There are a wide variety of approaches to the truth, many paths that lead to the same fundamental understanding, and a shared vision of almost unimaginable beauty that nearly defies description. Language fails to convey the awe we experience as we behold the truth, as gratitude overwhelms our senses and we melt into bliss. We endeavor to explain our knowing using metaphor and analogy, using descriptives that fail to capture the essence of what we know.

The constructed environment in which many of us find ourselves often reinforces one way of thinking over others, the group consciousness of the combined residents of an area can be of a quite particular nature and this is observable in the demeanor and behavior of the people, and their relationship to their environment, the care they show each other and the common discourse they share.

This topic is discussed at length in a new book currently in development at http://www.anandavala.info/GaianEgo/

We need to find ways of focussing on what we all see, believe, perceive and know in common. To come to a unified understanding of the nature of reality, of the truth beyond the world of things. It is heartening indeed to see the efforts that are being made in so many areas to work in this direction. It is vital for our ongoing participation in this universal creativity (if that is what we are meant to do) that we become aware of ourselves as more than the sum of our differences.

It will be necessary to face some pretty tough truths about the situation that early 21^st century humanity finds itself in, and to prepare ourselves for the needed effort to rectify and balance the situation. The human factor on planet earth needs to take itself into account and realize its dependence upon and integration into the bigger picture. As a whole, humanity is approaching a stage where the unification of human consciousness will occur, and the mind of the planet as embodied in us will be born.

What kind of a being will that be? And what kind of world will it find itself in? These are decisions that we need to be wise in the making.