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December 15, 2004
Psycho Spiritual Transformer
The latest edition of NeoFiles includes a conversation between Daniel Pinchbeck and R.U. Sirius. Here's an excerpt:
Posted by LVX23 at December 15, 2004 11:57 AM | TrackBackNF:What happens if 2012 comes around, the rent is still due, and another Bush is President? Are you exploring 2012 as a possibility or committing to it? Isn’t there a risk in hitching prophecy to psychedelic culture — the chance that it will go the way of Edgar Cayce or Ramtha? And the risk that people will engage in silly apocalyptic actions on the chosen day?
DP: One way or another, by 2012 we will know decisively whether or not there is any interesting or even possible future for humans on this planet. We are ruining and desecrating the biosphere at an incredible and unsupportable rate. The planetary ecology is crumbling at this point, as the climate disintegrates. When I wrote my first book and saw huge sections of the Amazon that had been destroyed, systematically, to extract enough oil, in most cases, to supply the US demand for 3 - 5 days each, I knew that it was curtains for this present system. We are already in the apocalypse, and most people are in an apocalyptic mode of consciousness — either narrowing themselves down into hellish corporate scenarios or freaking out and stuffing themselves with anti-anxiety meds to become functional robots. Those who are going to make it through the transition are those who remain calm, spacious, open, and maintain presence of mind. It seems to me that there is a lot of subliminal preparation going around with the mass interest in yoga and various forms of meditation. Ultimately, both the Apocalypse of hell and the “Golden Age” of unconditional love and compassion are states of mind — and that is what the present situation is making increasingly clear. As the Buddha said, “What you think is what you are.”It is very interesting to me, of course, that Bush and his minions are themselves seemingly accelerating the apocalyptic prophecies of the Christian Fundamentalists. We are in a transition to a new form of consciousness. However, I see their perspective as regressive — regressing back into a tribal-magical consciousness — rather than progressing into a truly global, compassionate mindset that incorporates a deeper understanding of time, with a non-dualistic perspective on mind and matter.
What we are seeing right now are endless projections of the Jungian “Shadow” into our material realm. Having accepted that consciousness creates reality, my own perspective is that we are soon going to enter a harmonious and utopian situation on the Earth. That seems to me to be strictly logical."
Why is everyone so apocalyptic?
If you turn off the TV and all other mass media, and actually look around, the earth is doing fine. How many people who are reading this board consider their lives hell?
Most of my friends seem to be doing extremely well, yet many maintain a very negative world view.
The mass media, both left and right, vastly exaggerates the negative. We're so accustomed to this form of programming, having been fed it from birth, that we take it for granted as truth. It's practically in our DNA. Shootings, war, crime, pollution, disease, injustice and so much more all showered on us daily by TV, radio and newspapers.
This gives us a horribly distorted view of reality, when in fact billions of people went about their day and are doing fine. Of course there are some problems but the positives (and the everyday realities) far outweigh them.
Peak Oil is a perfect example. Once these guys get in an end-of-the-world mood, suddenly it's all going down in a matter of months... It doesn't matter that we have a 600 year supply of natural gas. Nothing matters, we're all gonna die..
Judging from the news, Israel should be some kind of hellhole right now. A friend of mine just returned from there and claims it's the best place on earth and you see no sign of war.
Go to west africa and you'll discover people who are relaxed and happy and in-the-moment in a way that westerners can only dream of.
Same with rural India.
I was in East Germany just after the wall came down. Supposedly an ecological disaster but all I saw was lush beautiful nature, with an occasional large factory.
Reports of the earth's demise have been greatly exaggerated...
Both India and China are joining the first world rapidly. The per capita food consumption has more than doubled in these countries in the last 20 years. Almost 3 billion people coming out of poverty fast. Asia's doing well too.
We're in the midst of an almost unbelievably rapid advance in all forms of technology. Bio-tech will cure most diseases including cancer within a decade or two.
This apocalyptic stuff is just some form of dark disguised religion.
Read characterizations of global warming and they sound suspicously similar to prophecies of armageddon. Famine, plagues, pests, floods, hurricanes, tornados... Sound familiar?
http://www.simonrobinson.com/Politics/GlobWarmingEffects.aspx
As a group, we are dramatically limiting ourselves by thinking apocalyptically.
There are tons of reasons to be optimistic. The Internet is networking us together, creating a force for positive change that dwarfs any mere government.
All forms of hierarchy are becoming obsolete, the priesthoods are dying. (Does anyone buy music anymore?)
Take the courageous step of imagining that the world is actually doing ok, see what that feels like.... I know it's a scary idea, but it grows on you...
We may not like the culture and values that we see growing around us, but that's another issue. To see the culture we like, we need to stop whining and start living our ideals and building communities which reflect our cherished values. This is how the future is created, by actually beta testing our visions.
Chicken-littles are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Cheers,
Dlight
i agree we need to stop analyzing the mechanics of unconsciousness in order to truely evolve. but we must not forget that the field of enlightment is defined as 'realization of self' and if we are indeed the dream experiencing itself as one consciousness, naturally we need a little buffer time to stare in the mental mirror of certainty before we leave the house, otherwise there would be no notion of learning before completing our journey.
i see unconsciousness. am i afraid? no. what to do, what to do...
migrating away from the heart of madness (the city) & invisible sheep pens (also called condos) and back to the land is what alot of people (including myself) have already done.
Step one: complete.
The visionary foresight needed for building sustainable villages = realistically 10% of the positive solution. the other 90% lies in the moment. because the now is the only place that duality cannot exist. duality is dominating the world of form. Pain and fear are very dense in nature. they resonate lower and if we neively think we can possibly adapt into a symbiotic relationship with unconsciousness on the physical plane, we will indeed be 'pulled' down akin to the twin towers. we must step out.
i feel a conscious shift taking place on the planet that is more positive than any cultural event or group hug itinaray taking place in identified friendly community. its the fact that people's intents are so much easier to read now then ever. this is highly significant to me in regards to where we are directing our collective energetic field or human experience. the natural bio-electrical field of the human body is vibrating at a much higher rate and we are becoming instant icons of intent. i think this is what the 'psychedelic pheelings' were explaining to Terence Mckenna.
if we pay attention to what lies behind the story-line 'identified event' during the next interaction with another human, we will start see thru and 'feel' that not much can come close to the satisfaction of that unconditional instant or the direct feeling of being alive. this 'pheeling' notion may just be the doormat to our future feltness (beyond future unfathomable and our dualist self-prophetic apocalypse that is fast becoming a cartoonish reality) ie: the NeoCon Gub'ment and their PNAC.
Posted by: LoveParasite at December 15, 2004 11:57 PMdlight, while I fully agree that it's more productive to take a postive outlook to get things done, 'your everything is okay' is just as superstitious and apocalyptic as anything on the other side might say. apocalypse can mean the end of the world in any sense, and that's what you're talking about, whether it be into an unrecognisable postive form, or an unrecognisable negative one.
taking the stance that nothing bad is happening because you can't see it, is narcissistic bordering on infantile, and I'm sure if you think it through you'll see the folly in it. of course no one wants to live near areas of ecological collapse. of course no one wants to acknowledge anything is going wrong around them. you can't see a flu virus, but it's real. you can't see soil nutrients, but they're real, and so far I haven't heard anything from anyone who can exaplain what we're doing about that. raising standards of living is the problem, when you measure it in terms of food consumption and energy use. this planet is finite, and treating a finite system as subject to technical extension leads to serious problems. did you know the united states has become a net food importer for the first time on 50 years? treating the future as a global party where an infintie number people can live on an ever increasing slice of the pie is a bit delusional
when i walk around my home time i don't see much wrong either, until i go twenty miles to see the climaxed rainforest ecosystem and realise that's what we destroyed to build roads and farmland, until i talk to the people who work that farmland and hear how they have to struggle to make ends meet on land that's overplayed, and dependant on expensive fertiliser to make it prodcuctive. until i go south to LA and see that disgusting brown disc of smog hanging over the city, and hear from my cousin how she won't let her daughter walk on venice beach in bare feet.
It's very easy to see what you want to see. both sides are right here. ignoring one in favour of the other leads to unbalanced and unrealistic views.
Posted by: zac at December 16, 2004 11:17 AMits all very very interesting ... its a war of attention in my opinion ... maybe it just all gets real real interesting .. so much so that every-one starts paying ... attention . whats the worse thing that could happen ? :) bring it .
Posted by: infinitribe at December 18, 2004 06:07 PM