--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Think about our dilemma on this planet…" description: "\"Think about our dilemma on this planet. If the expansion of consciousness does not loom large in the human future, what kind of future is it going to b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/terence-mckenna-287_consciousness_think-about-our-dilemma-on-this-planet-i_2319152.png" --- # Think about our dilemma on this planet. If the expansion… ![“Think about our dilemma on this planet. If the expansion of consciousness does not loom large in the human future, what kind of future is it going to be?” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/terence-mckenna-287_consciousness_think-about-our-dilemma-on-this-planet-i_2319152.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/terence-mckenna-287_consciousness_think-about-our-dilemma-on-this-planet-i_2319152.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/terence-mckenna-287_consciousness_think-about-our-dilemma-on-this-planet-i_2319152.png) > “Think about our dilemma on this planet. If the expansion of consciousness does not loom large in the human future, what kind of future is it going to be?” [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If humanity does not prioritize expanding awareness, the future will be shallow, driven by materialism and lacking deeper meaning. **In simple terms:** Without growing consciousness, future is shallow. Key Takeaway Cultivate awareness now. Themes consciousness future meaning Mood reflective concerned Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education reform - personal development - policy making - media narratives Key Concepts philosophy psychology anthropology Questions to Reflect On - How can societies embed consciousness growth into education? - What risks arise from a purely material future? A Different Perspective Neglecting consciousness may reinforce existing power structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Dilemma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dilemma/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Culture is a plot against the expansion of consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/culture-is-a-plot-against-the-expansion-of-consciousness/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The great cognitive shift is an expansion of consciousness from the perspectival form contained in the lives of particular creatures to an objective, world-encompassing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-great-cognitive-shift-is-an-expansion-of-consciousness-from-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our minds work in real time, which begins at the Big Bang and will end, if there is a Big Crunch - which seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/our-minds-work-in-real-time-which-begins-at-the-big-bang-and-will-end/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I feel that the change, the mutation in consciousness, will occur spontaneously once certain pressures now in operation are removed. I feel that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-feel-that-the-change-the-mutation-in-consciousness-will-occur/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Once we do fill the void and experience the expansion in consciousness, we realize there is enough and has always been enough. We've always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isha-judd/once-we-do-fill-the-void-and-experience-the-expansion-in/) [Isha Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isha-judd/) > [The many faces of Collective Vision united by the mandalic eye-field suggest both expansion of consciousness and sharing of consciousness with other beings. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-grey/the-many-faces-of-collective-vision-united-by-the-mandalic-eye-field/) [Alex Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-grey/) > [When you feel expansion of your consciousness, that is the most ecstatic experience possible, because suddenly you are the whole universe. Stars are within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/when-you-feel-expansion-of-your-consciousness-that-is-the-most/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [The expansion of your own consciousness, love capacity, humility and compassion - this is the path; this is the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/the-expansion-of-your-own-consciousness-love-capacity-humility-and/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [If there is to be a human future, we must bring ourselves into balanced relationship with one another and the Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-korten/if-there-is-to-be-a-human-future-we-must-bring-ourselves-into/) [David Korten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-korten/) > [We can have democracy and a prosperous, just, and sustainable human future. Or we can have corporate rule. 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Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [“let’s also promote the humanities, that which makes us human, and not use science to mess around with the wellspring of this, the absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/let-s-also-promote-the-humanities-that-which-makes-us-human-and-not/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [I'm often quite gloomy about the prospects for the human future. But, although I have no competence to intervene directly in a political movement,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/i-m-often-quite-gloomy-about-the-prospects-for-the-human-future-but/) [Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/) ## More by Terence McKenna > [History was an incredibly damaging experience, and now it's over . . . in a sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/history-was-an-incredibly-damaging-experience-and-now-it-s-over-in-a/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The history of man that you don't know is what your unconscious is made out of. Just as the history of yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-history-of-man-that-you-don-t-know-is-what-your-unconscious-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are consciousness. We may not always be monkeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-consciousness-we-may-not-always-be-monkeys/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What is happening here is we are living past the age, by the millions, living past the age where cultural values make any sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-is-happening-here-is-we-are-living-past-the-age-by-the-millions/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What history is, essentially, is a careening, out-of-control effort to find our way back to this state of primordial balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-history-is-essentially-is-a-careening-out-of-control-effort-to/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And what is the primary datum? It's the felt presence of immediate experience. In other words, being here now is the primary datum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-what-is-the-primary-datum-it-s-the-felt-presence-of-immediate/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our culture difinitely takes an egocentric dominator view. The fear of the psychedelic experience is quite literally the fear of losing control. Dominator types…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/our-culture-difinitely-takes-an-egocentric-dominator-view-the-fear-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Every step into freedom contains within it the potential for greater bondage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/every-step-into-freedom-contains-within-it-the-potential-for-greater/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I often like to think that our map of the world is wrong, that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-often-like-to-think-that-our-map-of-the-world-is-wrong-that-where/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Knowledge, or verbal facility, is no proof that you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/knowledge-or-verbal-facility-is-no-proof-that-you-know-what-you-re/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-culture-on-earth-is-as-heavily-narcotized-as-the-industrial-west/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Man was not put on this planet to toil in the mud. 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