Aquarius Now: Radical Common Sense And Reclaiming Our Personal Sovereignty

By Marilyn Ferguson

Book Overview

What Thomas Paine did for the American Revolution with the publication of Common Sense, Marilyn Ferguson does for the transpersonal revolution.
Marilyn Ferguson is one of the preeminent thinkers, gatherers, and interpreters of research on the cuttingedge fields of human consciousness. The Aquarian Conspiracy, published in 1980, has sold millions of copies, is continuously in print, and was hailed as the "handbook of the New Age," by USA Today.
In her newer book, Aquarius Now, movement pioneer Ferguson reexamines the paradigm shift to a more mindful society. She sees us caught in a mindless materialism that threatens our material existence. We are seduced by what she calls the 'Cult of Numbers', obsessed with competition, with winning and losing, afraid of anything that can't be seen or measured, and in the grip of an economic model that says only that which generates economic growth is worth pursuing.
What can we do?
Ferguson boldly tells the truthwe have no enemy except ourselves and the mess we've made individually and collectively by refusing to see what we're doing to our own bodies, to society, and the Earth itself. We've refused to consider the clues in front of our faces. The imbalance we see outside ourselves only mirrors the imbalance within. The way to heal the imbalance is to heal ourselves. The way to heal ourselves is to pay attention, to witness.
We need to take responsibility for our own actions. We need to heed the words of the myriad teachers and skills at our disposal. We need to learn to rely on our own "radical common sense." The task is not to climb a mountain, but to navigate a river. We have to stop thinking of ourselves as conquerors and start thinking of ourselves as fellow travelers' with other human beings and every living being on this planet, including the planet itself.
Ferguson dares to ask the question, "Can we change?" and concludes that we can and we must change. The Age of Aquarius will occur when we want it to occur.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1578633699
• ISBN13: 9781578633692
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: Weiser Books
• Length: 213 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.8" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Kudos to Marilyn Ferguson

Marilyn Fergsuon's legacy began with the publication of her groundbreaking bestseller, The Brain Revolution (Taplinger, 1972). Her synthesis of key discoveries from variant neurobiological specialties suggested a new model of the systems of the brain, mind, and consciousness that presented new and extraordinary implications for a vastly enlarged concept of human potential. The book stirred excitement among scientists whose work resonated with or lent support to her unique and bold assertions, reasrchers whose findings were traditionally ignored by conventional publications. The flood of inquiries and requests to compare notes and share ideas that followed, prompted Ferguson in 1975 to found Brain/Mind Bulletin, creating a forum for reporting and exploring the wealth of data emerging across the multidisciplinry fields of what would become known as the New Sciences. Ferguson is an articulate writer, with a rare talent for understanding obscure scientific jargon and translating it into comprehensive terms that have wide appeal. Hence, the Bulletin acquired an immediate reputation for insight, accuracy, and liveliness. And subscriptions multiplied by the thousands and spanned 52 countries through word-of-mouth publicity alone. Her knack for communicating complex theories with an elegant simplicity, and for seeing the underlying social implications in every cutting-edge piece of science, established her as a permanent fixture at every conference and international congress and symposium on advances in brain/mind/body research, holistic health, alternative medicine, the environment, learning and education, biofeedback studies, and the emerging psychotechnologies. Wide notariety placed her at the hub of a community of visionaries and innovative freethinkers. Her watershed classic, The Aquarian Conspiracy (JP Tarcher, 1980,'87) chronicled the efforts of a vast international network of movers and shakers from every scientific, academic, and professional discipline working to bring about radical changes and create a more cooperative, enlightened society through a benign conspiracy for a new human agenda, challenging old misguided asumptions that were leading toward a crisis of modern civilization. Borrowing from Thomas Kuhn's analysis in The History of Scientific Revolutions, she applied his model of the paradigm shift in science to a critical mass of acquired knowledge compelling the fundamental reinvention of every institution of society. The New York Times described this movement as "an alternative thought . . . working its way increasingly into the nation's cultural, religious, social, economic, and political life." Ferguson's manifesto is widely credited for pulling into focus and giving impetus to the great irrevocable shift she so vividly described and helped to foment. The Aquarian Conspiracy, which USA Today hailed as the "handbook of the New Age," was translated into dozens of languages and sold millions of copies worldwide, t

The Aquarian Conspiracy for a New Generation

Her book the Aquarian Conspiracy is now 26 years old, and when it came out it shocked many people and outraged some others. With hindsight, it was an important catalyst toward some new and important ways of engaging with the problems facing us all. This new book is wise, well written and acutely insightful. Her passionate optimism is no New Age fluff, but is grounded in experience and science. This really is a Must Read for anyone with any interest at all in our future. And that should be all of us!

Read the book!

Marilyn Ferguson has done it again. Succinctly, she weaves together the threads of science, psychology, and sociology to deliver a compelling message that we are hungry for. Aquarius Now builds an undeniable case and guide for freeing ourselves with Radical Common Sense, the hyper sense of today. This book is for the molders and shapers of today who want not to control their lives but to be in command of it! Ferguson invites us to be self-leaders, and then she provides us with a guide, to paraphrase Gandhi, to be the change we want to see in the world. She includes well-documented quotes, research and examples for us to grasp while repeatedly cautioning us not to become addicted to the Cult of Numbers. The chapter on the brain and the importance of teaching really charged my neurons. She provides one of the best arguments I have read on why we must focus on increasing human intelligence rather than trying to measure it. From her enduring wisdom she reminds us it is the individual that benefits first, and society second. Through the process of internal "common sensing," which is the effective use of our multifaceted, paradoxical multiple personality--the community of learners within us--that harvests our expanded intelligence and opens the door to greater understanding, experience and vision. We can then deliberately increase the collective intelligence by passing it on to others. It is this process that shapes society. It is best stated in her own words, "The ferment and viability in any society is directly proportionate to the number of people actively living their ideas. This is not positive thinking--it is positive action--the spirit of experiment." Spread the word! Armchair Interviews says: What can you do? Read the book! It is not a gauntlet being thrown but a gentle request to join her in a place where life is good and of our own choosing.

Wake Up, Sleepyhead

"Our sleepwalking is the source of our collective misery. We have been asleep to our subtler conflicts, our deep impasses, and our latent gifts. But having glimpsed the range of our unconscious knowing, our rich `secret lives', we can hardly be content to go back to sleep." - From the book In 1980, Marilyn Ferguson published The Aquarian Conspiracy-a book often called the Bible of the consciousness movement. At that time, inspired millions scanned the radar for signs of this nameless positive movement, as well as for like-minded others. These one were looking to create a more humane society and began working a quiet revolution by emphasizing creativity in the workplace and blending cutting-edge science with mysticism in both classrooms and pulpits. In her new book Aquarius Now: Radical Common Sense and Reclaiming Our Personal Sovereignty, Ms. Ferguson shows readers how to thrive in a time of escalating change. Through exposing the insidious effects of the "Cult of Numbers"-the mindset that thrives on first, biggest, most, latest, and best-she sends a clarion call for humanity to "wake up in the dark". She says that our task is not to climb a mountain, but to navigate a river. While humanity is asleep at the wheel, Ferguson asserts that we each have a latent visionary inside of us who can break loose from the prison of apathy. Surviving and thriving in this ever-changing world requires us to be innovators. In times past, troubled societies has a simple solution: move. However, Aquarius Now describes not a physical migration but one in which humans leave the familiar world of habitual strife and irrational priorities. Where is this amazing place the Great Tribe must emigrate to or perish? One of new understanding. According to Ferguson, "a successful migration depends on the ingenuity of the tools we crate along the way." These are: * Vision: A credible picture of what we might do and where we might go. * Values: The return to classic values like kindness, willingness to work, and civic responsibility-and embracing newer values like caring for the environment. * Purpose: Meaningful causes or projects that can unite groups of people. * Common sense: A demonstrated awareness of facts and consequences. * Action: It's all within our ability. Somebody *do* something. Every one of us contains multiple selves that make up "me". One "self" may enthusiastically agree to take on a project while another self is later horrified that more was bit than can be chewed. A self avowed "black thumb" eagerly takes up gardening. Although our internal "repertory companies" may vary, we all have them. However, Ferguson maintains that it's not multiplicity that's the problem, but rather our *obliviousness* to these selves. She writes: "C.G. Jung insisted that when people are unaware of their inner opponents, the world acts out the conflicts and is torn into warring communities...Behavior we call unconscious may be a conscious choice of one of the parts." Int