| Jumps | 2011-11-28 22:15 38 comments |
 by Flemming FunchWe're likely to get to the future we desire, not through methodical and linear progress, but through discontinuous quantum jumps. The idea that life progresses linearly, logically, and fluidly, is an illusion. Just like how you make a motion picture out of a sequence of still pictures. We imagine the stuff in-between, thinking that we're seeing fluid, continuous motion. Our brains hold on tight to the concept of linear experience, which unfortunately means that they are easily fooled by constructed sequences. Discontinuous change isn't random and unknowable. Change in jumps and shifts doesn't mean that intelligence and knowledge and preparedness are all out the window. It just means you need to do better than linear projections. What happens tomorrow isn't just a little more of what happened today. Things actually change. To keep up and maybe stay ahead of the game, we might need some different senses, a different type of logic, some different institutions. You might need to be able to perceive patterns, to sense the energetic or meta version of what is going on, directly, not just as a constructed mental picture. You'll get much further if you can feel things that want to happen, before they happen, even though they currently are nowhere to be seen. You might need fractal, multi-dimensional logic, that includes the movement of the whole, at multiple levels. You might want to see logic as the unfolding of the universe and its laws, rather than as a separated mental activity. Expect phase changes. Disruptive change might not be linear, but it doesn't have to be a huge surprise either. We might need educational institutions that help us flourish as the unique and creative individuals that we are, rather than shape us mentally and emotionally into clones. We might need economic institutions that value what enhances life, all of life, not what perpetuates and secures the status quo for a few of us. We might need governments that flow with the energy of the people, rather than try to rule us and render us harmless and immobile. You can start at anytime by not expecting only what you already had, but by staying present, paying attention, noticing the unique opportunities that are here right now, and acting on them. If the bus you want to be on comes by, get on it. Don't wait. If there's no bus, make one. The current scenery isn't going to last, so there's no reason to bet everything on that it will. |