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.
To generalise, it is not considered normal to have a well developed Integrated Intelligence in the modern world, at least not in most developed economies. In fact, in most workplaces and social settings you would probably get yourself into more than a little bit of trouble if you started telling everyone that you got a great idea from a vision you had the night before in a dream.

I have spent two decades working with Integrated Intelligence, and I am very discrete about what I tell others about it. If you ‘believe’ in INI might look upon this with frustration or even outrage, and decry the fact that modern society is so restrictive. Or you could just relax with it, and enjoy the fact that you have a little edge over others in the perception department. I prefer the latter option, although I admit to periods of the former.

When you picked up this book you may have been asking yourself who this Marcus T. Anthony character is. Is he getting around telling the world that he has an extraordinary mind? He must be delusional, or have the biggest ego on the planet! Well, in my defense I can only point out that Integrated Intelligence is not considered ‘extraordinary’ in many cultures and periods in human history. Indigenous peoples the world over see INI as perfectly ordinary. The Australian Aborigines had a kind of telepathic relationship with the land, and deliberately tapped into it to sustain themselves. The ancient Greeks consulted oracles to gain insight into the deeper workings of life. Many people in Chinese cultures have long organised their lives around the idea of a universal life force, chi, and the mysterious Tao. The medieval mystics of Europe (Meister Eckhart being arguably the most notable), strongly believed in a direct connection with a divine force.

In the modern world many people and philosophies believe in an innate intelligence behind the workings of the physical world. The New Age movement, aspects of the human potential movement, and the idea of the law of attraction are just a few recent examples.

Of course, these cultures and philosophies are not all referring to the same concept, and there are significant divergences amongst them; and dare I suggest, different levels of truth. Yet all have a grounding in the fundamental idea that there is a universal intelligence which we can access, to greater or lesser degree.

As you will find out as you read the following pages, I do have a well developed Integrated Intelligence, but that was not always the case. I developed a greater capacity for INI through committed discipline and hard work. It is perfectly possible for you to master some or all of the skills I refer to here, and maybe to a greater capacity than I. I have met others who were certainly more capable than I am at the specific cognitive abilities involved in the use of INI (which I outline in Section 1).

Extraordinary Mind is based upon a collection of essays, articles and blog posts that I have written, mostly in the years 2009-2010. Many have appeared before on the Internet, my web site www.mindfutures.com, and my blog www.22cplus.blogspot.com. All have been edited specifically for the purposes of producing this book you have in your hands.

The focus of Extraordinary Mind is not simply upon the idea of Integrated Intelligence. It also questions what INI means for the future of we human beings. I am also personally involved in the discipline of Futures Studies, so I am passionate about the cultural evolution of humanity.

Section 1 is ‘About Integrated Intelligence’. Here you will be presented with an overview of what INI is, including the precise cognitive skills involved. In Section 2, ‘Tales of Integrated Intelligence’, I relate some of the many fascinating experiences that I have had with Integrated Intelligence. This will give you a greater feeling for INI. ‘Applying Integrated Intelligence’ is the next section, and it includes a brief introduction about how to develop INI. Other chapters in this section detail many of my experiences, and how I have used INI to enhance my life, including my career, living environment, and well-being. This section also describes some general misconceptions about ‘psychic’ development. Section 4, ‘Integrated Intelligence in the Modern World’ consists of chapters discussing practical philosophical issues related to living with INI in today’s busy and materialistic society. This includes advice on how to prevent giving your power away to others, finding peace in presence, and avoiding ‘the IT trap’. Education is a passion of mine, and in Section 5 I discuss modern education and how INI is relevant to learning. ‘Integrated Intelligence and Human Consciousness Evolution’ is the subject of Section 6. INI can be contextualised as part of a movement from the current dominant ‘rational’ level of cognitive evolution, to higher transpersonal levels of mind. INI grants insight into the deeper workings of a universal mind. Synchronicity works not just at the individual level, but can be expressed as meaningful ‘messages’ for larger groups, including the entire human race. Finally in Section 7, ‘Thinking About the Future’, I address a range of issues related to the future and INI. These include artificial intelligence, alien contact, and paradigm shifts in science.

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Integrated Intelligence is a deepening of the experience of mind. Thus the kind of futures that I envisage as being preferable are what I call Deep Futures. They contain not just discussions about science, technology and material developments, but also engage in genuine discussion about deeply meaningful issues, such as spirituality and consciousness evolution. Deep Futures, ideally, permit the expression of broader range of ways of knowing, including those contained with Integrated Intelligence.

Extraordinary Mind is, I trust, a small movement towards the unfolding of Deep Futures. If I succeed in my purpose, then after reading this book you will appreciate at a deeper level that such futures are not extraordinary at all, but a normal expression of human life on this planet.

Marcus