Growing Up

"People are no longer obsessed with the accumulation of things. We've eliminated hunger, want, the need for possessions. We've grown out of our infancy." 

  Picard from Star Trek IV : The Next Generation

My fascination with the acceleration, or more accurately the liberation, of technological advance lies less in the technology than in how it will challenge many of the foundational beliefs imprinted on humanity. A 'civilisation' whose base line assumption is lack has inevitably evolved competitive behaviours reflecting a belief in the life is a battle for survival. The reality constructed and described by those currently 'winning' the competition requires that this belief in lack translates into the experience of lack, and they will do whatever is needed to maintain their competitive advantage. The result of this structure is that humanity is and has, for too long, been governed by it's survival instinct. 

There is however a more profound instinct deep within us all, and the behaviours born of a belief in lack are in fact at odds with the true nature of humanity. A survival instinct is useful if it prompts someone to jump out of the path of an oncoming car, but where is the survival instinct when it prompts someone to push another to safety even when it puts them at risk? Everyday stories of self sacrifice and spontaneous acts of kindness, in fact anything which points us to that deeper human instinct are trivialised or ignored. Fear is the trump card of those who have dominated the game and the best way to inspire fear is to engender a belief in lack. Lack of energy, lack of food, lack of resource, lack of peace, lack of love. The current game can only continue so long as it keeps us distanced from our humanity.

This is why the emerging technology is so interesting. It poses an evidential challenge to the notion of lack. From the view point of current economic thought universal free energy is not a great thing. From the view point of universal free energy economics is irrelevant. Economics describes itself as the 'science' of allocation of scarce resources. Remove scarcity and economics will have to re-invent itself, but then again why would it bother if it didn't have any energy bills to pay!

My conclusion has always been that we need an accompanying evolution or elevation of consciousness to accompany our technological advance. In fact the more I sit with this awareness the more obvious it is that the two are inextricably linked. They are different expressions of the same phenomena (we are the technology). For the emerging technology to become accepted and, well, universal, then we must shed many of our limiting belief patterns, which all have lack at their core. For those who have been diligently working through these patterns the reward has been greater awareness and a greater connection to an expansive field of possibilities, sometimes described as an expanded consciousness. For those of you who don't like the consciousness word, think of it as growing up. 

As consciousness and technology dance together in the field of possibility, daring to believe the unbelievable, they establish a virtuous circle, feeding each others confidence. As ideas become reality, reality inspires ideas. The excitement we will share going forward will be in shaping our civilisation once the notion of lack has gone the way of the dinosaurs. This presents many new challenges and may well meet considerable resistance from those addicted to the game of survival (just watch the news to see the amount of energy being used to keep fear alive at the moment). 

The good news is that these challenges are increasingly being addressed by a growing number of researchers from the not so alternative community. The Star Trek quote at the top of this blog comes from a book which Tracy came across at an alumni event at the London School of Economics, hardly a bastion of new age wishy washy thinking. Trekonomics by Manu Saadia looks at the morals, values, and hard economics that underpin the Star Trek's ideal society. He states "After reading this book, you'll be able to answer the question, if you could live in Star Trek's economic utopia, would you want to?"

In the episode from which the quote above was taken, The Enterprise had found a ship from the late 20th Century with cryogenically suspended individuals hoping to be revitalised at a future date. One character, Offenhouse, was a wealthy businessman who comically enquires as to the health of his portfolio as he adjusts to his new reality. Distraught to find it no longer exists the following exchange ensues:

Offenhouse: There is notrace of my money. My office is gone. What will I do? How will I live?

Picard: This is the 24th Century. Material needs no longer exist.

Offenhouse: Then what's the challenge?

Picard: The challenge, Mr. Offenhouse, is to improve yourself. To enrich yourself. Enjoy it.

As ever Star Trek fulfills its role as an instructional documentary, although Saadia emphasises that the replicator technology is just a metaphor for greater abundance. I beg to differ. The replicator is no more fanciful than a mobile phone once was but then I am playing with an awful lot of plasma these days!

However it unfolds, much of the joy which people may experience within this emerging reality will be in rediscovering their true nature. Their human nature. That deep instinct which moves us towards others suffering. Much of the discomfort will be in the cognitive dissonance they experience as they wake up to their complicity in their own enslavement. Humanity has never been a survival based experiment, we just explored that as a possibility for a while and needed to invent the concept of lack to play that game. 

Time to truly enrich ourselves I feel.

Time to grow up.

With LOVE

Bil