Copthorne Macdonald on Wisdom, a Tom Fox interview
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Copthorne Macdonald is a writer, independent scholar, and an advocate of societal transformation. He has taught meditation, conducted personal growth workshops and tends to The Wisdom Page, a Web-based compilation of wisdom-related resources. His interests include personal spirituality, the nature of reality (including consciousness and mind), the development of wisdom, and global (social/political/economic) transformation. | |||||
Episode 1: How two paths became one (12 min.) Many books deal with the transformation of the world at large and many others deal with personal transformation. Copthorne Macdonald's books, interviewer Tom Fox notes, asks the reader to consider both paths and combines both. The author explains how he came to deal with both paths together. | |||||
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Episode 2: The expansion of compassion (30 min.) Macdonald explores with Tom Fox what he calls “deep understanding,” an expanded practical understanding of what our human situation is. He says it brings together these two elements: inner growth and the outer understanding. | |||||
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Episode 3: Tips for transformation (16 min.) Whether we like it our not, Macdonald tells Fox, humans are the agents of evolution. “Human actions dominate the evolution processes. Our actions affect life for the whole world. A lot of this as been very, very negative,” Macdonald says, “but we can make it positive if we raise our level of conscious and devote our lives to making the situation better.” | |||||
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Matters of Consequence is his third book focusing on wisdom and its integration into our personal lives and our culture. (Toward Wisdom and Getting a Life are the other two.) A central message of Matters of Consequence is that direction and purpose will come naturally to a person who acquires what the author calls 'deep understanding.' To achieve deep understanding, two key ingredients are necessary. The first is knowledge of humanity's place in the cosmos and of the complex processes that impact on humanity and will determine our future. The second is self-knowledge and spiritual development. The book makes out a strong case for a spirituality that is fully and deeply engaged with the world and that will drive social and political activism. | |||||
Trying to catch up on
Trying to catch up on podcasts. This one was very good. I will be going to his website to see what else he has to say. I think one of the really important things he had to say here was that the practice of meditation leads us to the ability to recognize emotional impulses as soon as they arise, and to keep them from carrying us away. My guess is, though, that it is generally a fairly long process before we come to this recognition.