Musings on Non-Violence, Time, Economics and Innovation

http://youtu.be/TTFm_fxeusA

When you utilize an attack-weapon, or kill-device or seek harm and initiate force, you manufacture a scenario of necessary response from the victim. Primally, I know that the wielding-with-intent of a weapon against me would induce a dominantly visceral response, not one of arduous logic. I would thereby expect the initiation to almost automatically create a violent scenario. 

 Once it has been initiated, either with a gesture towards the weapon, a firing of the weapon, a swing, or any other means of initiation, you have generated a fundamentally visceral and primal situation. These situations are resolved without foresight or lengthy reflection, but an instantaneous reaction, a reflex of survival.

This doesn't necessarily claim that it's resolved with a reaction of force, flight is a potential response in many cases. The undertaking of flight with the subsequent pursuit from the initiator is still a violent scenario. You're forced into a state of completely adrenaline-filled terror or, more accurately, desperation for survival while someone pursues you further.

Violence is an equation that begins with an initation. You could argue that violence begins with the formulation of motives but at the point it is yet to be violent. Also, motives can be subsequently abandoned and never enacted, therefore violence does not occur in the formulation of motives but in the initiation. Once you have initiated force against another, you have then manufactured the scenario of necessary response. In the absence of initation there is consequently an absence of violence.

Time, Economics and Innovation 

Time is the ever-receding resource of temporal form. Being a temporal form, but equipped with foresight, the utilization of time as a resource is inevitable. Hence our rigid work-schedules, set sleeping schedule, eating schedules. We harness it for immense efficiency, but efficiency is relative to the pursuit. Our current pursuit is one of economic development, of extracting and utilizing natural resources to continue to expand the economy. In the effort you manufacture tasks for people, with a particular reward. This reward would be money in our case. Money being a universally-identified thing of value. 

 When you look at food, intently and carefully, you see the slavery were all intrinsically bound to. We work for food and shelter, when living in a city. This food and shelter is provided for us so that we may dedicate our time to other means. But someone has to tend to our necessary demands, we just don't all have to. So an economy is reasonably an inevitability of city-life, which itself demands the need for lawful enforcement, sewage control, waste control, electricity.. We have a lot of nuanced tasks that need to be completed by somebody almost full-time. To abandon our economic model is to abandon a system that enables immense diversification by unifying every citizen under a common value. A value is necessary for the exchange of goods and services.

 Perhaps, though, our present economic system is creating values which are fundamentally unsustainable and harmful to the environment. Harming the environment is a fundamental wrong; you do not corrupt your sustaining force if your goal is sustain yourself and your offspring. It's fundamentally incompatible with even elementary logic; if you rely on something for sustenance and continuance, you do not corrupt it for immediate or near-by gains. Particularly so in the knowledge of a time-span that exceeds your own lifetime. One which stretches for eternity, through your offspring, and through there's until it cascades down into the infinite. Perhaps a perpetual existence is possible, firstly we need to preserve home base while we work towards expanding beyond a single resource-base. Makes sense, no?

Once we've reached beyond earth the instrumental adaptations that occur on the new planets will substantially individualize the separate planets, with each becoming its own breed. The environments we'd have to respond to are as of yet unknown, but that doesn't mean they're unknown forever. Discovery will happen if facilitated. Imagine all the foreign environments were simply yet to perceive through the senses, with no present clue as to how to manage them. Our ingenuity would be released into novel environments, manufacturing an entirely novel reaction. And as we've seen on earth, once we invent our tools, our tools become an inseparably symbiotic reliance. 

Responsibility and Accountability

In order for this tribe, or cluster of people unified under a universal currency and an ever-evolving moral theory, to exist peacefully and prosperously we need to be accountable for that which we are responsible. This moral-umbrella that we're sharing is of course not a static thing, rather a continually accreting and morphing thing. With new principles slowly weaving in and antiquated principles being slowly relinquished. 

If we're all going to implicitly agree to partake in the offerings of this culture and society, we should all adhere to similar principles and if not, at least adhere to non-aggression. Always, in the proceedings of evolving this thing, ideas trump violence. Indeed, ideas can prevent violence, this requires the agreement of non-violence of course. It may not be a contract but certainly we individually agree to behave within parameters that harm no one, so we can all function in harmony and prosperity. This is what civilization is, or at least should be.

When someone commits an injurious or debilitating action against another, what do we do? Of course, under our system of justice - punishing those that harm or debilitate - we respond. The response to evil, or wrongdoings or harm or debilitating actions, is necessary. We cannot avoid it. This doesn't grant that it's an inevitability of human-behaviour, but in the occurrence of it there must be a response. With this population-density combined with the dissociative nature of our tribes, evil,  debilitating, harmful wrongdoings are evidently present. 

So how do we respond?

 I wouldn't suggest that prevention is the one and only saviour, capable of entirely expunging evil from civilization, but it's an effective agent. Through early teachings in reason, logic and philosophy, by instilling dialogue as a means of resolution, I would assert that we would experience a lower frequency of inappropriately settled disputes, thereby reducing violence. Twofold, reason encourages compassion, reason permits rational resolutions of things. For this to occur we would necessarily need every citizen, or the overriding majority, to agree under some means of unification. 

 We all enjoy harmonious interaction with the members that form our closes bonds. A social mammal relishes in social environments. Not necessarily all social environments, but certain ones. That one friend you reciprocate with well, your group of friends, etc. It assures us we aren't alone, that we're all traveling through this nebulous journey together, figuring it out as we proceed through. That we will support each other and relinquish prejudice and censorious behaviour and coalesce. These qualities are indisputably beneficial, my own and your own experience confirm this. 

Earlier I mentioned that due to the density and dissociative nature of our tribes we experience evil. What does that mean? How could it be corrected rather than combatted?

 It's evident, through anthropological studies, that humans are tribal animals that rely on cohesion and alliances, that we thrive in tribes. In the tribe, each member must be responsible and accountable. If you are responsible for building the huts and they collapse on me,  you're accountable. If you're responsible for cultivating the food and come winter we suffer a famine, you're accountable. There's an intricate web of responsibility and accountability, with each member relying on each other. 

 What's essential for the tribe is that each member sustain a relationship with each other, in order to track their behaviour and ensure they're working for the benefit of the tribe. When a member commits a crime against the tribe, they're accountable to the whole tribe,  because civilization doesn't progress through delinquency. 

In order to ameliorate the present state of our tribes, I would argue we need to erect more incentives for communities to function like communities. This would include things like: more localized systems of government that focus on smaller constituencies, local food production, smaller schools with fewer students, and more accountability. As our population continues to increase I think it's vital that we focus on smaller communities because as it currently stands, government is elected by the majority of the minority. Constituencies are becoming too large to accurately account for everyone. 

Journaling the Ideal-Self

The concept of the ideal-self fascinates me. I think there's an inherent image contained within all of us that represents ourselves at our best. The you that wakes up out of bed and immediately steps outside onto the dewy grass, letting the blades caress the crevices between your toes while you listen to the birds and praise existence. The you that adequately tends to your health, ensuring your cardiovascular system is healthy and your body is mobile and free of any constraining tensions. The you that reads captivating and wise fiction, the you that reads philosophy and learns how to apply reason to your decisions. The you that periodically analyzes your own beliefs and scrutinizes your patterns of behaviour as to ensure you don't become ensnared by habit and ritual. The you that consistently exerts a commendable effort in anything you do and relishes in just that, the raw effort.

Our ideal selves may individually differ in the content but I think the context remains the same. The general route-to-reward involves the same tactic: journaling. I think journaling is a universally effective tool that assists in the pursuit of whatever our ideal selves would do. The journal not only records what you've thought but serves as a reminder of who you were when you wrote that, what your ambitions were and who you wanted to become. It holds you accountable for your intentions, whereas ordinarily you could dismiss them if they weren't written down. Perhaps the most beneficial and humbling element of the journal is the reflection; peering into the past and cognitively gazing at your previous self, feeling the remnants of your old self and relishing in the progress. 

 A journal, regardless of the form it assumes, is an extension of our internal cognition. It becomes the content of our brain; the intentions, thoughts and actions we experience internally are transmitted to an external extension of ourselves. If someone were to pick up your journal, open it and begin reading it, they'd discover at least a portion of the contents of what's internally capsulated within your mind. Now this is a riveting concept. 

Let's assume you kept journals for every minor and major goal you had in life. Every little task that needed to be completed, you first journaled about completing and contemplated the most effective or satisfying means of doing so. Including mundane things like vacuuming, arranging items in your room, what you wanted for breakfast. In the journal you’d reason about things and occasionally rant about how difficult it is to vacuum that one corner in your room behind your bed, how your pet instinctively avoids the vacuum by sitting high on your desk, monitoring the vacuum incessantly. If you had a treasure trove of these journals and left them in your attic or stored them in your closet, you'd have a vault containing the experiences of yourself. An extended source of all that is you, your feelings on things, your reasoning for things, your activities, your goals, etc.. 

This could feasibly become the most valuable source of connection for your progeny once you're deceased. Imagine leaving your children with a vault of your experiences, with journals that revealed your goals and the subsequent journals that had you reflecting on the accomplishment of these goals. For a temporal creature, aware of the inevitability of time, this is a mighty and influential bequeathment.

The Duty of the Citizen

The Duty of the Citizen

The dangerous element of democracy in its present incarnation is that the control and manipulation of the majority is the route to success. Success in politics is not contingent upon the most sound moral and logical principles but simply on the largest amount of votes. Moral and logical responsibility is not a necessary condition for a political candidate. If you want to be voted into power, the facts, evidence, and critical reasoning of the few is irrelevant. A scientifically- and logically-illiterate society is dangerous for precisely this reason.

It would be a drastically different issue if the state we're trying to disallow the people from any attempt at gaining scientific or logic literacy. Quite the opposite is true; libraries are abundant and educational institutions are accessible. The issue, I argue, is with the people, not the state. 

Given that is perfectly plausible for citizens to equip themselves with the requisite degree of reasoning skills and for citizens to study through the internet at their leisure, we categorically possess the ability to change our society. If you disagree with a particular moral stance of our society, provide sufficient reasoning and make your case, don't just disagree and scoff. If you feel your reasoning is sufficiently competent to challenge or inform  our politicians, do it! There are public meetings which are frequently held for the purpose of discussion amongst local constituents. 

Additionally, through the medium of technology, skilful argumentation is rewarded and shared. This is the "viral" phenomenon enabled by each citizen being equipped with a universally-connective device. If you really disagree, not out of pure emotion but ethically and reasonably, with a particular component or element of our society, you can challenge it. Anytime, anywhere. You could fight animal captivity on the toilet, or pollution while waiting for the bus. There's a word-processing app on every smartphone, it's not just an accessory, it's there for important reasons, one of which being the equipping of each citizen with the means to give input.

The duty of the citizen, however, is often a humble and unrecognized performance. It is a silent performance in many cases, a performance of choices. Society is a construct of collective individuals, with each individual's decisions contributing to the status of the state. For example, the task of reducing human kinds ecological impact first begins in the realm of collective individuals, with each citizen diligently recycling and earnestly working towards fewer emissions. More car porting and bicycling. It begins with the collective realm of individuals deciding they no longer need coca cola or any other arbitrary product which contributes to corporate-greed. 

The duty of the citizen, in an ideal democracy, is a cumbersome yet intrinsically rewarding task. It involves each citizen regularly expanding their reason and examining everything without prejudice. It often involves tasks for which there is no praise, no monetary compensation or congratulations. It doesn't involve the competition of capitalism but the unification under moral-law. Where we choose the most ethically sound course of action rather than the most immediately-satisfying course of action. It involves arduous studying,  a slow-development of rationality in each person. It is in our duty itself we find reward, it is from the duty itself that we slowly construct the ideal-society.

Wander and Ponder Entry #3

The recognition of my recent patterns of behaviour has been beginning to arise. A keen indicator of this would be my urge to walk. As the title of this entry would suggest, the most conducive activity to thoughtful reflection is an aimless walk, a lengthy wander. 

Over the past year, I've begun to recognize that my mind goes through energetic phases in which my desires steer towards strenuous exertion, activity, and play. The duration of these phases is usually,  based on recent observations, a month to three months. My phases seemingly reach a peak at the three month mark and then gradually transition into the next phase.

After those few months of exertion and outward expression I seem to fall into a type of introverted hibernation, in which I prefer to walk,  read, write and relax. This is a period of thoughtful reflection and thoughtful projection. A time to sort of analyze the mechanisms of my past behaviour and align my present for a fulfilling future. I think that this period has become an inevitability for me, a productive inevitability. 

Until now, it seems that this pattern has been happening without my agency. I've become a subject to my patterns rather than a master of them. Earlier this year when I was actively writing my blog I was performing an identification of these mechanisms. Following that period of identification I lapsed into a period  of unrestrained experience. I became a victim of these mechanisms. I suppose that period is conducive to the subsequent analyzation, perhaps even necessary for it. 

I think it's vital to subject your own patterns to scrutiny periodically. In the absence of periodic scrutiny you can become a victim to your patterns and if this persists for years you'll find yourself far into life in a position that is a product of habit and pattern-like behaviour. I think this is a pernicious threat to our emotional, spiritual and physical health. 

Employing the word "spirit" can often pit you in a confusing predicament. Spirit is one of those confusing words which meaning manifests in different forms to different people. Some believe that the spirit is this intangible essence that persists beyond death. Within this belief system you have sub fields. If it persists beyond death then it either incarnates in another physical form or it transcends this existence and moves into another realm. In other cases the spirit of everything is shared and universal. This is different from the other version because in the two systems I explained the spirit is an individual. In those other cases, however, the spirit is one with everything and every material manifestation of this universe is connected and inseparable. Furthermore, there are belief systems which intimately connect each of these beliefs and form a sort of unified system. 

Regardless of these established belief systems, there is something experiencing what the eyes see. There is something that is experiencing the phenomenon of existence. Although we like to imagine it as this separate and intangible essence, it's tethered to this being, indisputably. If you're body and mind are unhealthy or dissatisfied, so to is your spirit. This creates a bit of a conundrum because if our spirit were separate why does its stability so rely on our physical and mental well-being. Why can we become so snared by habit and ritual if we're supposedly this essence of consciousness that controls this incarnation?

Wander and Ponder entry #2

It seems that our, or at least my, energetic patterns are aligned with the environment in some mysterious and intimate way. It's as though my energy and desires are synchronized with the Earth's wobble, as the seasons change, the hormonal balance within my body invariably responds. During the summer it - it being my energy - grows into a vibrant wave, it's akin to the cycle of the trees. When the temperature and climate warm up my desire to assert and accomplish rises alongside it. 

Just as it rises with the climate,  so to does it gradually descend into the 'introverted hibernation' that I've now identified, an equally effective analogy is a sort of "character cocoon." This hibernation, as it were, begins near the end of September and around mid October it reaches it's steady state. Once in the steady state, where it balances and persists until the next rise, my desires steer towards calm walks, reflective thought, reading, writing, and meditation. The calm walk is a template for reflective thought and active meditation. Reflective thought is an inevitability after a strenuous or eventful few months, which occur during the summer. 

This pattern could plausibly become a source of confusion for many people. To follow the pattern smoothly requires sensitivity and a capacity to yield to your patterns. If it begins to occur in the midst of resistance or reluctance, you'll feel a strange sense of emptiness or inadequacy. It's normal and natural to experience a trough in your energetic patterns, you don't need to feel weak or defective. 

If you've set lofty goals for yourself which involve extreme and strenuous exertion, such as training for an event, don't feel weak when the energy isn't there. Especially if you've been exerting yourself for the past few weeks or months at exceptional levels. The pattern of existence is one with highs and lows, exertion and recuperation. Relent to the seasons and experience all the patterns of existence. 

Wander and Ponder

Sand People

We're literally a walking composition of our environment. We become products of the materials we consume, we are our nutrition. Perhaps this explains the strong and indomitable affinity that indigenous tribes harbour for their local environment, they are not only participants in their environment, they are their immediate environment.

The consequence of non-localized food is an apparent disconnect from the environment. We seem to be aware of the disconnect yet we're still snared by the disconnect, the evidence of this surrounds us, it's interwoven into our societal infrastructure. We value jobs above environmental stability, money above health, material above self. The fundamental structure of our society clearly indicates that we've gone slightly insane. The reason our insanity isn't blatant is because we create cultural consensus which enables behaviours that would otherwise appear ludicrous. We're literally allowed to temporarily poison ourselves (alcohol consumption) yet not allowed to relax with cannabis. We've literally allowed ourselves to meddle and menace with ecosystems in the pursuit of jobs.. If you remove your cultural blinders and just observe our actions as an animal of the environment, this is indisputably insane...

I'm not asserting our disconnect with the Earth is solely and directly attributed to our non-localized diet but I am suggesting it may play a key role. When you're foraging and eating within a radius that you are capable of travelling within, you feel the connection. If you're at least moderately active you can see and feel the difference your nutrition makes, and if you were a forager within your environment you'd have to be moderately active. You'd notice that when you eat a particular berry your energy soars. 

The molecules that comprise our entire form are constructs of our nourishment, our cells reproduce with the given materials. It would be logical to assert that if you're molecules are a construction of your surroundings, you'd have a fundamental connection with the area you inhabit. Your environment would come to rely on you to eat the berries, receive the nourishment and subsequently excrete the seed in another location, which enables the berry bush to extend its reach. You would become reliant on your environment to provide the nourishment. This is the symbiosis of life.