This book was originally published under the title, “The Final Playing the Survival Game.”
These are dangerous times and history seems to be accelerating—toward what? It’s starting to look like a big crash. No, not a clash of civilizations but civilization itself crashing.
There are world trends propelling us towards the lunacy of nuclear brinkmanship, the inexorable march toward climate catastrophe, the savage economic inequality that reigns over a suffering Earth—none of these bode well for the future. The more pronounced these trends, the greater the need to take stock of our options.
This book looks at consciousness facing the threat of annihilation. Beyond politics, it examines some forgotten forces at our disposal in the quest for transcendence. It attempts to sketch a mythology of transcendence, based on the raw materials of human experience, ordinary and extraordinary.
The meaning of death changes from culture to culture, and is evolving as we speak. The modern near-death experience transforms the meaning of death into something quite different from the mainline view of death as the extinction of consciousness.
Near-death phenomena imply new dimensions of meaning—and as well, a new dimension of existence. It opens the door into an expanded world of consciousness, upending scientific physicalism.
The NDE is a discovery as revolutionary in psychology as quantum mechanics was in physics. In both cases we have an enigma, a window to alternate realities, and metaphysical shock therapy.
The Final Choice goes behind the surface-meaning of death. The search leads to the re-discovery of the ancient philosopher, Heraclitus, who said that no matter how far you search, you will never find the boundaries of Mind.
Facing the looming collapse of world civilization, the question of a possible global near-death experience arises. Major world-trends today force us to reflect on these awesome possibilities.
New Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove • Jan 29, 2025 Michael Grosso, PhD, is author of The Man Who Could Fly: St. Joseph of Copertino and the Mystery of Levitation. He also edited and wrote commentary for Wings of Ecstasy: Dominico Bernini’s Vita of St. Joseph of Copertino (1772). His other books include The Millennium Myth: Love and Death and the End of Time, Final Choice: Death or Transcendence?, and Soulmaking: Uncommon Paths to Self Understanding. In this video, rebooted from 2018, he reviews the historical record concerning the many varied physical feats associated with Joseph. Levitations, many of them prolonged, were witnessed on numerous occasions in front of multiple church officials. He was also associated with exotic mystical “odors of sanctity”. In addition to these physical phenomena, Joseph was also prone to visions and states of ecstasy. He was carefully scrutinized by the inquisition, and eventually canonized. New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in “parapsychology” ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980). He is also the Grand Prize winner of the 2021 Bigelow Institute essay competition regarding the best evidence for survival of human consciousness after permanent bodily death. He is Co-Director (with Callum Cooper) of Parapsychology Education at the California Institute for Human Science. (Recorded on December 13, 2018)
Have you ever noticed how your expectations sometimes seem to come true? Scientists have been studying something fascinating called the “experimenter effect” — where researchers’ expectations appear to influence the results of their experiments. But this might be just the tip of the iceberg in understanding how our thoughts could shape the world around us.
Let’s start with something simple: think about walking into a room where you expect people to be unfriendly. You might unconsciously cross your arms, avoid eye contact, or speak more quietly. Others might pick up on these subtle signals and actually become more distant in response. Your expectation created behaviors that led to exactly what you predicted — but not for the reasons you might think.
Now imagine this effect multiplied across an entire scientific laboratory. Scientists have found that even in careful experiments, the researcher’s expectations can influence the results. It’s like when you’re looking for your keys — if you expect them to be on the kitchen counter, you might search there more thoroughly than other places. In science, this can mean paying more attention to data that matches what we expect to find.
But here’s where it gets really interesting. In physics, particularly in quantum mechanics, scientists have discovered something mind-bending: the simple act of observing tiny particles changes how they behave.
It’s as if these particles exist in multiple states until someone looks at them — then they “choose” just one state. This is most famous in the “double-slit experiment,” where light particles act like waves until they’re measured, at which point they act like individual particles instead.
Some researchers have taken this idea even further. At the Institute of Noetic Sciences, scientists led by Dean Radin have conducted experiments where people try to influence random number generators with their minds. Surprisingly, they’ve found small but consistent effects that suggest human intention might actually affect these machines. It’s like trying to will a coin to land on heads — except in these experiments, there seems to be a tiny but measurable influence.
This becomes even more fascinating when we look at how collective beliefs and expectations shape our society. Think about fashion trends, for instance. When enough people believe that a particular style is “in,” it becomes reality — not because the style itself changed, but because collective belief made it so.
Or consider the effect of teacher expectations in schools. In a famous study called the Pygmalion effect, teachers were told that certain students (chosen at random) were likely to be “academic bloomers.” Simply because teachers expected these students to do well, they unconsciously gave them more attention, called on them more often, and gave them more encouraging feedback. Sure enough, these randomly chosen students actually performed better by the end of the year.
Consider how political figures like Donald Trump and Nancy Mace use negative rhetoric about immigrants and queer people. They’re both creating and validating bigoted views of these human beings that are then translated into action.
For example, after Donald Trump’s first election in 2016 there was a significant increase in hate crimes across the United States. FBI data show that following Trump’s election, there was an anomalous spike in hate crimes concentrated in counties where Trump won by larger margins. This increase was the second-largest uptick in hate crimes in the 25 years for which data were available, second only to the spike after September 11, 2001.
We can expand this to look at historical examples too. During the 1930s Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt understood the power of collective belief when he famously said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” He recognized that public panic about the banking system could create the very collapse people feared, while confidence could help prevent it.
This works in medicine too. The placebo effect — where people experience real physical improvements from taking sugar pills they believe are medicine — shows how powerful our expectations can be. Remarkably, placebos can work even when patients know they’re taking them, suggesting there’s something deeper at work than simple deception.
Some skeptics argue that these effects can be explained by ordinary psychology and statistics. They point out that when we expect something to happen, we often unconsciously behave in ways that make it more likely. This is certainly true — but does it explain everything we observe?
The implications go beyond science and into our daily lives. If our thoughts and intentions can influence reality — even in small ways — it suggests we have both more power and more responsibility than we might think. The stories we tell ourselves and others, the expectations we hold, and the beliefs we spread might be quietly shaping the world around us.
This doesn’t mean we can simply think our way to any outcome we want. Real change still requires action, and many problems have complex structural and historical roots that can’t be wished away. But understanding the power of intention might help us be more mindful of the narratives we promote and the expectations we cultivate.
Many spiritual traditions have long taught that thoughts create reality. While modern science might not go quite that far, it’s beginning to suggest these ancient teachings might have captured something important about how consciousness interacts with the world.
Think of it like ripples in a pond. Every thought, every expectation, every belief we put into the world creates tiny ripples that interact with others’ ripples. Sometimes they cancel each other out, sometimes they combine into bigger waves. We might not be able to control the whole pond, but we can be more conscious of the ripples we’re creating.
This understanding brings us back to personal and collective responsibility. Whether we’re scientists in a lab, teachers in a classroom, leaders on a stage, or simply individuals going about our daily lives, our expectations and intentions might be quietly influencing the reality we experience.
This doesn’t mean we should blame ourselves for everything that goes wrong, but it does suggest that cultivating positive intentions while remaining aware of our biases might help create more positive outcomes.
In the end, the relationship between consciousness and reality remains one of science’s most intriguing mysteries. While we may not fully understand how intention shapes reality, the evidence suggests that our thoughts and expectations play a more active role in creating our world than we might have imagined.
This invites us to be more thoughtful about the expectations we hold and the narratives we spread, recognizing that they might help shape the future we’ll all share.
Astrophysicist Lisa Kaltenegger explores the thrilling possibility of discovering life beyond Earth, highlighting how cutting-edge technology like the James Webb Space Telescope lets us analyze distant planets for signs of life in unprecedented detail. Could examining these “alien earths” uncover evidence of new life forms and transform our understanding of the cosmos? We may be closer than ever to finding out.
ATLANTA—In a harrowing fulfillment of biblical prophecy that left customers screaming as their fast food orders disappeared before their eyes, panicked sources reported Tuesday that every Chick-fil-A store had been raptured.
The massive heavenly event began at 12:02 p.m. EST when a large burst of God’s divine light shot down from the clouds and slowly lifted all 3,059 of the Christian-owned restaurants off the ground and into the Lord’s Eternal Kingdom. Videos posted across social media showed customers as they screamed and fell to their knees in Chick-fil-A parking lots, clutching the empty wrappers, containers, and cups that seconds earlier had held their chicken sandwiches, waffle fries, and soft drinks.
“This afternoon at Chick-fil-A, I could not believe my eyes,” said Garret Huddleston, a visibly shaken customer at a Phoenix-area location who told reporters he was enjoying a combo meal at the time of the restaurant’s divine departure. “I sat down to eat my lunch when, all of a sudden, the earth began to shake and a blinding white flash filled the room. The next thing I knew, I was lying on the pavement and the pickles on my sandwich were glowing this beautiful shade of green and floating away into the sky.”
“The Bible says the Lord will descend from heaven and His most devoted followers will be called to the clouds to be with Him forever,” Huddleston added. “Today, that was my Chick-fil-A nuggets and chocolate milkshake.”
In security camera footage of a restaurant in Akron, OH, panicked shouts of “Help, help” and “Save him” could be heard as a Chick-fil-A customer refused to let go of his Spicy Deluxe Sandwich, crying out, “Please, don’t leave me behind!” As the menu item soared into the brightly lit sky, the customer appeared to cling to his sandwich as long as he could, eventually losing his grip and plummeting 50 feet to his death.
According to reports, emergency rooms across the country were flooded with patrons who had looked up from their tables directly into the face of God and were subsequently compelled to gouge their eyes out with plastic utensils or blind themselves with Zesty Buffalo Sauce.
“Working the line today at Chick-fil-A was certainly not what I expected,” said Sandra Jackson, an employee at a location in Bakersfield, CA, adding that she was startled when customers fell to the ground, vomited blood, and began screaming in tongues. “Everything around me shook so hard I thought maybe a truck had hit the building. But before I knew it, all of my fryers, the grills, and the walk-in freezer were hovering in the air far above me, basking in the eternal majesty of the Almighty.”
“I tried to put on my headset and radio my employees,” Jackson continued, “but all I heard was a loud, deafening voice telling me the end was nigh and I would be cursed to wander the earth through years of war, plagues, natural disasters, and a great famine during which no one could order Chick-fil-A.”
Witnesses who were able to sprint out of the restaurants all reported seeing the same thing: a parting of clouds as a vortex of Chick-fil-A franchises slowly rotated upward through the sky and disappeared into the firmament.
At a rally in Atlanta on the former site of the restaurant’s presumably raptured corporate headquarters, thousands of devoted customers were said to have donned cow costumes and held signs reading “Eat Mor Chikin” to prepare themselves to face the final wrath of God. Having saved Chick-fil-A, the deity is now expected to cleanse the world of all He deems unrighteous.
“We who remain are wicked and cursed—destined for hell,” said Decatur, GA–based franchise owner Jason Wheelan, who removed his Chick-fil-A hat, apron, and shirt to flagellate himself before the Lord. “God has taken His favorite foods up to heaven to make a great repast with His son, Jesus Christ, and He has left us below to die a painful, tortuous death at the hands of Satan!”
“We are doomed to live in a world without Chick-fil-A.” Wheelan added. “May God have mercy on our souls.”
At press time, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse had reportedly ushered in a 1,000-year reign of Arby’s.
In 1957, Albert Camus (November 7, 1913–January 4, 1960) became the second youngest laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded to him for work that “with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times.” (It was with this earnestness that, days after receiving the coveted accolade, he sent his childhood teacher a beautiful letter of gratitude.)
More than half a century later, his lucid and luminous insight renders Camus a timeless seer of truth, one who ennobles and enlarges the human spirit in the very act of seeing it — the kind of attentiveness that calls to mind his compatriot Simone Weil, whom he admired more than he did any other thinker and who memorably asserted that “attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.”
Nowhere does Camus’s generous attention to the human spirit emanate more brilliantly than in a 1940 essay titled “The Almond Trees” (after the arboreal species that blooms in winter), found in his Lyrical and Critical Essays (public library) — the superb volume that gave us Camus on happiness, despair, and how to amplify our love of life. Penned at the peak of WWII, to the shrill crescendo of humanity’s collective cry for justice and mercy, Camus’s clarion call for reawakening our noblest nature reverberates with newfound poignancy today, amid our present age of shootings and senseless violence.
Albert Camus
At only twenty-seven, Camus writes:
We have not overcome our condition, and yet we know it better. We know that we live in contradiction, but we also know that we must refuse this contradiction and do what is needed to reduce it. Our task as [humans] is to find the few principles that will calm the infinite anguish of free souls. We must mend what has been torn apart, make justice imaginable again in a world so obviously unjust, give happiness a meaning once more to peoples poisoned by the misery of the century. Naturally, it is a superhuman task. But superhuman is the term for tasks [we] take a long time to accomplish, that’s all.
Let us know our aims then, holding fast to the mind, even if force puts on a thoughtful or a comfortable face in order to seduce us. The first thing is not to despair. Let us not listen too much to those who proclaim that the world is at an end. Civilizations do not die so easily, and even if our world were to collapse, it would not have been the first. It is indeed true that we live in tragic times. But too many people confuse tragedy with despair. “Tragedy,” [D.H.] Lawrence said, “ought to be a great kick at misery.” This is a healthy and immediately applicable thought. There are many things today deserving such a kick.
In a sentiment evocative of the 1919 manifesto Declaration of the Independence of the Mind — which was signed by such luminaries as Bertrand Russell, Albert Einstein, Rabindranath Tagore, Jane Addams, Upton Sinclair, Stefan Zweig, and Hermann Hesse — Camus argues that this “kick” is to be delivered by the deliberate cultivation of the mind’s highest virtues:
If we are to save the mind we must ignore its gloomy virtues and celebrate its strength and wonder. Our world is poisoned by its misery, and seems to wallow in it. It has utterly surrendered to that evil which Nietzsche called the spirit of heaviness. Let us not add to this. It is futile to weep over the mind, it is enough to labor for it.
But where are the conquering virtues of the mind? The same Nietzsche listed them as mortal enemies to heaviness of the spirit. For him, they are strength of character, taste, the “world,” classical happiness, severe pride, the cold frugality of the wise. More than ever, these virtues are necessary today, and each of us can choose the one that suits him best. Before the vastness of the undertaking, let no one forget strength of character. I don’t mean the theatrical kind on political platforms, complete with frowns and threatening gestures. But the kind that through the virtue of its purity and its sap, stands up to all the winds that blow in from the sea. Such is the strength of character that in the winter of the world will prepare the fruit.
Elsewhere in the volume, Camus writes: “In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” Each time our world cycles through a winter of the human spirit, Camus remains an abiding hearth of the invisible summer within us, his work a perennial invitation to reinhabit our deepest decency and live up to our most ennobled nature.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In medieval Europe, beekeepers made formal reports to their hives of significant events in the human world, like births, deaths, marriages and departures. They believed the bees needed to be continually informed so as to ensure robust honey production. The practice was called “telling the bees.” Let’s make this an inspiring story for you in the coming weeks, Aries. I invite you to keep your community fully apprised of what’s happening in your life. Proceed on the assumption that sharing your plans and changes with others will generate harmony and support. Like the beekeepers, you may discover that keeping your community in the loop will strengthen your bonds and sweeten your endeavors.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A regular guy named Jesse Ronnebaum bought an old painting at a yard sale for fifty cents. For the next ten years, it hung on the wall in his living room. Then he noticed a dim inscription on the painting that suggested maybe it was more valuable than he realized. Consulting an art dealer, he discovered it was an unusual composition that featured the work of seven prominent artists—and was worth a lot of money. Ronnebaum said, “Years of struggling, barely making bills, and the whole time there’s $50,000 hanging over my head, literally.” I am predicting metaphorically comparable events unfolding in your life during the coming months, Taurus. Hidden value will no longer be hidden. You will potentize neglected sources of wealth and finally recognize subtle treasures.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In Namibia’s arid grasslands, fairy circles periodically emerge. They are highly regular rings of bare land encompassed by vegetation. What causes them? Supernatural entities, as believed by the local people? Sand termites or hydrogen-loving microbes, according to a few scientists? As yet, no definitive explanation has emerged. I love that! I cherish mysteries that thwart attempts at rational explanation. In accordance with astrological omens, Gemini, I invite you to specialize in tantalizing and unsolvable enigmas in the coming weeks. Your soul needs rich doses of provocative riddles, mysterious truths and fun puzzles. Exult in the liberating declaration, “I don’t know!”
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Wherever you wander, be alert for signals that remind you of who you used to be. This will stimulate your creative speculation about who you want to evolve into during the next few years. As you ruminate about your history, you will get inspirations about who you want to become. The past will speak vividly, in ways that hint at your best possible future. So welcome clues from people who are no longer alive. Be receptive to old allies and influences that are no longer a central part of your world.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Crown shyness” is a phenomenon seen among some trees like lodgepole pines. In forests, they grow big and strong and tall, yet avoid touching each other at their tops. This creates canopies full of pronounced gaps. What causes this curious phenomenon? First, if branches don’t brush up against each other, harmful insects find it harder to spread from tree to tree. Second, when winds blow, branches are less likely to collide with each other and cause damage. There’s a third benefit: More sunlight penetrates to the forest floor, nourishing animals and other plants. I propose that you adopt crown shyness as a metaphor for your use, Leo. Express your beauty to the max—be bold and vivid and radiant—but also provide plenty of space for your allies to shine. Be your authentically amazing self, but create boundaries that allow others to be their amazing selves.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Some astrologers assert that you Virgos suffer from an ambition deficit. They authoritatively assert that a fiery aspiration to achieve greatness never burns hot within you. But in the coming months, I will work to show you a different perspective. Let’s start now: Many of you Virgos are highly skilled at being self-sufficient. But sometimes this natural strength warps into a hesitancy to ask for help and support. And that can diminish your ability to fulfill your ambitions. My goal will be to celebrate and nurture your self-sufficiency even as I coach you to be dynamic about gathering all the assistance you can.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Life is not fair. In the coming days, you will be odd proof of this fact. That’s because you are likely to be the beneficiary of uncommon luck. The only kind of karma that will be operating in your vicinity will be good karma. X-factors and wild cards will be more available to you than usual. Your timing will be impeccable, and your intuition will be extra incisive. You may even be tempted to theorize that life is conspiring to bring you an extra supply of meaningful experiences. Here’s the clincher: If anyone in your sphere is prone to feeling envy because you’re flourishing, your charm will defuse it.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Here are three questions to ruminate on: 1. What resources are you afraid you will run out of or squander? 2. What if your fear of running out or squandering these resources obstructs your ability to understand what you need to know and do so that you won’t run out or squander them? 3. How can you dissolve the fear and feel confident that the necessary resources will keep steadily flowing in, and you will use them well?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Most stars have at least one companion star, sometimes two. Our sun, which is all alone, is in the minority. Astronomers have found evidence that our home star once had a companion but lost it. Is there any chance of this situation changing in the future? Might our sun eventually link up with a new compatriot? It’s not likely. But in contrast to our sun’s fate, I suspect that 2025 will offer you a significant diminishment in your personal loneliness quotient. If you crave more camaraderie and togetherness, the coming months will be a favorable time to seek them out. Your meditation question: What’s the opposite of loneliness?
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In the coming weeks, your authenticity will be your greatest strength. The more genuine and honest you are, the more life will reward you. Be alert for situations that may seem to demand camouflage when in fact they will ultimately reward your complete transparency. You will be most powerful and attractive as you allow yourself to be fully seen. You can even use your vulnerability to your advantage. Be openly, clearly, unabashedly yourself.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): As I envision your life in the coming weeks, I am moved to compare you to certain birds. First, there will be similarities between you and the many species that can literally perceive Earth’s magnetic fields, seeing them as patterns of shadow and light overlaid on their regular vision. You, too, will have an uncanny multi-dimensional awareness that helps guide your travels. Secondly, Aquarius, you will be like the migrating songbirds that recalibrate their internal compass every day when the sun sets. In other words, you will make steady efforts to ensure that your magical ways of knowing are grounded in earthly rhythms.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In some Polynesian cultures, there is a belief that one’s mistakes, including excessive anger, can cause physical sickness. Hawaiians traditionally have employed a ritual remedy for such ills called ho’oponopono. It includes acts of atonement, forgiveness and correction. It may even involve a prayer conference where all the people involved talk about their mutual problems with respect and compassion, seeking solutions and restitution. The coming weeks will be a fantastically favorable time for you to carry out your own version of ho’oponopono, Pisces.
Homework: Make two promises to yourself: one that’s easy to keep and one at the edge of your capacity to fulfill. Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com
The Lord of Failure is an ‘ouch’ card, as I said in our first examination of it. It often comes up to mark difficult days where excessive demands are made upon us financially.As with so many of the tarot cards, the resolution of problems indicated by this card lies in our own hands. Once again, we are reminded that we get back what we put out – so we must re-examine our personal attitudes about finances, material success and security when this card comes up.If it appears to mark a time where we are in financial difficulties, we must first look at what we’re REALLY thinking. Remember, what you put your attention on grow bigger. So, if you’re worried about your overdraft, what’s going to happen? The overdraft gets bigger, and you continue to feel beleaguered by money problems. So instead you have to, by an effort of deliberate will, put your attention on your income, upon the funds you have available to you. They should then respond to your effort and grow bigger.I know this sounds too simple to be true, but it’s not as easy as it seems. It’s hard to surrender the worry and fear that comes with being in money trouble. It’s hard to let go of the survival fears that inevitably arise when you’re going through a tight patch. So the struggles you go through in giving up those negative thoughts, the attention you must pay to your every waking concern in order to make sure you send positive thoughts into the Universe, these will cost you a lot in terms of self-discipline and determination. It’s this effort that will be rewarded by an increase in funds, or a lucky break. Try it and see!!If, on a day ruled by this card, you have no pressing financial concerns, then for one thing celebrate your current good fortune (best done by passing a little of your wealth to some-one who needs it more), and check over your attitudes to success and failure in a material sense. Make sure nothing sneaky has crept into your head since last you ran a quick assessment. If you find anything, deal with it. And if you don’t, make a mental note to run the same check next month!!
Affirmation: “I release my fears and open myself to success.”
“We have thousands of opportunities every day to be grateful: for having good weather, to have slept well last night, to be able to get up, to be healthy, to have enough to eat…There’s opportunity upon opportunity to be grateful; that’s what life is.”
David Steindl-Rast (b. 1926) American Benedictine Monk
AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DAILY REFLECTION BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SCHOOL OF PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY
13 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, 4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Consciousness, sexuality, androgyny, futurism, space, the arts, science, astrology, democracy, humor, books, movies and more
We have not overcome our condition, and yet we know it better. We know that we live in contradiction, but we also know that we must refuse this contradiction and do what is needed to reduce it. Our task as [humans] is to find the few principles that will calm the infinite anguish of free souls. We must mend what has been torn apart, make justice imaginable again in a world so obviously unjust, give happiness a meaning once more to peoples poisoned by the misery of the century. Naturally, it is a superhuman task. But superhuman is the term for tasks [we] take a long time to accomplish, that’s all.
