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Dr. Andreas Zachariou
Educator, writer and poet, engaged in the quest for human fulfillment!
Associate Professor
Part Time Faculty
at
St. John's University Sullivan, Fourth Floor
School of Education Tel: 718-990-6407
8000 Utopia Parkway Fax: 718-990-1614
Queens, NY 11439 zacharia@stjohns.edu
PUBLICATIONS
Available at
and other
FROM THE EGO LAYER TO THE NON-EGO
Humanity’s and Education’s Greatest Challenge
Published in 2008 by Publish America in Baltimore, MD
Summary
In this book, Zachariou focuses on the current philosophical struggle for enlightenment, which is the purpose of living in this dimension. The major step that humanity has to make is to move from the ego layer to the non-ego, where antagonism, and the misery connected to the needs for it, is replaced by the power of freedom and collaboration associated with the non-ego layer.
Currently, education is completely in the mercy of the powers of ego, the major of which is antagonism. Instead of personal growth, education promotes “growth” understood as surpassing others. The purpose of education is currently to “create fighters” who will be able to compete in society. Testing and grading are the most important means for preparing these fighters.
Since the essence of growth is elevating one’s self from the ego layer to the non-ego, Zachariou maintains that to day’s education should be preparing not for competitiveness but collaboration. In this book, he identifies motives associated with competitiveness and others associated with collaboration. He shows ways for teachers to train students look for these motives in various events described in readings or publicized through various media. Students are trained to look for surface motives and also to reach beyond them, trying to identify hidden motives, which cannot always be seen by many people. On the basis of motives behind events and human behavior, students become able to identify the layer (ego or non-ego) in which individuals having those motives belong.
Zachariou suggests that testing and grading, as means of promoting the spirit of competition, should be eliminated, at least in the elementary school, and be replaced by comparing each student to him or her own self only. Each student’s work should only be compared to his own previous work, in an environment of active, inquiry-oriented learning. The writer draws attention to the fact that the pressure of becoming competitive by mastering a society-imposed curriculum manages to alienate growing children from the realities of their own selves. By lifting its attention from the needs of each child and its growth as an individual, to day’s school, Zachariou says, not only fails to motivate young people, but it also kills their natural curiosity for learning. Our educational system, the writer concludes, sacrifices students on the altar of social competitiveness.
What is hiding under competitiveness is the powerful yet “illusionary” human fear for defeat by others. People are just afraid that if they are not ready to compete, they will be put aside (surpassed socially and financially) by others who will be prepared. This fear, according to the author, has no validity. It is the same fear that one feels at the time he moves from the ego layer to the non-ego. The fear is false, because people in the non-ego layer are far superior to those in the ego layer. In such a place of superiority (that of the non-ego), the mind works better and approaches to protection come easier. So, developing one’s personality without comparing to others will not make one inferior. On the contrary, learning in a process of individual growth leads to a fullest, superior development, in terms of personality power and knowledge as well.
GOD’S CREATION AND MAN
A dimensional developmental approach
Published in 2006 by Publish America in Baltimore, MD
Summary
The book theorizes about evolution of living entities, in their journey up, down or in parallel, into the dimensions. The theory of evolution is given a broader perspective as the intra-dimensional evolution is expanded into the inter-dimensional one. In other words, the idea of evolving from dimension to dimension is added on the idea of evolving within each dimension.
The broader, intra and inter-dimensional, evolutional scheme gives a unified picture of the creation and shows the interrelation and interdependency between all entities in all dimensions, localities and points in time. It looks at the creation as a whole and sees everything as an integral part of it. Zachariou emphasizes the idea that the place of humans in the creation is neither unique nor of any higher importance, since humans are only a stage from which all entities, have already passed or will pass in the future, the same way humans have passed from all lower stages and will pass from all higher ones, before the completion of the journey to perfection.
The book draws attention to the nature and role of the physical environment (including the body) as hosting the never perishing “self”. The host, however, is not simply a temporary support to the “self”, but a substantial part of the creation which contains the specifications and the potential for growth of the “self”. In that sense, the host is actually nourishing and guiding the “self”. Zachariou reaches the point to refer to the hosting environment (including the body) as the “bosom of God”.
The revolutionary ideas, Zachariou offers in this book, drastically change the way humans see them selves in relation to all other living entities, and changes their understanding of the extra-ordinary importance and power of the hosting environment in which they exist.
THROUGH LAYERS AND DIMENSIONS
A Journey in Eternity
Published in 2005 by Publish America in Baltimore, MD
Summary
The book deals with the temporary and permanent elements of man. Describes his travel through dimensions and explains the purpose of the travel. The book explains, in particular, the layers of awareness in the current dimension and focuses on the struggle for moving up from the layer of the ego to the layer of non-ego.
GOD CREATED MAN IN GOD’S IMAGE AND MAN CREATED GOD IN MAN’S IMAGE
Published in 2004 by Publish America in Baltimore, MD
Summary
People believe that God is like a human father, who loves his children, protects and provides for them, but at times he may get upset with them, punish them, test their dedication, and so on and so forth. Most humans respect and obey God, just like they respect and obey their human father, and they do their best to secure his help, support and protection.
Many humans believe that they are sinful by nature and hope that God will be kind and forgiving towards them. In exchange, they show humility and obedience towards Him and do the best they can to please Him. Such humans live with the expectation that God will forgive them, refrain from punishing them, and, in addition, protect them, and also provide for them. Zachariou maintains that this approach does not work, because God is absolutely fair and impartial and neither rewards nor punishes. From the perspective of eternity, God gives every one the same circumstances and what we perceive as punishments and obstacles in life are, in reality, only stimulations for growth.
God, who created man, provides the energy which every one can use to grow. Man is expected by God to use His-given energy, in a way to activate God inside him, and act on life’s obstacles, in order to grow. Zachariou criticizes organized religions for seeking the role of mediation in man’s efforts to please God, instead of taking an active role in helping individuals activate God inside them, and work for their development. People are so used to advices like “pray that the war ends” or “pray that God stops the war” instead of “activate God inside you and do something for stopping the war”. Even those who start and manage wars, ask people to pray. For what!
Zachariou believes that man should not ask God to do anything for man, because God is already been doing His part. The Almighty expects man to simply carry out his part. And man’s part will be carried out when man abandons God who was created my man in man’s image and turn, instead, to God who created man in God’s image.
ACHIEVING FREEDOM AND HAPPINESS
One Step at a Time
Published in 2003 by Dorrance Publishing Co, Inc, Pittsburgh, PA
Summary
For most people, it is a given, that unpleasant events trigger unpleasant emotions. Such emotions are, at times, overwhelming and devastating and people wish they never happen to them. Out of fear for such events, people disparately turn to any one, or any thing, they believe has the power of controlling them. Such “powers” may be God, fate, luck, astrology, magic, or various others.
Zachariou takes, in his book, a most interesting position, that events can be screened through thoughts, and understood in certain ways, before they trigger emotions. He maintains that, not the events them selves, but the way they are interpreted, determines their impact. Consequently, according to Zachariou, the right thoughts of an individual have the power to control the impact of events on his emotions. Humans, then, have the power to change the negative impact of events on their emotions, if they change the way they understand and, more than that, interpret events.
Zachariou maintains that there is a stage of development, at the level of which, an individual acquires the power to understand the real meaning of life, which is free of all negativity, including pain. At that level, the right interpretation of events brings only positive feelings.
The author takes the reader by the hand and walks him/her along the difficult process of ascending at the aforementioned level. The road passes through the great achievement of taking over the sub-conscious mind by the conscious part of the self and, after that, the establishment of a positive, logical, non-contradictory platform of ideas, which may give the person the ability to see events from their true, positive perspective.
The goal of ascending to a higher level of understanding the meaning of life is achieved, by different individuals, at different degrees. The higher one goes, the less the impact of unpleasant events is, on his emotions.
(in Modern Greek)
CHOROS APO PERA
A poetry book printed by Akis Printing in New York City, in 2003. The writer refers to memories from life in Cyprus, the invasion of the island, life away from the motherland, and various other subjects.
Available at www.greeceinprint.com only
(in Modern Greek)
BICULTURAL EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: USA, Greece and Cyprus
Summary
This booklet was published by the Pancyprian Association of America in 1984, after the subject of the book was presented in the form of a lecture by this writer at the association‘s Center in New York City.
The publication, which was dedicated to Archbishop Iakovos of N. and S. America, was prologued by the President of Pancyprian Association Phillip Christopher and the Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Rev. Demetrios Frangos.
Fr. Frangos wrote: The dialogue, the ecumenical movement and the various discussions among leaders of churches are, one could say, actions in the spirit of bicultural education…but the spirit of friendship and understanding has to be cultivated and strengthened in our schools before bias takes roots in the personalities of young children.
This book is out of print
Ph.D. Dissertation, 1980
"A Survey of Attitudes of the Greek Elementary and Secondary Public School Teachers of Cyprus, on the Teaching of Greek and Turkish Languages and Cultures, and the Greek Cypriot Dialect and Local Culture"
Ann Arbor MI: U MI, Dissertation Abstracts International (only)
