August, 1987

The AGE OF MIND

Historians tend to record the progress of man's development as a series of 'ages'. The Stone Age, the Bronze age, the Iron Age, the Industrial Age, the Nuclear Age etc.

During the last few years of the life of Albert Einstein, he was frequently asked to make predictions concerning the future of mankind. When asked about the next 'age' of man, he replied. "If a full scale nuclear war occurs, the next age of man will be the second stone age, but if the political leaders of the world manage to lay aside, even for a single decade, their obsession with MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction,) the next age will be known as the Age of Mind. The human mind is, compared to its potential, the least developed of all human resources. If we stop confusing the mind with the brain, and begin to apply to it, even one half of the effort we have spent in perfecting the means of destroying each other, there will be advances and discoveries in the potential of the mind, that will outweigh in importance, and in benefits to humanity, anything that our vaunted technology has been able to create." Little attention was given to this prediction by Dr. Einstein at the time, probably because it seemed so unlikely that the study of the mind could ever take precedence over preparations for war. Now however it seems that war is becoming a little less likely, and may even go out of style, and at the same time there an increasing number of persons, both teachers and students who are becoming aware that the mind is much more than the working of the brain, and is actually a universal entity that is shared, to a greater or lesser degree by every human being, and possibly by other forms of life, and is largely independent of the brain with which it interacts.

In the first chapter of John, in the Holy Bible, we find the following statement. "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.  "This portion of the Bible text has been the subject of much controversy, ever since it was first published, and many attempts have been made to explain its meaning in an acceptable manner. It seems that the problem originated from the fact that the word 'logos' in the original text, was translated simply as 'word' whereas, the term logos has a much wider meaning, and many definitions The American College Dictionary gives, among others, "The rational principle that governs the universe." (A definition that is almost identical with its definition of 'Mind' although it uses more than 500 words to say so.)

If 'mind' is an acceptable synonym for logos, we should at least be allowed to try it in place of 'word', which does not seem to be very acceptable, considering the controversy that resulted. Therefore, in the beginning was mind, and the mind was with God, and the mind was God's. The mind was in the beginning, with God. All things were made by God with mind, and without God's mind was not anything made that was made." we can see that the use of the term mind instead of word, in the translation, creates a logical and understandable statement since it is clear that everything that is created, whether by God or man, must first exist in the mind of the creator, (It has been said that flowers and trees can be so beautiful, only because they first existed in the mind of God!), and since it is equally clear that the mind is therefore the source of all creation, and should be respected, valued and pursued accordingly, it is likely that Dr. Einstein's prediction will come to pass, and the AGE OF MIND will be the brightest and most productive of all.

(signed by Daniel W. Fry)

 

 

God's Unfailing Promise From

ONE to another

God will gladly give

To everyone who seeks Him

and tries each day to live

A little bit more closely to God and to each other

Seeing everyone who passes

as a neighbor, friend or brother,

Not only joy and happiness

but the faith to meet each trial

Not with fear and doubting but with an inner smile -

For we know life's never measured

by how many years we live

But by the kindly things we and the happiness we give.

HELEN STEINER RICE

 

Be Divine!

Be! Be Divine!

Be Love, Be the Christ you are.

Be Light, Brighter than a star.

Be Life, with a grateful heart.

Be Unity, Be whole, not just a part.

Be Harmony, with chimes clear as a bell.

Be Temperate, Knowing that all is well.

Be Selfless, "Tis the boon of living.

Be Sharing, Know the joy of giving.

Be Patient, Your good will come in time.

Be Peace, Your life will be sublime.

Be joy, spread it where ever you can.

Be Divine, In tune with God and man.