The Homo Universalis Project #1 – The Origin Story
The Homo Universalis Project #1 – The Origin Story

Aviv Shahar with Karen Heney and Kyriaki Nikandrou

July 19, 2023

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Throughout history, the great questions have been asked, and great research has been undertaken, always expanding the territory of the known by shining a light into the unknown. Where is that cutting edge today? And can a community of people from all over the world, each carrying their own unique journey of discovery, come together to inquire at the edge of purposeful evolution, through dialogue and interaction? We think it is possible, and we hope that you will choose to be a part of this exploration.

As a wave of new evolutionary energy continues to surge with ever-greater intensity across the planet, there is also a greater urge to explore more deeply what this emerging future means for the appearance of a universal human — Homo Universalis.

Evidence of the human’s universal nature and possibility can be uncovered in an esoteric trace of world history over the centuries. What about today? How is the future — this new evolutionary potential — pushing its way in and influencing nearly every facet of personal and cultural life? Where do we look?

This conversation is the start of a new Portals series on the Universalis Project: exploring the many ways that a wave of evolutionary change is transforming humanity and the planet we call home, and the appearance of a new human model. Aviv Shahar is joined by Portals friends Kyriaki Nikandrou and Karen Heney, each an artist, philosopher, and spiritual teacher.

They build on The 1000 Faces of Homo Universalis, the Universalis story begun in a conversation with Jeff Vander Clute. Here Aviv, Kyriaki, and Karen offer many insights into the Universalis journey, including:

  • The emerging new epoch will unlock a tremendous amount of insights, perceptions, practices, and new ways of being and doing; new ways to create space — mental, relational, and energetic.
  • To explore Homo Universalis as a prospective element of a larger epochal journey, we need to make new virgin space; you can’t just pour new energy into old bottles.
  • It was never about repeating a ready-made curriculum; it is an emergent discovery, which included new ways of exploration, with people creating their own contemplations and artwork.
  • The living residue of human life creates an energetic record that aggregates as a loose operating system. It’s always nearby to potentize great passions, and polarities, unless we can escape it.
  • A huge step in consciousness is to really take responsibility for your life, for what you know, on behalf of humanity. It creates huge space for things to come.
  • The implosion of the Guru model means the credibility emerges on a journey as a mutual property. You're not trying to enroll anybody into your own journey but help them liberate their own.
  • How arrested and limited is our perception? Are we open to truly receiving new insight and perceptions about the human case? Or is there a stop situation, a wall beyond which we cannot see?
  • By our nature as a human, we are not a one, or two in one; we're a multiplicity in one. What does that mean and how can we live into that reality?
  • We humans are a caring, empathetic species capable of generosity and gratitude. Is distrust then the accumulated byproduct of the pain and injuries in the human story?

This conversations 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.

I asked a simple question where it relates to truly appreciating the human and what human life is about: How arrested and limited is our perception? And how open are we truly to receiving new insight and new perceptions about the human case? Would we say there is a stop situation, meaning there is a wall beyond which we cannot see?   

Aviv Shahar

Karen Heney

Karen Heney

From an early age there has been a compelling search for truths, those realities that didn’t have a fixing or a closed door. The quest for meaning, sometimes quiet, other times reaching and finding pathways, has always accompanied me. The awareness that all life is caused to exist for an inherent purpose, one that allows for the possibility of furtherance and refinement, has prompted both perceptions and questions. These concern the purpose of human life, its integration within greater domains and what I personally may need to discover in order to play my part.

Creativity has always been integral, with an endeavour to create visual interpretations of concepts as practical activities. The intention behind a current project is to broaden the paths of relevance and meaning for others to access and explore.

 

Kyriaki Nikandrou

Kyriaki Nikandrou

When I was a child, staring at the starry night skies, I was filled with awe and wonder, about the mysteries of the Universe, Life, Time, the Human and its place in the Cosmos, trying to connect the dots that link everything with everything…

Some years down the line, I still do. I am seeking to be in conversation with others in search for keys, for tools of understanding and application and for the real questions, the ones that become portals to contemplative journeys, leading to uncharted territories that feel like home.

I believe we are on a trajectory of multiple and unpredictable changes; it is up to each one of us to rise to the challenge of our times. Now, more than ever before, is the time to be true to ourselves and fulfill our potential.

Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar

Aviv serves as the Portals' sherpa. He curates transformational journeys and is a storyteller of the epochal evolution culminating at this time.

Aviv is the Founder of Aviv Consulting, helping leaders unleash strategic innovation, and is the author of Create New Futures: How Leaders Produce Breakthroughs and Transform the World Through Conversation.

Visit: Aviv Consulting