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What's the connection between Pangea Day and Unified Science?

Firstly, a bit about Pangea Day:

“Pangea Day taps the power of film to strengthen tolerance and compassion while uniting millions of people to build a better future.

In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that — to help people see themselves in others — through the power of film.

On May 10, 2008 — Pangea Day — sites in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked live to produce a program of powerful films, visionary speakers, and uplifting music.

The program will be broadcast live to the world through the Internet, television, digital cinemas, and mobile phones.

Of course, movies alone can't change the world. But the people who watch them can. So following May 10, 2008, Pangea Day organizers will facilitate community-building activities around the world by connecting inspired viewers with numerous organizations that are already doing groundbreaking work.”

The Power of Understanding

Both believe in the power of understanding. Beings are inherently “good natured” and exhibit cruelty only when they are confused and traumatised. The better one's understanding of a situation the more appropriate and effective one's participation will be. It is through communication that we develop mutual understanding.

If we are to have peace we first need a common understanding of our shared humanity, but this is just a start. First we must expand our concept of 'us' to include all of humanity, but the universe does not end there and unless we have a broader sense of 'us' we will continue to encounter systemic conflict, such as between humanity and the rest of the ecosystem.

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Some Intriguing Mathematical Properties of the Mayan Calendar

This is a brief mathematical analysis of the cycles of the "Tun" or the transcendent Mayan 'calendar'. The analysis reveals some very interesting numerical properties, which show that it is certainly not a random concoction but in fact describes a complex and finely tuned process.

The general process relies on a system of cycles where each cycle is 20 times shorter than the previous cycle. Hence it tends asymptotically toward some point in time (year 2012). The cycle periods become shorter and shorter so that as the cycle number tends to infinity the cycle period tends to zero, i.e. the cycles become infinitely fast.

The so called 'calendar' is not a description of linear time like contemporary calendars, it is a model of cycles of creative activity. Hence it describes an evolutionary model where each creative cycle unfolds and produces the basis for the next cycle of creation. In such a process each cycle becomes faster than the previous one, as is seen throughout biological and human history. Initially there were long stretches of time between innovations but as the reservoir of innovations builds up the process of innovation accelerates. This process has been accelerating very noticeably especially in the last few decades.  More >

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Collective Meditation to Counter the Collective Ego

I'll first summarise, in a paragraph, a conceptual lead in to this discussion. Everything can be conceived of as a complex system, cells interact and integrate to create cellular civilisations, these form centralised power structures that call themselves 'I' - this is the ego - it is not the real being but just a thought construct that arises via commonsense realism. Then these egos interact and integrate to create human civilisations, these form centralised power structures that are increasingly coming to think 'I' - this is the collective ego - it is not the real civilisation but just a cultural construct that arises via commonsense realism. Just as commonsense realism and the ego are the ultimate source of all delusion and dysfunction in humans (cellular civilisations) commonsense realism and the collective ego are the ultimate source of all delusion and dysfunction in society and the world at large. Just as meditation can help to overcome commonsense realism and the tyranny of the ego in individual humans (cellular civilisations) resulting in liberation and bliss it can also be adapted to help overcome commonsense realism and the tyranny of the collective ego in human civilisations resulting in liberation and bliss.

This discussion consists of excerpts from my yet to be released e-book "The Gaian-Ego Hypothesis", which follow on conceptually from the preview article The Gaian-Ego Hypothesis and the article Ego and the Denial of Complexity. It is also closely related to Commonsense Realism and the Ego, The Scientific Case Against Materialism, The Mystic Meaning of Original Sin and this comment about thinking outside the box and the ego as the box maker. These all provide conceptual background that will help you understand what this article is about, what meditation is useful for and why macro-meditation is required. I recommend familiarising yourself with those ideas but the first paragraph above gives the gist of them.

In the quotes below I have made a start at adapting the principles of meditation for collective purposes. This is just a start to indicate the general outline of what I feel is required. I strongly urge others to think about this and help to further develop these ideas, in your own way or as an extension of these strategies.  More >

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Fire the Grid Oracular Confirmation and Advice

See the article Rationality, Scepticism and the I Ching for a discussion on the I Ching itself...

I've just read the article on 4 ways to fire the Earth Grid and the associated website and I felt the truth of what it says. I consulted the I Ching for oracular confirmation. It's response verified everything that Shelley spoke of and gave advice on the matter so I summarise it below for the benefit of others:

(61) Centring and Connecting to the Spirits / The Opened Heart:

The connection of inner and outer in the thought of the heart that spreads the word across the threshold of life and death. It is a major site of radical transformation at all levels and a transition to the great festival times.

Articulate the Mandate then trust in it. Connect the heart with the spirit. It implies a return to and of the spirit, establishing the myriad blessings that flow from the ancestors and Heaven through the act of sacrifice: benediction, celestial favour and great prosperity; to drive out evil spirits. It is an offering to the ancestors and a contract to recognise partners. It points at connection to the spirit world and the carrying wave of blessings and energy that pours forth through that connection. It means moving to or being at the centre, an equal or still point between opposites. It is an arrow that hits the centre of the target, the equinoxes, the pivotal points of the year. It is the 'coming in and going out' of the souls from the centre, the heart and its inner animation, the activity of the spirits in the heart and their harmonizing influence. It refers to the inner world: meditation and the inner Way. It is a banner placed at the centre point of the four sides, a hole or link to the world of the dead and the ancestors.  More >

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Ego and the Denial of Complexity

This began as a comment to an article by Flemming Funch on Denial of complexity, but it grew too large for that format.

The comments that he made strongly resonate with my own ideas so I feel inspired to share some of those resonances in the hope that it may add something to this discussion. I'll extemporise on his comments and quote them extensively, weaving my own ideas around them...

" "The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity". -Jacob Burkhardt What a great quote! "

It is a great quote. I've included that quote right at the start of my latest e-book on the subject - thanks for bringing it to my attention. It sums up the essence of the issue in 9 words but to explain the implications of those 9 words takes a few more words.

It revolves around "the basic idea of being able to study and describe different periods as a whole" because the system that we are a part of functions as a 'whole' even though the "simple mind" only perceives it as separate parts. That is why I apply system theory to conceive of the functioning of the whole and some very startling ramifications come from such an analysis - which he also hints at in his article.

"Life is complex, biologically, socially, culturally. The most awesome stuff that exists is complex. The universe, evolution, eco-systems, art, adventure, human culture in general, and the human mind."

People too often neglect this most important fact and our traditional discourses simply cannot comprehend that complexity. They create a simplistic context that gives rise to simplistic agendas and simplistic rationalisations. They speak of left-wing, right-wing, politics, economy, human rights, society and so on. These simplistic discourses lead us to believe that these are simple phenomena that are fully defined by the simplistic ideas associated with those words and that the reality can be comprehended and engineered by merely manipulating those simplistic ideas. We too often don't recognise that these ideas are just symbols that refer to cultural interpretations of minute aspects of a much deeper and more complex 'whole'. When we think only through the narrow channels of traditional discourses and we act from that narrow thinking. We may seem rational in the narrow context of those discourses but those discourses cannot comprehend the reality so in reality we are in fact being dangerously irrational and our actions are destructively out of alignment with reality.

The "human mind is at a crucial point in its evolution. We can consciously think abstractly. But not very well. The part of our mind we're conscious of, and that we usually identify with as "me", typically has an extremely inflated idea of its own worth and its own independent existence. That despite that it can only solve extremely simple problems, and it doesn't even know how. It over-simplifies everything, and it tends to think it is in charge."

This is the ego and it has been known by the wise to be the root cause of all suffering and dysfunction in the world for exactly the reasons that Flemming mentions, i.e. it has "an extremely inflated idea of its own worth and its own independent existence... it can only solve extremely simple problems, and it doesn't even know how. It over-simplifies everything, and it tends to think it is in charge." This means that when the ego reigns supreme our understanding is distorted, our agendas are out of alignment with reality and our actions create disturbance in the wider holistic context.

The most interesting bits are yet to come...  More >

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Preview of a new e-book soon to be released.

It's a system theoretic analysis of the ego and its role in the cult of authoritarianism, which leads to tyranny. The analysis isn't an intellectual exploration, instead it seeks to encourage a deep understanding of the nature of events in our lives and in the world and to spark up a discourse amongst progressive communities that can lead to practical and effective strategies to resolve the growing crisis in civilisation and to navigate the transition to a new and more sustainable civilisation.

The Gaian-Ego Hypothesis
or
Systems Analysis of Organisation,
Ego, Control and Authoritarianism

"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."
(Henry David Thoreau)

"The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity" [FR]. "Truth, in its complexity, cannot be advanced if the discourse of intellectuals conforms to a self-reproducing closed loop of hidden assumptions." [FR] The purpose of this analysis is to step out of the loop of subtle dogma and to expand the scope of potential discourse so that we may better comprehend the complexity by discerning its underlying pattern, thereby we may see through our errors and not merely repeat them. This overall analysis is humbly offered to help fuel a communal discussion that can bringing together the knowledge and expertise of progressive minds into a coherent and effective discourse that can peacefully resolve the crisis in civilisation.

The Situation

Most human expressions, activities and inventions first arise as thoughts and are shared via communication, therefore civilisation can be described as the outward manifestation of a communal understanding or a resonance of minds or a memeplex [FR]. The breakdown of communal understanding lies at the heart of the breakdown of this civilisation. The work of rebuilding communal understanding must ultimately be the foundation of any effective attempt to resolve the crisis. The cause of the breakdown is complex but ultimately stems from the corruption of public discourse by manipulative agendas and the remedy is for humanity to reclaim that discourse and clarify the confusions thus creating a space for rebuilding a communal understanding. "Speech is civilization itself.... it is silence which isolates." [FR] From this, greater awareness will arise and collectively we will know how to act to resolve the crisis and put civilisation on a firm and realistic foundation.

Whilst ever the dominant discourse is corrupt the voice of reason is just noise in the background that cannot meaningfully penetrate the discourse and bring sanity into the overall situation. There is already a vast body of knowledge that provides detailed evidence and deep analysis of the many problems but these have been accumulating for decades, even centuries, and have had minimal overall impact. Whilst these analyses are vital in the long term, at present they are largely impotent because the dominant discourse cannot entertain the simple logic and has no desire to act on it even when it can. Furthermore analysing and exposing issues one at a time is a reactionary strategy that creates an information overload that people cannot properly digest because there is no coherent paradigm within which to make sense of it all. What is required is a subtler strategy that can eventually penetrate then wall of denial.

There are rapidly growing numbers of open minds and we have the potential to form a diverse and integrated community that can create a parallel discourse that weakens the corrupt discourse and shifts the balance of power. But we need a way to manage the information overload and integrate it into a coherent and compelling communal understanding that forms the seed of a more humane and more sustainable civilisation.  More >