondering the depth and endemic nature of what plagues the world. We live so completely outside the realm of universal law and the natural balance of the environment, that it's difficult to even identify what is not working, let alone, try to take action to fix things.

However Conscious Evolution provides inspiration and hope that there are more of "us" than we each think. That there are millions of brilliant ideas of what does work, and that by simply trying to organize and disseminate that information, dramatic change can happen.

Conscious Evolution provides the boost to direct creative energy away from depression that things can't be fixed, towards taking action to partner with like spirits to start the process.

Social interaction and growth is a continuum of observation, inquiry, and application. In Conscious Evolution, Barbara Marx Hubbard describes this process in stunning detail and guides us on how to incorporate spirituality into social policy. Hubbard's inspirational analogy of humankind as a catepillar morphing into a butterfly stimulates the reader's mind to envision how the collective fate of humanity need not end in an apocalyptic, "judgment day"-like scenario. Hubbard weaves a coherent plan of action to help humanity become more globally minded, cultarally integrated, and aware of its own strengths and weakneses through thoughtful insight and inclusion of the ideas and actions of other intellectuals, activists and spiritualists. The reader learns how to unite his or her own community into a stronger, socially conscious, spiritual unit, which in turn leads to an increased ability for humanity to direct and speed evolution. Consciously! I recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn how to participate in the outcome of humanity! Buy 5 copies and pass it out to friends!!!!

Barbara Marx Hubbard is a flawed visionary, like many in the human potential and "New Age" movements. She combines transpersonal insight with prerational garbage. She spouts about her revolutionary new political program, but says little of substance. In one breath, she supports genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and space colonization- and in another she damns the infrastructure necessary to make these advancements possible.

Conscious Evolution is, to be completely honest, a substanceless mess. Hubbard can't seem to get across any semblence of a message without resorting to quoting another book- typically with quotes that are of a declaratory rather than factual nature. The writing is poor and lacks depth. Although there are good ideas within (the "Peace Room", SYNCON, etc.) one must read through pages of fluff in order to get there.

Rather than waste your time with this book, take a look at some of Hubbard's sources, such as K. Eric Drexler or Ken Wilber. Your time and money will be much better spent.

This is an extremely important book -- it should be read widely. Ms Marx Hubbard is an imaginative thinker, with useful and interesting ideas about the future, and a clear and accessible writing style. She believes that the problems humans are experiencing, worldwide, are part of a birth process: we may head toward either a catastropic end (in violence and dwindling resources) or a better future (in peace and sharing) and we now have the ability to choose which it will be. There's a very valuable appendix, listing organizations, educational institutions and media outlets that concentrate on successful, innovative projects. I have never met Ms Marx Hubbard, but, as a publisher, I would have been proud to publish this book.

I loved the concept that we have some hand in creating not only our future but the future of ALL inhabitants of the earth. It gives me hope and a method for return to action when I had pretty much "checked out" - especially after seeing Primary Colors. Marx Hubband provides hope but understands the current reality of the world. She acknowledges that the movement toward a harmonious society or world is a work in process. This allowed me to define my part in the process while not feeling like "I'm not doing enough!" She says "It was not possible to create harmonious societies on any large scale, beyone the relatively peaceful tribal cultures, until the events of the last decades...just as it is not possible for a fetus to get up and walk." This book is accessible to almost anyone and allows the user to follow their personal passions by pursuing action in any of the 9 spheres of influence: Governance & Law; Education; Economics, Business, Philanthropy; Cooperative Entrepreneurship; Health, Relationships, Personal Growth; Science & Technology; Spirituality and Religion; Envoronment and Habitat; and Culture, Media, Communication. This is a great book because it translates global concepts to the individual level of both understanding and control. One can follow the concpets in the book and still live life in 1998 in the USA.

I read this book on the suggestion of Thom Hartmann, author of "The Prophet's Way", "Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight", "ADD Success Stories" and several other Great books. B. M. Hubbard has some really good ideas, but rarely speaks from the standpoint of authority. She uses quotes from other books an average of two times every three pages, which gives the impression that she isn't comfortable just saying "what is so", or she isn't sure that what she KNOWS is right. So while the ideas are of the same caliber as other books of this kind, the writing left me feeling like I just finished a discussion with a proslytizing religionist, who attempts to convert other people as a stop-gap measure for her own insecurity. I am not so naive to suggest that no-one should read this book, as I am sure that my own personal filters have something to do with the bad taste in my mouth. Perhaps I have missed something that you will find.

You hear a lot about "paradgim shifts" but rarely does anyone show us where and how it is happening -- or what the implications are. Hubbard's inspired social-cultural analysis and her working network of "cultural creatives" illustrate that evolution by choice rather than chance is an option we are making today as we evolve into a global society with a positive, spirit-driven m.o...The Social Potential Movement is no elitist handle; it's a fact of our times and Conscious Evolution explains it smartly and in persuasive detail. An important work by an elderly voice that has likewise inspired other teachers of this rapidly changing era from Marianne Williamson and James Redfield to past masters such as Buckminster Fuller and other visionaries. A must read.

The time is ripe to bring to this world a blueprint for positive change available to the many. Conscious Evoultion provides just such a medium. Barbara Marx Hubbard, a truly committed futurist, has captured the essence of providing us all a template to make choices for a positive and harmonious future. Reading this book may touch the deeper part of you that shouts YES.

Social interaction and growth is a continuum of observation, inquiry, and application. In Conscious Evolution, Barbara Marx Hubbard describes this process in stunning detail and guides us on how to incorporate spirituality into social policy. Hubbard's inspirational analogy of humankind as a catepillar morphing into a butterfly stimulates the reader's mind to envision how the collective fate of humanity need not end in an apocalyptic, "judgment day"-like scenario. Hubbard weaves a coherent plan of action to help humanity become more globally minded, cultarally integrated, and aware of its own strengths and weakneses through thoughtful insight and inclusion of the ideas and actions of other intellectuals, activists and spiritualists. The reader learns how to unite his or her own community into a stronger, socially conscious, spiritual unit, which in turn leads to an increased ability for humanity to direct and speed evolution. Consciously! I recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn how to participate in the outcome of humanity! Buy 5 copies and pass it out to friends!!!!