Deep inside everyone alive today is an elemental state of being, Whole Self, which is a natural, instinctive, intuitive state of being that has been chiseled and honed in our biology over billions of years as it was handed down from ancestor to ancestor, generation by generation, in an unbroken chain of DNA. At rest, Whole Self is a tranquil state of confidence. In action, it enables us to decipher the truth of each moment, and respond spontaneously and appropriately to that truth with minimal effort. Over time, evolution has enriched this elemental state, enabling humans to be the only animals that can adapt to, survive, and thrive in every type of environment on Earth. Sixty thousand years ago-a blink of an eye in evolutionary terms-human consciousness made a massive leap forward…Following a prehistoric disaster of global proportions, our Cro-Magnon ancestors evolved a second, higher form of thought, abstract reasoning, unleashing a genius for innovation, and with it a powerful desire to control everyone and everything around us that causes us stress, fear, conflict, and tremendous suffering. This modern mode of thinking shadows, clouds, and represses Whole Self. In his remarkable new book, Kendrick Mercer explains why each of us should reclaim Whole Self, enabling us to have access to the full spectrum of consciousness for greater peace, freedom, joy, and fulfillment. Unfortunately, this Shift in cognitive ability had a major drawback: It introduced fear into our minds, along with the response to fear-control. Ever since, we've had to contend with these two issues, which are major sources of human suffering. Kendrick offers a concise exploration of post-Shift forces that have led to the planet wide disruption of social configurations that supported the healthy psychological development of our "uncivilized" forbearers, such as the parent-child bond. He makes the case that modern cognition has the potential to lead us either to collectively annihilate ourselves or to work together wisely in common purpose to solve the pressing problems of the day-particularly if it is blended with the more confident, spontaneous, and joyful state of Whole Self that is our birthright. He explains how our generation, with its advanced understanding of the brain, has a great evolutionary opportunity now to find ways to combine the best of post-Shift reasoning with our reawakened capacity for spontaneous and joyful life lived in harmony with nature and all living beings on our planet. As individuals, on reawakening to Whole Self we gain: • The return to the normal and natural state of being: tranquility. • The ability to perceive the unspun truth of each moment. • The capacity to come from the state of tranquility and respond spontaneously and appropriately, with minimal effort, to the truth of each moment. Collectively, we gain a path to peace, prosperity, and better mental and emotional health. At the present stage in humanity's evolution, human consciousness itself has clouded and shadowed the incredible power and benefits of Whole Self, creating stress, fear, and insecurity within the entire human population. Nonetheless, Whole Self lies latent in the DNA of each human being, where it is always ready to awaken an elemental state of tranquility and power. The reawakening of Whole Self is appropriate and necessary for the continuing survival of humans, and possibly all life on Earth. As we reawaken to the implicit gifts of Whole Self, these gifts will automatically merge with the powerful force of our human consciousness to create wisdom and help us solve the dire issues we currently face, such as overcrowding, shortages of resources like food and water, violence, poverty, and climate change.
