Saturday, December 31, 2011

On Common Ground

Where is the common ground but the human condition?

There is a lot to be said of 'choice architectures', surrounding oneself with elements of positivity, energy, and potentiality... but also in re-engaging one's roots and meeting the current reality with as much neutrality and equanimity as one can muster.

To be intimate with and embrace ephemeral feelings, to transcend and include, yet engage the impermanent… to be human?

Collaborative solitude. Borne of a box.

Where is the balance of focus to be found? In lessening attachments to facilitate action and mastery where are the fundamental lines drawn?

Deepening and widening: Inextricably linked, yet too fast in either direction and the other suffers.
Distracting and numbing: So much energy wasted in pursuit and attainment of escapism from the unbearable lightness of being.

Yet in novelty, adventure, and social interaction new patterns are found/formed… patterns perhaps so unlike the previous ones that higher order states are attained which include a freedom from foundational patterns. There is another pathless path, one of omission, abstinence.. which leads to a different asymptotic purity.

There will always be background noise. There should always be background noise whether internal or external.

This entropy in emptiness is where creation lives.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Ahimsa

I don’t smush snails or spiders and such...
I avoid ants.
A while ago I think I woke up!
This week I learned of Russian wolves, nature or nurture,
More plastic communities breeding sterile foxes and rabid rabbits,
There are many layers ingesting each other.
Sometimes I maintain silence and omit others, maybe for their good or mine,
Whether my heart beats with ectropy or entropy, patterns emerge...
Two things, or is it three, that let me see from a multitude of angles,
The hornets nest inside is nearly empty,
Room for novelty or commitment?
I think something is living in my beard,
Another new home.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

When Nature Conspires For You

Dave picked us up in Byron Bay (minus his female companion who originally was supposed to come on this research trip) and we proceeded to drop Wade (another Buddhist networker) at Ballina airport. Luckily the Chilean volcano’s ash cloud had only slighlty affected his flight departure home. After a brief local supermarket trip we hit the road in earnest; me with my busted knee and him with his 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser. I had just spent 3 full days at a computer camp at Lake Ainsworth, Lennox Heads. There had been a confluence of our Australian ‘tech brethern’ of 150 strong Ruby on Rails(RoR) programmers and assorted digital makers who had met for some serious fun, learning and collaboration (unfortunately there was a pronounced lack of ‘tech sisters’).

There was intentionally no Internet at camp and albeit I didn’t write any new code, I did make plenty of new connections and learned a helluva’ lot (including some barrista skills) all while my Ruby robot continually nudged the rest of the sangha in cyberspace. The camp was an eclectic environment which supported and welcomed ‘n00b’s (also known as newbies or anyone new to a discipline or topic) which was great as I am a huge supporter of the concept and practice of both ‘beginners mind’ and peer learning in all walks of life. This ‘shoshin’ or beginners mind would also be applied to the next part of the trip as our mission was to delve deeper in to self-sufficiency, permaculture and alternative community models. Our goal was to be achieved by doing and interacting (rather than just reading about), and the destination was a little farm just west of Bellingen, New South Wales.



It was Monday around 9pm and decidedly dark on Darkwood Road when we finally arrived at the property. Having just snuck in across Hobart’s bridge, which was only a few centimetres below water at the time, we realised we were now trapped by the Bellinger river on a 4km strip of beautiful fertile valley. It was inadvertently perfect for a technical ‘cold turkey’ and some surreptitious solitude... though not an intentional goal, neither packets nor humans were coming or going for the next few days. A research trip begun with a reminder by Nature that she was always in control seemed fitting, as did an emphasis on food and energy security. Human and machine redundancy and preparedness, it seems, is crucial (especially when not suckling from a centralised supply chain).

After 36 hours solid rainfall there was a brief respite into which we ventured forth to see the extent of the flooding. The bridge was indeed deep under a torrent of water thus we took the opportunity to call on the neighbours for an informal chat and were taken on an impromptu tour of their garlic farm and homesteading efforts. It also turned out that we were around the corner from the infamous ‘Homelands’ commune (and others such as ‘Patanga’ and ‘Khandahar’) where only recently land divisions which were previously sub-divided and designated as multiple occupancy(MO) are done so no more, and all the land has been classed as environmentally protected.

Two days in and apart from some internal cleaning and sweeping, not much outdoor activity had taken place yet... so when the sky cleared on the morning of the third day it was out with the petrol ‘whipper snipper’s, chainsaw, rakes, gloves and buggy. At the end of the fourth day we dropped tools and headed in to town as the waters had finally receeded enough to get back over the bridge and have a poke around the main street in Bellingen. It remains to be seen how to engage fully with commune and collective members other than that of fostering more connections while volunteering locally or embedding oneself for a longer period of time. Intimate and direct experience of a thing is the only way to truly know something and as only fools rush in, we will tread lightly, cultivate our karma, and continue to do our practical and theoretical homework. Big thanks to @bmatt.

A mixture of brought and local reading material kept the neurons firing during the evenings and rainy days:

The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It: The Complete Back-To-Basics Guide, John Seymour : ISBN: 978-0-7894-9332-3
Building Green: A Complete How-to Guide To Alternative Building Method: Clarke Snell & Tim Callahan: ISBN 978-1-60059-534-9
Walden and Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau: ISBN 978-0-14-039044-5
Ramana Maharshi and The Path of Self-Knowledge, A biography by Arthur Osbourne: ISBN 0-87728-071-1
You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment, Thich Nhat Hanh: ISBN 978-1-59030-838-7

Chrome Yellow, Aldous Huxley: ISBN 0-14-000041-0
Grace and Grit, Ken Wilbur: ISBN 0-7171-3234-X
The Glass Bead Game, Herman Hesse: ISBN 0-14-003438-2
Eyeless in Gaza, Aldous Huxley: ISBN 0-14-001050-5
Who is the Buddha?, Sangharakshita: ISBN 1-899579-51-6
What is the Dharma?, Sangharakshita: ISBN 1-899579-01-X
What is the Sangha?, Sangharakshita: ISBN 1-899579-31-1
Be Love Now, Ram Dass: ISBN 978-1-84604-291-1

Friday, May 06, 2011

Proximity

Why is proximity important? More so, why is human proximity important for pods, tribes and long term social cohesion? In my mind nothing can yet replace the smörgåsbord of signals seen and unseen, felt and unfelt that are transmitted between entities when they are physically close especially when they directly and voluntarily interact with one another. From the primary sense gates there is an influx of information via sight, smell, sound, taste and touch. These primary inputs reach us and are perceived as energy vibrations, particles bumping up against us or even passing through us. I breathe your stardust when I am close. Your mass attracts me and your energy can do the same too. There are other senses but we’ll save them for later or subsequent debate.



For any form of information exchange to take place there must be a medium (even a vacuum or the quantum foam) and some energy. Energy moves. Proximity is important because of attenuation (signal degradation) in most mediums. Proximity is important because it allows one to observe and learn about another with less attenuation. Proximity is important because more signals can generally be sent in a shorter space of time between two entities. This promotes understanding, empathy and entrainment between two or more beings.

There are vibrations made by each entity in the act of thinking, breathing, moving or just being. Air is exchanged. Energy is given, drawn or shared. Gravity exists between any two things with mass. With proximity to another there is no substitute for full spectrum engagement enhanced further by presence and awareness.

Technology is a wonderful bridge however... the smell of your hair in the morning, the taste of your skin, the specific momentary look of insecurity followed by a rush of endorphins that cause your nostrils to flare and the hair to stand up on your neck and arms, the timbre of your voice in the quiet of the night and the oneness of form when interlocked in the throes of passion... this all degrades with distance and the co-evolution fades further away irrespective of the initial strength of the connection. Proximity is mindshare and heartshare whether you like it or not. Trajectories must converge regularly enough to enable long term cohesion. From the smallest cluster of two to the largest cohesive tribes, we share signals and synchronise... the strongest signals literally come from the closest.

If one was to introduce quantum holism/non-separability and the spiritual realm in to the debate I would not disagree but would point out that the cultivation of personal depth and the subtlety required to access these mediums are not readily accessible to everyone though we may feel the effects or notice them at different times in our lives.

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Soul Islands

The mundane motel served its purpose well, too well perhaps... it was nothing like the cabin.

The cabin was surrounded by dense forest and nestled on the edge of a huge canyon. That night there was a new moon and between bouts of deep sleep I had awoken repeatedly from dreams of past, present and future. There was fresh water, a fire, logs, fresh herbs and comfortable furnishings. The dappled sunlight drew many contrasts and the latent energies and stories left by visitors formed part of the fabric of the space and time.



How I arrived there was not by chance, there was karma in it, there was intent in it and there was peace in it. The peace was as much cultivated and brought as it was a reflection and enhancement of the environment.

It’s more apparent to me each day that the energy, focus and attention I bring to my body, heart and mind, the better things become for those I interact with and also for myself. As I dropped one of my Dharma brothers off at the Blackheath Vipassana centre to serve again, I was reminded of the reticence by many in their daily lives to stop and investigate deeply that which they are. It is perhaps a luxury, though some would say a necessity to take time to be fully present within oneself. Presence may be cultivated through direct experience and investigation of oneself. This process benefits from a reduction and preferably a temporary cessation of external stimuli. Many of us numb reality and gravitate towards information rich and stimulating environments all the while ignorant of the subtle and even gross effects on our bodies, hearts and minds. As we stream experience in to our consciousness we also ingest air, water and food which constitute our being. It is not until we fast or shift large portions of these many diets that we have the ability to experientially compare and contrast different states of being.

There is indeed a certain dualism and test driven mentality that leads to a more holistic physical, mental and spiritual approach to life - but unfortunately not many have the awareness, will, time nor resources to indulge in such experimentation. Some continue seeking elsewhere or get trapped in the seeking itself (all the while believing something better is just around the next corner). Some never realise that a process of 'selective watering' is available to them internally at any moment. A process which does not require external journeying to elicit calmness, contentedness, tranquility, empathy or compassion. Once the choice is made to explore the inner world and not exclusively the outer world, a profound shift entails. The inward journey has no destination and is founded upon a constant arriving in the present e.g. the here and now. A new awareness is born and the life stream is never the same again.

Our relationships with people and things are predicated upon and evolve based upon our perceptions, emotions, consciousness and form. We find ourselves in certain environments, clusters of people or events due to complex yet simple connections and the conscious or unconscious choices we make every second. For the most part, that which we sow we reap. On each persons journey there may be fear of loss or that of a void, however the void is not empty, it is full of potential and there are many islands if required. These islands are those of other people and communities also on the path (sometimes encountered in the most unexpected of spaces).

As a liquid lifeform some of the most important things beyond basic survival may be:
- realising the control and potential you have to shape your own substance and that of others
- how you relate to, interact with and affect other entities and your environment
- which environments and entities to share and grow your energies with

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Simian Seas

This morning a small monkey climbed up my leg.

I did not react. I observed. I bore the monkey no ill will, nor he I. He was asking me for something, wanting a thing, trying desperately to see inside the cap I was carrying. There was nothing in the cap but pen and paper - no food, no sustenance... perhaps a thing of novelty value but nothing worth clinging to. A warden waved the monkey down and the bewildered monkey went off to harass a little japanese girl with a backpack and a NintendoDS.

Two monkeys - subject/object, object/subject. He and I, not much difference overall. Both monkey minds, both with base survival needs, both driven to explore, procreate, protect and survive. There in the forest was a microcosm of human society (though I not part of their troupe), me perhaps only in possession of a better understanding of fear, love and self. Welcome to the blessing and curse of consciousness; the ability to think about thinking, to symbolise, codify and to abstract, to transmit via language and stories over and above basic mimesis.

Post the simian encounter my mind focused on mind, mastery and flow. From whenceforth does ‘source reality’ and the perception thereof spring? What layers, means and methods can one either use, distill or dispense with to access it neutrally, fully, and in all its ‘oneness’. In either the act of commission or omission we utilise duality to come full circle and approach holism. When can there be a non-contradiction of opposites? And what is the state before and after meaning is made?

Later in the day a random girl tapped me on the shoulder as I explored Yoga Barn in Ubud and advised I go to a special Yoga workshop led by Mark Whitwell beginning in 30mins, so I did. He spoke of the most basic ‘practice’ with breath encompassing the whole body and mind, a practice that cultivates a loving intimacy with reality. He decried the conventional concept of guru as teacher but rather that of being a friend, “no more than a friend and no less than a friend” (Incidentally he is coming to Melbourne this week, a fact garnered after a serendipitious shared exit from Yoga Barn). We practiced overlooking rice paddies, the air rich in oxygen and love.



As I sat quietly after the workshop I thought about Zen practice and other similar disciplines. I thought about practices which investigate reality via direct experience and focus on shedding societal programming and pre-conceived ideas. These practices are test driven approaches that require discipline, effort and commitment from the participant. They ask to be rigourously challenged, doubted and debunked, and herein lies one of their strengths. It is interesting that in the same way I cannot explain the minutiae and autonomic process of walking, I can do it and experience the results e.g. locomotion. Some of these mind/body techniques and technologies to access reality more fully do indeed demonstrate results (in many cases science is only now catching up).

So I ask you, if snorkelling was ‘spiritual tourism’, open water scuba diving was a hierarchical ‘organised religion’, what would ice/night/cave/deep/rescue diving be?

In my opinion Zen would be free diving... would Yoga be swimming?

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Compression

Currently there are only 3 people on this planet I know of whom I can talk to in the manner below. We each share history in building and operating global computer networks, an alignment with Buddhism and having seriously detached+reattached to reality.

(One is currently sitting under the Bodhi tree right now / or about to bring his own Zen up a mountain in Nepal... and the other is back in Sydney from San Francisco; meet @wadeis )

Note: Of the three of us, I am the middle brother by age however we are all both little and big brothers to each other!

On Wed, Jan 26, 2011 at 11:31 PM, Donal irldexter@gmail.com wrote to wadeis@gmail.com:

BASE überplasticity (Basically Available, Soft state, Eventual consistency)
Depends upon speed of convergence, integration and lifetime of the
conscious organism (meme horizon, ectropic, loci)
Would it entail singularity, death, punctuated equilibrium? Ectropy/Extropy?

Do we always need a trailing edge of entropy and a slipstream for the
successful memes/tech/moves for the mainstream, including a lagging
structural legacy to slow us enough for coherence?

Must we be dispersed and diverse to survive and prevent a monoculture
which is weak?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biochemical_evolution

Donal
Response:

the re-branding of indra's net as uberplasticity is cool, I find it harder to grok, but it has better language origins :).

BASE to me sounds like Hadoop! There's something to be said about the concept, and again, tying it back makes it easier to work with ;).

We're all different people with different experiences and understandings, always will be different levels and stages of acceptance and understanding. Nothing happens all at one. BASE just pushes that concept to it's maximums.

Keep in lalaland, BGP Peers required, perhaps multiple border routers, then propagate the information down/upstream. The idea of self-elected control/speaking points (both tech and real world) sounds fun to me. Allow nodes to change state based on environment. Reminds me of the dcpromo command, converting a server to a domain controller. escalate privileges. Backbone networks/links required to disseminate information. I LOVE sneakernets. (world a)-----walks to/meets------(world b) and we have convergence :).

Took a while to reply From Australia Day no less!

Kindly,

Me

--
wade.is

Question: Who in your life do you have the highest bandwidth conversations with?

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Foundations and Founders

Generally one seeks to minimise change in foundations. Foundations bear great loads and provide the groundwork for future development. Albeit we humans are überplastic in both mind and body, there is a continuum of being that we relate to over time. This identity emerges through consistency of actions, feelings and signals, and is the basis for most knowing and trusting amongst us.

This base level consistency allows us to build human relationships, to grow them, and to devise ever more complex systems, patterns and languages (such that the underlying principles are strong and unyielding). A child's formative years lay down the initial foundation for how they perceive and interact with the world, however there is still a chance to remould or supplement these foundations later in life. Irrespective of the depth or impact of the initial programming, one can still heal deep wounds or conversely damage or erode their own basis over time. Sometimes throughout life, events outside of our control may challenge us to the core and rock our own foundations.

Once an entity becomes fully self-aware there is the capacity to both re-architect and gradually morph ones foundations (if one so chooses). Self-determination is a powerful force to re-shape oneself and by association society... with the proviso that the entity cannot remain in a state of flux but must establish new foundations upon which to build and operate from.

When embarking upon such an endeavour, self-knowing and understanding of the system one operates within is paramount. When one decides to begin again, it is also helpful to adopt a beginners mind. Many have heard a child pester bigger kids or *adults* with the repetitive question ‘why’... this is a wonderful place to begin e.g. no assumptions, presumptions and a new blank slate.

A complementary practice to the question ‘why’ is that of creating more personal space and time with less chaotic energy. This allows ones own resources and senses to embark upon an inward journey to arrive at ‘what is’ ones own core or foundation.

When a new core set of principles and values are established they are hopefully demonstrated and embodied in all actions, reactions or inaction. Albeit they may be expressed in different ways, one should never bend, waiver nor submit to the excuse of context.

I challenge you to become your own founder.

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Catapults

Sometimes I search my plain text twitter archives on my laptop for keywords or groups of keywords and a blog post just kinda' emerges...

laptop-3:ruby doduibhi$ grep -i -P "(superorganism|augment|mindful|velocity|attention|plasticity)" archive | sort -k6n -k1 -k2 -M -k3 -k4 | cut -d ' ' -f 2,6,8-100 | uniq

May 2009 Is there a market for de-augmented and re-augmented reality?
May 2009 I just want the feature, not the featureset, not the feature velocity, not the product!
Jun 2009 Survival of the most adaptable. Information overload, brain plasticity or unplug?
Jul 2009 @rosshill "Time has no value without attention. " http://twitter.com/irldexter/status/2595276173 -> Awareness....
Aug 2009 Like TV,be mindful WHO or what you give unfettered/extended access to your consciousness +awareness, inc yourself #themiddleway #programming
Aug 2009 Loose coupling + autonomous systems, gift economy, transitive trust,complexity, architecture,superorganisms +homeostasis?FAIL@ #alr
Aug 2009 "If you're not tweeting about #techfail you should be paying attention to me!" @melinachan #sleepygeeky
Sep 2009 How to find coworking spaces with augmented reality http://www.worksnug.com/ #meljel #coworking coming soon?
Nov 2009 Augment me.Symbolic.Labels.Not the thing.Close.Describe.Convey.Share.Group.Quanta. Scale.Richness. Human #me #u #us #global
Jan 2010 No time is ever wasted if it results in realization. #mindfulness #awareness #tiring #recharge #both-always
Jan 2010 "Speaking of karma points and augmented reality".. awesome chat with colleague...
Feb 2010 Life repeats itself mindlessly, unless you become mindful, it will go on repeating like a wheel: Osho /via @TheGodLight
Feb 2010 Attention
Feb 2010 Mindshare, attention, time and energy. Discretionary? Precious gifts? Informed by? Elective environment/compulsory culture #freedom #maslow
Apr 2010 @LamyaB selfish intellectual pursuits & passions sometimes affect my mindfulness & love to/towards others + physical healthiness etc :)
Apr 2010 Hack ALL your human inputs,your perception/decision engines,value systems-> your outputs are others inputs. Global neuroplasticity!
May 2010 @lamyab Encoded information. De-augment my reality pls, are we heading for this perhaps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j16Zwx6_Ys0
May 2010 OMFG. Superorganism. Connectedness. Love. Super TED talk http://bit.ly/netnodes /aligns to @nodecity @inspire9 @wadeis #feedback
May 2010 Life repeats itself mindlessly, unless you become mindful, it will go on repeating like a wheel: Osho
May 2010 The Internet is a new hybrid nervous system for the planet. Faster global neuroplasticity than the original network?
Jun 2010 @paulzee experiment... hybrid emergent story.. Terry is real/MBW is not. Attention is power. Sheep. Scarcity. Dilution. Subversion?
Jun 2010 Attention seeking ego pacification.
Jun 2010 Aug 29th 2000 Goenka addresses the U.N. Peace Summit, simple yet powerful stuff: http://s.nodecity.com/goenka #neuroplasticity
Jun 2010 @pieterpeach this scares the shit out of me.. de-augment #simulacrum #multiverse http://s.nodecity.com/hyper #reality #soma
Jun 2010 @PieterPeach neuroplasticity 'The Brain that Changes Itself' :) http://wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brain_That_Changes_Itself #nowapplytosociety
Jun 2010 Quantum foam. Waveforms. Consciousness. Neuroplasticity. Spheres/nodes. Influence. Interconnectedness. Fuzzy frameworks. Social cohesion.
Jun 2010 A mind that is very clear, a mind that is full of attention and love - why should such a mind demand any more experience?
Jun 2010 Be mindful of mind pollution. Image: http://s.nodecity.com/pollute #find #zerospace
Jul 2010 Tribalism. Social Cohesion. Value/Scarcity. Choice Architecture. Complexity. Influence. Amplification. Group entities. Superorganism.
Jul 2010 @wadeis @suzieis @janstewart Healing spaces, healing people. Choose (if you can) both wisely for you become them and they you #plasticity
Jul 2010 @KateKendall (e) All of the above and more ;) #privacy #attention #fatigue #productivity #utility #digitalmnmlism #phase1
Jul 2010 @xshay Smiling! Bravo! Aside: like to think of mind as a codebase & recursive filter. Architecture. Foundations. Neuroplasticity. Biohack.
Aug 2010 . @paulzee Rapid selection and convergence, ideas are cheap and fast. Superorganism. Cell walls still need to mutate.
Aug 2010 @paulzee Superorganism must survive. Interconnectedness realised. Bell curve moves in unison.Vote with attention.No energy wasted.Intrinsic.
Aug 2010 The fabric is fertile for the practice of mindfulness and the understanding of interconnectedness.
Aug 2010 The human superorganism is very sick. Aggregate mental health is worsening. We tipped too far towards individuality/selfishness.
Sep 2010 Attention seeking ego pacification.
Sep 2010 @rosshill Superorganism/aggregate mental health of humans is very sick. Healing comes from inside not outside.
Sep 2010 To give another pure undiluted presence and full attention.
Sep 2010 Meaning.Openness. Enthusiasm.Novelty. Connectedness.Relationship.Compassion. Psychosocial.Practice.Impermanence. ÜBERPLASTICITY=HOPE
Oct 2010 Novelocity
Oct 2010 Hee hee, I've been banging on about de-augmenting/diminished reality for a while :) Less encoding! HT @chenglau http://ow.ly/31LJ4
Oct 2010 Novelocity explained [New Post]: http://s.nodecity.com/novelocity
Oct 2010 Everything and anything degrades via neglect/impermanence #entropy ∴ everything worthwhile requires attention + TLC #ectropy #entrainment
Oct 2010 How I experience Time is directly related to the narrowness of my attention and focus. Realising Interconnectedness slows Time.
Oct 2010 @stevehopkins Novelocity!
Oct 2010 There is value in not seeking. Much time is handed back to observation, attention and depth of experience.
Oct 2010 @PieterPeach wondering whether Überplasticity can challenge this...
Nov 2010 As with persistence of vision, there is persistence of thought and imprinting by ones peers and environment #tarpitting #novelocity
Nov 2010 Visibly moving and energetic entities gain more attention.
Nov 2010 Constant change. Permanent impermanence. Maintain plasticity. Consistent character...
Nov 2010 Life repeats itself mindlessly, unless you become mindful, it will go on repeating like a wheel: Osho
Nov 2010 Biking from/to Elwood/Richmond shiny stuff ;) 18% novelocity achieved today. http://yfrog.com/mqnzuoj http://yfrog.com/86nf3cj
Nov 2010 Überplasticity = HOPE !
Nov 2010 Static environment, entities and immersion = depth yet distinct sampling bias #potholing #novelocity
Nov 2010 People who fire together wire together #überplasticity
Dec 2010 Sampling. Sample space. Time. Attractors. Amplification. Favourites. Invisible. Mindfulness. Loyalty. Faith.
Dec 2010 Yes it's very much about relating to a continuity of being whilst maintaining novelocity and witnessing entropy.
Dec 2010 What you see ain't always what you get http://youtu.be/D6t51q2sBjE #augmentedreality
Dec 2010 Mindful mimicry #twoyearolds
Jan 2011 What is Überplasticity? [new audio post] http://s.nodecity.com/uberplastic #hope
Jan 2011 Attention is energy.
Jan 2011 What is Novelocity? Hint: It's not entropy or extropy! Explained: http://wiki.nodecity.com/display/novelocity/nvy
Jan 2011 Sharing/collaborating/vocalising distributes cognitive load amongst greater (sub/un) conscious resources #superorganism #überplasticity
Jan 2011 A mind that is very clear, a mind that is full of attention and love - why should such a mind demand any more experience?
Jan 2011 Translucent mannequins in Indras Net connected umbilically with invisible plasticity. Shine!
Jan 2011 @edwardharran I see the arc... also the macro/societal picture which means: Überplasticity = real HOPE #notetoself #messages #trimtab
Jan 2011 People who fire together wire together #überplasticity /cc @edwardharran
Jan 2011 @evbogue @rosshill Welcome to überplasticity ... /cc @janstewart hyper-group-malleability based on individual trim-tabs & positive resonance
Jan 2011 What is Überplasticity? [new audio post] http://s.nodecity.com/uberplastic #hope cc @edwardharran @evbogue @rosshill @janstewart
Jan 2011 @monkeybrainsnet we call it #überplasticity http://wiki.nodecity.com/display/uplastic/plastic
Jan 2011 All attention is not the same. Beware your complicity in the game.
Jan 2011 @edwardharran loops and holons http://vimeo.com/1166968 #Überplasticity #wedata

Sunday, January 30, 2011

kefaya

I asked @wayupnorth to help me understand what's going on currently in Tunisia, Egypt and the Middle East... she wrote me a quick summary:

The Arab world has long been split, which is one of the reasons Israel gets away with treating the Palestinian Arabs so badly and blockading them in the Gaza strip.

The area involved is North Africa/Middle East.

In Jordan there's a royal family. Same in Saudi Arabia. Both very rich (while their people are poor.) In Yemen there is a dictator for about 26 years. Mubarak has been a dictator in Egypt for the past 30 years. Tunisia had dictator Ben Ali. All of these guys ripped off their countries and the people had unemployment and poverty, etc. Fifty per cent of Egypt's people live below the poverty line. Mubarak used his police to torture, imprison, and subdue the people, while rigging elections so he got 97% of the vote. All these Arab dictators keep/kept their people in line through fear. And they were never united (e.g., to help the Palestinians) as they were all looking out for No 1.

In Tunisia, a poor young man who was fed up with the police taking his unlicensed vegetable cart, set himself on fire, and eventually died on January 4. This sparked a huge rebellion on the streets, and after a few days, the dictator there, Ben Ali, fled to Saudi Arabia. There were murmurs that a "domino effect" *might* happen across the Arab world.

But nobody expected Egypt to erupt. Egypt (huge) is an ally of the US (like Saudi Arabia) and has a peace treaty with Israel -- even helping Israel with blockading Gaza. Everyone despised Mubarak, and the US stands accused of using him to torture people under "extraordinary rendition". Egypt also controls the Suez Canal, which is hugely important.

Several people had set fire to themselves in Egypt recently. On Facebook, a young group organised a general protest about food prices and unemployment for #Jan25. It's been going on ever since, getting bigger by the day, and now they want Mubarak out. Mubarak's family have fled to the UK, but he's still in Cairo. The US is "making noises" (waffle) and Israel is saying nothing. But the implications are *huge* for the whole region.


Thanks Mum... love as always. D.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

states

Gorging and feasting on signals, information and messages.
Glancing and stroking remote shadows of distracted non-present humans.
Catalysts abound, exhausting energy.
Reagents, few and far between.
Richness and depth stem from both acute and ambient focus.
Real connections require proximity.
Maturity, neutrality, transparency and trust in oneself, then uncertainty.
Consistency for the greater part of ones identity allows for relationships and bonds.
Lack of understanding and communication leads to fear and cascading separation.
Union requires love, practice and commitment to an entity.
The environment must be crafted as it reciprocally crafts you.
Awareness, human plasticity and willingness to inhabit emptiness is fertile and true.
Create a continuum that grows, loves, respects, honours and thus, survives.

Namaste D.