Power and Presence begins with the disturbing proposition that a techno-utopian nightmare has descended and possessed us. The weaponization of the internet, politics and society is all but complete, and our souls are being defeated. Our awareness has shifted from the inner wisdom of our Authentic Selves to become ensnared in a virtual MemeWorld, which we now confuse for reality. The crisis is set to worsen as Web 2.0 morphs into the fragile promise of Web 3.0 and as the AI Explosion rapidly engulfs us. Large language models like ChatGPT and Bing AI, along with a whole host of other AI-driven software are a double-edged sword, with a potential to either help set us free, or to send us spirialing even further into the mire.

Many of us have unconsciously given our power away to narratives and agendas that we did not consciously choose. The actions that we take and the words that we speak increasingly represent expressions that are not our own, and that do not serve our highest calling in life. Puppets of The Machine, we have allowed our souls to be colonised, and our minds and hearts have become deeply entangled in the broader socio-industrial complex of the early twenty-first century. We lead lives that are now controlled by a host of external power brokers: media outlets, the Tech Giants and social media platforms, bloggers, political parties, online mobs, ideological movements, corporations, educational institutions and religious groups. Our desires, our goals and even our beliefs are no longer our own. They are driven by The Machine.

Amidst all this we are foundering upon the collapse of sensemaking. We have lost touch with our inner knowing, set adrift upon a vast ocean of competing narratives and agendas. Which captains are we to believe, which shores are we to seek, and which winds are we to reset sail upon?

Drawing upon his thirty years of research and practice of mindful insight, futurist Marcus T Anthony shows us that the key to freedom is developing Digital Wisdom - a conscious relationship with new technologies. Power and Presence is thus a confronting but ultimately uplifting volume designed to aid readers to reclaim their Authentic Selves and to build truly meaningful and empowered lives.

The journey of awakening for many ancient traditions was an inner one, grounded in a deep awareness of the Authentic Self and the intimate connection of mind and spirit, which in turn enabled an expanded intelligence. Marcus T Anthony first shows the reader how that innate power is being dampened; and secondly how it can be nourished and expanded.

Essential to this transformation are the five pillars of the Authentic Self.

- The first is Embodied Presence, the capacity to bring the mind into the right relationship with the present moment.
- The second is Cognitive Responsibility, the capacity to witness the mind and the world and to assume responsibility for what arises within us.
- The third is Mastery of the System, which entails developing Digital Wisdom: understanding how today's sensemaking systems function (media, social media, the tech giants, education, human physiology etc.); and especially how our attention and mental space can be overpowered by these.
- The fourth pillar is the refinement of Integrated Intelligence: in the individual's understanding and embodying the reality that human intelligence is not merely located in the brain, but is embedded with the somatic body, the psyche, society and nature, the internet and digital systems, the extended mind and the non-local mind.
- The fifth and final pillar emerges from the first four: the Wise Action we take in the world, inspired by the Authentic Self.
It is my belief that the four pillars of awakening can empower us to transcend the civilizational impasse that we now find ourselves confronting.