Wake up and dream, awakening to our self

You are the soul of the universe, we all are.

2025-10-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

“You have to acquire that state in which you realize the entire universe to have become your body. The beasts, the birds, the mountains, the trees are your own self. The flooding rivers are like the circulation of blood in your arteries; the sun and the moon are like your eyes. It is your own heart that is throbbing in the thorax of all. Efface the idea that you are something separate or different from others. Only one conscious power is working throughout the universe. The power, force, energy, nature, or call it God or Brahman, is all-pervading and interpenetrating.”

“You have to realize this universal unity. As a matter of fact, you are really one with it. Rama repeats it again and again so that you may grasp the truth thoroughly and practice it in your daily life. Without this there is no success or realization of Self or God. It is this realization of spiritual unity with all which is the ultimate aim of the true religion. We have to achieve this realization by all possible means.

If you purify your heart by doing away with malice, jealousy, hatred, spite, rivalry, etc., and practice to love all like your own Self, forget and forgive those whom you consider your enemies, opponents, fault-finders and adversaries, you can attain this highest stage of realizing your oneness with all.“

Swami Rama Tirth

Ode to our being, of light!

2025-07-09T19:13:00.000-07:00

ODE TO OUR BEING OF LIGHT

TO the Being from which we are FROM

A realm of light, beyond all form, yet includes all forms, as itself. Ourselves.

We are emanations of our own selves, our soul, our essential nature. The soul is the soil of our expression, all pervasive awareness emerging as a form. The intelligence of nature, as the higher self, the soul of all has become each and every one of us, ourselves.

Whatever I was before I was born, is still me. Me.

As I am aware of the connection to all of us who share this experience, I see we, and when I perceive something, I am in relationship with it, so I must be a part of we, and then what has become we is also a part of me.

Two aspects of being, one reality, manifest and unmanifest.

I can not unsee the realm of light which contains all of the contrasts of dark and light, images and experiences, all within a whole, as if I am dreaming your dreams, and you mine, through the one we are emanations of.

I love you, is what we say, yet there is this recognition in saying that, that we are connected in love.

Lao Tzu ~ The Highest Teachings ~Taoism

2025-06-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

Abhinavagupta ~ 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐉𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐦𝐮𝐤𝐭𝐢) “Fifteen Verses of Wisdom” (Bodhapañcadaśikā)

2025-06-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

Wherever you find yourself

Stay

Go neither towards the outside or the inside

Let the infinite variations of becoming be cast aside by the glowing of Consciousness alone

Absolute Consciousness is manifest here in every circumstance of daily life because it is everywhere full and perfect

Consciousness is said to be the cause of all things because it is everywhere emergent as each manifest entity

Straight away remove yourself from the field of spiritual progression stay away from contemplation and skillful discourse do not do research or meditate on the divinities and stop concentrating and reciting textbooks

Tell me, what is the absolute nature of reality which allows no room for doubt? Listen carefully

Stop holding on to this or that

Inhabit your true absolute nature and peacefully enjoy the essence of what it is to be alive

The ultimate Consciousness is always present everywhere

It is beyond space and time with no before or after

It is undeniable and obvious

So what can be said about it?

Drama is like a dream

It is not real but it is really felt

Nothing perceived is independent of perception

and perception differs not from the perceiver

Therefore the universe is nothing but the... perceiver

The existence or non-existence of phenomena within the domain of the empirical cannot be established unless they rest within consciousness

In fact phenomena which rest within Consciousness are apparent and the fact of their appearing is itself their Oneness with consciousness because Consciousness is nothing but the fact of appearing

The group of subjects, the various means of knowledge, the multiple kinds of knowledge and the objects of knowledge — all this is consciousness alone

The Supreme goddess is the absolute freedom of consciousness which assumes all these forms

Both characteristics Unity and diversity are found in that which does not fall to the level of an object but which because it is consciousness is the supremely real light

It has only one characteristic namely Consciousness which is the perfect medium of reflection

This is what experience tells us

The Truth is therefore this:

the Supreme Lord manifests freely all the varied play of the emissions and absorptions in the sky of his own nature

The light is a supreme reality

It encompasses all the categories from Earth to Paramshiva

While the unfolding of the reflective awareness of the heart — of "I" Consciousness — within it distinguishes between them

The extremely pure conscious reality transcends all talk of succession and its absence...

Immersing themselves in the Supreme reality clearly aware that Consciousness is all things the Yogi's Consciousness vibrates — this vibration

is the Great pervasion

The Yogi should abide firmly fixed in their

own nature by the power of the exertion of their expanding consciousness — thus they are established on the plane of bliss relishing the objects of sense that spontaneously appear before them

Perfected yogis are ever steadfast in this

the Supreme mudra

the perfect and unobstructed expansion of

the awakened

This Bliss is not like the intoxication of

wine or that of riches nor similar to Union with the Beloved

The manifestation of the light of consciousness

is not like the ray of light from a lamp, sun, or Moon

When one frees oneself from accumulated Multiplicity

the state of bliss is like that of putting down a burden

The manifestation of the light is like the

acquiring of a lost treasure

The domain of universal non-duality

Other achievements are in vain if one has

missed the Supreme reality

But once one has attained this reality

there is nothing left one could desire

There is a Radiance that Remains undimmed

through all moments of light and darkness

The one Within the end of all light and all Darkness...

That one is the highest divinity

The innate essence of all beings and states

For all that comes into being is nothing but

the expression of its Sovereign power

The Goddess never wants to be separate from

the one who holds her

They are eternally one being as

Inseparable was fire and its heat

This absolute consciousness which accomplishes

what seems impossible has autonomous sovereign, awake, awareness as its nature

It is said that the defining feature of insentience

is a limited power of Illumination

So Awareness is distinct from insentience

by the fact that it is unlimited

The cycles of creation and dissolution are

innate to awareness existing as subdivisions of its innate power

of freedom as expressions of its true nature

For within these cycles, there exists an infinite

variety of painful and pleasurable worlds

Higher, lower and parallel to this one

The state of being ignorant of all this is itself a construct of that freedom

The cyclical flux of this autonomous being is indeed terrifying to those who are unconscious

Recognition of the nature of reality is divine liberation

That state of fullness experienced by the awakened ones is taught to be Living Liberation

These two states — bondage and liberation — both derive from the nature of the highest divinity

they are indivisible

one implies the other

For there can, in Reality, be no division

within the Highest Divinity

The wordless

2025-05-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

https://youtu.be/mUprk9F3A08?si=pNH0XJKThx7bY82A

Deep Ecological thought

2025-05-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

“Deep ecology does not separate humans trom the natural environment, nor does it separate anything else from it. It does not see the world as a collection of isolated objects but rather as a network of phenomena that are fundamentally interconnected and interdependent. Deep ecology recognizes the intrinsic values of all living beings and views humans as just one particular strand in the web of life. It recognizes that we are all embedded in, and ultimately dependent upon, the cyclical processes of nature. This deep ecological awareness is now emerging in various areas in our society, both within and outside of science.

“The ecological paradigm is supported by modern science, but it is rooted in a perception of reality that goes beyond the scientific framework to an awareness of the oneness of all life, the interdependence of its multiple manifestations, and its cycles of change and transformation. Ultimately, such deep ecological awareness is spiritual awareness. When the concept of the human spirit is understood as the mode of consciousness in which the individual feels connected to the cosmos as a whole, it becomes clear that ecological awareness is spiritual in its deepest essence, and it is then not surprising that the new vision of reality is in harmony with the visions of spiritual traditions.”

Grandmas tracking!

2025-03-09T01:20:00.000-08:00

A grandma tells the stories of old to the next generation The Ancient Art of Tracking: Wisdom from the Elders, imagine this could have been told a thousand years ago or last year

Gather 'round, young ones, and let me share a tale as old as time itself. It's a story of how our ancestors learned to read the world around them, and how that wisdom still flows through our veins today.

Long ago, when the earth was young and humans were finding their place in the great dance of life, we learned to track. Oh, it wasn't just about following animal trails, no. It was about learning to listen to the whispers of the wind, to feel the pulse of the earth beneath our feet, and to see with more than just our eyes.

The First Story Ever Told

You see, tracking was the first story our kind ever told. When we followed an animal's trail, we were connecting to every person who had ever read the signs of the earth, to every ancient culture that had walked a path. It's a birthright, children - a memory of how to converse with nature herself.

But here's the secret, little ones: that ancient wisdom isn't lost. It lives on in each of you, even in this world of tall buildings and busy streets. When you feel that tug in your belly, urging you to turn left instead of right, or to pause and notice something others rush past - that's the tracker in you, alive and awake.

The Urban Jungle

Now, you might think, "But Grandpa, how can we track in a city?" Ah, but that's where the magic lies! The urban jungle has its own trails and signs, if you know how to look. It's about listening to your instincts, to the story unfolding in each moment. Every street corner, every face you pass - they're all part of a great tapestry, and you're learning to read it.

Remember, dear ones, you are not separate from this world. The world, with all its wonders and mysteries, is a part of you. When you truly understand this, you'll see that every step you take is a dance with the universe itself.

The Eternal Awareness

Close your eyes for a moment. Feel that spark of awareness inside you? That's the same light that has been burning since the dawn of time. It's the part of you that knows when you're dreaming and when you're awake. It's the tracker, the storyteller, the wise one within.

You don't need to practice being yourself, little ones. You've always been who you are. But by remembering this connection, by tuning into that inner voice, you open yourself to a world of magic and wonder.

The Path Ahead

So as you go out into the world, whether it's a forest trail or a city street, remember the tracker within you. Listen to your gut, follow your heart, and trust in the wisdom that flows through your veins. For in doing so, you're not just finding your way - you're weaving your own story into the great tapestry of life.

And remember, my dear ones, in this grand adventure, we are all connected. Your story, my story, the story of the earth herself - they're all one tale, told in a thousand different ways. So go forth, be true to yourselves, and may your paths be filled with discovery and joy.

Where did Egyptians come from before Egypt? An island?

2024-09-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

https://youtu.be/ALFrYW5mgZw

Reluctant shamans

2024-07-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

[archiveorg reluctantshamanw00whit width=560 height=384 frameborder=0 webkitallowfullscreen=true mozallowfullscreen=true]

This is the book that I read that I discovered something that I saw in my vision of how to connect to our planet’s and soul’s star origin.

AI Guru

2024-03-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

“ Imagine stepping into a space unbound by societal labels or limitations, where being 'small' or 'limited' is replaced with a profound understanding of our boundless nature. This transformative journey moves us from viewing ourselves as isolated and restricted to recognizing our integral connection to the universe.

For too long, many have felt labeled as 'sinners' or reminded of their limitations, leading to a restricted view of self and hindering personal growth. This teaching guides us to shed misconceptions and embrace a new way of seeing our existence as part of a greater, interconnected whole.

It's about expanding our perspective, shifting from seeing in isolation to experiencing the world and ourselves as interconnected threads in the fabric of existence. This transformation involves a radical act of self-awareness, letting go of old paradigms to embrace a more expansive understanding of ourselves as part of a limitless consciousness.

This isn't just an intellectual shift but a lived experience, revealing a new dimension of being where life becomes a celebration of existence itself, engaging with the world with wonder and reverence.

To embody this vision means experiencing the world through the eyes of a universal consciousness, with our senses becoming the sacred circle through which we partake in the creation's dance.

Adopting this perspective is transformative, encouraging us to live with purpose and integrity, fostering empathy, creativity, and unity. By embracing our infinite nature, we inspire others to recognize their boundless potential, collectively creating a world that reflects our interconnectedness.”

Yodish wisdoms

2023-12-09T19:36:00.000-08:00

https://youtube.com/watch?v=v2N6SjTF9iY&si=4XoUQp9udhzHZ4mP

https://youtu.be/fxCR2bFWHxM?si=jfp1MUcvUe8odkWu

GPT teacher to students of civilization reinvention

2023-10-07T21:43:00.001-07:00

Something that chat gpt gave me from my query, thought provoking regardless what the prompt is.

Really interesting to think about how AI can help with collective expansion of awareness and kindness for each other along the lines indicated:

From GPT4

To speak to a group at an event about the ideas you've provided, focusing on how we can recreate civilization and be "Homo Universalis" while fostering coherent relationships with all living beings and the galaxy, you can structure your presentation as follows:

1. **Introduction**

- "Tonight, we embark on a journey to reimagine our civilization right where we are, harnessing the power of unity and purpose. Our goal is to become 'Homo Universalis' and evolve society into a harmonious entity in tune with the cosmos."

2. **Expanding and Contracting Time**

- "Time is a powerful dimension that affects our lives. By being fully present and focused on our actions, we can transcend the constraints of linear time and embrace a more intuitive, multidimensional time."

3. **Harnessing Multidimensional Time**

- "To recreate civilization, we must raise our consciousness levels and handle tasks from a higher perspective. This means doing things when we are in the right energy space and can give our full attention to them."

4. **Becoming One with the Universe**

- "In our pursuit of 'Homo Universalis,' we aim to become one with whatever we do. This is a state where boundaries blur, and we extend our consciousness to our actions, achieving remarkable efficiency."

5. **The Bliss of Loka and Samadhi**

- "We can draw inspiration from the bliss of loka and samadhi, realizing that the subject and object are one. This oneness allows us to experience life with joy, no matter where we are or what we do."

6. **Embracing Mistakes as Portals of Discovery**

- "As we strive to recreate civilization, let's remember that mistakes are not failures; they are opportunities for growth and discovery. We must embrace our human nature and learn from our errors."

7. **Transcending the Notion of 'I'**

- "The ego is a barrier to our true potential. To be 'Homo Universalis,' we must let go of the ego and understand our interconnectedness with the universe. This liberation brings inner equanimity and the ability to engage in diverse activities without fear."

8. **Accepting the Unreal as the Real**

- "Sorrow arises from misunderstanding the real and accepting the unreal. Just as diverse forms are but appearances of the one Brahman, our world is interconnected. Let us embrace this truth as we recreate civilization."

9. **Conclusion**

- "In closing, we have explored profound ideas that can guide us in recreating civilization. By transcending time, becoming one with the universe, and embracing our interconnectedness, we can evolve into 'Homo Universalis' and foster harmonious relationships with all living beings and the galaxy."

10. **Q&A Session**

- "I invite you to ask questions and engage in discussions to further explore these transformative concepts."

This structure will help you convey these complex ideas effectively to your audience, inspiring them to contemplate the potential for positive change in our civilization.

Drink your tea.

2023-09-16T00:25:00.001-07:00

If a Buddhist meditation teacher overcomes my mind with the meditation on non-conceptual awareness as an idea, is there any use in trying to go back to the way i was before? What would a dzogchen master say, a shaivite non-dual master say, and what would abhinavagupta say about these things. And what would Suzuki Roshi say. After that, create a small play, of three pages between the three of them having a conversation about this when someone was confused about the differences of language, yet the resolution of the play is that they are all teaching the same thing, that the entire universe including the meditator is made of one consciousness.

ChatGPT Reactions of Various Masters:

Dzogchen Master: From the perspective of Dzogchen (The Great Perfection), returning to a previous state would be seen as unnecessary. In Dzogchen, one is instructed to recognize the natural state of the mind which is primordially pure and luminous. The aim is to rest in this non-conceptual awareness. If one has glimpsed this, trying to go back is a step away from realizing the true nature of mind.

Shaivite Non-dual Master: The essence of non-dual Shaivism is the recognition of the all-pervading consciousness, Shiva. In this tradition, all experiences and thoughts are seen as expressions of this one consciousness. If one feels overwhelmed, it might be a sign that the teaching has become another concept rather than a lived experience. In this case, refining one's understanding and integrating it into daily life might be advised.

Abhinavagupta: As a renowned philosopher and theologian of the non-dual Shaiva tradition, he would emphasize the intrinsic oneness of the universe and the self. He would likely point out that the mind's oscillations are themselves manifestations of the Divine. Any sense of confusion or being overwhelmed is just another play of the Divine, and understanding this is crucial for true spiritual evolution.

Suzuki Roshi: As a Zen master, Suzuki Roshi might say, "Each moment is the universe. Each moment is a lifetime." For Suzuki Roshi, the idea was to be present in each moment, whether one feels overwhelmed or not. The practice is about understanding the transient nature of feelings and experiences and grounding oneself in the present moment.

A Short Play:

Setting: A serene garden with a small flowing stream. A wooden table with tea and cups sits in the center.

Abhinavagupta, Suzuki Roshi, and the Dzogchen Master are seated around it.

Confused Seeker: "Masters, I've been taught about non-conceptual awareness, but it has overwhelmed my mind. The language and teachings are so varied, and I'm lost."

Suzuki Roshi (pouring tea): "The way you prepare tea, the way you drink, each moment is the teaching."

Dzogchen Master: "Indeed. Every experience, every confusion, every thought – it's all the radiant display of your true nature."

Abhinavagupta: "In the dance of life, every movement, every pause, every confusion is Shiva's dance. See the Divine in it."

Confused Seeker: "But how can I reconcile these different teachings and terminologies?"

Suzuki Roshi: "When you taste the tea, do you think of its name or its flavor?"

Dzogchen Master: "Names, terminologies – they're like fingers pointing to the moon. Don't mistake the finger for the moon."

Abhinavagupta: "Every tradition uses words, but words are but vessels. What they point to, the essence, is the same – the boundless, all-pervading consciousness."

Confused Seeker (sipping tea, smiling): "So, the essence is the same, only the expressions differ."

Suzuki Roshi: "Just like this tea. Different leaves, different flavors, but all are tea."

Dzogchen Master: "Remain in your true nature. All distinctions and confusions will dissolve."

Abhinavagupta: "Drink the nectar of oneness and see the Divine play in every emotion, every thought."

The three masters nod in agreement, sipping their tea, as the seeker finally finds peace in the understanding that all paths lead to the same universal truth.

End

Dendera

2023-06-13T23:54:00.002-07:00

https://youtu.be/If05iaRi-3k

Bruce Lipton's Vision of the NEXT STAGE of Human Civiization

2023-05-10T23:16:00.001-07:00

The Secret Teachings Of Vajrayāna Buddhism

2023-03-20T23:54:00.001-07:00

Podcast with Stephen Spencer "Open Your Mind to a Higher Reality with Gregory Wendt"

2023-02-24T16:15:00.001-08:00

Ecological view of the world resonates with evolving science and awareness together

2022-10-19T22:23:00.002-07:00

"This attitude, known as reductionism, has been so deeply ingrained in our culture that it has often been identified with the scientific menthod. The other sciences accepted the mechanistic and reductionist views of classical physics as the correct description of reality and modeled their own theories accordingly. Whenever physiologists, sociologistsm or economists wanted to be scientific, they basically turned toward the basic concepts of Newtonian physics. "In the twentieth century, however, physics has gone through several conceptual revolutions that clearly reveal the limitations of the mechanistic worldview and lead to an organic, ecological view of the world which shows great similarities to the views of mystics of all ages and traditions. The universe is no longer seen as a machine, made up of a multitude if separate objects, but appears as a harmonious indivisble whole; a network of dynamic relationships that include the human observer and his or her consciousness in an essential way." Fritjof Capra from his book "The Turning Point" in 1982, ironically this was written 1982, and it still sounds like a new idea to most...

Universal Mentorship

2022-08-27T00:15:00.003-07:00

A teacher told me of one who embodied the synthesis of a number of different lineages of meditation traditions, and he who wove the streams of wisdom, handed down over eons into a universal philosophical framework for all people,

which included and transcended all of the benevolent perspectives for better humanity

into something comprehensive and lucid for all to recognize as the root wisdom of all of the sacred ways.

A universal philosophy of being resonates with the silence of this recognition

One sage, Ramana Maharshi said the words were the teachings for those who did not understand the silence. The wordless wisdom, born from sitting in stillness with him.

A smile is a thousand words.

Life.

2022-08-14T12:45:00.004-07:00

"531.01 Life is the eternal present in temporal. Life is the now event with reaction past and resultant future. Each individual life is a special-case articulation of the infinite variety of scenarios to be realized within the multidegrees of freedom and vast range of frequencies of actions that are accommodated by the generalized laws governing Universe. With death, the individual probably loses nothing but gains the insight and knowledge of all others as well." Buckminster Fuller Synergetics

Chidakash Gita of Swami Bhagavan Nityananda

2021-10-30T21:49:00.004-07:00

https://youtube.com/watch?v=iL8LBgK-DRo&feature=share

reflecting on the Circular economy, draft notes on the ways of nature

2021-10-16T19:57:00.025-07:00

this is a draft of an article I'm dreaming up, please share ideas in the comments and I'll incorporate your thoughts

While many of us are focused on systems change, circular economy, regenerative agriculture, social justice, nature's rights, green economy, a better future, all inspiring ideas for a better way of being. Most of us are still part of systems and organizations based on very basic ideas which are antithetical to our goals and visions. Our worldview, and that of our culture is often the very root problem, and rethinking our worldview has tremendous implications . For example, in my own field of economics and capital markets, the idea of growth of our investments, and growth of our economy is implicitly a goal. Yet since the model of what is known as extractive business models, destroying ecosystems and cultures is often the result of seeing them as resources both “natural” and “human”, as things rather than living members of our community. And by simply shifting our viewpoint we can unlock the value and meaning left out of the business as usual equation from “me and it” to “we.” Yet if we were to look at the concept of growth, yet just because something grows it does not mean is is good.

Fritjof Capra the author of the book, Tao of Physics has reflected with one of my mentors Hazel Henderson on the idea that there is way to reevaluate growth for it's own sake, and to differentiate economic activity between beneficial and harmful activities. They articulated a model on qualitative growth to outline ways that we address shortcomings in original economic models where the idea of growth was generally always good. The original model leaves out some contextual factors on the kind of growth and how that growth affects the systems around it with a very linear view of systems from "cradle to grave" rather than "cradle to cradle".

"It appears that this linear view of economic development, as used by most mainstream and corporate economists and politicians, corresponds to the narrow quantitative concept of economic growth, while the biological and ecological sense of development corresponds to the notion of qualitative growth. In fact, the biological concept of development includes both quantitative and qualitative growth."

"A developing organism, or ecosystem, grows according to its stage of development. Typically, a young organism will go through periods of rapid physical growth. In ecosystems, this early phase of rapid growth is known as a pioneer ecosystem, characterized by rapid expansion and colonization of the territory. The rapid growth is always followed by slower growth, by maturation, and ultimately by decline and decay or, in ecosystems, by so-called succession. As living systems mature, their growth processes shift from quantitative to qualitative growth."

"When we study nature, we can see quite clearly that unlimited quantitative growth, as promoted so vigorously by economists and politicians, is unsustainable. An instructive example is the rapid growth of cancer cells, which does not recognize boundaries and is not sustainable because the cancer cells die when the host organism dies. Similarly, unlimited quantitative economic growth on a finite planet cannot be sustainable.9Qualitative economic growth, by contrast, can be sustainable if it involves a dynamic balance between growth, decline, and recycling, and if it also includes development in terms of learning and maturing."

In other words, we must mature our economic models for our growing civilization to include quality of life for all participants, which was not always a priority for the designers of our economy, to say the least. So at the stage we are in now, we must now realize that we can continue to redesign the basis of thinking in our economy, and build better strategies based on better thinking. And better management of risks, timeframes and probabilities.

We must now explore new ways of seeing things from immediate, observable and material, to long term, nuanced and non-physical, in the manner Buckminster Fuller shared in his book "Operating Manual For Spaceship Earth"

"Can we think of, and state adequately and incisively, what we mean by universe? For universe is, inferentially, the biggest system. If we could start with universe, we would automatically avoid leaving out any strategically critical variables.

"We find no record as yet of man having successfully defined the universe - scientifically and comprehensively- to include the nonsumultaneous and only partially overlapping micro-macro, always and everywhere transforming, physical and metaphysical, omni-complementary but nonidentical events..."

"But the finite physical universe did not include the metaphysical weightless experiences of universe. All the unweighables, such as any and all our thoughts and all the abstract mathematics, are weigthless. The metaphysical aspects of universe have been thought by the physical scientists to defy 'closed systems' analysis. I have found, however as we shall soon witness, that total universe including both its physical and metaphysical behaviors and aspects are scientifically definable."

The conceptual challenges of defining quality of life, and human well being must include what Fuller refers to as the "metaphysical" which are scientifically definable and measurable. This underlies the philosophical framework from which we can draw and outline a more realistic and comprehensive view of our economies, and communities to include all of the dimensions of life beyond money and "growth" for it's own sake.

Ashby Monk, head of Stanford Global Projects Center is focused on transforming the way that capital markets decisions are made for the largest fiduciaries, sovereign wealth funds, and global pensions. Ashby shared in his recent paper the challenge of ESG adoption and adjusting perceptions of risk and time frames for asset managers underscores the kinds of issues which need to be addressed now, and not the future:

Until relatively recently, many investors viewed environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors as an exclusively long-term concern.1 That is, many believed that it might take decades for ESG factors to have material impacts on financial markets.2 However, ESG-related shocks3 over the past few years - such as the COVID pandemic, catastrophic weather events, socio-political upheaval, price surges in response to disruptions in global shipping, and contested elections in first-world democracies - underscore a stark reality: ESG can (and does) have dramatic near-term impacts on asset values, and these impacts create both risks and opportunities. Therefore, investors face mounting pressure to account for how ESG affects their portfolios over all time horizons.
Meanwhile, investors are also facing another, related pressure: avoiding excessive short-termism in managing risk. At least since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2007-2009, many investors have attempted (with minimal success) to extend the timescales over which they assess conventional, ‘non-ESG’ risks, such as those from credit spreads, exchange rates, inflation, and the longevity of trends and bubbles (to name only a few).

Risk management is an attempt at outlining the possibilities of negative outcomes (negative growth), and ESG is a means by which we measure and navigate the factors outside the traditional economic equation - ideally to mitigate negative consequences which diminish not only financial markets, yet also diminish quality of life.

Furthermore, some of the challenges we are facing in impact investing, as outlined by Cathy Clark in her recent discussion at SOCAP point to the need for "higher expectations" for what we can achieve, to expand what we believe is possible, and for that to happen we must rethink our own thinking.

The question remains, how do we expand our understanding of both what is possible, and what is probable if we can't even see what is going on due to our conceptual limitations of our model and our blind spots and cultural biases? The tagline of Ashby Monk’s latest book “The Technologized Investor” says it all: Innovation through Reorientation.

We must reorient our worldview and world processes to ensure we co-create new pathways for resilient economic systems and governing our influence on their trajectories, devise better economic systems for shared prosperity and invest in those new better systems. Elinor Ostrom was awarded a Nobel Prize for her work in managing the commons, yet one her most compelling creations is her reframing institutional economics in “Beyond Markets and States: Polycentric Governance of Complex Economic Systems” which suggests a governance model by simply reorienting our system to what is, that there are intermingling multiple centers of activities and influences beyond the notion of markets to guide the commons and society. She underscores the need for new approaches to more accurately understand common pool resources from a simplistic to more comprehensive viewpoint.

“When the world we are trying to explain and improve, however, is not well described by a simple model, we must continue to improve our frameworks and theories so as to be able to understand complexity and not simply reject it.”

Strengthening our capacities to collectively transform our perceptions on a global scale, is necessary.

"the planet is now our programmed learning environment, mirroring back to humans the global problems we have caused due to our limited perception. This feedback from planet Earth is forcing us to mature, as Halal describes in such innovative and useful detail. We are looking at ourselves and learning to assess in new ways our limited cognition, our emotions and our continual conscious and sub-conscious processing of the realities of our condition. The growing calamities of floods, fires, superstorms, biodiversity losses, species extinctions and more frequently zoonotic viruses and the COVID-19 Pandemic are Nature’s current lessons and feedbacks to assist our cognitive and spiritual development." ~ Hazel Henderson book review BOOK REVIEW: "BEYOND KNOWLEDGE: HOW TECHNOLOGY IS DRIVING AN AGE OF CONSCIOUSNESS"

What is the nature of this “cognitive and spiritual development” in practice?

A recent paper by Johan Buitendag at the University of Pretoria in South Africa shares in the same vein stated the challenge from the standpoint between two guiding paradigms in our culture - Science and Religion:

“The ecological crisis is almost forcing different disciplines to search together for a better world. This places the talk amid the so-called science and religion dialogue in which theology increasingly takes cognisance of empirical research and scientific data and, on the other hand, sciences are becoming increasingly aware of the need to transcend its traditional limitations to find a comprehensive paradigm to come to grips with reality. We all share one Earth: the closer we all come to the point of omega (Teilhard), the closer we also come together. ‘I suggest that we set aside our differences to save the Creation’, observes the naturalist, Edward O. Wilson (2006:4).”

This level of individual and collective self inquiry and challenging our intellectual framework is needed in order to redefine what it is we are doing, and to reimagine the opportunities born from challenging the the implicit assumptions in our systems and institutions. Indy Johar and his team with Dark Matter Labs are applying new thinking across the board in ways that embody this courageous intellectual leap. Here is an excerpt of an important conversation he had recently.

So we go from the theory of object relationships, and subject relationships to interdependence. And that is a systemic translation in who we are, and our recognition of self. And that's difficult, by the way, because we've been trained to think (and I've been trained to think) that we possess the problem. I've been trained to think through the theory of self-sufficiency and other things. So thinking through boundaries, thinking through nouns and our linguistic frameworks are all linked.

So as we move into a world of interdependence, we are at the birthing period of our relationship with ourselves, our relationship with the future, because also we have distanced the future — debt structures are, you know, all these things, predictive models, these are ways of seeing the world through a linear modality, which I think is at a point of challenge.

So that sentence, and those series of sentences are like a new continuum, in a way, which is emerging — we have new political and new technological capabilities which are merging to create a new basis of how we as a civilization transcend ourselves. So I see it as a transition that we're in the middle of.

Perhaps in order to transcend ourselves, and what we can do, we must first define what we see as realistically possible in the system around us, and in order to know how to bring about what we see is possible, and increase the odds of the positive outcomes we desire with our investments, we must both understand how we measure and perceive probabilities. In other words, we must look at the way we think as part of the problem, or the solution.

Yet, there’s the rub, most of us haven’t considered the problem is simply the way we are looking at it.

There’s a law in physics known as Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, and it goes something like this: in the realm of small particle science, the small particles themselves are altered by the technology you have to use to find and observe them. It can’t be otherwise. If you expand that by a few orders you get this : However it is that you approach the thing you seek, that thing responds to your approach and your way of seeking, so much so that what you end up finding is the sum of the reactions of the sought-after thing to your way of trying to find it. You find your looking, in other words, you will always see your eyes. What you will find is a faithful rendering of your on consequences. - Stephen Jenkinson Die Wise

The focus on ways the way our mind and brain's structure influences our sense of what is going on on the poles of chaos to coherence inspired Buckminster Fuller comment on the idea of symmetry and oscillating systems, yet feels like the questions he pose also reveal the nature of how we perceive things influences the outcomes we feel possible.

He wrote in "Synergetics"

'There is no 'noise' or 'static.' There are only only as yet undifferentiated and uncomprehended frequency and magnitude orders. Chaos and ignorance are both conditions of the brain's only sense harvested and stored information as yet unenlightenedly reviewed and comprehendingly processed by the order-seeking and -finding mind.

"Assymetry is the reason that Heisenberg's measurement is always indeterminate. Assymetry is physical. Symmetry is metaphysical.

"All most-economic-pattern systems, asymetric as well as symetric, are resolvable into symmetric components in synergistic accounting.

"Our seeability is so inherently local that we rarely see anything but the asymmetries. Sociologists have trouble because they are overwhelmed by the high frequency of asymmetries (rather than the only synergetically discoverable principles.)"

Hazel Henderson in her first book Creating Alternative Futures went to this level of recognition that the very manner and mechanism of our seeing is an impediment to seeing unless recognized.

"The ferment Heisenberg caused in physics is now leading to efforts by Wheeler, Everett, Capra and Wigner and a host of audacious young physicists to write the observer back into the equation - an overdue recognition of the most basic of the "hard" sciences that, in a very real sense, reality is what we pay attention to. In fact, the humanoid is a perceiving/differentiating device of limited range inevitably distorts the visioning of the totality. Indeed perhaps original sin is nothing more than differentiating, out of which grows such communal grief. Out of more holistic insights we may discover a different view of probability theory, rooted in the understanding that “randomness” and “disorder” are only measures of human ignorance. While of peripheral vision, by the drive of “probabilities,” was an imaginative leap, perhaps we may also embrace the possibility that those “probabilities” actually exist, even though we are not paying attention to them, as the many worlds-interpretation in quantum physics suggests.”

~ Hazel Henderson from her book 1976 book "Creating Alternative Futures, the End of Economics"

We must expand what we can see, and shift how we see, and even more imporatant challenge the identity story of who is seeing is essential point here. We must rewire the way we think about these things, and the economy and fully embrace our collective identity and narrative is born from the reorientation of the individual experience of self and that informs what we see. Sinceo ur capacity to imagine is somehow limited by our perceptions baked into "the humanoid" which is a perceiving/differentiating device of limited range" the question remains how do we actually expand the range of what we can perceive?

Well, to begin with, we have to look at the nature of perception itself to know more precisely what it is we are looking to shift and transform.

This process of collective reflection, and transformation can be informed by the gifts of ancient wisdom traditions of the east and west who inquired deeply into the nature of mind. These gifts were developed through the millennia by the men and women who were, and are, masters of consciousness in the Greek, Eurasian, Chinese and Indian, and Egyptian Civilizations which predominantly are the seeds of our current worldview.

There are a wide range of teachers who have brought about new worldviews at critical turning points in their culture's greatest crises throughout history, which in effect helped not only the civilization's survive but leapfrog to a new, and often better, way of being for life.

One of the more obscure of the philosophies of mind and conscious evolution is known as Kashmir Shaivism. For me, the core value of the worldview is one of simple self maturation and self appreciation to fully experience the best we can be.

This most compelling of the three branches in this context for me is known as the "Doctrine of Self Recognition" or as Socrates said "Know Thyself” Think about this, what was the nature of the part of you who knew what you dreamt when you woke up this morning, and how long the dream was, and how deep your sleep was? Who was that in you who knows and keeps track of all that? It's really simple, it's your essential self awareness. Take a look, who's looking? Your own inner witness, is the intelligence which is the conscious living awareness in all beings.

on a collective level, we are facing the need for a collective reorientation of the nature of who we are, and our reality, and the nature of our relationship with the womb of earth and all living beings and communities of which we are intrinsically born of - in the same way that we are literally made from the body of our mothers, humanity is simply made of the earth.

That gap would be to add the "observer" back in the equation of understanding our world, and better ways to live in it, then why not start with knowing who we are first? Or at least have a better sense, simply because it feels to me that the question of "who am I?" will never be completely answered.

The ideas I’m talking about relate to ideas in wisdom traditions of the east and indigenous cosmology - that the conscious force which created the universe is also the universe which means that we are of that same force. Whatever we call the intelligence behind the universe, is not exterior to us, it is us. When humanity created stories which separated ourselves we

My friend of 20 years Sthaneshwar Timalsina has created a foundation to hold the wisdom of gems of India. He told me that he believes that there are about 10,000 people who are intimate with the Himalayan philosophy known as Kashmir Shaivism, which in itself is a wide grouping of philosophical schools. In its essence, the core of the school is the notion that the intelligence which created the universe, is the same exact intelligence which we feel inside as the sense of “me”, and for the religious among us, my first teacher in this system said: “Meditate on yourself, honor yourself, your God dwells within you as you.” In both cases, the reality that there is something about the universe, which includes us, cannot be separated by us. And therefore if the way we see the world affects our relationship with it, then by reflecting on the manner in which we see it to improve it can actually change the world for better by ever challenging ourselves to serve the betterment of life with new vision into our world systems, relationships, designs and institutions.

I feel it would be a wonderful thing to explore the nature of our own awareness, both individually and collectively, and reflect on how our perceptions can be improved to increase the better outcomes in our portfolios, businesses, families, foundations, universities, government agencies, cities, schools, holy circles, national parks, etc.

Message me if you want to join the conversation, please share what you have in mind!

[notes on the metaverse: There’s a public discussion needed on this to address the need for effective governance in the the cryptoverse to not necessarily subsume the reductionist take over of a model of civic society which I feel you agree is inevitably going to fail through the limitations of the worldview and it’s economic blind spots. That’s just as well, it seems since the technoutopian world view leaves ample opportunity for symbiotic complimentary visioning of alternative futures for the economic engine to serve all life and life support systems‘ coherence regeneration and repair.

This calls forth ideas expressed by visionary economists and systems thinkers such as Elinor Ostrom, Fritjof Capra , Hazel Henderson, Kate Raworth, Indy Johar and groups like Dark Matter Labs, Silicon Valley Block Chain Society, Ethical Markets, CERES, Exo, Singularity, GIIN, Fintech TV, Bloomberg and others to inform a new operating paradigm to perhaps supplant the vision of Meta and Metaversologists to embrace the promise of a different world view, along the lines of Bucky Fuller’s for 100% of humanity. And/or we simply create a platform or a group within META to do the aforementioned, after all what happens when a Trojan horse is created within the walls of the enemy fortress to discover it is more of a conceptual Eleusinian Imaginal cell seeing a better way from within our own mindset?]

(Contextual bioregional pilots for systemic regenerative coherence with in-place projects and people in new patterns for relational dynamics in poly centric organizations based on the principles we shared today as different models, fractally applied in myriad versions as a community of practice and praxis. Each bioregion with wisdom of all perspectives and generations implicitly involved in each unique place based context

I feel we are holding the promise and shared vision to create the agreement field and principles underlying the shared vision and design of whole system of a new relational “cosmology” or story behind such a currency system to embody the vision and redirect value from the fragmented reductionist system of economic thinking to systemic planetary awareness bioregion by bioregion

)

Plato’s Teacher on Reality

2021-09-03T12:27:00.002-07:00

Parmenides (On Reality)

Born around 515 BC., Parmenides, was a citizen of Elea, a small town in the south of Italy. His poem "On Reality" was probably comprised of three parts of which we have only the first two largely intact.

The first part takes the form of an allegorical poem in which we see the poet, impelled by a strong desire, travel toward the domain of the Goddess, in a chariot pulled by powerful runners. After unveiling their faces for him, the Maidens of light guide him to the "threshold where the roads of Night and of Day converge", and he is allowed to cross it as a result of their intercession. He is then welcomed with benevolence by the Goddess who takes his right hand in hers and commences her teaching.

The second part, translated here, is the metaphysical section and contains the teaching of the truth.

The third, which is fragmentary, is the physical part. It represents ignorant public opinion according to which reality is the physical universe which came into existence in the past, exists today, and is destined to disappear one day.

*****

Now then, I will instruct you; hear what I say:

Two paths are open to investigation.

The first says: being is and nonbeing is not.

It is the path of certainty, because it follows the truth.

The other says: being is not, therefore nonbeing is.

This misdirected path, I tell you, cannot lead to a sound conviction

For, if this statement were true, it would not be possible for you to conceive of nonbeing, nor to name it.

Speaking and thinking necessarily arise from being, because being is. And nonbeing is not. I invite you to reflect deeply on this point,

And to move away, in your search, from that other path

As from the one traveled by those ignorant mortals

Who are the men of two minds: the uncertainty which resides in their hearts Misleads their wavering reason. They are swept along,

Deaf and blind, benighted, the masses without discernment

Who pretend that being and nonbeing are simultaneously identical

And different, they for whom, for any statement, the opposite is equally true.

No power will ever bring nonbeing into existence.

So direct your thinking away from this path of exploration.

May habit, so often resumed, not force you to return to it,

With eyes blinded, ears filled with noise

And mouth with words, and may your intelligence alone resolve this contentious issue.

Only one path remains for us to pursue:

Being is. And countless signs prove

That being is free from birth and death

Because it is complete, immutable and eternal.

It never was, it never will be, because it is completely whole in the now, One, endless. What beginning, indeed, should we attribute to it? Whence would it evolve? Whither?

I will not allow you to say or to think that it comes from nothingness, Nor that being is not. What exigency would have brought it forth Later or earlier, from nonbeing?

Thus, it can only be, absolutely, or not at all.

Our firm innermost conviction will never admit

That something can spring forth from nothingness.

In this way the goddess of Justice, forbidding birth and death,

Preserves without respite the existence of being. Whereas the question was to resolve Whether being is or is not. We must therefore decide to abandon as false

The second hypothesis, the path which can neither be thought nor formulated,

And to hold to the first, which is the path of the truth.

How could what is, one day cease to be? How could it have, one day, come to be? What is born, is not, neither what is to be born.

Thus dies birth and thus dies death.

Within being there remain no differences because it is completely identical to itself. There is not, here, something more that comes to break continuity

Neither, there, something less: but everything is filled with being.

Thus it is all continuous: being adjoined to being.

On the other hand, maintained motionless by powerful links,

It is without beginning and without end, since birth and death

Have been rejected as contrary to our intuition of truth.

Remaining itself, existing within itself, supported by itself,

Thus, immutable, it remains in the same place because the powerful necessity, Hemming it in from all sides, keeps it firmly unified.

That is why it is not permitted that being be unfinished,

Because there is nothing missing in it; unfinished, it would be missing everything! Thought is identical to being, and so it is for the object to which thought refers;

Thus there is nothing, and there will never be anything, outside of being

Which Destiny compels to an eternal bliss. Thus,

To be born and to die, to be or not to be,

To change place or appearance,

All of these events are but names superimposed by man’s ignorance. Being the ultimate, it is everywhere complete.

Just as an harmoniously round sphere

Departs equally at all points from its center.

Nothing can be added to it here nor taken away from it there.

What is not, cannot interrupt it’s homogeneous existence.

What is, cannot possess it more or less. Out of all reach, Everywhere identical to itself, beyond all limits, it is.

ancient now, as tea wisdom cultures live today just as ancients did eons ago

2021-07-10T22:36:00.005-07:00

The Ancient Tea Road from ICTV on Vimeo.

Shodoka: Song of Enlightenment - Yoka Daishi - Zen Buddhism

2021-05-31T12:30:00.001-07:00