Abandoning at age 30 what promised to be a lucrative law practice, John Collins escaped to Spain for a three-year sabbatical to search for the meaning of life. In SEEING THE UNSEEN: Opening the Closed Circuit of Everyday Consciousness, he relates his findings in maxims and identifies seven impediments that commonly hinder our capacity to render our everyday experience of people, places and things intelligible, meaningful and joyful. Collins believes the greatest obstacle to realizing personal fulfillment, or salvation or the Kingdom of God is psychological. Living our lives almost entirely on the conscious surface of Self, we neglect the unconscious core of our being, resulting in the inability of the whole Self to truly see and know reality. Collins suggests that religion's finest hour may come when it assumes responsibility for healing this rupture in our innermost being, allowing us to achieve greater understanding of ourselves, of the world and ultimately, of God. John Collins is a nearly retired general practice attorney in Bucks County, Pa., who graduated with honors in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University, and was subsequently awarded a law degree from the Harvard Law School in 1957. He also attended the Sorbonne, Catholic University, Princeton Theological Seminary and Villanova University for special studies. He served with the 82nd Airborne Division during the Korean War. He also served as a public defender, as an assistant district attorney, and as an unsuccessful candidate for the Pennsylvania state legislature. He is married and the father of three children.
