My Personal Journey in the Adventure of Consciousness

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Namaste. We
struggle with finding

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meaning in our lives. There
is so much strife, so much

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confusion, so many issues
that threaten our very

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existence as a species. We
view enormous changes to

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the environment, the ever
dwindling supply of fresh

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water, the imminent collapse
of the ocean fisheries,

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increasing pollution, the
sixth planetary species die

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off, the clear cutting of
forests and the inexorable

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warming of the planet with
all the follow -on effects

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that these things have,
including income inequality,

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and the inequality, unequal
access to the world's

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resources, and the
consequence of war, famine,

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mass migration, etc. Many
believe we have entered the

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end times as a result. It
is easy to simply despair

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and give up, to immerse
ourselves in entertainment,

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physical enjoyment, and
superficial relationships,

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but in the end, deep
within ourselves, we know

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that this cannot be all
that life is about. We

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come then to what the
great sage Shri Aurobindo

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suggested, which is to turn
our attention to the core

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problem of our existence
and undertake what he

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called the adventure of
consciousness. We

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have tried to find the
answers of life everywhere,

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but within ourselves, within
our consciousness. While

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we searched the world for
answers, Shri Aurobindo

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proposed that these answers
lie within. Back

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in 1971, I had a personal
epiphany, a dramatic change

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in my life that led me to
search for meaning and

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begin to explore new
directions that I had never

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considered. In
fact, I had a near -death

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experience that led me to
challenge all the

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assumptions of education,
career, and family life

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that I had previously held.
I

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wound up abandoning all
those ideas and plans, and

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after dropping out of
college, I went to Europe

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and took up the study and
practice of yoga. It

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was there that I was
introduced to Shri

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Aurobindo's The Life Divine,
and it immediately resonated

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with me as providing some
light in what had been for

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me a dark tunnel that
apparently had no way out.

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There
was a war raging in

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Vietnam. The
country was torn apart.

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People
were beginning to raise

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serious concern about the
impact we as a species

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were having on the
environment, the pollution,

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the climate change, and all
the other effects. People

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were adamantly opposed to
one another with no one

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taking a solution that
would solve the problems

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that humanity had created
for itself as possible.

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Anger,
hatred, invective were the

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order of the day in our
societal life. The

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threat of nuclear disaster
hung over everything else

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as a doomsday that awaited
us, if we failed, to work

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out some form of positive
resolution. The

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key to Shri Aurobindo's
guidance was that these

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problems arise because we
are evolutionary beings, and

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our development is not yet
completed. Out

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of matter, life evolved.
Out

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of life and matter, mind
evolved. We

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are in the midst of a
transition as further forces

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of consciousness evolve with
new powers of understanding,

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action, and harmony that
can help us navigate the

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many issues that cannot be
solved with our present

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limitations. Some
50 or more years have gone

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by since that fateful
decision to take my life

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in an entirely new
direction. In

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the interim, I have lived
an isolated life for part

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of the time, have traveled
to many parts of the

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world, have examined many
spiritual, philosophical, and

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scientific paths, and
undertaken the commitment to

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turn my own life into that
adventure of consciousness

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that Shri Aurobindo
described. I

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have taken up business,
publishing, got married, and

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raised children. I
have spent some years

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reflecting on all the
various aspects of human

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development and come to
conclude that if we are to

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survive as a species, this
existential crisis, humanity

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must move beyond the
limitations of the body,

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life, and mind that lead
us to our own self

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-destructive actions through
our egoistic attachment to

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satisfying our desires, even
at the expense of the

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greater whole of which we
are a part. The

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evolution of consciousness
continues, and we have the

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opportunity to support this
process consciously and

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thereby speed up the
development of the new

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powers of unity, oneness,
harmony, love, and mutual

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respect that are so much
needed in today's world.

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Namaste.