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A series of thoughts and images that I decided to put into words as best as I could :
As ideas are shared with increased communication, levels of inspiration rise, lifting energy levels higher and higher until the gaps between planes get thinner. The barriers between this plane and the others begin to disintegrate. The Archetypes, or Essences, being keys that unlock the doors to the unconscious, are found and absorbed into consciousness at an ever increasing rate.
In times gone by the Alchemists, Hermits, Adepts, Occultists, the Wise One's of yesterday would spend years, lifetimes, seeking out like minded people in order to learn what they could, collecting knowledge and wisdom of the hidden arts. Today the seeking is being done on a worldwide scale. Technology making the barriers between people, countries and continents obsolete, the knowledge and wisdom amassed throughout history is found, clarified and shared.
The Others, the manifestations of the unconscious, increasingly come to Earth (or go next door) and defy logic to prove that logic isn't the only thing there is, imagination is also a universe in itself.
The Adepts on the edge, pass over, having also learnt how to go next door, and greet the guides on the other side of the mirror. More skills of relaying information and teaching are learnt. More keys of wisdom are replicated, brought back, and learnt exponentially. Hypersites, faint, material mirrors of the other planes and the Akashic records, edging ever closer in the Astral light, list the maps, paths, techniques, spells, symbols and essences, send people on journeys of Magick, inspiration, and initiation, and open the ways to creativity.
Artistic skills increase as does clarity, perception and vision, and the places beyond this reality begin to have a better representation and bigger influence in minds the world over until the planes eventually begin to merge. New memes and paradigms burst through as the dam finally breaks.
History's boundaries are transcended, and as the evolutionary leap approaches, the information age passes with it. Humans progress from being In-formations, to being I(ntelligence)-Magi-nations.
From there, they do as they will.
The depths reached, the balance restored,
the lessons learned, the psyche healed.
The Business Software Alliance has put up new materials arguing against so-called "copyright piracy":
Some have attempted to paint copyright piracy as a victimless crime, arguing that "if I make a copy of a computer program, you still get to keep your copy, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case. Reducing piracy offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the piracy rate, the larger the IT sector and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint printing as a victimless crime, arguing that "if I print a book, you can buy it from me, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case. "Reducing printing offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the printing rate, the larger the scribes and bards sector, and the greater the benefits."Some have attempted to paint conjugal sexual intimacy as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you and I have intimate relations, we both derive pleasure and a sense of togetherness, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case. "Reducing sex among committed partners offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the intimacy rate among committed partners, the larger the prostitution sector, and the greater the benefits."
Some have attempted to paint ham radio as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you operate an amateur radio station, you and I can communicate across long distances, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case. "Reducing the prevalence of amateur radio operators offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of amateur radio communication, the larger the long distance telephone services sector, and the greater the benefits."
Some have attempted to paint tooth-brushing as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you brush your teeth regularly, you improve your dental hygiene, and we are all better off." This is hardly the case. "Reducing tooth-brushing offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of tooth-brushing, the larger the dental prosthetic, dental filling, and dental surgical equipment sectors, and the greater the benefits."
[via Boing Boing]
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[Inspired by Dr. Timothy Leary's book, Exo-Psycholgy.]
The patterns of nature have revealed themselves to be fractal and self-repeating. The morphology of one level is reflected in all levels, from the microscopic to the macrocosmic. The classic example is the shoreline, recursive and self-referential, carving the same odd wandering line whether you're looking at the rocky cliff edge from a few feet away or from several miles above. Similarly the small leaves on the frond of a fern trace the same contour as the frond itself, and the fern as a whole. Or consider the swirl of water around the drain and the swirl of the Milky Way around the massive black hole at its core. Indeed, there's a certain simple economy in nature, deploying basic rules across vast scales.
Nature is of course dynamic and the processes that transcribe these fractal morphologies are themselves iterative and self-similar. The development of the fern leaf follows a pattern that continues at the level of the frond and the entire fern. As the planets orbit our Sun, so too does our Sun orbit the galactic center. Our galaxy itself might be orbiting around the center of a local cluster. The same process - gravity and centrifugal motion - governs each level.
Life on Earth has demonstrated it's incessant ability to spread into any possible crack and crevice available. It is impossibly persistent and adaptive, evolving and migrating ceaselessly. It would seem that this is a fundamental law of the imperative of life. It just keeps going. If life migrates and adapts from one rock to another, region to region, climate to climate, the notion of self-similarity across scales implies that the same persistence would carry life from the womb of Earth off into space across the heavens until it finds an appropriate substrate in which to flourish further.
While the vacuum of space is certainly highly intolerant of carbon-based life-forms dependent upon oxygen and ill-equipped to defend against the onslaughts of unshielded solar radiation, it is perhaps helpful to consider that the only thing necessary to establish a brand new colony of life is the fundamental template - the genetic code of DNA. If the code lands in the right soup at the right time, another Cambrian explosion will likely follow. And in what we presume to be a near-infinite universe, it's only a matter of time before a fitting new womb is found. Looking down from above, one can imagine a pattern of minute bits of carbon-based genetic life migrating from planet to planet, caught on solar winds or bound in meteorites or hurtling in fuel-burning rocketry waiting to strike fallow extra-terrestrial earth.
From this level, life is much more than the individual egosomatic corporeality we mull about in day to day; more than the humble biota of our home, this third stone from the Sun. In fact, we're merely vectors, hosts for the virus of DNA. Or perhaps more poetically, the life of our planet in which we're enmeshed is just one song of a wandering minstrel passing through galaxies singing to the stars.
The transience of life we perceive and fear is only our identification with this corporeal incarnation. Everything we identify with here on Earth will ultimately perish. Thus the bittersweet moment of our human drama. Yet there's immortality stewing in our genes, passing through us like a ghost breathing life with our lungs and pumping blood with our hearts. And then it's gone. But, hopefully, not before it's been passed along to the progeny. Another carrier, another note in the song of life.
Exobiology is the study of galactic life. Exopsychology is the cognitive awareness of the post-terrestrial human. If DNA is impelled to migrate off the planet, then it follows that it may very well co-opt the abilities of it's tool-wielding, large forebrained prodigal apes to carry it out into space. The vast tracts of seemingly useless DNA in our genome may simply be dormant sections of future adaptations designed to enable long-distance, high-velocity, zero-g space travel. We may just be the caterpillar trying to anticipate and imagine it's future evolution as the butterfly. It's certainly more appealing than the thought of terrestrial life making the galactic leap on the fiery debris of a demolished Earth, victim of some wayward asteroid or nuclear apocalypse.
Our evolution now finds us at the dawn of a new millenium, seemingly quite advanced as toolmakers, yet faltering in socioeconomic and territorial games. The addictions of industrialism are drying up, impelling us towards newer technologies and efficiencies. Global networks are quickly wiring humanity for simultaneous communication and access to the data of creation and the technologies of post-history. Humans are leaving the larval phase, waking up to the somatosensory capabilities of our bodies. Interpersonal communicative and sensual fusion is increasingly common with the aid of mind and body altering technologies, nearing the simultaneity and unity of telepathic communion. Perhaps we'll have new humans among us with a little less dormant genetics and a little more neurogenetic capacity, modded out with cyborg gadgetry and buzzing with light to fly away from the hive.
What is our future? What is our purpose? Where are we going? What are we? These are the important questions whose answers reside in both inner and outer space. Stabilize the larval terrestrial game, actualize the somatosensory organism, and acknowledge the cellular, atomic, and genetic imperatives of life so we can disengage, jump the gap, and carry life to the stars.
Daniel Pinchbeck, myself and many others, including our own resident genius LVX23 are colloborating on the launch of a new print magazing called Metacine that, if all goes well, will hit the shelves all over the US and Canada this summer.
One of our group is at the Sundance Film Festival right now passing out hundreds of full-color brochures to help generate buzz. We recently nabbed Sting to give us a blurb. Here is the introduction:
Are you interested in collaborating on a new paradigm for planetary culture?The goal of Metacine: A magazine for the New Edge is to present the paradigm for a new planetary culture. Today's world is out of balance, rocked by constant crisis - threatened by climate change, violence, pullution, rising energy costs, and environmental neglect. Bu the solutions to many of these problems already exist. What is required is a quantum leap in consciousness, a mind-shift, that can give us the inspiration, will, and practical tools to make our highest visions into reality.
My article, Super Free Will, has already been approved for inclusion in the premier issue.
I'm sitting here crying real tears while watching segments of this new achingly beautiful DVD from Alex Grey, called World Spirit.
Experience it here. Watch all the video segments, turn up the volume, and wear head phones if you can. You won't be disappointed.
From the blurb:
WORLDSPIRIT is a landmark audio-visual theater experience featuring poetry and storytelling by visionary artist Alex Grey, music by electronic composer and violinist Kenji Williams, and multi-screen projections of Alex Grey's world-famous paintings.
WORLDSPIRIT represents a radically new form of entertainment that brings together evolutionary spiritual teachings, visual art, music, live performance and advanced technology; speaking at once to body, mind and spirit.
Here is an excerpt of Alex's spoken word from one of the clips:
And now for my biggest trick
Requiring precision timing and a leap of of faith
I shall enfold myself
A topological wunderkind.
Gastolation is perfect this time around
God is at the wheel
Steering thru the Devas eyes
Driving my cell clusters around my morphogenetic field
Those aren't gill slits
Those are my ears
My genomes are humming
There is a veritable Niagra of blood coursing through my umbilicus
The sounds are a deafining roar inside the meat pump of the body.
[via Worldchanging]
Look out--here come fifty-legged wind-powered robots from Holland!
No, really.
Dutch artist Theo Jansen has made some insane, and beautiful, things. Click on "film" under the first picture to see movies, or here are a couple direct links to Animaris Currens Ventosa walking and Animaris Rhinoceros.
The best part? The walking movements are all cam-driven. No computer control, no electricity even; just rotating-motion input and good mechanical design. Someone needs to invite Jansen to Burning Man.
I'm amazed by the first video. It has to be seen to be believed. I had to watch it twice. Here are some more pics of these machines.
After reading up on some of the theories of Quantum Physics, and then Physics as a whole, I was surprised how closely linked some of the theories are to well known concepts of Magick and Spirituality in general.
String theory started to bring to mind Don Juan's description of 'Incandescent threads stretched into infinity in every conceivable direction'. Type-2 String theory having 10 dimensions that equal the number of Kabbalistic planes, M-theory with 11 dimensions, which of course still maps the Kabbalistic planes when the hidden or 11th Sephiroth Daath is included. David Bohm's idea of our universe enfolding back into the substance from where it came from, mirroring Terence McKenna's idea of everything coming from the singularity.
These two ideas especially. To quote Terence McKenna :
"All these images - the starship, the space colony, the lapis - are precursory images. They follow naturally from the idea that history is the shock wave of eschatology. As close distance with the eschatological object, the reflections it is throwing off resemble more and more the thing itself. In the final moment the Unspeakable stands revealed."
And then David Bohm :
"Let's say one particular pulse comes together and expands, creating our universe of space-time and matter. But there could well be other such pulses. To us, that pulse looks like a big bang; In a greater context, it's a little ripple. Everything emerges by unfoldment from the holomovement, then enfolds back into the implicate order."
In many ways Physics theories are arriving at conclusions the Magicians, Shamans, Buddhists, Sorcerers, and many others of the Earth have known all along : that objective reality is just one of many realities open to human perception. In a way it's almost poetic : Science is helping to re-affirm many Occult and Spiritual beliefs and ideas even though it's so seperated from them. The comparisons help to show on many levels that aspects of reality repeat themselves in a fractal nature.
Maybe one day if the seperated fields of Science can work together, work alongside and learn from each other, they could guide the whole profession to a place that's a lot more balanced, productive and helpful for Humanity and the Earth as a whole, and at the same time develop the all round skills to help guide evolution alongside the great Artists and Adepts of the future.
I'm delighted to report that my post 2012: Chandra, Radix & The Surfers of the Zuvaya has been published as a feature piece on A.A. Attanasio's official website! I can't tell you how much of an honor that is. Attanasio's writings were some of the biggest contributors to my thirsty impressionable mind, and were instrumental in mutating and expanding my conception of the universe.
It also looks like A.A. Attanasio might be starting up a new blog. I have my fingers crossed.
Due to the tremendous work of our new technical wiz George we now have Forums! You can find the link in the top menu bar above.
This is exciting news as it will finally allow people to start their own discussions. We expect this section will quickly become the dominant part of Future Hi. So please register, and let the conversations begin.
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft in orbit around Earth reported a large coronal mass ejection on the surface of the Sun. The electromagnetic wave from the event is due to wash over our planet early Wednesday. This ejection continues activity that began Monday evening when an earlier CME occurred.
"It may not show up as a very strong shock, but will probably continue the level of magnetic activity we're already seeing," [NOAA forecaster Kent] Doggett said in a telephone interview. "I expect minor to severe storms."
The tempest lifted off of a region of sunspots catalogued as 720. Sunspots are cool regions of the Sun's surface that harbor pent-up magnetic energy. When unleashed like a popped cork, light, X-rays and charged particles are flung into space.
It's fascinating to consider the possible effects of such waves, both practically and on an esoteric level. The planet is already covered in EM fields, both natural and human-made, filling the air and buzzing inside our skulls. Solar flares bring a steady swell to the tidal sea of electromagnetism tugging at our souls. The solar influence is strongly paternal and active.(Note the interesting correspondence with the re-crowning of U.S. Father at W's inauguration Thursday...) It's the Force side of the equation balanced by Form. Energy unbound is the seed of creation, given structure by the womb of the Mother. This pattern repeats at every level of the hologram we call reality. Force & Form, dynamic and interpenetrating.
Expect the hive to buzz a bit more loudly and control mechanisms to be challenged and falter.
From the same people who brought us the mini Jawa Crawler, NAO Design has lots of other goodies, many of which have been inspired and created for the Playa. Below are some of my favorites. They remind me of something I might see in Barbarella or in Spock's quarters. Most of these are reproductions can purchased from NAO's online store.
Vertebrate Lamp
A columnar lamp comprised of a white lycra sleeve stretched over circular fiberglass ribs. The Vertebrate is adaptable to be stretched and anchored floor-to-ceiling, or made to be free-standing with an internal frame of up to 8 feet in height. The lamp is illuminated internally with either standard halogen or fluorescent blacklight, or a combination of the two. Dimmer switch included.
Eliptolux Lamp
A steep cut across a tube of high impact plastic exposes the elliptical cross-section of the Eliptolux table lamp. A halogen bulb sits in the base, weighted for stability, and the white interior projects light up and out, providing a warm glow without direct glare.
Tower Lamp
Three stainless steel slides, each perforated with hundreds of holes and lined on the interior with hanji paper, come together to form the triangular hanging Tower Lamp. Can also be converted to a standing desk lamp. Uses a standard halogen bulb and measures 24 inches high.
Holey Glow
Three thousand, six hundred holes perforate the plastic cylinder of each Holey Glow lamp. The interior is illuminated with a halogen bulb and lined with dyed hanji paper of a variety of colors. Measures forty inches by six inches wide.
Nellophone
Musical organs operate on the principle that reverberating the air within a pipe of given length will produce a note an octave above a tube that is twice its length, and it is this effect that the Nellophone utilizes to sound its thirty different note from A an octave below middle C to D and octave above middle C. With the musician standing at the instrument's axis, a slap of the special paddles across the padded mouth of each tube produces a hauntingly electronic sound. The tubes range in length from 6 to 30 feet, and the entire device spans 12 feet wide by 15 feet high.
Cauldone
9 triangular plates of welded steel comprise the hexagonal basin and feet of the Cauldrone fire pit. Measuring 35 inches across and standing 16 inches tall, the conically-shaped basin accommodates a large volume of ashes to minimize the need for emptying, while the pointed feet minimize heat transfer to the surface below. The mood, however, is maximized when the dark, angled form of the pit frames bright curls of flame.
Antler Fire
In the cold of winter of the dark night, this odd headpiece actually does serve to provide both heat and light, though it is usually worn just for looks. The helmet itself is made of leather and steel to protect the wearer's head. A portable 1-lb. propane cylinder is worn on the belt and connects via a small hose to the back of the helmet. Six shape-able copper tubes protrude from the helmet and are specially tipped to prevent blowout of the flames. Runs for 1 hour on a single tank, and includes a manual valve on the helmet.
KinetAural Suit
Pressure, light, and flex sensors embedded in the neck, elbows, wrists, knees, and feet sense and transmit bodily movements to a PC where they are synthesized into sounds that move with the user. Various sound templates allow modulation of seven variables including pitch, volume, phase and waveform.
Floating Speakers
Acoustic speakers are comprised, in essence of a thin diaphragm to couple sound to the air, and a driver to resonate the diaphragm. In these speakers, the driver is optimized for lightweight, and the diaphragm is a special Mylar balloon which enables sound of surprisingly high fidelity to emanate from the silvery orb floating overhead. It is anchored by a stylized base which contains a miniature amplifier, 9-volt battery, and plug for connecting to standard headphone jacks.
TeleFloatation
The core of this craft, which houses a color video camera, 2.4 Ghz video transmitter, and radio control receiver, mounts onto an 8-foot balloon and propeller assembly for flight, or onto a 7-inch car chassis for terrestrial use.
The camera's video signal is received by a wearable module that displays the onboard view to the remote pilot via a custom heads-up display helmet, which itself senses lateral and vertical head movement and translates that motion into equivalent panning of the camera. The result is a surreal experience that immerses the user in a disembodied form and allows a dream-like exploration and interaction.
I was going through my garage last night and found an old box of files I kept of magazine clippings. There were are all sorts of interesting nuggets in there, especially this one:
Popular Science, Oct. 1992, the article Pyramid Power. In this case, the power of pyramids in question is their ability to provide drinking water. Here's a sample:
Squeezing blood from a stone is beyond the scope of modern science, but a trio of engineers in Seattle claim they have figured out how to get water from rocks. Jose Vila, a retired Boeing Co. engineer, says that pyramids made of loosely piled stone can be used to capture enough moisture to provide ample drinking water for a small community. Such pyramids, called aerial wells, use the daily cycle of solar heating and night-time cooling to create condensation.
Aerial wells are actually a centuries-old idea. In the late 1800's, archaeologists at the site of the ancient Greek city of Feodosiya, in what is now Ukraine, discovered the 2,500 year old ruins of a water supply system consisting of 13 limestone pyramids, each nearly 40 feet tall. Based on the size of its tile pipes, the system may have produced as much as 14,000 gallons of water a day.
I kept waiting to hear more about it, and finally in 1995 I made some calls, checked white and yellow pages and found Jose Vila himself and called him up. He took down my address and sent me a letter and some background research. He was applying for an additional $250,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation at the time. I got the impression from talking with him, that he was quite elderly. So if he is deceased that may explain the lack of follow up R&D, as I have found only one mention of it on the entire net.
Just imagine if you could build an aerial well, producing for you lots of water out of the air like Tatooine Moisture Vaporators, giving you lots of water where there may be little or none available through traditional welling.
As most experts now agree the most precious resource that may be lacking in the future is potable water supply. Technologies that use hydrogenesis might alleviate such water shortages in the future. And for those wanting to live in remote desert regions, this would be a way of creating your own private oasis.
I've always wanted to live in a Star Wars universe.
Ewok Habitat
Suspended spherical housing module.
It's 2.9 meters in diameter and is made to be suspended from a tree. "There is a double bed, counter, table and bench seats as well as ample storage lockers. The spheres are wired for 110 volt AC and equipped with lights and outlets." Four attachment points on the top and four on the bottom securely carry the weight of the sphere and its contents. The spheres are made of laminated wood strips over laminated wood frames with the outside surface covered with clear fiberglass. Not unlike a fine yacht.
Designer: Tom Chud
+ freespiritspheres.com
Ever wanted to ride around in a Jawa Crawler?
via Boing Boing):
The JL421 Badonkadonk Land Cruiser/Tank is an open-ended custom-made, Star-Wars-oid personal tank that carries up to five people at 40mph over sand. It comes with a giant 400w stereo and a camera for recording the reactions of the people you drive past. Only 20 grand! (Usually ships in 1-2 months
) You can buy these puppies on Amazon. As one of the reviews said, "The $14.99-$19.99 shipping on this item is a fantastic deal! I wish all 1100lb items were so economical to ship. The extra 200lbs in packing really keep the item mint."
(via Jalopnik)
The JL421 Badonkadonk, aka “The Donk” is a “land vehicle and battle tank” created by outer-limits design firm, NAO Design for purposes unknown to Burning Man non-attendees. Donks are made to order, at $20,000 a pop. Buyers also get a Donk T-shirt and a training session. Tickets to see naked, orange people eat Top Ramen and talk chakras in the desert are sold separately.
Now, if I can just get myself some construction plans for that underground house on Tatooine, I'll be all set to set-up shop out in the desert near Black Rock. I could then drive either my land speeder or Jawa Crawler to and from Burning Man each year.
Way back in 1981, one of sci-fi's greatest visionaries, A.A. Attansio, wrote a breathtaking book called Radix. I was lucky enough to discover it the same year. I took it home and read it from cover to cover without putting it down. I was spellbound by the story, and the extremely imaginative psychophysics of this world. Like Dune, there was a large glossary of far-out terms in the back. Here is just a sampling.
CIRCLE (Center of International Research for the Continuance of Life on Earth, 2009-2113): a self-sufficient scientific community on the southern Peruvian coast (kro), established to find ways to compensate for the massive morphological changes that began as the earth swung into Line; at the time of its causal collapse (2113), CIRCLE was the only technological community of any significance on earth.
Kro: the term designating the people who dominated the earth before the Line exerted its influence; protected by a magnetic field around the earth and a clement sun, they thrived on their self-absorption and paid only cursory attention to the cosmos that surrounded them.
Line: a hypertube; the timelike geodesies which connect the spacefree internal domain of a naked Kerr-singularity (a rotating black hole that is "open" to our universe); CIRCLE mantics first identified the ray of metafrequency energy jetstreaming from the massive black hole at the galactic hub as the Line; earth migrated into the flux of the Line fully in 2113 kro, though the transmuting effects of this atypical energy had been altering the planet for over a century. (See Linergy.)
Mantic: a human brain coupled to an ATP-pump; this mechanical means of extending intelligence was devised and utilized in CIRCLE; because of the mantic insistence on thinking in dialectical schema, they were obviated when the earth entered into the emergent, pluralistic reality of the multiverse.
Multiverse: the subquantal Field; the "internal" structure of the universe outside of time where all possible universes exist; this nth-dimensional domain is a reality at the core of all black holes; in some rotating, assymetrically collapsed black holes, this core is not shielded by an event horizon and "information" from the multi-verse enters the Einstein-space of our universe. (See Line.)
Psiberant: a substance which acts directly on the brain's third ventricle, the pineal gland, and the Fissure of Rolando; it dramatically increases empathic response in the user.
Radix: a mantic term for the root of existence, the void, or, if you prefer, the isostasis in which the infinite-dimensional space of the multiverse is imbedded; within this void, everything exists; the kro called it wu, ain soth, and sunyata.
Timeslip: collected Linergy, redirected to shape new, transient realities.
Tropiform: eo-crafted furniture which conforms to the shape of the user.
The story takes place in a future earth after it becomes transformed from a beam of energy/radiation that washes over the earth from a super-massive black hole in the galaxies core. The effect of this beam utterly transforms human consciousness into an entirely new plane of being. For 1981, this book was way ahead of it's time. You could say this book planted the seeds for my further initiation into the whole 2012 idea. Radix preceded Jose Arguelles book The Mayan Factor, which relied on a similar proposition that on December 21st, 2012 the Mayan Calendar will end, and humanity will enter into the Galactic Community. According to Arguelles this date represents when Earth will leave a denser vibrational energy and enter into a higher one via a beam of energy from a super-massive black hole at the Galaxies core. At this point humanity will become surfers of the Zuvaya - cosmic immortal beings joining the galactic community of light.
At the time scientists said that it was impossible for there to be black holes at the center of the galaxy. Then in the late 1990's they revised this position when indirect observations confirmed that Arguelles was at least right about there being large black holes there.
Now fast forward to a few days ago, and the latest image from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory orbiting the earth reveals that in addition to the very large super-massive spinning black hole, there are another 10,000 black holes and neutron stars at the center of our milky way galaxy. From the article:
In this Chandra image (shown below), four bright, variable X-ray sources were discovered within 3 light years of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). The variability suggests these are X-ray binary systems where a black hole or neutron star is pulling matter from a nearby companion star. Such a high concentration of X-ray binaries in this region is strong circumstantial evidence that a dense swarm of 10,000 or more stellar-mass black holes and neutron stars has formed around Sgr A*.
I find it interesting that three authors, Attanasio, McKenna and Arguelles, independent of each other all come to very similar conclusions about a future transformation of humanity. Even more curious is to find that what were once considered proposterous speculations on their parts regarding the galactic center have now been confirmed by the latest scientific evidence, contrary to expert opinion at the time their books were first published.
This is a follow-up post to Building a Robust Psychedelic Community
According to William Irwin Thompson, the founder of the Lindisfarne Association and author of many books on the future, humanity is passing through a collective spiritual initiation. This process has three phases:
1. The illumination of the shadow side
2. Discovery of the edge of sanity
3. Defeat of the ego
According to Thompson, these stages and changes will affect different sections of society at different times. The first will be teh various spiritual communities; next the artistic community; then the scientists and; finally the politicians.
According to Thompson, there are different cultural forces at work to reshape the planet. The first is an emergent sense of world community. The second is the decentralization of cities. The third is the miniaturization of technology. The fourth is the interiorization of consciousness.
These four forces are working to create a new model for living - what he calls the meta-industrial village. Such villages would be characterized by:
1. Energy self-sufficiency
2. Agricultural self-sufficiency
3. Cottage industries for production of salable goods
4. Education of body mind and spirit for village members.
My question: Does this make sense? Is such a future as outlined by Thompson viable? Are there any indications of the growth of any meta-industrial village in the western world?
Poetry.
So said James Carse, the author of Finite + Infinite Games, at a talk entitled ""Religious War in Light of the Infinite Game" I went to last Friday, hosted by the Long Now Foundation.
There are at least two kinds of games: finite and infinite.A finite game is a game that has fixed rules and boundaries, that is played for the purpose of winning and thereby ending the game.
An infinite game has no fixed rules or boundaries. In an infinite game you play with the boundaries and the purpose is to continue the game.
Will the finite players consume the infinite players? His vision shows him that that is the most likely outcome if we as a species do not evolve.
And then the game will end.
But the poets are the ones who can help us keep playing, as long as the too are playing the infinite game.
So what is a poet? His definition of poets and poetry came from Plato's Republic.
A poet is one who changes another's perception of reality with intent. And of course by changing the way someone thinks one changes the way they act.
Who are our poets? His prime example of the poet in the now was Osama Bin Laden. A man who, primarily thru some simple videos, caused massive intentional change in the world. It was a poetic act. But this is, of course, poetry bound to the service of the finite game.
Now undoubtedly some of you reading this will realize that where he uses the word poet, some may use magician, sorcerer. I personally do. I find it to be the metaphor that contains the most useful information to understand this aspect of the world. The best definition of magic, after all, is the art and science of causing change to occur in conformity with will.
And what do sorcerers do? Cast spells. Entrance, enchant, hypnotize.
This follows on greatly from LXV23's vision in Memewars.
The battles we need to fight, the choices we need to make, the spells we need to cast, the poetry we need to write, the fundamental change we need to create is ...
To show people how to lighten up.
Loosen up.
And dissolve their reality tunnels, their finite less than zero sum games.
Because the infinite game is the only real game in town.
Future Hi is looking to fill three positions. An archivist, a fund-raiser, and a site administrator. These positions will be semi-paid (They would be on an as-needed basis).
The Archivist would be responsible for building and organizing our growing archives section. The fund-raiser will help us raise some extra cash to help grow the site, including paying for these three positions.
For details, please contact me directly at psidoc at gmail.com
Paul Hughes
Editor, Future Hi
Looks like someone mentioned Future Hi and the new media archives over at BoingBoing. We've since been deluged with lots of extra traffic. Earlier today I was contacted by an ex-program manager from the Ojai Foundation which has been a nexus for cutting edge thought. He has generously offered us dozens of hours of recordings of everyone from Albert Hoffmam to Thich Nhat Han. He is working on getting this large amount of material to me. I will sift through for the best of it and post it in the media section as soon it is available. I'll be sure to post an update here when that project is completed.
Additionally, feedback on the post over at BoingBoing gave us this link for Trip Receptacles - with loads of very trippy stuff. Here is an excerpt from their site:
Imagine that you had unfettered access to nine hours of commercial-free airtime on a major FM radio station with a 60,000 watt signal covering a third of California. What kind of material would you broadcast? Well, what else? Why, you'd enthusiastically promote the extensive use of powerful psychedelic drugs, obviously!So of course, that's exactly what we did in The Trip Receptacles, a series of three 3-hour shows consisting of all-psychedelic, all-entheogen radio, transmitted via KPFA in Berkeley (and KFCF in Fresno). And boy was it a success! In fact, we had so much fun that I decided to put nearly four hours of material from those radio shows right here on the web as MP3's for your enjoyment! This material was digitally recorded right from the studio board, with all the best moments lovingly culled and meticulously edited.
They have on the air conversations between Sasha Shulgin, Tim Leary, Stan Grof, D.M. Turner, Terrence McKenna, Andrew Weil and Fritjof Capra, as well as lots of people calling in while tripping on all sorts of stuff.
Edge posted this question to a bunch of smart people: "What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it?" Which is a great question to ask, and particularly interesting to ask of scientific types who often try to insist they only believe things they can prove.
Now, at first I thought it was just going to be some inspiring things to quote from. But there are some interesting subtexts going through most of the answers. You know, most of these guys are materialist atheists. But yet the red thread that goes through all of them is *consciousness*. A bunch of them quickly move to very dogmatically declaring that there's no God, no design to the universe, and everything is just the result of random accidents. They seem very convinced of that. But of course they indeed are answering the question, because they can't prove it, and they know it. Another bunch of them make very hopeful declarations of being very sure that it is "just around the corner" that we'll discover what part of the brain consciousness comes from and how it works, and we'll be able to duplicate it in computers or the like. And implicitly admitting that such things aren't in any way proven, and nobody actually have done so. But, again, they seem very sure of it. And, indeed, most of them are practically squirming and bending over backwards to try to make the case for what is essentially a negative belief. That there's no consciousness and anything that can't be proven in a materialistic sense is just stupid supersticious nonsense. Oh, none of them actually say there's no consciousness, but they wrap it up in it just being an illusion or some phenomenon that happens late in the evolutionary process or some chemical neuro-physiological phenomenon.
Quite remarkable, to see the amount of fear that is stirred up, and the convoluted beliefs that people construct in order to avoid the more simple and unified answers. And the peer pressure that obviously must exist amongst scientists, to look and sound scientific and objective at all times, even when the truth is that you can't really prove very much about anything.
Anyway, there are still many inspiring statements there, and a few of them aren't just hiding behind negative dogma. So, here are a few I liked:
Anton Zeilinger:"What I believe but cannot prove is that quantum physics teaches us to abandon the distinction between information and reality. The fundamental reason why I believe in this is that it is impossible to make an operational distinction between reality and information. In other words, whenever we make any statement about the world, about any object, about any feature of any object, we always make statements about the information we have. And, whenever we make scientific predictions we make statements about information we possibly attain in the future."Paul Steinhardt: "I believe that our universe is not accidental, but I cannot prove it. Historically, most physicists have shared this point-of-view. For centuries, most of us have believed that the universe is governed by a simple set of physical laws that are the same everywhere and that these laws derive from a simple unified theory."
Gregory Benford: "Why is there scientific law at all? We physicists explain the origin and structure of matter and energy, but not the laws that do this. Does the idea of causation apply to where the laws themselves came from? Even Alan Guth's "free lunch" gives us the universe after the laws start acting. We have narrowed down the range of field theories that can yield the big bang universe we live in, but why do the laws that govern it seem to be constant in time, and always at work? One can imagine a universe in which laws are not truly lawful. Talk of miracles does just this, when God is supposed to make things work. Physics aims to find The Laws and hopes that these will be uniquely constrained, as when Einstein wondered if God had any choice when He made the universe."
Alison Gopnik: "I believe, but cannot prove, that babies and young children are actually more conscious, more vividly aware of their external world and internal life, than adults are. I believe this because there is strong evidence for a functional trade-off with development. Young children are much better than adults at learning new things and flexibly changing what they think about the world. On the other hand, they are much worse at using their knowledge to act in a swift, efficient and automatic way. They can learn three languages at once but they can't tie their shoelaces."
Lynn Margulis: "That our ability to perceive signals in the environment evolved directly from our bacterial ancestors. That is, we, like all other mammals including our apish brothers detect odors, distinguish tastes, hear bird song and drum beats and we too feel the vibrations of the drums. With our eyes closed we detect the light of the rising sun. These abilities to sense our surroundings are a heritage that preceded the evolution of all primates, all vertebrate animals, indeed all animals. Such sensitivities to wafting plant scents, tasty salted mixtures, police cruiser sirens, loving touches and star light register because of our "sensory cells"."
Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi: "When I first read your question, I was sure it was a trick—after all, almost nothing I believe in I can prove. I believe the earth is round, but I cannot prove it, nor can I prove that the earth revolves around the sun or that the naked fig tree in the garden will have leaves in a few months. I can't prove quarks exist or that there was a Big Bang—all of these and millions of other beliefs are based on faith in a community of knowledge whose proofs I am willing to accept, hoping they will accept on faith the few measly claims to proof I might advance."
Randolphe Nesse: "I can't prove it, but I am pretty sure that people gain a selective advantage from believing in things they can't prove. I am dead serious about this. People who are sometimes consumed by false beliefs do better than those who insist on evidence before they believe and act. People who are sometimes swept away by emotions do better in life than those who calculate every move. These advantages have, I believe, shaped mental capacities for intense emotion and passionate beliefs because they give a selective advantage in certain situations."
Douglas Rushkoff: "I can't prove it more than anecdotally, but I believe evolution has purpose and direction. It appears obvious, yet absolutely unconfirmable, that matter is groping towards complexity."
Donald Hoffman: "I believe that consciousness and its contents are all that exists. Spacetime, matter and fields never were the fundamental denizens of the universe but have always been, from their beginning, among the humbler contents of consciousness, dependent on it for their very being.The world of our daily experience—the world of tables, chairs, stars and people, with their attendant shapes, smells, feels and sounds—is a species-specific user interface to a realm far more complex, a realm whose essential character is conscious. It is unlikely that the contents of our interface in any way resemble that realm. Indeed the usefulness of an interface requires, in general, that they do not. For the point of an interface, such as the windows interface on a computer, is simplification and ease of use. We click icons because this is quicker and less prone to error than editing megabytes of software or toggling voltages in circuits. Evolutionary pressures dictate that our species-specific interface, this world of our daily experience, should itself be a radical simplification, selected not for the exhaustive depiction of truth but for the mutable pragmatics of survival.
If this is right, if consciousness is fundamental, then we should not be surprised that, despite centuries of effort by the most brilliant of minds, there is as yet no physicalist theory of consciousness, no theory that explains how mindless matter or energy or fields could be, or cause, conscious experience."
Despite this appearing on Fox News, this article reports on some of the good news regarding some long-term trends. From the original story:
—The world is less violent. In his book, "A History of Force," the historian James L. Payne argues that when you adjust for population increases, over the course of history, the average citizen of the world has grown less likely to die a violent death caused by government, war or his fellow man. War, murder, genocide, sacrificial killing, rioting – all have tapered off over time.—The world is freer. According to the United Nations, as of 2002, 70 percent of the world’s nations were holding multi-party elections. Fifty-eight percent of the world’s population lived under a fully democratic system of governance. Both of these figures are at their highest points in human history.
—The Freedom House think tank gave 89 countries containing 46 percent of the world’s population a ranking of “free” in the 2003 edition of its annual Freedom of the World report (search). Both figures are at their highest in the 30-year history of the survey. Freedom House also reports that countries moving toward more freedom have outpaced countries moving away from freedom by three to one.
—The world is less poor. Yale University’s David Dollar has pointed out that since 1980, the total number of people living on less than $1 per day has actually fallen by 200 million, despite the fact that the world’s population increased by 1.8 billion. It’s the first time in recorded history that that has happened. The UN’s 2004 Human Development Report notes that real per capita incomes in the developing world have more than doubled since 1975. In some provinces in China, incomes are doubling every few months.
—The world is healthier. Between 1960 and 2000, life expectancy in developing countries increased from 46 to 63 years. Mortality rates of children under five are half of what they were forty years ago.
—The world is getting cleaner. Most economists now endorse the concept of a “green ceiling,” which means that although the transition from a developing economy to a developed one requires some environmental exploitation, there is a point at which a country becomes wealthy enough that its citizens will begin to demand environmental protection.
Via Growabrain
If you notice there is now a media section on the top navigation bar. There are recordings of Mark Pesce, Robert Anton Wilson, and Terence McKenna. Enjoy!
If anyone knows how to set-up Blogtorrents of these, please let me know.
We are indebted to the following individuals for their generous support.
Scott Portman - $50
Philip Dhingra - $40
David Scott - $35
Andreas Ohrt - $25
Mark Bishop - $20
Libby Jean Seeley - $15
Remi Sussan - $15
Grace Larson - $15
Richard Chlopan - $10
Simon Green - $10
Alexander Buchner - $10
Joshua Simpson - $10
Victor Sanchez - $10
Theodore Joslin - $7.77
Casey Graham - $5
Lisa Greene - $5
Rob Pugh - $1
Thank you, thank you, thank you! That's enough to keep Future Hi running for another 2 years plus! We can only hope that we will provide enough hopeful, positive, fun, and stimulating content over the coming year to make it worth it.
Mark Pesce just gave me all his audio recordings as a start, which will be online within a few days.
Mark Pesce just turned me on to the most amazing piece of software I've come across in years. It's called Starry Night.
It starts out innocent enough. You pick your location on earth, and it places you on the ground looking up towards the night sky as it is at this very moment. And this is where the true magic begins. As you zoom in and out of the sky, you are able to look at thousands of stars and other phenomena.
Within 15 minutes I was able to spot the International Space Station as it is orbiting the earth right now. At the moment of this post (11:42pm) it was coming over the Pacific towards the South American Coast at 18,000 mph. Keep in mind this simulation is in real-time!! Within a few more minutes I found dozens of satellites orbiting the earth. Then as I pointed further outward I was able to zoom in on Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, etc. I was able to see Uranus as it would look from earth at this exact moment in time.
All this was occurring from the ground of my hometown. Then I discovered the Spaceship Mode! I flew away from the earth. First I started heading away at a few km/sec and noticed I was getting anywhere very fast. So I sped up to 1000km/sec and I noticed that I was now slowly approaching the moon. I passed around the moon, and noticed that the dark side is fully lit, as it is located between the sun and earth at this moment. I sped up further and flew out towards Jupiter. I was traveling at about 10 times the speed of light, and it still was taking me at least several minutes to get there, so I sped up to about 500 times the speed of light and saw Jupiter and all of its moons approaching rapidly. I slowed down and approached Europa within about 10,000 km. Amazingly all the detail from the Galileo Probe was right there in front of me!
I sped up further, this time heading out into the galaxy at 100,000 times the speed of light, within a minute or so I was passing Sirius, then I turned and headed towards Procyon, then Vega, and then further out still. And then I was hooked! The free version came to an end. But what an amazing ride. To see more I would need to purchase the full version with all the plugins. Luckily I got some money for Christmas so I purchased as my Christmas present.
Now I loaded the program again, and now there were over a hundred thousand stars to view up to 11th magnitude. Better still, I was able to leave the galaxy altogether and venture out into the local cluster. I first visited the Larger Magellenic Cloud, then to Andromeda, and then further still to the Virgo Cluster, where there are hundreds of galaxies. Starry Night uses OpenGL to render all these objects in beautiful 3 dimensions. So here I was flying like in the TV show Cosmos at millions of times the speed of light past galaxies.
StarryNight goes much further still. All of these stars, galaxies, nebulae, star clusters are all identifiable thru the options. As I fly around in my super-fast spaceship I can see all the objects and their names. The most amazing thing about it is all these objects are actually moving, since this is a real-time simulation. At one point I was near Io, and when I sped up the clock by x3000 times I watched as Jupiter and all its moons sped away from me. I could see all the moons rapidly orbiting the planet at high speed, as if I was actually there.
Also included with Starry Night are hundreds of Hubble images to enhance the zoom-in experience.
I cannot recommend this product highly enough!
The following is a transcript of comedian George Carlin's(my all-time favorite comedian), poem/rap/cool-as-shit thingy that he performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 11/15. It is impressive to read, and I wish I could post the video. Keep in mind, Carlin read this at an almost breakneck pace.
"I’m a modern man, a man for the millennium. Digital and smoke free. A diversified multi-cultural, post-modern deconstruction that is anatomically and ecologically incorrect. I’ve been up linked and downloaded, I’ve been inputted and outsourced, I know the upside of downsizing, I know the downside of upgrading. I’m a high-tech low-life. A cutting edge, state-of-the-art bi-coastal multi-tasker and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond!I’m new wave, but I’m old school and my inner child is outward bound. I’m a hot-wired, heat seeking, warm-hearted cool customer, voice activated and bio-degradable. I interface with my database, my database is in cyberspace, so I’m interactive, I’m hyperactive and from time to time I’m radioactive.
Behind the eight ball, ahead of the curve, ridin the wave, dodgin the bullet and pushin the envelope. I’m on-point, on-task, on-message and off drugs. I’ve got no need for coke and speed. I've got no urge to binge and purge. I’m in-the-moment, on-the-edge, over-the-top and under-the-radar. A high-concept, low-profile, medium-range ballistic missionary. A street-wise smart bomb. A top-gun bottom feeder. I wear power ties, I tell power lies, I take power naps and run victory laps. I’m a totally ongoing big-foot, slam-dunk, rainmaker with a pro-active outreach. A raging workaholic. A working rageaholic. Out of rehab and in denial!
I’ve got a personal trainer, a personal shopper, a personal assistant and a personal agenda. You can’t shut me up. You can’t dumb me down because I’m tireless and I’m wireless, I’m an alpha male on beta-blockers.
I’m a non-believer and an over-achiever, laid-back but fashion-forward. Up-front, down-home, low-rent, high-maintenance. Super-sized, long-lasting, high-definition, fast-acting, oven-ready and built-to-last! I’m a hands-on, foot-loose, knee-jerk head case pretty maturely post-traumatic and I’ve got a love-child that sends me hate mail.
But, I’m feeling, I’m caring, I’m healing, I’m sharing-- a supportive, bonding, nurturing primary care-giver. My output is down, but my income is up. I took a short position on the long bond and my revenue stream has its own cash-flow. I read junk mail, I eat junk food, I buy junk bonds and I watch trash sports! I’m gender specific, capital intensive, user-friendly and lactose intolerant.
I like rough sex. I like tough love. I use the “F” word in my emails and the software on my hard-drive is hardcore--no soft porn.
I bought a microwave at a mini-mall; I bought a mini-van at a mega-store. I eat fast-food in the slow lane. I’m toll-free, bite-sized, ready-to-wear and I come in all sizes. A fully-equipped, factory-authorized, hospital-tested, clinically-proven, scientifically- formulated medical miracle. I’ve been pre-wash, pre-cooked, pre-heated, pre-screened, pre-approved, pre-packaged, post-dated, freeze-dried, double-wrapped, vacuum-packed and, I have an unlimited broadband capacity.
I’m a rude dude, but I’m the real deal. Lean and mean! Cocked, locked and ready-to-rock. Rough, tough and hard to bluff. I take it slow, I go with the flow, I ride with the tide. I’ve got glide in my stride. Drivin and movin, sailin and spinin, jiving and groovin, wailin and winnin. I don’t snooze, so I don’t lose. I keep the pedal to the metal and the rubber on the road. I party hearty and lunch time is crunch time. I’m hangin in, there ain’t no doubt and I’m hangin tough, over and out!"
~George Carlin, a comedic genius and poet extraodinaire
Across arid deserts sand blown and scorched three great beings rage against each other for dominance, whipped by winds and beaten back by the melting ochre of an aging Ra hung heavy and languid in the sky. Like the winds themselves, the dust devils, they whorl and spin, at times fierce and swift, at others thin and empty.
One such entity gathers like flies around the Nile people, buzzing in their ears and kissing their hearts, offering identity and meaning, culture and salvation. It’s arms are thick and multitude, enough to smite the pharaohs and part the seas. Yesheva is its name and it’s as much of a creation of them as they are of it - a metameme deity nourished and fed in mythic symbiosis. The deity is the enduring vessel of the culture protecting and transporting it’s archives codified in poetic myth and symbolism. The priesthood ensures that the metameme continues to have hosts - the more the better, though for Yesheva it’s been a long, difficult battle with little returns to show for the effort.
Across the cracked mud rises a second beast, a swarm of locusts singing the mind of god in maths and scriptures, rising and spreading throughout the Arab world and beyond. It speaks of discipline and devotion through the mouth of a warrior, kneeling under minarets and the crescent star. This deity binds the culture and re-enforces the blood of its people. Scimitar and Kalashnikov guard it’s mosques and defend the fecundity of its message. Allah and Mohammed guide the people and inspire fierce loyalty, their power and depth swelling the ranks of the fastest growing religion in the noosphere. This metameme is so strong it seems that many are willing to die for it.
Third comes with a great deep rumbling, passing out from the desert into the far west and east, moving into all corners like floodwaters, a million million ant legs marching onward. White-rayed, compassionate and loving, this memetic monster seems as eager to destroy its creation as save it, leaving behind its flowing white robes a thick stream of crimson tide. A tenacious meme spreading at all costs, cowing its hosts with fear then promising an afterlife of eternal sunshine while reprogramming the competition or simply eliminating them. Old myths and future revelations bookend the life of the superstar Christ, the greatest product spokesperson ever known. We offer prayers, attend schools and masses, give up our money and restrict our freedoms, all to help the meme survive, all because we believe in it.
On this dusty battlefield arms cross and clash and blood spills relentlessly as the insects wage memetic warfare against each other, vying for dominance in the humble noosphere of the human species. The prevailing memetic deities know the power of human belief and know that it’s the only way they can survive and become real. We surround ourselves with great technological extrusions, vast webworks of creations all manifest from within our minds, from within the sea of ideation, imagination. Whatever we believe in most is what will come to pass. The great struggles now pitched and fought rising towards a seeming apocalypse are being waged by thousand year old mythologies still gripping our consciousness and infecting our minds. Priests and politicians cunningly invest in their powers while common folk give their lives in servitude, like capsids bursting to perpetuate the viral progeny. When the scorecard is read, whatever deified memeplex has the most ardent believers, that’ll be the one that writes our story.
The task of every advanced human robot is to realize the power of the deified metameme, to see it’s dependence on the human host, and to know that we’re the ones who’ve created it in the first place. Whether religious, scientific, economic, or whatever, belief is both a captor and a liberator. Magick is a way to liberate belief and help write the story of humanity. Do you want the next chapter to chronicle the apocalypse of creation? Record fiery judgment and revelation upon our spoiled brattiness? Or tell of the great age of reasoned technology and ecological spirituality?
Invest belief responsibly.
Hi Everyone,
After a long hiatus, vacation, technical problems and a huge migration, Future Hi is up and running again. Over the next few days there will be a lot of things I want to announce and some big "thank yous" to all the people who donated and made it possible for Future Hi to continue for another couple of years.
Stay tuned.