nice post Bets, thanks. frankly, great thread from all, my opinion.
re-reading the thread title, what Charles wants, I get a clue, especially the part "beyond personal filtering."
what does personal versus impersonal mean? from the moment we are born we take in our life in a personal way through our senses. So I don't think higher knowledge, of events is exactly something we could call an appropriate or desirable objective, divorced from the attainment of what Charles may be thinking is an impersonal world which contains other people in it all meandering about with their respective personal filters on.
Perhaps Charles wants to know if this plane of physical life has events set in stone to happen. I think at any given point of linear time forces gather (our combined thoughts, desires) and an event slowly begins to accumulate as a manifestation. for instance 9/11 had preceding it's event, some warning signs that forces were gathering to bring this building down, because there was a bomb went off there earlier than 9/11 and the two events seem related, as well, I might mention psychics were given visions this would happen, however, psychics are not given any credit, usually or listened to, so most of these did not come forth until AFTER it was over, my point being there's a possibility it could have been prevented due to precognition, even if Nostradomas had foreseen the event, still, we have a little power to control things, if only we all were on the same page and quick enough, and able to as you say, get beyond personal filtering.
On a spiritual level, opposing forces to America being a super power, pick these buildings out as a symbol of our wealth and influence, and religious factions regard money as the root of all evil.
I see it as America being too complacent and placing too much emphasis on affluence, although we do, in America practice feeding the hungry and give charity, these other forces believe we have loose morals due to their filters of how "life should be lived". Holy wars.
The Earth changes, like tidal waves, earthquakes we have less control over, but within my own perceiving I have met certain environmentalists who practice in their meditations going deep within the Earth and visualizing releasing the pressure under there which precipitates a volcanic eruption.
I believe, and this is just me, they may have done some good work to prevent destruction that might have been a possibility, thus saving some lives.
Beyond personal filtering is a state of consciousness we move slowly towards on an individual basis according to that soul's plan of unfoldment. we can sometimes achieve it, but must of necessity return to our usual state of consciousness and pick up our filters and continue on until the next breakthrough occurs where we can tune into this state. as I see it, this state of consciousness slowly becomes a way of being, rather than a way of thinking through filters. yet it seems to gather momentum, where periods of realization happen more frequently..
then we could be said to be marching, one and all towards this way of being, which all is known faster and faster until we simply vibrate highly enough that the old world passes away and the New World passes in view, where it was all the time, we just hadn't been able to see it because of those dang filters!