Cosmic Consciousness: Evolution of Mind

Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind

Cosmic Consciousness

This book has 4.4 out of 5 stars with 515 ratings. It is a 2010 reprint of the 1905 edition.

This is the magnum opus of editor Richard Maurice Bucke's career, a project that he researched and wrote over many years.

In it, Bucke describes his own experience, that of contemporaries (most notably Whitman, but also unknown figures like "C.P."), and the experiences and outlook of historical figures including

• the Buddha,
• Jesus,
• Paul,
• Plotinus,
• Muhammad,
• Dante,
• Francis Bacon, and
• William Blake.

Bucke developed a theory involving three stages in the development of consciousness:

• the simple consciousness of animals;
• the self-consciousness of the mass of humanity (encompassing reason, imagination, etc.); and 
• cosmic consciousness -- an emerging faculty and the next stage of human development.

Among the effects of this progression, Bucke believed he detected a lengthy historical trend in which religious conceptions and theologies had become less and less fearful. It is a classic work. Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind

U.S. concern over Nepal's peace process

(faculty.fairfield.edu)

U.S. expresses concerns over peace process
KATHMANDU, Nepal (Xinhua) -- Visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Middle Asia, Robert O. Blake, expressed concerns over Nepal's peace process on today.

He said that the increasing differences among the major political parties and the Unified Communist Party of Nepal Maoists (UCPN-M) and the delay in the expansion of the government could jeopardize the already fragile peace process.

Blake, who arrived here Friday to take stock of the latest political development, voiced concerns during his meeting with Prime Minister Madhav Kumar of Nepal.

The meeting took place at the Prime Minister's office in Singha Durbar shortly after Blake's arrival in the capital.

The visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary said that the government's priority to conclude the ongoing peace process should be on drafting the new constitution, integration of the UCPN-M combatants and rehabilitation of the minors residing in the United Nations-monitored cantonments.

The discussion also dwelled on the possible extension of the United Nations' mission in Nepal, which is due to end on July 23, 2009.

Blake is the highest-ranking political official to visit Nepal after the UCPN-(M)-led government was toppled last month.

• The Marxist overthrow of the corrupt King of Nepal