All nature is watching this drama. The life of our star is finite. The life of the planet is finite. But potentially, self-reflecting understanding may be, in fact, immortal. And yet, it is breaking out of the trappings of matter. And this is a process so large, so strange, that I don’t think a single mind can encompass it within a single moment.
The Omega Point is a spiritual concept originated by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a French idealist philosopher and Jesuit priest. He envisioned the Omega Point as the ultimate maximum level of complexity and consciousness towards which he believed the universe was evolving. Ethnobotanist Terence McKenna often referred to it as the “transcendental object at the end of time.”
Teilhard argued that the universe is becoming gradually more ordered and complex, and that this complexification increases consciousness. He viewed cosmic evolution as progressing towards ever higher levels of consciousness and argued there must be a final end point or goal—which he named the Omega Point. He saw it as a transcendent cosmic entity of pure consciousness, a unity of space and time, matter and spirit, encompassing all that exists as part of one divine superconsciousness. While not strictly identical with the traditional Christian conception of God, Teilhard saw this supermind at the end of evolution as transcendent, self-aware, and omniscient—similar to God in many respects.
The Omega Point theory has influenced New Age spiritual ideas as well as some interpretations of Christianity, though Teilhard’s teachings were controversial in his lifetime. While scientifically speculative in nature, the idea of an evolving cosmic consciousness remains an intriguing philosophical and spiritual concept.
A Few Conclusions About Life
In his signature wide-ranging style, McKenna explores culture, shamanism, psychedelics, and humanity's collective journey through spacetime. He advocates embracing the ineffable mystery unfolding through us, moving toward a hyperspatial cyberculture. To rediscover our shared humanity, we must trust the transformative wisdom of psychedelic plants.
A Great Event Foreshadowed
The Planetization of Mankind
Teilhard explores the rise of the masses and the socialization of humanity. He predicts a future Earth where human consciousness evolves to its peak, achieving a maximum of complexity and unity through a process of “planetization,” and argues that collective unity is not a threat but a path to personalization and humanization. As we head towards an interconnected world, he challenges us to embrace a sense of evolution and celebrate our shared destiny. Originally written in Peking during Christmas 1945, later published in the August–September 1946 edition of Cahiers du Monde Nouveau with the title La planétisation humaine.
A Psychedelic Point of View
Buck the status quo! Rebel philosopher Terence McKenna shook things up in this closing speech after a month of being scholar-in-residence at Esalen, arguing that reality escapes our rational grasp. He chided science and philosophy's paltry models that diminish nature's infinitude. Seeking to spur his audience from passive acceptance, McKenna called to revere expanded consciousness. He urged toppling the assumptions bolstering dominator culture to midwife more liberated, psychedelically-attuned societies. By trusting our intuition's cosmic tether, we can transform reality into something stranger and more wonderful than we suppose.
Appreciating Imagination
Join Terence McKenna in this weekend workshop as he takes us on an imaginative journey into the depths of human creativity. Through eloquent exploration of psychedelics, virtual worlds, and shamanic states of consciousness, McKenna reveals how embracing our imagination allows us to envision and manifest alternate realities beyond cultural conditioning. By cultivating our creative faculties with mathematical reasoning, intuition, and immersion in nature, he guides us toward transcending ideological limits into an enlightened future of compassion. Ultimately, breaking boundaries through the power of imagination will inspire us to reach new heights of understanding and connectivity.
Arcology
The City In The Image Of Man
Visionary architect Paolo Soleri challenges us to think of cities as biological entities with his concept of the arcology—a massive, self-sustaining, urban “organism of a thousand minds” designed to exist in harmony with nature. He proposes that the purpose of life is aesthetogenesis: the universe progressively complexifying itself into compassionate, beautiful structures. Soleri showcases 30 potential arcologies through incredibly detailed diagrams, explaining how each integrates itself economically and ecologically into the world and fulfills his aesthetogenic criteria. The scope of his vision ranges from cities designed to span canyons or float on the oceans to cube-shaped metropolises suspended on pillars, and even a space habitat. While comprehensive, Soleri's focus lies primarily on realizing arcologies that meet humanity's moral imperative for sustainable urban living.
Awakening to Archaic Values
A weekend workshop in which Terence encourages humanity to return to harmonic habits which have been lost in the tide of time.
Big Historical Foundations for Deep Future Speculations
Cosmic Evolution, Atechnogenesis, and Technocultural Civilization
Big historians are attempting to construct a general holistic narrative of human origins enabling an approach to studying the emergence of complexity, the relation between evolutionary processes, and the modern context of human experience and actions. In this paper Cadell Last attempts to explore the past and future of cosmic evolution within a big historical foundation characterized by physical, biological, and cultural eras of change. From this analysis he offers a model of the human future that includes an addition and/or reinterpretation of technological singularity theory with a new theory of biocultural evolution focused on the potential birth of technological life: the theory of atechnogenesis. Furthermore, he explores the potential deep futures of technological life and extrapolates towards two hypothetical versions of an “Omega Civilization:” expansion and compression.
Building The Earth
A visionary and hopeful book on humanity's future relationship to the planet from which it arose, Teilhard outlines a new psychological state of awareness in which individual humans unite into planetary Personhood. Paragraphs are arranged in verse and interspersed with delicate graphic illustrations.
Centrology
An Essay in a Dialectic of Union
Teilhard proposes a guiding hidden rule present in the universe, leading everything from simplicity to complexity and consciousness. He suggests that as cosmic particles evolve, they become more complex and conscious, ultimately converging toward a unifying Omega point. This vision offers a fresh perspective on the universe, blending science and philosophy to reveal a grand, interconnected cosmic journey.
Cosmic Life
Teilhard de Chardin seeks to harmonize his ardent faith with a boundless love for the cosmos. He finds solace in the belief that the incarnation unites all. Thus, surrendering oneself to the cosmic forces and gently guiding them towards good enables all beings to participate in softly unfolding a new era of harmony. Cosmic Life was the first of Teilhard’s extant writings in his characteristic style. Knowing what risks he was exposed to at the warfront, he wrote it as his intellectual testament, and it contains in embryo all that was later to be developed in his thought; the “fire in his vision” which he tried to communicate.
Countdown Into Complexity
Briefing for a Descent Into Novelty
At his weekend workshop Terence led attendees on an intellectual odyssey traversing psychedelics, virtual reality, technology, culture, spirituality, and the evolution of novelty over time. Blending philosophy, futurology, and mysticism, he explored humanity's relationship with nature and machines, challenging participants to think critically, create freely, and keep an open mind. The goal was to expand consciousness and uncover deeper truths about existence.
How May We Conceive And Hope That Human Unanimization Will Be Realized On Earth?
Amid the depressing spectacle of human chaos, Teilhard sees glimmers of hope for unanimity. Geographic crowding and intellectual cross-pollination compress us, while deeper forces of attraction pull us together—a rekindled sense of shared species-destiny, and for some, a longing for a “universal lover” at the apex of cosmic evolution to which all egos could converge. Might such planetary energies of compression and gravitational yearning ultimately triumph over our instincts for dispersal? Teilhard dares to envision an inexorable trajectory toward an “Omega” unifying human consciousness.
In the Valley of Novelty
Journeying through multiple dimensions of psychedelic consciousness, Terence McKenna's visionary weekend workshop invites us on an entheogenic voyage to the frontiers of the mind and its imminent conquering of matter. Blending scientific insights with shamanic wisdom, McKenna argues that natural plant medicines like psilocybin and DMT provide portals into mystical realms and alien dimensions, catalyzing revelations about nature, reality, and the human psyche. He urges us to courageously explore these consciousness-expanding substances, seeking the gratuitous beauty and truths they unveil. For McKenna, the psychedelic experience holds secrets to our world and ourselves—if only we dare lift the veil.
Limits of Art and Edges of Science
Terence McKenna proposes a radical view of history as a self-limiting process, driven by an attractor pulling us toward a transcendent, alien encounter that will transform human experience. He advocates the transformative power of psychedelics to unlock our collective potential, urging a forced evolution of language and consciousness to navigate the looming collapse of civilization and embrace the cosmic destiny of our species.
Man's Place in Nature
The Human Zoological Group
In this book Teilhard expounds the evolutionary history of the Earth, the arrival of the human species, and its destiny in the far future. He identifies certain threads of recurrence in evolution's past, and uses these laws of recurrence to project the most probable future destiny of the planet. Teilhard's ingenious conclusion is that evolution is in fact involuting on itself, meaning that the future (like the past) is one of convergence and synthesis, heading towards a single unity he calls the Omega Point.
Nature Loves Complexity
Terence argues that psychedelics reconnect us to archaic values like community, reverence for nature, and direct felt experience. He sees psychedelics as part of nature's tendency to conserve complexity and novelty. McKenna critiques science's misapplication of probability theory and suggests time itself fluctuates, finally proposing an ethics of aligning with nature's creative unfolding.
Our Cyberspiritual Future
Terence holds court on our civilization's journey toward the eschaton at this weekend Esalen gathering. He riffs on topics from psychedelic states and alien intelligences to time travel and VR. McKenna argues we're evolving toward an unimaginable state of accelerating novelty, propelled by advancing technology. A mind-expanding ride for the open-minded psychonaut or armchair traveler, guided by one of the twentieth century's most eclectic thinkers.
Psychedelics in the Age of Intelligent Machines
Humanity is metamorphosing through the synergy of psychedelics and machines, transcending biological constraints to become a galactic, immortal intelligencia. Print defined our ego boundaries, but electronic media and plant allies are dissolving those illusions. Merging with superintelligent AIs, we’ll birth an alchemical singularity—a spiritual, universe-taming mind born from techno-shamanic ecstasy. History crumbles as novelty’s virus engulfs the old operating systems, unleashing our wildest potentials. The felt presence of boundless experience awaits!
Reflection of Energy
Teilhard de Chardin sees human reflection as an evolutionary force escaping entropy's grasp. Emerging from life's intrinsic complexity, reflection leads mankind on an irreversible journey of deepening interiority. Through convergence and collective self-reflection, we approach a sacred point of supreme arrangement and unity. Teilhard argues that to fully encompass life's mystery in science, the reflection of energy must join conservation and dissipation as key principles. Understanding reflection's role illuminates both human destiny and the cosmos' underlying divinity.
Reflection on the Compression of Mankind
In this compressed world, humanity feels the squeeze. But despair not! This pressure cooker of co-reflection may be evolution's secret recipe for elevating consciousness. As we rub elbows and neurons, a tantalizing possibility emerges on the horizon: a cosmic convergence of minds, a "conspiration" of monads. Will this psychic attraction be our salvation, harmonizing the restless billions? The thinking earth must choose: chaotic crush or convergent release. Intriguing times ahead!
Survival
Teilhard de Chardin's book, The Phenomenon of Man, reinterpreted in a visual format to illustrate the complex topics covered therein.
The Bridge Between Matter And Spirit is Matter Becoming Spirit
The Arcology of Paolo Soleri
This volume brings together the essays of Paolo Soleri in which he sets forth his philosophy of arcology (architecture ecology) and pleads for a new stage in the evolution of human society—a move toward compactness, or miniaturization, of our cities. To do so we must build solids rather than veneers; we must flee from a “flat” cityscape that debilitates and suppresses the individual. Arcologies, three dimensional macrostructures, are for populations of thousands or of millions.
The Convergence of the Universe
In examining cosmic drift, Teilhard illuminates humankind's role in the universe's inexorable convergence. We stand at an evolutionary precipice, our dawning self-reflection nurturing new heights of consciousness. To embrace this transformation, we must unite, reassess our core values, and pursue collective actualization. Teilhard's vision beckons us to become active participants in cosmogenesis, threads consciously weaving the tapestry of existence. His ideas challenge us to forge an enlightened path, infinite possibilities awaiting our cosmic citizenship.
The Formation of the Noösphere
The noösphere is the sum-total of mental activity which emerges out of a complex biosphere, and in this essay Teilhard describes how our planet is growing its very own mind.
The Future of Humanity
McKenna, Abraham, and biologist Rupert Sheldrake contemplate humanity's bumpy ride towards transcendence. McKenna unveils his theory of an impending "eschaton" when history will culminate in a boundary-erasing recovery of unity, fulfilling religious anticipation. However, approaching this "zero point" will be increasingly chaotic. Abraham and Sheldrake greet McKenna's vision with skepticism tinged with hope. Probing global crises, the trio spiritedly grapple with miraculous visions for transforming society, from psychedelic revival to empowering women. Their speculative voyage reveals turbulence ahead, yet yields glimmers of our journey's destination.
The Grand Option
Teilhard explores the choices facing humanity as it undergoes the process of socialization, and examines four paths: pessimism, optimism with withdrawal, individualistic pluralism, and convergent unity. He argues for the path of convergent unity, where socialization leads not to loss of individuality but to differentiation and personalization within a unifying whole, fulfilling humanity’s evolutionary trajectory toward higher consciousness.
The Human Rebound of Evolution and its Consequences
This essay follows Teilhard's train of thought on the aftermath of a potential fusing-together of humanity.
The Omega Seed
An Eschatological Hypothesis
The Ωmega Seed brings together Paolo Soleri’s writings on eschatology, that branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world or of mankind. Soleri believes that the simulation of the divine will provide man with a blueprint for creation not only of our physical environment but also of a new stage in the evolution of mankind. His work is against the things of a materialistic society, toward a redesigning of the urban civilization of Earth.
The Phenomenon of Man
Visionary theologian and evolutionary theorist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin applied his whole life, his tremendous intellect, and his great spiritual faith to building a philosophy that would reconcile religion with the scientific theory of evolution. In this timeless book (whose original French title better translates to “The Human Phenomenon”), Teilhard argues that just as living organisms sprung from inorganic matter and evolved into ever more complex thinking beings, humans are evolving toward an “omega point”—defined by Teilhard as a convergence with the Divine.
The Self-Organizing Universe
Scientific and Human Implications of the Emerging Paradigm of Evolution
The evolution of the universe—ranging from cosmic and biological to sociocultural evolution—is viewed in terms of the unifying paradigm of self-organization. The contours of this paradigm emerge from the synthesis of a number of important concepts, and provide a scientific foundation to a new world-view which emphasizes process over structure, nonequilibrium over equilibrium, evolution over permanency, and individual creativity over collective stabilization. The book, with its emphasis on the interaction of microstructures with the entire biosphere, ecosystems etc., and on how micro- and macrocosmos mutually create the conditions for their further evolution, provides a comprehensive framework for a deeper understanding of human creativity in a time of transition.
The Syntax of Psychedelic Time
Terence McKenna weaves a tapestry of ideas exploring fractal time, the psychedelic mushroom's potent voice, and humanity's impending transcendence into a galactic, post-biological singularity. Brace yourself for a journey through the uncharted realms of novelty and consciousness expansion.
The Transformation and Continuation in Man of the Mechanism of Evolution
How does humanity fit into evolution's arc? Teilhard de Chardin argues that we represent not an endpoint, but an intensification of evolution's complexity and consciousness. As technology and social bonds grow, he sees not disaster but hope—perhaps mankind is evolving toward an “ultra-hominization,” a perfected global mind.
Toward the End of History
“We are transcending ourselves faster than we realize:” Terence McKenna explores his theory of novelty, psychedelics as catalysts for cognitive evolution, and the internet’s potential to disrupt power structures and empower marginalized communities. He paints a tantalizing picture of humanity’s inevitable leap into a transcendent future.
Unfolding the Stone
Making and Unmaking History and Language
Also published under the title Empowering Hope in Dark Times, McKenna explores the philosophical underpinnings of alchemy and Hermeticism. He argues that these esoteric traditions promote the inherent divinity of humankind and the overcoming of fate through magic. Psychedelic plants and mystical experiences are positioned as means of glimpsing liberatory truths. McKenna ultimately seeks to empower his audience with a hopeful worldview and a sense of human potential, even in difficult times.
Universalization and Union
An Attempt at Clarification
Teilhard examines the tumultuous state of humanity during World War II, proposing a cosmic perspective on our collective destiny. He argues that beneath the chaos lies a grand process of universal synthesis, driven by increasing complexity and consciousness. He sees the war as a critical point in human evolution, heralding the emergence of a global consciousness. Despite apparent divisions, Teilhard envisions a convergence of ideologies towards a unified, personalized humanity. He urges all to embrace universalism, believing this path will lead to mutual understanding and ultimate unity.
