It may be easy to see the wisdom of Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, who noted back in the 6th century BC, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." When the journey of a lifetime is measured not in distance, but in sensing and connecting with a universal source of purpose and potency, what is that single first step?

We’ve explored throughout Current Openings the many facets and dimensions of the human development quest and challenge. From personal — transforming me — to the collective of together evolving ourselves through our relationships and communities, which in turn uplifts and transforms our world and humanity. All guided by the search for truth in a time of evolutionary change and new possibilities.

So, the first step? We know from our Portals journey that the human is the only species on the planet with freedom of choice — the power to focus the full energy and creativity inherent in the human design in pursuit of an intention. Make a decision, and it starts to build the potency of one person being able to say, “I choose to do this.”

We learn a lot more about the zones of human development in the new episode, #15, of Current Openings: What the World Doesn’t Quite Get Yet, with Aviv Shahar and David Price Francis. Among their insights:

• Each one of us impacts the world by our actions, thoughts, and feelings, and the impacts can be greater or lesser depending upon how wholesome, or integrated, we are as individuals.
• The higher impulse is where we get to not just develop ourselves, but also get something else to help us develop us, an extra kind of larger power to tether, orchestrate, and sculpt who we are.
• Why do we keep recreating over and over the same painful inner stories or narratives, when an opportunity is available to redeem and absolve that pattern?
• Much of therapy is directed toward functioning within the bar of “normal” — being able to be a functioning member of society, and have a satisfactory life. However, normal is a pretty low bar.
• We can be partners in passion, which is exchanging energy, or become partners in purpose, and even higher to partners in evolution, where we look to help each other’s spiritual journey.
• Collective development depends upon the level of personal development which is actually present. They're interconnected; you can't look at one without the other.

This conversation is part of the continuing Portals discovery into what is emerging on the frontiers of human experience in this time of profound change. Information about upcoming special events can be found on the Events page. Also visit and subscribe to our YouTube channel.