Customer Reviews

Global Shift: How A New Worldview Is Transforming Humanity (New Harbinger/Noetic Books) (co-published with the Institute of Noetic Sciences)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Dr. Ed Bourne, like many of the great psychologists of old, has crossed
that fine line between psychology and philosophy with this book. He takes
a look at all the ingredients contributing to what many consider a global
crisis in the first part of the book - and explores each thoroughly. Then,
he describes ways in which a shift in global consciousness could address
these issues - and suggests that such a shift has already begun. In the
final section, he synthesizes it all into practical recommendations for
changes each of us could make in our daily lives to contribute to this
"global shift". I personally found the book very informative, interesting,
and even inspiring. This is not a book you can sit down and read in one
day. This is a book that will both require and provoke a lot of thought
from you - long after you've read the last page. It's a book you'll likely
find yourself going back to. Truly, it's the kind of book the world needs right
now.

(The rating really is 3.5 but Amazon has a very primitive rating system unlike say rottentomatoes which uses a novel concept called percentages.)

Consider this a yuppie version or a descendant of the classics Future Shock, The Third Wave, MegaTrends. This is a very well thought out book detailing the history behind, and the direction towards, some of the basic changes our society has made in the past decades. The book brings out that we are leaving cold scientific materialism in favor of something more local, balanced, personal, and intuitive. If you are looking to formulate your own views as to how society is changing this will give you a good overall perspective. The writing style is easy to follow yet not captivating. This book did not fulfill it's portent as conveyed in the title. I was looking for lots of detail around 'transforming humanity' and was left wanting.

If you have been around What the Bleep, heard about yoga, Reiki, or think globally, act locally, you will not get many new concepts out of this book. Further, the author missed major opportunities in really nailing down what it is you can do to support this global shift other than very basic things that are part of the think globally, act locally mantram. I mean so what if you shop at WholeFoods, eat some organic food, keep your body fit and so on. Those are all really good things, great things, but in themselves they do not provide or support enough global change fast enough to support humanity making the shift. You can create as much of a carbon foot print with plastics from WholeFoods or anywhere else while you are looking pretty in your yoga clothes sipping your kombucha. My point is that to make it to a global shift requires a unifying vision. And this book only helps us with brief brush strokes around what such a vision would be. Yes the book does talk about shifting our views away from nationalism to understanding we are all citizens. But there were other opportunties that were not followed through. In large part these were due to a lack of clarity on what is humanity and what are the threats extant to it.

How about questions around how the existance of eternal corporations, accountable mainly to shareholders, are grinding the planet into concrete and refuse heaps. The military industrial only thrives when there is an active threat. What to do when governments focus more on control than freedom? Should the media be involved in state propaganda? Is it even possible (at least under capitalism) for the corporate media to convey information in a unbaised way with no sub-motives when corporations and the state need each other to survive? Should disease scares such as influenza be used to prop up profits for drug companies? All of these things are going and all of them are in-human and threaten your humanity. But can you alter your lifestyle to negate or limit their effects on you. Can you see external threats as being created? Can you live without your TV and magazine subscriptions? Can you drink water instead of beer, soda/pop, the sports drink? Do you think all those drinks and most processed foods are good for you? Have you ever called out your representatives at all levels to ask them why we continue to bury the country in debt, etc. Should there be any laws saying what an adult can put into their own body or what two consenting adults should be able to do with each other? But even this is not where the core opportunities were not fully emphasized.

What would really support the global shift is a concerted effort of meditation and prayer around the idea and vision that we are a single being on this planet. And us as humans are cells on the body of the mother planet Earth. Yes, this may be too 'woo-woo' for many readers interested in the dynamics and 'FACTS' around societal change. But I'll argue that anything short of such a radical change in views (and this is as deep or deeper than Gaia hypothesis) are not going to affect us before we all choke in our own pollution.

So while the book does a very good job to bring you up to a common view of the current transformation, it missed opportunities to convey the vision of the global unified humanity. A human being is someone who's natural sense of being and unity is really what it is going to take to turn this corner and live in peace. And the final state of our utopia will require that everyone think for themselves and yet not perform unilateral actions but rather seek consensus. And possibly a government by the people and for the people is, in Lao Tzu's words, and the founding fathers vision, as small government as we can get. The opposite trend has been going on and it's going to take us to live in our humanity to counter-balance it. Humanity = human unity.

This is a well written and thoroughly researched book that the author obviously went into great lengths in order to present a full picture. The book goes to great lengths to discuss very vital issues pertaining to our lives and our planet. The first 200 plus pages takes us through a very detailed description of where we are as people and the way we need to go in order to sustain our ever depleted planet.

Some of the topics discussed are moving forward with the big challenges we face as humans and our planet. Understanding the universe, the integration of science and religion/spirituality, recognizing the unity of consciousness-that our minds are joined in one, and much more.

The last 130 pages go into actual ways we can progress forward in order to achieve the "global shift" discussed in the book. A few examples include Voluntary simplicity- taking a simpler path in life in order to "lighten our footprints on earth". The concept of unconditional love and forgiveness as the highest values in our relations with each other, letting go of clutter, living closer to nature, learning peaceful communications based on empathy, acceptance of differences the ability to compromise,ect.

After reading this book, I have to say it has helped me to understand the many of the important aspects of life that most of us do not think much about, it provides some of the steps that one can take in order to have a more meaningful, peaceful and manageable life regardless of ones situation, and thus I very much recommending reading this book, and sharing it with friends and family.

GLOBAL SHIFT: HOW A NEW WORLDVIEW IS TRANSFORMING HUMANITY is the first book to consider the massive changes ahead for the 21st century. It describes a major shift in mankind's way of viewing the world - a shift over thirty years in process - and predicts the overthrow of the materialistic, separatist worldview of the past. An outstanding survey of changing world values evolves for college-level libraries strong in changing world issues.

This book only scrapes the edges and the more important or immediate things the reader could choose to do are missing.
Living in the heart and full of love is a daily excercise. The shift is not about new leadership; nor any leadership. It is about your awakening; becoming the change that the public has been struggling for so long now. The shift will be the awakening of the global consciousness and each man and woman reclaiming their humanity and their innate powers that the global corporate state has usurped. Today we are living in a Orwellian world of corporate control, doublespeak, legalese and deception, or in a more recent popular vision I could say we are living in the MATRIX. Becoming aware that the matrix exist and is part of all aspects of your life, controlling your identity and your perception of reality is a concept many are unwilling to accept and overcome.

We are the change we have been searching for.
We are the solution.
That is the real shift.
Unplug the TV, and wake up.

Do you feel that if everyone viewed life the way you do, then world peace would be a reality? If you've had an "awakening" and realize that everything in the universe is connected, and you want to read everything you can get your hands on concerning the topic...read this book. You are not alone! A shift is happening. If you haven't had an "epiphany" but are searching for greater awareness and truth...you're on the right path.

This book was well researched and well written. Its material is suitable for experiential education courses and for those interested in exploring how we as humans can grow and tranform the current state of global crisis that we face. Because it covers the widest of senarios to give the lay person considerable background, its depth of coverage is not deep, however, anyone reading this book should be well on their way to creating positive change in the world long before they even finish this enjoyable and inspiring book.

Global Shift: How a New Worldview Is Transforming Humanity
By Edmund J. Bourne, PhD
ISBN 1-57224-597-2 (Noetic Books, 2009)

Never before in recorded history have we gone through such a rapid transformation in society at every level. Global Shift answers the right questions and questions the wrong answers that have most of society bewildered, scared, and confused. As we observe sacred feminine energy moving swiftly through our world, we see the old patriarchal paradigms built on fear and division starting to break down. What I found in this book was balance, brought about through correct information and a clear vision of the future with steps to take action. It includes excellent references for various organizations that are in tune with what's really going on.

Rahasya Poe, Lotus Guide magazine[...]

Global Shift is an important book that should be read by everyone. It explains in detail the complex changes that civilization is in the midst of going through. It clearly details the many issues that currently confront society and the difficulties that those who refuse to recognize them are experiencing. Author Edmund Bourne, who is a researcher at The Institute of Noetic Sciences, thoroughly explores the changes that are occurring and must occur for us to successfully navigate the stormy seas of paradigm shift and consciousness change. According to Bourne we are at a critical crossroads in the development of civilization and unless we are able to surmount the many complex problems that now confront us with a new vision and consciousness our future is in doubt. He details the phenomenal discoveries and research that are occurring in the realms of mind and consciousness and how these are capable of lifting us out of the current quagmires of environmental destruction and political decay. This book presents some very workable guidelines that describe the changes that are occurring and the way these changes may quite well lead us to a future of prosperity and harmony. An evolution in our species is necessary for us to continue on in a successful manner and this evolution is one of mind and consciousness. This book will help guide anyone concerned for the future. Highly recommended.

I have sent INTELLIGENCE for EARTH: Clarity, Diversity, Integrity, & Sustainaabilty to the printer and it is on that foundation that I highly recommend this book for a simple easy to understand overview of the fifteen converging forces that the author lists and then discusses in superbly-crafted very easy to read overviews. He covers:

01 A conscious universe

02 Multidimensional reality

03 Interconnection of all minds

04 Complementarity of science and spirituality

05 Radical empiricism [revalidation of intuition and visioning]

06 Consciousness has a causal influence

07 Natural ethics [I really like this, hugely beneficial for all]

08 Reverence for nature and earth [in my book, diversity rocks]

09 A sense of inclusiveness toward all humanity [diversity again]

10 Compassion

11 Integration of the feminine

12 Valuing intuition

13 Volutnary simplicity [some like Naomi Klein and Jim Turner would call this buy-cotting]

14 Respect for being present

15 The primacy of unconditional love

As I went through this book late last night I kept thinking of all the books the author does not mention but did not seriously consider a one-star reduction. A great deal of thought and effort went into making this book as simple as possible. Despite the authors over-dependence on the World Watch Institute, on the publisher (Institute of Noetic Sciences) and on really crummy science such as Al Gore likes to flog so he can continueto propser from the phantom wealth of carbon credit, on balance this book is a triumph of elegant intellect.

A few special observations by the author that came forward for retention:

01 Descontruction of science, spirituality, feelings, and philosophy is being reversed.

02 Nano-conscioousness, transpersonal psychology, paranormal, and cosmic consciousness are now cool not nutty

03 Indigenous knowledge of the ages is now back in vogue--as the author of Voltaire's Bastards and others like him would say, we are reversing the dehumanization of both science and commerce--governance is still a challenge

04 I study water, and I give the author high marks for a huge eye-opener for me personally on the contrast between what it takes in water to grow a vegetarian diet versus and animal diet--23 gallons for a pound of lettuce, 815 gallons for a pound of chicken, 5,214 gallons for a pound of beef, no extra charge for the animal feces and ecoli poisoning in your spinach.

This book is the best possible book for someone who wants to both understand vast literatures quickly and at low cost, *and* apply that understanding to their personal lives. The last half of the book is a personal transformation program, some it mundane but all of it sensible: simplify your life; build peace in all relationships, care for your body, practice meditation, think larger, take action.

The author's "bottom line" is discussed just prior to the personal transformation section, and the headlines are listed here because this author and those who helped him really has done an *extraordinary* job of capturing the essence of the convergent focres for good:

01 Development of a Respectful and Cooperative Relationship with Nature

02 Increased Sense of Connection and Communion for All Peoples

03 Greater Compassion for All Beings

04 Decline of Consumerism

05 The Valuing of Intuitive Knowledge [the author intends to include feminine here]

06 A Natural Ethics

07 Emergence of a Global Consciousness

Althoguh this book and this author are far removed from the pathos as well as the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid, this book is assuredly important for the one billion rich, and the single best primer I have found for anyone who lacks the time or money to read very broadly, and is looking for a "one best book" with which to re-energize their humanity. This is that book.


Other books I recommend to reinforce this one:

The Bhagavad Gita : A Walkthrough for Westerners
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community (BK Currents (Hardcover))
Mapping the Moral Domain: A Contribution of Women's Thinking to Psychological Theory and Education
Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge
Reflections on Evolutionary Activism: Essays, poems and prayers from an emerging field of sacred social change
The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis
Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace
Philosophy and the Social Problem: The Annotated Edition

See also all books lists at Phi Beta Iota, the Public Intelligence Blog, where among the 98 non-fiction categories the following are especially relevant: Change & Innovation (113); Complexity & Catastrophe (59); Complexity & Resilience (82); Consciousness & Social IQ (135); Cosmos & Destiny (16); Culture, Research (122); Environment (Problems) (60); Environment (Solutions) (81); Intelligence (Collective & Quantum) (79); Intelligence (Public) (154); Intelligence (Wealth of Networks) (42); Nature, Diet, Memetics, Design (69); Peace, Poverty, & Middle Class (111); Philosophy (59); Priorities (32); Religion & Politics of Religion (76); Strategy (85); Survival & Sustainment (53); Technology (Bio-Mimicry, Clean) (10); True Cost & Toxicity (32); Truth & Reconciliation (48); Values, Ethics, Sustainable Evolution (150); Voices Lost (Indigenous, Gender, Poor, Marginalized) (56); Water, Energy, Oil, Scarcity (42).