IN THESE TRYING TIMES climate change, surging pandemics, social unrest, economic injustice, and rising despotism, too many of us turn our fear into blame and trust charismatic bullies promising to save us somehow. Some of us find more grounded hope. We balance liberty and responsibility by living daily with a sense of our sacred global oneness. Changing how we make sense of life and the world changes our lives and the world. Making Global Sense offers a big-picture vision of why more than a billion globally aware people on earth are now generating critical mass for the urgently needed enlightenment of humanity. The emerging "global sense movement" springs from an awareness of our natural unity in a universe of light. People are working alone and together for spiritual, cultural, financial, political, and ecological awakening. We are the "global thinkers" and "Cultural Creatives" who favor "Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability." We are what Paul Hawken in Blessed Unrest calls "the largest social movement on earth. A global sensibility equalizes and liberates all races, genders, ages, and abilities for ample prosperity and more open democracy. We lose the ancient need to worship kings - or be a king. "New men," for instance, stop trying to rule the world and instead learn to rule themselves. Author and journalist Judah Freed draws his inspiration from Thomas Paine and his pivotal 1776 essay, Common Sense. Reviving ideas and ideals from the 18th century Enlightenment, Making Global Sense champions 21st century enlightenment. Where Paine invited violent revolution, Freed invites peaceful evolution. Where Paine refuted monarchy and hereditary succession, Freed refutes "alpha male rule" and "authority addiction," hidden from our minds by "split perceptions," so we treat opinions as facts and think lies are true. Where Paine proposed a war for independence and the first modern republic. Freed proposes inner "mindful self rule" and outer "personal democracy" for self and world improvement, so we mature into "direct republics" someday. Balancing head and heart, the essay is interwoven by memoir as the author tells the story behind his insights. Youthful faith in a cult, for example, led him to grasp why and how we give away our power to leaders. The story of his later cancer survival journey offers hope for anyone. Globally awake readers will feel they are not alone, nor powerless, because our innate connectivity gives each of us global reach, especially when we unite for nonviolent actions. For self and world improvement, readers are encouraged to work on spiritual growth and social change at the same time. Readers not yet awake to our global oneness may now safely open their eyes.