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This is an excerpt from the e-book The Gaian-Ego Hypothesis that relates to the evolution of systems from organisms to organisations via the agency of human civilisation. Also see this Psychological Perspective on Civilisation and Gaia or the Man Machine?

Organisational Governance

First some basic terms and concepts before we get into the systemic history of human civilisation. All organisations have both an informal and a formal structure. These are concepts from the systems theory of organisational structures, which I will briefly define. They are two parallel systems of governance within any organisation. The informal structure within a society is the original organic level of governance, its main communication mechanism is the 'grapevine' and its code of conduct is traditions, norms, taboos and so on; it can be anarchic such as a group of friends or it can be highly structured such as a tribe that has well defined roles and power relations. The formal structure of a society is a later outgrowth that institutionalises the basic nature of the informal system of governance and extends it over a broader reach. Its main modern communication mechanism is mass media and its main code of conduct is legislation.

In any organisational structure these levels of governance exist to varying degrees. It is most commonly analysed within corporate cultures so I'll first discuss it in this context. Too often the system is envisaged from the perspective of the formal structure so the culture becomes authoritarian; the staff are objectified as the corporation leverages it control and pushes for productivity but due to the ignorance of the nature of the organisational system the formal structure abuses the informal structure leading to stress, low morale, lower productivity, absenteeism and staff turnover. These are then naively blamed on the staff and tighter controls are implemented thus worsening the situation [FR].  More >

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Interaction, Economics and the Human Condition

Money is a medium of exchange to facilitate human interaction - it represents interaction energy. But what is interaction and what are its effects?

From the perspective of system theory systems don't just exist, they arise from the interactions of their sub-systems. Systems are emergent phenomena that depend upon interaction. If the interactions occur the higher level systems emerge and if the interactions don't occur then the higher level systems don't emerge. If the interactions are coherent and sufficient then the emergent systems are sane and 'healthy', and if the interactions are incoherent or insufficient then the emergent systems are insane or 'unhealthy'.

There are as many different interaction contexts and mediums of exchange as there are different kinds of systems. When considering just human social systems the mediums of exchange range from words, ideas, gestures, compassion, kudos, effort, time, ingenuity, objects, resources, and so on. But in the current system all values are ultimately expressed in terms of a single medium - money - which has become an abstract value in its own right that has become disassociated from its original values. Whether it is food, land, products, services, health, life, sanity and so on - these are all expressed in terms of money and are made subservient to money.

From system theory we see that the purpose of interaction is the creation and maintenance of systems and from economics we see that money is a medium of exchange to facilitate human interaction. So economics is about the creation and maintenance of social systems by facilitating human interactions - it is the metabolism of organisation. Where organisation is the cooperative integration of many people toward a common end and ultimately the common end is life, i.e. harmonious and effective living. But the economic system has largely become disassociated from this context and re-imagined within an abstract capitalist discourse (i.e. one that is capital-centric and not life-centric). It has become an abstract game that is geared toward healthy capitalist organisation and not toward healthy human interaction and social organisation.  More >

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This is a brief discussion that touches on Turing machines, neural networks, universal computation, system theory, system matrix notation, cosmic consciousness, individual consciousness, systemic evolution and holistic science.

I previously mentioned the mathematics and its computational implementation that arose from my metaphysical research in the article IT Revolution. Here I'll discuss how this fits in with system theory, consciousness, metaphysics and the evolution of systems from particles to civilisation, but first I'll begin by saying a little more about the mathematical / computational process by describing a simple way of thinking about it in terms of Turing machines and neural networks - it is computationally equivalent to a massively parallel network of neurons but we can work towards it by thinking about Turing machines. Let me explain in 4 steps:  More >

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Collective Meditation to Counter the Collective Ego

I'll first summarise, in a paragraph, a conceptual lead in to this discussion. Everything can be conceived of as a complex system, cells interact and integrate to create cellular civilisations, these form centralised power structures that call themselves 'I' - this is the ego - it is not the real being but just a thought construct that arises via commonsense realism. Then these egos interact and integrate to create human civilisations, these form centralised power structures that are increasingly coming to think 'I' - this is the collective ego - it is not the real civilisation but just a cultural construct that arises via commonsense realism. Just as commonsense realism and the ego are the ultimate source of all delusion and dysfunction in humans (cellular civilisations) commonsense realism and the collective ego are the ultimate source of all delusion and dysfunction in society and the world at large. Just as meditation can help to overcome commonsense realism and the tyranny of the ego in individual humans (cellular civilisations) resulting in liberation and bliss it can also be adapted to help overcome commonsense realism and the tyranny of the collective ego in human civilisations resulting in liberation and bliss.

This discussion consists of excerpts from my yet to be released e-book "The Gaian-Ego Hypothesis", which follow on conceptually from the preview article The Gaian-Ego Hypothesis and the article Ego and the Denial of Complexity. It is also closely related to Commonsense Realism and the Ego, The Scientific Case Against Materialism, The Mystic Meaning of Original Sin and this comment about thinking outside the box and the ego as the box maker. These all provide conceptual background that will help you understand what this article is about, what meditation is useful for and why macro-meditation is required. I recommend familiarising yourself with those ideas but the first paragraph above gives the gist of them.

In the quotes below I have made a start at adapting the principles of meditation for collective purposes. This is just a start to indicate the general outline of what I feel is required. I strongly urge others to think about this and help to further develop these ideas, in your own way or as an extension of these strategies.  More >

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Commonsense realism is a profoundly important concept that impacts on all subjects. It is central to The Scientific Case Against Materialism and The Mystic Meaning of Original Sin is essentially that "Commonsense realism IS the original sin". It is the root cause of all delusion (which is the real meaning of 'sin'), the first of which is the ego, which then forms the centre of a whole world of delusion (maya or samsara). Without understanding commonsense realism we cannot truly understand the ego (see these articles for a systemic perspective on the ego).

In each moment of awareness commonsense realism blinds us to reality and causes us to dwell in a fantasy land that is constructed from false beliefs within our own minds that we unquestioning mistake for the external objective world. With our thoughts we construct a subjective experiential world with the ego as the main fictional character at its centre and commonsense realism causes us to confuse this as being the objective reality. I have discussed commonsense realism in the above articles but I'll go into more detail about it and its relation to the ego here.  More >

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Nationalist / Corporate Power Struggle in the Global Economic Ecosystem

This is a follow on from the article Economic Metabolism, this will make more sense if you read that first if you haven't already. In that article I comment at one point that:

"The spread of the common currencies, whether non-conserved or conserved delimits the range of collective integration. For example, the spread of American culture as the common non-conserved currency and the use of the American dollar as the common conserved currency throughout the world is effectively the assimilation of the planet into the American organism and over time these conditions will inevitably result in the Americanisation of the planet." [FR]

And I quote examples of "Fragmentation and Assimilation. "exclusive use of a competitive programmed currency in a community tends to be destructive for the community fabric. This isn't theory. We've seen this happen at the tribe level, with the collapses of traditional societies. I've seen one happen myself in Peru among the Chipibo in the Amazon. That tribe had been in existence for thousands of years. When they started using the national currency among themselves, the whole community fabric collapsed in five years' time. The same thing happened here during the 19th century in the Northwestern United States and Canada, in the traditional indigenous societies. The moment they started using white man's currency among themselves, the community collapsed, the traditional fabric broke down." " [FR]

"Consider a small organism (analogous to an isolated tribe) that has its own coherent and healthy metabolic processes (systems of exchange) that are central to its healthy functioning and continued integration. Then this organism is swallowed by a larger organism and it is surrounded by the metabolic process of the larger organism. This foreign system of exchange invades and permeates the smaller system of exchange. There are now different biochemical messengers flowing around that swamp the smaller metabolic processes. The cells can no longer exchange meaningful signals in their own symbolic language and the flow of these signals diminishes (reduced interaction energy) whilst at the same time they must all adapt to the new symbolic messages which are in high concentration (high interaction energy) so new meanings are transferred between the cells thus changing the nature of their communications and interactions so the previously healthy organism is torn apart and assimilated into the larger organism." [FR]

First I'll comment on the metabolic power play between nations and then discuss the subtler interplay of corporations.

The metabolic effect of assimilation and integration most likely explains the recent rise of U.S. aggression against Iran. One of the primary metabolic fluids of the industrial complex is oil and at present it is inextricably linked to the U.S. dollar through "petrodollars", this is a mainstay of the supremacy of the U.S. dollar as the primary medium of exchange throughout the world and thereby secures America's metabolic supremacy over all other nationalist organisms.

Iran is threatening the supremacy of the U.S. dollar by accepting euros as payment for its oil, just as Iraq attempted to do in 2000 but the U.S. responded with devastating force and now controls Iraq's oil supply. But Iran's threat is even greater than Iraq's because it plans to open an international oil exchange (a bourse) whereby many nations can buy and sell oil in euros rather than U.S. dollars. This is an effective method of resistance to the American metabolic assimilation of the rest of the world. Also due to the instability of the U.S. economy it also poses a serious and potentially fatal threat to the internal metabolic stability of the American economy as a whole.  More >

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The Mystic Meaning of Original Sin

This was inspired by comments from Astrid. She associated it with selfishness and greed; the need to take from the world. I agree but the original sin, I think, can be clearly identified, let me explain...

Firstly regarding sin, in all the mystic traditions that I have studied my understanding of the concept of 'sin' is that it is associated with illusion and delusion, which causes us to get out of synch with the harmony of the cosmic symphony. This then gives rise to acts that are out of harmony with the whole and creates dysfunction and suffering that spreads like ripples through the interconnected system. The act isn't the sin, it's the delusion that is. It is only in mystic traditions that were corrupted for political / authoritarian purposes that this meaning was twisted to mean certain actions that were prohibited by the set of rules imposed by the authoritarian structure.

As for original sin, I agree, it doesn't mean "in far distant time", it means the originating illusion as in the root cause of illusion. This operates in each moment of awareness. As each impression is interpreted by the subconscious it becomes distorted by false beliefs and agendas. This distorted impression is then experienced by the conscious mind which is oblivious to the fact that it is experiencing a subjective impression and it assumes that it is experiencing "the world" as it is "out there".

It is this last step, called commonsense realism or naive realism that is the root cause of all further delusions. NAIVE REALISM IS ORIGINAL SIN. Even with a mind free of other false beliefs this last step soon fills the mind full of false beliefs. It is the cause of our "fall from grace".

In reality: “That which permeates all, which nothing transcends and which, like the universal space around us, fills everything completely from within and without, that Supreme non-dual Brahman – that thou art.” (Sankaracharya)  More >

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Economic Metabolism

This article is inspired by the article Money, Community & Social Change  (on complimentary currency systems by Astrid Ware) and is also a follow on from my own article Systems Analysis of Economic Social Engineering.

The excellent Interview with Bernard Lietaer reproduced in Astrid's article discusses a VERY important piece of the puzzle of how to bring harmony back into this world. I will comment on it here from the perspective of economics as a social metabolic process within a collective organism. This homology (meaningful parallel) brings out some interesting implications and explains just why complimentary currency systems can be such a revolutionary change.

I first discuss some general principles and then comment on the interview within that context...

Lietaer defines "money, or currency, as an agreement within a community to use something as a medium of exchange... And most of the time, it's done unconsciously... We're living in this money world like fish in water, taking it completely for granted." This role of money as a "medium of exchange" is the basis of the parallels between economics and biochemistry.  More >

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This is a follow on article to the discussion on The International Banking System in the subject Economics, Financing, Banking.

All of the key flaws in the economic system are well known to any who look beyond the web of deception that permeates mass culture - the discussion here at NCN is similar to discussions happening all over the globe, discussions that have been occurring throughout the last century but to little avail. What do all these phenomena point to? Is there some overarching paradigm in which they can all be made sense of? Is it a matter of an elite wielding control or is it something deeper? Is there something practical that can be done about it?

Economics plays an important role in all of the key changes happening in the world but aside from our traditional rationalisations, what purpose does it really serve and what do the many changes signify? From the perspective of system theory, cybernetics and complexity theory the answers are startling!!!!  More >

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IT Revolution

I've been scanning Flemming Funch's news log - he's collected some fantastic things there!!!!

Our minds are following similar tracks but he is much more aware of what people are doing in the world whilst I've been off in solitary contemplation for many years. I've hardly payed any attention to the rest of the world until the last couple months. It's good to have your help Ming in catching up :)

About the article Software is hard - Ming says:
"What is missing is really tools for modeling things to do... the general problem might only be solved at around the same time when most programming will no longer be necessary. I.e. you interactively work out the model of what to do in real-time, and when you're done, the software is done too. No separation between the specification and the doing. Would be great. There are systems that do that to some degree, but so far nobody's succeeded in making it general enough. The ultimate software project would be to invent a system that makes programming obsolete, by making it so simple that anybody can do it, very quickly. Unfortunately that's a hard."

Well I've been working on that one - more accurately it fell out of some metaphysical research into information systems theory and models of reality generative processes that could create realities like the one that we experience - or more accurately again, a vision appeared fully formed in the back of my mind in early 2000 and I spent a few years translating the vision into mathematics and software.

The mathematics works beautifully! I call it system matrix notation SMN because it uses matrix algebra to represent systems and generate virtual realities. It creates a mathematical information system theory and can totally revolutionise mathematical science - breaking it out of its empiricist rut that it doesn't even know it's in (see The Scientific Case Against Materialism - but that's another story). I have some proof-of-concept software implementations on my website, just to show that it works. See: http://www.anandavala.info/TASTMOTNOR/SMN%20Code.html  More >

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Fire the Grid Oracular Confirmation and Advice

See the article Rationality, Scepticism and the I Ching for a discussion on the I Ching itself...

I've just read the article on 4 ways to fire the Earth Grid and the associated website and I felt the truth of what it says. I consulted the I Ching for oracular confirmation. It's response verified everything that Shelley spoke of and gave advice on the matter so I summarise it below for the benefit of others:

(61) Centring and Connecting to the Spirits / The Opened Heart:

The connection of inner and outer in the thought of the heart that spreads the word across the threshold of life and death. It is a major site of radical transformation at all levels and a transition to the great festival times.

Articulate the Mandate then trust in it. Connect the heart with the spirit. It implies a return to and of the spirit, establishing the myriad blessings that flow from the ancestors and Heaven through the act of sacrifice: benediction, celestial favour and great prosperity; to drive out evil spirits. It is an offering to the ancestors and a contract to recognise partners. It points at connection to the spirit world and the carrying wave of blessings and energy that pours forth through that connection. It means moving to or being at the centre, an equal or still point between opposites. It is an arrow that hits the centre of the target, the equinoxes, the pivotal points of the year. It is the 'coming in and going out' of the souls from the centre, the heart and its inner animation, the activity of the spirits in the heart and their harmonizing influence. It refers to the inner world: meditation and the inner Way. It is a banner placed at the centre point of the four sides, a hole or link to the world of the dead and the ancestors.  More >

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Here is a story told through quotes, comments and links related to commonsense (naive) realism, epistemology, materialism, information theoretic metaphysics, consciousness, empirical science, mysticism, holistic science and also system theory. There's some fascinating links to profound experiments into the nature of consciousness if you don't already know about them... (The PEAR REG/GCP experiments)

Skepticism

Skepticism "is the application of reason to any and all ideas - no sacred cows allowed... Ideally, skeptics do not go into an investigation closed to the possibility that a phenomenon might be real or that a claim might be true. When we say we are 'skeptical' we mean that we must see compelling evidence before we believe." (http://www.skeptic.com)

Furthermore "To some degree skepticism manifests itself in the scientific method, which demands that all things assumed as facts be questioned. But the positivism of many scientists, whether latent or open, is incompatible with skepticism, for it accepts without question the assumption that material effect is impossible without material cause." (The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia http://www.answers.com/topic/skepticism)

So materialism is NOT a skeptical position to take - because it is based upon the unquestioned assumption and belief in the primacy of matter. If people were to question it and not simply assert their beliefs it could be a skeptical position but any deep questioning soon shows it to be unable to withstand such questioning.

Commonsense (Naive) Realism

"Naïve realism is a common sense theory of perception. Most people, until they start reflecting philosophically, are naïve realists. This theory is also known as "direct realism" or "common sense realism". Naïve realism claims that the world is pretty much as common sense would have it. All objects are composed of matter, they occupy space, and have properties such as size, shape, texture, smell, taste and colour. [It is assumed that] These properties are usually perceived correctly. So, when we look at and touch things we see and feel those things directly, and so perceive them as they really are." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na%C3%AFve_realism)

In its most common form a naive realist thinks "I ... am a human being. There is this one physical world, the space where everything exists and the time in which everything happens. There are many things in this physical world, each largely separate from the other and persisting over a span of time... My senses give me direct knowledge of reality. If I see a chair, it is because there is a chair physically where and when I see it. There are exceptions, like when I am dreaming or watching a movie, but these are rare and obviously not real. I can know things through my senses, through thinking about things, and through communication with other people. Other people's beliefs may be correct or not, but beliefs of people I respect, and beliefs held commonly by most people in my society, are usually true." (http://www.boogieonline.com/seeking/first/yesterday.html)

It is a general tendency of naive realists to be unaware that their beliefs are in fact beliefs. They consider them to simply be obvious facts about the way things are. This is because they have not yet questioned their beliefs. They are naive believers but they often also believe that they are skeptical. It is a habitual credulous state of mind and the habit can be very hard to overcome.

"Karl Popper (1970) pointed out that although Hume’s idealism appeared to him to be a strict refutation of commonsense realism, and although he felt rationally obliged to regard commonsense realism as a mistake, he admitted that he was, in practice, quite unable to disbelieve in it for more than an hour: that, at heart, Hume was a commonsense realist. [And] Edmund Husserl (1970), saw the phenomenologist in Hume when he showed that some perceptions are interrelated or associated to form other perceptions which are then projected onto a world putatively outside the mind." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hume)

I.e. objects which are assumed to comprise the "external world" are really objects of perception. To attribute them with external reality is an act of belief for which there is no rational basis.  More >

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Ego and the Denial of Complexity

This began as a comment to an article by Flemming Funch on Denial of complexity, but it grew too large for that format.

The comments that he made strongly resonate with my own ideas so I feel inspired to share some of those resonances in the hope that it may add something to this discussion. I'll extemporise on his comments and quote them extensively, weaving my own ideas around them...

" "The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity". -Jacob Burkhardt What a great quote! "

It is a great quote. I've included that quote right at the start of my latest e-book on the subject - thanks for bringing it to my attention. It sums up the essence of the issue in 9 words but to explain the implications of those 9 words takes a few more words.

It revolves around "the basic idea of being able to study and describe different periods as a whole" because the system that we are a part of functions as a 'whole' even though the "simple mind" only perceives it as separate parts. That is why I apply system theory to conceive of the functioning of the whole and some very startling ramifications come from such an analysis - which he also hints at in his article.

"Life is complex, biologically, socially, culturally. The most awesome stuff that exists is complex. The universe, evolution, eco-systems, art, adventure, human culture in general, and the human mind."

People too often neglect this most important fact and our traditional discourses simply cannot comprehend that complexity. They create a simplistic context that gives rise to simplistic agendas and simplistic rationalisations. They speak of left-wing, right-wing, politics, economy, human rights, society and so on. These simplistic discourses lead us to believe that these are simple phenomena that are fully defined by the simplistic ideas associated with those words and that the reality can be comprehended and engineered by merely manipulating those simplistic ideas. We too often don't recognise that these ideas are just symbols that refer to cultural interpretations of minute aspects of a much deeper and more complex 'whole'. When we think only through the narrow channels of traditional discourses and we act from that narrow thinking. We may seem rational in the narrow context of those discourses but those discourses cannot comprehend the reality so in reality we are in fact being dangerously irrational and our actions are destructively out of alignment with reality.

The "human mind is at a crucial point in its evolution. We can consciously think abstractly. But not very well. The part of our mind we're conscious of, and that we usually identify with as "me", typically has an extremely inflated idea of its own worth and its own independent existence. That despite that it can only solve extremely simple problems, and it doesn't even know how. It over-simplifies everything, and it tends to think it is in charge."

This is the ego and it has been known by the wise to be the root cause of all suffering and dysfunction in the world for exactly the reasons that Flemming mentions, i.e. it has "an extremely inflated idea of its own worth and its own independent existence... it can only solve extremely simple problems, and it doesn't even know how. It over-simplifies everything, and it tends to think it is in charge." This means that when the ego reigns supreme our understanding is distorted, our agendas are out of alignment with reality and our actions create disturbance in the wider holistic context.

The most interesting bits are yet to come...  More >

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Preview of a new e-book soon to be released.

It's a system theoretic analysis of the ego and its role in the cult of authoritarianism, which leads to tyranny. The analysis isn't an intellectual exploration, instead it seeks to encourage a deep understanding of the nature of events in our lives and in the world and to spark up a discourse amongst progressive communities that can lead to practical and effective strategies to resolve the growing crisis in civilisation and to navigate the transition to a new and more sustainable civilisation.

The Gaian-Ego Hypothesis
or
Systems Analysis of Organisation,
Ego, Control and Authoritarianism

"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."
(Henry David Thoreau)

"The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity" [FR]. "Truth, in its complexity, cannot be advanced if the discourse of intellectuals conforms to a self-reproducing closed loop of hidden assumptions." [FR] The purpose of this analysis is to step out of the loop of subtle dogma and to expand the scope of potential discourse so that we may better comprehend the complexity by discerning its underlying pattern, thereby we may see through our errors and not merely repeat them. This overall analysis is humbly offered to help fuel a communal discussion that can bringing together the knowledge and expertise of progressive minds into a coherent and effective discourse that can peacefully resolve the crisis in civilisation.

The Situation

Most human expressions, activities and inventions first arise as thoughts and are shared via communication, therefore civilisation can be described as the outward manifestation of a communal understanding or a resonance of minds or a memeplex [FR]. The breakdown of communal understanding lies at the heart of the breakdown of this civilisation. The work of rebuilding communal understanding must ultimately be the foundation of any effective attempt to resolve the crisis. The cause of the breakdown is complex but ultimately stems from the corruption of public discourse by manipulative agendas and the remedy is for humanity to reclaim that discourse and clarify the confusions thus creating a space for rebuilding a communal understanding. "Speech is civilization itself.... it is silence which isolates." [FR] From this, greater awareness will arise and collectively we will know how to act to resolve the crisis and put civilisation on a firm and realistic foundation.

Whilst ever the dominant discourse is corrupt the voice of reason is just noise in the background that cannot meaningfully penetrate the discourse and bring sanity into the overall situation. There is already a vast body of knowledge that provides detailed evidence and deep analysis of the many problems but these have been accumulating for decades, even centuries, and have had minimal overall impact. Whilst these analyses are vital in the long term, at present they are largely impotent because the dominant discourse cannot entertain the simple logic and has no desire to act on it even when it can. Furthermore analysing and exposing issues one at a time is a reactionary strategy that creates an information overload that people cannot properly digest because there is no coherent paradigm within which to make sense of it all. What is required is a subtler strategy that can eventually penetrate then wall of denial.

There are rapidly growing numbers of open minds and we have the potential to form a diverse and integrated community that can create a parallel discourse that weakens the corrupt discourse and shifts the balance of power. But we need a way to manage the information overload and integrate it into a coherent and compelling communal understanding that forms the seed of a more humane and more sustainable civilisation.  More >