As we move into the twenty-first century AHP can become the premier organization for exploring the human aspects of technology and can, thereby, assist the transformation of human consciousness beyond postmodern to the truly complex. Essential to this human transformation is achieving a creative balance between two extremes -- uncritical acceptance of technology as the panacea for all social ills and the equally uncritical rejection of technology as evil and antithetical to our spiritual nature.

A balanced view of technology's role in human transformation must include realization that worldwide electronic communication and spirituality are intertwined. It is no accident that our greater awareness of the scientific validity of Eastern thought and the traditions of ancient civilizations are happening in the computer age. As computer capabilities have grown from numerical manipulation, data storage and retrieval, through information processing to global electronic communication, we are beginning to realize that the electronic web of communication which envelops us is bringing a new dimension to our individual and society thought patterns. This new dimension transcends mechanical explanation and exhibits characteristic patterns that can only be adequately understood as spiritual. Thus global electronic communication can appropriately be described as the spiritual dimension of technology.

I look to AHP as the one organization which can bring technology and spirituality together, which can assist science to broaden its perspective to include spiritual forms as real and relevant, and can assist spirit in its articulation with the needs of an age beyond postmodernism. Our members can achieve a balanced view of the spiritual dimension of technology by learning how to use its tools, by analyzing critically its strengths and weaknesses, and by continually expanding our vision of science and spirit interact. To this end I am devoting my efforts in 1996 to increasing the use of electronic communication among our members, introducing concepts of science and spirituality into our conferences and discussions, and seeking to form an energy center devoted to examining the relation between technology and the human spirit.

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J. Bruce Francis, PH.D, is a Past President of AHP Board of Directors.This was written at the end of 1995 as a statement of passion for humanistic principles and for AHP that each board member undertook to create.

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