What we are saying is that there is an overriding universality among all people, regardless of nationality, race, or religious identification. We are saying that every person on this planet holds much the same higher aspirations as one another – and that these are not reflected or expressed in our social institutions. By higher aspiration, we mean the innate drive to gain deeper meaning and connection with life and creation as a whole. This has nothing to do with baser strivings for material gain. That the U.S. is made up of one of the most diverse populations on the planet makes it easier for it to serve as a microcosm for many others.

As an economic, political, cultural and military superpower that has gained much from its dominance, the U.S. has a unique responsibility to the world. We also have a unique opportunity to evolve into a true participatory democracy and to re-energize the concept of civil spirituality from which to guide our values, ethics, and actions. It is in this light that national-level research in this book can be applied. (Future research can include other countries, as well as more in-depth work in the U.S.)

Most importantly, to us and to the greater value of this material, this is about humanity – all of humanity.

Lastly, some readers may wonder if we are or have been members of or heavily influenced by a particular spiritual or religious tradition or teacher. No, not really, but having grown up in the U.S. (a predominately Christian society) and attended church as children, we came into a world dominated by western Christianity. Nevertheless, we have always paid attention to what has inspired us from our own experiences and from those of many others. Each of us has, in our own way, always sought to realize "greater truth" than what passes for ordinary reality. We have come to recognize and honor the potential every individual has to fully realize a higher consciousness beyond what passes for the ordinary individual self. In so doing, anyone can know their true self and personal connection to greater levels of cosmic awareness and consciousness of the sacred – something for which humanity has invented many names.

In service and friendship,

Alex Kochkin and Tish Van Camp, Directors
Fund For Global Awakening and The Global Interchange