ions - kn

Earlier this month, Cassandra Vieten, Helané Wahbeh, Jonathan Schooler, and myself made presentations at the Symposium on Human Consciousness at the Vivenanda Ashram on paradise island near Nassau in the Bahamas. More than 200 participants from the ashram attended our sessions. Ashram participants are college graduates from all around the world interested in yoga and eastern philosophy. They are not necessarily devotees, although a core group of about 15 staff members are devotees themselves. It was therefore an enthusiastic and receptive audience to present our ideas and research.

Too often, change agents, politicians, activists, leaders of NGOs, and policy makers unintentionally employ methods that are actually counterproductive to what they are trying to achieve. Not only that, people who are working to make change in themselves, their families, or their clients or patients often feel flummoxed by the resistance they encounter.

When he returned from space forty-five years ago, Apollo 14 Astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell committed his life to supporting a sustainable future. He worked tirelessly to understand and promote what he viewed as an absolutely necessary collective shift in consciousness. To those of us who knew him well, Edgar was an enthusiastic, loving, dedicated, courageous, generous, and brilliant man who inspired us to be bold in our exploration of the further reaches of human potential, to fearlessly challenge inadequate paradigms, and to carry his spirit of adventure into investigating our inner lives.

With the recent societal regressions toward political polarization, isolationism and nationalism, threats to civil and human rights, reductions in environmental protections and broadening of economic inequality, it can be difficult not to despair. Those of us who are activated to make a difference, including myself, can find it difficult to avoid ranting, raging, and insulting their opponents. Even the most positive people I know can shake their heads, look at the ground, and shrug their shoulders when assessing our current situation. However, it is absolutely essential that people who are working to shift consciousness toward a more just and sustainable future not only resist what is intolerable, but create and communicate inspiring and realistic alternative visions for the future.

Happy holidays! As the President of IONS, and a donor myself, I hope you’ll consider joining me in including the Institute of Noetic Sciences in your year-end giving. If you haven’t already, please make a contribution to IONS before the end of the year.

Ten years on from the revelatory book we co-published by Michael Singer, The Untethered Soul, we are thrilled to see his work taking the next powerful iteration of supporting people engaging their noetic awareness based on scientific research.

In a new video from Global Purpose Live, IONS President Cassandra Vieten and Emanuel Kuntzelman, Founder and President of Greenheart International, speak about consciousness and social change.

Angie and Haley, the hosts of the podcast HumanCurrent, recently attended the IONS 17th International Conference. Gifted their tickets from friend Doug, they describe their introduction to IONS and conference presenters and attendees as being “amazing” and “transformational.” To quote Angie, “I’ve been to a lot of conferences in my time, and I’ve never been to a conference quite like the IONS conference. It’s no wonder Doug has gone so many times!”

The Voices of VR Podcast with Kent Bye caught up with IONS President Cassandra Vieten at our recent 17th International Conference in Oakland, CA.

IONS President Cassandra Vieten recently took part in the Inspiring Positive Social Change Summit. In this free event — online from July 11 to September 5 — you can discover practical solutions, proven methods and new science for creating positive social change from some of the most powerful visionaries and community leaders,  who integrate cutting-edge insights from spirituality, neuroscience and peacebuilding.