World Futures, 66: 320334, 2010 Copyright c Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN 0260-4027 print / 1556-1844

online DOI: 10.1080/02604020903423527

SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE: EVOLVING TRANSPERSONAL POTENTIAL TOWARD ECOLOGICAL ACTUALIZATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
MICK COLLINS
University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, UK The ecological crisis is confronting humanity with a need to recognize the interconnectedness of all life, and the Akashic Field as formulated by Ervin Laszlo (2004a) has identied how a universal information eld connects humans to a greater transpersonal consciousness. The Akashic Field could provide humanity with a focus to deepen its understanding of a holistic view of life. The global crisis will confront human beings with the need to develop their transpersonal potential and spiritual intelligence, which has the potential to contribute to an ecological actualization of human beings relationship to the world, and the development of a sustainable future. KEYWORDS: Actualization, ecological, intelligence, spiritual, transpersonal.

INTRODUCTION The world is facing increasing pressure to nd solutions to overpopulation, food and water shortages, sustainable sources of energy, climate change, and environmental degradation. These challenges not only represent an ever growing crisis, they also provide humanity with opportunities for working toward greater global cooperation and the creation of a sustainable future. Due to the planets nite resources there is now a pressing need to nd new ways for living cooperatively, which will challenge people to transform their behaviors; personally, politically, and socially. The scale of transformation required will undoubtedly necessitate a radical shift in consciousness; from a personal to a transpersonal perspective. The need for change is being heralded by discussions about the collapse of societal structures in the modern era; however, when viewed from a different perspective the notion of collapse simply highlights that humanity is being confronted with the need to radically adapt. The critical question is; what will we adapt and change to, and how will we do it? The concept of the Akashic Field as formulated by Ervin Laszlo provides a transpersonal perspective for how human beings could transcend their current
Address correspondence to Mick Collins, Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, School of Allied Health Professions, Faculty of Health, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK. E-mail: mick.collins@uea.ac.uk 320

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self-referential outlook on life, which is dominated by selsh and non-cooperative behaviors. A transpersonal perspective for change could lead to the development of more actualized and altruistic relationships to self, others, and the planet. The current global situation is challenging human beings to recognize that a key variable for evolving a sustainable future rests with humanitys ability to adapt through engaging intelligence and innovation. The Akashic Field provides a universal context for conceptualizing a collective process of transformation, which could encourage a deeper engagement with life and consciousness. In this article a case exemplar is provided, which identies how a persons transpersonal experience led to a life-changing recognition of the interconnectedness of all life. The integration of transpersonal phenomena into daily life could lead more people to transform their worldviews and behaviors. I am proposing that spiritual intelligence is essential to the process of developing ecological actualization and the possibility of creating an improved future. HUMAN POTENTIAL AND THE GLOBAL FUTURE: CRISIS OR OPPORTUNITY? A proposed revolution in consciousness has been discussed by Ervin Laszlo, Stanislav Grof, and Peter Russell (2003), who have argued that the current global situation is confronting human beings with the need to think differently, which includes being prepared to adapt, as well as having a willingness to engage in a process of transformation, if humanity has any hope of creating a meaningful and sustainable future. The scale of the problem that Laszlo and colleagues (2003) are referring to is well illustrated in a recent report published by the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA): State of the Future (Glenn, Gordon, and Florescu 2008). In that report the authors have identied the scale of the challenge that humanity is facing today, and they have outlined how a great proportion of the worlds population are vulnerable to social instability due to the scarcity of water and food; climate change; desertication; increasing energy prices; as well as deteriorating economic conditions. The WFUNA report (Glenn, Gordon, and Florescu, 2008) also cited other threats to the future such as corruption, violence, and an escalation of terrorism (Lean and Owen 2008), which has identied the need for deep and radical change to transform the way that human beings live. There is a very real possibility that if humanity acts cooperatively and quickly the global crisis could become a tipping point for transformation, rather than destruction. The main stumbling block appears to be human behavior, which according to Lean and Owen (2008, 8) is likely to blow it through inequality, violence and environmental degradation. Human beings must realise that they have the capacity to adapt and change their behaviors to create a more sustainable future rather than the prospect of collapse (Meadows, Meadows, and Randers 1992; Diamond 2005). This identies the need for direct action to facilitate transformations within human consciousness and behaviors. There is no escaping the fact that the history of human behaviors have been dominated by power, oppression, exploitation, and inequality, which led research

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psychologist Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi (1993) to assert that if the third millennium is to be an improvement over its predecessor more people will have to develop goals in life that go beyond themselves, which he has called transcendent goals. The evolution of transcendent and altruistic selves according to Csikszentmihalyi (1993, 249) will be dependent on the cultivation of human potential, which is predicated on the need to cultivate goals that are orientated toward the collective well-being of all life including, families; communities; humanity; and the planet. Csikszentmihalyi (1993) has stated that engaging transcendent selves/goals in life will also include the need to engage wisdom and spirituality, which could drive a deeper search for meaning. The twenty-rst century will challenge humanity to nd new ways of constructing a meaningful life. This is an issue that has been addressed by James Martin (2006), who has asked two important questions: What is the right thing to do? and What is the most likely thing to happen? Martin (2006, 233) has observed that human beings habitually fall short of actualizing their full potential; however, he also points out quite correctly that the transition from our self-destructive habits will require intelligent management. Martin (2006) has asserted that the intelligent management of human potential will become central to the creation of exploring meaning within the twenty-rst century. However, the question has to be askedWhat factors are informing human beings current conceptualizations of meaning, and how will the creation of a renewed sense of meaning inform the transformations of consciousness in the modern world? The concept of the Akashic Field as formulated by Laszlo (2004a) provides a universal context for exploring the emergence of meaning in the twenty-rst century, and also indicates how a transpersonal perspective may play a part in the process of collective transformation. The full potential of the Akashic Field to human beings survival is pivotal, in that it provides a deep context for understanding the information eld that connects to all life. The case exemplar outlined next provides an illustration of how a profound transpersonal encounter led to a life-changing transcendent experience, which is an illustrative example of the type of mystical experience and transformation in consciousness that Laszlo and colleagues (2003) have suggested could begin to make a real difference in the way human beings respond to the growing global crisis. The case exemplar also gives some indication for how the psycho-spiritual dynamics of an ecological actualization could be considered. CASE EXEMPLAR Boyce Batey (1993) has discussed the profound impact that a transpersonal experience had upon his life. This transformational encounter happened in the summer of 1954, when he was 21 years old. In his estimation this was the most important experience of his life: The experience was sudden, unexpected, brief and life-transforming (16). Boyce was reading aloud The Prelude by William Wordsworth, who described his evocative account of ascending a Scottish mountain bathed in moon light, which gave Wordsworth a feeling of being at one with the universe. After reading the poem Boyce felt inspired to explore in minute

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detail his experience of touch, his sense of hearing, smell, and then seeing. The deep transpersonal experience that followed is described by Batey (1993) who stated that: Suddenly and without trying, I was functioning at another level of awareness (17). The experience affected the quality of his consciousness, and he recounted that the experience was exultation in dimensions he had not encountered before or since. The impact of the experience expanded his sense of self, with no separation between his inner and outer experiences: Everything outside of me was within me and was me. Everything within me was outside of me and was me (17). This momentary transpersonal encounter led Boyce to transform his outlook on life: The experience gave me a clear sense of myself as a spiritual beingnot a matter of having a soul, but rather of being a soul (18). The case exemplar provides a very clear outline for how transpersonal experiences are pivotal for developing an ecological outlook, which if fully engaged could harness the transformational potential of human beings to nd new ways of tackling the ever growing global crisis. This ecological viewpoint is predicated on the understanding that human beings are naturally embedded in a whole life context, and yet it is shocking to reect on the extent to which humanity has been destroying the very resources upon which all life is sustained. Ehrlich (2002, 32) has identied that we need to develop a better understanding of human behaviour in relation to the current ecological crisis, and in particular humanitys treatment of its life support systems. Transpersonal experiences may be a vitally important connecting principle that could enable human beings to experience a sense of being-at-one with the universe, which has the potential to stimulate peoples creative engagements and adaptations toward ecological ways of living. Laszlo (2008, 125) has suggested that:
When people evolve transpersonal consciousness they become aware of their deep ties to each other, to the biosphere, and to the cosmos. They develop greater empathy with people and cultures near and far and greater sensitivity to animals, plants, and the entire biosphere. As a result a new civilization can see the light of day.

The importance of transpersonal experiences is that they can initiate deep questioning and engagement in life (Redeld, Murphy, and Timbers 2002), which can also contribute to a fuller expression of human potential. These transpersonal experiences can provide a foundation for human beings to evolve what Loretta do Rozario (1997, 116) has described as a transcendent ecology of living. She has stated that this perspective is concerned with consciousness at all levels of evolution, development and organisation, be they individual, group, community, global, and beyond. It is a perspective and paradigm that is inclusive, naturalistic and transcendent. It is through a process of transpersonal development that human beings could gain a different conception of the selfbeyond ego/identity (Rothberg 2003)which is connected to an ecological eld-like sense of self (Fox 1990, 69). The Akashic Field (Laszlo, 2004a) provides humanity with the potential for a renewed vision for a holistic and interconnected view of life.

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THE AGE OF HOLOS AND TRANSPERSONAL CONSCIOUSNESS It is pivotal that humanity recognizes the need for deep transformation as the modern world progressively grapples with an ever growing ecological crisis. Goerner (2004, 155) has identied that such change reects a shift in worldview and social patterns, which could lead to a great turning. There is a clear recognition that the unsustainable nature of the current world situation cannot be allowed to continue, which has led Laszlo (2004b) to point out that an over reliance on the current dominant mechanistic and reductionist paradigm is misconceived, and he has predicted that humanity is heading toward an: Age of Holos, which could herald a much needed transition toward more holistically functioning societies. The signicance of transpersonal ecology to the development of more holistic societies is predicated on the understanding that transpersonal consciousness situates human beings in wider and deeper relationship to life. Reason (2002, 19) points out that one of the key issues in addressing the modern worlds unbalanced and dissociated relationship to a wider ecology of life is that the very notion of the environment already separates us from the world to which we belong. The current global crisis is forcing human beings to recognize that this separation is no longer viable, and if allowed to continue will further deplete the nite resources that could be used sustainably for the future well-being of all life on the planet. Thus, human beings are now being confronted with the reality of needing to actualize their full potential, through empathic and authentic ways of being-inthe-world (Kuhn 2001). Laszlo (2004a, 152) offers a tantalizing glimpse of future possibilities:
A society hallmarked by transpersonal consciousness is not likely to be materialistic and self-centred; it would be more deeply and widely informed. Under the impact of a more evolved consciousness, the system of nation states would transform into a more inclusive and coordinated system with due respect for diversity.

A key point in this quote is the emphasis on evolving consciousness and transformation, which Laszlo (2006) believes is a precondition for our collective efforts for creating a better world. This much needed shift in consciousness has been described by Yunt (2001, 119) as being characterized by a movement from egocentricity to ecocentricity. The question is how will such a shift in the collective consciousness occur? I am proposing that human potential can be considered from three positions for evolving consciousness, which could reect a progressive deepening and engagement of human intelligence, which also has the potential to increase human beings coherence and/or resonance with a more universal intelligence, as discussed by Stanislav Grof in his conversations with Ervin Laszlo and Peter Russell (Laszlo, Grof, and Russell 2003). The three areas for a progressive evolution of consciousness are outlined next, and these have been developed on the understanding that the process of actualizing human potential is an ongoing process (Manuel-Navarrete, Kay, and Dolderman 2004), which takes into

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account the fact that transforming consciousness has to include the development of intelligences:

1. Self-actualization: Maslow (1971) identied that the process of selfactualization reected a highly individualized way of engaging human potential, and he identied how the use of intelligence is necessary for facilitating personal growth. The full engagement of intelligence as part of the process of self-actualization has been discussed further by Collins (2001; 2007), who proposed that the connection between the use of innovation, occupation, and adaptation reects a vital function of human intelligence in terms of how human beings live their self-actualizing potential in daily life. The process of self-actualization is based on the understanding that human beings have the capacity for self-transcendence (Frankl 1975) and this underscores the need for human beings to engage their intelligence in order to mediate the tensions arising between the self-reective and self-transcending aspects of human experience, as outlined by Tarnas (2006). Self-actualization is the intelligent engagement of human growth and development within daily life. 2. Transcendent actualization: Self-transcendence can be viewed as a central experience in the process of actualizing transpersonal growth, which Hamel, Leclerc, and Lefrancois (2003, 3) have referred to as transcendent actualization. In accord with the ideas developed by Maslow (1971), Hamel and colleagues (2003) have discussed how the endowment of intelligence is important for engaging transpersonal potential, and they have outlined how a process of actualisation leads to the transcendence of selsh and destructive behaviors. Hamel and colleagues (2003, 14) have dened transcendent actualization as leading to the creation of more altruistic, honest, courageous, and loving ways of being, and that a process of growth will become transpersonal when all the individuals efforts, attitudes, and intentions converge toward a transcendent goal experienced daily. Thus, transcendent actualization is an intelligent engagement of human beings transpersonal potential within everyday life. 3. Ecological actualization: The realization that human beings have the potential for a deep connection to a greater ecological reality (Reason 2002), is a shift in perception in relationships between self, others, and a deeper/wider outlook on life as a whole, which is precipitated through experiencing an expanded eld of consciousness (Fox 1990). Ecological actualization means that human beings consciously direct their lives to take full account of the well-being of life as a whole, and is reected in a deep ecology of living (Naess 1986) that goes beyond the surface concerns of environmental problems. This deeper and wider ecological outlook represents a much more comprehensive viewpoint for understanding human beings relationship to life as a whole (Reser 1995). The operational intelligence of ecologically actualized people is based on lived experience, which is connected to a deep transpersonal connection with all of life, and a deep understanding of the effects of human actions in and on the world.

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The actualization of human potential from self-actualization, through to transcendent actualization, and eventually to ecological actualization reects a gradual deepening of human beings transpersonal connection to life as a whole. Manuel-Navarrete and colleagues (2004) have stated that personal growth has to take account of cultural and ecological evolution. However, the profound nature of transpersonal experiencesbeyond the personal boundaries of ego/identity reveals that there are many possible meanings, living within us in potentia, moving through us, awaiting enactment (Tarnas 2006, 491, emphasis in original). These expanded ways of transpersonal knowing are understood to be revelatory and have the power to change peoples lives (Laszlo, Grof, and Russell 2003). Examples of such process of change are illustrated in research carried out by psychologist Jennifer Elam (2005). One participant said: I had an acute sense of being a part of every-thing ... it was beyond time it was endless (55), and another participant recounted: I now look back on this illumined experience as an opening in my life that set a course for a lifetime (58). There is a need to consider how the integration of the inner life of peoples psycho-spiritual development can cohere with the outer life of participating in the world (Vaughan 2002). It has been identied that human beings relationship to nature can reveal a connection to a wider, more universal intelligence (Manseld 1995), and this highlights the potential importance of spiritual intelligence for facilitating growth and development, as humanity navigates the course of fullling their collective human potential toward ecological actualization. It is instructive to note the assertion made by Goerner (2004, 170) who has stated that intelligence improves survival, and this is a viewpoint echoed by Bronowski (1973) in his classic work The Ascent of Man. Intelligence may be pivotal for the full integration of human beings deeper relationship to a wider and deeper ecology of life, which is based on the understanding that people have the capacity to evolve and adapt as they engage their transpersonal potential through spiritual intelligence. SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE The issue of considering spirituality as intelligence had not escaped the attention of Howard Gardner (1999) who developed the concept of multiple intelligences, and he reected on the problematic nature of what might constitute the domain of spirituality as intelligence. While Gardner (1999, 53) has been non-committal to the outright inclusion of spirituality as a specic domain of intelligence, he has argued that if the personal realm can be included within the study of intelligences such human proclivities as the spiritual must legitimately be considered.Gardner (1999) has argued for keeping an open mind to the possibility of spirituality as intelligence based on the observation that if the abstract realm of mathematics can be considered a discreet domain of intelligence, then why not the abstract realm of spirituality? At the risk of prematurely eliminating a set of intelligences that could potentially reect important human capabilities, Gardner (1999, 54) has cautiously asked the following question: What are the capacities and traits that are evoked when one enters the realm of the spiritual? This question has to include human

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beings relationship to transcendent phenomena; as one of the potential consequences of encountering spiritual/transpersonal experiences is that they can go beyond a persons pre-existing ways of knowing, being, and doing (Braud 1998; 2001). However, it is interesting to note that Gardners (2006) Five minds for the future have not included a spiritual or transpersonal perspective, which appears to overlook the powerful effect that spiritual experiences and deep transpersonal encounters can have on people (Hardy 1979). Any evaluation for how spirituality as intelligence is considered will need to take account of the relationship between consensus evaluations of reality and peoples non-consensus experiences (Mindell 2000). However, it is fair to say that making the link between transpersonal phenomena and the engagement of intelligence requires careful consideration. For example, the transpersonal context for understanding spirituality as intelligence is described by Zohar and Marshall (2000, 4) as an intelligence that roots us outside ourselves in the wider stream of life. Therefore, there is a need to develop a sense of coherence between personal and transpersonal experiences to enable the intelligent integration of transpersonal phenomena into everyday life. Spirituality as intelligence is at present a very tentative concept, which is underscored by the fact that there is still very little agreement about what constitutes a universal denition of spirituality (Collins 2006). Moreover, it has been proposed that discussions about what would constitute spirituality as intelligence should be exploratory rather than denitive (Vaughan 2002). The working parameters for spirituality as intelligence have been discussed by personality psychologist Robert Emmons (2000a) who outlined a set of propositions:

r The capacity for transcendence. r The ability to enter into heightened spiritual states of consciousness. r The ability to invest everyday activities, events, and relationships with a sense r The ability to utilize spiritual resources to solve problems in living.
The four propositions outlined by Emmons (2000a; 2000b) have been acknowledged for giving spirituality as intelligence some credibility (Hyde 2004); however, a cautionary observation has been made with regard to the paradoxical and sometimes obscure nature of spiritual phenomena, which serves as a reminder that no single theoretical construct for addressing spiritual issues can be deemed conclusive (Kwilecki 2000). In broad terms, the four propositions for spiritual intelligence (Emmons 2000b) have provided some direction for considering how spiritual experiences require some form of intelligent application for the integration of new patterns of living into daily life. However, while these propositions are a valuable starting point for considering the parameters of spiritual intelligence, they ignore the eld-like attributes of transpersonal consciousness as indicated in Laszlos (2004a) concept of the Akashic Field, which coheres with a greater transpersonal vision of reality. Moreover, the mainstream representations of intelligence have yet to fully embrace the challenges that transpersonal consciousness presents (Anthony 2008). of the sacred or divine.

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SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE: TRANSPERSONAL WAYS OF BEING-IN-THE-WORLD It is interesting to note that Emmonss (2002a; 2002b) four propositions for spirituality as intelligence have only cited one transpersonal reference in his work, and he has not explicitly referred to a transpersonal perspective in his analysis. However, I am proposing that transpersonal experiences not only provide a deeper understanding of human potential, they raise questions about how such deep experiences are integrated into daily life. One of the founders of transpersonal psychology, psychiatrist Stanislav Grof (2000), has stated that spiritual intelligence reects our capacity to engage in life, adding a depth of philosophical or metaphysical inquiry about what it means to be a human being, which can open people up to questions about humanitys relationship to reality, and the nature of existence. Spiritual intelligence has been considered by Grof (2000, 298) as an orientation for how our human capacities are engaged in life toward fullling human potential. He has stated that: This of course, brings questions about the nature of the psycho-spiritual transformation that is necessary to achieve this form of intelligence, the direction of the changes that we have to undergo, and the means that can facilitate such development. Transpersonal encounters can confront human beings with profound experiences that transcend ordinary temporal and spatial boundaries (Grof 2000) and, as the case exemplar illustrated earlier, these experiences will require intelligent engagement of thought, reection, planning, and action for their successful integration into daily life. However, it is the complex nature of transpersonal experiences that can confront human beings with challenging questions, such as Who am I? What does my life mean? Is there more to life? Transpersonal experiences not only evoke existential questions, they can confront a person with an expanded view of self, other, and world (Vaughan 2002), which underscores the challenge of integrating these experiences into daily life, because they can lead to new ways of being-in-the-world. Spirituality as intelligence could be an integral function for the integration of psycho-spiritual potential in daily life toward an improved future. One of the pioneering psychologists in the development of emotional intelligence, John Mayer (2000), has asked the questionWhat mental transformations are necessary to think spiritually? The difculty with Mayers (2000) question is that spiritual/transpersonal experiences are not only about mental transformations, they are also profound multi-sensory experiences that connect body, mind, and soul (Sommer 2003). Indeed, Selman and colleagues (2005, 2829) view spiritual intelligence as the ability to use a multi-sensory approach to problem solving. This perspective identies how the whole person is capable of being transformed through multisensory engagement, which can lead to different ways of knowing, being, and doing (Braud 1998; 2001). The following quote by one of the participants in Elams (2005, 55) research is instructive to this multi-sensory perspective for how spiritual intelligence goes beyond mental constructions: My senses were heightened ... I had an acute sense of being a part of every-thing. It was an instant that didnt last long, but it was beyond time it was endless.

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The wisdom contained within transpersonal experiences has been discussed by Palmer (1998, 173) who identied that knowing can occur through an intuitive intelligence, which is then reected through being, via the different qualities of consciousness that are experienced; as outlined in the case exemplar. The dynamics of psycho-spiritual development that can occur between transpersonal ways of knowing and being also highlight the importance of doing as an integral function for the integration and expression of spirituality as intelligence. Emmons (2000b, 20) has suggested that spiritual intelligence not only is something, it does something in relation to the demands of daily life. The emphasis on doing highlights the potential importance that exists for intelligent action and integration of transpersonal experiences into new patterns for creating a sustainable future. Reasoning and reection will undoubtedly play a signicant role in the process of engaging spirituality as intelligence; however, the intuitive aspect of engaging intelligence (Palmer 1998) through transpersonal knowing, being, and doing, provides a more holistic view of intelligence. Perhaps a broader and deeper understanding of intelligence should be focused on the relationship between personal and transpersonal experiences, and how the interaction between them takes place in a wider eld-like experience of consciousness; body, mind, and soul. Successful adaptation and survival may be inextricably linked to ways of knowing, being, and doing between the personal and transpersonal experiences of consciousness, which connect to the Akashic Field as discussed by Laszlo (2004a). This wider and deeper orientation in life highlights the role of spiritual intelligence, which underscores how humanity can no longer continue to construct a view of reality that is solely based on self-referential terms. As Zohar and Marshall (2003, 291) point out: Our spiritual intelligence grounds us in the wider cosmos, and life has purpose and meaning within the larger context of cosmic evolutionary processes.

ECOLOGICAL ACTUALIZATION AND SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE The need for transformation has been discussed by Montouri, Combs, and Richards (2004, 202) who have suggested that the destiny of human beings development is in our own hands, and they have pointed out that people are capable of adapting to and creating anew the conditions of existence. A key variable in this much needed process of transformation is a willingness to participate in a process of psycho-spiritual development, which could lead to a deeper embodiment and connection to life as a whole, in relation to self, other, and world (Vaughan 2002). I have posited that the actualization of human potential can be developed through three phases of development: self-actualization; transcendent actualization; and ecological actualization. However, I have suggested that the engagement of a greater transpersonal/ecological eld-like consciousness within everyday life will be dependent on the use of spiritual intelligence. The signicance of spiritual intelligence for actualizing a sense of wholeness has been discussed by Selman et al. (2005, 29) who have stated that it demands the most intense personal integrity. It demands that we become aware of and live out of that deep center of ourselves that transcends all the fragments into which our lives have shattered.

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The challenge of healing the fragmentation in the modern world is the evolution of a new holistic outlook, which Laszlo (2004b, 5) has described as follows:
The new holism ... tells people they are not machines, however complex and sophisticated, and are not truly separate from each other and their environment. Humans are conscious elements in a dynamic universe, interacting with each other as well as the biosphere.

Human beings are embedded within an Akashic Field (Laszlo 2004a), which highlights the important link between transpersonal experiences and the engagement of spiritual intelligence for cultivating an integrated relationship to a wider cosmological reality. This is a point echoed by Richard Tarnas (2006, 491) who noted how transpersonal experiences act through the self-reective human being who serves as a unique vessel and embodiment of the cosmoscreative, unpredictable, fallible, self-transcending, unfolding the whole, integral to the whole, perhaps even essential to the whole? This transpersonal view of wholeness could be considered an essential orientation for engaging the transformative potential of human beings in relation to the current global crisis (Grof and Grof 1993). That is, the grounding of transpersonal phenomena within daily life is underscored by the realization that if transpersonal ways of knowing and being are to successfully support the development of ecological actualization, it will have to be expressed intelligently in some way through human doings, actions, and occupations. This is a point echoed by Walsh and Vaughan (1993, 267) who have asserted that what we do reects our beliefs about who and what we are. It is the intelligent engagement of our transpersonal potential that will bring forth a new holistic vision, which is engaged through radical action and directed toward ecological actualization. The following quote by Bache (2000, 256) is instructive to the position stated in this article:
As the inherent wholeness of existence becomes a living experience for more and more persons, individuals will nd themselves empowered by new orders of creativity that could not have been anticipated as long as we were trapped within the narrow connes of an atomistic, self referential mode of consciousness.

It may be true that modern human beings have engaged in the world with an unsustainable mode of consciousness, which is now highlighting an urgent need for transformations within consciousness (Laszlo, Grof, and Russell 2003; Gangadean 2006). However, the notion of transforming consciousness becomes meaningless unless processes of change and transformation are fully embodied, integrated, and engaged intelligently through meaningful actions in our daily lives. There is now an opportunity both personally and collectively to develop a transpersonal/ecological perspective for living, which recognizes the integral nature of the relationships between physical, psychological, cultural, ecological, and spiritual domains of living for the well-being of all life; including self, others, and the planet. Human beings are capable of engaging their full potential; however developing spiritual

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awareness and growth involves the use of intelligence for transforming perceptions and inspiring changes in lifestyle and behaviors (Selman et al. 2005). It is through the engagement of spiritual intelligence that ecological actualization could make a profound contribution toward the transformations within peoples consciousness, and transformations within the world (J ger 1995). The a scale of the task for collective transformation is unprecedented by any previous standards for change that have been faced by earlier generations, and this ensures that such a monumental undertaking could draw on the human attributes of wisdom, underpinned by intelligence and creativity (Sternberg 2003) in order to achieve such a feat of collective adaptation. Human beings have the abilities to create a renewed vision of life; as distinct from the one that has led to the current catastrophe, which we have mistakenly called progress. The Akashic Field as discussed by Lazlo (2004a) underpins a transpersonal reality that humanity needs to recognize; however, the question remains: Are we intelligent enough to adapt ourselves to it, and transform ourselves through it?

CONCLUSION I have discussed how the Akashic Field as conceptualized by Ervin Laszlo provides a deep foundation from which human beings can engage their transpersonal potential toward the development of ecological actualization, which may be pivotal for collective survival and the creation of an improved future. The case exemplar presented in this article has illustrated how transpersonal experiences can act as antecedents for deep transformation, and I have discussed how spiritual intelligence is integral for engaging transpersonal ways of knowing, being, and doing within daily life. The critical turning point for humanity is that we need to recognize how we live in interconnected relationships to life as a whole; moreover, the Akashic Field provides a deep transpersonal perspective that could inspire human beings to engage their ecological actualization.

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