So I decided to read the first chapter of Creating a New Mind again. It comes a day after I indulged in an episode of Fringe, which (as those of you who also follow my other blog, Sahar’s Reviews, already know) is one of my favourite TV shows.

One of the main themes in Fringe is that of perception. In short, an experiment performed in the early 1980s tried to enhance the perception of its subjects so as to allow them to see the alternate universe, which coexists with ours in the same space and time. Fast-forward a little over 20 years and witness how Peter Bishop struggles to accept the existence of an alternate universe, despite the proofs that are laid before him. This struggle is Peter’s way of creating a new mind in which a parallel universe makes sense.

By the same token, Dana Scully from The X-Files (yet another one of my favourite TV shows) struggled for years with her perception of the world, learning to accept the existence of aliens. Dana Scully’s struggle to create a new mind in which aliens are a part of was central to the show from it’s very first episode, all the way to it’s end.

It makes me see these two TV shows in yet another light. Not only are such themes of perception and independent investigation of the truth touched upon in episode after episode, but the entire arc becomes one of continuous enhancement of one’s mind.

How does this tie in with Creating a New Mind, which has nothing to do with aliens or parallel universes? Well, if we are individuals interested in advancing human civilization towards its glorious destiny, we must needs create a new mind; this will create a change in our deeds, which will translate into a change in the world.

However, the change that we must create in our mind is like nothing that has ever happened before. It’s logical, if you think about it; the present condition of the world, as well as its potentialities, have never been achieved before in our collective history. Just as Dana Scully’s scientific mind had to struggle with the fact that there is such a thing as the paranormal, we have to struggle with the fact that we have yet to even fathom the extent of the changes needed in the world (and, consequently, in our deeds and in our minds).

What does this imply? That we have to start on a process of studying writings, both from Divine sources and others, decide on a course of action, reflect on the results that we achieve and repeat the entire thing again and again and again, fully aware of the fact that achieving higher and higher levels of consciousness is a process, and a difficult one at that. Just look at how hard it was on Dana Scully and Peter Bishop ::wink::.

Unfortunately, that’s all I have for now. But one thing is certain; I will be watching Season 3 of Fringe with a whole new level of consciousness!