The vision that I have has many areas, what i'll do is write a little at a time;
To start with:
The individual:
My aim is to enable the understanding of who we all are, and what each individual can achieve, basically, how to get the best out of life, to enable humanity to realise the potential that we are capable to achieve, what I believe, consciousness; the abitily to be greater than the sum of our parts.
As most of you seem to agree, the process has to start at the lowest level. My argument for this is that given that we live in a chaotic world, and that complexity theory basically states that there is order at the edge of chaos, it is posible to see that whole areas of chaos could be 'directed' (I don't like the use of that word).
Therefore this has to start on the lowest possible level, that of the individual person. I read somewhere that the human brain works in a chaotic manner. This means the optimisation of individual behavior can be achieved by 'aiming' for particular emotional states.
This I believe to be one of the main problems in todays society; because we are bombarded by so much negative information, both directly, ie news, and indirectly, through for example, the subliminal messages of advertising, such as; aiming us for goals that we really don't need to achieve. we are seriously under achiving our potental.
If, on the other hand, it was possible to 'aim' for positive emotions, then the individual, could and would achieve much more. For example by enhancing the emotion of, say love, then other positive states will rise, such as happyness, therefore making the individual mind more positive. and we all know that when we are positive we feel that we can achieve anything we want.
To explain this better it's just by getting and maintaining a positive attitude, by exposing the mind to positive influences, which of course are different for each individual, this is where the ideas of community come in.
When a person has a positive attitude, they are much more likely to set their goals higher. if the infrastructure is there to support those goals, then there is no reason why the goals can become reality. this would need to be facilitated by a communications medium that allows like minded people to communicate as groups. the internet!
One of the ways that I see the internet, is a electronic manifestation of the real world, purely on an intellectual level. additionally as the internet is a world wide communications medium, this allows these groups to manifest the views from a wide range of different view points all adding to give a wider and more sustainable community.
I'm sure that you all have realised this, else you wouldn't be reading this!
These ideas need to be brought out of the virtual world of the internet, This is the hard part!
One thing I do think though, is that the evolution of technology has become so fast that the evolution of the human consiousness, the ability to comprehend the changes that are going on around us, has not kept up with it. This IMHO could cause serious problems in the future. I believe that we need to take a couple of steps back, and really think what it is that we are trying to achive, and then 'go all out' for it! Make it real!
I look at the states, and you can see that the UK is about 4-5 years behind in many respects. One of the greatest parts of the human world is the ability to learn from its mistakes, although you'd have to seriously wonder about whether we actually do :) anyway the mistakes that were made in the US, need not be repeated in the UK, If only someone will listen. I would do anything that I can to achive this, but I'm only one person, and really haven't a clue what to do and where to start! Oh well see what happens (my phrase of the year!).
This is about it for now, there is so much in my head. The above is just a little idea. i'm sure it would take months to write it all. obviously a new civilisation would need to consider many more real problems, PEOPLE, transportation, education, economies, 'governemt' etc I have so many ideas, but i just wander whether i'm going to say anything that you don't already know?
The future lies in the heart. The human heart is linked to the Cosmic Heart and derives its energy therefrom. The problem is that at least two-thirds of the world has closed hearts. They have cut themselves off from their natural birthright--participation in the life of invisible worlds and the consciousness of the higher self.
Many find their hearts now reaching out for the new because the old has not worked. So what will work for the future? First, a heart-held knowledge of Reincarnation and Karma. With this they will be able to take responsibility for the past and see a responsibility for the future. Next, Reincarnation and Karma presuppose yet a Higher Law and that law is Hierarchy--that we live and move and have our being within the sphere of influence of Higher Beings. With such a foundation comes the realization of the need for spiritual perfection--the supreme goal of life.
This trinity--Reincarnation, Karma and Hierarchy--form the core values for the future. A good knowledge of their workings is the underpinning of all other values.
Evolution presupposes the relativity of each concept and it is now time to re-think all the concepts with which we deal and test them for their future worthiness. The banner of the future will be built upon knowledge, cooperation and tolerance. We are the builders! We are the future!
Burt Wilson
THE CENTER FOR FUTURE CONSCIOUSNESS
http://home.earthlink.net/~futurecon/
http://www.global-resource-bank.com
GRB shareholders experience the vision.
A day's work from a Summer Guest will trade for these:
6 quart jars of jam or nut butter 6 pounds of nuts, seeds, or dried fruits 2 bushels-full of vegetables 1 8-gal. tank worth of gasoline; or 1 elec.-car charge up 4 hot meals at the Dining Room and 2 nights camping 4 nights camping with no meals 1 night in a geo-dome with 2 meals 1 handicraft gift (artwork, needlecraft, basketry)
A DAY'S SUPPLY = $100 worth of raw materials
The following supplies will be valued by the Village as a Day's Work or Day’s Supply:
2 dump-truck loads of crushed rock, manure, wood chips or topsoil 1 pair of good work shoes and a pair of dress shoes 1 bolt of heavy wool coating material 2 bolts of white cotton interlock knit material 1-55 gal. drum of 94-octane gasoline 1 set of dishes for four and 4 stainless steel cooking pots
Other family and personal needs are anticipated by the Community and gifted upon the Residents as Life Stages progress:
- A wedding dress, a silk veil, flowers, and white silk shoes - 6 sets of work clothes (sweats, jeans, turtlenecks; skirts, jackets & aprons) - 2 dressy suits or outfits for Sabbath-wear including black dress shoes - a baby's layette, (6 sets of clothes, 4 blankets, 48 diapers, soakers, sling carrier) - a set of linens (table cloth & napkins, towels for 4, kitchen towels, curtains) - a child's complete wardrobe, (underwear, 6 sets clothes, coat & sweater, shoes, boots) - a funeral (cremation, urn, service, horse-drawn carriage, 3 days off) - a complete kitchen (dishes, glasses, utensils, bowls, pots, linens) - a set of bedding (2 sheets 2 pillowslips 2 blankets 2 pillows and a coverlet) or - a quarter-horse, less than ten years old represent 6 days-work each.
- A set of bedroom furnishings, - a living room sofa, chairs and table, or - a dining room table, chairs and hutch - A vacation or honeymoon costs about $1800 in cash and each represents 36 man-days of work.
A set of Birthday or Commencement coupons can represent any amount of Willing Assistance or Pleasurable Experience, in terms of days of involvement. Residents are encouraged to give experiences rather than things: to GO, MAKE, SHOW. Examples of gifts would be to go skiing, rafting, flying, sightseeing, to a trade show, on a visit, on a retreat, to go compete. It’s not unusual for an Individual to get a Coupon from a dozen of his or her friends committing to have Days Together.
Naturally, the cost is always TIME. And it is the Focused Task of the Needs Center to make Certain that all Residents are assisted to make the best possible use of their Time--not over-committing themselves to other people, yet fulfilling their commitments to the Work of the Village.
The Final Loop
The fourth (North) Loop passes by the Needs Center and heads north past the Meeting House and the Laundromat and Beauty Parlor, to Shady Grove Camp (and Retreat House).
The need to conserve waterlines, sewage lines, electricity, heat and labor has resulted in the decision to build a common laundry facility so that all homes will not need to invest in a great deal of power and plumbing. The Village is implementing this decision also as a way to improve and encourage Residents to share Time together in Good Spirit, regardless of the mundane nature of the task at hand. Laundry is a mundane take, so why not make fun out of it. The Jitney delivers people and dirty wash to the Laundromat. Some people volunteer to do a 4-hour shift each week, do their own wash, helping out others by sorting or folding, and get some credit for it. Others just drop theirs off (and let someone else do it) and walk down to the co-op or get their hair henna-ed or braided next door. Still others watch children playing in the campgrounds’ play area while their mothers’ wash is washing. There are always choices to make, to keep Life interesting.
There are 24 Camp spaces in Cookie Circle (about 63 acres in size)-- not just squares of dirt; each one is a raised platform (for a tent or teepee) that has an attached (discreet) latrine and storage unit under it. There is a large Bath House at the back of the Laundry Building, divided by sex, with plenty of soap, firewood and elbow room for people to use to clean things up. There’s a tot-wading pool, some swings and a campfire circle, and the campground itself is high enough that it overlooks some fields beyond the village properties, so it doesn’t feel cramped up there.
Circling around, you can see the large Retreat Lodge and Chapel which was built by our Benedictine Brothers on your Right. It’s set up to accommodate twelve monks in the Retreat House, and it has a separate Chapel for Eucharist or Mass, depending on who is sponsoring an event.
Village History
When the Founders originally acquired this property, they had funds to jump-start the Village’s basic functions. In addition to putting-in Village Trail and all the water systems at once at the beginning, they also bought about 60 trailers--double-wides for Public functions and single ones for families--that have been utilized as Temporary Business and Housing here and there, as the Village has built up. Nowadays, the only remaining trailers--small family sized ones--are found in the Cookie Circle, and they are still being utilized by New Families from the time they arrive until a permanent house is freed up for them.
Coming back from the Campground, you pass the Chapel grounds. The Chapel is not yet built; the Gardens alone have been utilized for weddings in the summer and as a quiet Space for people to meditate. Yet, the feeling among the Residents is that, since our whole Way of Life is built on being Receptive to God’s Leading, that adding one more space for Church services is necessary for our Residents who Abide By Law (Favor). Public prayer is practiced at all village meetings; and Thanksgiving is returned on every Saturday Sabbath in each home; yet there has not been a place for the Jews, the Angels, the 7th Day Adventists, or the Sikhs to keep their Sacred Books.
We visualize the Chapel as the Place For What Is Sacred: Silence, Study and Sacraments. There is a series of meetings of the Residents at this time, to define the Mission and Scope of the Chapel, and to begin the process of Deciding what it will look like, how many Spiritual Groups want to participate in its Design and Building, and what likely Resources may come forward to promote its Completion.
What is likely is that the building will be constructed of quarried stone, as our Ampitheater is constructed, and that it will be built around a central geodesic Dome-Atrium combination. We’ll have to see what turns up.
End of chapter of the book, Diversity and the Will of God. Permission granted for reproducing copy except for profit.
We live on a planet that is bountyful with resources, if we just use them in harmony with the cycles of nature. We have reached a stage of civilization where most people can live in peace. We have the technological means of having all of us live in comfort.
Most of what would be in the way of allowing the world to work for all of humanity is mental problems. It is when millions of people feel a need to be fearful and insecure when just a few people's dramatic misfortune is broadcast on TV. It is when many people believe that economics or politics dictate that some people HAVE to be hungry or without work, and the rest have to work themselves to threads in meaningless occupations. It is when people feel they are justified in harming others because they are different from themselves. It is when people think that life is about acting like most other people around them. It is when people believe that pessimism and cynicism about the future is the logical outcome from studying the past.
None of this has much to do with the real world. Stress and fear and pessimism and bigotry only rarely have proper relevance to the situation one is in. They are mental and emotional responses to the situation one THINKS one is in. Being fearful because of the news on TV, or stressed because of artifically created pressures from jobs with little relevance to creating lives of quality, bigotry because of false information, pessimism because of authorities who seem to imply there are no good answers to anything - all of those are induced based on overwhelming, but largely misleading, information from the outside.
This might sound overly harsh, or broad, or condemning. Really, I have great faith in the ability of humanity to heal itself and deal with its situation. Each human has tremendous capacity for setting things right, and I believe we WILL set things right. But I think it will happen through dealing with the real world and its possibilities, by looking at what resources we have at our proposal, what skills we have, what solutions and schemes and technologies we have that will make things work for us.
I envision that a critical mass will develop of humans who are able to see and think and feel for themselves. People who will make out the truth for themselves, people who aren't easily fooled by double-talk and mis-information, people who will take action on the conditions they find themselves in, people who will work for the greater good in the most effective ways they know of. These people will be found all over the planet, in all professions, in all organizations, in all cultural and ethnic and religious groups, and they will network freely with each other across all boundaries.
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/ \------------------ Flemming A. Funch ------------------/ \
/ * \ World Transformation/New Civilization/Whole Systems / * \
/ * * \ ffunch@newciv.org / * * \
o-------o ----------http://www.worldtrans.org/------------o-------o