So Clint Jacob was at my house tonight, and he had this to say...
"What if a thousand years from now, our current level of technology is labeled as 'the digital age?'"
HO - LY - SHIT! CLINT!
That just blew my mind. It's really difficult to think of technology as anything other than "digital" these days, isn't it? Isn't it funny to think that there was a time when light-bulbs were the latest-breaking technology?
What about the Bronze Era?
The Stone-Age?
And look at us now! We have already put so many labels on the different sections of history, each one a little more advanced...a little more sophisticated than the last. And now we're at the point to where technology sometimes seems unable to meet our demands. Whereas before it seems we almost feared technology (old people), now it seems we can't possibly get enough. Surely there will come a time when this "fad" of digitization will become a part of history just as the Renaissance did. And perhaps as basic of an intellectual evolutionary step as the advent of the wheel.
It's fun to speculate about when technology will cease to be sufficient to meet our needs. One day in the future humans will look back at the year 2009 and try to understand what it was like to live as intellectually deprived as we are now. After only roughly 160 (of the roughly 5000 on record) years of using electricity and we've already figured out just about everything you can do with it.
So what's next?
Well, maybe technology has figured out a loop-hole. Maybe it figured out a way to ensure that we remain dependent on it. All it would have to do is figure out something that we cannot get enough of, and that it (technology) would be equipped to satisfy.
Well it seems we cannot get enough of entertainment. We need it! So much so that we make recordings of it so we can watch it later...just in case you are called away for work, or two of your favorite shows air at the same time. Could we ever fully satiate our appetite to be entertained? Today, a relaxing evening means laying around in sweat pants and Just Watching TV. This is how we choose to spend our precious leisure time. If it doesn't occupy your leisure times, often times it inspires it (ex: saw somebody on TV go bun-gee jumping and decided "Why not? I'll give it a try!").
It's obvious that technology has a huge influence on our lives. It doesn't merely dictate what we do, it dictates what we WANT to do. If anybody ever got control of such a dangerous thing as technology...
...oh...right. Technology IS being controlled. Dammit.
By who? Well...everyone smart enough to take advantage of it. Primarily businesses (restaurants, jewelers, clothing designers, music labels, BANKS, professional wrestling, sporting franchises, auto manufacturers, toy designers...you get the idea). How can these people best take advantage of this?
How wealthy can you get before money is insubstantial? If our capacity for greed is (as far as we know) infinite, couldn't even the absolute wealthiest people desire more still? What more could they possibly demand out of their lives?
What is it that THEY would want? I just can't imagine. They've made it difficult to imagine happiness as meaning anything other than "financial freedom" (more like en-slavery). We spend our entire lives striving to accumulate as much of these monetary "credits" as possible, and while we're occupied doing that...what are the people who don't NEED to occupy their time doing that up to?
Rest assured, there exist MANY who live their entire lives with money being as trivial a necessity as toothpaste.
I really have no idea what any of this has to do with the "Digital Age". But getting back to that...
I don't think it's a good idea to watch too much TV. Or really, any at all. That's the point I'm making. If you're concerned about being "out of touch" with the world, the internet does a great job of as a resource for the most recent of happenings...as well as remaining a fairly accurate account for history (via the sharing of nearly any video footage that exists thanks to YouTube). You may argue that there are advertisers on the internet as well...but they're not nearly as obtrusive. TV ads force you to sit through them patiently while you wait for your show to commence. (Tasteful) Internet ads do not impede your contact with the content you seek. This of course excludes pop-ups, but most people I know just close the window without reading it...so i don't see it as much of an influence. I'm not presuming that internet advertising couldn't become more of a problem in the future, though.
So, reviewing...you probably shouldn't watch [much] TV.
Think if the media didn't bring other people's personal lives into your living room. Most of our social issues would disappear. Because the bottom line is that most of the issues that we're fighting about (ex: gay marriage & drug use) do not affect the lives of anyone other than those who are directly involved in the act/incident/whatever. Suddenly our problems disappear.
If we could achieve a non-TV- watching society, AND implement more of a small-community-based society... well that would be awesome. TV nationalizes everything. An incident that only directly affects a small community of people is suddenly subject to the scrutiny of people (the rest of the TV-watching American public) who aren't affected by the event what-so-ever.
----------
Technology is great. It improves our quality of life and allows us the time to ponder greater mysteries...like where did we come from? and, What is our future? But a side-affect of technology is mass-media. I think it's wise to be cautious of the effect it has on you...and in particular any younger, more impressionable minds..
________________________
Question everything! :-)
Saturday, January 17, 2009
THE FORGOTTEN 9TH AMENDMENT
"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
Granted, I had to read it about 50 times before I understood it. But if somebody stopped me on the street and asked me what my favorite US Constitutional Amendment was, I think I'd have to say the 9th. It is a perfect reminder that the Bill of Rights only refers to limitations to the government...not to the people it governs.
I'm really surprised that this amendment is overlooked. It speaks directly to numerous social issues... including gay marriage, abortion, right to die, and drug use to name a few. I think this is a shining example of the amazing vision our founders had for this country. The rest of the world thought it was an amazing vision as well. France gave us a statue, for crying out loud!
You can call me a raving, left-wing, liberal hippie if you want. This isn't even about politics. How many constitutional rights can you name? Freedom of Speech, Right to Bear Arms, Right to not witness against oneself... without looking them up, how many more can you name?
Most of us aren't even aware of the freedoms we're entitled to, resulting in those freedoms being taken away without us even putting up any resistance what-so-ever. One example that comes to mind is the Patriot Act. HOW WERE WE EVER OKAY WITH THIS!? Because of a terrorist threat? Come on...you're smarter than that. Once the foot is in the door, it's never leaving. Just like the income tax (which isn't required by any known law).
The 9th Amendment protects our right to privacy (amongst many others), and we are allowing that privacy to be taken from us. Even those who speak against the Patriot Act do it meekly and give up after a short while.
Just SUPPOSE a tyrannical government WANTED to monitor what you were doing in your homes? Do you think they'd ask nicely? Do you think they'd make it OBVIOUS that that is what they are doing? No way. That couldn't possibly work. You see, any good car sales me can tell you that the trick is to make them think that it is THEIR IDEA. Or at the very least, make them believe that it is a GOOD idea.
Right to privacy is gone. Kiss it goodbye. It's too late. The foot is in the door and now the door will remain open. We've squandered this one by being extremely gullible, naive, and rash.
The future of America is not one of freedom, I'm afraid. There are some great voices of reason out there...but nobody can hear them for all the white noise made by the mass media.
Horrible things are ahead unless we begin to FULLY understand the things that we think we feel so strongly about. You wouldn't feel so strongly about a lot of things if you knew everything there is to know about it...and I'm not just talking to Conservatives. It's EVERYONE! Please use your brain. Please!
One other thing:
I think a lot of people think about the Bill of Rights in the wrong way. This document does NOT create these rights. It merely acknowledges them. They are a "given". And the 9th Amendment makes it clear that there are OTHER FREEDOMS that OTHER PEOPLE may feel are important...and that those freedoms are protected as well.
Most of the people that I hear raving about how great America is have no idea what the idea of this country was in the first place. They're all just repeating propaganda. They don't "get it". I suggest reading up on early American history... but do the research YOURSELF! Don't rely on a textbook or a professor to tell you what did or didn't happen. They may be right...but they may be wrong. Please, for all of us, look into it yourself.
Granted, I had to read it about 50 times before I understood it. But if somebody stopped me on the street and asked me what my favorite US Constitutional Amendment was, I think I'd have to say the 9th. It is a perfect reminder that the Bill of Rights only refers to limitations to the government...not to the people it governs.
I'm really surprised that this amendment is overlooked. It speaks directly to numerous social issues... including gay marriage, abortion, right to die, and drug use to name a few. I think this is a shining example of the amazing vision our founders had for this country. The rest of the world thought it was an amazing vision as well. France gave us a statue, for crying out loud!
You can call me a raving, left-wing, liberal hippie if you want. This isn't even about politics. How many constitutional rights can you name? Freedom of Speech, Right to Bear Arms, Right to not witness against oneself... without looking them up, how many more can you name?
Most of us aren't even aware of the freedoms we're entitled to, resulting in those freedoms being taken away without us even putting up any resistance what-so-ever. One example that comes to mind is the Patriot Act. HOW WERE WE EVER OKAY WITH THIS!? Because of a terrorist threat? Come on...you're smarter than that. Once the foot is in the door, it's never leaving. Just like the income tax (which isn't required by any known law).
The 9th Amendment protects our right to privacy (amongst many others), and we are allowing that privacy to be taken from us. Even those who speak against the Patriot Act do it meekly and give up after a short while.
Just SUPPOSE a tyrannical government WANTED to monitor what you were doing in your homes? Do you think they'd ask nicely? Do you think they'd make it OBVIOUS that that is what they are doing? No way. That couldn't possibly work. You see, any good car sales me can tell you that the trick is to make them think that it is THEIR IDEA. Or at the very least, make them believe that it is a GOOD idea.
Right to privacy is gone. Kiss it goodbye. It's too late. The foot is in the door and now the door will remain open. We've squandered this one by being extremely gullible, naive, and rash.
The future of America is not one of freedom, I'm afraid. There are some great voices of reason out there...but nobody can hear them for all the white noise made by the mass media.
Horrible things are ahead unless we begin to FULLY understand the things that we think we feel so strongly about. You wouldn't feel so strongly about a lot of things if you knew everything there is to know about it...and I'm not just talking to Conservatives. It's EVERYONE! Please use your brain. Please!
One other thing:
I think a lot of people think about the Bill of Rights in the wrong way. This document does NOT create these rights. It merely acknowledges them. They are a "given". And the 9th Amendment makes it clear that there are OTHER FREEDOMS that OTHER PEOPLE may feel are important...and that those freedoms are protected as well.
Most of the people that I hear raving about how great America is have no idea what the idea of this country was in the first place. They're all just repeating propaganda. They don't "get it". I suggest reading up on early American history... but do the research YOURSELF! Don't rely on a textbook or a professor to tell you what did or didn't happen. They may be right...but they may be wrong. Please, for all of us, look into it yourself.
Monday, January 12, 2009
DO-IT-YOURSELF SUBLIMINAL IMPLANTS!
Do you ever ask yourself why we're at war, and then when you come to the conclusion that you have no idea, you decide to research the matter, only to find that the only reason given by any source what-so-ever amounts to "Terrorism"?
Well, I do.
Anyway, how about something up-lifting today?
It turns out that the human mind is a problem solver by nature. This seems evident in everything we've accomplished in such a short amount of time as a species*. So suppose you were to give your subconscious a puzzle to work out while your conscious deals with the day-to-day routine of every-day life. What kind of puzzle would you give it? What kind of problems would you like your subconscious to solve for you while you wait for the results?
Complex mathematical equations?
The form of a Beethoven symphony?
How to rebuild a car engine?
The answer to all of our global problems (a lot of good it would do you)?
How to find the path to personal fulfillment and happiness?
Well, I have good news for you. Your subconscious already does this. All the time. Every day.
[the end]
You want more? Well, okay...
So how do your thoughts get into your subconscious? Well, usually they pass through your conscious. Most subconscious thoughts begin life as something you were COMPLETELY aware of. So, I would advise against being too pessimistic. It IS true that negative thoughts lead to negative events.
So, why don't we take this in a different direction for a moment?
For a refresher on the concept of our minds creating our own reality, please read my post titled WHO IS THE MASTER WHO MAKES THE GRASS GREEN? Then continue.
Okay, so we understand how our own minds create reality. A reality that ONLY belongs to you. It exists INSIDE your head...not outside of it. Keeping this in mind, consider the following:
"If you can imagine it, you can BE it."
We've heard this since childhood. But perhaps a better way to say it is this: "If you ARE imagining it, you ARE experiencing it." And what is reality besides something one "experiences"?
Okay, so that's cool. But how can I have any affect on the random events that happen to take place from moment to moment? Can I really be expected to control my own mind on THAT level? Well, some new-age thinkers feel that just maybe we can.
Assuming that everyone I've ever come in contact with shares a similar reality to mine, and that my reality is something entirely constructed inside my mind...can I then be removed from everyone else's reality, if I imagine (create) a new reality for myself? Would I suddenly blink out of existence? The conclusion I draw would be that the reality you escaped from would compensate for your absence and remove you from record (memory) so to speak. I don't cease to exist in that reality. Suddenly, I never existed there at all.
Perhaps.
A sigil is something that a lot of people believe has the ability to help us create a new reality for ourselves. The idea is to implant a symbol of whatever it is you "desire" into your subconscious, which will surface to your conscious, thus becoming your reality. How can such a subliminal implant be placed?
Some say this will work:
Think of something that you desire, and write that scenario down as though it were currently true. Example: If my desire is to be happy, then I write the sentence, "I AM HAPPY." I then remove all vowels, as well as any duplicate letters, so that I am left with, "MHP." After that, I get really stoned and "space out" for a while with a pencil and paper. I use the letters "MHP" as elements with which to design a "symbol". This process should never be rushed, and could possibly take hours. The end result doesn't necessarily bear any resemblance to the letters I originally started with, although their presence is implied. I memorize the symbol I have created. Perhaps even get it tattood somewhere that I am bound to look at least once a day (the top of my right hand?).
This symbol acts as a puzzle for my subconscious to solve. Since I took my time creating it, and even enjoyed the process, it is burned into my memory...and some part of me remembers that my symbol evolved from the sentence, "I AM HAPPY." The letters used to write that sentence are nothing more than symbols themselves. We use them to describe our reality. Without them, we'd be no more able to understand our world than an ape.
Most psychologists will tell you that our subconscious is certainly represented in our conscious in ways that we don't always understand.
So suppose that your subconscious uses the symbol you implanted into it to describe reality.
If you are imagining it, you are experiencing it.
Hey, it's worth a shot!
* "This seems evident in everything we've accomplished in such a short amount of time as a species." I don't think enough emphasis is ever put on this. We have been in existence for such an incredibly short amount of time, and we have already come this far. I imagine we would be quite revered by other-worldly civilizations of an equal age. Although I do think those civilizations might form some concerns over some of our social/cultural practices. This even happens on Earth between differing countries. One country may seem very technically advanced yet socially ignorant, whereas another appears technologically inferior yet philosophically sophisticated.
Well, I do.
Anyway, how about something up-lifting today?
It turns out that the human mind is a problem solver by nature. This seems evident in everything we've accomplished in such a short amount of time as a species*. So suppose you were to give your subconscious a puzzle to work out while your conscious deals with the day-to-day routine of every-day life. What kind of puzzle would you give it? What kind of problems would you like your subconscious to solve for you while you wait for the results?
Complex mathematical equations?
The form of a Beethoven symphony?
How to rebuild a car engine?
The answer to all of our global problems (a lot of good it would do you)?
How to find the path to personal fulfillment and happiness?
Well, I have good news for you. Your subconscious already does this. All the time. Every day.
[the end]
You want more? Well, okay...
So how do your thoughts get into your subconscious? Well, usually they pass through your conscious. Most subconscious thoughts begin life as something you were COMPLETELY aware of. So, I would advise against being too pessimistic. It IS true that negative thoughts lead to negative events.
So, why don't we take this in a different direction for a moment?
For a refresher on the concept of our minds creating our own reality, please read my post titled WHO IS THE MASTER WHO MAKES THE GRASS GREEN? Then continue.
Okay, so we understand how our own minds create reality. A reality that ONLY belongs to you. It exists INSIDE your head...not outside of it. Keeping this in mind, consider the following:
"If you can imagine it, you can BE it."
We've heard this since childhood. But perhaps a better way to say it is this: "If you ARE imagining it, you ARE experiencing it." And what is reality besides something one "experiences"?
Okay, so that's cool. But how can I have any affect on the random events that happen to take place from moment to moment? Can I really be expected to control my own mind on THAT level? Well, some new-age thinkers feel that just maybe we can.
Assuming that everyone I've ever come in contact with shares a similar reality to mine, and that my reality is something entirely constructed inside my mind...can I then be removed from everyone else's reality, if I imagine (create) a new reality for myself? Would I suddenly blink out of existence? The conclusion I draw would be that the reality you escaped from would compensate for your absence and remove you from record (memory) so to speak. I don't cease to exist in that reality. Suddenly, I never existed there at all.
Perhaps.
A sigil is something that a lot of people believe has the ability to help us create a new reality for ourselves. The idea is to implant a symbol of whatever it is you "desire" into your subconscious, which will surface to your conscious, thus becoming your reality. How can such a subliminal implant be placed?
Some say this will work:
Think of something that you desire, and write that scenario down as though it were currently true. Example: If my desire is to be happy, then I write the sentence, "I AM HAPPY." I then remove all vowels, as well as any duplicate letters, so that I am left with, "MHP." After that, I get really stoned and "space out" for a while with a pencil and paper. I use the letters "MHP" as elements with which to design a "symbol". This process should never be rushed, and could possibly take hours. The end result doesn't necessarily bear any resemblance to the letters I originally started with, although their presence is implied. I memorize the symbol I have created. Perhaps even get it tattood somewhere that I am bound to look at least once a day (the top of my right hand?).
This symbol acts as a puzzle for my subconscious to solve. Since I took my time creating it, and even enjoyed the process, it is burned into my memory...and some part of me remembers that my symbol evolved from the sentence, "I AM HAPPY." The letters used to write that sentence are nothing more than symbols themselves. We use them to describe our reality. Without them, we'd be no more able to understand our world than an ape.
Most psychologists will tell you that our subconscious is certainly represented in our conscious in ways that we don't always understand.
So suppose that your subconscious uses the symbol you implanted into it to describe reality.
If you are imagining it, you are experiencing it.
Hey, it's worth a shot!
* "This seems evident in everything we've accomplished in such a short amount of time as a species." I don't think enough emphasis is ever put on this. We have been in existence for such an incredibly short amount of time, and we have already come this far. I imagine we would be quite revered by other-worldly civilizations of an equal age. Although I do think those civilizations might form some concerns over some of our social/cultural practices. This even happens on Earth between differing countries. One country may seem very technically advanced yet socially ignorant, whereas another appears technologically inferior yet philosophically sophisticated.
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