More About Extraordinary Mind

To order your copy of Extraordinary Mind, email Marcus today, mindfutures@gmail.com, for a personally autographed copy. You will also receive the eBook absolutely free! Total cost including postage, US$19.95.

It is my hope that Extraordinary Mind will broaden readers’ awareness, and encourage them to think more deeply about the future and the way our minds function. The book details much about Integrated Intelligence, the way it functions, and even how to develop and apply it. The context for this is Deep Futures – futures that are profoundly meaningful; which honour universal human values such as compassion, connection and spirituality; and which permit the expression of a full range of ways of knowing. To this end, I have included what I consider to be the most interesting and informative material for the book. There are many personal stories included.

Extraordinary Mind: Integrated Intelligence and the Future will be published by Benjamin Franklin Press Asia, which of course, is my own little publishing venture. It will be available here directly through www.22cplus.blogspot.com, and through the normal online book retailers, such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Quite possibly though, at a later date I will share it with my agent and seek a broader publication.

Extraordinary Mind book is a compilation of some of my best writings, specifically about Integrated Intelligence, and its potential impact on the future. You’ll note that many of my articles and blog posts are quite long and detailed. Some are 2000-3000 words long. The re has been a considerable amount of research,  time and effort that’s gone into my articles and posts, and now I would like to make them available to a wider audience. Lots of people don’t  surf the net anyway; and of those that do, the exact time they spend at any given  site or blog is probably just a few minutes. Most people agree that reading a book is far more conducive to holding one’s attention.

Peace,

Marcus

Table of Contents

Extraordinary Mind:

Integrated Intelligence and the Future

Foreword

Introduction: What Does It Mean to Have an

Extraordinary Mind?

Section 1: About Integrated Intelligence

What Is Integrated Intelligence?

Where Integrated Intelligence Comes From

Is the Psychic Real?

Should We Pursue Psychic Development?

Transcending the Rational Mind

The Greatest Gift

Section 2: Tales of Integrated Intelligence

Bright Lights in the Sky

The Aboriginal Shaman Woman

The Amazing Power of Synchronicity

An Extraordinary Woman, an Extraordinary Time

Entangled Minds

The Terror and the People

Out of Body, Out of Mind?

The Long Journey into Now

Go West!

Section 3: Applying Integrated Intelligence

The INI Tools

Can Psychic Ability Be Developed?

Can We See into the Future?

Making Wise Decisions Using Integrated

Intelligence

Is Your Spirituality Delusional?

Can Intuition Be Distorted by Those Around You?

Reading Synchronicity

Are You Living Your Bliss?

The Idiot Opposite Me

The Great Fall of Sedona

You Attract What You Are, Not What You Want

The Not-So-Simple Law of Attraction

Section 4: Integrated Intelligence in the

Modern World

Deep Futures: Beyond the Machine

Sleepwalking Through the Extraordinary

The IT Trap

I See Dead People

How to Make Monday Disappear Forever

The Subway as a Path to Enlightenment

He Stoops to Belong

The Dead Heart of the Orient

Section 5: Integrated Intelligence and Education

The Machine of Modern Education

Piled Higher and Deeper

The Battlefields of the Mind

How Darwin Lost Half His Mind

When the Loonies Come Round

A Rejected Genius Who Dared Say “No!”

Section 6: Integrated Intelligence and Human

Consciousness Evolution

How Enlightened are You?

Can Consciousness Levels be Measured?

When Gaia Speaks

Obama: Saviour or Anti-Christ?

The Death of Michael Jackson

Love Is Blindness

China, Islam, the Love and the Anger

Section 7: Thinking About the Future

2012: The End of the World?

Digging Deeper for Oil

Entanglement: The Next Big Idea?

Entanglement and Deep Connection

Biophobia: Be Very Afraid!

Mechanical Mind, Mechanical Eye

Will You Fall in Love With Your Robot

Psychiatrist?

Rise of the Machines, Ascent of the Spirit

Like Tears in the Rain

When the Aliens Come, What Will You Say?

They Come to Feast!

Conclusion: Integrated Intelligence and the Future

Appendices

Glossary of Important Terms

Recommended Reading

About Marcus T. Anthony

Index To order your copy of Extraordinary Mind, email Marcus today, mindfutures@gmail.com, for a personally autographed copy. You will also receive the eBook absolutely free! Total cost including postage, US $19.95.

Is Your Spirituality Delusional?

Several days ago on Rob and Trish Macgregor’s synchronicity blog there was a post entitled “Synchronicity or delusion?" . That blog post received a large number of responses, including one from me. I thought it would be good to elaborate on the answer that I gave there. I am also going to expand the topic a little, and talk not just about synchronicity, but about the idea of spiritual guidance in general (as synchronicity could be interpreted as a sub-category of the ‘spiritual’).

The post-rational stages of cognitive development have often been confused with the lower, prepersonal stages. Philosopher Ken Wilber makes this point, and he's right. One of the commonalities is seeing and hearing things that others don't perceive. How is anybody else supposed to know whethrer the person is a compete loony, or a prophet? How is the person perceiving the spiritual guidance to know whether he/she is a complete loony? Many sceptics would not even bother to make the distinction, but as someone who has had many spiritual experiences, I think it is not only worthwhile, but extremely important. We don’t want to spend time going down the wrong track in life because we followed the advice of some guidance that was nothing more than a delusion. And we don’t want to dismiss all guidance out of hand, because it can be very helpful

First a distinction that anyone who deals with intuitive or psychic realms has to know.

Champion of the Soul workshop, Jul 10

Champion of the Soul 
Workshops in personal empowerment

with Dr. Marcus T. Anthony

Visionary, and author of Sage of Synchronicity

Note: Workshop is limited to 12 participants, so book early!

What does it mean to be empowered in the 21st century?

Empowerment is being able to get what you need, when you need it. Yet most people confuse needs of the ego with the needs of the spirit. In the consumer society we are disempowered by messages that we must have things that we don’t need. The deeper voice of the soul is drowned out. In Champion of the Soul workshops, you will learn to reconnect with your spirit, find out what you really need, and discover ways to get it.

Another essential part of spiritual empowerment is being able to stand in your power as a man or woman. The requirement is that you learn how to assume greater levels of responsibility for your life and your emotional energy in a world where most people relate to others by giving their power away, or by manipulating and dominating.

Champion of the Soul is an inspirational workshop for those wishing to truly commit to a greater spiritual consciousness. In doing so, you will become part of a greater groundswell of humanity moving us towards the greater spiritual evolution of our world.

What will you discover in the Champion of the Soul workshops?

In Champion of the Soul (Level 1) you will learn:

• How to connect with your inner champion, your courageous and ennobled higher self.

• How to recognise the way you give your power away to others and to the system, and how to break this cycle of disempowerment.

• How to recognise how you came to develop the patterns of disempowerment (soul issues) that you have developed in early childhood.

• How to use power wisely and responsibly, for the greater good of all and for the spiritual evolution of our species.

• How to connect with your deep emotional energy and assume responsibility for it. This includes reclaiming and healing your inner child.

• How to develop your intuitive intelligence, including the thoughts and emotional energies of others.

• Identifying your true intentions in relationships, and your partner’s.

Marcus has the ability to read and channel the consciousness fields of individuals and groups. This is something he has learned from spiritual teachers, and through committed dedication to the process over several decades. In Champion of the Soul, you will be taught how to do this too, and the way to use this intuitive ability to empower your life.

The workshop will be particularly useful for people who have faced significant spiritual issues, such as shyness, lack of confidence, a history of abuse, and childhood problems. Those with ongoing relationship problems will be assisted in finding the deeper spiritual causes, as well as healing. Individuals with a more confident and empowered personality will also benefit greatly, as the process enables the development of advanced perception. This includes both insight into our own deeper nature, and an awareness of the consciousness fields of our relationships. The Champion of the Soul workshop enables the responsible expression of personal power in a way that enhances the spiritual evolution of humankind.

Champion of the Soul is potentially transformational, and so requires a high degree of personal commitment, and intention. The process may require some exploration of the deeper workings of your ego (the shadow), and may possibly bring forth the emotional energy of the wounded child. This requires courage and a commitment to seeing the truth. If you feel that you are ready to take the next step in your life and be a part of the long-term spiritual transformation of humanity, then Champion of the Soul is for you. 

For those wishing to attend, please also read: What is a Champion of the Soul?

The next Champion of the Soul workshop (Level 1) will be held on:

When: Saturday July 10th, 2010.

Time: 2.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.

Place: Reflections Bookshop, 19/F, Jing Long Commercial Building,
52 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.

Price: HK$500 ($400 for True Purpose members – join @ http://www.meetup.com/True-Purpose ) 

What to bring: A note book or lecture pad and pen. A small soft, child's toy, such as a teddy bear or doll - for inner child work.

For more information: Email: Marcus: mindfutures@yahoo.com. or Ruby reflection@pacific.net.hk Phone: (852) 6674 5908.

What does it mean to have an extraordinary mind?

The following is the introduction to 'Extraordinary Mind: Integrated Intelligence and the Future'. This is my upcoming book, which should be available in about two months. Feel free to make any comments about the introduction or the book!

What does it mean to have an extraordinary mind? The word ‘extraordinary’ literally means ‘beyond ordinary’, so by definition, few people have the kind of mind that I write about in this book. That extraordinary mind belongs to a person who has developed what I call “Integrated Intelligence”, or INI for short. INI is the innate ability to perceive and use spiritual intuition in your everyday life. This kind of spiritual knowledge presents itself in many different ways, and it is true that each person’s preferred ways of knowing are a little different. In my own life I have accessed Integrated Intelligence through dreams and visions, words and songs that pop into my head, and through getting an immediate and deep knowing about whether something is right or wrong. Synchronicities, deeply meaningful coincidences which occur spontaneously, have also been an invaluable source of INI in my life. As I shall explain in section one, this spiritual perception has various sources. These can include extra-sensory perception; the connectivity resulting from the sudden collapse of the distance’ between self and the thing you are perceiving; from a higher part of the mind which kindly processes information for you; and from direct spiritual guidance.

However, what is deemed ‘extraordinary’ depends on what we consider ordinary or normal.

Who Will Win the Future? The USA vs China.

The USA has been the world’s single superpower since the collapse of the Soviet Union. But will China soon usurp it as the dominant world power? Before I try my hand at answering this crucial question, let me sidetrack a little.

I was leafing through the internet a while back and came across an interesting book titled When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order. I haven’t read Martin Jacques' book, but as I scrolled down the page on Amazon, a particular piece of text from the publisher caught my attention. It was this:

According to even the most conservative estimates, China will overtake the United States as the world's largest economy by 2027 and will ascend to the position of world economic leader by 2050.

I am a futurist. More precisely, I write in the field of Critical Futures Studies. Futurists like me question things in depth. We like to probe away, and get into the gaps, identify the assumptions, and ask questions that others may not think to ask.

Firstly, there is an obvious factual error in the statement by the publisher.

Practical Tools For Using Intuition

 For those of you who have enjoyed reading 22c+, I have a new book coming out soon which includes many of the articles and themes addressed here. It's called Extraordinary Mind: Integrated Intelligence into the Future. Here's one of the segments from the book. Those who have read Sage of Synchronicity will recognise these tools. If you are keen to develop some of the skills that I outline here regularly, these will get you started.

One of the reasons I developed the theory of Integrated Intelligence was because I felt that much of the writing on ideas like intuition and spiritual intelligence was too vague. So I came up with not only the core operations and end states of INI, I also developed some practical ways to develop and implement the intelligence. Here I am going to outline the main ones in brief. For a more detailed and compressive outline, see my book Sage of Synchronicity, which goes into more detail about how to apply INI.

The tools do require practice and commitment if you are serious about using them. Remember, I learned much from other teachers. But I also innovated, and invented things for myself. You can do the same. Because integrated intelligence is everywhere, all the time, there are innumerable possibilities. Don’t let my tool kit limit your thinking, and your practice.

The Idiot Opposite Me

Marcus T Anthony's new web site and blog can be found at www.mind-futures.com.

The human mind tends to work in binaries: good/bad, this/that, me/her, us/them, is/is not, and so on. Bart Kosko wrote a book quite some time ago called Fuzzy Logic, where he pointed out that this black and white thinking of the human mind creates distortions in the way we perceive the world. Being aware of the same problem, lateral thinking guru Edward de Bono invented a new word, “po”, to help move us beyond ‘yes’ and ‘no’.

The older we get, the more we tend to label the world and life’s experiences according to  pre-assigned rigid categories. The world then loses its novelty, and we also forgo the opportunity to see things anew, or from the perspective of another. I developed a process called Harmonic Circles to assist people in moving beyond these kinds of binaries.

However, today, I am going to provide you with a piece of wisdom that a spiritual teacher of mine, whom I refer to as Jessica, once told me. She said that when she sat in a circle or group of people, she always took careful note of the person sitting opposite her, because that person represented a polarity that she needed to acknowledge. Ironically, the very first time I ever met Jessica, she was sitting directly opposite me in a large circle of people (and, no, she didn’t mention this idea at that time, but much later). I mentioned the amazing synchronicity that occurred as a result of that meeting in a previous post. As soon as Jessica saw me, she related precisely the same image that I’d had in a dream just a few hours before, where I’d seen my hands covered in blood. That synchronicity helped me to come to terms with an issue I had, related to sexuality.

It is often the people that we push away at a personal or intellectual level that have the most to teach us. The simple process of allowing yourself to look at the person opposite you, and ask, “What is it about this person that I need to acknowledge?”, can produce a great deal of insight. You can also take this in a metaphorical sense and ask the same question about a person whom you see as an intellectual or spiritual rival. Many people who read this blog have a spiritual perspective. “We” (if I may allow myself to place us in a group) often feel threat and hostility from sceptics and those critical of spiritual discourses and mystical experience. You can probably think of one such person or group right now. Is there something that you can learn from them? Is it possible for you to receive them without emotional judgment?

Note here the distinction between ‘judgment’ and discernment’. Judgment is laden with emotionality, while discernment is a nonattached perspective. You can still discern a perceived error in another’s thinking without taking it personally, or needing to change or destroy it. Judgment typically contains an element of destruction – there is an often unconscious desire to annihilate the object of judgment.

I would like now to recount a significant event in my life which helped me to understand this issue at a deeper level. It occurred in 2005, when I attended a Futures Studies conference at Tamkang University in Taiwan. I wrote about this in an essay for The Journal of Futures Studies the following year. Here’s a part of what I wrote there. It involves an somewhat uncomfortable encounter with Michio Kaku, the well-known physicist and author of Visions.

The Law of Attraction (2)

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Marcus T Anthony's new web site and blog can be found at www.mind-futures.com.
 
BTW, I wrote my most recent take on the law of attraction in an ebook called "A More Attractive Law of Attraction", which covers some of the ideas written here, but in much more detail. Marcus


What do I really know about the law of attraction? The answer is not as much as I would like, to tell you the truth. Many of the apparently metaphysical things I write about on 22c+ are written with good authority, and with little self doubt. For example, all the stuff about energy projection, telepathic perception, sensing the future, spiritual guidance and even life after death, are written from repeated first hand experience. They are everyday occurrences for me, and I have no problem writing about them; no more than I’d have an issue discussing, say, how to write a resume (which I’ve done many times). The only issue for you, then, as the blog reader, is to sense whether I am communicating valuable information, or whether I am mistaken, deluded, or maybe even insane. I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

The law of attraction is a different matter, as it is an abstract concept, and understanding if -or how - it works is difficult. I want to make clear that my comments about the law of attraction are thus conditional. My understanding may change in the future. The insights that you see here on this page emerge from my direct experience (successes and failures), and also from reading my energy of the degree of truth of any given statement. I read the energy by getting an intuitive feeling for the truth of a statement, and also by double checking its voracity using the Quick Check, which I outlined in Sage of Synchronicity. Clearly, once we get into discussions about consciousness and manifestation, we cannot rely on science, as to my knowledge there have been no scientific experiments to test the law of attraction (there is, however controversial indirect evidence, such as tests for telekinesis, or mind over matter).

Given these considerations, here are a few more distinctions about the law of attraction which I think are crucial, but which I didn’t cover yesterday.

We Attract Not What We Want, But Who We Are

 Marcus T Anthony's new web site and blog can be found at www.mind-futures.com.

BTW, I wrote my most recent take on the law of attraction in an ebook called "A More Attractive Law of Attraction", which covers some of the ideas written here, but in much more detail. Marcus


The idea of the law of attraction is as popular today as ever. The most recent successful version is found in the phenomenally successful The Secret video and books. To generalize, it is assumed that the law of attraction permits one to ‘manifest’ in one’s life what one desires, through focused concentration, or simply believing it enough. Although the mechanism is never clearly explained, the idea is that “God” or “the universe” will give you whatever you want, as long as you get your shit together. I call this the naïve law of attraction, because quite simply, it is delusional.

One of the most successful law of attraction teachers is Dr Wayne Dyer. I read Dyer’s You’ll See It When You Believe It nearly two decades ago. Dyer may well be the most successful New Age writer/philosopher in history. Certainly he is right up there with Deepak Chopra, Louise Hay and a few others. For years Dyer has been teaching that one can manifest one 's intention.

However in recent years Wayne Dyer has suffered several rather large ego falls.

The Subway as the Path to Enlightenment

There are a lot of people in the world who are interested in spiritual development. We sense that there may be a better way to ‘operate’ the mind than going about allowing the world to constantly distract us. Yet many of us are very busy, and may not have the time to devote to a specific spiritual practice (I won’t go into the obvious point about making spiritual practice a priority...).

It may be true that it requires complete dedication to experience ‘enlightenment’ as experienced by some advanced spiritual teachers. Yet there are more simple, mundane, yet nonetheless uplifting and even transformational processes that we can incorporate into our everyday lives, which help elevate consciousness.

Here’s one that you can use today. I call it “The Field”. Don’t be fooled by the fact that it is both simple and easy. It can take as little as three minutes.

The Field helps shift you from ego to Spirit, from the little self to the higher Self. It does this by bringing into awareness the countless value judgments that you make, and then allowing you to relax into presence.

Synchronicity: A Mystery

Here's a fascinating synchronicity told by Bono of U2, about an incident with Roy Orbision and how the song "She's a Mystery to Me" came to be written and recorded. The universe is not only stranger than we think, but stranger than we can think. I love this one because it suggests the unconscious but nonetheless intentional coming together of minds in an entangled universe. I've also included the song. Enjoy!

Biophobia: Be Very Afraid!

Marcus T Anthony's new web site and blog can be found at www.mind-futures.com.

Simon Buckland on his blogoflove, recently wrote about the revitalising capacity of beautiful parks, and in particular the charming the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, in Paris, where he lives. Deep connectivity, including an intimate connection with nature – green time – simply has to be a priority for policy makers in any city or country in the world. A future without this precious connection with the environment is quite a simply a future not worth living.

Can we see into the future?

When I tell people that I am a futurist, the first question people typically ask is, “What is going to happen in the future?” In fact, predication is not really a key element of Futures Studies, and most futurists stick to the position that the future is ultimately unknowable. Instead, most futurists like to engage in scenario work, where they attempt to contend with the issues and problems related to several possible paths which may unfold. Another process is horizon scanning, where futurists gather together as much data as they can about a particular issue, and then extrapolate the possible and probable futures which appear to be emerging. All this involves standard logical and rational ways of knowing, and the processes are conducted in normal states of consciousness. To do otherwise would invite the possibilities of ridicule and the questioning of professional credibility. Such is the nature of dominant culture in science and the professional/corporate world.

I am thus a little unusual for a futurist, in that I am also a mystic. Besides writing and researching, and gaining the preferred academic qualifications (a doctorate), I also spent many years working on the intuitive and emotional dimensions of mind. It’s not so easy to develop both the intellect and the psyche, as the cognitive skills required are completely different. Most academics have little or no understanding of the deeper mind, except at an intellectual level. This makes my attempts at communicating insights gleaned at a first-personal experiential level quite difficult. Many in mainstream culture are quite hostile to the attempt. My perception is that this largely stems not only from the challenge to their worldview, but also from the fear of the vulnerability required to move beyond the intellectual mind, and to explore the deeper emotional and psychic realms.

Which brings me to the question, “Can we see the future?” To answer this I am not going to refer to philosophical arguments or empirical evidence, but to personal insight.

The Long Journey into Now

I'm running a bit short of time today, so here's an entry from my web site, mindfutures.com. It contains a common message found in many of my posts, but provides a very simple process to help relieve a large degree of human suffering...

It was 1993, and I was wondering along the “main” street of Byron Bay, in northern New South Wales, Australia. Byron Bay is a beautiful little coastal town in one of the most scenic parts of Australia. It is well known as a center of alternative culture, and the streets were (and still are) lined with veggie restaurants, Thai dye shops, and alternative folks offering all kinds of new age therapies.

On that sunny winter’s day, I spotted a little book shop, and wandered in. There, amidst the plentiful supply of spiritual literature, I spotted a little tome called Words from Silence, by Leonard Jacobson. Something about the book grabbed me, so I picked it up and began to flick through the pages.

Mechanical Mind, Mechanical Eye

Marcus T Anthony's new web site and blog can be found at www.mind-futures.com.

We are within a decade or so of building the first electronic brain, exhorts writer Drew Turney in yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald. (A brain, but not as we know it ) Yet how much fact, and how much speculation, assumption or pure mythology lie behind the claim? Apologies in advance, but I'm going to get a little philosophical and intellectual.

Love is Blindness

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 Marcus T Anthony's new web site and blog can be found at www.mind-futures.com.

A few days ago I awoke during the early morning hearing a particular song in my head. As I’ve mentioned before, this is one of the most common means by which I am given spiritual guidance, so I always listen carefully for the message. Here is the song that I heard: U2s Love is Blindness. If you heard this song as a message from Spirit, what would you make if it? Watch the video before you read any further: