News

October 1999: State of the World Forum, San Francisco

The State of the World Forum, held October 1 to 6 in San Francisco, gathered more than 800 luminaries, leaders, and futurists from around the world to develop and examine systemic solutions that impact business, politics, and human development into the next millennium. It is in a spirit of mutual respect and inquiry that discussions are held, accentuating the ethical and spiritual aspects of the issues as they arise. The annual conferences seek to quite literally explore the “state of the world” in all its multidimensionality. This Fifth Annual State of the World Forum was a special anniversary event launching the forum’s millennium programs.

Dr. John Mack and Dr. Michael Zimmerman (see p. 3), participated in “A Conversation at the Edge of Human Knowledge and Experience” with philosopher Rick Tarnas, author of Passion of the Western Mind, and transpersonal psychology advocate Georgia Kelly. They were joined by an experiencer who shared lessons she feels we are expected to learn from alien interactions with humankind. Dr. Mack also contributed to a forum moderated by Daniel Sheehan featuring Donald Beck, Guru Charan, Brian Greene, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Ralph Potter, Beverly Rubik, Brian Swimme, Richard Tarnas, and Marianne Williamson.

A high level of engagement was reported during this and many other conversations that addressed the edge of humankind’s understanding, and PEER is looking forward to continuing relationships with many of the people who shared in this dialogue.

September 1999: Dharamsala, India

Dr. John Mack traveled to Dharamsala, India, where he was part of a symposium invited to meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama to explore how to create a culture of peace. The convener of this meeting was the Association for Global New Thought, with co-direction from the Synthesis Institute and the Dearborn Institute.

In an interview with New Dimensions radio, Dr. Mack was asked what came into focus from being in Dharamsala.

“What I take from this is a skillful means of interrupting cycles of violence. The strategies, or new forms of power, have to be much more imaginative, inventive, and powerful than ever before.”

“Power is the latent, creative energy in the universe. Power is not dominating another person, or conquering another nation.”

“The problems in the world, in a large part, derive from the fact that the people who are willing to use that power destructively are less afraid to use it, than those of us that seek a higher level of consciousness. It’s as if a higher level of consciousness is synonymous with a retreat from power. But it must not be that way. We must use new, imaginative ways of compassion, persuasion, influence, saying no — All kinds of things which are non-violent, but are also powerful.”