The Inspiration Behind Mutual Ascent

I was born into a wealthy family and educated at the finest schools. Every material and intellectual need I had was met with greater abundance than most people ever dream of experiencing.

Searching for Balance

Despite that, I struggled with depression. I tried various solutions offered by society: drugs, alcohol, sex, and society’s high life. Yet none of that alleviated my internal dissatisfaction. It all left me feeling empty and hollow.

Eventually, after many struggles, I realized that my material and intellectual needs were being met at the expense of my social and emotional needs. While I didn’t know how to fix it at the time, it was the start of my journey to figure out how a person could restore balance among these different needs.

On my quest to restore balance, I was provided many opportunities to live in various levels of society. At one point I wound up in a halfway house, and it was there I discovered spirituality. I had squandered money and time but began to finally see hope. Finally able to face myself, I noticed that regardless of social status, so many around me were experiencing similar struggles regarding social and emotional needs,

A Society-Wide Problem

It seemed to me to be endemic to the social and political environment. Something with modern society, despite its innovations and advancements, was causing this problem. Through my writing, I began to explore the long-term consequences of neglecting humanity’s social and emotional needs.

For fourteen years, I looked for the causes of this neglect through newspapers and books – and read on possible answers. I examined why those answers didn’t seem up to the task. It was in this process that I found my own answers in unexpected places and began to explore the role of religion in society and its relevance to the imbalance.

Working for the Mutual Ascent of All People

These experiences and the ideas found along the way are what inspired the writing of the Dissent series and of book 1, Mutual Ascent. I called the series Dissent because that is what my writing has become: My personal dissent against the direction I see the majority of society heading.

The title of book 1 is what I hope this work will become: a rallying cry that encourages us to become aware, come together, and work for the Mutual Ascent of all people by agreeing to take the high road.

To find out more about Mutual Ascent and the Dissenters community, I encourage you to visit https://phillipwpool.com/mutual-ascent.