Consciousness & Politics

Anon

Below is rough draft overview of my "worldview" as presented in the book I'm working on "CONSCIOUSNESS AND POLITICS". It is definitely a "new age" interpretation of epistemology, metaphysics, meta-psychology, ethics and politics. Comments welcome.

EPISTEMOLOGY: (how we find truth) We must recognize that knowledge and truth will always be elusive and subjective. As Rupert Sheldrake points out, even "natural laws" seem to be evolving. They are not static and unchanging. A balance of intuition, reason and empirical methods must be applied in seeking knowledge in any field, though the appropriate balance of methods will depend on the field. And these can be used to prove that some viewpoints are more accurate than others, even if they aren't the "ultimate, final truth".

Today humans are becoming aware that humans "construct" reality, create truth, rather than discovering it. Reality is not some objective, knowable entity created by God or natural law. It is an evolving, ever-changing process.

Individuals know reality through their particular personal/social/political "psychic grid". What is important is for each of us to decide what psychic grid we choose to work from and how to change it if we choose. Each of us can create philosophically/emotionally gratifying reality. We don't have to just go along with what the power structure calls reality.

METAPHYSICS: (the nature and purpose of reality) Consciousness is both the nature and the propose of reality. I choose to call the nature and purpose of reality "consciousness" because the new sciences show principles like consciousness operate throughout reality. At the subatomic level I equate the dynamic, yang force with imagination and will, and the integrating, yin force with memory and creativity. There is an inherent drive to evolve, for the propose of exploring full the potentials of consciousness, and, ultimately, to develop into fully self-conscious beings like ourselves.

There may well be an ever evolving "morphogenetic field" of human consciousness. Individual consciousness survive and passes from body to body over many life times in a process known as "reincarnation".

The concept of consciousness must replace the concept of god. For if we know that consciousness is the basis of reality, and if we relate that to the fact that we all have consciousness, then it is obvious to all that we are the personification of natural, not "divine" principles of reality. The word god just confuses people, making them think that there is some divinity apart from and above from themselves.

Moreover, as experience has shown, the concept of god is so easily corrupted by authoritarianism as to be worse than useless - i.e. totally counter-productive. How many people have been persecuted and murdered in the name of this, that or the other "god"??

People of good will must recognize this and give up the word god. We are the product of our own conscious evolution for our own conscious purposes. We created ourselves - and we did not create ourselves to live in ignorance of that fact or to make ourselves suffer!!

METAPSYCHOLOGY: (spiritual psychology) We know that the human brain is really three brains: the original reptilian and mammalian brains controlling automatic and reflexive survival functions, and, heaped over these, the unique human "neo- cortex" which contains enormous intellectual and creative potentials.

Humans do not have to be content to be ruled by their "lower brains," by their most basic needs for survival, procreation and status. Abraham Maslow points out there is a psychological need hierarchy. If humans remain stuck on fulfilling the lower needs (safety, belonging, esteem) and ignore fulfillment of the higher needs (self-actualization, humanistic values, peak experiences) they become frustrated, obsessive, and addicted - to food, drink, sex, power, money.

The need hierarchy and the concept of chakras describe essentially the same phenomena. Humans rise up the need hierarchy or chakras in 3 ways: 1) by being aware that they in fact exist; 2) by creating a culture which suggests simple, as opposed to extravagant, definition of what fulfillment of these basic needs are and then creates institutions which make sure these basic need are fulfilled; 3) by having myths, symbols, and rituals which reinforce the existence and fulfillment of all human physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

Cultures worldwide have too little of the knowledge, attitudes and structures needed to boost us up our need hierarchies. However, through education and meditation humans can develop their higher brain, move up the need hierarchy, rise to higher consciousness. They can lose the desire for obsessive material accumulation, develop a tolerance for individual diversity, experience love and connectedness with all living things, give up the need to dominate, exploit or direct them, fulfill their individual potentials and even experience cosmic consciousness, cosmic ecstasy.

ETHICS: (What values we should pursue, how we should act towards one and other) I believe in a yin-yang ethical system. One in which hedonism/self-actualization are the yang goals, and utilitarian "what's best for all" the yin goals.

I believe our actions towards one and other must also be very "yin-yang". The yang is the libertarian view that the individual is free to do as she/he pleases as long as she/he doe not harm others. The yin is non-violence, cooperation and mutual aid. They are both necessary and totally complementary.

POLITICS: We must begin to understand Gandhi's message that all conflicts - personal and political, individual and group, local, regional and global - should be resolved through non- violent mediation instead of police and military violence. Today's great nation states have been created and maintained by violence. Without violence they, would crumble, to be replaced by networks of non-violent communities.

Individuals must be free to establish or choose their own ethical system and then join in free, self-governing communities with those who share those views. However, this "yang" communism must be complemented by the "yin" values of non-violent conflict resolution between communities and mutual aid to all afflicted humans, whatever their community.

Our means to creating this society should be nonviolent as the ends we seek. We should be assertive as possible, starting as soon as possible.