Robert Atkinson 
The Story of Our Time [EPUB ebook] 

Table of Contents
Prologue:We’re Living in a Spiritual Springtime………………………………….i
Introduction: Spiritual Principles Guiding Our Evolutionary Leap……….v
Part One: The Nature of Consciousness
I. Consciousness is a potentiality set in motion by an organic process……3
The independent investigation of reality unleashes our potential.
1. Our Inherent Urge to Understand Reality……………………………..5
The call
The question of consciousness
Consciousness changes with experience
The search for truth expands our consciousness
II. Love is the underlying force of evolution …………………………………19
Love is a unifying force meant to carry evolution to its highest level
possible.
2. Attraction Alters the Course of Civilizations…………………………21
Altruistic love changes everything
The love ethic
The force of attraction writ large
Love eliminates all forms of prejudice
III. Justice maintains the inherent balance of life………………………….37
Equitable and just relationships evolve with the increase of social
complexity.
3. Culture and the Evolution of Justice………………………………………39
Culture as a medium for growth
Cultural evolution in historical perspective
The pattern of collective evolution
Justice as the cornerstone of an ever-advancing civilization
Part Two: The Nature of Transformation
IV. Unity is the result of the conscious confrontation of
opposing forces………………………………………………………………….57
Transformation is necessary for growth and evolution.
4. Opposition as the Catalyst for Transformation……………………..59
The polarity principle
The necessity of adversity
The dark night of the collective soul
A world giving birth
Part Three: The Nature of Reality
V. Reality is one, and global harmony is inevitable………………………..75
Since conscious evolution is purposeful, world peace is a promise
waiting to be fulfilled.
5. Spiritual Forces Guiding Us Toward Unity…………………………….77
Reality as a continuum
Uniting the One and the many
A global transformation of consciousness is under way
Beyond political peace, world unity is the goal
VI. Revelation is continuous and progressive……………………………….93
The release of spiritual energies inspires the evolution of civilization.
6. The Mystery of Divinity………………………………………………………….95
A holistic view of the Creator
Re-visioning religion
The missing chapter in the story of religion
Humanity’s coming of age
VII. Consciousness evolves toward wholeness and unity……………….113
Science and religion are two knowledge systems that are part of the
same whole.
7. The Inherent Harmony of Reason and Faith………………………..115
Did Darwin discover divinity?
A hidden wholeness removes the boundaries
Welcoming the interfaith, interspiritual age
A bridge across the ages and traditions
Epilogue: The Global Movement of Our Time —
Building a Culture of Oneness………………………………………..133
Appendix I: A Timeline of Humanity’s Conscious Evolution…………….141
Appendix II: A Meditation for Living in Oneness…………………………….153
Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………………..157
Notes……………………………………………………………………………………………159
Index…………………………………………………………………………………………..183

ROBERT ATKINSON, Ph.D., an internationally recognized authority in life story interviewing, personal mythmaking and soul-making, is the author of nine books, professor emeritus at the University of Southern Maine, and the director of Life Story Commons.