Illuminating the operations of consciousness that are in the creation of self-concepts, political processes, and the evolution of the universe.

Unlike animals, human beings seek the meaning of existence. We want to know why we are here, whether life has a purpose, and if so, what it is. The questions emanate from consciousness--the tenant in the mind--an invisible principle of order and coherence present not only in individuals but in societies and the cosmos. Universal consciousness fosters the mind's growth and evolution, just as it impels the cosmos toward higher levels of organization from atoms to galaxies. Its aim is to realize its full potential by increasing its presence in our mind so that we gain awareness of our relatedness to others and an understanding of our place in the universe as one part of a living whole. Yet the process is attended by mistake and error, for the mind tends naturally not only toward order but to disorder, incoherence, self-involvement, and inertia: obstacles which make life a challenging journey of self-discovery. The book focuses on life's meaning as the struggle to attain the highest possible level of consciousness and express it through our behavior. It differs from studies of its kind by representing the mind as a limitless reservoir of possibility, freedom, and creativity; and by drawing its insights from a wide spectrum of disciplines in the belief that all testify to the purpose of consciousness to gain reality through human thought and action.