Summary: A New Consciousness

A New Consciousness Over 100 years ago, American theosophists studied the mysteries of the divine and its relationship to nature and humans, embracing Eastern philosophies to gain a deeper spirituality. During this time Hinduism was introduced to the West. Decades later, the expulsion of the Dalai Lama from Tibet resulted in Buddhist wisdom and practice spreading to more parts of the world.

The 20th century continued to unfold with two world wars, harnessing of nuclear power, the Viet Nam war, ending of apartheid, the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, and tremendous advances in technology, including developments which make it possible to explore space or to have the world linked by communications networks. Amidst these changes music and culture also took new directions. In 1967 the musical Hair announced “The dawning of the Age of Aquarius.” Institutions such as Esalen and spiritual and ecological communities such as Findhorn in Scotland and
In the novel a character experiences an acute sharpening of the senses and is able to see the rings around Saturn without artificial lenses. The novel also puts forth the idea that humans with more DNA could have an enhanced ability to heal themselves, even to the point of organ and limb regeneration. Some of the characters in the book can communicate spiritually and intuitively with each other through a web of energy surrounding the planet, with no technological assistance. The novel describes how the ability for people to genuinely care about one another promotes decisions that show a respect for the entire population as well as the earth. Though much of science fiction has often come across as “unbelievable” at first, much of it also comes to pass. Many of the changes described in Strands are already