certainly this will involve greater communication between people. I would hope that this would come naturally, though not without great effort, to the perfectly relaxed consciousness. I fear it would be agony to the egotistical consciousness. The normal rule is that when some skill is used properly, it grows in confidence and strength. I would hope therefore that the perfectly relaxed consciousness practising consciousness synthesis would mature with its efforts, besides gradually weaving a more and more intricate pattern of collaboration with other people who behaved in the same way. Character would mature; but I would hope that the consciousness would mature along with it.
What would happen to someone who got tired of behaving in this way, and who decided to do what she wanted in future? Well, to be egotistical the perfectly relaxed consciousness would have to be destroyed, and I suspect that would mean expulsion from eternity and imprisonment once more in a flux of time. It is rather like Adam and Eve in the fairy-story, isn't it?
If one thinks about it, the very fact of being able to construct a theory of consciousness, however many errors there may be in it, must lead to the conclusion that one can manipulate consciousness. Furthermore, there is no very obvious reason why one should not use this new knowledge to create, as well as to destroy; so probably it will be best if I limit the use of the word “manipulate” to mean destructive manipulation. How does Nature suggest one should set about creation? The general rule in evolution is that particles combine to synthesise a greater whole. Atoms combine to produce molecules; molecules combine to produce proteins and viruses; super-molecules combine to produce cells; cells combine to produce creatures. What does history suggest? History suggests that men combine to produce civilised society; however pleasant life in the country may be, town and country are interdependent, and Arcadia is a myth. The truth of country life without the…