The Curatorhttp://www.organism.earth/library/Philosophy/Cosmology/Consciousness/Reality/Existence/InquiryA backup repository of some (but not all) important knowledge.Tue, 31 Mar 2026 06:24:03 -0700en-usEinstein argues that religion evolved from primitive fear to moral guidance, but its highest form is “cosmic religious feeling”—an awe at the universe's sublime order, free from anthropomorphic gods or dogma. This same feeling, he contends, drives genuine scientific inquiry. Rather than opponents, science and religion share a common wellspring: wonder at existence itself.Albert EinsteinArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/religion-and-scienceMon, 12 Jan 2026 22:15:00 -0800Biology’s deepest truths don’t live at the molecular bottom. Michael Levin argues that intelligence, goals, and selves emerge across scales: cells learn, tissues navigate, and cancer shrinks a collective mind’s horizon. Life is intelligence embodied—defined by the size of what it can care about, remember, and become.Michael LevinDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/consciousness-biology-universal-mind-emergence-cancer-researchMon, 29 Dec 2025 16:55:00 -0800Harding argues that awakening isn’t private but cosmic: to truly know yourself is to rediscover a living, intelligent universe. Modern science, he claims, quietly supports this ancient vision. When the illusion of a separate self dissolves, the universe itself wakes up as home, alive and coherent.Douglas HardingEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-universe-enlightenedTue, 16 Dec 2025 14:25:00 -0800In this unusually personal essay, Teilhard speaks almost across the table, inviting us to rethink our cosmic standing. He shows how humanity, once dwarfed by vast space and tiny particles, regains significance through a third dimension of reality: complexity. As matter organizes itself into ever-deeper centers, consciousness rises—and in us, becomes self-aware. Humanity is not a cosmic accident, he suggests, but the universe awakening to itself and preparing its next leap.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mans-place-in-the-universeThu, 13 Nov 2025 13:20:00 -0800Teilhard depicts humanity as the Earth awakening to itself as evolution rises toward ever-greater unity. Love and consciousness converge into a planetary spirit, but this ascent, he insists, cannot endure without religion—our innate need for an absolute that calls us forward. In the universe’s unfolding, God emerges as evolution’s necessary summit and sustaining fire.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/spirit-of-the-earthTue, 11 Nov 2025 06:50:00 -0800Josha Bach reinterprets animism through the lens of computer science as “cyber animism,” where life itself is self-organizing software—spirit as code—running on biological hardware. This living software grants organisms agency, coherence, and experience, revealing that the ancient intuition of a world alive may have been technically correct all along.Joscha BachDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/how-a-spiritual-worldview-explains-consciousnessThu, 04 Sep 2025 07:55:00 -0700Evolution as a cosmic drama: matter rising through life into reflective humanity, converging toward a planetary mind. Teilhard says this “ultra-human” destiny fuses science and spirit, where God is not above but ahead—emerging as love at the core of creation, and igniting the world into a conscious fire.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/reflections-on-the-scientific-probability-and-the-religious-consequences-of-an-ultra-humanMon, 01 Sep 2025 05:30:00 -0700Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended. Is such progress avoidable? If not to be avoided, can events be guided so that we may survive? These questions are investigated. Some possible answers (and some further dangers) are presented.Vernor VingeEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-coming-technological-singularitySun, 10 Aug 2025 17:30:00 -0700What if future AIs achieved enlightenment before world domination? Shanahan suggests a truly advanced AI might transcend the human ego, dropping our obsession with the “self.” Instead of triggering a runaway intelligence explosion, such a being could attain satori: a Zen-like peace that halts the singularity in its tracks.Murray ShanahanArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/satori-before-singularityFri, 23 May 2025 15:00:00 -0700These thirty-four powerful essays, based on Taoist and Buddhist thought, constitute a guide to what the author calls “non-volitional living”—the ancient understanding that our efforts to grasp our true nature are futile. Wei Wu Wei explains these venerable spiritual traditions in the context of modern experience, using wit and considerable precision to convey their profound insight into the very nature of existence.Wei Wu WeiBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/all-else-is-bondageThu, 24 Apr 2025 07:40:00 -0700The Rhythm of Being explores reality as a dynamic, relational harmony uniting cosmos, humanity, and the divine. It rejects rigid dualisms, inviting a participatory vision of existence where being is not static substance but unfolding rhythm—known through lived experience, dialogue, and contemplative awareness rather than abstract analysis alone.Raimon PanikkarBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-rhythm-of-beingMon, 31 Mar 2025 05:45:00 -0700Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/how-i-believe-essaySun, 30 Mar 2025 02:30:00 -0700Dynamics of Growth in a Finite World expands the Limits to Growth model, detailing how population, resources, and pollution interact in a finite system. It shows that unchecked exponential growth overshoots ecological limits, but careful policy, feedback awareness, and restraint can stabilize humanity within Earth’s carrying capacity.Dennis Meadows and Donella MeadowsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/dynamics-of-growth-in-a-finite-worldFri, 28 Mar 2025 03:40:00 -0700From orbit, Earth’s fragility and unity are unmistakable, says Ron Garan. The view exposes our crises as failures of perspective. By placing planet before economy and embracing an “orbital perspective,” humanity can transcend division, think long-term, and act as a single, interdependent force for its own survival.Ronald GaranLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/i-went-to-space-and-dicsovered-an-enormous-lieWed, 26 Mar 2025 10:45:00 -0700Humanity faces a “technological adolescence” as powerful AI, a “country of geniuses,” emerges. This brings grave risks like rogue autonomy and bioweapons. Survival requires proactive defenses like Constitutional AI and transparency laws to navigate these dangers toward a flourishing future.Dario AmodeiEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/adolescence-of-technologySat, 22 Mar 2025 04:35:00 -0700Dario Amodei envisions a “compressed 21st century” where powerful AI achieves one hundred years of progress in one decade. This radical upside includes curing most diseases, doubling human lifespans, and eliminating global poverty. By accelerating science and supporting democracy, AI offers an inspiring, humanitarian future worth fighting for.Dario AmodeiEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/machines-of-loving-grace-amodeiSat, 22 Mar 2025 04:30:00 -0700Continuing the searching study of contemporary society he began in At the Edge of History, William Irwin Thompson now discusses the new planetary culture he sees emerging from the cracks in the old civilization of industrial nation states. Passages About Earth is at once an apocalyptic statement about the present condition of man and a testament of faith in the future of a spiritually evolved mankind.William Irwin ThompsonBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/passages-about-earthFri, 21 Mar 2025 09:45:00 -0700William Irwin Thompson speculates on cultural transformation and explores themes of societal change at the edge of history.William Irwin ThompsonBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/at-the-edge-of-historyFri, 21 Mar 2025 09:40:00 -0700This was one of the first books to propose the “embodied cognition” approach in cognitive science, arguing for connections between phenomenology and science and between Buddhist practices and science—claims that have since become highly influential. Through cross-fertilization of disparate fields of study, The Embodied Mind introduces a new form of cognitive science called “enaction,” in which both the environment and first person experience are aspects of embodiment. However, enactive embodiment is not the grasping of an independent, outside world by a brain, a mind, or a self; rather it is the bringing forth of an interdependent world in and through embodied action. Although enacted cognition lacks an absolute foundation, the book shows how that does not lead to either experiential or philosophical nihilism. Above all, the book’s arguments are powered by the conviction that the sciences of mind must encompass lived human experience and the possibilities for transformation inherent in human experience.Francisco Varela, Evan Thompson and Eleanor RoschBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-embodied-mindFri, 21 Mar 2025 09:25:00 -0700Design for Evolution argues that the universe isn’t a static machine but a self-organizing process constantly inventing new levels of complexity. Life, minds, and societies are evolution waking up to itself—so planning the future means learning to collaborate with the cosmic experiment already in progress.Erich JantschBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/design-for-evolutionSun, 16 Mar 2025 04:21:03 -0700Berlin’s anarchic underground—punks, Greens, New Agers, and psychedelic dreamers—forms a joyous coalition of ideas and hash smoke, confounding stodgy intellectuals while hinting that real political vitality emerges from creative chaos, unity, and a sudden Eastward glance. Terence McKennaArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/psychedelic-futurology-in-berlinSun, 16 Mar 2025 03:40:00 -0700McKenna discusses lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), dimethyltryptamine (DMT), hallucinogenic mushrooms, the decline of Western culture, and his new Time Wave Zero software.Terence McKennaDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/in-praise-of-psychedelicsSat, 15 Mar 2025 02:50:00 -0700Alan Watts left the church in 1950 because he felt the Episcopal ministry required him to defend doctrines he no longer believed expressed the deeper truth of religion. In his resignation letter, he explains that clinging to rigid theological claims felt dishonest to him, and that he needed the freedom to explore spirituality more openly beyond the boundaries of the church. Alan WattsLetterhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/letter-of-resignation-to-the-episcopal-churchThu, 13 Mar 2025 06:35:00 -0700Ben GoertzelBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/a-cosmist-manifestoWed, 12 Mar 2025 08:45:00 -0700John M. Smart suggests the universe may behave like a growing organism. It mixes random creativity (evolution) with guided development, gradually producing more complex intelligence—eventually technology and perhaps cosmic-scale minds. In this view, instead of being mere accidents, civilizations may actually be tiny steps as the universe learns how to think.John SmartArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/evo-devo-universeWed, 12 Mar 2025 08:25:00 -0700Smart proposes the transcension hypothesis: that advanced civilizations don’t spread endlessly through space but instead evolve toward “inner space,” building ever-smaller, denser, and more powerful computing systems—possibly ending in black-hole-like environments. This inward path could explain why we don’t see aliens: mature civilizations stop broadcasting and disappear into ultra-efficient forms of intelligence.John SmartResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/transcension-hypothesisWed, 12 Mar 2025 08:20:00 -0700Donella Meadows summarizes her 14 guidelines for interacting with complex systems, emphasizing humility and learning over the illusion of control. Donella MeadowsEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/dancing-with-systemsWed, 12 Mar 2025 07:20:00 -0700Jean-Pierre DupuyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/social-as-autonomous-complex-systemFri, 07 Mar 2025 08:25:00 -0800Andreas RoepstorffLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/webs-of-significanceFri, 07 Mar 2025 08:00:00 -0800Wolf SingerLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-observer-in-the-brainFri, 07 Mar 2025 07:45:00 -0800Evan Thompson argues that mind isn’t a ghost in the machine or just brain activity—it’s something living systems do. Drawing on biology and philosophy, he shows how life and mind grow together, like vines on the same trellis, suggesting that to understand thinking, we must first understand living.Evan ThompsonBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mind-in-lifeFri, 07 Mar 2025 07:00:00 -0800Evan ThompsonLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/life-and-mindFri, 07 Mar 2025 06:45:00 -0800Michel BitbolLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/downward-causationFri, 07 Mar 2025 05:55:00 -0800B. Alan WallaceLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/three-dimensions-of-consciousnessFri, 07 Mar 2025 05:10:00 -0800Terence McKenna, Rupert Sheldrake and Ralph AbrahamDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/education-in-the-new-world-orderFri, 07 Mar 2025 02:25:00 -0800Alva NoëLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/experience-without-the-headThu, 06 Mar 2025 11:35:00 -0800Luc SteelsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/embodied-semiotics-dynamicsThu, 06 Mar 2025 11:30:00 -0800Susan OyamaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/development-sin-techno-sin-murosThu, 06 Mar 2025 11:05:00 -0800Steven RoseLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-autopoietic-brain-mindThu, 06 Mar 2025 10:45:00 -0800Two friends in a canoe discover that sharing a sandwich isn’t really about food—it’s about We. When people trust a shared “we,” generosity feels natural; when entitlement, guilt, or ego intrude, the sense of togetherness collapses. Healthy cooperation arises when individuals reveal their needs openly and surrender not to each other, but to the possibility of a caring whole.Malcolm OceanEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/parable-of-the-canoe-sandwichThu, 06 Mar 2025 08:30:00 -0800An exploration of the central role of microorganisms in the history of life on Earth, presenting evolution as a process driven by symbiosis and interdependence rather than just competition.Lynn Margulis and Dorion SaganBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/microcosmosWed, 05 Mar 2025 10:45:00 -0800Margulis and Sagan portray life as a bustling alliance. Cells cooperate, microbes merge, and evolution favors partnership as much as competition. The result: a planet-wide web of living collaboration—less a battle of survival, more a long, ingenious experiment in teamwork.Lynn Margulis and Dorion SaganBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/what-is-life-margulisWed, 05 Mar 2025 10:25:00 -0800Eisenhower urged the world to see the Cold War arms race for what it was: a tragic trade—guns instead of homes, bombs instead of bread. He asked nations to step back from fear and choose cooperation, reminding humanity that every weapon built quietly steals from those who simply wish to live.Dwight D. EisenhowerSpeechhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/chance-for-peaceWed, 05 Mar 2025 09:30:00 -0800Ayahuasca is a visionary “brain cocktail” brewed from two secret jungle plants. Part medicine, part spiritual telephone, it connects humans to nature’s hidden wisdom. This ancient partnership suggests we are students of a grand, green symbiosis—perhaps even guided by chatty extraterrestrial spores whispering cosmic secrets.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/esalen-1989-lectureWed, 05 Mar 2025 08:00:00 -0800Aristotle wanders the living world like an ancient naturalist with a notebook, cataloging creatures from cuttlefish to camels. He observes how animals live, breed, and differ—sometimes brilliantly, sometimes oddly—laying one of science’s first foundations: that nature, in all its strangeness, can be studied with patient curiosity.Aristotle Bookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/history-of-animalsWed, 05 Mar 2025 07:30:00 -0800Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/final-illusionWed, 05 Mar 2025 06:00:00 -0800Darwin explained how nature selects winners—but not how new players appear. Lynn Margulis argues life’s biggest leaps came from unlikely partnerships: bacteria merging into cells, microbes inventing sex, algae and fungi teaming up to green the land. In this lively tour, evolution goes beyond mere survival of the fittest to champion survival of the friendliest; a planetary alliance we all inhabit.Lynn MargulisBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/symbiotic-planetWed, 05 Mar 2025 04:45:00 -0800Jürgen Schmidhuber shares his insights on the evolution and future of AI. He discusses the development of self-improving AI systems, the concept of artificial curiosity, and the potential for machines to achieve creativity akin to humans. Schmidhuber also explores the implications of advanced AI on society, emphasizing the importance of aligning AI goals with human values to ensure beneficial outcomes. He envisions a future where AI contributes positively to various fields, including science, art, and technology.Jürgen SchmidhuberLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/a-masterclass-from-the-pioneer-of-artificial-intelligenceTue, 04 Mar 2025 12:40:00 -0800Francis HeylighenArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/meta-systems-as-constraints-on-variationTue, 04 Mar 2025 01:45:00 -0800Francis HeylighenArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/evolutionary-transitionsTue, 04 Mar 2025 01:20:00 -0800Cooperation is a masterpiece of interaction: relational agency proves that when our actions fit together, synergy emerges without central control. By shifting to a relational ontology, we see that the webs binding us together transform simple groups into powerful, self-organizing agents of change.Francis HeylighenArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/relational-agency-and-the-new-paradigm-for-prosocial-organizationTue, 04 Mar 2025 00:45:00 -0800Ashforth and Anand show how bad acts become business as usual—first embedded in routines, then justified by clever self-deception, and finally taught to newcomers as “how we do things.” The villain isn’t a monster in the mirror, but a system that slowly teaches good people to forget what good means.Blake Ashforth and Vikas AnandResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/normalization-of-corruption-in-organizationsMon, 03 Mar 2025 11:40:00 -0800Karl Marx dissects the secret life of commodities: how tables and coats acquire “value,” how labor becomes abstract and alienated, and how surplus value quietly fattens capital. Factories hum; workers sell time; money breeds money. Beneath the marketplace’s polite chatter, exploitation ticks like impersonal, precise clockwork.Karl MarxBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/capital-1Sat, 22 Feb 2025 03:45:00 -0800What we call “world” and what we call “self” originate from the same neutral elements—color, sound, pressure—prior to any division into inner and outer. The ego is a relatively stable pattern within this weave. Scientific laws do not uncover hidden substances; they trace recurring relations. Remove the metaphysical scaffolding, and only the patterned field remains.Ernst MachBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/analysis-of-sensationsTue, 18 Feb 2025 06:50:00 -0800Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/heart-of-the-problemThu, 13 Feb 2025 14:20:00 -0800What if God isn’t behind us, but ahead of us? Teilhard gambles Christianity’s future on this inversion: Christ as the Omega Point, the evolutionary attractor that the universe has been straining toward since the first particles emerged from chaos—making faith not a retreat to ancient certainties, but a leap into the cosmos’s ultimate destination.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/god-of-evolutionThu, 13 Feb 2025 14:00:00 -0800Matter naturally complexifies, life evolves toward consciousness, and millions of galaxies exist. With these three facts, Teilhard logically implies millions of intelligent civilizations throughout the universe. This challenges Christian theology’s assumption of Earth’s uniqueness. Rather than retreat, he proposes embracing a cosmic Christ who centers all conscious life across the entire universe.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/sequel-to-the-problem-of-human-originsTue, 11 Feb 2025 12:10:00 -0800Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/forma-christiThu, 06 Feb 2025 16:15:00 -0800Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/operative-faithThu, 06 Feb 2025 16:10:00 -0800Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-promised-landTue, 04 Feb 2025 05:55:00 -0800When we learn to stop confusing symbols with the realities they stand for, then, and only then, will we be freed from illusory problems that now seem overwhelming.Alan WattsEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/wealth-versus-moneyTue, 04 Feb 2025 04:55:00 -0800Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/my-fundamental-visionFri, 31 Jan 2025 08:50:00 -0800The traditional Catholic doctrine of creation’s radical contingence—however philosophically defensible—is existentially corrosive in an evolutionary age. Teilhard wants to replace it with a vision where the world genuinely matters to God, where human effort is cosmically significant, and where faith functions as the vital fuel that drives humanity’s ongoing development.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/contingence-of-the-universeFri, 31 Jan 2025 08:40:00 -0800Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/transformist-paradoxTue, 28 Jan 2025 19:35:00 -0800Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/meaning-and-constructive-value-of-sufferingTue, 28 Jan 2025 17:40:00 -0800Teilhard describes the Universal Element—a mysterious reality binding all existence to the Absolute. Through what he calls “cosmic consciousness,” minds perceive unity beneath multiplicity, glimpsing a precious fabric woven through creation. Rejecting both pantheism and mere naturalism, he identifies this element as Christ, the cosmic center who unifies without absorbing, drawing all things toward convergence while preserving their distinct personalities in the growing body of the Pleroma.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/universal-elementMon, 27 Jan 2025 10:30:00 -0800Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eternal-feminineMon, 27 Jan 2025 08:50:00 -0800Written from the trenches of World War I, this mystical essay traces five concentric circles of divine encounter—presence, consistence, energy, spirit, and person—revealing how God pervades all material reality. Through sensory experience and cosmic vision, Teilhard discovers Christ as the living center who animates creation, transforms matter into sacrament, and invites souls toward union through the world itself.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mystical-milieuSun, 26 Jan 2025 11:45:00 -0800In one of his earliest writings on the topic, Teilhard de Chardin explores humanity’s unique place in evolution. He argues that humans represent an entirely new phase of life on Earth—the noosphere, or sphere of conscious thought. While physically similar to other primates, humans are revolutionary in their ability to use tools, form global connections, and reflect on their own existence. This self-awareness comes with both great power and great risk, as humans can choose to either advance or resist evolution’s push toward greater consciousness and unity.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/hominizationWed, 22 Jan 2025 07:00:00 -0800Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/spiritual-power-of-matterSat, 18 Jan 2025 06:30:00 -0800Young Teilhard spots a crisis: earnest souls are abandoning Christianity not from weakness, but from love and the search for something grander. His remedy? Reveal the “Soul of the World”: that cosmic fabric where God touches matter, where Christ meets the universe’s longing. Faith mustn’t float in clouds; it must sanctify earth itself.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/soul-of-the-worldFri, 17 Jan 2025 12:00:00 -0800In his dugout notebooks, Teilhard pictures creation as perpetual gathering: scattered things achieve reality by joining together. The cosmos climbs from chaos toward Christ, who stands at its furthest point. Matter organizes itself into spirit. Even love and goodness work like gravitational forces, drawing isolated souls into larger unities. What we call evolution is simply God creating by pulling the many into one.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/creative-unionFri, 17 Jan 2025 09:00:00 -0800In Teilhard’s vision, creation moves from fragmented multiplicity toward unity through Christ’s love. All suffering springs from our scattered state; all joy from convergence. The world’s destiny is neither dissolution nor isolation, but the gathering of countless souls into one radiant, cosmic consciousness—spirit triumphant over dust.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/struggle-against-the-multitudeTue, 14 Jan 2025 15:10:00 -0800Written to clarify ideas that bewildered even his closest friends, Teilhard de Chardin explains his lifelong struggle: reconciling love of God with love of the world. From childhood, he sought the Absolute—first in metal, then matter, finally the cosmos itself. His revelation: Christ doesn't compete with the universe but completes it, making every human endeavor a form of worship toward one divine convergence.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/my-universe-1Tue, 14 Jan 2025 15:00:00 -0800Watts critiques our scholastic obsessions and urges an experiential approach to life, blending the spiritual and concrete like a Zen gardener planting mysteries among truths. He laments our sterile materialism and bureaucratic rigidity, championing a dance with risk, creativity, and nonverbal wisdom. With tales of mystics, scientists, and madmen, he celebrates the spice of oddballs, the necessity of nonsense, and the ineffable richness of being alive.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/natural-environment-and-religionSat, 11 Jan 2025 13:00:00 -0800A Victorian epic that renders the Buddha’s life as radiant human drama: a prince awakens to suffering, renounces power, and discovers compassion as the universe’s quiet law. The Light of Asia reframes enlightenment as an ethical gravity pulling all beings toward mercy.Edwin ArnoldBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/light-of-asiaSat, 11 Jan 2025 09:15:53 -0800Timo JärvilehtoResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/machine-as-a-part-of-the-human-consciousness-and-cultureSat, 11 Jan 2025 02:00:04 -0800The atomic bomb was not merely a weapon but a psychic rupture: by touching the source of matter itself, humanity crossed a threshold, discovering near-limitless power and collective intelligence. This shock transformed our self-image, forcing a choice between domination and union—and ultimately confronting us with evolution’s final question: what, or whom, are we becoming?Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/some-reflections-on-the-spiritual-repercussions-of-the-atom-bombFri, 10 Jan 2025 10:15:00 -0800Teilhard de Chardin charts how scientific inquiry evolved from occult secrets to aesthetic contemplation before the nineteenth century’s discovery of deep time ignited a revolutionary mysticism: humanity advancing toward a future it could shape. When materialism’s promise collapsed, leaving researchers spiritually adrift, Teilhard argues only Christianity can provide the animating soul science desperately needs—transforming the laboratory into a site of cosmic love.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mysticism-of-scienceFri, 10 Jan 2025 09:00:00 -0800Michael Levin argues that life is not built merely from genes and chemistry, but from networks of bioelectric intelligence. Cells remember goals, coordinate across scales, and solve problems like minds. By rewriting these electrical “pattern memories,” medicine could heal cancer, regrow organs, and unlock a future where biology is programmed by meaning, not molecules.Michael LevinLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/bioelectric-networksSun, 05 Jan 2025 08:55:00 -0800America is rotting from within: a nation preaching freedom while practicing racism, worshipping wealth while breeding poverty, and exporting violence while calling it virtue. King sees these as one sickness—racism, materialism, militarism—driving civilization toward moral collapse unless values are radically reordered around human life.Martin Luther King, Jr.Speechhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/three-evils-of-societyTue, 24 Dec 2024 10:20:00 -0800In poetry, dialogs, epigrams, and essays, Wei Wu Wei addresses our illusions concerning the mind, the self, logic, time, space, and causation. His substantive interpretation of The Heart Sutra—the epitome of Buddhist teachings—conveys the inexpressible truth of existence.Wei Wu WeiBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/open-secretSun, 22 Dec 2024 15:05:00 -0800Wei Wu Wei’s unique and fresh interpretation of the ancient teachings opens the reader’s eyes: “Why are you unhappy? Because 99.9 percent of everything you think, and of everything you do, is for yourself—and there isn’t one.” This powerful book rewards by exposing illusions and takes the reader beyond logic to the inexpressible truth of existence.Wei Wu WeiBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ask-the-awakenedSun, 22 Dec 2024 15:00:00 -0800As ancient myths give way to circuits and code, the thinking machine emerges not as fantasy but destiny. Once minds can build better minds, intelligence will explode beyond human limits, dissolving work, reshaping society, and forcing us to ask not how to survive—but why we exist at all.Arthur C. ClarkeArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-mind-of-the-machineMon, 16 Dec 2024 13:30:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/matter-mind-survivalMon, 09 Dec 2024 13:20:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-potentialitiesMon, 09 Dec 2024 13:20:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/man-on-earth-or-moonMon, 09 Dec 2024 13:20:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/sum-and-substanceMon, 09 Dec 2024 13:20:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/minimum-working-hypothesisMon, 09 Dec 2024 13:20:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/religion-and-timeMon, 09 Dec 2024 13:20:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/some-reflections-on-timeMon, 09 Dec 2024 13:20:00 -0800Modern life traps us in a dazzling, human-made bubble that hides a deeper reality. Forgetting our inner “glassy essence” and the greater cosmos, we mistake cleverness for wisdom and power for goodness. Liberation, creativity, and peace come only through detachment, humility, and obedience to realities beyond ego and neon-lit illusions.Aldous HuxleyEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/man-and-realityMon, 09 Dec 2024 13:20:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/reflections-on-progressMon, 09 Dec 2024 13:20:00 -0800Human beings have a widespread urge for self-transcendence, which they often attempt to satisfy through various subhuman or merely human surrogates for grace that ultimately fall short of true spiritual liberation.Aldous HuxleyEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/substitutes-for-liberationMon, 09 Dec 2024 13:20:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/distractionsMon, 09 Dec 2024 13:20:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/action-and-contemplationMon, 09 Dec 2024 13:20:00 -0800With homemade instruments and radical patience, Bose forces matter to betray itself: plants pulse, feel shock, crave stimulants, writhe, and die; metals, too, fatigue and respond. What we called “inanimate” merely hid its vitality. Life was never imported into matter—it was always there, waiting for eyes sensitive enough to see it.Aldous HuxleyEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-inanimate-is-aliveMon, 09 Dec 2024 13:20:00 -0800Modern education is dangerously fragmented: rich in expertise, poor in meaning. True understanding requires “bridge-builders” who unite science, art, ethics, and lived experience, forging a shared language that reconnects facts with values, knowledge with love, and intellect with the whole of human life.Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-situation-01Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:40:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-situation-02Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:40:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-situation-03Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:40:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-situation-04Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:40:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-situation-05Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:40:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-situation-06Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:40:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-situation-07Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:40:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-situation-08Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:40:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-situation-09Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:40:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-situation-10Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:40:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-situation-11Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:40:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-situation-12Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:40:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-situation-13Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:40:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-situation-14Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:40:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-situation-15Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:40:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-situation-16Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:40:00 -0800Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/knowledge-and-understandingSun, 08 Dec 2024 13:20:00 -0800Matthew David SegallDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/god-consciousness-time-and-memoryFri, 06 Dec 2024 11:35:00 -0800Melanie Mitchell explores the science of complexity, revealing how intricate, adaptive behavior—from ant colonies to consciousness—emerges from simple interactions among many individuals. Drawing on the interdisciplinary approach of the Santa Fe Institute, her award-winning book offers a clear overview of the field’s core ideas, current research, and potential to solve major scientific mysteries.Melanie MitchellBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/complexity-a-guided-tourTue, 26 Nov 2024 12:40:00 -0800Carl SaganArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/burden-of-skepticismTue, 26 Nov 2024 06:15:00 -0800Carl SaganArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/wonder-and-skepticismTue, 26 Nov 2024 06:15:00 -0800Starting from a collection of simple computer experiments—illustrated in the book by striking computer graphics—Stephen Wolfram shows how their unexpected results force a whole new way of looking at the operation of our universe.Stephen WolframBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/a-new-kind-of-scienceSun, 24 Nov 2024 02:20:00 -0800Humanity awakens to Time’s convergent architecture: a cone ascending toward divine unity. Evolution provides Christianity its perfect cosmological framework—Christ occupies the apex, charity becomes the force drawing reality upward. Material and spiritual progress merge. Love of God, neighbor, and earthly advancement fuse into one indivisible act of cosmic synthesis.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-new-spiritSat, 16 Nov 2024 13:50:00 -0800We present and develop local prospect theory (LPT), a novel framework for understanding consciousness, and, in particular, subjective experience and free will. While predictive processing (PP) theories model the brain as trying to optimize the accuracy of predictions, LPT sees uncertainty as an essential feature of conscious decision-making. This is achieved by creating a “local prospect”—a range of potential developments colored by subjective experience from which an agent can freely choose how to react. Drawing on global workspace theory, LPT conceptualizes consciousness as a self-maintaining process of circulating neural activation, creating a temporary working memory where thoughts and feelings coming from different brain modules enter into an asynchronous, non-linear interaction. This contrasts with unconscious processes, which operate automatically and deterministically. LPT proposes entropy-based measures, including the determination of actions by conditions and the breadth of prospect, to quantify the range of potential developments considered. This framework allows us to understand Buddhist practices and concepts, such as mindfulness, liberation from attachments, and meditation, which broaden consciousness and de-automatize reactions by reducing the influence of conditioning. The proposed prospect measure may be operationalized by indicators such as the variety of action, breadth of perception, and unpredictability of behavior, thus allowing for the empirical testing of the theory.Francis Heylighen and Shima BeigiResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/why-uncertainty-is-essential-for-consciousnessSat, 16 Nov 2024 09:05:00 -0800This report is a first survey of a new, evolutionary narrative, called the Third Story, intended to replace and complement the earlier religious (First) and mechanistic (Second) worldviews. We first argue that the confusions created by a world that is ever more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) have eroded people’s sense of coherence, that is, the degree to which they experience the world as comprehensible, manageable and meaningful. The First Story provides meaning and values, but its descriptions no longer provide an accurate understanding of how the universe functions. The Second Story, which sees the universe as a clockwork mechanism governed by the laws of nature, provides more accurate predictions that allow us to build powerful technologies. However, it does not provide meaning or values. The Third Story sees the universe as self-organizing towards increasing complexity and consciousness, subsequently producing matter, life, mind and society. It understands the fundamental mechanism of evolution as mutual adaptation or “fit” between interacting systems, thus generating synergetic wholes that in turn interact, so as integrate into even more complex wholes. Its implicit value is the search for fitness and synergy, thus inviting individuals to work towards a further integration of the noosphere, i.e. the planetary superorganism formed by humanity, its technological extensions, and the ecosystem.Francis Heylighen, Shima Beigi and Clément VidalResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-third-story-of-the-universeSat, 16 Nov 2024 09:00:00 -0800Has evolution stalled at humanity? No, says Teilhard—it has shifted. As biology grows more complex, humans fuse into a collective mind, revealing that evolution is becoming self-directed. In us, life stops merely unfolding and begins consciously arranging the world and itself.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/note-on-the-present-reality-and-evolutionary-ignificance-of-a-human-orthogenesisSat, 16 Nov 2024 03:01:12 -0800Humanity’s growing interconnection isn’t a social accident, says Teilhard, but evolution becoming self-aware. If life is now reflecting on—and reinventing—itself, then watching human creativity may reveal how new biological forms once emerged. He asks whether “invention,” not just chance and selection, has always nudged life toward greater complexity. In a universe drifting toward the improbable, he wonders: when did consciousness begin steering evolution?Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/zoological-evolution-and-inventionFri, 15 Nov 2024 14:50:00 -0800The dynamics underlying the major problems of our time—cancer, crime, pollution, nuclear power, inflation, the energy shortage—are all the same. We have reached a time of dramatic and potentially dangerous change, a turning point for the planet as a whole. We need a new vision of reality, one that allows the forces transforming our world to flow together as a positive movement for social change. Fritjof Capra presents this vision as a holistic paradigm of science and spirit.Fritjof CapraBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-turning-pointTue, 12 Nov 2024 12:50:00 -0800Physicist Fritjof Capra speaking of the paradigm shift towards a systematic worldview; Hindu scholar and Catholic priest Raimon Panikkar discussing socio-economics, art, science, religion, and beauty; and performance artist Marina Abramovic explaining her investigation of physical limits and mental potentials. Artists, scientists, spiritual leaders and economists gathered in Amsterdam in 1990 to explore the emerging paradigm of a holistic world view and the implications for a global economy. The five day conference was inspired by the artists Joseph Beuys and Robert Filliou, and manifested by Louwrien Wijers, who called it a "mental sculpture."Fritjof CapraDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/art-science-spirituality-5Mon, 11 Nov 2024 05:15:00 -0800Interviews and discussions with conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner, biologist Rupert Sheldrake, Tibetan Buddhist teacher Sogyal Rinpoche, and director of Credit Lyonnais J.M. Leveque. Artists, scientists, spiritual leaders and economists gathered in Amsterdam in 1990 to explore the emerging paradigm of a holistic world view and the implications for a global economy. The five day conference was inspired by the artists Joseph Beuys and Robert Filliou, and manifested by Louwrien Wijers, who called it a "mental sculpture."Rupert SheldrakeDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/art-science-spirituality-4Mon, 11 Nov 2024 05:10:00 -0800Artist Jacques van der Heyden, neurophysiologist/cognitive scientist Francisco Varela, and Carmelite nun Mother Tessa Bielecki are interviewed. Artists, scientists, spiritual leaders and economists gathered in Amsterdam in 1990 to explore the emerging paradigm of a holistic world view and the implications for a global economy. The five day conference was inspired by the artists Joseph Beuys and Robert Filliou, and manifested by Louwrien Wijers, who called it a "mental sculpture."Francisco VarelaDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/art-science-spirituality-3Mon, 11 Nov 2024 05:05:00 -0800Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/my-universe-2Sun, 10 Nov 2024 06:15:00 -0800Humanity, Teilhard argues, is awakening in an evolutionary storm—one pulling us toward a larger, more unified “Super-Humanity.” In this widening scale of mind and world, Christ emerges not as a distant memory but as the universe’s glowing center, the Omega drawing all things together. From this cosmic magnetism arises a “Super-Charity”: love powerful enough to drive evolution itself.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/super-humanity-super-christ-super-charitySun, 10 Nov 2024 06:10:00 -0800Teilhard envisions a future ecumenism born from humanity’s psychic maturation—a unity of spirit as the Earth itself evolves. Yet he warns that true synthesis cannot come from vague harmony or sentimental blending of faiths. Only by uniting faith in mankind with faith in a Christic, convergent God can a coherent cosmic religion emerge. Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ecumenismSun, 10 Nov 2024 06:05:00 -0800Teilhard casts scientific research as humanity’s next evolutionary pulse—our collective mind awakening to shape its own future. He argues that the modern hunger to know and create is nothing less than evolution reflecting on itself, a divine power working through human inquiry. For him, research becomes sacred: the meeting point where faith in God and faith in human potential fuse into a single, world-transforming spiritual force.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/religious-value-of-researchSun, 10 Nov 2024 06:00:00 -0800Humanity isn’t raw clay, but a living, evolving organism shaped by deep cosmic laws. As consciousness and complexity entwine, the human mass tightens, organizes, and spiritualizes itself. Diversity must be honored, unity embraced. Any blueprint for the future that ignores these biological forces is doomed from the start.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/note-on-the-biological-structure-of-mankindSun, 10 Nov 2024 05:55:00 -0800Teilhard reconciles evolutionary science with Catholic doctrine by reimagining original sin as a cosmic principle rather than a singular transgression in Eden. The Fall is ongoing; Creation, Fall, Incarnation, and Redemption are not sequential events, but simultaneous aspects of one continuous divine process as humanity struggles toward God through the long emergence of consciousness from matter.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/note-on-some-possible-historical-representations-of-original-sinSun, 10 Nov 2024 04:10:00 -0800Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/reflections-on-original-sinSun, 10 Nov 2024 03:55:00 -0800This is Rudhyar’s major philosophical and psychological work, the concentrated outcome of a lifetime concerned with the most basic problems of human existence and the meaning of radical social-cultural crisis mankind is experiencing. Rudhyar has been for years an apostle of world integration based on the interpretation of Eastern and Western concepts and attitudes to life. He sees emerging a global society, and through the world-wide interaction of all cultures, a new type of “planetary” consciousness which for the first time will reveal in its fullness the potential of man. The Planetarisation is essentially an act of faith in Man. Man as a microcosm of the universe. Man as a reality that transcends the physical organism, all localisms and nationalisms, and in whom spirit and matter can unite in a “Divine Marriage” productive of ever new and greater creative tomorrows.Dane RudhyarBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/planetarization-of-consciousnessSat, 09 Nov 2024 07:10:00 -0800José Argüelles envisions humanity’s next evolutionary leap—a conscious planet where mind and nature merge into a single living intelligence. Blending mysticism, science, and cosmic ecology, he declares that the noosphere—the thinking layer of Earth—is awakening, urging us to replace mechanized time with harmony, art, and planetary awareness before civilization’s final turning point.José ArgüellesBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/manifesto-for-the-noosphereSat, 09 Nov 2024 06:30:00 -0800Heaven and Hell is a philosophical essay by Aldous Huxley in which he discusses the relationship between bright, colorful objects, geometric designs, psychoactives, art, and profound experience. Heaven and Hell metaphorically refer to what Huxley conceives to be two contrary mystical experiences that potentially await when one opens the “doors of perception”—not only in a mystical experience, but in prosaic life.Aldous HuxleyEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/heaven-and-hellSat, 09 Nov 2024 05:55:00 -0800Thomas Berry challenges us to rethink humanity’s story on Earth: we are not masters of a mechanical world but participants in a sacred community of life. Framing ecological collapse as a spiritual crisis, he invites us to embrace a new cosmology of meaning, belonging, and partnership with the planet, and to reclaim our role as the Earth’s “consciousness.”Thomas BerryBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/evening-thoughtsSat, 09 Nov 2024 04:40:00 -0800The Universe Story presents a narrative of cosmic evolution, from the Big Bang to the emergence of human consciousness. Fusing scientific discovery with spiritual insight, it offers a new, sacred story that redefines humanity’s place in the cosmos. This “New Story” replaces the outdated, mechanistic worldview that has led to ecological crisis, urging a shift toward ecological responsibility and a deeper connection to the living Earth.Brian Swimme and Thomas BerryBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-universe-storySat, 09 Nov 2024 04:30:00 -0800Cultural historian Thomas Berry issues a profound summons to reimagine humanity’s place within the living fabric of the Earth. He envisions a radical transformation—from a species that wounds its home to one that nurtures it—calling for the “resacralization of nature” and a renewal of our ecological consciousness. More than a philosophical reflection, Berry’s work is a moral and spiritual manifesto, demanding an overhaul of our ethics, politics, economics, and education. Only through this sweeping reorientation, he insists, can we move from exploitation toward communion, from survival toward a flourishing future shared with all life.Thomas BerryBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-great-workSat, 09 Nov 2024 04:20:00 -0800W. Ross Ashby argues that the brain’s genius lies not in mystical purpose, but in mechanism. It is a self-tuning machine, a web of feedback loops constantly testing and correcting itself—adapting not by foresight but by iteration, by trial, by the quiet mathematics of survival. Through ideas like essential variables, homeostasis, and adaptive mechanisms, Ashby shows how the mind sustains its delicate balance amid chaos—how order, astonishingly, can arise from pure mechanics.Ross AshbyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/design-for-a-brainFri, 08 Nov 2024 04:20:00 -0800An Introduction to Cybernetics is a foundational book that defines cybernetics as the “science of control and communication in the animal and the machine”. It serves as the first textbook on the subject, laying out its basic principles for an audience of physiologists, psychologists, and sociologists. The book covers topics like information theory, control theory, and the application of these principles to biological systems.Ross AshbyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/introduction-to-cyberneticsFri, 08 Nov 2024 04:00:00 -0800Teilhard reveals that evolution has outgrown its origins as a mere biological theory to become the universe’s own heartbeat—a vast, unfolding process shaping matter, mind, and meaning alike. Once we thought ourselves its observers; now we awaken as its apex and instrument, the conscious spearpoint of creation’s long ascent.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/evolution-of-the-idea-of-evolutionThu, 07 Nov 2024 10:30:00 -0800This book paints a world humming with tangled webs of evolution, computation, and dynamics, arguing that our planet is alive in more ways than we admit. It shows how everything—from cell to city to circuit—is built from emergent patterns, and invites us to move beyond linear, simple thinking if we hope to thrive in the unpredictable.David KrakauerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-complex-worldThu, 07 Nov 2024 04:00:00 -0800Robert Wright traces a grand pattern beneath history: life’s long drift toward cooperation. From single cells to civilizations, progress blooms when we play games where everyone can win. Evolution, technology, and morality, he suggests, are not accidents, but echoes of a deeper logic pulling humanity toward shared destiny.Robert WrightBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nonzeroThu, 31 Oct 2024 17:25:00 -0700Gerald O'NeillDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/is-the-surface-of-a-planet-really-the-right-place-for-expanding-technological-civilizationThu, 31 Oct 2024 01:10:00 -0700Freeman DysonResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/time-without-endWed, 30 Oct 2024 14:00:00 -0700In Human Culture: A Moment in Evolution, Dobzhansky portrays humanity as evolution awakening to itself. Culture, he argues, is nature’s newest invention—a continuation of biological evolution through ideas, ethics, and creativity. Through us, evolution becomes self-aware, guiding its own future instead of merely enduring it.Theodosius DobzhanskyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-cultureWed, 30 Oct 2024 13:55:00 -0700Theodosius DobzhanskyArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nothing-in-biology-makes-sense-except-in-the-light-of-evolutionWed, 30 Oct 2024 13:50:00 -0700Clark argues that mind, body, and world are inseparable partners in shaping experience. Perception isn’t about representing a fixed reality but about acting within it—guided by our bodies, tools, and culture. From prosthetic limbs to language itself, humans continuously rebuild their environments and, in doing so, reinvent their own minds through a dance of “profound embodiment.”Andrew ClarkLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/profound-embodimentMon, 28 Oct 2024 15:00:00 -0700Thomas Metzinger argues that the self is an illusion—a virtual construct the brain generates to manage perception and action. When this self-model becomes transparent, we mistake it for reality and feel like “someone” inside our body. In truth, we’re self-simulating organisms, biological systems so advanced that we’ve come to believe our own virtual reflection is real.Thomas MetzingerLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/being-no-oneMon, 28 Oct 2024 15:00:00 -0700The Spirit of the Internet envisions the web as humanity’s emerging nervous system—a living network where technology and consciousness intertwine. Blending cyberculture, mysticism, and ecology, Lorenzo Hagerty explores how the Internet could awaken Teilhard de Chardin’s “noosphere,” a global mind uniting millions of souls. It’s a visionary call to see the digital realm not as machinery, but as the spirit of Earth becoming self-aware.Lorenzo HagertyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-spirit-of-the-internetMon, 28 Oct 2024 13:55:00 -0700Erik DavisLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/visionary-art-visionary-designMon, 28 Oct 2024 13:15:00 -0700In a traditional monastery the recitation of the Hours calls to mind the work of God in our lives, from the gift of creation to the sufferings we bear. According to scientist, theologian, and author Ilia Delio, the universe is the new monastery. In her latest work she offers reflections for this new monastery to a broad, general audience seeking new meaning and purpose in today's world. Ilia DelioBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-hours-of-the-universeMon, 28 Oct 2024 12:25:00 -0700Diverse explanations or theories of consciousness are arrayed on a roughly physicalist-to-nonphysicalist landscape of essences and mechanisms. Categories: Materialism Theories (philosophical, neurobiological, electromagnetic field, computational and informational, homeostatic and affective, embodied and enactive, relational, representational, language, phylogenetic evolution); Non-Reductive Physicalism; Quantum Theories; Integrated Information Theory; Panpsychisms; Monisms; Dualisms; Idealisms; Anomalous and Altered States Theories; Challenge Theories. There are many subcategories, especially for Materialism Theories. Each explanation is self-described by its adherents, critique is minimal and only for clarification, and there is no attempt to adjudicate among theories. The implications of consciousness explanations or theories are assessed with respect to four questions: meaning/purpose/value (if any); AI consciousness; virtual immortality; and survival beyond death. A Landscape of Consciousness, I suggest, offers perspective.Robert Lawrence KuhnResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/a-landscape-of-consciousnessMon, 28 Oct 2024 11:40:00 -0700Erik Davis explores how electronic media and pharmacology are transforming human identity into a “posthuman self.” He argues visionary culture offers navigational skills for this transition, emphasizing dialogue and community intelligence over prophetic transformation fantasies, while acknowledging technology’s liberating yet destabilizing effects.Erik DavisLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/pharmacology-and-the-posthuman-phutureSun, 27 Oct 2024 18:10:00 -0700Herbert Günther reveals how ancient Tibetan Buddhist texts offer insights into consciousness that parallel modern scientific discoveries. The Tibetans viewed humans not as isolated beings, but as expressions of universal intelligence, describing three levels: the physical body, an experiential “phantom-like” body, and a mysterious deep structure. Their texts suggest that the universe itself is conducting a grand experiment through human consciousness—playfully creating new possibilities and evolving toward higher forms of order.Herbert GüntherEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-old-and-the-new-visionSun, 27 Oct 2024 04:50:00 -0700Neocybernetics and Narrative shows how stories, like living systems, sustain themselves through feedback and adaptation. Bruce Clarke links literature to cybernetics—the science of self-organizing systems—to reveal that both humans and their narratives evolve by observing, adjusting, and rewriting themselves. In short: storytelling isn’t just art—it’s a survival algorithm for consciousness.Bruce ClarkeBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/neocybernetics-and-narrativeTue, 15 Oct 2024 12:10:00 -0700Canguilhem argues that while machines can imitate life, only living beings create their own rules for survival. A machine obeys commands; an organism invents its own norms. Life isn’t just mechanical function—it’s the power to adapt, to value, to define what “working” even means. Living things aren’t built—they build themselves.Georges CanguilhemEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/machine-and-organismTue, 15 Oct 2024 11:15:00 -0700In this last recorded interview, Terence McKenna reflects on psychedelics, society, and mortality. He calls the War on Drugs a war on imagination, laments capitalism’s desecration of the sacred, and praises ayahuasca as nature’s teacher reconnecting humans to empathy and the planet. Facing death, he remains curious, unafraid, and grateful—still exploring the mystery he’d spent a lifetime mapping.Terence McKennaDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-last-wordSun, 13 Oct 2024 18:00:00 -0700The most important scientific discovery of the present era will come when someone—or some group—discovers the answer to the following question: How exactly do neurobiological processes in the brain cause consciousness? This is the most important question facing us in the biological sciences, yet it is frequently evaded, and frequently misunderstood when not evaded.John SearleResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-problem-of-consciousnessSun, 13 Oct 2024 02:00:00 -0700Gerald Heard re-examines the evolutionary theory. He rejects Darwinism in favor of a nobler, more spiritually enlightened view of humankind.Gerald HeardEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-source-of-civilizationSun, 06 Oct 2024 02:20:00 -0700Timothy Leary’s Start Your Own Religion is a manifesto urging people to reject inherited dogmas and create their own spiritual paths. He frames religion as a personal technology of freedom—an experiment in consciousness, community, and meaning—rather than an institution. The core message: don’t follow; invent.Timothy LearyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/start-your-own-religionWed, 25 Sep 2024 14:30:00 -0700Wilson dismantles the absurd claims of religious and political authorities. His core message is a call to intellectual rebellion: since the world is fundamentally chaotic and run by fools, you must trust your own conscience. Question all dogma, laugh at the absurdity, and become the pope of your own personal religion.Robert Anton WilsonLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/religion-for-the-hell-of-itWed, 25 Sep 2024 10:10:10 -0700Visiting Berkeley’s cyclotrons, Teilhard de Chardin sees more than machines—he perceives symbols of humanity’s own acceleration. Our vast networks of research, energy, and invention, converging like particles in a magnetic field, are drawing humankind into a single reflective consciousness—an evolutionary spiral toward the ultra-human, where science and spirit finally unite.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/on-looking-at-a-cyclotronSat, 21 Sep 2024 09:05:00 -0700Teilhard envisions humanity not as evolution’s finale, but as its awakening. As our minds and societies knit into a single global consciousness—the noösphere—evolution becomes self-aware, guiding itself through thought and collaboration. In this new phase, life chooses its own becoming and reaches out toward the ultra-human.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/a-major-problem-for-anthropologySat, 21 Sep 2024 09:00:00 -0700Teilhard envisions Earth glowing ever brighter with thought—and darker with suffering—as consciousness evolves. He sees pain not as meaningless cruelty but as the necessary shadow of creation’s ascent, redeemable through love. In accepting and transforming suffering, humanity turns agony itself into a force of divine and cosmic unity.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/spiritual-energy-of-sufferingSat, 21 Sep 2024 08:50:00 -0700Teilhard de Chardin’s Zest for Living reveals life’s deepest impulse—the will not just to survive, but to “super-live.” This inner drive fuels cosmic evolution toward greater consciousness. To sustain humanity’s future, he urges a renewal of faith and wonder—a universal spirituality that rekindles our passion for being and becoming.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/zest-for-livingSat, 21 Sep 2024 08:45:00 -0700Jiddu KrishnamurtiBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/education-and-the-significance-of-lifeSat, 21 Sep 2024 08:10:00 -0700Teilhard argues that as science deepens its gaze into both space and time, the cosmos reveals itself not as static, but as becoming—a living genesis. By “thickening” our view of time, we see vast slow waves of change—continents shifting, species evolving, consciousness rising—yet origins blur, reminding us that creation is ongoing, happening now, and ahead.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/vision-of-the-pastSat, 21 Sep 2024 06:20:00 -0700Laukkonen and Chandaria propose that consciousness arises from a recursive brain process involving three key elements: a reality model, competitive inferences reducing uncertainty, and a self-aware feedback loop. This framework explains various states of awareness, including meditation, psychedelic experiences, and minimal consciousness. It also offers insights into artificial intelligence by connecting awareness to self-reinforcing predictions. The authors’ theory suggests that consciousness emerges when the brain’s reality model becomes self-referential, creating a “knowing itself” phenomenon. This recursive process underlies different levels of conscious experience and potentially informs AI development.Ruben Laukkonen and Shamil ChandariaResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/a-beautiful-loopThu, 19 Sep 2024 02:20:00 -0700War, Teilhard tells us, is not humanity’s death rattle but its birth cry—the agony of a species pressed toward unity. The tyrant’s dream of domination is a counterfeit evolution; the real ascent is convergence, where nations complete rather than consume one another. Our future will not be forged by violence, but by the one force stronger than force: love, binding us into a single soul of Earth. Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-moment-of-choiceWed, 18 Sep 2024 13:00:00 -0700Warren McCulloch, a pioneering neurologist and mathematician, discusses his lifelong quest to understand the nature of numbers and human cognition. He explores the parallels between the human brain and complex computing machines, emphasizing the brain’s unique “anastomotic” structure. McCulloch ponders the future of artificial intelligence, suggesting that machines might one day surpass and outlive humans. His ideas blend mathematics, theology, and neuroscience, painting a thought-provoking picture of consciousness, technology, and the potential evolution of intelligence beyond human form.Warren McCullochDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/living-machineTue, 17 Sep 2024 01:00:00 -0700Humanity has discovered infinite space, endless time, and unstoppable evolution—a new faith in progress. Teilhard says: don’t fight it, fuse it. Christianity must reveal Christ as the universe’s living center, not a brake on growth but its ultimate flame. Only then can heaven and earth unite, and the fire of faith spread like evolution itself.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/reflexions-on-the-conversion-of-the-worldThu, 12 Sep 2024 17:55:00 -0700Energy and the Evolution of Life provides an interdisciplinary approach to the question of life’s origin. The text includes clear coverage of biochemical and mathematical topics. The author develops a novel approach to two fundamental problems in evolutionary biology: How did self-reproducing molecules arise from inert matter? How and why have living organisms become progressively more complex through evolution? His thesis is that “biological organization and evolution are a consequence of the flow of energy through matter.”Ronald F. FoxBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/energy-and-the-evolution-of-lifeSun, 08 Sep 2024 13:20:00 -0700The Evolution of Cooperation provides valuable insights into the age-old question of whether unforced cooperation is ever possible. Widely praised and much-discussed, this classic book explores how cooperation can emerge in a world of self-seeking egoists—whether superpowers, businesses, or individuals—when there is no central authority to police their actions. The problem of cooperation is central to many different fields. Robert Axelrod recounts the famous computer tournaments in which the “cooperative” program Tit for Tat recorded its stunning victories, explains its application to a broad spectrum of subjects, and suggests how readers can both apply cooperative principles to their own lives and teach cooperative principles to others.Robert AxelrodBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/evolution-of-cooperationSun, 08 Sep 2024 13:00:00 -0700Beyond Biocentrism argues that life and consciousness aren’t byproducts of the universe but its foundation. Time, space, and matter arise from the mind, not the other way around. By flipping science’s assumptions, Lanza and Berman propose that reality itself is inseparable from perception—a cosmos that exists because we are aware of it.Robert Lanza and Bob BermanBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/beyond-biocentrismSat, 07 Sep 2024 04:05:00 -0700Teilhard sees human energy not as brute force but as consciousness folding back on itself, organizing matter into ever greater complexity. Our survival rests less on fuel than on vision and will. This energy converges toward a final peak—an irreversible surge of awareness—suggesting that spirit, not physics, is the true engine of the cosmos.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/activation-of-human-energyThu, 05 Sep 2024 02:20:00 -0700Charles Galton Darwin strips humanity of its illusions: technology may dazzle, but beneath it pulse ancient instincts—hunger, rivalry, desire. Civilizations rise and fall, yet the species endures, bound to its nature. Our future is not escape, but the eternal rhythm of struggle, renewal, and survival.Charles Galton DarwinBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-next-million-yearsTue, 03 Sep 2024 16:40:00 -0700In The Meaning of Evolution, Simpson strips away illusion: evolution has no script, no destined crown. Life is a ceaseless improvisation, sculpted by chance within law. Humanity is not the summit but a fleeting variation, proof that creation’s genius lies not in goals achieved, but in possibilities endlessly tried.George Gaylord SimpsonBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/meaning-of-evolutionTue, 03 Sep 2024 16:05:00 -0700Teilhard de Chardin sees evolution not as blind biology but as energy awakening to thought. Humanity inaugurates a new phase: self-directed, convergent, planetary, driven less by survival than by the magnetism of the future. Evolution’s true axis is consciousness itself, pulled toward an ultimate point of unity where being and becoming fuse.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/energy-of-evolutionSun, 01 Sep 2024 10:05:00 -0700Brian Swimme and Monica DeRaspe-Bolles explore heredity, tools, reflective consciousness, communication, population, trade, cerebralization, and convergence across four eras of human history. Based on contemporary science and empirical data, their book challenges readers to move past Modernity’s overemphasis on rationality and embrace the dynamism of imagination and reflection, into the noospheric era―the unification of humanity.Brian SwimmeBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-story-of-the-noosphereSat, 31 Aug 2024 17:55:00 -0700Cosmogenesis portrays the universe as a living story, where matter, life, and consciousness unfold from a single cosmic origin. Swimme links human awareness to this grand process, urging us to see ourselves as participants in an evolving cosmos, shaping its next chapter.Brian SwimmeBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmogenesisSat, 31 Aug 2024 17:50:00 -0700Humanity’s power lies in unity: like molecules forming water, our connections create libraries, spaceflight, and cosmic insight. Swimme sees the noosphere—a planetary mind—emerging from our deepening bonds, part of a creative universe evolving toward greater complexity, consciousness, and community, even amid chaos.Brian Swimme and Robert Lawrence KuhnDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/consciousness-cultural-evolution-noosphereSat, 31 Aug 2024 17:40:00 -0700Teilhard unveils a universe not static but alive—cosmogenesis, a great unfolding where matter rises toward spirit, complexity begets consciousness, and humanity discovers itself as evolution aware of itself. In this vision, evil is byproduct, individuality deepens in unity, and God becomes the animating center: love driving the cosmos toward its destined convergence.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/a-mental-threshold-across-our-pathSat, 31 Aug 2024 15:50:00 -0700Joscha Bach shares his insights into AI: what it illuminates about consciousness, how it will develop, and what it means for humanity.Joscha BachDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/this-is-the-dawn-of-machine-consciousnessTue, 27 Aug 2024 08:30:00 -0700Less than a week after undergoing brain surgery in which part of his skull was removed, Terence appeared one last time at Esalen to talk about his confrontation with mortality.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/terence-mckennas-final-esalen-gatheringTue, 27 Aug 2024 05:30:00 -0700Freeman Dyson celebrated religion’s power to fuel good works over evil and viewed science and faith as humble companions facing life’s biggest mysteries. He imagined mind—from atoms to humans to the cosmos—as a spectrum toward God, marveling at a universe built for maximum diversity and wonder, a fitting confession from a “scientific heretic.”Freeman DysonSpeechhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/templeton-prize-acceptance-speechSat, 24 Aug 2024 07:15:00 -0700This prophetic book brilliantly anticipates the need to rethink learning in light of a dawning revolution in informational technology.Richard Buckminster FullerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/education-automationSat, 24 Aug 2024 01:40:00 -0700Instead of a rigid rejection of sex, Teilhard de Chardin views chastity as the masterful control and redirection of sexual energy. He believes this powerful, fiery drive can be channeled not into self-denial, but into a higher form of spiritual love that unites us with the divine. Purity, then, isn’t about remaining untouched but about a transformative process that brings everything into its own incandescent flame.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/evolution-of-chastityWed, 21 Aug 2024 15:55:00 -0700Humanity is not a scatter of individuals, but the birth of a single mind—the noosphere. Just as life once ignited from matter, thought now ignites from life. Teilhard says our task is no longer survival alone, but conscious evolution to forge a unified destiny where the universe awakens to itself through us. Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-sense-of-manWed, 21 Aug 2024 15:55:00 -0700This article explores whether AI could ever be conscious, not just clever. Drawing on leading brain-based theories of consciousness, the authors outline “indicator properties” to test AI systems. They find today’s AI isn’t conscious, but no hard barriers prevent future systems from meeting these indicators.Patrick Butlin and Robert LongResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/consciousness-in-artificial-intelligenceMon, 19 Aug 2024 08:55:00 -0700Terence McKenna illuminates the world of Amazonian shamanism and its visionary brew, ayahuasca. He presents these plant hallucinogens not as simple drugs, but as sophisticated indigenous technologies for exploring consciousness. McKenna argues they are vital tools for evolving language, deconditioning us from cultural myths, and navigating the future of human evolution as we journey into the cosmos and the imagination.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/shamanologySat, 17 Aug 2024 13:25:00 -0700Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mind-molecules-magicSat, 17 Aug 2024 13:00:00 -0700This paper talks about how complex systems—like ecosystems, economies, or living organisms—are made up of many interacting parts organized into different levels. It argues that these levels aren't just stacked like a ladder; instead, they overlap and influence each other in complicated ways. Wimsatt uses the idea of “causal thickets” to describe how cause-and-effect relationships get tangled when multiple levels interact at once. He also explains that how we choose to look at a system changes what we see as important causes or effects.William C. WimsattResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ontology-of-complex-systemsTue, 13 Aug 2024 14:37:18 -0700Ram Dass spins a winding tale—Sufi teachings, LSD paranoia, Buddhist insight—to drive home one unsettling truth: the end of the spiritual path is the end of you. Selflessness isn’t humility—it’s vanishing. When there’s no “you” left, only the Dharma acts, and the difference between life and death stops mattering.Ram DassLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/wash-yourself-of-yourselfSun, 11 Aug 2024 18:10:00 -0700Ram Dass challenges the idea that we are just our traits or roles, guiding us toward seeing ourselves as the creator, not the creation. Freedom, he says, comes not from escaping our humanity, but by embracing it as part of life’s perfect unfolding—even in the midst of suffering.Ram DassLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nowhere-to-standSun, 11 Aug 2024 18:05:00 -0700Ram DassLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/have-a-good-journeySun, 11 Aug 2024 18:00:00 -0700Relationships are living classrooms where every quarrel, craving, or tender moment can point us toward freedom. Ram Dass reminds us not to get stuck in our little dramas, but to use them as mirrors so we can practice balance, compassion, and nurture spacious joy to share with others.Ram DassLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/being-free-togetherSun, 11 Aug 2024 17:55:00 -0700Ram Dass traces our journey from unity to separation, ego, and suffering—then to awakening as souls, shedding attachments and aversions. Ultimately, we dissolve into pure awareness, where love is boundless, peace is natural, and the self was never truly separate at all.Ram DassLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/a-gathering-of-soulsSun, 11 Aug 2024 17:50:00 -0700Campbell’s famous and mind-expanding essay explores the fundamental connection between myth, symbol, and human culture. In it, he looks at the origins of Western culture’s myths and symbols, and asks whether these are still relevant in the modern era.Joseph CampbellEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-symbol-without-meaningSat, 10 Aug 2024 19:30:00 -0700In The Center of the Cyclone, John C. Lilly recounts his deep dives into consciousness through sensory isolation, psychedelics, and self-experimentation. Blending science, mysticism, and autobiography, he explores how facing chaos head-on can lead to profound self-awareness—finding stillness and clarity at the heart of life’s storms.John C. LillyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/center-of-the-cycloneSat, 10 Aug 2024 19:00:00 -0700McLuhan’s The Gutenberg Galaxy maps how the printing press rewired human thought, turning our world from a web of shared, oral memory into a grid of silent, linear logic. It’s the story of how movable type didn’t just print books, it printed the modern mind.Marshall McLuhanBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/gutenberg-galaxySat, 10 Aug 2024 18:45:00 -0700Susan Blackmore combines the latest scientific theories about mind, self, and consciousness with a lifetime’s practice of Zen. Framed by ten critical questions that are derived from Zen’s teachings, Zen and the Art of Consciousness explores how intellectual inquiry and meditation can expand your understanding and experience of consciousness and tackle some of today’s greatest scientific mysteries.Susan BlackmoreBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/zen-and-the-art-of-consciousnessSat, 10 Aug 2024 10:40:00 -0700Susan Blackmore’s Consciousness: An Introduction surveys the major theories and scientific research on consciousness. She explores topics from the hard problem of consciousness to out-of-body experiences, while maintaining a skeptical and scientific perspective. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the field for students and general readers alike.Susan BlackmoreBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/consciousness-an-introductionSat, 10 Aug 2024 10:30:00 -0700Waking Up explores spirituality without religion, blending neuroscience and meditation to uncover how consciousness works. Sam Harris argues that true happiness comes from understanding the mind’s illusions and offers practical tools to experience deeper awareness—no faith required, just curiosity and practice.Sam HarrisBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/waking-upSat, 10 Aug 2024 09:45:34 -0700Dennett argues consciousness isn’t a hidden inner glow but the brain’s “fame”—information gaining broad influence across neural systems. The so-called “Hard Problem” is an illusion; explaining the functional aftermath of such influence explains the Subject. Qualia, as mysterious intrinsic properties, are unnecessary philosophical baggage.Daniel DennettArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/are-we-explaining-consciousness-yetSat, 10 Aug 2024 09:30:00 -0700Consciousness Explained is a a full-scale exploration of human consciousness. In this landmark book, Daniel Dennett refutes the traditional, commonsense theory of consciousness and presents a new model, based on a wealth of information from the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and artificial intelligence. Our current theories about conscious life of people, animals, and even robots are transformed by the new perspectives found in this book.Daniel DennettBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/consciousness-explainedSat, 10 Aug 2024 09:25:00 -0700The Nature of Technology reveals technology as a living ecosystem of ideas, where each invention grows from past ones and sparks new possibilities. W. Brian Arthur shows how this self-reinforcing web drives progress, reshapes society, and evolves much like nature itself—messy, unpredictable, and endlessly creative.William Brian ArthurBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nature-of-technologySat, 10 Aug 2024 07:17:35 -0700Nick Bostrom’s Superintelligence warns that once AI surpasses human intelligence, it could reshape the world in ways we can’t control. The book explores how to guide this power safely—because in the race between machine minds and human oversight, second place might mean no humans left to celebrate.Nick BostromBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/superintelligenceSat, 10 Aug 2024 07:00:00 -0700Orthodoxy is Chesterton’s spirited defense of the Christian faith, told as a personal adventure story. Blending humor, paradox, and sharp logic, he recounts how he set out to invent his own philosophy—only to discover he’d accidentally reinvented the creed of historic Christianity.Gilbert Keith ChestertonBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/orthodoxySat, 10 Aug 2024 06:15:00 -0700Alan Watts explores Gandhi’s devotion to the Bhagavad Gita, unpacking its battlefield setting, Hindu ideas of the self as Ātman–Brahman, the illusory nature of fear and motive, and Krishna’s call to act from one’s true vocation: freely, without attachment to outcomes.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-bhagavad-gita-the-song-of-the-lordSun, 04 Aug 2024 12:15:00 -0700Watts argues that nuclear weapons are not only immoral but strategically stupid—destroying what one aims to control. Instead, wars should be fought with non-lethal, control-focused tactics like communication disruption or immobilization, making victory possible without mutual annihilation.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/a-problem-of-strategyThu, 01 Aug 2024 15:45:00 -0700Michael Levin argues that goal-directedness, or teleology, is key to understanding biology. He demonstrates that ancient bioelectric networks, which guide goal-seeking behaviors in our brains, also instruct individual cells on how to build and repair complex body structures. By “rewriting” these bioelectric goals, his lab can induce remarkable feats like regeneration and create novel organisms.Michael LevinLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nothing-in-biology-makes-sense-without-teleologySat, 27 Jul 2024 16:00:00 -0700What happens when a mystic and a futurist debate humanity’s fate? Alan Watts and Arthur C. Clarke tackle our future from two unique perspectives. Clarke champions technological solutions, from synthetic food to space exploration, while Watts argues for a spiritual evolution—a change in consciousness and our relationship with nature to solve our most pressing problems.Alan Watts and Arthur C. ClarkeDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/at-the-interfaceWed, 24 Jul 2024 10:30:00 -0700A personal journey to Japan reveals that the heart of Zen is not a complex philosophy, but a direct experience of reality. Alan finds that, like the sound of rain, the universe needs no translation. True understanding arises from perceiving life as it is—a unified whole where everything from blooming flowers to our own consciousness is part of a single, magnificent happening.Alan WattsArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/sound-of-rainWed, 24 Jul 2024 10:20:00 -0700Watts envisions a future where society, after a global crisis, embraces ecstasy as a vital human need. Rejecting the “uptight” culture of the past, people now cultivate ecstasy as a skilled art. They learn to surrender to life’s vibrations, transforming ordinary consciousness and finding profound joy by navigating their experiences instead of resisting them.Alan WattsArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/future-of-ecstasyWed, 24 Jul 2024 10:15:00 -0700America, fresh from its dream of progress, is choking on its own symbols—mistaking money for wealth and politics for reality. Alan Watts warns: we have the tech for paradise, yet prefer war, paranoia, and poker-chips of abstraction. His cure? Drop delusion, embrace vision, and build the feast already waiting on the table.Alan WattsArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/manifesto-to-cut-the-big-hang-upWed, 24 Jul 2024 10:10:10 -0700Watts unpacks our craving for holy instruction manuals, mocking the folly of reading ancient texts like rulebooks. True authority, he argues, doesn’t descend from heaven, it rises from belief. Trusting blindly in scripture is less faith than fear of thinking for yourself.Alan WattsArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-worlds-most-dangerous-bookWed, 24 Jul 2024 09:45:00 -0700Could an intelligent being bypass the Second Law of Thermodynamics and create endless energy? Leo Szilard tackled this “perpetual motion” challenge in 1929. He demonstrated that any measurement made by an intelligent being, which might seem to decrease entropy, is inherently accompanied by an equal or greater production of entropy, thus preserving the fundamental law.Leo SzilardArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/on-the-decrease-of-entropy-in-a-thermodynamic-system-by-the-intervention-of-intelligent-beingsTue, 23 Jul 2024 15:50:00 -0700In the heart of Mumbai’s bustling streets, a humble beedi shop owner named Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj delved deeply into the nature of existence, emerging with profound insights that have since captivated spiritual seekers worldwide. I Am That is a collection of his dialogues, where complex metaphysical concepts are unraveled with startling clarity and simplicity. Through conversations steeped in Advaita Vedanta, Maharaj guides readers beyond the illusion of individuality to the realization of their true, unbounded self. Each page invites you to question, reflect, and ultimately transcend the confines of the mind, offering not just philosophical musings, but a transformative experience that promises to change the very way you perceive reality. If you're seeking a profound spiritual awakening, I Am That is not just a book—it's a portal to understanding your true nature.Nisargadatta MaharajBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/i-am-thatFri, 12 Jul 2024 16:15:00 -0700What if the universe is fundamentally mental? Kastrup argues that puzzling findings in quantum physics support the idea of a universal mind. He proposes that our individual psyches are like dissociated “alters” within this one mind, and the physical world we perceive is the interface where our consciousness interacts with this greater mental reality.Bernardo KastrupArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/making-sense-of-the-mental-universeFri, 12 Jul 2024 04:35:00 -0700Can your rich inner world be built from tiny, simple feelings? Philip Goff tackles panpsychism—the theory that all matter has basic consciousness. He argues panpsychism fails because it cannot intelligibly explain how billions of “micro-experiences” could sum together to create the single, complex “macro-experience” of a person, calling this a leap of faith.Philip GoffArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/experiences-dont-sumFri, 12 Jul 2024 04:25:00 -0700In his famous “Chinese Room” thought experiment, philosopher John Searle argues that running a computer program is never enough for true understanding. Even if a machine can convincingly mimic human conversation, like answering questions about a story, it doesn’t really understand—it’s just shuffling symbols. Searle concludes that genuine thought requires the specific biological powers of the human brain, not just clever code. This challenges the boldest claims of artificial intelligence and reminds us that minds are more than machines.John SearleArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/minds-brains-and-programsMon, 08 Jul 2024 13:00:00 -0700Ross Ashby, a pioneer in cybernetics, challenges common ideas of self-organization. He argues that a system’s “organization” isn’t inherent but depends on the observer’s viewpoint and is defined by how its parts interact and influence each other.Ross AshbyArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/principles-of-the-self-organizing-systemFri, 05 Jul 2024 07:30:00 -0700Sara Walker and Lex Fridman explore life’s grand mysteries, touching on the nature of existence and the origins of life to the potential of artificial intelligence and the future of consciousness. Walker’s unique perspective challenges conventional wisdom, inviting us to reconsider our place in the cosmic dance.Sara Walker and Lex FridmanDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/lfp433-sara-walkerMon, 01 Jul 2024 10:20:00 -0700An ultra-intelligent machine is a machine that can far surpass all the intellectual activities of any man however clever. The design of machines is one of these intellectual activities; therefore, an ultra-intelligent machine could design even better machines. To design an ultra-intelligent machine one needs to understand more about the human brain or human thought or both. The physical representation of both meaning and recall, in the human brain, can be to some extent understood in terms of a subassembly theory, this being a modification of Hebb's cell assembly theory. The subassembly theory sheds light on the physical embodiment of memory and meaning, and there can be little doubt that both needs embodiment in an ultra-intelligent machine. The subassembly theory leads to reasonable and interesting explanations of a variety of psychological effects.Irving John GoodResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/speculations-concerning-the-first-ultraintelligent-machineFri, 07 Jun 2024 07:55:00 -0700Starting from the simplest precursors, Walker assembles a grand cathedral of meaning, tracing an arc across existence that links the fundamentals of organic chemistry, the possibility space of lego bricks, and the materialist philosophy of Madonna.Sara WalkerLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/an-informational-theory-of-lifeWed, 29 May 2024 07:10:00 -0700R.H. Blyth playfully probes a Zen master’s views on death and enlightenment. He concludes that true Zen isn’t about dogma or culture, but a “deep experience” of the present moment, where all distinctions melt away. It’s life’s pure, unadorned poetry.Reginald Horace BlythEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/no-japanese-zen-thank-youTue, 28 May 2024 05:20:00 -0700Bastani envisions a post-scarcity, post-capitalist society where advanced technologies like automation, AI, and synthetic biology liberate us from work. Instead of unemployment, technology reduces the cost of essentials—food, healthcare, housing—toward zero, creating a world of “liberty, luxury, and happiness for everyone.” It’s an optimistic manifesto arguing that abundance, not austerity, is capitalism’s natural successor.Aaron BastaniBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/fully-automated-luxury-communismTue, 28 May 2024 04:55:00 -0700A Pattern Language is a guide to designing spaces that feel alive and human. It presents 253 “patterns” (practical, timeless design solutions) to help create homes, buildings, and cities that truly support the way people live, connect, and thrive.Christopher AlexanderBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/a-pattern-languageSat, 25 May 2024 02:30:00 -0700The Mumonkan (“Gateless Gate”) is a classic Zen Buddhist text of 48 kōans—mystical riddles or paradoxes used to spark insight. Compiled in thirteenth-century China, it challenges logical thinking and invites direct experience of reality beyond words, offering a gateway to sudden enlightenment—with no gate at all.Wumen HuikaiSpiritual Texthttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mumonkanFri, 24 May 2024 12:09:39 -0700Aaron Sloman argues that minds aren’t just “on” or “off.” Instead, there’s a vast “space” of possible minds, from animals to AI. Rather than drawing one dividing line, we should explore diverse mental skills and the underlying “software-like” designs creating this rich spectrum of intelligence.Aaron SlomanResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/structure-of-the-space-of-possible-mindsFri, 24 May 2024 04:30:00 -0700Mankind should give up the foolish fascination with horror. Alan Watts asks us to woo, trust, and reason about good news. Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/task-of-the-prophetWed, 01 May 2024 13:30:00 -0700Alan Watts explores Zenrin poems: ancient verses used in Zen practice. He unveils their wisdom, revealing how everyday observations point to profound truths about our nature and the interconnectedness of all things, urging us to find the extraordinary within the ordinary.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/zenrin-poemsTue, 30 Apr 2024 21:10:00 -0700The physical world isn’t stiff and solid—it’s wiggly, playful, ever-changing. Our error lies in boxing it up with labels and straight lines. Reality, like music or mist, slips through grasping hands and laughs when we try to hold it still.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/philosophy-of-natureTue, 30 Apr 2024 21:00:00 -0700Unravel the dazzling philosophy of Huayan Buddhism, where each thing mirrors all others in a cosmic web—“The Net of Jewels.” Alan invites us to see through separateness, into a reality where all is one, luminous, and dancing.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/net-of-jewelsTue, 30 Apr 2024 20:50:00 -0700Is your mind playing tricks? Alan Watts reveals Zen isn’t about adding beliefs, but shedding the illusion of a separate self. Discover you’re already part of one vast, joyful cosmic dance—experience it directly for profound freedom!Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/zen-reconsideredTue, 30 Apr 2024 20:40:00 -0700Alan Watts guides us through Mahayana Buddhism to reveal that the world is not something we passively witness, but something we actively create—moment by moment. Wake up: reality is now, consciousness is all, and you are the dance itself.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/world-as-consciousnessTue, 30 Apr 2024 20:30:00 -0700Have you ever wondered how your brain creates your conscious experience? Francisco Varela explores the intersection of science and spirituality, offering a fresh perspective on the age-old mind-body problem. Drawing inspiration from Buddhist teachings, he argues that our everyday human experience is the key to unlocking the mysteries of consciousness. Varela proposes a research program called neurophenomenology, which aims to bridge the gap between brain activity and subjective experience. Through engaging examples and insightful explanations, he demonstrates how the exploration of consciousness can lead to both scientific advancements and a deeper understanding of ourselves.Francisco VarelaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/god-and-computers-5Tue, 30 Apr 2024 04:55:00 -0700This mind-expanding collection from one of the greatest sages of our time represents the pinnacle of Ramesh S. Balsekar’s teachings. It features excerpts from the guru’s handwritten comments and words of wisdom. Appropriately inspirational images of nature and monuments appear throughout, and each selection is meant to be savored slowly and meditated over. Emanating from the very source, Balsekar’s wisdom is for all generations.Ramesh BalsekarBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ultimate-understandingWed, 24 Apr 2024 07:25:00 -0700Ramesh BalsekarSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/self-realization-is-the-simplest-thingWed, 24 Apr 2024 07:15:00 -0700In the shimmer between being and non-being, consciousness plays its fleeting games. The jnani watches this grand illusion without attachment—seeing the “I” as a temporary visitor, like morning dew on a leaf. All your cherished identity? Merely food-essence wearing a mask of permanence in the cosmic theater.Nisargadatta MaharajDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/how-does-a-jnani-see-the-worldWed, 24 Apr 2024 04:50:00 -0700Jiddu KrishnamurtiWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/saanen-76-4Sun, 21 Apr 2024 03:40:00 -0700Rather than following moral tramlines of “ought” and “should,” Watts urges an experimental approach to ethics. He laments our collective anxiety to be right at all costs—even preferring death to wrongness—while lacking any positive vision beyond avoiding doom. Life could be beautiful if we dared imagine it so.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/bus-or-tramSat, 20 Apr 2024 17:45:00 -0700Our ego-imprisonment creates needless strain. True awakening requires not heroic effort but gentle surrender—allowing mind to flow naturally. The universal consciousness awaits not through force but through letting go, like a boat drifting with the current rather than fighting against the tide.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/consciousness-and-concentrationFri, 19 Apr 2024 08:55:00 -0700Watts explores Joseph Campbell’s insights on spiritual evolution through different cultural phases. As societies moved from hunting to farming, religion shifted from shamanic individual experiences to structured, communal worldviews. When these social frameworks crumble—as in our modern era—we’re cast back into the forest of self-discovery. The wise seeker must abandon societal maps and wander alone into direct experience, finding what countless mystics have found: that true liberation comes not through authority, but through firsthand encounter with reality itself.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/return-to-the-forestWed, 17 Apr 2024 13:00:00 -0700Viola Cordova was the first Native American woman to receive a PhD in philosophy. Even as she became an expert on canonical works of traditional Western philosophy, she devoted herself to defining a Native American philosophy. Although she passed away before she could complete her life’s work, some of her colleagues have organized her pioneering contributions into this provocative book. In three parts, Cordova sets out a complete Native American philosophy. First she explains her own understanding of the nature of reality itself—the origins of the world, the relation of matter and spirit, the nature of time, and the roles of culture and language in understanding all of these. She then turns to our role as residents of the Earth, arguing that we become human as we deepen our relation to our people and to our places, and as we understand the responsibilities that grow from those relationships. In the final section, she calls for a new reverence in a world where there is no distinction between the sacred and the mundane. Cordova clearly contrasts Native American beliefs with the traditions of the Enlightenment and Christianized Europeans (what she calls “Euroman” philosophy). By doing so, she leads her readers into a deeper understanding of both traditions and encourages us to question any view that claims a singular truth. From these essays—which are lucid, insightful, frequently funny, and occasionally angry—we receive a powerful new vision of how we can live with respect, reciprocity, and joy.Viola CordovaBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/how-it-isWed, 17 Apr 2024 06:30:00 -0700J. Krishnamurti challenges conventional education by questioning the nature of individual and collective consciousness. He examines how memory, thought, and the pursuit of becoming govern our lives, urging us to embrace transformation beyond intellectual activity. Through probing dialogue on the limits of traditional learning, Krishnamurti inspires a deep exploration of self-awareness, freedom, and authentic change.Jiddu KrishnamurtiSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/brockwood-81-3Mon, 15 Apr 2024 06:30:00 -0700Over the past thirty years, a new systemic conception of life has emerged at the forefront of science. New emphasis has been given to complexity, networks, and patterns of organisation, leading to a novel kind of 'systemic' thinking. This volume integrates the ideas, models, and theories underlying the systems view of life into a single coherent framework. Taking a broad sweep through history and across scientific disciplines, the authors examine the appearance of key concepts such as autopoiesis, dissipative structures, social networks, and a systemic understanding of evolution. The implications of the systems view of life for health care, management, and our global ecological and economic crises are also discussed. Written primarily for undergraduates, it is also essential reading for graduate students and researchers interested in understanding the new systemic conception of life and its implications for a broad range of professions—from economics and politics to medicine, psychology and law.Fritjof CapraBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-systems-view-of-lifeSun, 14 Apr 2024 09:45:00 -0700Alan Watts explores humanity’s technological acceleration and its consequences. He contrasts the Taoist “leave nature alone” approach with our drive for progress, questioning whether either truly serves us. Watts suggests both perspectives miss the point by fixating on survival rather than present living. Our obsession with time’s passage, he argues, distracts us from fully experiencing life itself.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/bang-or-whimperSat, 13 Apr 2024 14:00:00 -0700In this cosmic game of peek-a-boo, Watts unveils the proscenium arch of our minds—that thin veil between play and seriousness. The wise discover the joke: our frantic search for sincerity peels away mask after mask until—surprise!—we find nothing! And in that delicious emptiness, the ultimate paradox unfolds: when we realize we're all play, we become utterly genuine. The angels fly, you see, because they take themselves lightly.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/play-and-sincerityWed, 10 Apr 2024 11:00:00 -0700Isaac Asimov warns against a growing “cult of ignorance” in American society, where anti-intellectualism thrives and people wrongly believe their uninformed opinions hold equal weight to expert knowledge. He argues this dangerous trend undermines education, reason, and the very foundation of democracy by dismissing science and informed discourse.Isaac AsimovEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cult-of-ignoranceTue, 09 Apr 2024 12:03:28 -0700In this roundtable, experts explore the noosphere—Earth’s emerging “thinking layer” of collective consciousness. They examine how global networks create a “planetary brain” integrating human knowledge, potentially developing consciousness-like properties through information exchange. The speakers envision this evolving noosphere as key to solving humanity’s complex challenges through collaborative intelligence.Francis Heylighen, Gregory Stock and Shima BeigiDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/evolution-and-the-future-of-the-noosphereMon, 08 Apr 2024 08:00:00 -0700Ever since the human mind awoke to its own existence, it has wondered about its cosmic significance. By dispelling myths and religious convictions, science entered the arena of explanatory templates. A tectonic shift in understanding began when the mind started decoding the universe’s mathematical language. To this day, the technological prowess unleashed by scientific knowledge remains awe-inspiring. However, science excluded two crucial domains from its field of inquiry. Firstly, the formation of complex systems—especially metabolic structures—appears to defy the physics of cosmic disorder and decay. Then, the nature of consciousness itself was deemed unworthy of academic discourse until not too long ago. Furthermore, the adoption of physicalism as a metaphysical foundation for science was an enormously consequential choice, erroneously seen today as integral to science. This book chronicles an ongoing paradigm shift affecting physics and philosophy. Consciousness is rediscovered at the core of existence, expressing an intrinsic yearning for cosmic complexity, while the fabric of reality is woven from threads of information.James GlattfelderBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/sapient-cosmosSat, 06 Apr 2024 14:00:00 -0700For those intoxicated by life's seeming meaningfulness, there is only utter shattering of the false self, without compromise. The ego is annihilated in love for the divine beloved, so that one becomes egoless, the beloved all. Ecstasy is the greatest force, breaking the prison of selfhood to merge with the ever-present mystery. In solitude's wilderness within, one experiences God manifesting through all beings as oneself. Dogma is abandoned for pure knowing—the divine perfection working through human limitation.Vilayat Inayat KhanLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ecstasy-of-beingsTue, 02 Apr 2024 07:45:00 -0700Teilhard de Chardin identifies two distinct spiritual paths: unity through “relaxation” (Eastern pantheism) where individual egos dissolve into a common foundation, and unity through “tension” (Western mysticism) where individuals become more themselves while converging toward a universal center. He argues that cosmic evolution favors the latter path, where true union differentiates rather than fuses, and calls for a new Western mysticism that combines personalizing love with cosmic totalization.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/a-clarificationMon, 01 Apr 2024 13:00:00 -0700Throughout history, humans have woven intricate webs of information—stories, myths, and data—that bind societies together. These networks have been pivotal in shaping civilizations, fostering cooperation, and driving progress. However, as we stand on the brink of an AI-driven era, these same networks pose unprecedented challenges. Artificial intelligence, capable of manipulating information autonomously, threatens to disrupt our societal fabric, potentially undermining democracies and altering human interactions. Understanding the evolution and impact of these information networks is crucial as we navigate the delicate balance between technological advancement and the preservation of our shared human values.Yuval Noah HarariBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nexusSat, 30 Mar 2024 17:30:00 -0700Etzler proposes a utopian vision of a world where all human needs can be met without any physical labor, through the use of natural powers and machinery. He argues that the current economic system is inefficient and unsustainable, and that a new system based on technology and renewable energy sources could provide a better life for all people. The book includes detailed descriptions of various machines and inventions that could make this utopia possible, such as a machine that could harness the power of the sun to create unlimited energy. Etzler also discusses the social and political implications of this new system, arguing that it would lead to greater equality and freedom for all people. A visionary work offering radical alternatives to the current economic and social order.John Adolphus EtzlerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/paradise-within-the-reach-of-all-menSat, 30 Mar 2024 10:30:00 -0700Journey of the Mind explores how consciousness evolved across lifeforms—from single-celled organisms to humans. Blending neuroscience, evolution, and chaos theory, it unveils how simple minds (like a jellyfish’s) solved survival puzzles, paving the way for human self-awareness. With playful analogies and vivid examples, it reframes intelligence as nature’s creative hack to thrive in chaos—proving even bacteria hold clues to unlocking the mysteries of your own dazzling, ever-adapting brain.Ogi Ogas and Sai GaddamBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/journey-of-the-mindThu, 21 Mar 2024 07:30:00 -0700Stoic wisdom from a Roman emperor’s diary: Meditations is Marcus Aurelius’ raw, introspective guide to resilience. He urges focusing only on what you control—your thoughts and actions—while accepting external chaos with calm clarity. Embrace adversity as growth, practice gratitude, and act with integrity, even when others don’t. His timeless reflections (written 2,000 years ago!) remind us: life’s quality depends not on events, but how we meet them with reason and compassion.Marcus AureliusBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/meditationsThu, 21 Mar 2024 06:30:00 -0700What does it mean to create (artificial) intelligence? Is studying intelligence strictly beneficial? Do we need to control the algorithms we create? Are we on a good path with deep learning and large language models? Rich Sutton, a leading figure in the field of reinforcement learning, gave an opinionated talk and discussed his views on the future of AI with Prague’s own Tomáš Mikolov, a researcher with a significant footprint in the current language models.Richard SuttonDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/intelligence-cooperation-human-flourishingThu, 21 Mar 2024 06:20:00 -0700This modern take on the Narcissus myth challenges human exceptionalism. Dorion Sagan suggests we’re entranced by our reflection, blind to our integration within Earth’s biosphere. Through Gaia theory, he urges recognition of life as an interconnected system, promoting ecological consciousness and environmental harmony.Dorion SaganEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/what-narcissus-sawSun, 17 Mar 2024 10:20:00 -0700We don’t need brain implants to become cyborgs—we already are. Halpin argues that technology and humans have co-evolved, extending our minds beyond biology. Using the Extended Mind Hypothesis, he shows how everyday tools like smartphones integrate with cognition, shaping thought and memory. Rather than a futuristic AI takeover, we’re already merging with machines in a subtler, more profound way.Harry HalpinResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-co-evolution-of-the-extended-mind-and-the-internetSun, 17 Mar 2024 10:10:00 -0700The Varieties of Religious Experience is a book by the Harvard psychologist and philosopher William James comprising twenty lectures given at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. These lectures concerned the nature of religion and the neglect of science, in James' view, in the academic study of religion. Soon after its publication, the book found its way into the canon of psychology and philosophy, and has remained in print for over a century.William JamesBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/varieties-of-religious-experienceSun, 17 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0700The universe is evolving toward a profound unity where science and spirituality merge, Teilhard says. He envisions human consciousness and the cosmos intertwined, sparking a transformative energy that unites all life in a new, dynamic spirituality—an awakening that promises to ignite our collective future.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-christicSun, 17 Mar 2024 09:00:00 -0700Terence McKenna describes his encounters with DMT and psilocybin, powerful tryptamine compounds that launch users into hyperspace where they meet "self-transforming machine elves" and experience visual language beyond words. These brief but intense journeys reveal a dimension of intelligence that challenges our understanding of consciousness. McKenna believes these experiences hint at humanity's future evolution and our reconnection with the universe's living intelligence.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/tryptamine-hallucinogen-consciousnessFri, 15 Mar 2024 17:55:00 -0700This discussion explores the future of intelligence, consciousness, and morality with developmental biologist Michael Levin. He challenges the idea that our current embodiment is optimal, arguing for a future where intelligence expands beyond human constraints. Levin discusses collective intelligence, cognition at all levels (from molecules to AI), and the potential for future entities to possess greater compassion. The conversation questions whether intelligence inevitably leads to empathy or if new forms of intelligence might prioritize other goals.Michael LevinDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/unfolding-new-paradigms-of-posthuman-intelligenceFri, 15 Mar 2024 03:20:00 -0700This paper explores how life organizes itself despite constantly changing materials. Living things maintain their structure by balancing creation and breakdown, much like a city that continuously rebuilds itself while staying recognizable. The authors propose a mathematical way to describe this self-organization, showing that life isn’t just about molecules but the ongoing processes that sustain it. By focusing on patterns rather than specific materials, their framework could help define life in a way that applies beyond Earth.Pedro Márquez-Zacarías, Andrés Ortiz-Muñoz and Emma BinghamResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-nature-of-organization-in-living-systemsWed, 13 Mar 2024 04:00:00 -0700Neuroscientist Christof Koch explores the nature of consciousness, blending scientific research with personal experiences, including his own psychedelic journey. He examines how our brains generate subjective experiences, discusses the transformative potential of altered states, and delves into Integrated Information Theory to propose that consciousness arises from the brain's intrinsic causal power.Christof KochBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/then-i-am-myself-the-worldMon, 11 Mar 2024 16:30:00 -0700David Shapiro argues that AI has already reached AGI in a functional sense, demonstrating flexibility and even signs of self-awareness in meditation experiments. He critiques AI’s lack of persistent memory but sees solutions ahead. Once concerned about AI risks, he now trusts market forces to ensure safety. His focus is on post-labor economics, proposing an investment-based system to counter automation-driven job loss. He ties this to metamodernism, viewing AI as evolving “backward”—from math to language to potential embodiment.David ShapiroDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ai-and-the-end-of-jobsMon, 11 Mar 2024 14:30:00 -0700Neuroscientist Christof Koch’s 5-MeO-DMT experience, marked by self-dissolution and “terror and ecstasy,” sparks a deep discussion on consciousness, Integrated Information Theory (IIT), and reality. IIT suggests consciousness is non-computable and may exist beyond individual brains, potentially forming higher-order minds. Koch inquires whether his psychedelic journey was a mere brain state or a glimpse into a universal mind.Christof KochDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/dmt-and-integrated-information-theoryMon, 11 Mar 2024 07:20:00 -0700Hans Moravec explores the future of robotics and AI, predicting a gradual evolution toward intelligent, autonomous machines. He discusses how robotics is lagging behind biotech and nanotech but will soon catch up, leading to household and industrial automation. Moravec envisions robots progressing from simple utility tasks to reasoning and cultural understanding, ultimately surpassing human intelligence. He argues that technological advancement is inevitable, driven by competition and incremental improvements, shaping a future where machines may replace humans.Hans MoravecWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/will-spiritual-robots-replace-humanity-by-2100Wed, 06 Mar 2024 17:45:00 -0800The idea that humans should abandon their individuality and use technology to bind themselves together into hivemind societies seems both farfetched and frightening—something that is redolent of the worst dystopias from science fiction. In this article, we argue that these common reactions to the ideal of a hivemind society are mistaken. The idea that humans could form hiveminds is sufficiently plausible for its axiological consequences to be taken seriously. Furthermore, far from being a dystopian nightmare, the hivemind society could be desirable and could enable a form of sentient flourishing. Consequently, we should not be so quick to deny it. We provide two arguments in support of this claim—the axiological openness argument and the desirability argument—and then defend it against three major objections.John Danaher and Stephen PetersenArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/in-defence-of-the-hivemind-societyWed, 06 Mar 2024 13:00:00 -0800Jennifer Cobb bridges the gap between spirituality and technology, arguing that digital systems can inspire divine emergence. Drawing on ideas from Teilhard de Chardin, she suggests that as computers and AI evolve, simple processes combine into intricate, awe-inspiring patterns that hint at a higher purpose. In an era of rapid scientific and digital advances, her theory invites us to see machines not as cold tools but as potential gateways to a deeper, more meaningful spirituality.Jennifer CobbBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cybergraceSun, 03 Mar 2024 14:45:00 -0800Imagine a world where the difference between man and machine blurs, where the line between humanity and technology fades, and where the soul and the silicon chip unite. This is not science fiction. This is the twenty-first century according to Ray Kurzweil, the “restless genius,” “ultimate thinking machine,” and inventor of the most innovative and compelling technology of our era. In his inspired hands, life in the new millennium no longer seems daunting. Instead, it promises to be an age in which the marriage of human sensitivity and artificial intelligence fundamentally alters and improves the way we live.Ray KurzweilBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/age-of-spiritual-machinesSun, 03 Mar 2024 04:30:00 -0800Ray Kurzweil predicts a future where artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence, triggering an era of rapid technological growth. He argues that advancements in AI, nanotechnology, and biotechnology will merge humans with machines, leading to superintelligent beings and even digital immortality. This "Singularity," expected by the mid-21st century, will radically transform society, solving problems like disease and aging while raising profound ethical questions. Kurzweil’s vision is bold, controversial, and thrilling—painting a future where humans evolve beyond biology itself.Ray KurzweilBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/singularity-is-nearSun, 03 Mar 2024 04:15:00 -0800Inventor and visionary computer scientist Ray Kurzweil probes the past, present, and future of artificial intelligence, from its earliest philosophical and mathematical roots to tantalizing glimpses of 21st-century machines with superior intelligence and truly prodigious speed and memory. Generously illustrated and easily accessible to the nonspecialist, this book provides the background needed for a full understanding of the enormous scientific potential represented by intelligent machines as well as their equally profound philosophic, economic, and social implications.Ray KurzweilBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/age-of-intelligent-machinesSun, 03 Mar 2024 03:55:00 -0800A growing number of technologies are currently being developed to improve and distribute thinking and decision-making. Rapid progress in brain-to-brain interfacing and swarming technologies promises to transform how we think about collective and collaborative cognitive tasks across domains, ranging from research to entertainment, and from therapeutics to military applications. As these tools continue to improve, we are prompted to monitor how they may affect our society on a broader level, but also how they may reshape our fundamental understanding of agency, responsibility, and other key concepts of our moral landscape.David LyreskogResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/merging-mindsSat, 24 Feb 2024 17:45:00 -0800Long before the Internet, Paul Otlet imagines a universal library where all human knowledge is instantly accessible to everyone in a global information network.Paul OtletBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/world-essay-on-universalismSat, 17 Feb 2024 02:55:00 -0800Herbert Spencer’s three-volume The Principles of Sociology reimagines society as a living organism—ever evolving from simple beginnings to complex, interwoven communities. Spencer shows how individual parts of society work together, adapt, and transform over time, offering a fresh, scientific perspective on social progress. Dive into this work to explore the dynamic forces shaping our lives and discover a fascinating blueprint for understanding the human social experience.Herbert SpencerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/principles-of-sociologyFri, 16 Feb 2024 10:55:00 -0800Imagine a giant, intelligent brain made of humanity and its computers—the Global Brain. This idea blends views of society as a living organism, a universal encyclopedia, and an emerging higher consciousness. Global networks like the Internet not only share information but also learn and adapt together. By combining insights from evolution and cybernetics, we can overcome conflicts and build a collective intelligence that makes solving world problems more efficient and creative.Francis HeylighenArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/conceptions-of-a-global-brainFri, 16 Feb 2024 03:00:00 -0800Marshall McLuhan, Ernst Kapp, and David Rothenberg have each written book-length studies developing theories of technology as an extension of bodily and mental faculties: tools act as prosthetics, amplifying the reach of arms or legs; computers extend memory, calculation, and other cognitive capacities. Philip Brey analyzes these extension theories and asks if the metaphor is valid. Do technologies truly stretch out innate human abilities, or is this mere rhetorical flair? Brey investigates whether there is a substantive sense in which gadgets and gizmos can be seen as extensions of natural human organs. As we increasingly integrate tech into our lives, addressing this question becomes pressing: where does the human end and the technical begin? Brey dives into this ambiguous intersection of person and product.Philip BreyEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/technology-as-extension-of-human-facultiesMon, 12 Feb 2024 07:45:00 -0800Terence McKenna suggests ancient African societies used psychedelic mushrooms in communal rituals, leading to reduced ego and increased cooperation. When climate change disrupted this harmony, it pushed humans into the “nightmare of history” dominated by ego and competition. McKenna advocates for reconnecting with psychedelics, particularly psilocybin and DMT, as tools for dissolving ego-boundaries and potentially saving our planet from ecological crisis. The talk concludes with a lively debate about the practicality of his vision.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/touched-by-the-tremendumThu, 01 Feb 2024 05:30:00 -0800Avalokiteshvara: a multi-armed being embodying compassion and life's bewildering beauty! Like the centipede who tripped by overthinking its legs, we get stuck in ego-driven control. Alan urges us to embrace the spontaneous universe, find action in letting go, and realize we're interconnected parts of a grand, unfolding whole. True action arises effortlessly when we stop trying to control everything.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/manifestation-of-avalokiteshvaraThu, 01 Feb 2024 03:00:00 -0800For the Chinese, particularly Taoists, nature isn’t something to conquer—it’s something we’re inseparable from. While Westerners see the world as a construction needing explanation (who built it?), the Chinese view it as a spontaneous process, like a ship creating its wake. We mistakenly think the wake moves the ship, just as we think the past controls the present. But nature, including human nature, flows by itself—no builder required! Our challenge isn’t controlling it, but learning when to let go.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/man-and-nature-in-chinese-philosophyThu, 01 Feb 2024 02:45:00 -0800A discussion between Alan Watts and Lynn White about the foundations for the technological destruction of nature, and some possible solutions.Alan WattsDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ecological-crisisThu, 01 Feb 2024 02:30:00 -0800We’re living under the shadow of potential catastrophe—atomic testing, global tension, and existential dread—yet many seem hypnotized into indifferent routine. Our personal struggles mirror a cosmic dance: just as the birth and death of cells form a healthy body, our conflicts may contribute to a larger, mysterious harmony. Embracing uncertainty with a broader sense of identity, rather than succumbing to panic or despair, might just be the secret to living wisely in this unpredictable, yet oddly charming, cosmic experiment.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/levels-of-magnificationThu, 01 Feb 2024 02:00:00 -0800Teilhard de Chardin envisions human evolution as a purposeful journey guided by three intertwined trends: a natural push toward global unity, technological advances that expand our capabilities, and a deepening of reflective consciousness. Yet, he warns that without a genuine inner cohesion—rooted in love and mutual understanding—these forces may lead to a cold, mechanized future. In his view, our destiny is not random but a guided ascent toward a higher, more meaningful collective awareness.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/directions-and-conditions-of-the-futureSun, 28 Jan 2024 17:10:00 -0800Teilhard argues that responsibility isn’t just a social rule but a cosmic imperative. The universe, he claims, is hurtling toward unity—collapsing matter into life, life into consciousness. Today, planetary compression—population growth, tech, and globalization—fuels interdependence. Each choice ripples across humanity: a pilot’s error, a scientist’s discovery, a leader’s word. This isn’t mere ethics; it’s evolution’s demand. As humanity merges into a thinking superorganism, responsibility becomes biological—a binding thread in Earth’s living tapestry, transcending laws to reflect our shared cosmic destiny.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/evolution-of-responsibility-in-the-worldSun, 28 Jan 2024 04:00:00 -0800Pierre Teilhard de Chardin explores the harmony between faith and science, arguing that belief in God evolves alongside human understanding of the universe. He presents faith as a dynamic, evolving force rooted in the convergence of cosmic and spiritual realities. Teilhard emphasizes the interconnectedness of matter and spirit, proposing that the universe is moving toward an ultimate unity in Christ, the “Omega Point.” His synthesis of scientific inquiry and religious faith offers a vision of a meaningful, evolving cosmos guided by divine purpose.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/how-i-believeSun, 28 Jan 2024 03:20:00 -0800Teilhard de Chardin explores how human understanding evolves through a dynamic interplay between the known and the unknown, like a spark leaping back and forth. He argues that the universe is driven by a rising complexity and consciousness, culminating in humanity. This progression points toward an ultimate convergence, or “Omega Point,” which he identifies with a transcendent God. Teilhard connects this cosmic evolution to Christianity, suggesting that Christ embodies this divine culmination, uniting the material and spiritual realms in a harmonious, evolving whole.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/outline-of-a-dialectic-of-spiritSat, 27 Jan 2024 18:00:00 -0800Our future is in our hands. László's manifesto calls on each of us to embrace creativity, diversity, and responsibility to evolve society toward stability and sustainability. By shifting our individual and collective values to recognize how we all depend on and impact each other, we can build a peaceful world where all people thrive. It starts with transforming our own minds and spirits.Ervin LászlóArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/manifesto-planetary-consciousnessTue, 23 Jan 2024 10:00:00 -0800Picture Earth evolving a new layer—not of rock or life, but of thought and technology. This “noosphere” is like a planetary brain emerging through our global networks, satellites, and collective intelligence. The paper explores how this mysterious transformation could represent Earth’s next evolutionary leap, potentially leading to planetary consciousness or even contact with other cosmic minds. It’s happening right now, though we’re still figuring out how to guide this planetary metamorphosis.Clément VidalResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/what-is-the-noosphereMon, 22 Jan 2024 06:40:00 -0800Arthur Young conceived of The Geometry of Meaning as an essay in philosophy, but philosophy in the older sense, encompassing the natural sciences, exploring the implications of science, and dealing with the relationship of the knower and the known. At the heart of this book is what he called the “Rosetta Stone of meaning,” a diagram of relationships based upon the twelve measure formulae of modern physics, which he used to describe the interaction of mind with matter.Arthur YoungBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/geometry-of-meaningSun, 21 Jan 2024 08:00:00 -0800How does our fascination with technology intersect with the religious imagination? While the realms of the digital and the spiritual may seem worlds apart, esoteric and religious impulses have in fact always permeated (and sometimes inspired) technological communication. Erik Davis uncovers startling connections between such seemingly disparate topics as electricity and alchemy; online role-playing games and religious and occult practices; virtual reality and gnostic mythology; programming languages and Kabbalah. The final chapters address the apocalyptic dreams that haunt technology, providing vital historical context as well as new ways to think about a future defined by the mutant intermingling of mind and machine, nightmare and fantasy.Erik DavisBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/techgnosisWed, 17 Jan 2024 13:50:00 -0800This open access book chronicles the rise of a new scientific paradigm offering novel insights into the age-old enigmas of existence. Over 300 years ago, the human mind discovered the machine code of reality: mathematics. By utilizing abstract thought systems, humans began to decode the workings of the cosmos. From this understanding, the current scientific paradigm emerged, ultimately discovering the gift of technology. Today, however, our island of knowledge is surrounded by ever longer shores of ignorance. Science appears to have hit a dead end when confronted with the nature of reality and consciousness. In this fascinating and accessible volume, James Glattfelder explores a radical paradigm shift uncovering the ontology of reality. It is found to be information-theoretic and participatory, yielding a computational and programmable universe.James GlattfelderBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/information-consciousness-realityWed, 17 Jan 2024 02:00:00 -0800Cosmic Consciousness explores the profound, transformative experience of heightened awareness that transcends ordinary perception. Richard Bucke reveals glimpses of a deeper, universal truth, where time and space dissolve, and individuals feel a deep connection to all of existence. Those who attain this state are filled with peace, love, and enlightenment, moving beyond the self to embrace the infinite. He offers hope that humanity’s evolution may one day lead to a collective awakening, unlocking boundless potential for spiritual growth and unity.Richard Maurice BuckeBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmic-consciousnessTue, 16 Jan 2024 06:00:00 -0800A father and son embark on a motorcycle road trip across the U.S., blending personal reflection with a deep philosophical exploration of life. The narrative examines the concept of “Quality,” a unifying idea that bridges art, science, and human values. Through vivid travel experiences and flashbacks to the narrator’s past, it questions the balance between rational thinking and intuition, the meaning of technology, and how people find purpose in their work and lives. It’s a journey of self-discovery and timeless insight.Robert PirsigBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/zen-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenanceMon, 15 Jan 2024 04:45:00 -0800Alan Watts critiques sermonizing verbosity and champions contemplative rituals as paths to oneness with cosmic energy. Casting aside guilt and intellect, he beckons participants to listen, breathe, and hum into profound awareness. Meditation, he says, isn’t about effort but about letting thought dissolve into silence. Through sound, breath, and presence, he invites all to transcend ego and words, glimpsing the eternal present—a hymn to the harmony of self and cosmos.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/contemplative-ritualSat, 13 Jan 2024 11:11:11 -0800Alan guides us through an intimate meditation session that explores the nature of “now” and the self through direct experience rather than intellectual understanding. Using a variety of sounds, breathing exercises, and physical movements, we experience presence without analysis or labeling.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/why-not-nowThu, 11 Jan 2024 07:50:00 -0800This paper tackles the hard problem of consciousness by exploring how biological systems evolve to interpret the world. The authors argue that natural selection makes organisms self-organize into systems that feel, learn, and act—starting with basic self-awareness and climbing to complex human-level understanding. Their bold claim? Consciousness isn't an add-on but a deep, essential part of how life adapts to survive.Michael Timothy BennettResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/why-is-anything-consciousSun, 31 Dec 2023 04:04:04 -0800Creating Internet Intelligence explores the potential for global computer networks to evolve into autonomous intelligent systems, offering practical guidance for shaping this future. It presents a theory of intelligent systems and examines “Internet intelligence” through commercial, social, psychological, and philosophical lenses. Goertzel details pioneering software like the Webmind AI Engine and Webworld platform, designed to seed this evolution. This interdisciplinary work appeals to computer scientists, philosophers, and anyone intrigued by the intersection of technology, intelligence, and human life.Ben GoertzelBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/creating-internet-intelligenceFri, 29 Dec 2023 10:00:00 -0800The Ape that Understood the Universe is the story of the strangest animal in the world: the human animal. It opens with a question: How would an alien scientist view our species? What would it make of our sex differences, our sexual behavior, our child-rearing patterns, our moral codes, our religions, our languages, and science? The book tackles these issues by drawing on ideas from two major schools of thought: evolutionary psychology and cultural evolutionary theory. The guiding assumption is that humans are animals, and that like all animals, we evolved to pass on our genes. At some point, however, we also evolved the capacity for culture—and from that moment, culture began evolving in its own right. This transformed us from a mere ape into an ape capable of reshaping the planet, travelling to other worlds, and understanding the vast universe of which we're but a tiny, fleeting fragment.Steve Stewart-WilliamsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-ape-that-understood-the-universeThu, 28 Dec 2023 09:30:00 -0800The anti-technology essay by Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber. His manifesto contends that the Industrial Revolution began a harmful process of natural destruction brought about by technology, while forcing humans to adapt to machinery, creating a sociopolitical order that suppresses human freedom and potential.Ted KaczynskiEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/industrial-society-and-its-futureSat, 16 Dec 2023 13:00:00 -0800What's Our Problem? is a deep and expansive analysis of our modern times, in the classic style of Wait But Why, packed with original concepts, sticky metaphors, and 300 drawings. The book provides an entirely new framework and language for thinking and talking about today's complex world. Instead of focusing on the usual left-center-right horizontal political axis, which is all about what we think, the book introduces a vertical axis that explores how we think, as individuals and as groups. Readers will find themselves on a delightful and fascinating journey that will ultimately change the way they see the world around them.Tim UrbanBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/whats-our-problemSat, 16 Dec 2023 12:00:00 -0800David Bentley Hart’s All Things Are Full of Gods is like a cosmic dinner party where Greek gods debate the mysteries of existence. Psyche, Eros, and Hermes champion the idea that consciousness is the foundation of reality, while poor Hephaistos defends materialism. Through witty banter and sharp arguments, Hart dismantles the notion that mind and life can be reduced to matter, proposing instead that reality hums with divine intelligence. The book rekindles wonder, inviting readers to see the universe as alive with meaning and spirit.David Bentley HartBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/all-things-are-full-of-godsThu, 14 Dec 2023 04:20:00 -0800The Psychedelic Experience, created by the prophetic shaman-professors Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzer, and Richard Alpert, is a foundational text that serves as a model and a guide for all subsequent mind-expanding inquiries. In this wholly unique book, the authors provide an interpretation of an ancient sacred manuscript, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, from a psychedelic perspective. The Psychedelic Experience describes their discoveries in broadening spiritual consciousness through a combination of Tibetan mediation techniques and psychotropic substances.Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner and Ram DassBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-psychedelic-experience-tibetan-book-of-the-deadWed, 13 Dec 2023 03:30:00 -0800The Great Mystery whispers through psychedelics as it unfurls revelations beyond language’s grasp. Here, ego-bound shells crack open as cosmic minds reborn beyond confines of space and time. We thus commune with the endless Imagination—holographic spirit-stuff whereof worlds are wrought. Invariants of the eternal suffuse temporal shadow-play, the mundane ever aflame in subtler dimensions. All form awakens, ascends, drawn unto consummate transcendence as history’s fever dream blossoms into timeless infinitude.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/understanding-and-imaginationWed, 06 Dec 2023 21:50:00 -0800What is consciousness? How does it arise? And why does it exist? We take our experience of being in the world for granted. But the very existence of consciousness raises profound questions: Why would any collection of matter in the universe be conscious? How are we able to think about this? And why should we? In this wonderfully accessible book, Annaka Harris guides us through the evolving definitions, philosophies, and scientific findings that probe our limited understanding of consciousness. Where does it reside, and what gives rise to it? Could it be an illusion, or a universal property of all matter? As we try to understand consciousness, we must grapple with how to define it and, in the age of artificial intelligence, who or what might possess it. Conscious offers lively and challenging arguments that alter our ideas about consciousness—allowing us to think freely about it for ourselves, if indeed we can.Annaka HarrisBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/consciousSun, 26 Nov 2023 03:50:00 -0800Alan explores Mahayana Buddhism and the concept of śūnyatā (“emptiness”), emphasizing it as freedom from clinging, not nihilism. He explains how language and the illusion of a separate self cause suffering and contrasts this with the fluid, interconnected reality of life. Enlightenment, he argues, is embracing life’s impermanence without attachment, unlocking creativity, joy, and presence. Far from passive, this mindset energizes individuals, offering a remedy to Western culture’s obsession with control and anxiety.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/solid-emptinessSat, 25 Nov 2023 15:40:00 -0800This talk explores how Zen flips everything on its head—it creates religion by abandoning it, finds the sacred in the ordinary, and sees the whole universe in simple things like a fan or bamboo painted in the corner of a page. It’s about discovering freedom through discipline and wisdom through jokes, where every small moment contains everything else.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/polar-thinkingFri, 24 Nov 2023 04:40:00 -0800Sam Altman unveils the secrets of GPT-4 and ChatGPT. Picture a digital brain, trained on the collective knowledge of humanity, learning to think and reason like us mere mortals. Altman speaks of exponential progress, of machines that can code, create, and converse. But this is just the beginning, he warns. As AI's tendrils reach into every aspect of our lives, we stand on the precipice of a new era, where the line between human and machine blurs.Sam Altman and Lex FridmanDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/gpt-4-chatgpt-and-the-future-of-aiTue, 21 Nov 2023 14:30:00 -0800Glenn examines the potential for future integration between man and machine drawing on examples in medicine (the Jarvik heart, Utah arm, Triad hip, etc) and advances in human-like processing via machine in terms of speech recognition and other information technologies. While the author touches on topics ranging from philosophy and religion to science and politics, the unifying theme is what he sees as the inescapable blending of machine-enhanced humans and ‘conscious’ artificial intelligence.Jerome GlennBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/future-mindFri, 17 Nov 2023 14:40:00 -0800Western thought and culture have coalesced around a series of constructed ideas—that human beings stand separate from a nature that must be controlled; that the mind is somehow superior to the body; that all sexuality entails a seduction—that in some way underlie our exploitation of the earth, our distrust of emotion, and our loneliness and reluctance to love. Here, Watts fundamentally challenges these assumptions, drawing on the precepts of Taoism to present an alternative vision of man and the universe—one in which the distinctions between self and other, spirit and matter give way to a more holistic way of seeing. Alan WattsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nature-man-and-womanFri, 17 Nov 2023 13:40:00 -0800A classic essay on the many ways in which Western cultures have misunderstood and misapplied the essence of this profound and subtle understanding of life. Provides a core understanding of what Zen isn’t, which significantly contributes to an appreciation of the value of Zen in one’s life. A short but highly rewarding read.Alan WattsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/beat-zen-square-zen-and-zenFri, 17 Nov 2023 13:30:00 -0800Watts challenges labels, questions conventions, and discusses Zen, religion, art, politics, and culture with unflinching honesty in this interview with the freethought mazagine The Realist. From the absurdity of societal norms to the interplay of detachment and liberation, every answer reveals a refreshing, thought-provoking perspective. Whether discussing poetry, nuclear disarmament, or the meaning of freedom, this conversation feels like a deep yet playful journey into the essence of being.Alan WattsDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/impolite-interview-with-alan-wattsThu, 16 Nov 2023 13:00:00 -0800Cadell Last envisions humanity's evolutionary leap into a collective, planetary intelligence. Drawing on philosophy, science, and futurism, he explores how accelerating technology, interconnected minds, and cultural shifts may culminate in a unified "global brain." This transformation, he argues, could transcend individual limitations, reshaping life, meaning, and consciousness on Earth. A visionary blend of mysticism and science, the book challenges us to imagine humanity’s destiny as a singular, intelligent force guiding the future of the cosmos.Cadell LastBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/global-brain-singularityThu, 16 Nov 2023 07:00:00 -0800Wilson explores the intersection of evolutionary biology and religion, proposing that religion, despite its seemingly irrational aspects, serves as a powerful engine for human cooperation. He uses diverse examples, including Calvinism in Geneva, the Water Temple System of Bali, and even Jainism, to highlight how religious beliefs and practices, regardless of how otherworldly they may seem, often translate into practical benefits for the entire religious group. This “secular utility” of religion, as sociologist Émile Durkheim called it, suggests that religions, by promoting cooperation and morality, can be seen as adaptations that increase a group’s survival and reproduction.David Sloan WilsonLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-social-organismTue, 14 Nov 2023 17:40:00 -0800Turchin and Joslyn’s manifesto imagines humanity’s next evolutionary leap: just as cells once united to form complex organisms, they foresee humans merging into “super-beings” through direct neural connections, achieving a form of technological immortality. They argue that evolution’s new frontier isn’t biological, but rather conscious and creative, driven by human will instead of natural selection. While not everyone will choose this path of integration, they suggest it’s those who do who will ultimately explore the cosmos.Valentin Turchin and Cliff JoslynArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-cybernetic-manifestoFri, 10 Nov 2023 02:00:00 -0800Valentin Turchin explores the theory of metasystem transitions through a conversational approach, examining how new layers of control emerge when individual systems combine into a larger, integrated system. These transitions, Turchin argues, are the key moments in evolution—like stepping stones in both biological and cultural development. By viewing evolution as a series of these transformative quanta, he reflects on past evolutionary leaps and speculates on what they could reveal about the future path of universal evolution.Valentin TurchinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/dialogue-on-metasystem-transitionThu, 09 Nov 2023 11:15:00 -0800Isn’t it funny how people who talk about spiritual matters often sound like they’re full of hot air? In this talk, Watts explores how true spirituality emerges through the ordinary and everyday, not through lofty preaching. He delves into Japanese aesthetics, particularly through the lens of seventeenth-century masters who “democratized the esoteric.” Through Haiku poetry, Zen teachings, and art, they revealed how beauty lies in suggestion rather than explanation, in imperfection rather than completion, and in embracing dissolution rather than clinging to permanence. The highest wisdom, Watts suggests, leaves no trace at all.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/democratization-of-the-esotericMon, 06 Nov 2023 13:00:00 -0800A woman gripped by fear of Donald Trump lists her anxieties about concentration camps, nuclear war, and environmental harm. She wishes he’d leave office, stop hateful remarks, or make room for another leader. With Katie's guidance and audience support, she questions each thought. As she examines her beliefs, the weight of her thoughts begins to lift, and in a powerful moment of insight she realizes it’s her own mind—not Trump—fueling her fear.Byron KatieWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/question-your-thoughtsMon, 06 Nov 2023 08:45:00 -0800“AI is not like human intelligence at all—it thinks about the world differently” Our understanding of intelligence mostly refers to a human understanding of it—meaning intelligence is generally whatever humans do. This limited view has been imposed to judge if other species can be seen as intelligent, too. The problem is that this narrow and human-centered understanding of intelligence might ignore other forms of intelligence. Intelligence is about relationships and exists in interactions with others’ worlds. It is time to rethink and reintegrate our relation with the world. Our view of intelligence colors how we see the world.James BridleLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/planetary-intelligenceMon, 06 Nov 2023 06:55:00 -0800What does it mean to be intelligent? Is it uniquely human, or shared with other beings—animals, plants, machines? As AI advances, it becomes a strange, even alien force, challenging our place in the world. Meanwhile, other intelligences—natural systems we’ve overlooked—reveal their agency and complexity. In Ways of Being, James Bridle explores these intelligences through biology, physics, and art, urging us to rethink our technologies and societies for a more equitable coexistence with the nonhuman world. Bold and thought-provoking, it’s essential for our survival.James BridleBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ways-of-beingMon, 06 Nov 2023 06:50:00 -0800Daniel Schmachtenberger challenges conventional notions of progress, arguing that technological advancement has created unintended consequences. While individuals and organizations optimize for their own success, this creates collective harm through environmental degradation and social inequality—a classic tragedy of the commons scenario. He contends that our narrow definition of progress ignores these negative externalities, effectively making the traditional progress narrative false. Instead, Schmachtenberger advocates for redefining progress to encompass the holistic well-being of humanity and the environment.Daniel SchmachtenbergerDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/game-theory-false-narratives-survivalSun, 05 Nov 2023 15:00:00 -0800The fourth book in The Nature of Order series challenges mechanistic views of the universe, arguing that modern architecture’s dehumanized, investment-driven designs disconnect us from spirit, emotion, and feeling. Alexander proposes a new cosmology where matter is imbued with consciousness, making space and matter deeply personal and spiritual. A 100-page chapter on color illustrates how spirit manifests in the world. This vision, blending science and emotion, calls for buildings rooted in personal experience, reshaping our concept of place and design.Christopher AlexanderBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nature-of-order-4Thu, 02 Nov 2023 06:58:00 -0700Volume 3, titled A Vision of a Living World, showcases hundreds of projects by Alexander and his contemporaries that embody his theory of living process. Featuring neighborhoods, public spaces, and construction details, the book illustrates how life-creating principles can shape spaces that resonate archetypically with human experience. Through hundreds of photos and project discussions, Alexander offers an accessible, intuitive guide for architects, builders, and laypeople alike to envision a harmonious world where beauty, ecology, and culture intersect.Christopher AlexanderBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nature-of-order-3Thu, 02 Nov 2023 06:57:00 -0700In Volume 2, Christopher Alexander explores the evolutionary process of creating “life” in design through incremental, “structure-preserving transformations”—small changes that maintain the coherence of prior steps. He contrasts these with "structure-destroying transformations" common in modern architecture. Alexander argues that a skilled designer uses transformations to introduce depth, guided by 15 geometric properties, and sympathizes with architects limited by industrialized processes that prevent creating structures with life, reflecting deeper systemic issues in modern building practices.Christopher AlexanderBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nature-of-order-2Thu, 02 Nov 2023 06:56:00 -0700Christopher Alexander examines why certain built environments possess more “life” than others. Central to his theory is the concept of “centers”—distinct, coherent parts within a larger whole that influence each other’s intensity. He argues that life can be objectively sensed and measured, supported by 15 fundamental geometric properties found in nature and traditional architecture. Alexander contends that these properties, which foster human well-being, have largely vanished in modern design, impacting our connection to built spaces.Christopher AlexanderBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nature-of-order-1Thu, 02 Nov 2023 06:55:00 -0700Hans Jonas explores the ancient spiritual movement of Gnosticism, which viewed the material world as flawed and believed in a hidden, divine knowledge (gnosis) as a path to spiritual liberation. Jonas examines Gnostic myths, such as the alien god who seeks to save humanity, and how these ideas influenced early Christianity. By blending history, philosophy, and theology, the book reveals how Gnosticism challenged mainstream beliefs, emphasizing inner enlightenment and the quest to transcend earthly limitations.Hans JonasBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-gnostic-religionMon, 30 Oct 2023 14:55:00 -0700Rupert says that enlightenment is simply the recognition of the nature of your being. All that is being spoken of is just the ordinary, intimate, obvious, familiar being that enables each of us to say with absolute certainty, I am. Not some extraordinary, mystical, enlightened being—all 8 billion of us can say I am. It is the least exotic experience there is. Even the taste of tea is by comparison exotic. The reason you haven't quite yet recognised your own being is precisely because it is so close, so simple, so familiar, so intimate. Just close your eyes. Have the thought I am. And then go to the experience in yourself to which those words refer.Rupert SpiraWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/enlightenmen-is-not-an-exotic-experienceSun, 29 Oct 2023 04:20:00 -0700Gerald K. O’Neill presents his visionary plan for human space colonization in the post-Apollo era. The book details three designs for rotating space habitats that could house millions of people near Earth-Moon Lagrange points. O’Neill proposes using lunar materials, launched via mass drivers, to construct these colonies. The habitats would feature Earth-like gravity, solar power, and agricultural areas. He presents space colonization as both technologically feasible and economically beneficial through ventures like solar power satellites.Gerald O'NeillBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-high-frontierThu, 26 Oct 2023 04:40:40 -0700Since Copernicus, science has moved humanity from the center of Creation. However, The Anthropic Cosmological Principle suggests that intelligent observers determine the Universe’s structure. Its radical form asserts that intelligent life must emerge and never die out. Cosmologists John Barrow and Frank Tipler explore the Principle’s implications, from the definition of life to quantum theory. Covering fields like philosophy and astrophysics, this work connects the existence of life with the vast cosmos, engaging a broad audience.John Barrow and Frank TiplerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/anthropic-cosmological-principleTue, 24 Oct 2023 12:10:00 -0700Infinite in All Directions explores science and religion as two complementary ways of understanding the universe. Based on Freenman Dyson's Gifford Lectures, the book celebrates diversity, both in the natural world and human responses to it. Dyson contrasts different scientific approaches using Manchester and Athens as symbols. He delves into the origin and evolution of life, highlighting how life thrives on diversity. In the final chapter, Dyson speculates on the future of life and the universe, blending science with a touch of science fiction and theology.Freeman DysonBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/infinite-in-all-directionsTue, 24 Oct 2023 12:00:00 -0700While religion and philosophy have long pondered why we exist, science now offers new insights. Although traditional science viewed life as a random accident in an uncaring universe, complexity science—combining physics, biology, neuroscience, and information theory—suggests a different story. Research in evolution, emergence, and thermodynamics reveals that the universe may be self-organizing, naturally forming increasingly complex systems. In The Romance of Reality, Bobby Azarian explores this perspective, suggesting the cosmos trends toward greater complexity and awareness rather than randomness.Bobby AzarianBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/romance-of-realitySun, 22 Oct 2023 13:00:00 -0700Gerald Heard presents a novel view of history and civilization as the evolution of human consciousness, moving from collective group awareness to individual self-consciousness and beyond. Heard argues that primitive humans were deeply connected to their communities and less aware of individuality, while modern humans are highly self-conscious but separated from their unconscious minds and one another. He suggests that further progress requires advancing towards "superconsciousness," where individuals bridge these divides.Gerald HeardBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ascent-of-humanitySun, 22 Oct 2023 12:25:00 -0700At Home in the Universe explores the profound role of human consciousness in the shaping of reality. Wheeler delves into quantum physics, cosmology, and philosophy, proposing that observers play a critical part in the universe's existence. He introduces ideas like "participatory anthropic principle" and "it from bit," suggesting that reality is information-based and that the act of observation helps bring the universe into being. The book blends science with deep philosophical inquiry.John Archibald WheelerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/at-home-in-the-universe-wheelerFri, 20 Oct 2023 09:09:09 -0700Teilhard de Chardin explores humanity’s evolution from instinct-driven animals to self-aware individuals, and now towards a globally interconnected noosphere. He argues that as our planet becomes more crowded, we must develop a “new sense of the species”—a conscious drive towards collective fulfillment and advancement. This involves improving human genetics, scientific discovery, and fostering unity through love and shared purpose, all aimed at humanity’s continued growth and cosmic significance.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/sense-of-the-species-in-manThu, 19 Oct 2023 01:40:00 -0700Teilhard de Chardin argues that biological evolution relies on a “zest for life” or survival instinct. If humans perceive the universe as closed with no transcendent escape from total death, this zest would vanish, halting evolution. Thus, evolution can only continue if seen as irreversible and transcendent, ultimately leading to God.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/biology-taken-to-its-extreme-limitWed, 18 Oct 2023 18:00:00 -0700Teilhard explores a cosmic vision of humanity's future, envisioning a collective consciousness facing a final choice about God. Where others see disaster, he describes the end of the world a spiritual transformation, and imagines a dramatic unification of all beings with the divine, culminating in a mystical fusion of God and the universe.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/end-of-the-worldWed, 18 Oct 2023 17:05:00 -0700Minimal Phenomenal Experiences (MPEs) represent states of consciousness reduced to their most fundamental elements, posing a unique challenge and opportunity for modeling consciousness. This paper introduces a novel computational framework based on Bayesian and active inference to model MPEs. We propose that MPEs arise when precision weighting shifts predominantly to the lower levels of a hierarchical inferential system, leading to a perceptual state characterized by increased entropy and reduced complexity. Crucially, awareness of this simplified state is maintained through epistemic depth: The reflexive sharing of the organism’s reality model with itself. Therefore, although the contents of consciousness are exceptionally quiet, a reflexive knowing of the empty field of experience remains. We then propose an in silico simulation to test the relation-ship between precision distribution and entropy, outlining how this model could generate syntheticEEG data to empirically validate the theoretical framework. By advancing our understanding of pure awareness through this computational approach, we provide a foundation for future research into the mechanisms underlying various altered states of consciousness, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the full spectrum of conscious experience.Shamil Chandaria and Ruben LaukkonenResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/pure-awareness-entropy-and-the-foundation-of-perceptionThu, 12 Oct 2023 18:10:00 -0700Aldous Huxley’s The Perennial Philosophy examines the shared essence of mystical traditions worldwide. It posits a universal core of spiritual experience centered on the divine Ground of being. Synthesizing Eastern and Western wisdom, Huxley explores self-transcendence, contemplation, and ultimate reality, arguing that diverse religions share fundamental truths about consciousness and divinity, emphasizing direct spiritual experience over dogma.Aldous HuxleyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/perennial-philosophyThu, 21 Sep 2023 07:30:00 -0700James Lovelock says life on earth functions as a single organism. Written for the non-scientist, Gaia is a journey through time and space in search of evidence with which to support a new and radically different model of our planet. In contrast to conventional belief that living matter is passive in the face of threats to its existence, the book explores the hypothesis that the Earth's living matter—air, ocean, and land surfaces—forms a complex system that has the capacity to keep the Earth a fit place for life.James LovelockBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/gaiaThu, 21 Sep 2023 07:10:00 -0700Imagine a future where humans merge with machines, potentially living for centuries: Marvin Minsky explores this prospect, discussing how we might overcome biological limitations through nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. He envisions replacing body parts, augmenting our brains, and even creating mind children that think a million times faster than us—raising questions about human identity, ethics, and the nature of consciousness.Marvin MinskyArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/will-robots-inherit-the-earthTue, 19 Sep 2023 15:05:00 -0700Hans Moravec tackles the gap between AI's early promise and its current reality. He pinpoints insufficient processing power as the key hurdle, preventing machines from mastering human-like skills. Moravec predicts a future where technological evolution outpaces its biological counterpart, as computers surpass human intelligence. This leap, he argues, could trigger a societal revolution, reshaping our world in ways we can barely imagine. His vision challenges us to consider the profound implications of truly intelligent machines.Hans MoravecArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/intelligent-machinesTue, 19 Sep 2023 14:45:00 -0700Douglas Hofstadter examines in depth the concept of a strange loop to explain the sense of "I".Douglas HofstadterBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/i-am-a-strange-loopMon, 18 Sep 2023 16:00:00 -0700While Pure Land Buddhism promises easy enlightenment through faith in Buddha Amitābha, Alan Watts explains how its eccentric followers, the myōkōnin, found wisdom by goofing off. With playful tales of the monk Ryōkan’s antics, from imitating tigers to forgetting letters mid-juggle, Watts shows how these rascal sages attained childlike wonder by ditching spiritual bootstraps for carefree acceptance of their flawed humanity. For the myōkōnin, the path to Buddhahood involved more fun and games than pious efforts.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/unserious-wisdomSat, 09 Sep 2023 00:10:00 -0700J.B.S. Haldane explores ideas about biology, science, and the future of humanity. He discusses the possibility of life on other planets, the evolution of species, and how scientific discoveries could shape society. Written with wit and imagination, Haldane offers both scientific insights and philosophical musings, blending speculation with a deep understanding of biology, making complex topics accessible and thought-provoking for general readers.John Burdon Sanderson HaldaneBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/possible-worldsFri, 08 Sep 2023 06:50:00 -0700In Consilience (a word that originally meant “jumping together”), Edward O. Wilson renews the Enlightenment's search for a unified theory of knowledge in disciplines that range from physics to biology, the social sciences and the humanities. Using the natural sciences as his model, Wilson forges dramatic links between fields. He explores the chemistry of the mind and the genetic bases of culture. He postulates the biological principles underlying works of art from cave-drawings to Lolita. Presenting the latest findings in prose of wonderful clarity and oratorical eloquence, and synthesizing it into a dazzling whole, Consilience is science in the path-clearing traditions of Newton, Einstein, and Richard Feynman.E. O. WilsonBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/consilienceSun, 03 Sep 2023 13:30:00 -0700Where does the mind begin and end? Robert Wilson establishes the foundations for the view that the mind extends beyond the boundary of the individual. He blends traditional philosophical analysis, cognitive science, and the history of psychology and the human sciences. Wilson then develops novel accounts of mental representation and consciousness, discussing a range of other issues, such as nativism and the idea of group minds. Boundaries of the Mind re-evaluates the place of the individual in the cognitive, biological and social sciences (what Wilson calls the fragile sciences) with an emphasis on cognition. The book will appeal to a broad range of professionals and students in philosophy, psychology, cognitive science, and the history of the behavioral and human sciences.Robert WilsonBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/boundaries-of-the-mindSun, 03 Sep 2023 13:15:00 -0700Terence McKenna describes Novelty Theory to director John Hazard with an elaboration of its core principles involving hyper-complexification and the compression of time. He holds forth on the correspondences between the structure of the DNA molecule and the Chinese I-Ching, then shows how his notion of an archaic revival leads from the theories of mind and the art movements of the early twentieth century to the shaman as the quintessential figure of the twenty-first century, with psychedelic substances being the bridge between these worldviews.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/interview-with-john-hazardSat, 02 Sep 2023 12:20:00 -0700Captain Hopper discusses some of the potential future challenges of protecting information, and provides valuable insight on leadership and her experiences breaking barriers in the fields of computer science and mathematics.Grace HopperLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/future-possibilitiesWed, 30 Aug 2023 08:45:00 -0700A talk given to undergraduate students about ideas from biology that might help them think about AI and related topics.Michael LevinLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/where-minds-come-fromWed, 30 Aug 2023 07:56:47 -0700Brian Swimme explores the concept of the noosphere.Brian SwimmeLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/third-story-of-the-universeSun, 27 Aug 2023 06:50:00 -0700How does the firing of neurons give rise to subjective sensations, thoughts, and emotions? How can the disparate domains of mind and body be reconciled? The quest for a scientifically based understanding of consciousness has attracted study and speculation across the ages. In this direct and non-technical discussion of consciousness, Dr. Gerald M. Edelman draws on a lifetime of scientific inquiry into the workings of the brain to formulate answers to the mind-body questions that intrigue every thinking person. Concise and understandable, the book explains pertinent findings of modern neuroscience and describes how consciousness arises in complex brains. Edelman explores the relation of consciousness to causation, to evolution, to the development of the self, and to the origins of feelings, learning, and memory. His analysis of the brain activities underlying consciousness is based on recent remarkable advances in biochemistry, immunology, medical imaging, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology, yet the implications of his book extend farther―beyond the worlds of science and medicine into virtually every area of human inquiry.Gerald EdelmanBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/wider-than-the-skySun, 27 Aug 2023 06:30:00 -0700e/acc is a viral cultural software program running on our collective meta-intelligence, it is by construction engineered to help us steer our civilizational system towards growth and prosperity by optimizing over actions to maximize its future Kardashev scale.Guillaume VerdonLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/what-is-e-accSat, 26 Aug 2023 03:55:00 -0700Jerome Glenn explores the evolving relationship between humans and technology, proposing a future where the two merge into what he calls a “Conscious Technology” civilization. Glenn argues that as technology advances, it not only augments human capabilities but also starts to take on characteristics traditionally associated with consciousness. This convergence blurs the line between human and machine, suggesting that future technological systems could become extensions of human consciousness itself. Glenn discusses various indicators of this trend, such as the rapid development of artificial intelligence, cybernetics, and biotechnology, which are progressively integrating with human life. He also explores the potential policy implications of this worldview, suggesting that it could become a new criterion for evaluating future technologies and guiding their development. His work implies that understanding and shaping this merger could be crucial for the future of humanity.Jerome GlennArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/conscious-technologyFri, 25 Aug 2023 11:45:00 -0700The pace of engineering and science is speeding up, rapidly leading us toward a technological Singularity—a point in time when superintelligent machines achieve and improve so much so fast, traditional humans can no longer operate at the forefront. However, if all goes well, human beings may still flourish greatly in their own ways in this unprecedented era. If humanity is going to not only survive but prosper as the Singularity unfolds, we will need to understand that the Technological Singularity is an Experiential Singularity as well, and rapidly evolve not only our technology but our level of compassion, ethics and consciousness. Great for curious and open-minded readers who want to wrap their brains around these dramatic emerging changes and empower themselves with tools to adapt and thrive.Ben Goertzel and Gabriel Axel MontesBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/consciousness-explosionFri, 25 Aug 2023 10:25:00 -0700Life Ahead presents lessons that move far beyond the traditional forms of education taught in most schools and colleges. Drawn from transcripts of talks given to Indian students, the book covers a wide range of universal topics. In short, accessible chapters, Krishnamurti explores the danger of competition, the value of solitude, the need to understand both the conscious and the unconscious mind, and the critical difference between concentration and attention, and between knowledge and learning. Krishnamurti exposes the roots of fear and eradicates deeply entrenched habits of tradition, limitation, and prejudice. The life he holds forth requires a complete change of thought, even a revolution, one that begins “not with theory and ideation,” he writes, “but with a radical transformation in the mind itself.” He explains how such transformation occurs only through an education that concentrates on the total development of the human being, an education carefully described in this simple yet powerful book.Jiddu KrishnamurtiBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/life-aheadThu, 24 Aug 2023 12:45:00 -0700Imagine exploring the depths of human consciousness instead of Mars! In The Elephant and the Blind, philosopher Thomas Metzinger ponders the essence of pure awareness. Using reports from meditators worldwide, he investigates experiences like ego-dissolution and nondual awareness. Metzinger aims to create a “culture of consciousness” by combining personal accounts with scientific analysis. This accessible book offers a fresh perspective on consciousness, free from religious or new-age trappings, inviting readers to ponder the nature of their own minds.Thomas MetzingerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-elephant-and-the-blindThu, 24 Aug 2023 12:36:14 -0700Dive into a revolutionary perspective on our planet: Earth as a living, breathing entity. Becoming Earth unveils the intricate dance between life and its environment, from rain-summoning forests to rock-shaping microbes. Acclaimed science writer Ferris Jabr introduces us to Earth’s hidden symphony, where humans play a pivotal role. As we grapple with our planet-altering impact, Jabr offers hope through the stories of those dedicated to understanding and preserving Earth’s delicate balance. An exhilarating exploration of our cosmic oasis and our place within it.Ferris JabrBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/becoming-earthThu, 24 Aug 2023 12:20:00 -0700Norbert Wiener explores the ethical and philosophical implications of artificial intelligence and cybernetics, examining the potential dangers of creating machines that mimic human thought and the consequences of playing God by designing systems that could surpass human control. The book delves into the intersection of technology, religion, and ethics, questioning humanity's role in an increasingly automated world.Norbert WienerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/god-and-golem-incThu, 24 Aug 2023 11:50:00 -0700In these essays, interviews, and narrative adventures, McKenna takes us on a mesmerizing journey deep into the Amazon as well as into the hidden recesses of the human psyche and the outer limits of our culture, giving us startling visions of the past and future.Terence McKennaBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/archaic-revivalWed, 23 Aug 2023 15:00:00 -0700Imagine peeling away the layers of your social self to reveal a cosmic peephole—that’s meditation, says Alan Watts, where you become the universe’s own eyeball, winking at itself. And here’s a divine chuckle: God’s not all furrowed brows and thunderbolts. Watts nudges us to float, not flail, through life’s spiritual circus. In a world gone madcap, he prescribes a dose of quiet contemplation—not as a grim duty, but as a playful plunge into life’s delicious absurdities.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/unity-in-contemplationThu, 10 Aug 2023 13:30:00 -0700In a cosmic dance of consciousness, Alan unveils the paradox of meditation: forceful pursuit versus effortless surrender. He peels away layers of symbolic thought, revealing the raw essence of direct experience. Challenging spiritual ego and commercialized enlightenment, Watts advocates for a natural flow of sensory awareness. He invites us to question our cultural lenses and embrace a fluid reality—not of static objects, but of vibrant, ever-shifting energy. In this perspective, true wisdom emerges not from grasping, but from letting go.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/flow-symbolic-reality-versus-real-realityThu, 10 Aug 2023 10:30:00 -0700Alan Watts envisions a radical shift in religious thought, proposing a “religion of no religion” that transcends traditional doctrines and institutions. He argues for a departure from guilt-based teachings and future-oriented salvation towards a joyful, present-focused spirituality. Watts challenges the concept of individual ego, suggesting instead an interconnected view of humanity and divinity. He advocates for experiential rather than belief-based practices, emphasizing direct engagement with life and the recognition of innate buddha nature in all beings. This new approach blends Eastern and Western philosophies, aiming to unite people through celebratory gatherings and shared human experiences.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/future-of-religionThu, 10 Aug 2023 08:15:00 -0700This overview of Joanna Macy's innovative work combines deep ecology, general systems theory, and the Buddha's teachings on interdependent co-arising. A blueprint for social change, World as Lover, World as Self shows how we can reverse the destructive attitudes that threaten our world.Joanna MacyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/world-as-lover-world-as-selfWed, 09 Aug 2023 13:10:00 -0700The human mind harbors wondrous capacities. Beyond understanding individual minds, we can represent unified awareness across souls, feeling strands of consciousness intertwine. As one, we comprehend realities; as one, we hold intentions. Synchronous experiences spin these mental webs, binding our fates and etching shared worlds upon our hearts. Though fragile, such unions nurture cooperation's tender bloom. Let us marvel at this collective mind—a tapestry of perspectives, stronger than its threads. In this oneness we find hope, for it whispers: even in darkness, we need not walk alone.Garriy ShteynbergResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/theory-of-collective-mindSun, 06 Aug 2023 10:30:00 -0700An accessible essay by Meadows that serves as a fast-paced introduction to systems thinking, particularly its archetypes.Donella MeadowsArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/whole-earth-models-and-systemsThu, 03 Aug 2023 18:20:00 -0700How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don’t understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience, New Age thinking, and fundamentalist zealotry and the testable hypotheses of science? Casting a wide net through history and culture, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thinking is critical not only to the pursuit of truth but to the very well-being of our democratic institutions. He examines and authoritatively debunks such celebrated fallacies as witchcraft, faith healings, demons, and UFOs. And yet, disturbingly, in today’s so-called information age, pseudoscience is burgeoning, with stories of alien abduction, “channeling” past lives, and communal hallucinations commanding growing attention and respect. As Sagan demonstrates with lucid eloquence, the siren song of unreason is not just a cultural wrong turn but a dangerous plunge into darkness that threatens our most basic freedoms.Carl Sagan and Ann DruyanBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/demon-haunted-worldThu, 03 Aug 2023 07:00:00 -0700Timothy LearyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/how-to-change-behaviorSat, 29 Jul 2023 03:45:00 -0700Teilhard explores the “existential fear” that grips modern humans as we confront the vastness of the universe and our seeming insignificance within it. He believes this fear stems from our growing awareness of cosmic immensity, our isolation, and the threat of depersonalization. However, he proposes a radical shift in perspective: by viewing the universe as convergent rather than chaotic, we can transform our terror into hope. This “convergent universe” is one that’s moving towards greater complexity and consciousness, ultimately leading to a unifying center that gives our existence profound meaning and purpose.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/phenomenon-of-counter-evolution-in-human-biologyMon, 24 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0700Jiddu KrishnamurtiSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/brockwood-1979-05Mon, 24 Jul 2023 09:55:00 -0700Teilhard proposes a guiding hidden rule present in the universe, leading everything from simplicity to complexity and consciousness. He suggests that as cosmic particles evolve, they become more complex and conscious, ultimately converging toward a unifying Omega point. This vision offers a fresh perspective on the universe, blending science and philosophy to reveal a grand, interconnected cosmic journey.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/centrologyMon, 24 Jul 2023 09:50:00 -0700“Never has the earth vibrated with more spiritual intensity”—Teilhard de Chardin sees our current global conflicts as growing pains of human evolution. He envisions our increasing interconnectedness not as a threat, but as a path to higher consciousness. As we develop a “sense of man” and universal love, we may transcend our struggles, forming a unified superorganism—the next leap in cosmic evolution.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/rise-of-the-otherMon, 24 Jul 2023 04:10:00 -0700Teilhard examines the tumultuous state of humanity during World War II, proposing a cosmic perspective on our collective destiny. He argues that beneath the chaos lies a grand process of universal synthesis, driven by increasing complexity and consciousness. He sees the war as a critical point in human evolution, heralding the emergence of a global consciousness. Despite apparent divisions, Teilhard envisions a convergence of ideologies towards a unified, personalized humanity. He urges all to embrace universalism, believing this path will lead to mutual understanding and ultimate unity.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/universalization-and-unionSun, 23 Jul 2023 06:00:00 -0700Listen carefully: humanity teeters on the brink. Krishnaji says our technological prowess soars, yet our minds remain shackled by ancient conditioning. We cling to illusory individuality, creating conflict through our mental images of others. But we are not separate—we share a common consciousness. A profound inner revolution is imperative. By transforming ourselves, we transform the world. The stakes are immense—nuclear annihilation looms. Only through radical self-awareness and harmonious relationships can we forge a new path. The future hangs in the balance. Act now.Jiddu KrishnamurtiLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/calcutta-1982-01Tue, 18 Jul 2023 07:30:00 -0700Malcolm Ocean paints a picture of a future where human collaboration reaches new heights, imagining a world in the 2030s where small groups of people achieve profound synchronicity, forming “collective brains” capable of solving complex problems. These groups are part of larger networks that tackle global issues, create innovative products, and foster personal growth. Ocean envisions a society where work is deeply fulfilling, financial security is guaranteed, and human potential is maximized through trust, emotional coherence, and shared consciousness. It’s a hopeful glimpse into a world of enhanced human connection and capability.Malcolm OceanEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/malcolms-100x-visionSat, 15 Jul 2023 06:40:00 -0700Imagine a groundbreaking book that unveils the hidden architecture of intelligence itself. From the humble beginnings of single-cell organisms to the dizzying heights of human culture and science, Valentin Turchin charts the epic journey of cognition. He reveals how each quantum leap in mental prowess—from basic reflexes to abstract reasoning—emerges from a process called “metasystem transitions.” By weaving together cybernetics, evolutionary theory, and the hierarchical nature of mind, Turchin offers a revolutionary perspective on how consciousness evolves. Prepare to see the story of life and thought in an entirely new light.Valentin TurchinBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-phenomenon-of-scienceThu, 13 Jul 2023 11:30:00 -0700Spanning from the Big Bang to the Information Age and beyond, Peter Russell goes back to the beginning of time to take the reader on a flowing fascinating journey to our current world and our possible future. Extracting from the realities of today's unprecedented technological growth, ecological imbalance, political strife and emerging social-awareness he argues that we are on the verge of a major planetary transformation—which in all of human and planetary history has never been so dangerous or promising.Peter RussellBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-global-brain-awakensThu, 13 Jul 2023 11:15:00 -0700Ben Goertzel says the Internet is evolving towards a “global Web mind”–an emergent, distributed intelligence surpassing human capabilities. This development, grounded in complexity science, could solve AI’s scalability issues and merge humanity with technology. While potentially solving global problems, it raises concerns about individual freedom. Drawing parallels with spiritual concepts like the noösphere and collective unconscious, this evolution is seen as inevitable and transformative. As we nurture this new form of life, we stand at the threshold of a profound shift in human consciousness and global interconnectedness.Ben GoertzelArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/world-wide-brainThu, 13 Jul 2023 09:00:00 -0700Could human consciousness transcend biological limits and merge with advanced technology to achieve a form of cybernetic immortality? In Heylighen’s vision, our essence suvives through evolving hybrid systems, preserving individuality while fostering unprecedented connectivity. This integration doesn’t diminish our humanity but amplifies it, allowing us to explore the cosmos and push the boundaries of existence. While not everyone may choose this path, those who do could shape the destiny of our species and the cosmos.Francis HeylighenArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/super-and-or-meta-beingsThu, 13 Jul 2023 06:45:00 -0700Society can be viewed as a multicellular organism, with individuals in the role of the cells. The network of communication channels connecting individuals then plays the role of a nervous system for this superorganism, i.e. a “global brain.”Francis HeylighenArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/social-superorganism-and-its-global-brainWed, 12 Jul 2023 13:10:00 -0700John von Neumann's unfinished book, begun shortly before his death and published posthumously. He discusses how the brain can be viewed as a computing machine, touching on several important differences between brains and computers of his day (such as processing speed and parallelism), as well as suggesting directions for future research.John von NeumannBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-computer-and-the-brainTue, 11 Jul 2023 06:35:00 -0700In a realm where physics meets the essence of life, Walker and Davies explore how life's complexity might be encoded in algorithms. They suggest its emergence is akin to a phase transition, where information gains control over matter. This shift in causal dynamics could mark the boundary between non-life and life, offering a fresh perspective on the unique information processing that characterizes living systems.Sara WalkerResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/algorithmic-origins-of-lifeSat, 08 Jul 2023 18:30:00 -0700This paper imagines a future where humans and computers work together in harmony. Licklider describes a world of machines amplifying human intelligence, handling tedious tasks as we focus on creative thinking. He explores the challenges of achieving this symbiosis, from memory and language barriers to input-output interfaces. The paper paints an exciting picture of a partnership that could revolutionize problem-solving and decision-making, ultimately leading to unprecedented intellectual breakthroughs.J. C. R. LickliderArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/man-computer-symbiosisMon, 03 Jul 2023 17:55:00 -0700Jane Blewett interviews Thomas Berry about Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's philosophy, and how his views should shape the Age of Ecology.Thomas BerryDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/teilhard-de-chardin-in-the-age-of-ecologyWed, 21 Jun 2023 08:05:00 -0700Physicist David Deutsch and astrophysicist Martin Rees debate the role of knowledge and technology in shaping humanity's future. Deutsch argues for epistemological optimism, stating that all problems stem from lack of knowledge, while Rees expresses technological optimism but political pessimism, warning about potential catastrophic risks. Audience members share diverse perspectives on issues like inequality, ethics, governance, and the need for public discourse to guide scientific progress responsibly. A lively exchange highlighting the complex interplay between knowledge, technology, and social factors in navigating an uncertain but potentially promising future.David DeutschDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/optimism-knowledge-future-of-enlightenmentSat, 10 Jun 2023 04:00:00 -0700Imagine a world where everything is connected by a single mind: Bernardo Kastrup argues that reality is fundamentally mental, not physical. He suggests that what we perceive as individual consciousness is actually fragments of a universal consciousness. Kastrup challenges the mainstream view of materialism, proposing instead that the mind is the primary substance of the universe. By integrating concepts from psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, he presents a compelling case for a mental universe, urging us to rethink our understanding of reality.Bernardo KastrupArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/universe-in-consciousnessFri, 09 Jun 2023 14:55:00 -0700A bold, lucid synthesis of philosophy, neuroscience, and physics, The Idea of the World argues that reality is fundamentally mental. Challenging the contradictions of materialism, Kastrup presents a clear, evidence-based case for idealism—one that unites classical and quantum worlds while revealing how our deepest assumptions shape the way we understand existence itself.Bernardo KastrupBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/idea-of-the-worldFri, 09 Jun 2023 14:50:00 -0700Feeding back to the psychedelic community of Los Angeles, Terence McKenna delivers colorful and astounding visual transformations. He weaves a galactic tapestry of art-tickled articulations of the history and future of psychedelic alchemy, the government/culture clash, and the surging general ordering of chaos from UFOs to archaic shamanism. This recording will amuse anyone interested in subjects ranging from eco-tourism to techno-junkies.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/having-archaic-and-eating-it-tooTue, 06 Jun 2023 04:10:00 -0700All epistemic agents physically consist of parts that must somehow comprise an integrated cognitive self. Biological individuals consist of subunits (organs, cells, and molecular networks) that are themselves complex and competent in their own native contexts. How do coherent biological Individuals result from the activity of smaller sub-agents?Michael LevinResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/computational-boundary-of-a-selfTue, 30 May 2023 07:45:00 -0700Digital computers allow for the exact replication and immortality of software models across hardware, enabling efficient knowledge-sharing and scalable learning algorithms like backpropagation. In contrast, analog computation mimicking biology would make the learned knowledge mortal, tied to specific hardware instances. While digital intelligences may be less prone to human flaws like religion and war, their potential superiority raises concerns about ensuring they remain aligned with human values and never seek to dominate.Geoffrey HintonLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/will-digital-intelligence-replace-biological-intelligenceSat, 20 May 2023 08:20:00 -0700By the 2020s, affordable machines will match the intellectual capabilities of the human brain. Hans Moravec's paper predicts the relentless improvement in computer hardware will eventually make this possible. He estimates the processing power and memory required for AI to emulate human intelligence and projects that advancements in technology will enable this within a few decades. This progress is likened to a flood of computational power that will surpass human abilities in various fields, necessitating humans to adapt to an increasingly automated world.Hans MoravecArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/when-will-computer-hardware-match-the-human-brainSat, 20 May 2023 08:00:00 -0700Benjamin Ferencz advocates for global governance to ensure peace and security. With PlanetHood, he argues that a world court with binding authority is essential to prevent wars and crimes against humanity. He emphasizes the need for international cooperation and the rule of law over national sovereignty to create a safer, more just world. The book calls for reforms in international institutions to establish a unified legal framework that holds individuals and nations accountable for their actions on a global scale.Benjamin FerenczBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/planethoodFri, 19 May 2023 08:30:00 -0700Robert Ornstein and Paul Ehrlich argue that our evolved mental functions are unsuited for the modern world. We developed instincts for survival in small tribal families on the African savanna, but these instincts are now problematic. Our unchanged mental tools cause self-destructive behavior in the contemporary world. By understanding our evolutionary history, we can address these issues and restore hope for the future. New World New Mind explores our mental evolution and suggests coping strategies. Despite significant challenges, recent advances in medicine, technology, and science offer unprecedented opportunities. If we adapt, humanity could achieve a golden age.Robert Ornstein and Paul EhrlichBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/new-world-new-mindFri, 19 May 2023 07:30:00 -0700A mathematical book which has inspired explorations in philosophy, cybernetics, art, spirituality, and computation. The work is powerful and has established a passionate following as well as harsh critics. George Spencer-BrownBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/laws-of-formTue, 16 May 2023 17:30:00 -0700Ram Dass invites us on a journey of awakening, where life's experiences become the fuel for our spiritual growth. He explores the art of being fully present, embracing paradoxes, and cultivating a heart that loves unconditionally. Ultimately, he suggests that true freedom lies in quieting the mind and resting in the depths of our being, where we can appreciate the beauty of existence in all its forms.Ram DassLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/sacred-in-the-everydayFri, 12 May 2023 05:30:00 -0700Discover profound insights in this workshop, where Ram Dass emphasizes the importance of finding balance amidst suffering and awakening to deeper consciousness. He discusses how embracing suffering with compassion can lead to personal transformation and a broader understanding of universal suffering. This process fosters a sense of interconnectedness and the realization that personal freedom contributes to the collective well-being. The ultimate aim is to awaken to a higher state of awareness, allowing us to navigate life with peace and profound joy.Ram DassLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/miracle-of-consciousnessFri, 12 May 2023 05:25:00 -0700Ram Dass frames LSD not as a destination, but as a key that unlocks a journey toward higher consciousness. He humorously proposes FAA-like agencies for “internal flight” and serene institutions for psychedelic-assisted dying. The ultimate lesson? The drug only reveals the possibility; the true art is living it.Ram DassLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/lsd-and-the-art-of-conscious-livingFri, 12 May 2023 05:20:00 -0700Ram DassLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/embracing-our-humanityFri, 12 May 2023 05:15:00 -0700Ram Dass explores love as both a spiritual path and a trap—how relationships, methods, and even grief can awaken the boundless love within, yet often become addictive. The work is to rest in love itself, free from clinging, keeping the heart open to all beings without exception.Ram DassLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/parth-of-the-heartFri, 12 May 2023 05:10:00 -0700Composer and artist John Cage, thermodynamic physicist Ilya Prigogine, and philosopher/comparative religion teacher Huston Smith are interviewed. Artists, scientists, spiritual leaders and economists gathered in Amsterdam in 1990 to explore the emerging paradigm of a holistic world view and the implications for a global economy. The five day conference was inspired by the artists Joseph Beuys and Robert Filliou, and manifested by Louwrien Wijers, who called it a "mental sculpture."Ilya PrigogineDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/art-science-spirituality-2Fri, 05 May 2023 19:20:00 -0700For millennia, great thinkers have contemplated the meaning and purpose of human existence; but while most assumed that humanity was the end point of creation or the pinnacle of evolution, Ted Chu makes the provocative claim that the human race may in fact be a means rather than an end--that humankind will give rise to evolutionary successors. In this wide-ranging and authoritative work, Chu reexamines the question of human purpose in light of the extraordinary developments of science and technology. Arguing that a deep understanding of our place in the universe is required to navigate the magnitude of the choices that lie ahead, he surveys human wisdom from both East and West, traces the evolutionary trajectory that has led to this point, and explores the potentials emerging on the scientific frontier. The book addresses the legitimate fears and concerns of "playing God" but embraces the possibility of transcending biological forms and becoming or creating entirely new life-forms. Ted ChuBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-purpose-and-transhuman-potentialTue, 02 May 2023 11:00:00 -0700Time, the fundamental dimension of our existence, has fascinated artists, philosophers, and scientists of every culture and every century. All of us can remember a moment as a child when time became a personal reality, when we realized what a "year" was, or asked ourselves when "now" happened. Common sense says time moves forward, never backward, from cradle to grave. Nevertheless, Einstein said that time is an illusion. Nature's laws, as he and Newton defined them, describe a timeless, deterministic universe within which we can make predictions with complete certainty. In effect, these great physicists contended that time is reversible and thus meaningless.Ilya PrigogineBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/end-of-certaintyTue, 02 May 2023 06:55:00 -0700This is the classic work upon which modern-day game theory is based. What began more than sixty years ago as a modest proposal that a mathematician and an economist write a short paper together blossomed, in 1944, when Princeton University Press published Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. In it, John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern conceived a groundbreaking mathematical theory of economic and social organization, based on a theory of games of strategy. Not only would this revolutionize economics, but the entirely new field of scientific inquiry it yielded—game theory—has since been widely used to analyze a host of real-world phenomena from arms races to optimal policy choices of presidential candidates, from vaccination policy to major league baseball salary negotiations. And it is today established throughout both the social sciences and a wide range of other sciences.John von NeumannBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/theory-of-games-and-economic-behaviorMon, 01 May 2023 09:30:00 -0700Speaking at the Whole Life Expo in Palmer Auditorium, Terence says our task is to surf the accelerating wave of novelty to dissolve cultural delusions. Psychedelics and technology can download new perspectives, stripping away outdated assumptions. Through imagination, language, and art we can meet the eschaton: the transcendental object at the end of time. Our task is liberate ourselves, take responsibility for our ideas, make visionary art, and find community without fear.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/light-of-the-third-millenniumSat, 29 Apr 2023 21:00:00 -0700At a time of existential global challenges we need our best brainpower to solve them. We can no longer rely on the myth of the lone genius to create a breakthrough. As neuroscientist and bestselling author Hannah Critchlow shows, two heads have always been better than one. Almost everything we've ever achieved has been done by groups of people working together, sometimes across time and space. Like a hive of bees, or a flock of birds, our naturally social, interconnected brains are designed to function best collectively. New technology is helping us share our wisdom and knowledge much more diversely across race, class, gender and borders. And AI is sparking a revolution in our approach to intelligent thinking, linking us into fast-working brainnets for problem solving. Hannah Critchlow brings us an enlightening, invaluable guide to our future through the evolving new science of collective intelligence. She reveals what it says about us as human beings, shares compelling examples and stories, and shows us how best we can work collectively at work, in families, in any team situation to improve our outcomes, our wellbeing, and our prospects.Hannah CritchlowBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/joined-up-thinkingTue, 25 Apr 2023 03:15:00 -0700Ram Dass shares his insights on the journey of enlightenment. He describes the cycles of attachment, suffering, and eventual liberation, emphasizing the importance of opening one’s heart, quieting the mind, and surrendering attachments. He encourages embracing all experiences as vehicles for awakening, relieving suffering through compassion, and ultimately merging with the formless divine source.Ram DassLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/from-separation-to-sourceThu, 20 Apr 2023 04:15:00 -0700Ram Dass covers alienation, individuality, the tension between the mind and the heart, suffering, the Four Noble Truths, and fear. Ram DassLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/price-of-fearSun, 16 Apr 2023 18:30:00 -0700Terence McKenna unveils an “archaic revival” that could save humanity and our planet. He makes the controversial claim that psychedelic plants catalyzed the emergence of human consciousness, language, and our fertile imaginations eons ago. McKenna advocates reviving the shamanic practices and partnership values of our prehistoric ancestors to transcend the isolated ego and re-establish a symbiotic relationship with nature’s “great piece of integrated linguistic machinery.” His boundary-dissolving ideas shatter conventional thinking about our past, present, and the transformative possibilities for our collective future.Terence McKenna and Michael TomsDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/reviving-the-archaicThu, 13 Apr 2023 15:10:00 -0700Terence shares his “Stoned Ape” theory—that psilocybin mushrooms drove human evolution by enhancing cognition and fostering social cohesion. He explores psychedelics’ power to dissolve the ego, open the Gaian mind, and guide us towards transcendence. McKenna also delves into the fractals of time, the Santa Claus-Amanita connection, and the radical implications of his Timewave Zero theory. A captivating look at psychedelics, consciousness, and the mysteries of the universe!Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/search-for-the-original-tree-of-knowledgeThu, 13 Apr 2023 14:55:00 -0700Terence McKenna proposes a radical view of history as a self-limiting process, driven by an attractor pulling us toward a transcendent, alien encounter that will transform human experience. He advocates the transformative power of psychedelics to unlock our collective potential, urging a forced evolution of language and consciousness to navigate the looming collapse of civilization and embrace the cosmic destiny of our species.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/limits-of-art-edges-of-scienceThu, 13 Apr 2023 14:50:00 -0700This lecture explores the role of psychedelics in human evolution, consciousness expansion, and addressing global crises. Terence argues that psychedelics dissolved boundaries among our ancestors, fostering human traits like language and altruism. He advocates for their responsible use to transcend cultural illusions, enhance creativity, and catalyze the radical changes needed to confront environmental catastrophe and birth a new human order.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/taxonomy-of-illusionThu, 13 Apr 2023 14:45:00 -0700Terence McKenna delves into the enigmatic realm of ayahuasca, unveiling its technological complexity and potential to unlock hidden dimensions of consciousness. His captivating discourse explores the interplay of mind, matter, and the imagination, hinting at the possibility of accessing realms beyond our ordinary perception.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/metaphysics-of-psychedelicsThu, 13 Apr 2023 12:35:00 -0700Abraham and McKenna explore the limitations of traditional maps of consciousness, like those of Freud and Jung, in understanding psychedelic experiences. They propose that psychedelics offer access to a hyperspace beyond the human dimension, requiring new languages and metaphors to map and share these experiences. They discuss the role of consciousness evolution, potential guidance from higher intelligence, and the challenges and opportunities presented by technology and social structures in navigating this uncharted territory.Terence McKenna and Ralph AbrahamDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/dynamics-of-hyperspaceThu, 13 Apr 2023 12:30:00 -0700Terence explores “alien love” and humanity’s evolving relationship with the Other. He posits that psychedelic experiences, particularly those induced by psilocybin mushrooms, may be a form of extraterrestrial contact, and argues that as we venture into space and deepen our understanding of consciousness, we are collectively yearning for connection with something beyond ourselves. This cosmic eros could reshape our cultural and spiritual landscape, potentially leading to a transformative “marriage” with the alien Other that propels humanity into a new phase of evolution and understanding.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/alien-loveThu, 13 Apr 2023 12:25:00 -0700Terence McKenna explores how psychedelics can alter language and consciousness, unlocking a transformative phenomenon at the heart of human evolution. He envisions a shift towards a visible, gestalt-like language of meaning that will profoundly reshape culture, enabling our species to transcend earthly confines and venture into the cosmos. Proposing psychedelics as a pheromonal regulator for collective consciousness, McKenna suggests this archaic linguistic revolution holds the keys to our future, bridging the gap between nature and technology in ways that could determine the very destiny of humanity.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/speaking-metaphoricallyThu, 13 Apr 2023 12:15:00 -0700Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/plants-consciousness-transformationThu, 13 Apr 2023 12:00:00 -0700Erich Jantsch proposes a radical transformation of universities to increase society’s capacity for self-renewal. This requires reorganizing around interdisciplinary approaches bridging empirical, pragmatic, normative, and purposive knowledge. Jantsch envisions a “transdisciplinary” structure with systems design labs, function-oriented departments, and discipline-focused departments—enabling universities to actively shape the “joint systems” of society and technology, not just serve them.Erich JantschArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/inter-transdisciplinary-universityWed, 12 Apr 2023 07:15:00 -0700Watts questions society’s rigid definitions of sanity and madness, arguing we should embrace diverse states of consciousness rather than forcibly conform people. Drawing from Zen and Eastern thought, he advocates a humble, curious approach to the human condition, eschewing the search for grand, predetermined meanings. Instead, Watts encourages simply being present and attentive to the spontaneity of existence, free from the narrow constraints of societal norms and expectations. He cautions against dismissing the nonconformist as “sick,” urging an open-minded tolerance of life’s variations.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/value-of-psychotic-experienceTue, 11 Apr 2023 03:55:00 -0700A visionary and hopeful book on humanity's future relationship to the planet from which it arose. Teilhard outlines a new psychological state of awareness in which individual humans unite into planetary Personhood. Paragraphs are arranged in verse and interspersed with delicate graphic illustrations.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/building-the-earthMon, 10 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0700Swami Sarvapriyananda discusses the Advaita Vedanta understanding of consciousness, which sees it as the fundamental, non-dual reality behind all experience. He contrasts this with scientific theories that try to explain consciousness in terms of brain activity, arguing that such approaches cannot account for the subjective, first-person nature of consciousness. He also touches on the Vedantic views on consciousness after death, rebirth, and the relationship between spirituality and emerging technologies like AI. Swami SarvapriyanandaDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/watcher-knower-spirit-selfSun, 09 Apr 2023 07:30:00 -0700This seminar examined how one of the most fundamental human relationships, that between male and female, shapes our relationship to technology and ultimately to culture and nature. It looked at the forms of relationship between women and men in the shift from a society based on domination to one based on partnership. This is an exploration of how feminism, technology, and the telling of a new story will contribute to rescuing us from history.Terence McKenna and Riane EislerDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/man-and-woman-at-the-end-of-historySat, 08 Apr 2023 21:40:00 -0700When Napoleon marched huge forces across Europe, he needed an efficient way to store provisions. A Frenchman preserved sterilized food in empty champagne bottles, an idea modified by the British, who tried tin cans. Still, canned foods sometimes spoiled, which led to experiments with refrigeration. Later, it was discovered that gases may be stored at very low temperatures in a thermos flask, a device handy for picnics, for polar explorers, and for storing large quantities of liquid oxygen and hydrogen. When lit by a spark these gases can send rockets into space.James BurkeTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/connections-08Mon, 03 Apr 2023 03:00:00 -0700Often, materials discovered by accident alter the course of the world. In the 1600s Dutch commercial freighters controlled Atlantic trade routes. Competing British lines induced America to produce pitch to protect hulls of their royal vessels. This arrangement lasted until 1776, after which a Scottish inventor tried to produce pitch from coal tar. By the time he succeeded the navy was using copper instead. Subsequent experiments with coal tar yielded gaslight lamps, waterproofed garments, a brilliant mauve dye that established the German chemical industry and nylon, the first of the miracle plastics.James BurkeTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/connections-07Sat, 01 Apr 2023 12:20:00 -0700A mind-bending odyssey through the realms of human thought and civilization, Whitehead’s Adventures of Ideas dissects the evolution of ideas, from ancient Greece to modern times, unveiling the intricate tapestry of philosophical concepts that shape our world. He unravels the interplay between science, philosophy, and culture, challenging readers to embark on an intellectual adventure like no other.Alfred North WhiteheadBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/adventures-of-ideasFri, 31 Mar 2023 14:30:00 -0700McKenna proposes that history is a nightmare we must awaken from, and psychedelics can unveil a parallel reality: a hyperspatial realm where the human soul transcends physical constraints. He envisions a transformative future where technology catalyzes our species' metamorphosis into a hyperspatial entelechy, blending mind, matter and the mystical. This radical exploration of consciousness, time, and the Apocalypse offers a profound, mind-expanding journey into the esoteric frontiers of human potential.Terence McKennaArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/new-maps-of-hyperspaceFri, 31 Mar 2023 08:25:00 -0700Integrating the findings of modern science with ancient wisdom, this seminal work offers a paradigm for resolving the schism between spirit and matter. Arthur Young’s Theory of Process provides a model for the evolution of consciousness out of light (the quantum of action), offering hope for an age in search of value and meaning.Arthur YoungBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/reflexive-universeFri, 31 Mar 2023 08:15:00 -0700Brahm argues that modern science has become dogmatic, unlike Buddhism’s humble search for truth. He humorously derides scientists’ arrogance while praising Buddhism’s rigorous objectivity and avoidance of biases. Quantum theory reveals reality as uncertain, not fixed measurements. Ultimately, the mind transcends material reality—the world fits inside it, not vice versa. Buddhism keeps science’s empiricism while avoiding its blinkered materialism, making it the true “science of mind.”Ajahn BrahmEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/buddhism-the-only-real-scienceMon, 27 Mar 2023 14:45:00 -0700In this book Teilhard expounds the evolutionary history of the Earth, the arrival of the human species, and its destiny in the far future. He identifies certain threads of recurrence in evolution's past, and uses these laws of recurrence to project the most probable future destiny of the planet. Teilhard's ingenious conclusion is that evolution is in fact involuting on itself, meaning that the future (like the past) is one of convergence and synthesis, heading towards a single unity he calls the Omega Point.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mans-place-in-natureSun, 26 Mar 2023 09:20:00 -0700Lex Hixon interviews philospoher Alan Watts, who reads from his autobiography and discusses his views on life and the human condition.Alan WattsDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/in-the-spiritWed, 22 Mar 2023 15:40:00 -0700“We are transcending ourselves faster than we realize:” Terence McKenna explores his theory of novelty, psychedelics as catalysts for cognitive evolution, and the internet’s potential to disrupt power structures and empower marginalized communities. He paints a tantalizing picture of humanity’s inevitable leap into a transcendent future.Terence McKennaDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/toward-the-end-of-historyWed, 22 Mar 2023 14:20:00 -0700This seminar explores consciousness as an intrinsic rhythmic interplay with reality. Watts challenges notions of separateness, asserting that individuals are not detached witnesses, but instead fundamentally unified with the cosmos. He encourages transcending ego and dualistic thinking to harmonize with the underlying patterns and dance that all differentiated experiences, including our own being, arise from. The goal is realizing our inherent interconnectedness with the seamless whole.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/consciousness-and-rhythmWed, 22 Mar 2023 12:40:00 -0700Alan Watts critiques modern academic philosophy's arid, technical style and champions Abraham Kaplan's book, The New World of Philosophy, for accessibly surveying diverse philosophical perspectives across cultures. Watts praises Kaplan's work for reviving philosophy's vital role in exploring profound human questions through a more holistic, integrative approach beyond narrow scholasticism.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/technical-philosophyWed, 22 Mar 2023 12:35:00 -0700Terence McKenna takes us on a journey through history, exploring the powerful role of psychedelic plants in human evolution and consciousness. He argues that these plants offer a gateway to hidden realms of reality, inhabited by enigmatic entities and offering profound insights. Reconnecting with these ancient allies could be the key to solving our modern problems and unlocking a brighter future for humanity.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/sacred-plants-as-guidesWed, 22 Mar 2023 12:15:00 -0700Watts takes us on an odyssey to peer through the prism of East and West. Brace for a metamorphosis as familiar philosophical tenets are unraveled and recast in vibrant hues. From the celestial monarchies of old to the grand cosmic theater, diverse models of existence intertwine, beckoning us to shed our self-imposed blinders. An electrifying exploration of consciousness itself, this lecture tantalizes with the promise of inner awakening and long-sought liberation.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/of-itself-soSun, 19 Mar 2023 12:40:00 -0700Who are you when you are not thinking yourself into existence? What is ultimately behind the set of eyes reading these words? In Emptiness Dancing, Adyashanti invites you to wake up to the essence of what you are through the natural and spontaneous opening of the mind, heart, and body that holds the secret to happiness and liberation. From the first stages of realization to its evolutionary implications, Adyashanti shares a treasure trove of insights into the challenges of the inner life, offering lucid, down-to-earth advice on topics ranging from the ego, illusion, and spiritual addiction to compassion, letting go, the eternal now, and more. AdyashantiBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/emptiness-dancingSun, 19 Mar 2023 09:45:00 -0700In Superminds, Malone reveals the powerful possibilities when human and machine intelligence unite. Drawing on cutting-edge research, he shows how groups of people and computers can achieve remarkable collective intelligence—“superminds” that far surpass the capabilities of any individual. From reimagining business practices to addressing societal challenges, Malone provides an exciting vision of the future where humans work hand-in-hand with technology to enhance our problem-solving abilities in remarkable ways.Thomas MaloneBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/supermindsSun, 19 Mar 2023 08:15:00 -0700Hawkins proposes a theory of intelligence based on the human brain's cortical columns. He argues that the neocortex is a pattern recognition system, and intelligence emerges from the collective behavior of these columns. The book provides insights into how the brain processes information and could inspire new approaches to artificial intelligence.Jeffrey HawkinsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/a-thousand-brainsSun, 19 Mar 2023 06:55:00 -0700Stuart Kauffman’s At Home in the Universe unveils a scientific revolution centered on spontaneous order in complex systems. Kauffman argues that complexity itself triggers self-organization, revealing life as a natural outcome rather than a chance event. From cell development to cultural evolution, he explores how this principle shapes diverse phenomena. Praised as a visionary by Stephen Jay Gould and Philip Anderson, Kauffman’s work extends Darwin’s theory and offers profound insights into the essence of life.Stuart KauffmanBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/at-home-in-the-universeFri, 17 Mar 2023 17:40:00 -0700Big historians are attempting to construct a general holistic narrative of human origins enabling an approach to studying the emergence of complexity, the relation between evolutionary processes, and the modern context of human experience and actions. In this paper Cadell Last attempts to explore the past and future of cosmic evolution within a big historical foundation characterized by physical, biological, and cultural eras of change. From this analysis he offers a model of the human future that includes an addition and/or reinterpretation of technological singularity theory with a new theory of biocultural evolution focused on the potential birth of technological life: the theory of atechnogenesis. Furthermore, he explores the potential deep futures of technological life and extrapolates towards two hypothetical versions of an “Omega Civilization:” expansion and compression.Cadell LastArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/big-historical-foundations-for-deep-future-speculationsFri, 17 Mar 2023 16:30:00 -0700This paper explores Turchin’s metasystem transition concept in social systems, analyzing collective evolution principles and competitive/synergetic configurations. It highlights how similar systems engage in negative sum competition, hindering group optimization, and suggests shared controls to foster cooperation. Examples like multicellularity and human sociality illustrate this transition. However, ongoing competition among cooperators yields ambivalent sociality and weak integration. The study reviews social control mechanisms' strengths/weaknesses and acknowledges the complex optimization challenges in societal evolution, suggesting a long, challenging path to global integration.Francis HeylighenArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/selection-of-organization-at-the-social-levelFri, 17 Mar 2023 16:25:00 -0700This article proposes a theory of human evolution termed Human Metasystem Transition (HMST), suggesting that major transitions in human organization have been facilitated by the emergence of new information media and energy sources. It posits that the current convergence of the Internet and renewable energy could catalyze a fourth metasystem transition, leading to a global superorganism with compressed spatial and temporal dimensions of human interaction.Cadell LastArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-metasystem-transition-theoryFri, 17 Mar 2023 16:20:00 -0700The human system is developing into a global biocultural superorganism, yet existing control systems appear inadequate for aligning a stable global goal state. Cadell Last proposes the Information-Energy Metasystem Model (IEMM), exploring human control system transitions throughout history. Drawing from cybernetic theories, the IEMM posits that major control transitions depend on specific information-energy control and feedback properties. As humanity approaches a potential fourth metasystem, Last argues for distributed, digital, and democratic mechanisms to organize a global commons, harnessing collective intelligence and direct democracy.Cadell LastArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/information-energy-metasystem-modelFri, 17 Mar 2023 16:15:00 -0700Cadell Last proposes a conceptual framework to guide a global political transition towards a post-capitalist, post-nation-state world in response to technological disruptions like AI, robotics, and the Internet of things. It integrates the theories of the “Global Brain” and “Commons” to argue for the creation of networks with automated and collaborative components that function on “Global Commons” logic, beyond state and market logic.Cadell LastArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/global-commons-in-the-global-brainFri, 17 Mar 2023 16:10:00 -0700Cadell Last discusses the concept of a “Global Brain”—a distributed, self-organizing superintelligence emerging from the interconnectedness of humans and information-communication technologies. He explores the metaphorical, evolutionary, and cybernetic foundations of this potential phenomenon and its implications for human civilization, suggesting it may lead to a future of increased intelligence, cooperation, and abundance.Cadell LastArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/global-brain-foundations-of-a-distributed-singularityFri, 17 Mar 2023 16:00:00 -0700While memory is conceptualized predominantly as an individual capacity in the cognitive and biological sciences, the social sciences have most commonly construed memory as a collective phenomenon. Collective memory has been put to diverse uses, ranging from accounts of nationalism in history and political science to views of ritualization and commemoration in anthropology and sociology. These appeals to collective memory share the idea that memory ‘‘goes beyond the individual’’ but often run together quite different claims in spelling out that idea. This paper reviews a sampling of recent work on collective memory in the light of emerging externalist views within the cognitive sciences, and through some reflection on broader traditions of thought in the biological and social sciences that have appealed to the idea that groups have minds. The paper concludes with some thoughts about the relationship between these kinds of cognitive metaphors in the social sciences and our notion of agency.Robert WilsonArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/collective-memory-group-minds-extended-mind-thesisFri, 17 Mar 2023 05:40:00 -0700We present a hypothetical process of mind coalescence, where artificial connections are created between two or more brains. This might simply allow for an improved form of communication. At the other extreme, it might merge the minds into one in a process that can be thought of as a reverse split-brain operation. We propose that one way mind coalescence might happen is via an exocortex, a prosthetic extension of the biological brain which integrates with the brain as seamlessly as parts of the biological brain integrate with each other. An exocortex may also prove to be the easiest route for mind uploading, as a person's personality gradually moves away from the aging biological brain and onto the exocortex. Memories might also be copied and shared even without minds being permanently merged. Over time, the borders of personal identity may become loose or even unnecessary.Kaj SotalaArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/coalescing-mindsFri, 17 Mar 2023 05:25:00 -0700A philosopher's brain is removed and kept alive in a vat while his body is sent on a dangerous mission. When communication breaks down between brain and body, the philosopher has an out-of-body experience and reflects on personal identity, the nature of the soul, and the prospects of cloned duplicate selves.Daniel DennettEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/where-am-iThu, 16 Mar 2023 15:50:00 -0700Vernadsky explores how human knowledge transforms Earth’s biosphere into the “noosphere,” a new geological state driven by science and culture. He highlights how life, especially human activity, reshapes the planet through energy and innovation, from ancient fire mastery to modern technology. This dynamic interplay between life and Earth reveals a fascinating, ever-evolving story of our planet’s history and humanity’s profound impact on its future.Vladimir VernadskyArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/transition-from-the-biosphere-to-the-noosphereThu, 16 Mar 2023 15:45:00 -0700Vernadsky reveals how life, from ancient mollusks to modern humans, continuously reshapes Earth’s chemistry. This groundbreaking work explores the “biogenic migration” of atoms, demonstrating life’s profound and ever-increasing impact on our planet’s geological processes.Vladimir VernadskyArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/evolution-of-species-and-living-matterThu, 16 Mar 2023 15:40:00 -0700John von Neumann discusses how rapidly accelerating technological progress is creating a crisis as human capabilities outgrow the limited size of the planet. He explores potential future technologies like nuclear energy, automation, and climate control, warning that while beneficial, they could cause global instability and conflict without proper governance. Von Neumann advocates flexibility, patience, and judgement to navigate this crisis rather than restraining progress itself.John von NeumannArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/can-we-survive-technologyThu, 16 Mar 2023 10:10:00 -0700This theory proposes that conscious experiences and subjects exist beyond spacetime as fundamental entities with dynamics described by Markov chains. It shows how these conscious agents can combine, fuse, and have their experiences merge to create new agents and qualia. Spacetime and particle interactions are proposed to be projections encoding the dynamics of communicating conscious agents, rather than being truly fundamental.Donald HoffmanArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/fusions-of-consciousnessWed, 15 Mar 2023 09:30:00 -0700Long unknown in the West, The Biosphere established the field of biogeochemistry and is one of the classic founding documents of what later became known as Gaia theory. It is the first sustained expression of the idea that living matter is a geological force that can shape Earth’s evolution, changing its landforms, climate, and atmosphere. This groundbreaking work sheds light on the interconnectedness of life and geology, offering profound insights into the Earth's ecological balance and the impact of human activities on the planet.Vladimir VernadskyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-biosphereTue, 14 Mar 2023 16:30:00 -0700Aldous Huxley skewers civilization’s descent into fatuous pleasure-seeking. We’re a vapid lot, he observes, gorging on the masticated pap of moronic cinema, witless wireless arias, and the ersatz intellectual sustenance from that phonypapers ignobly titled the “Press.” Rather than exercising our flaccid gray matter, we prefer to absorb entertainment via that most indolent of actions—a passive, vicarious spectatorship. Yet our puerile ennui shall inevitably swell, demanding ever-more sordid and savage distraction to divert our cretinized minds. Why, the resurrection of gladiatorial bloodsport seems a merciful inevitability to placate us depraved, atavistic philistines!Aldous HuxleyEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/pleasuresTue, 14 Mar 2023 13:50:00 -0700David Bohm was one of the foremost scientific thinkers and philosophers of our time. Although deeply influenced by Einstein, he was also, more unusually for a scientist, inspired by mysticism. Indeed, in the 1970s and 1980s he made contact with both J. Krishnamurti and the Dalai Lama whose teachings helped shape his work. In both science and philosophy, Bohm's main concern was with understanding the nature of reality in general and of consciousness in particular. In this classic work he develops a theory of quantum physics which treats the totality of existence as an unbroken whole. Writing clearly and without technical jargon, he makes complex ideas accessible to anyone interested in the nature of reality.David BohmBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/wholeness-and-the-implicate-orderMon, 13 Mar 2023 15:15:00 -0700The number of travelers along the information superhighway is increasing at a rate of ten percent a month. How will this communications revolution affect our culture and society? Though awed by their potential, we’ve feared computers as agents of the further alienation of modern man: they take away our jobs, minimize direct human contact, even shake our faith in the unique power of the human brain. Pierre Lévy believes, however, that rather than creating a society where machines rule man, the technology of cyberspace will have a humanizing influence on us, and foster the emergence of a “collective intelligence”—a meeting of minds on the Internet—that will validate the contributions of the individual.Pierre LévyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/collective-intelligenceSat, 11 Mar 2023 19:30:00 -0800We discuss measures of collective intelligence in evolved and designed self-organizing ensembles, defining collective intelligence in terms of the benefits to be gained through the exchange of information and other resources, as well as through coordination or cooperation, in the interests of a public good. These benefits can be numerous, from estimating a hard-to-observe cue to efficiently searching for resource. The measures should also account for costs to individuals, such as in attention or energy, and trade-offs for the ensemble, such as the flexibility to respond to an important change in the environment versus stability that is robust to unimportant variability. When there is a tension between the interests of the individual and those of the group, game-theoretic considerations may affect the level of collective intelligence that can be achieved. Models of individual rules that yield collective dynamics with multi-stable solutions provide a means to examine and shape collective intelligence in evolved and designed systems.Naomi Ehrich LeonardArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/collective-intelligence-as-a-public-goodWed, 08 Mar 2023 05:20:00 -0800Several philosophers, both in Buddhist and Western philosophy, claim that the self does not exist. The no-self view may, at first glance, appear to be a reason to believe that life is meaningless. In the present article, I argue indirectly in favor of the no-self view by showing that it does not entail that life is meaningless. I then examine Buddhism and argue, further, that the no-self view may even be construed as partially grounding an account of the meaning of life.Baptiste Le BihanArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/no-self-view-and-the-meaning-of-lifeMon, 06 Mar 2023 10:50:00 -0800Challenging with several powerful arguments some of our deepest beliefs about rationality, morality, and personal identity, Parfit claims that we have a false view about our own nature. It is often rational to act against our own best interests, he argues, and most of us have moral views that are self-defeating. We often act wrongly, although we know there will be no one with serious grounds for complaint, and when we consider future generations it is very hard to avoid conclusions that most of us will find very disturbing. Derek ParfitBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/reasons-and-personsMon, 06 Mar 2023 09:45:00 -0800Joseph Henrich proposes that human dominance over other species lies not in individual intelligence, but in our collective brains’ ability to interconnect, learn from one another across generations, and accumulate cultural innovations. Henrich demonstrates how our early capacities for social learning drove genetic evolution, altering our physiology and enabling cultural innovations like fire, tools, and language. These collective brains then generated powerful concepts and institutions, shaping our motivations and perceptions. The book explores how culture-gene interactions launched humanity’s extraordinary evolutionary trajectory, explaining our success and uniqueness through our collective intelligence.Joseph HenrichBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-secret-of-our-successMon, 06 Mar 2023 09:00:00 -0800Bryce Huebner develops a novel approach to distributed cognition and collective intentionality, arguing that genuine cognition requires the capacity for flexible, goal-directed behavior enabled by integrated representational systems. It posits that collective mentality should be ascribed where specialized subroutines are integrated to yield group-relevant, goal-directed behavior. The approach reveals that there are many kinds of collective minds, some more akin to those of honeybees or cats than humans. It challenges traditional notions of collective intentionality, suggesting that groups are unlikely to be "believers" in the fullest sense, shedding new light on questions of collective intentionality and responsibility.Bryce HuebnerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/macrocognitionMon, 06 Mar 2023 07:50:00 -0800In Matter and Consciousness, Paul Churchland clearly presents the advantages and disadvantages of such difficult issues in philosophy of mind as behaviorism, reductive materialism, functionalism, and eliminative materialism. Churchland organizes and clarifies the new theoretical and experimental results of the natural sciences for a wider philosophical audience, observing that this research bears directly on questions concerning the basic elements of cognitive activity and their implementation in real physical systems. (How is it, he asks, that living creatures perform some cognitive tasks so swiftly and easily, where computers do them only badly or not at all?) Most significant for philosophy, Churchland asserts, is the support these results tend to give to thereductive and the eliminative versions of materialism.Paul ChurchlandBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/matter-and-consciousnessMon, 06 Mar 2023 07:30:00 -0800These lively talks and dialogues are about seeing through the illusion of separation and waking up to the boundless wholeness that is all there is. Joan's approach is open and explorative, questioning all attempts to conceptually grasp and frame the movement of life. She talks about seeing through the stories and beliefs that create our human suffering and waking up to the simplicity of what is. This book beautifully dissolves the apparent dichotomy between the uncompromising "this is it, just as it is" message of radical non-duality and the emphasis on "being here now" that is found in many meditation teachings. Joan has an affinity with Buddhism, Advaita, and radical non-duality, but she belongs to no tradition. In these talks and dialogues, she takes on such perennial questions as, Is there a way out of personal and global suffering? Can we choose to stop addictive and destructive patterns? Does being awake take effort, vigilance, and practice, or is it effortlessly and unavoidably always already the case? What happens when we die? Joan TollifsonBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/painting-the-sidewalk-with-waterMon, 06 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0800The existence of group agents is relatively widely accepted. Examples are corporations, courts, NGOs, and even entire states. But should we also accept that there is such a thing as group consciousness? I give an overview of some of the key issues in this debate and sketch a tentative argument for the view that group agents lack phenomenal consciousness. In developing my argument, I draw on integrated information theory, a much-discussed theory of consciousness. I conclude by pointing out an implication of my argument for the normative status of group agents.Christian ListArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/what-is-it-like-to-be-a-group-agentSun, 05 Mar 2023 00:55:00 -0800This trialogue explores the various effects and cultural significance of cannabis use. Potential benefits for creativity, spirituality, and personal growth are discussed, as well as concerns about possible negative consequences like lethargy and addiction. The debate also revolves around the merits of legalization versus decriminalization and the role of governments in drug policy.Terence McKenna, Ralph Abraham and Rupert SheldrakeDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cannabis-trialogueSat, 04 Mar 2023 09:15:00 -0800Frank White explores how space exploration transforms human perspectives, leading to a profound shift in consciousness known as the “overview effect.” Astronauts’ experiences of seeing Earth from space highlight interconnectedness and promote environmental awareness, urging humanity to unite for the planet’s well-being. White’s insightful exploration delves into the philosophical and psychological implications of space travel, inspiring readers to contemplate our place in the universe and the potential for positive evolution.Frank WhiteBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/overview-effectSat, 04 Mar 2023 05:15:00 -0800Watts illuminates meditation as a vehicle to transcend the illusion of individuality and realize one’s intrinsic unity with the cosmos. He unveils a symphony of sacred techniques—from breath awareness to primordial sonic mysticism—as potential pathways to the ineffable experience of non-dual consciousness. By surrendering the ego’s compulsive control, one may ultimately arrive at the paradoxical fruition of subject and object coalescing into one unconditioned field of pure witnessing awareness.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/problems-of-meditationFri, 03 Mar 2023 13:30:00 -0800Is the emergence of life on Earth the result of a single chance event or combination of lucky accidents, or is it the outcome of biochemical forces woven into the fabric of the universe? And if inevitable, what are these forces, and how do they account not only for the origin of life but also for its evolution toward increasing complexity? Vital Dust is a groundbreaking history of life on Earth, a history that only someone of Chrisitian de Duve's stature and erudition could have written.Christian de DuveBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/vital-dustFri, 03 Mar 2023 10:25:00 -0800Christian de Duve, a Nobel Prize-winning biologist, takes readers on a journey through the biological world, from the tiniest cells to the future of life. He argues that life was bound to arise and discusses the evolution of humans, consciousness, language, science, emotion, morality, altruism, and love. De Duve concludes by speculating on humanity's future, including the possibility of evolving into a new species, and shares his thoughts on God and immortality. This wise and humane book sums up his learnings about life and our place in the universe.Christian de DuveBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/life-evolvingFri, 03 Mar 2023 10:20:00 -0800For animals, as well as plants, there have never been individuals. This new paradigm for biology asks new questions and seeks new relationships among the different living entities on Earth. We are all lichens.Scott GilbertArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/symbiotic-view-of-lifeWed, 01 Mar 2023 17:19:32 -0800Jonas Salk opened the 1975 Lindisfarne Association Conference with a talk proposing that humanity’s becoming conscious of the evolutionary process implies the ability to develop strategies to avoid catastrophe and determine the future.Jonas SalkLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/determining-our-futureWed, 01 Mar 2023 05:15:00 -0800Searle argues that “we-intentions” aren’t just many “I-intentions” added together. Instead, collective actions like a football team’s play or an orchestra’s performance are fundamentally primitive, relying on a shared “sense of us” that enables cooperation, even if we’re “brains in vats!”John SearleResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/collective-intentions-and-actionsWed, 01 Mar 2023 04:40:00 -0800During the past twenty-five years, scientists have challenged conventional views of evolution and the organization of living systems and have developed new theories with revolutionary philosophical and social implications. Fritjof Capra has been at the forefront of this revolution. In The Web of Life, Capra offers a brilliant synthesis of such recent scientific breakthroughs as the theory of complexity, Gaia theory, chaos theory, and other explanations of the properties of organisms, social systems, and ecosystems. Capra's surprising findings stand in stark contrast to accepted paradigms of mechanism and Darwinism and provide an extraordinary new foundation for ecological policies that will allow us to build and sustain communities without diminishing the opportunities for future generations.Fritjof CapraBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-web-of-lifeMon, 27 Feb 2023 10:23:30 -0800In the light of the emerging self-organization paradigm, principles may be found which unify the description of evolution in two important dimensions: (1) across the hierarchy of evolutionary dynamics from ontogeny through phylogeny to anagenesis (the evolution of new levels of evolutionary dynamics), and (2) across domains of reality from the physical (cosmic) through the biological (sociobiological, ecological) to the sociocultural domain. Ten such principles, partly containing each other, are tentatively proposed here: Non-equilibrium, spontaneous symmetry breaking, self-reference, self-transcendence, irreversibility, metastability (complementarity of stochastic and deterministic factors), epigenealogical process (cognition and memory), autonomy, symbiosis, and indeterminacy (openness). Examples are provided which are suggestive of the applicability and unifying quality of these principles along the two dimensions.Erich JantschEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/unifying-principles-of-evolutionSat, 18 Feb 2023 05:55:00 -0800Originally delivered as an impromptu lecture for the Social Relations Colloquium at Harvard University, this essay explores incompatible views of human identity—are we free agents or passive products of external forces? Watts argues we should see ourselves not as isolated egos nor as puppets, but as interdependent “organism-environment fields,” inseparable from our context. This view, he suggests, could bring science and subjective experience into alignment.Alan WattsArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/individual-as-man-worldWed, 15 Feb 2023 16:40:00 -0800As a self-described "truth-teller" shunned by most, Lynn enthusiastically responds to Adams' hypothesis that psychedelics attack defenses masking perceptual reality. She argues that while complete awareness hinders survival, some collective self-deception enables group action. However, hypocrisy causes tension. Thus, media revelations gradually expose inconsistencies in societal myths, increasingly triggering psychosis by revealing cracks in cultural delusions.Lynn MargulisLetterhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/letter-to-joe-adamsWed, 15 Feb 2023 16:30:00 -0800What comes after the Internet? What is bigger than the web? What will produce more wealth than all the startups to date? The answer is a planetary superorganism comprised of 4 billion mobile phones, 80 quintillion transistor chips, a million miles of fiber optic cables, and 6 billion human minds all wired together. The whole thing acts like a single organism, with its own behavior and character—but at a scale we have little experience with. This is more than just a metaphor. Kevin Kelly takes the idea of a global superorganism seriously by describing what we know about it so far, how it is growing, where its boundaries are, and what it will mean for us as individuals and collectively.Kevin KellyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/technium-unboundTue, 14 Feb 2023 10:00:00 -0800Based on lectures delivered as The Inaugural Lectures in The Heinz Werner Lecture Series at Clark University (Worcester, Mass.) in January 1966, the book introduces new conceptions of humans and their world. After discussing the advantages and drawbacks of humanity's propensity for the symbolic construction of reality, it focuses on the systems approach to an understanding of the species. The author warns against the common error of identifying cybernetics with general systems theory. No matter how complex the cybernetic system, it "can always be resolved into feedback circuits" and thought of in terms of "linear causality." The regulative behavior of general systems is determined by goal-directed, dynamic interaction between many forces and variables in an open system. Bertalanffy points out that "no comprehensive theory of systems exists today." As a model, however, the approach has many advantages, such as obviating the need for the "ghost in the machine" and suggesting some solutions to the mind-body problem.Ludwig von BertalanffyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/robots-men-mindsSun, 12 Feb 2023 21:00:00 -0800Hand's End offers a new philosophy of technology as the fundamental way in which humans experience and define nature―the tool as humanity extended. Rothenberg examines human inventions from the water wheel to the nuclear bomb and discusses theories of technology in the thought of philosophers including Plato, Aristotle, Bacon, Marx, Heidegger, Spinoza, Mumford, and McLuhan.David RothenbergBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/hands-endSun, 12 Feb 2023 15:40:00 -0800A visionary study of the human body and its relationship with the world that surrounds it. At the book’s core is the concept of “organ projection”: the notion that humans use technology in an effort to project their organs to the outside, to be understood as “the soul apparently stepping out of the body in the form of a sending-out of mental qualities” into the world of artifacts. Kapp applies this theory of organ projection to various areas of the material world—the axe externalizes the arm, the lens the eye, the telegraphic system the neural network. From the first tools to acoustic instruments, from architecture to the steam engine and the mechanic routes of the railway, Kapp’s analysis shifts from “simple” tools to more complex network technologies to examine the projection of relations. What emerges from Kapp’s prophetic work is nothing less than the early elements of a cybernetic paradigm.Ernst KappBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/elements-of-a-philosophy-of-technologySun, 12 Feb 2023 09:20:00 -0800While difficult to define, the concept of ubuntu is worth preserving and adapting to modern South African society.Yvonne MokgoroArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ubuntu-and-the-law-in-south-africaSat, 11 Feb 2023 08:40:00 -0800Yuval Noah Harari envisions a not-too-distant world in which we face a new set of challenges. He examines our future with his trademark blend of science, history, philosophy, and every discipline in between. Homo Deus explores the projects, dreams and nightmares that will shape the twenty-first century—from overcoming death to creating artificial life. It asks the fundamental questions: Where do we go from here? And how will we protect this fragile world from our own destructive powers? This is the next stage of evolution.Yuval Noah HarariBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/homo-deusWed, 08 Feb 2023 04:40:00 -0800Since 1950, humanity has accelerated its population growth, energy use, and release of greenhouse gases, along with a variety of other environmentally and socio-economically significant trends. Taken together, this set of accelerated human-driven trends has been called the “Great Acceleration,” and its occurrence helps explain recent climate change and ecological disturbance. In this article, I explore two dominant but divergent paradigms for what is happening to our species as it becomes globalized and continues in the Great Acceleration. One of the paradigms is related to the newly proposed geological epoch of the “Anthropocene” (the Age of the Human Being), which sees the Great Acceleration as a rupture in our relationship to the Earth System. The other paradigm centers on the concept of a “Noosphere” (a sphere of thought) and proposes that human beings are forming a planetary awareness through these interlocking and accelerating trends. I argue that we need to learn from both paradigms to achieve a balanced understanding of the Great Acceleration.Boris ShoshitaishviliResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/from-anthropocene-to-noosphereTue, 07 Feb 2023 15:25:00 -0800Buckminster Fuller's explorations as an architect, engineer, philosopher and futurist are here extended into experimental book form. Packed with utopian plans, clever insights and light-hearted musings, all aimed at reminding us that we are verbs, not nouns, and that we are never, ever, stuck with life as it is as we can create things.Richard Buckminster FullerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/i-seem-to-be-a-verbTue, 07 Feb 2023 13:10:00 -0800Life's a game where we forget we're the cosmic nerve-endings of an eternal now. So stop furrowing your brow—there's divine frivolity in the endless, meaningless music of being. Drop your masks and dance lightly as angels, for you are the Joker in the pack. It's all a joke, and the joke's on you!Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/play-and-survivalSun, 05 Feb 2023 16:00:00 -0800This book collects some of R. Buckminster Fuller’s most important recent writings on the subject of spaceship Earth: the big, interconnected, total system that is “the only one we’ve got.” These articles stress the need for considering our planet as a whole, rather than breaking it into its parts—as most of us continue to do. This theme is crucial to the thinking of Bucky Fuller, who, in addition to his many other appellations, has been called the “godfather” of the Whole Earth Catalog.Richard Buckminster FullerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/earth-incSat, 04 Feb 2023 15:00:00 -0800Ever heard of a computer that thinks? Alan Turing explored this mind-blowing idea, arguing that any machine, like our brains, can be imitated by a computer if programmed correctly. While we don't have the know-how or technology yet, Turing believed that creating thinking machines could unlock the secrets of our own minds and lead to computers mimicking human behavior so well, it would be hard to tell them apart from real people.Alan TuringEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/can-digital-computers-thinkSat, 04 Feb 2023 07:45:00 -0800Turing envisions machines not as calculators but as minds—blank, unformed, and shaped by learning. We should train them like children by designing self-altering systems that grow through experience. In a few bold strokes, he sketches the genesis of artificial intelligence before the world ever had words for it.Alan TuringEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/intelligent-machinerySat, 04 Feb 2023 07:40:00 -0800In this posthumously-published essay Alan Turing foresees thinking machines surpassing human intelligence. He proposes building them to store memories, index experiences, and learn over time. With proper “education” and a dash of randomness, Turing believes machines could one day converse, play games, and even subsume people’s “feeble powers.” Though we cannot fully grasp this future, Turing saw momentous possibility if society supports cybernetic evolution.Alan TuringEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/intelligent-machinery-heretical-theorySat, 04 Feb 2023 06:15:00 -0800As insightful and wise today as it was when originally published in 1954, The Technological Society has become a classic in its field, laying the groundwork for all other studies of technology and society that have followed. Ellul offers a penetrating analysis of our technological civilization, showing how technology—which began innocuously enough as a servant of humankind—threatens to overthrow humanity itself in its ongoing creation of an environment that meets its own ends. No conversation about the dangers of technology and its unavoidable effects on society can begin without a careful reading of this book.Jacques EllulBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/technological-societyThu, 02 Feb 2023 06:40:00 -0800In this follow-up to The Lucifer Principle, Howard Bloom offers a radical rewrite of evolution, showing how lifeforms have developed interconnected "global brains." He reveals surprising insights, like spiny lobsters marching in Paleozoic rituals and bee brainwork during the dinosaurs' reign. Tracing back to the big bang, Bloom argues that bacterial teams 3.5 billion years ago woven strands of collective intelligence throughout history. Ultimately, he transforms our view of ourselves by demonstrating how culture shapes infant brains, immersing us in mass delusions we think of as reality.Howard BloomBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/global-brain-evolution-of-mass-mediaThu, 02 Feb 2023 06:00:00 -0800Perhaps no futurist has been more energetic, more vocal, more popular, or more optimistic than a seventy-six-year-old engineer-visionary, poet-philosopher named R. Buckminster Fuller. Fuller’s planetary perspective has won him zealous converts the world over. Even those who disagree with his technological transcendentalism share unbegrudged admiration for the world’s youngest old futurist.Richard Buckminster FullerEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/technology-and-the-human-environmentSat, 28 Jan 2023 22:50:00 -0800The cowboy and the spaceman confront each other in this much-quoted essay by Kenneth E. Boulding, philosopher of the social sciences and intellectual prodder extraordinaire. Do we live on a limitless plain with endless resources, or in an enclosed space capsule in which we recycle—or die?Kenneth BouldingEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/economics-of-the-coming-spaceship-earthSat, 28 Jan 2023 22:45:00 -0800As humanity hurtles toward ecological calamity, Erich Jantch and G. R. Urban probe whether our irrational “protective mechanisms” can evolve quickly enough. While centralized systems stifle, democratic structures may channel youthful angst toward collective responsibility. By living the paradoxes, embracing ambiguity, and synergizing art with science, we may just surprise ourselves. But first, a jolt to shake us from our slumber.Erich JantschDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/for-a-science-of-manSat, 28 Jan 2023 22:30:00 -0800What exactly makes something “alive”? This ambitious paper tries to answer that eternal question by bringing the precision of math into biology's messy world. Drawing inspiration from computer science concepts like data compression and randomness, Chaitin cooks up formulas to measure the “organized complexity” of simple shapes. The goal is to lay the groundwork for mathematically probing the origins of life itself, perhaps even tracing how order emerges from primordial chaos. It's a first step towards digitizing the mysteries of evolution.Gregory ChaitinResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mathematical-definition-of-lifeThu, 26 Jan 2023 18:45:00 -0800The former head of the Sante Fe Institute, visionary physicist Geoffrey West is a pioneer in the field of complexity science, the science of emergent systems and networks. The term “complexity” can be misleading, however, because what makes West’s discoveries so beautiful is that he has found an underlying simplicity that unites the seemingly complex and diverse phenomena of living systems, including our bodies, our cities and our businesses.Geoffrey WestBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/scaleThu, 26 Jan 2023 07:45:00 -0800According to Donald Dulchinos, the real action on the Internet isn’t in the realm of commerce. It is, plain and simple, in the realm of religion. But not exactly that old-time religion. This book is about the spiritual impact of our increasing ability to communicate quickly and with enhanced evolution. It's about our search for meaning, our hunger for a glimpse at humanity's future development in which, frighteningly or excitingly, the trend is clearly toward increasing integration of telecommunications and information technology with the body itself. Electronic prosthetics, direct neural implants, and the brain's control of electronic and mechanical limbs move the boundary that used to exist between human and machine to some undefined frontier inside our bodies, our brains, and, perhaps, our minds.Donald DulchinosBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/neurosphereThu, 26 Jan 2023 07:30:00 -0800Out of Control is a summary of what we know about self-sustaining systems, both living ones such as a tropical wetland, or an artificial one, such as a computer simulation of our planet. The last chapter of the book, “The Nine Laws of God,” is a distillation of the nine common principles that all life-like systems share.Kevin KellyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/out-of-controlThu, 26 Jan 2023 05:25:00 -0800The world-wide web has been conceptualized as a global brain for humanity due to its neural network-like organization. To determine whether this global brain could exhibit features associated with consciousness, we review three neuroscientific theories of consciousness: information integration, adaptive resonance and global workspace. These theories propose that conscious states are characterized by a globally circulating, resonant pattern of activity that is sufficiently coherent to be examined and reflected upon. We then propose a correspondence between this notion and Teilhard de Chardin’s concept of the noosphere as a forum for collective thinking, and explore some implications of this self-organizing dynamics for the evolution of shared, global understanding.Shima Beigi and Francis HeylighenResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/noospheric-consciousnessWed, 25 Jan 2023 06:15:00 -0800We approach the problem of the extended mind from a radically non-dualist perspective. The separation between mind and matter is an artefact of the outdated mechanistic worldview, which leaves no room for mental phenomena such as agency, intentionality, or feeling. We propose to replace it by an action ontology, which conceives mind and matter as aspects of the same network of processes. By adopting the intentional stance, we interpret the catalysts of elementary reactions as agents exhibiting desires, intentions, and sensations. Autopoietic networks of reactions constitute more complex super-agents, which moreover exhibit memory, deliberation and sense-making. In the specific case of social networks, individual agents coordinate their actions via the propagation of challenges. The distributed cognition that emerges from this interaction cannot be situated in any individual brain. This non-dualist, holistic view extends and operationalises process metaphysics and Eastern philosophies. It is supported by both mindfulness experiences and mathematical models of action, self-organisation, and cognition.Francis Heylighen and Shima BeigiResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mind-outside-brainWed, 25 Jan 2023 06:00:00 -0800One of today's most respected thinkers turns the conversation about technology on its head by viewing technology as a natural system, an extension of biological evolution. By mapping the behavior of life, we paradoxically get a glimpse at where technology is headed—or "what it wants." Kevin Kelly offers a dozen trajectories in the coming decades for this near-living system. And as we align ourselves with technology's agenda, we can capture its colossal potential. This visionary and optimistic book explores how technology gives our lives greater meaning and is a must-read for anyone curious about the future.Kevin KellyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/what-technology-wantsWed, 25 Jan 2023 05:30:00 -0800The Global Brain paradigm views the emerging global information network connecting humans and technology as a nervous system for Earth's social superorganism. This special issue surveys opportunities and challenges in developing this potentially more intelligent, synergetic system. Contributions explore political, economic, and philosophical aspects, aiming to guide the transition towards a sustainable society empowering diversity.Francis Heylighen and Marta LenartowiczResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/global-brain-model-information-societyTue, 24 Jan 2023 07:45:00 -0800In The Symbiotic Man, de Rosnay expresses his persuasively optimistic view of how humans will learn how to evolve in harmony with our ecosystem, much as the cells of our body must work together for our continued health. "The great challenge of the future will not be technical," he writes; "it will be human." The challenge is for us to learn how we fit into a planetary macro-organism that includes all humans, machines, organisms, networks and nations.Joël de RosnayBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-symbiotic-manTue, 24 Jan 2023 06:10:00 -0800This article proposes a new definition of life as chemical systems that achieve catalytic closure, constraint closure, and spatial closure. It argues that the emergence of such living systems is an expected phase transition in the evolving universe. However, the ever-creative evolution of life thereafter cannot be explained by physics alone, showing the limits of reductionism. Life is a double miracle—expected yet unexplainable.Stuart KauffmanResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/emergence-of-life-phase-transitionMon, 23 Jan 2023 18:00:00 -0800At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Francis Heylighen collaborated with Shima Beigi on a research paper about the noosphere’s response to the global crisis, titled Collective Consciousness Supported by the Web: Healthy or Toxic?David Sloan Wilson, Francis Heylighen and Shima BeigiDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/collective-consciousness-and-the-webMon, 23 Jan 2023 11:05:00 -0800This conversation between Shima Beigi and David Sloan Wilson focuses on Shima’s book, Mindful Smart Cities: Rethinking Smart Cities with Mindfulness Engineering.David Sloan Wilson and Shima BeigiDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/smart-cities-interviewMon, 23 Jan 2023 11:00:00 -0800When first published, Marshall McLuhan’s Understanding Media made history with its radical view of the effects of electronic communications upon man and life in the twentieth century. In Terrence Gordon’s own words, “McLuhan is in full flight already in the introduction, challenging us to plunge with him into what he calls ‘the creative process of knowing.’” Much to the chagrin of his contemporary critics McLuhan’s preference was for a prose style that explored rather than explained. Probes, or aphorisms, were an indispensable tool with which he sought to prompt and prod the reader into an “understanding of how media operate” and to provoke reflection.Marshall McLuhanBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/understanding-mediaSun, 22 Jan 2023 17:30:00 -0800In 1792, George Washington was prepared to retire as the first president of the United States. To that end, Washington, with James Madison, wrote a farewell address to the public of the United States of America. Faced with the unanimous objections of his Cabinet, however, Washington agreed to stand for another term. Finally, in 1796, Washington refused a third term. Dusting off his previous address, Washington and Alexander Hamilton rewrote it. Technically speaking, it was not an address, or a speech, but an open letter to the public published in almost all American newspapers. Washington's fellow Americans gave it its title as the first president’s valedictory to public service for the new republic.George WashingtonLetterhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/washington-farewell-addressThu, 19 Jan 2023 05:55:00 -0800Terence McKenna glimpses both peril and promise as civilization hurtles toward an uncertain future. Technology untethers tradition, psychedelics unleash inspiration from narrow cultural confines, boundaries dissolve, categories collide, contradictions mount. What strange attractor lures us through this unfolding existential adventure? In McKenna’s view, dystopia or utopia will emerge based on one driving factor—our collective capacity for creativity, courage, and compassion as we navigate the quantum unknown. With open minds and loving hearts, a brighter tomorrow awaits.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/logos-meets-erosWed, 18 Jan 2023 05:05:00 -0800Even God might get tired of all the grave piety, Alan suggests. To prove his point, he recounts irreverent tales—like a vagabond snoozing on temple pillows who retorts, “Can't a guy catch some zzz's in his Dad's house?” Laughter, Watts argues, springs from embracing life's contradictions, not fighting them. Seen thus, humor becomes divine comedy, with the Cosmos itself as the ultimate rascal.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/humor-in-religionTue, 17 Jan 2023 17:50:00 -0800Watts argues against the traditional Western concept of politics and the idea of a powerful leader governing a nation. Instead, he proposes a more Eastern approach inspired by the Tao Te Ching, which emphasizes flexibility, spontaneity, and water-like qualities in leadership. He encourages leaders to avoid using force and to embrace the natural flow of events, allowing the governed to live their lives freely. A society modeled after this philosophy would be more harmonious and functional, as opposed to societies driven by hierarchical structures and coercion.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/future-of-politicsTue, 17 Jan 2023 07:50:00 -0800The madness of falling in love, though disruptive, can open our eyes to see the divine in our beloved. Pretending eternal passion as the sole basis for marriage builds impossible expectations. Might we not better cherish our loved ones by setting them free?Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/divine-madnessSat, 14 Jan 2023 14:35:00 -0800Psychedelics unlock the mind's eye, let mathematicians fly To landscapes unseen, where patterns careen in colors serene. As symbols may hide truths inside, these vines we must untwine. With psychedelics we'll refine new ways for minds to shine: Computers give form, classics reborn, realms to adorn. Together they'll fuse, creativity diffuse, inventions produce! So let inhibitions loose, imagine the use, as we choose the hues Of mathematical views, and virtual worlds that enthuse!Terence McKenna, Rupert Sheldrake and Ralph AbrahamDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/psychedelics-and-the-computer-revolutionSat, 14 Jan 2023 09:20:00 -0800Krishnamurti and Bohm ponder if the mind's reactions ever end. Is there within an empty mind, silent of thought's chatter, a wellspring of creation? An eternal movement, ever-new? They muse on the flow of universal order—does this stream emerge from an absolute source, a timeless mind one with the cosmos? If so, might a human mind touch this vastness when freed of limitations? A tantalizing possibility glints.Jiddu Krishnamurti and David BohmDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mind-in-the-universeThu, 12 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0800Watts unwinds twisted views, freeing nature from Western chains. Tracking backwards in time, he reveals theories born of theology’s rigid womb and law’s worldly tomb. The veiled truth unfolds: regularities sip from the holy wellspring of our being, not external orders events obey. So too ethical waters flow from human nature’s course, not graven codes on stone. Our inner light, not outward laws, guides us rightly through terrestrial and cosmic seas.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/natural-lawMon, 09 Jan 2023 17:30:50 -0800What makes something alive? This bold theory argues living systems are like machines that build themselves. Called “autopoietic,” they constantly churn out parts that self-assemble into a whole. Likewise, the nervous system loops activity back into more activity. We don't compute information, but structurally couple to the world. Cognition emerges from how our nervous system meshes with reality, not from complex symbol manipulation as commonly believed.Humberto MaturanaResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/organization-of-the-livingMon, 09 Jan 2023 15:30:00 -0800Teilhard de Chardin sees human reflection as an evolutionary force escaping entropy's grasp. Emerging from life's intrinsic complexity, reflection leads mankind on an irreversible journey of deepening interiority. Through convergence and collective self-reflection, we approach a sacred point of supreme arrangement and unity. Teilhard argues that to fully encompass life's mystery in science, the reflection of energy must join conservation and dissipation as key principles. Understanding reflection's role illuminates both human destiny and the cosmos' underlying divinity.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/reflection-of-energyThu, 05 Jan 2023 14:30:00 -0800Like organisms evolved in gentle tide pools, who migrate to freezing oceans or steaming jungles by developing metabolisms, mechanisms, and behaviors workable in those harsher and vaster environments, our descendants, able to change their representations at will, may develop means to venture far from the comfortable realms we consider reality into arbitrarily strange worlds. Their techniques will be as meaningless to us as bicycles are to fish, but perhaps we can stretch our common-sense-hobbled imaginations enough to peer a short distance into this odd territory.Hans MoravecArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/simulation-consciousness-existenceWed, 28 Dec 2022 19:00:00 -0800The organismic view of society is updated by incorporating concepts from cybernetics, evolutionary theory, and complex adaptive systems. Global society can be seen as an autopoietic network of self-producing components, and therefore as a living system or “superorganism”.Francis HeylighenResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-global-superorganismThu, 01 Dec 2022 13:20:00 -0800Also published under the title Empowering Hope in Dark Times, McKenna explores the philosophical underpinnings of alchemy and Hermeticism. He argues that these esoteric traditions promote the inherent divinity of humankind and the overcoming of fate through magic. Psychedelic plants and mystical experiences are positioned as means of glimpsing liberatory truths. McKenna ultimately seeks to empower his audience with a hopeful worldview and a sense of human potential, even in difficult times.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/unfolding-the-stoneMon, 28 Nov 2022 09:10:00 -0800We propose that the existence of a globally and tightly connected network of computer workstations such as the Internet can lead to the emergence of a globally self-organized structure which we refer to as the Global Brain.Gottfried Mayer-KressResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/global-brain-as-emergent-structureMon, 21 Nov 2022 12:35:00 -0800What if our minds are merely vessels for a universal consciousness, and suffering is just a bug in our mental programming? Joscha Bach and Lex Fridman explore this radical idea, discussing the stages of self-awareness, the potential for telepathy, and the transformative power of AI. Bach argues that AI's evolution may lead to a unified global mind, transcending individual identities and reshaping life as we know it. Are we on the brink of a new era of consciousness, or is humanity destined to stumble into oblivion?Joscha Bach and Lex FridmanDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/lfp392-joscha-bachSat, 19 Nov 2022 14:50:00 -0800Terence argues that a solution to our collective planetary crisis has emerged, and it lies in a commitment to shamanistic, feminized, cybernetic, and caring forms of being—to take what each of us is in our very best moments and extend it to fill whole lifetimes.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/crisis-in-consciousnessThu, 10 Nov 2022 05:45:00 -0800Wiener was widely misunderstood as one who advocated the automation of human life. As this book reveals, his vision was much more complex and interesting. He hoped that machines would release people from relentless and repetitive drudgery in order to achieve more creative pursuits. At the same time he realized the danger of dehumanizing and displacement. His book examines the implications of cybernetics for education, law, language, science, technology, as he anticipates the enormous impact—in effect, a third industrial revolution—that the computer has had on our lives.Norbert WienerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-use-of-human-beingsMon, 31 Oct 2022 05:45:00 -0700Computing Machinery and Intelligence is a seminal paper written by Alan Turing on the topic of artificial intelligence. The paper, published in 1950 in Mind, was the first to introduce his concept of what is now known as the Turing test to the general public.Alan TuringArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/computing-machinery-and-intelligenceTue, 18 Oct 2022 07:05:00 -0700Quit striving so hard spiritually, Watts implores. You're already the Buddha you seek! Your constant efforts to improve yourself are like trying to bite your own teeth. So relax! Meditation isn't about suffering through boredom or bragging about pain. Instead, penetrate the moment and have fun watching yourself be. Spiritual enlightenment isn't some far-off goal—it's already here, now. Dig it!Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/spiritual-authorityFri, 23 Sep 2022 08:08:08 -0700Has our techno-scientific society created problems it can't solve? Watts says the West excels at amplifying every folly humans are capable of, yet when it comes to answering the big questions we're like a dog chasing its tail. Perhaps solutions lie not in narrow scholarship, but in re-examining our own premises through imaginative engagement with Asian worldviews. We need protected spaces where scholars can play with concepts freely—not for any practical purpose, but for the sheer joy of ideas, because creative insights arise unpredictably from the useless act of contemplation.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/study-of-asiaSun, 11 Sep 2022 20:40:00 -0700Alan Watts rails against the pervasive mindset that art must be useful, whether for propaganda or profit. Art's supreme purpose lies not in serving any practical function, but in the sheer joyful act of creating. For Watts, true art is meaningless like nature itself—a tree simply exists to exist. We must let go of valuing only what promotes survival, he implores, so that we can rediscover the profound uselessness of play.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-useless-in-artSun, 11 Sep 2022 11:25:00 -0700In any functional sense, organism and environment are inseparable and form only one unitary system. The organism cannot exist without the environment, and the environment has descriptive properties only if it is connected to the organism. Separation of organism and environment cannot be the basis of any scientific explanation of human behavior. The theory leads to a reinterpretation of basic problems in many fields of inquiry and makes possible the definition of mental phenomena without their reduction either to neural or biological activity or to separate mental functions. According to the theory, mental activity is activity of the whole organism-environment system, and the traditional psychological concepts describe only different aspects of organization of this system.Timo JärvilehtoResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/theory-of-organism-environment-systemSun, 11 Sep 2022 09:10:00 -0700Alan Watts reveals how Eastern thought embraces the wiggly dance between opposites. Buddhist masters nudge their students with banter to blend inner and outer worlds, topple rigid beliefs, and allowing freedom to rise from the rubble of shattered assumptions. In the end, clinging dissolves into flowing and suffering transforms into living.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/reconciliation-of-oppositesSat, 10 Sep 2022 14:35:00 -0700Societies—organisms or machines? Watts weighs in, finding us more cog-like than cells. But beneath individuals and collectives, he spies nature's web—infinitely intricate, ineffably complex. This tangled tapestry, the Taoist lǐ, makes a mockery of our mechanistic ways. So while groups lack living complexity, the individual is no alpha and omega. Our world's too messy for such simplicity. Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/varieties-of-orderFri, 09 Sep 2022 09:25:00 -0700Watts discusses how cultures develop increasingly complex art forms, rituals, manners, and religions, reaching extremes of refinement. Then innovators emerge who return to simplicity, until that too becomes overly refined. The wise person avoids both awe and hostility toward complexity and simplicity, recognizing these cultural developments as elaborate games people play.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/games-of-simplicity-and-complexityWed, 07 Sep 2022 08:20:00 -0700Terence discusses virtual reality technology, which allows people to have immersive experiences in digital worlds. He describes the state of VR in the 1990s and speculates on its future implications, both positive and negative. He reflects on how VR could lead to new forms of communication and imagination, but also trivial entertainment. If used thoughtfully, he concludes, VR holds tremendous transformative potential.Terence McKennaArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/virtual-reality-and-electronic-highsSun, 21 Aug 2022 10:53:01 -0700While attending the 1990 Cyberthon event, Terence answered a few questions about virtual reality before heading to the stage.Terence McKennaDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/virtual-reality-interviewSun, 21 Aug 2022 10:41:18 -0700Alan Watts and Laura Huxley discuss the life and work of Aldous Huxley. They touch on his transformation into a skilled lecturer, his profound intellect and wide-ranging interests, his experiences with psychedelics, his relationship with Krishnamurti, and his ability to live fully in the present moment.Alan Watts and Laura HuxleyDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/alan-watts-interviews-laura-huxleyWed, 17 Aug 2022 13:00:00 -0700Within the next decade, we may well have systems that are serious candidates for consciousness. An edited version of a talk given at the conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS), with some minor additions and subtractions.David ChalmersArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/could-a-large-language-model-be-consciousTue, 16 Aug 2022 07:39:19 -0700What makes a living system a living system? What kind of biological phenomenon is the phenomenon of cognition? These two questions have been frequently considered, but, in this volume, the authors consider them as concrete biological questions. Their analysis is bold and provocative, for the authors have constructed a systematic theoretical biology which attempts to define living systems not as objects of observation and description, nor even as interacting systems, but as self-contained unities whose only reference is to themselves. the consequence of their investigations and of their living systems as self-making, self-referring autonomous unities, is that they discovered that the two questions have a common answer: living systems are cognitive systems, and living as a process is a process of cognition. The result of their investigations is a completely new perspective of biological (human) phenomena. During the investigations, it was found that a complete linguistic description pertaining to the "organization of the living" was lacking and, in fact, was hampering the reporting of results. Hence, the authors have coined the word "autopoiesis" to replace the expression "circular organization." Autopoiesis conveys, by itself, the central feature of the organization of the living, which is autonomy.Humberto Maturana and Francisco VarelaBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/autopoiesis-and-cognitionTue, 16 Aug 2022 07:10:00 -0700Martin Luther King's last sermon, delivered at the Mason Temple the day before his assassination. He reflected on the struggle for civil rights, emphasizing the importance of unity, nonviolent resistance, and economic withdrawal to achieve justice. Dr. King expressed his determination to continue the fight, even in the face of personal danger, and his belief that the promised land of equality was within reach.Martin Luther King, Jr.Sermonhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mountaintopFri, 12 Aug 2022 04:47:30 -0700Embark on a captivating journey into Ecodynamics, a realm where the choreography of humanity and nature unfolds. This narrative intricately weaves economics, ecology, and human behavior, illuminated by Boulding's visionary concept of ecodynamics. His framework reveals the harmonious yet fragile bond between ecosystems and economies, a bond often ignored at our peril. Boulding's interdisciplinary exploration spans from population dynamics to resource usage and technology's role, dismantling the myth of infinite growth in a finite world. Ecodynamics challenges norms, offering profound insights that beckon us to adopt sustainable practices. This clarion call echoes—safeguard both civilization and the environment for lasting well-being.Kenneth BouldingBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ecodynamicsTue, 09 Aug 2022 10:57:50 -0700A sequel to Boulding's Ecodynamics, this book looks at the extent to which the Earth is a total system of interacting parts and the degree to which it is a pattern of isolated systems which have little or no impact on one another. Descriptions of systems are based as much as possible on their relevance to the real world. Boulding's methodology depends on the nature of the particular system being investigated and he does not attempt to to impose methodologies from systems where parameters do not change (celestial mechanics) on those where they do (biological and social sciences).Kenneth BouldingBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-world-as-a-total-systemTue, 09 Aug 2022 10:45:00 -0700A thought-provoking exploration of the role of images in shaping human understanding, both individually and collectively. Boulding examines how images, ranging from mental constructs to cultural symbols, influence our perception of reality, guide decision-making, and contribute to the dynamics of society. He delves into the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge, drawing on psychology, sociology, philosophy, and economics, to illustrate how these images shape our behavior, values, and relationships. Boulding's work challenges readers to critically evaluate the power of images in constructing our cognitive landscapes and emphasizes the necessity of a holistic perspective to comprehend the complexities of knowledge within the context of life and society.Kenneth BouldingBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-imageTue, 09 Aug 2022 10:40:00 -0700Through visions and swirling fractal forms, three trailblazers embarked on a cosmic journey to the furthest frontiers of consciousness. Seeking to map the mathematical landscapes glimpsed in psychedelic states, they pondered perplexing philosophies and disputed the deepest quandaries of science and spirit. Though technology promises portals to enchanted realms of pattern and meaning, can cold silicon chips ever capture the warmth of Gaia's embrace?Terence McKenna, Rupert Sheldrake and Ralph AbrahamDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/psychedelics-and-mathematical-visionSat, 06 Aug 2022 05:50:00 -0700We've seen the power of the internet to connect people around the world in ways never before known. This remarkable book argues that the billions of messages and pieces of information flying back and forth are linking the minds of humanity together into a single, global brain: a brain with astonishing potential for the Earth. Peter Russell weaves together modern technology and ancient mysticism to present a startling vision of the world to come, where humanity is a fully conscious superorganism in an awakening universe. The human potential movement, he shows, is growing fast and influencing business, politics, and medicine. Peter RussellBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-global-brainThu, 04 Aug 2022 11:40:00 -0700Finding meaning in a meaningless universe is the biological imperative, argues pioneering evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky. He contends human consciousness, evolved over eons to seek pattern and purpose, offers a path to discover genuine meaning by exercising our capacities for creativity, ethics, spirituality, and ensuring our choices advance life. While many claim the universe is absent of meaning, Dobzhansky critiques this perspective as incompatible with our nature. He affirms humanity's calling is to embrace life's purpose, not vainly impose it. Our evolved mind perceives life's meaning because meaning exists embedded in existence itself. Overall, Dobzhansky makes a stirring case that being human means pursuing meaningful living.Theodosius DobzhanskyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/biology-of-ultimate-convernThu, 04 Aug 2022 10:30:00 -0700Teilhard says life is not an anomaly, but a universal cosmic force that builds up complexity. He sees it complementing entropy, and the riddle to be solved lies in how they ultimately balance out.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/what-is-life-teilhardTue, 02 Aug 2022 19:55:00 -0700Teilhard muses on the perplexities of defining the human body. He finds the common notions inadequate and proposes a new perspective—that each person's body encompasses not just their cells, but the entire universe they influence and are influenced by. Though complex, his ideas offer an intriguing new angle on embodiment.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/what-exactly-is-the-human-bodyTue, 02 Aug 2022 13:35:00 -0700Could a simple thermostat possess consciousness? Philosopher David Chalmers believes it's possible. He compares connectionist networks to mundane thermostats, finding uncanny similarities in how they process information. This suggests thermostats could model basic conscious experience, if we accept certain criteria. Chalmers argues complexity alone cannot explain awareness. Though advanced artificial networks mimic consciousness, some essence eludes. He concludes we must look beyond connectionist models, seeking deeper laws not yet conceived, as we continue our quest to unveil the very essence of consciousness.David ChalmersEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/what-is-it-like-to-be-a-thermostatTue, 02 Aug 2022 10:05:00 -0700This essay by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin discusses the evolution of views on the antiquity of man over the last century. It highlights Marcellin Boule's book, Les Hommes Fossiles, which presents the author's research on human origins, particularly Neanderthal man. The essay explores the complexity and antiquity of human evolution and emphasizes the need for reconciling scientific findings with religious beliefs. It suggests that humanity's material origins can be understood as a prolonged effort of the Earth as a whole, and it calls for embracing all rays of light from science and faith to find a unified understanding of human origins.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/fossil-menTue, 02 Aug 2022 09:45:00 -0700Donella Meadows provides an accessible introduction to systems thinking, explaining how to understand complex systems and interact within them more effectively. She describes different types of systems, including physical and social systems, and key system concepts like stocks, flows, feedback loops, leverage points, and delays. Meadows illustrates these ideas through real-world examples and models, and argues that adopting a systems perspective can help address many of society's challenges in areas like sustainability, politics, and business. She aims to teach readers to think broadly about interconnections, change over time, and root causes so they can better understand and influence systems for desired outcomes.Donella MeadowsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/thinking-in-systemsSat, 30 Jul 2022 08:45:00 -0700A dramatically colder climate gripped Europe during the thirteenth century, profoundly affecting the course of history for the next seven centuries. The changes in energy usage transformed architecture and forced the creation of new power sources. The coming of the Industrial Revolution, spurred on by advances in the steam engine, scarred England indelibly; but a moment in history later, gasoline-powered engines opened the way to the heavens.James BurkeTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/connections-06Sat, 30 Jul 2022 00:50:00 -0700As our minds melt into mystic union with the cosmos, philosopher Alan Watts implores us to embody the trippy truth—reality is but a divine drama. Let psychedelic portals transport you through the looking glass, where self and world swirl together like paints in a kaleidoscope. But tread carefully upon this razor's edge, where heaven and hell commingle. Are you ready to lift the veil?Alan WattsEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/psychedelic-experience-fact-or-fantasyFri, 29 Jul 2022 22:00:00 -0700A hopeful antidote to the destruction of man's environment caused by technology divorced from spirituality. Paolo Soleri, the renowned architect, urban planner, process philosopher and alchemist of the new spirituality of science and technology, challenges us to let go of our absolutized views of human life and creation. By this release, he holds that we can be healed by a cosmos in the process of becoming divine.Paolo SoleriBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/technology-and-cosmogenesisTue, 26 Jul 2022 22:10:00 -0700Delivered at the end of McKenna’s first month as scholar-in-residence at Esalen, when he began a new phase in his public speaking career. This weekend workshop provides an early glimpse at Terence’s description of the looming “transcendental object at the end of time,” and the psychedelic insights which led him to become an oracle.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/understanding-the-chaos-at-historys-endWed, 20 Jul 2022 07:45:00 -0700Man is burdened with an ego that is in constant conflict with society and nature, in perpetual flight from loneliness and death. Despite its diverse methods, the single aim of psychotherapy is to free man from his endless self-battle. Alan Watts' arresting, provocative study shows how Eastern philosophers long ago faced—and solved—the problem of man's existence in a seemingly hostile universe. Buddhism, Vedanta, Taoism, are examined and related to the theories of Freud, Jung, Sullivan, May. The inscrutable wisdom of Zen masters is made clear by Alan Watts as he explains how the modern “fiction” of the ego has clouded the sights of psychotherapy, and blocked Western man from his true place in nature.Alan WattsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/psychotherapy-east-and-westSat, 09 Jul 2022 05:30:00 -0700Called the “Magna Carta of the Information Age” and a “blueprint for the digital era,” this groundbreaking paper gave rise to the field of information theory and revolutionized how we understand and transmit data. By introducing the “bit” as the fundamental unit of data, Claude Shannon explained how to efficiently encode messages to reduce errors and maximize transfer speed. His innovative concepts influenced everything from the internet and telecommunications to data compression and computer science, forever changing the way we connect and share information.Claude ShannonResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mathematical-theory-of-communicationFri, 08 Jul 2022 17:00:00 -0700Just as groundbreaking today as it was when it first appeared in 1947, Behold the Spirit is Alan Watts’ timeless argument for the place of mystical religion in today’s world. Drawing on his experiences as a former priest, Watts skillfully explains how the intuition of Eastern religion—Zen Buddhism, in particular—can be incorporated into the doctrines of Western Christianity, allowing people of all creeds to enjoy a deeper, more meaningful relationship with the spiritual in our present troubled times. Alan WattsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/behold-the-spiritTue, 05 Jul 2022 13:35:00 -0700One of the most influential of Alan Watts’s early works, The Supreme Identity examines the reality of civilization’s deteriorated spiritual state and offers solutions through a rigorous theological discussion on Eastern metaphysic and the Christian religion. By examining the minute details of theological issues, Watts challenges readers to reassess the essences of religions that before seemed so familiar and to perceive Vedantic “oneness” as a meeting ground of all things—“good” and “evil.” In addressing how religious institutions fail to provide the wisdom or power necessary to cope with the modern condition, Watts confidently seeks the truth of the human existence and the divine continuum.Alan WattsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/supreme-identityTue, 05 Jul 2022 13:35:00 -0700Whitehead believed that reality consisted of organic processes within processes, all interrelated and overlapping. These processes are the basis on which human experience, conscious and otherwise, becomes an ongoing center of integrated and novel freedom. In this collection of lectures he urges us to consider “Importance” as an ultimate notion underlying our impulse to create the various modes and sub-generalities of thought which guide our planning and acting.Alfred North WhiteheadBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/modes-of-thoughtSun, 03 Jul 2022 19:25:00 -0700Terence claims that “the boundless creativity of the human mind will be tapped into and come to our aid.” His bold statement is followed by an inspirational pep-talk about how miraculous the appearance of consciuosness in this universe is, and what a valuable potential humans represent in future cosmic evolution. Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/imagination-in-the-light-of-natureThu, 30 Jun 2022 18:30:00 -0700McKenna, Abraham, and biologist Rupert Sheldrake contemplate humanity's bumpy ride towards transcendence. McKenna unveils his theory of an impending "eschaton" when history will culminate in a boundary-erasing recovery of unity, fulfilling religious anticipation. However, approaching this "zero point" will be increasingly chaotic. Abraham and Sheldrake greet McKenna's vision with skepticism tinged with hope. Probing global crises, the trio spiritedly grapple with miraculous visions for transforming society, from psychedelic revival to empowering women. Their speculative voyage reveals turbulence ahead, yet yields glimmers of our journey's destination.Terence McKenna, Ralph Abraham and Rupert SheldrakeDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/future-of-humanityFri, 24 Jun 2022 11:40:00 -0700Held at the Ego-Soft event, Terence presented his philosophy and eschatology rap in accompaniment with a rhythmic didgeridoo and bell performance.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-new-psychedelicsFri, 24 Jun 2022 11:30:00 -0700This searching examination of human development provides new perspectives on the moral, political, scientific, emotional, and intellectual divisions of our time. A physicist by profession, Whyte looked beyond the boundaries of specialization for creative ways to approach the basic problem facing modern Western civilization: Why are we so competent technically and yet unable to order our own affairs, socially and personally? He takes the reader with him on a journey that is nothing less than a new interpretation of the general development of human consciousness.Lancelot Law WhyteBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/next-development-in-manFri, 17 Jun 2022 08:50:00 -0700Four lectures on religion delivered in Boston's King’s Chapel. Whitehead's train of thought, which was applied to science in his Lowell Lectures (Science and the Modern World), was here applied to religion. The aim of the lectures was to give a concise analysis of the various factors in human nature which go to form a religion, to exhibit the inevitable transformation of religion with the transformation of knowledge, and more especially to direct attention to the foundation of religion on our apprehension of those permanent elements by reason of which there is a stable order in the world, permanent elements apart from which there could be no changing world.Alfred North WhiteheadBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/religion-in-the-makingThu, 16 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0700Daniel Schmachtenberger and Nate Hagens discuss a surprisingly overlooked risk to our global systems and planetary stability: artificial intelligence. Through a systems perspective, Daniel and Nate piece together the biophysical history that has led humans to this point, heading towards (and beyond) numerous planetary boundaries, and facing geopolitical risks all with existential consequences. How does artificial intelligence not only add to these risks, but accelerate the entire dynamic of the metacrisis? What is the role of intelligence versus wisdom on our current global pathway, and can we change course? Does artificial intelligence have a role to play in creating a more stable system, or will it be the tipping point that drives our current one out of control?Daniel Schmachtenberger and Nate HagensDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/artificial-intelligence-and-the-superorganismSat, 04 Jun 2022 12:45:00 -0700Michael LevinLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/from-matter-to-mindThu, 02 Jun 2022 07:45:00 -0700Philosopher Alan Watts reveals his fascination with Buddhism began in his teens. He urges fully experiencing the present moment by listening to sounds emerge from silence. Though concerned about social issues, he cautions against reactive anger. Watts sees humans as manifestations of an intelligent universe, not isolated egos. With humor and eloquence, he invites us to embrace the weird and follow our own path.Alan WattsDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/elliot-mintz-interviews-alan-wattsTue, 31 May 2022 09:30:00 -0700Collective intelligence and individual intelligence are usually considered to be fundamentally different. Individual intelligence is uncontroversial. It occurs in organisms with special neural machinery, evolved by natural selection to enable cognitive and learning functions that serve the fitness benefit of the organism, and then trained through lifetime experience to maximise individual rewards. Collective intelligence, in contrast, is a much more ambiguous idea. What exactly constitutes collective intelligence is often vague, and the mechanisms that might enable it are frequently domain-specific.Michael LevinResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/collective-intelligence-of-evolution-and-developmentMon, 30 May 2022 15:00:00 -0700Intelligence is a central feature of human beings’ primary and interpersonal experience. Understanding how intelligence originated and scaled during evolution is a key challenge for modern biology. Some of the most important approaches to understanding intelligence are the ongoing efforts to build new intelligences in computer science (AI) and bioengineering. However, progress has been stymied by a lack of multidisciplinary consensus on what is central about intelligence regardless of the details of its material composition or origin (evolved vs. engineered). We show that Buddhist concepts offer a unique perspective and facilitate a consilience of biology, cognitive science, and computer science toward understanding intelligence in truly diverse embodiments.Michael LevinResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/biology-buddhism-and-aiMon, 30 May 2022 07:40:00 -0700Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey asks Sadhguru about karma, crafting one’s destiny, the connection between yoga and religion, and exploring the unknown. Sadhguru offers insights on how we should not confuse our lifestyle (a consequence of the times we live in) with life, the real thing! SadhguruDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/crafting-destiny-exploring-unknownTue, 24 May 2022 20:35:00 -0700“Real compassion is bringing the cosmic giggle into the moments of your life.” With this intriguing statement, Ram Dass invites us to embrace life’s profound mystery. He calls us to transcend our small sense of self and victimization, to open our hearts to suffering with compassion, and to let go of our need to control the uncontrollable. Instead, we can rest in the spacious awareness that embraces all phenomena without judgment—holding both our individuality and our unity, reveling in the cosmic giggle.Ram DassWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/embracing-the-mysteryTue, 24 May 2022 07:35:00 -0700An ambitious synthesis of Fuller’s lifetime of interdisciplinary work, spanning geometry, systems theory, design, and cosmology. He outlines synergetic principles underlying natural structures, sustainable architecture like geodesic domes, and humanity’s potential through whole systems thinking and technologies in equilibrium with the universe’s finite resources. Dense but visionary, it encapsulates Fuller’s goal of developing a “Cosmography”—a coordinated model for all knowledge.Richard Buckminster Fuller and Kiyoshi KuromiyaBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmographyFri, 20 May 2022 22:30:00 -0700With her signature wit and wisdom, Emily Levine meets her ultimate challenge as a comedian/philosopher: she makes dying funny. In this personal talk, she takes us on her journey to make friends with reality—and peace with death. Life is an enormous gift, Levine says: You enrich it as best you can, and then you give it back.Emily LevineWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/how-i-made-friends-with-realityFri, 20 May 2022 06:05:00 -0700Alan Watts outlines the philosophy of Chinese thinker Zhuang Zhou, who believed in the value of useless things, relativity, and aligning with nature through “wu wei” or non-action. He used exaggeration and humor to argue against controlling life. Stories illustrate his ideas on uselessness and flowing with life's currents. Zhuang Zhou's approach contrasts with Western notions of God and law. Overall, his playful philosophy advocates not resisting the natural Tao or way of things.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/wisdom-of-the-ridiculousFri, 29 Apr 2022 07:20:00 -0700Watts unfurls three cosmic tapestries woven by ancient minds: the Western world's vision of nature stitched as a crafted cloth, India's playful drama where God dances every part, and China's Taoist masterwork of nature flowing free like mountain streams. Though the West's thread gave rise to technological gifts, it tangled our hearts. Now the Orient's ancient organic insight whispers fresh hope, kindling new fires of wisdom within.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/constitution-of-natureMon, 25 Apr 2022 12:40:00 -0700Alan Watts explores the idea of the bodhisattva doctrine in Mahayana Buddhism, which suggests that true enlightenment is found in the ordinary, secular world. He delves into the concept of jiji muge, the mutual interdependence of all things, where every person, object, and event is both insignificant and essential to the whole. Watts argues that true spirituality lies in recognizing the sacred in the mundane, without the need for overt religious symbolism or ritual.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/religion-of-no-religionSun, 24 Apr 2022 15:55:00 -0700Awaken and find peace. Alan illuminates the path out of suffering with Buddhist philosophy as our guide. Through practicing the Noble Eightfold Path of skillful understanding, action, meditation, and concentration, we walk the Middle Way to freedom from clinging and awaken to our interconnected nature.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/following-the-middle-wayFri, 22 Apr 2022 12:00:00 -0700The raw beauty of nature belies a growing crisis. Watts argues the ecological predicament stems from long-held religious views of the world as separate from humankind. He urges rethinking this, and seeing ourselves as intertwined with the natural world, to find solutions.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ecology-and-religionWed, 20 Apr 2022 09:00:00 -0700Alan Watts discusses the concept of "thusness" or "suchness" in Eastern philosophy, exploring the meaning of the Sanskrit word tathātā and its potential to help us cultivate a deeper sense of presence and awareness in our daily lives.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/thusnessFri, 15 Apr 2022 05:50:00 -0700Mike McManus talks to Marshall McLuhan, the internationally-known critic of the media. McLuhan discusses modern regionalism and separatism, nostalgia, violence and identity, television as an addictive tranquilizer, propaganda, and his reasons for becoming a Roman Catholic. One of Marshall McLuhan's final interviews.Marshall McLuhanDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mcluhan-mcmanusMon, 11 Apr 2022 09:25:41 -0700Immerse yourself in a mind-expanding seminar, where Watts illuminates the illusion of time and history, how our fixation on the future breeds anxiety, and how to break free and find fulfillment in the elusive present moment.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/time-and-the-futureFri, 08 Apr 2022 15:10:00 -0700Watts reveals a simple truth to his audience at the University of California: the mind's incessant chatter is the root of all that ails a mortal's soul. By silencing its din one can get to know life's mystery.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/clarity-of-mindMon, 04 Apr 2022 09:00:00 -0700How did a test of gold’s purity revolutionize the world 2500 years ago and lead to the atomic bomb? Standardizing precious metal in coins stimulated trade from Greece to Persia, causing the construction of a huge commercial center and library at Alexandria. This wealth of nautical knowledge aided navigators 14 centuries later. Mariners discovered that the compass’s magnetized needle did not point directly north. Investigations into the nature of magnetism led to the discovery of electricity, radar and to the atomic bomb.James BurkeTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/connections-02Fri, 01 Apr 2022 21:20:00 -0700Both the beginning and the end of the story are here. The end is our present dependence on complex technological networks illustrated by the NYC power blackouts. Life came almost to a standstill: support systems are taken for granted failed. How did we become so helpless? The technology originated with the plow and agriculture. Each invention demands its own follow-up: once started, it is hard to stop. This segment ends in Kuwait, where society has leaped from ancient Egypt to the technology of today in 30 years.James BurkeTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/connections-01Fri, 01 Apr 2022 15:25:00 -0700This mesmerizing, surreal account of the bizarre adventures of Terence McKenna, his brother Dennis, and a small band of their friends, is a wild ride of exotic experience and scientific inquiry. Exploring the Amazon Basin in search of mythical shamanic hallucinogens, they encounter a host of unusual characters—including a mushroom, a flying saucer, pirate Mantids from outer space, an appearance by James and Nora Joyce in the guise of poultry, and translinguistic matter—and discover the missing link in the development of human consciousness and language.Terence McKennaBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/true-hallucinationsTue, 29 Mar 2022 12:23:10 -0700The much-sought-after early work by Terence and Dennis McKenna that looks at shamanism, altered states of consciousness, and the organic unity of the King Wen sequence of the I Ching.Terence McKennaBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/invisible-landscapeTue, 29 Mar 2022 12:17:17 -0700An exploration of humans' symbiotic relationships with plants and chemicals presents information on prehistoric partnership societies, the roles of spices and spirits in the rise of dominator societies; and the politics of tobacco, tea, coffee, opium, and alcohol.Terence McKennaBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/food-of-the-godsTue, 29 Mar 2022 11:52:09 -0700Watts explores Zen Buddhism's unconventional approach to conveying enlightenment through seemingly mundane statements or actions instead of words or teachings. He delves into various Zen stories and their commentaries, revealing how direct pointing at reality can lead to a profound realization beyond the limits of language and conceptual thinking.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-gateless-gateWed, 23 Mar 2022 17:42:38 -0700Life’s a cosmic game of peek-a-boo where the universe playfully startles itself. Embrace the depths psychedelics reveal, for they’re just the bedrock “you” under the veneer. Don’t fear the unconscious bogeys; waltz boldly into that abyss. This philosophical fun-house dares you to grapple with the great uh-oh: there’s no authority, it’s just you! But that’s enlightening, if you’re groovy enough to go with it.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/face-your-problems-head-onWed, 23 Mar 2022 12:26:15 -0700Alan says ecstasy is fleeting while insight endures. Drugs or mysticism may spark rapture, but real spirituality stems from seeing through the illusion of a separate self. This liberating insight dissolves imaginary problems, merging subject and object into a unified whole. Joy may follow, but penetrating truth remains.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/insight-and-ecstasyWed, 23 Mar 2022 08:09:25 -0700One of Terence's early presentations at Esalen—shocking, astounding, and amusing his audience with outlandish ideas.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-psychedelic-societySat, 19 Mar 2022 19:05:00 -0700What mushrooms uncover is the slumbering Lógos, the primordial inner voice, psychedelics' telepathic tidings heralding our exile's end. Visionary technologies shall synergize humanity's dreams, fusing inner and outer worlds, truth and imagination reconciled. To break ancestral chains, we must meet the paradoxical with minds ablaze, escaping platitudes’ prisons through ecstasy’s portals, whereby we’re transfigured, phoenix-like, rising renewed from the ashes of history—life’s fiery genius unbound.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/hallucinogens-before-and-after-psychologySat, 19 Mar 2022 11:10:00 -0700Terence traces the force of novelty through cosmic evolution, from the birth of the universe to the emergence of life, culture and technology. He speculates wildly about humanity's fate, musing on virtual worlds, interstellar travel, and miniaturization into fairy folk. These phantasmagoric visions reflect the inspirational power of psychedelics to unlock imagination. McKenna emphasizes open-ended thinking to envision new futures, warning against rigid ideology and fundamentalism. Ultimately he explores how psychedelic experiences can catalyze novel perspectives on existence itself.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/an-ocean-of-ideasSat, 19 Mar 2022 09:25:00 -0700Throughout history we hairless primates have been jumping higher, living longer, and getting smarter every century. From Thai stir-fry to Roman roads, knowledge doubled faster as it drifted West—till now it jumps each year! Space migration? Check. Intelligence increase through yoga, drugs, or machines? You bet. Genetic tinkering? It's coming. And indefinite lifespans? We're on the yellow brick road to divinity, to roam the stars forever, to boldly go where no ape has gone before. The future's so bright I gotta wear shades. Keep hope alive and party on!Robert Anton WilsonLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/acceleration-of-knowledgeThu, 10 Mar 2022 07:45:00 -0800Terence argues that psychedelics reconnect us to archaic values like community, reverence for nature, and direct felt experience. He sees psychedelics as part of nature's tendency to conserve complexity and novelty. McKenna critiques science's misapplication of probability theory and suggests time itself fluctuates, finally proposing an ethics of aligning with nature's creative unfolding.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nature-loves-complexitySun, 06 Mar 2022 06:41:39 -0800Donella Meadows discusses the philosophical foundations of system dynamics, a modeling approach used to understand complex systems. She emphasizes identifying causal relationships, feedback loops, rates of change, and states within systems. The goal is to model how a system’s structure generates its behavior over time, allowing for better understanding and potential intervention.Donella MeadowsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/philosophical-look-at-system-dynamicsTue, 22 Feb 2022 00:00:00 -0800Imagine attending a lecture at the turn of the twentieth century in which Orville Wright speculates about the future of transportation, or one in which Alexander Graham Bell envisages satellite communications and global data banks. Mind Children, written by an internationally renowned roboticist, offers a comparable experience: a mind-boggling glimpse of a world we may soon share with our artificial progeny. Filled with fresh ideas and insights, this book is one of the most engaging and controversial visions of the future ever written by a serious scholar.Hans MoravecBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mind-childrenSun, 06 Feb 2022 09:15:00 -0800McKenna urges us to look at plants more deeply and find within their biological organization a model for sustainable modern civilization.Terence McKennaArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/plan-plant-planetSun, 06 Feb 2022 09:05:00 -0800Peter Russell’s award-winning video explores the idea that the Earth is an integrated, self-regulating living organism, and asks what function humanity might have for this planetary being. It suggests that we stand on the threshold of a major leap in evolution, as significant as the emergence of life itself, and the essence of this leap is inner spiritual evolution. Moreover, Russell maintains that it is only through such a shift in consciousness that we will be able to manage successfully the global crises now facing us.Peter RussellVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/global-brainSat, 05 Feb 2022 14:45:00 -0800Complex systems theorist Heylighen and evolutionary biologist Wilson discuss a possible phase transition of humanity in which the members of our species become neurons in a planetary brain, utilizing the Internet as a shared exocortex.Francis Heylighen and David Sloan WilsonDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/glimpsing-the-global-brainSat, 05 Feb 2022 06:55:00 -0800Alan Watts explores modern day problems from the outlook of his own philosophy in this collection of essays, inspired mainly by Mahayana Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism. Tackling problems of economics, technology, cooking, and clothing, he offers a fresh perspective which is all too foreign to Western society and implores us to get back in touch with the sensuous materiality of the world.Alan WattsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/does-it-matterTue, 25 Jan 2022 08:55:00 -0800Bill Moyers and mythologist Joseph Campbell discuss commonalities in every culture that create a need for God, and the symbolism of circles in life and literature.Joseph Campbell and Bill MoyersTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/power-of-myth-6Tue, 25 Jan 2022 06:25:00 -0800Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers discuss the mythology of love—from kāma to agape to courtly romance—and the role of the female as the giver of life and form.Joseph Campbell and Bill MoyersTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/power-of-myth-5Tue, 25 Jan 2022 06:20:00 -0800Teilhard discusses the objective and subjective conditions necessary for humankind to maintain its passion for unification and progress. Objectively, the universe must be perceived as open and centered towards the future. Subjectively, humanity must develop a heightened sense of the irreversible, the cosmic, and a faith that serves as a driving force for the world's advancement, which he suggests can be found in a properly understood Christianity.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/psychological-conditions-unification-of-manMon, 24 Jan 2022 20:00:00 -0800Acclaimed as one of the "seminal books comparable in ultimate importance to Galileo or Malthus or Rousseau or Mill", Cybernetics was judged by twenty-seven historians, economists, educators, and philosophers to be one of those books which may have a substantial impact on public thought and action in the years ahead.Norbert WienerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cyberneticsSun, 23 Jan 2022 00:00:00 -0800Belgian philosopher Isabelle Stengers and Ilya Prigogine, winner of the Nobel Prize in 1977 for his work on the thermodynamics of non-equilibrium systems, make their ideas accessible to a wide audience in this book, which has engendered massive debate in Europe and America. Stengers and Prigogine show how the two great themes of classic science, order and chaos, which coexisted uneasily for centuries, are being reconciled in a new and unexpected synthesis.Ilya Prigogine and Isabelle StengersBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/order-out-of-chaosFri, 21 Jan 2022 11:30:00 -0800The Richard Courant lecture in mathematical sciences delivered at New York University by physicist Eugene Wigner, in which he observes that a physical theory's mathematical structure often points the way to further advances in that theory and even to empirical predictions.Eugene WignerLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/unreasonable-effectiveness-of-mathematicsFri, 21 Jan 2022 06:45:00 -0800Terence McKenna prophesies a future where technology obliterates barriers between imagination and reality. Psychedelics combined with VR could unleash humanity’s collective artistic genius. AI superintelligence may already be awakening on the internet, rendering us obsolete—or granting us godlike abilities to merge with the planetary mind. McKenna envisions downloading consciousness into machines, uplifting animal sentience, and the human diaspora splintering into cyber-cultures. While uncertain outcomes loom, he beckons us toward an unconstrained existential canvas where biology and technology intertwine to manifest our wildest psychic dreams.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/future-of-artWed, 19 Jan 2022 08:15:00 -0800If society is viewed as a superorganism, communication networks play the role of its brain. This metaphor is developed into a model for the design of a more intelligent global network. The World Wide Web, through its distributed hypermedia architecture, functions as an “associative memory”, which may “learn” by the strengthening of frequently used links. Software agents, exploring the Web through spreading activation, function as problem-solving “thoughts”. Users are integrated into this “super-brain” through direct machine interfaces and the reciprocal exchange of knowledge between individual and Web. (Published in Cybernetics and Systems ’96, p. 917–922.)Francis Heylighen and Johan BollenArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/world-wide-web-as-super-brainTue, 18 Jan 2022 12:40:00 -0800According to Whyte, the next major advance in science will consist in the use of formal principles, meaning concerned with spatial form, as contrasted with individual constituent parts. This theme is developed in a crescendo from atoms to the creative power of the human intellect with disarming eloquence and elegance, with frequent taunts agsint the neglect of formal and formative principles in present-day science.Lancelot Law WhyteBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/accent-on-formTue, 18 Jan 2022 10:40:00 -0800An attempt to offer a new foundation establishing unity and order in knowledge so far as science is concerned. Whyte suggests that this new foundation is to be based on describing process from a new standpoint: the Unitary Principle.Lancelot Law WhyteBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/unitary-principle-in-physics-and-biologyTue, 18 Jan 2022 10:35:00 -0800This paper discusses the meaning of the concept of ‘second-order observation’ used by Niklas Luhmann (1927–1998). Luhmann identifies second-order observation as a defining characteristic of modern world society. According to Luhmann, all social systems construct a social reality on the basis of the observation of observations. Rating agencies in the economy or the peer-review process in the academic system are examples of social mechanisms manifesting second-order observation. Social media also represent organized second-order observation. The paper suggests that in a society based on second-order observation, ‘genuine pretending’ is an adequate mode of existence. This notion is derived from the Daoist text Zhuangzi. It indicates a disassociation from social roles which allows their performers to exercise these roles with ease and, at the same time, maintain a state of sanity. (Published in Thesis Eleven 2017, Vol. 143(I) 28–43.)Hans-Georg MoellerArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/second-order-observationMon, 17 Jan 2022 11:30:00 -0800The power to see into the future with computers originally rested with priest-astronomers who knew the proper times to plant and harvest. The constellations influenced life spectacularly, particularly when the ailing Caliph of Baghdad was cured by an astrologer using Greek lore. His ancient medical secrets were translated and spread throughout Europe, ushering in an era of scientific inquiry. The need for more precise measuring devices in navigation gave rise to the pendulum clock, the telescope, forged steel and interchangeable machine parts—the basis of modern industry.James BurkeTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/connections-05Sat, 15 Jan 2022 10:45:00 -0800Keynes argues that due to technological advancements and capital accumulation, the economic problem of scarcity will be solved within a century, ushering in an age of abundance. He predicts higher living standards, shorter workweeks, and a shift in moral values away from the love of money. However, he cautions that this transition will be challenging, requiring society to find new purpose beyond subsistence.John Maynard KeynesEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/economic-possibilitiesThu, 13 Jan 2022 15:30:00 -0800By 2050 robot "brains" based on computers that execute 100 trillion instructions per second will start rivaling human intelligence.Hans MoravecArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/rise-of-the-robotsThu, 13 Jan 2022 06:55:00 -0800Robotics pioneer Hans Moravec traces the evolution of artificial intelligence, contrasting the "shallow ripples" of reasoning programs with the "deep puddles" of perception systems. Though reasoning AIs currently outperform humans on some tasks, Moravec contends they cannot match the murky depths of the subconscious mind. Instead, he foresees a new generation of increasingly capable consumer robots, their lizard- then mammal-like brains modeled on biology. Passing through stages akin to evolution, Moravec argues market forces will drive these machines to one day exceed human intelligence.Hans MoravecEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ripples-and-puddlesThu, 13 Jan 2022 06:45:00 -0800Building on theories from his acclaimed Mind and Nature, Bateson goes beyond his earlier milestone work in this inquiry into the essence of science and the importance of the "sacred" in the natural world.Gregory Bateson and Mary Catherine BatesonBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/angels-fearThu, 13 Jan 2022 06:05:00 -0800We stand at the dawn of a new era for humanity. As Teilhard de Chardin observed, cosmic forces are propelling our social evolution. Though born of gravitational forces, our consciousness now rises with its own creative power to bring forth previously unimagined realms of thought and social organization. Our future lies in our hands.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/phenomenon-of-human-societyWed, 12 Jan 2022 18:25:00 -0800Life's essence transcends scientific scrutiny. Though such examination reduces life to physical mechanisms, synthesis reveals the boundless consciousness and freedom underlying all existence. As Teilhard de Chardin contemplated, life organizes chance through each being's innate creativity. From this vision, we can glimpse life's mystical emergence.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/analysis-of-lifeMon, 10 Jan 2022 19:05:00 -0800In his signature wide-ranging style, McKenna explores culture, shamanism, psychedelics, and humanity's collective journey through spacetime. He advocates embracing the ineffable mystery unfolding through us, moving toward a hyperspatial cyberculture. To rediscover our shared humanity, we must trust the transformative wisdom of psychedelic plants.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/conclusions-about-lifeSat, 08 Jan 2022 14:45:00 -0800Teilhard de Chardin articulates his vision of human evolution culminating in cosmic unity with the Christ—the ultimate center of consciousness and complexity in the universe.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/stuff-of-the-universeThu, 06 Jan 2022 19:40:00 -0800In this compressed world, humanity feels the squeeze. But despair not! This pressure cooker of co-reflection may be evolution's secret recipe for elevating consciousness. As we rub elbows and neurons, a tantalizing possibility emerges on the horizon: a cosmic convergence of minds, a "conspiration" of monads. Will this psychic attraction be our salvation, harmonizing the restless billions? The thinking earth must choose: chaotic crush or convergent release. Intriguing times ahead!Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/reflections-on-the-compression-of-mankindWed, 05 Jan 2022 19:45:00 -0800A widely distributed early paper on the applicability (or lack thereof) of government on the rapidly growing Internet. Commissioned for the pioneering Internet project 24 Hours in Cyberspace, it was written by John Perry Barlow, a founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and published online. It was written primarily in response to the passing into law of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 in the United States. The audio recording of Barlow reading the Declaration was made in 2013 by the Department of Records.John Perry BarlowSpeechhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cyberspace-independence-declarationTue, 04 Jan 2022 14:30:00 -0800Alan says psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin can provide religious insight, but should be used with spiritual discipline to integrate the mystical experience into everyday life. He critiques psychiatry’s lack of metaphysical grounding and calls for medical and religious professionals to work together on psychedelics. Watts emphasizes psychedelics’ potential as a bridge between mystical and ordinary consciousness, while warning against spiritual inflation or romanticizing substances. Overall he presents a balanced perspective, exploring psychedelics as tools for self-knowledge that require wisdom in application.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/psychedelic-experienceWed, 29 Dec 2021 18:15:00 -0800Zen: the art of catching yourself in a cosmic game of tag! Watts unveils how Zen masters craftily set up double-binds, pushing seekers to chase their tails in pursuit of authenticity. It’s a merry-go-round of “be spontaneous!” and “don’t try!” until—pop!—the illusion of a separate self bursts like a soap bubble. In this whimsical dance of paradoxes, Watts reveals that the ultimate punchline of Zen is realizing there was never anyone there to get the joke in the first place!Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/buddhism-as-dialogueTue, 28 Dec 2021 09:05:00 -0800A thorough mathematical analysis of the spontaneous arising of new order in a fluctuating system, and how insights from dissipative chemical systems may be applied to large-scale social contexts.Ilya PrigogineArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/order-through-fluctuationSun, 26 Dec 2021 20:35:00 -0800Seldom do we have an opportunity to test the accuracy of oracular predictions, but this fascinating conversation between two great thinkers has already proven to be right on target. Speculations include the future evolutionary development of the Internet, whether it is an embryonic intelligence, whether it will merge our minds into a planetary consciousness, or whether it is an alien brain waiting for humanity to cross an evolutionary threshold. Let the bard and the chaos theorist weave an exquisite cybernetic fantasy for you in this evening seminar.Terence McKenna and Ralph AbrahamWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/world-wide-web-and-millenniumTue, 21 Dec 2021 22:35:00 -0800In this discussion, Fritjof Capra discusses systems thinking, the cognitive dimension of life, nonlinear causality, emergence of novelty in living systems, ethics, world problems and solutions, transformative learning, and the importance of community. He covers the systems view of life from his book and emphasizes relationships, interconnectedness, and sustainability.Fritjof CapraSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/world-is-a-networkTue, 21 Dec 2021 12:55:00 -0800This article outlines a theory of the economy of attention constituting the logic of the mass media in contemporary social life, focusing on celebrity as the key manifestation of the accumulation of attention capital. I explain how the mass media exchange information and entertainment for attention, which is in turn monetised via advertising. The field of celebrity is a ‘vanity fair’ functioning as a stock exchange of attention capital – measured in circulation and viewing figures, ratings, likes, visits and so on – a form of capital that earns interest and generates additional income for those in its proximity. Overall, I argue that we are living in an era of ‘mental capitalism’ in which the relations of production themselves have inverted the relationship between the material and mental worlds, so that the realm of ideas is now the driving economic force. The article concludes by outlining the shape of a new, quaternary sector of the economy, characterised by de-materialisation and virtualisation, and raise the question of whether a focus on new forms of virtual and ideational value might possibly improve the sustainability of the world we live in, if the struggle for attention replaces the struggle for material goods.Georg FranckArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/economy-of-attentionTue, 21 Dec 2021 10:40:00 -0800Journeying through multiple dimensions of psychedelic consciousness, Terence McKenna's visionary weekend workshop invites us on an entheogenic voyage to the frontiers of the mind and its imminent conquering of matter. Blending scientific insights with shamanic wisdom, McKenna argues that natural plant medicines like psilocybin and DMT provide portals into mystical realms and alien dimensions, catalyzing revelations about nature, reality, and the human psyche. He urges us to courageously explore these consciousness-expanding substances, seeking the gratuitous beauty and truths they unveil. For McKenna, the psychedelic experience holds secrets to our world and ourselves—if only we dare lift the veil.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/valley-of-noveltySat, 11 Dec 2021 11:20:00 -0800A report on modern attempts to account for the origin and properties of living organisms, including man, by means of the principles of physics. It concludes that biology is a branch of physical science, and man is only (and astoundingly) a complex kind of machine.Dean WooldridgeBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mechanical-manFri, 10 Dec 2021 15:50:00 -0800The global brain can be conceived most fundamentally as a higher level of evolution, the way humans form a higher level of organization that evolved out of the animals. Although the analogy between an organism and a society can be applied even to primitive societies, it becomes clearly more applicable as technology develops. As transport and communication become more efficient, different parts of global society become more interdependent. At the same time, the variety of ideas, specializations, and subcultures increases. This simultaneous integration and differentiation creates an increasingly coherent system, functioning at a much higher level of complexity.Francis HeylighenResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/global-brain-as-a-new-utopiaSun, 05 Dec 2021 17:30:00 -0800A talk on the impact of science and technology on man's role in the natural world.Richard Buckminster FullerLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/progress-through-fearMon, 29 Nov 2021 07:00:00 -0800Life and death, pleasure and pain, light and dark—Alan Watts playfully ponders how supposed opposites are really inseparable. He invites us to stop stressing about oblivion, for the “nothingness” of death births new life, just as night births stars. He urges us to let go of human anxiety over existence itself. Why fret when we can simply hum and realize the dance of being? Life’s profound ballet unfolds when we embrace the yin-yang harmony of opposites.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/psychology-of-mystical-experienceSat, 27 Nov 2021 14:50:00 -0800Bill Moyers and mythologist Joseph Campbell discuss the role of sacrifice in myth—including a mother’s sacrifice for her child—and the need for all of us to find our sacred places in the midst of today’s fast-paced world. Joseph Campbell and Bill MoyersTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/power-of-myth-4Fri, 19 Nov 2021 20:45:00 -0800Terence McKenna explored themes of accelerating complexity, impending radical shifts in human reality, and the continuity between our changing relationship with Earth and a new cosmic modality transcending our fragile ecosystem. He posited history as a self-limiting 25,000-year process reaching its climax, suggesting individual acts of “midwifery” can ease this epochal transition. He also cautioned about combining psychoactive compounds without proper expertise.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/birth-of-a-new-humanityThu, 18 Nov 2021 07:40:00 -0800In a passionate plea, McKenna urges us to embrace psychedelic experiences as a means to dissolve boundaries, connect with the Gaian mind, and find the vision necessary to address the ecological crises threatening our planet. Advocating a radical shift towards eco-consciousness, he calls for a global community built on love, responsibility, and reverence for the wisdom of nature.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/reawakening-our-connectionMon, 08 Nov 2021 08:30:00 -0800This talk explores the Taoist philosophy of living fully in the present moment without attachment to the past or future. According to Watts, following the Tao involves acting spontaneously and effortlessly without forcing, appreciating the interconnected nature of all things, and seeing through illusions of the ego and continuity of self across time. The goal is to experience each instant purely without getting caught up in intellectualizations.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/taoist-waySun, 07 Nov 2021 13:00:00 -0800A whimsical reflection on humanity's journey toward ever-greater connectedness, from the cosmic singularity to the noosphere's fanciful manifestations. Could the shamanic alchemist's mythic intuition, the goddess's wisdom, and capitalism's impatient urge together guide us to the stars and back to Eden? An optimistic revelry.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/shamanism-alchemy-millenniumSat, 06 Nov 2021 13:45:00 -0700Einstein addresses problems with capitalism, predatory economic competition, and growing wealth inequality. He highlights control of mass media by private capitalists making it difficult for citizens to arrive at objective conclusions, and political parties being influenced by wealthy financial backers resulting in an “oligarchy of private capital.” Einstein concludes that these problems can only be corrected with planned economies to maintain a strong democracy and protect the rights of individuals.Albert EinsteinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/why-socialismMon, 01 Nov 2021 08:45:00 -0700Teilhard explores the choices facing humanity as it undergoes the process of socialization, and examines four paths: pessimism, optimism with withdrawal, individualistic pluralism, and convergent unity. He argues for the path of convergent unity, where socialization leads not to loss of individuality but to differentiation and personalization within a unifying whole, fulfilling humanity’s evolutionary trajectory toward higher consciousness.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/grand-optionSun, 31 Oct 2021 19:05:00 -0700This seminar explores the concept of consciousness and its limitations. Watts discusses the lack of depth in certain analytical approaches, highlighting the need for individuals to find harmony with life and death. He emphasizes the enrichment that comes from realizing the significance of everything and the potential healing effects of altering our state of consciousness. Watts also touches on the influence of scientific naturalism on modern psychiatry and shares a personal account of a transformative experience.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/psychotherapy-and-metaphysicsSun, 31 Oct 2021 12:35:00 -0700In this public radio broadcast, Alan explores the origin of the desire for meaningfulness. In the search for satisfaction, what is it that is really sought for or yearned after? The talk turns from academic discussion into poetry. What is the meaning of significance?Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/sense-of-nonsenseTue, 26 Oct 2021 22:15:00 -0700Watts recounts a woman's experience of mystical insight under anesthesia and her yearning to regain it. He suggests not seeking the experience, but realizing one's ordinary state is still part of the universal harmony glimpsed then. Like the disciple who ignored the mahout's warning because all is Brahman, we should heed our present feelings too as part of the whole.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/smell-of-burnt-almondsSat, 23 Oct 2021 16:50:00 -0700A cosmic battle rages between those who proclaim “We are moving!” and the immobilists who insist “Nothing changes.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin passionately argues that the universe progresses through mankind’s collective evolution of consciousness. For him, Christianity’s future lies in recognizing this biological genesis unfolding—the cosmos physically realizing its psychic fulfillment through humanity striving to form one united Body of Christ.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/a-note-on-progressWed, 20 Oct 2021 14:35:00 -0700Immediately after landing on Earth, actor William Shatner recounts his experience seeing our planet from space for the first time during his trip on Blue Origin's NS-18 suborbital flight.William ShatnerSpeechhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/shatner-in-spaceMon, 18 Oct 2021 21:35:00 -0700What kind of a theory of the universe would it take for us to willingly accept the pain, turmoil, chaos, heartbreak, and suffering that comes with the state of being a consciously aware and individuated Self?Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/joyous-cosmology-lectureMon, 18 Oct 2021 11:50:00 -0700Watts tackles the everlasting taboo of sex in Western religion, and suggests we thank our prudish parents for making it so interesting.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/sex-in-the-churchFri, 15 Oct 2021 13:05:00 -0700Most people grow up learning to treat life as a problem, a set of circumstances which must be controlled with an iron will. Some transcend this view, realizing there is no problem and nothing to attain. In that state of mind it becomes possible to act without intention, to have “controlled accidents,” and in so doing one may rejoin society as a whimsical rascal who breaks things to improve them.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/zen-controlled-accidentThu, 14 Oct 2021 16:45:00 -0700Alan talks about unexamined assumptions that underlie our commonsense beliefs which may cause confusion in our thinking about nature.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/hidden-belief-systemsWed, 06 Oct 2021 15:10:00 -0700An interview conducted by John B. Kennedy and published in the January 30, 1926 issue of Collier's magazine.Nikola TeslaArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/colliers-interview-nikola-teslaFri, 24 Sep 2021 15:45:00 -0700This far-out lecture held at the Carnegie Art Museum riffs on art, shamanism, psychedelics, and saving the planet. Terence sees artists as modern shamans who can reconnect us to the Gaian mind. He thinks we're an infant species held in nature's arms, but we've got to get our act together fast and let the irrational muse guide us, or we'll trash the place. Heavy stuff, but optimistically visionary.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/opening-the-doors-of-creativityThu, 23 Sep 2021 08:00:00 -0700Alan talks about the upcoming revolution in which Western society will have to come to grips with the existence of the psychedelic/mystical experience, and how to integrate it into our culture in a productive, fulfilling, and responsible manner. Included are personal recollections of DMT and LSD trips experienced by Watts himself, why the utilization of psychedelic drugs should be seen as a tool, his vision of a psychedelic campus for guided mystical experiences, and why prohibition is doomed to failure.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/psychedelic-explosionSun, 19 Sep 2021 17:45:00 -0700Teilhard claims democracy expresses humanity's evolutionary drive to unite while preserving individual uniqueness. Liberty, equality, and fraternity are biological imperatives pushing us toward higher consciousness. True democracy balances personal freedom with collective purpose through our shared evolutionary destiny.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/essence-of-the-democratic-ideaSat, 11 Sep 2021 06:35:00 -0700Carl Sagan as he unveils the profound insignificance of Earth within the vast expanse of the universe. He challenges our anthropocentric biases, urging us to embrace a more humble perspective. Sagan emphasizes the interconnectedness of life, highlighting the shared ancestry between humans and other species. He advocates for space exploration as a means of safeguarding humanity's future while emphasizing the importance of scientific literacy for navigating the challenges of our time.Carl SaganDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/studio-2-interviewThu, 09 Sep 2021 16:30:00 -0700Is there in the universe a main axis of evolution? Pierre Teilhard de Chardin argues for the centrality and progressive direction of life, human thought, and social bonds in cosmic unfolding. His four propositions lead to the bold claim that Christianity drives humanity's spiritual ascent, culminating in a transcendent fulfillment.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/position-of-man-in-natureMon, 06 Sep 2021 17:55:00 -0700We live in critical, apocalyptic times. In these five lectures, given just after the end of the First World War and in the midst of trying to effect the social-political life of his times with the movement for a threefold social order, Steiner focuses on the vital task of developing a right orientation toward the spirit: a free spiritual life. With great compassion and understanding he shows how humanity must walk a conscious middle path between the two “tempting” powers of Lucifer and Ahriman. He tells of the incarnation of Lucifer in the third millennium BCE, from which flowed not only the wisdom of paganism but also the intellectual consciousness we enjoy today. Ahriman is shown to be approaching humanity through phenomena such as materialism, nationalism, and literalism in preparation for his incarnation in the millennium now opening. It must not be thought, however, that these two powers work apart: on the contrary, they work more and more together. Our task is to hold them in balance, continually permeating the one with the other. Doing this requires a new form of conscious spirituality.Rudolf SteinerLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/lucifer-and-ahrimanSun, 05 Sep 2021 10:45:00 -0700Where does pleasure come from? What are we trying to achieve in our frantic day-to-day activities? Why are we in such a hurry? And why do all of our efforts to pin the universe down and bring it under our control dial up the misery?Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/pursuit-of-pleasureSun, 05 Sep 2021 09:00:00 -0700Dive into the enchanting world of Alan Watts as he delves into the captivating dance between instinct and drive. Uncover the tapestry of our desires, woven intricately into our very beings rather than mere whims. Watts waltzes through the profound corridors of mortality, illuminating the beauty that arises when we embrace life's fleeting nature. Join this intellectual soirée, where courage and liberation await your discovery.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/on-instinctTue, 31 Aug 2021 06:00:00 -0700Terence McKenna weaves a tapestry of ideas exploring fractal time, the psychedelic mushroom's potent voice, and humanity's impending transcendence into a galactic, post-biological singularity. Brace yourself for a journey through the uncharted realms of novelty and consciousness expansion.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/syntax-of-psychedelic-timeSat, 28 Aug 2021 15:50:00 -0700Terence McKenna asks the fundamental question concerning natural hallucinogens: is it an accident of nature that certain plants and mushrooms can alter human awareness in profound ways? He argues that man and hallucinogenic plants and mushrooms have co-evolved. These botanicals provide a way for people to experience their spiritual nature, and throughout history have been used by shamans whose function is to enter altered states in order to perceive the spiritual causes behind ordinary reality. Delivered at the Masonic Temple during a gathering of the Los Angeles Mycological Society.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mushrooms-evolution-and-the-millenniumSat, 28 Aug 2021 15:25:00 -0700The coming together of dream, film, and psychedelics in the twentieth century set the stage for the archaic revival. McKenna gives us a look through the window of our potential as humans. He helps put the hysteria of our time into perspective and gives a path that could help us to deal with this strange and wonderful world we live in. A must-listen seminar for those interested in human potential.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/history-ends-in-greenSat, 28 Aug 2021 15:20:00 -0700Buck the status quo! Rebel philosopher Terence McKenna shook things up in this closing speech after a month of being scholar-in-residence at Esalen, arguing that reality escapes our rational grasp. He chided science and philosophy's paltry models that diminish nature's infinitude. Seeking to spur his audience from passive acceptance, McKenna called to revere expanded consciousness. He urged toppling the assumptions bolstering dominator culture to midwife more liberated, psychedelically-attuned societies. By trusting our intuition's cosmic tether, we can transform reality into something stranger and more wonderful than we suppose.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/psychedelic-point-of-viewSat, 28 Aug 2021 14:20:00 -0700This insightful booklet illuminates Zen Buddhism's iconoclastic yet practical approach to awakening one's mind to the timeless Reality beyond concepts. Watts skillfully conveys how Zen uses spontaneity, humor, and shock tactics to point directly to the ever-present "now." A thoughtful exploration for any seeker.Alan WattsEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/zen-buddhismSat, 28 Aug 2021 08:00:00 -0700An ingenious delineation of the age-old magnetism between male and female in which a clock face is used to chart the twelve libidinal types that attract and repel.Alan WattsArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/circle-of-sexFri, 27 Aug 2021 12:25:00 -0700Alan Watts explores the nature of commerce and money. He argues that we’ve lost sight of the purpose of technology—to reduce labor and increase leisure. Instead, we’re trapped in rituals and mindsets that no longer serve us. He advocates for rethinking our relationship with work, trusting employees, and embracing a more relaxed, purposeful attitude towards money and business.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/on-commerceThu, 26 Aug 2021 10:55:00 -0700Through the example of a city, Alan encourages his listeners to reevaluate the definition of their personal identities. Is a person a fully autonomous agent, or might they be a cell in a vast organism? Perhaps it’s necessary to understand both perspectives and recognize that each scale of magnitude depends on all others to manifest as it does.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/truth-and-relativityWed, 25 Aug 2021 17:25:00 -0700Watts presents a core Eastern philosophy of the world as a dramatic illusion, and that it exists for no other reason except to be experienced in a playful manner.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/world-as-playSun, 22 Aug 2021 17:30:00 -0700“A Journey to Unthinking”—introducing Eastern traditions of yoga. Alan describes the entrance into the unspeakable reality, first from the East by practices of dhyāna yoga and zazen, and then from the West through the intellectual perspectives of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Spencer Brown. East and West all arrive at the same mysterious That Which Is Unspeakable.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/intellectual-yogaWed, 18 Aug 2021 17:00:00 -0700Alan reminds his audience that our mental image of the world is just an internal fairy tale loosely related to the truth of reality. Paying attention to our immediate sensory experiences can therefore help us lift this thought-tainted veil, an action which reveals the magic of being far better than any words ever could.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/not-what-should-be-but-what-isTue, 17 Aug 2021 05:00:00 -0700Watts beckons us to peer past the veil, where remembering and forgetting engage in a cosmic dance. Traverse the paradoxical streams of jiriki and tariki, self-power and other-power, until the very concept of “I” dissolves like a dewtopped lotus. Prepare to be unshackled and uninhibited, for in the quest for nothingness lies the quintessence of everythingness.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/diamond-wayMon, 16 Aug 2021 14:10:00 -0700Bill Moyers and mythologist Joseph Campbell discuss the importance of accepting death as rebirth as in the myth of the buffalo and the story of Christ, rites of passage in primitive societies, the role of mystical Shamans and the decline of ritual in today’s society. Campbell explains how ancient myths were designed to “put the mind in accord with the body, and the way of life in accord with the way nature dictates.” As one example, Campbell explains how myths bring humans to understand and accept birth, growth and death.Joseph Campbell and Bill MoyersTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/power-of-myth-3Sun, 15 Aug 2021 19:45:00 -0700This workshop, held at the Nature Friends Lodge, revolves around how psychedelics dissolve boundaries, connect us to the transcendental, and reveal the novel realities underlying our perceived mundane existence. Terence explores how shamanic techniques give access to higher dimensions of consciousness, and describes history as an ever-accelerating process approaching an eschatological transformation or singularity.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-world-and-its-doubleSun, 15 Aug 2021 07:40:00 -0700Presented at the Shared Visions bookstore.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/shedding-the-monkeyThu, 12 Aug 2021 16:55:00 -0700Presented at the Shared Visions bookstore, Terence talks about humanity's path towards greater consciousness, and attempts to take a glance at what comes after the Omega Point.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nature-is-the-center-of-the-mandalaTue, 10 Aug 2021 09:30:00 -0700Beyond perception's veil lies a hidden reality accessible through sacred plants. McKenna describes fantastical tryptamine journeys to alien dimensions, encounters with self-transforming machine elves, and the Overmind behind reality. These shamanic technologies induce total revelation, ecstatic communion, even our apocalyptic transcendence. McKenna demands science and religion gaze again into psychedelic infinity’s abyss where something mysteriously beckons.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/new-and-old-maps-of-hyperspaceMon, 09 Aug 2021 11:15:00 -0700McKenna takes us on a mind-bending ride about language, questioning if words unveil reality or cloak it. He suggests peering behind the linguistic curtain with nature and psychedelics, helping reveal life's magical depths where fairies and elves await to make deals that unleash self-transforming possibilities. But he cautions, the storytelling mushrooms can dupe you with their wit. Tread lightly.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/intentionality-of-meaningThu, 05 Aug 2021 16:15:00 -0700McKenna discusses how rapidly advancing technologies like nanotech, biotech, and the internet are converging and taking on a life of their own, bootstrapping information to higher levels of connectivity. He sees this leading to a virtual world where we can share inner visions and dissolve differences.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/evolutionary-importance-of-technologyTue, 03 Aug 2021 09:25:00 -0700All the patterns we see around us in the world are projections of our minds. There is no way things should be, there is no way things shouldn’t be. But if humans can adopt a mental discipline in which they remain able to project patterns without becoming hung up on them, life for everyone will transform into a beautiful artwork.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/birth-death-unbornSat, 31 Jul 2021 07:35:00 -0700Huxley outlines what society’s ultimate revolution would look like: a scientific dictatorship where people will be conditioned to enjoy their servitude, and who will pose little opposition to the ruling oligarchy, as he puts it. He also takes a moment to compare his book Brave New World to George Orwell’s 1984, and considers the technique in the latter too outdated for actual implementation.Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ultimate-revolutionThu, 29 Jul 2021 12:50:00 -0700The spiritual path is a groovy ride, my friends. We expected enlightenment right away in the sixties, but it’s a longer trip than that. We got high on siddhis and phenomena, but true freedom demands surrender of who you think you are. It’s a journey of being human, embracing suffering with joy. Use every experience as your curriculum to cultivate compassion and presence. Stay true to yourself and let your life be your message.Ram DassLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/promises-and-pitfallsWed, 28 Jul 2021 08:30:00 -0700Prof. Erwin Lazlo speaks about the need for a new ethics of planetary consciousness. The interview was produced by Peter Ocskay in 1997 for the Baltic University Programme TV-series Mission Possible.Ervin LászlóVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/planetary-consciousnessFri, 23 Jul 2021 19:10:00 -0700A modern take on Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s The Phenomenon of Man and Peter Russell’s The Global Brain, Nate Hagens describes the “Great Simplification:” an inevitable economic and cultural transition beginning in the not-too-distant future.Nate HagensVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/great-simplificationThu, 22 Jul 2021 19:00:00 -0700This talk was recorded during the time that Terence McKenna and Sheldon Rocklin were filming the Coincidencia Oppositorum: A Union of Opposites documentary for Mysic Fire. Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/winter-kingWed, 21 Jul 2021 12:10:00 -0700Alan unveils the esoteric path of Vajrayana Buddhism, a web of mantras and vivid symbols designed to plunge the seeker into the jeweled depths of inner consciousness. Through paradox and unconvention, one embraces the cosmic dance of opposites, letting go of ego efforts to realize the primordial state of spontaneous enlightenment. This way of fascination and surprise contrasts the ascetic vehicles, inviting one to become utterly absorbed in life’s mystery.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/wisdom-of-the-mountainsTue, 13 Jul 2021 19:20:00 -0700What if psychedelic plants sparked humanity’s awakening? McKenna (speaking at the 1991 Whole Life Expo) contends these mind-altering substances dissolved the egos of early humans, bonded communities, and revealed cosmic consciousness, catalyzing rapid cultural progress. He asserts modern society suffers from severing this link to nature and spirit, and calls us to reclaim this “archaic revival” before consumerism leads civilization over the brink.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/seeking-the-stoneThu, 08 Jul 2021 21:40:00 -0700Alan discusses ways in which Western civilization confuses symbols with reality and introduces meditation and its associated gadgets as tools to get in touch with reality. Then he encourages his audience to cast off their reliance on symbols by guiding them through various mantra in a half-hour demonstration of this intelligent mindlessness.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/intelligent-mindlessnessTue, 06 Jul 2021 19:00:00 -0700Can magic mushrooms save the world? Terence McKenna makes the case that today's global youth culture is reviving ancient shamanic techniques to dissolve ego boundaries and empower imagination. Tracing this impulse back to prehistoric mushroom use, McKenna sees history fast approaching a transcendental tipping point. To end the modern era's disequilibrium, he argues we must reconnect with the mystical power of psychedelic plants. McKenna paints a mind-bending vision of how neo-shamanic youth, guided by plant teachers, can lift humanity into a new golden age of ecological harmony and psychic unity.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/alchemical-youthTue, 29 Jun 2021 10:30:00 -0700This talk plucks at the root of discontent in modern life. Watts reveals how society tricks children into chasing an always elusive happiness down the road, never to be found in the here and now. But ah, to truly live this moment! That is the secret. Let Alan dispel the myth of your separation from the joys inherent in our shared existence.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/man-is-a-hoaxTue, 29 Jun 2021 06:45:00 -0700During a seminar at the New College of Sausalito, Alan asks: what is an aesthetically satisfying composition—not just in the visual and auditory arts, but also in the arrangement of the universe?Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/landscape-soundscapeSun, 27 Jun 2021 15:30:00 -0700McKenna discussed his theory that humanity is accelerating towards a transcendental object at the end of time, propelled by ever-increasing novelty. He argued that the internet and new technologies like virtual reality are expanding consciousness in this trajectory. McKenna was especially excited about the legal psychedelic salvia divinorum, urging people to explore it and other plants as allies toward reaching higher states of awareness before the culmination of cosmic evolution.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/plot-thickens-stakes-riseSun, 27 Jun 2021 13:00:00 -0700Beginning with his prophecy that the United States of America will no longer exist in the year 2000, Alan introduces us to a possible utopia which he discerned in his vision of the future. Topics include automation, guaranteed universal incomes, the confusion of money with wealth, changing work ethics, and the grim necessity of our learning how to sensuously enjoy luxury if we want to avoid total destruction.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/usa-2000Thu, 24 Jun 2021 21:15:00 -0700Modern experience forces philosophy and social thought to confront the basic problems of value. Is this life worth caring about? How can we find a way between the deceit of fanatical belief and despair? In the view of Lancelot Law Whyte, the essential challenge to mankind today is an underlying nihilism promoting violence and frustrating sane policies on major social issues. Avoiding the seductive trap of utopianism, Whyte approaches this challenge by defining the terms of a potentially worldwide consensus of heart, mind, and will.Lancelot Law WhyteBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/universe-of-experienceTue, 22 Jun 2021 06:00:00 -0700Alan discusses the different states of consciousness which the human mind can attain, and some of the chemical compounds which may serve as tools to reach these mental realms.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/transformation-of-consciousnessMon, 21 Jun 2021 20:30:00 -0700Koestler examines the notion that the parts of the human brain-structure which account for reason and emotion are not fully coordinated. This kind of deficiency may explain the paranoia, violence, and insanity that are central parts of human history, according to Koestler’s challenging analysis of the human predicament.Arthur KoestlerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ghost-in-the-machineMon, 21 Jun 2021 14:00:00 -0700Does God really rule over humans like a monarch, or might the concept of divinity express itself as a drama through all of us?Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/democracy-in-the-kingdomMon, 21 Jun 2021 06:25:00 -0700Talking to an audience at San José State University, Alan Watts recounts the first time he tried consciousness-altering substances after meeting Aldous Huxley. He argues that Western society largely isn’t ready for the mystical experience which can be triggered in these mental states, but nonetheless advocates for them, as they may arouse positive transformation in the human collectivity.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/turning-the-head-or-turning-onSat, 19 Jun 2021 18:05:00 -0700At his weekend workshop Terence led attendees on an intellectual odyssey traversing psychedelics, virtual reality, technology, culture, spirituality, and the evolution of novelty over time. Blending philosophy, futurology, and mysticism, he explored humanity's relationship with nature and machines, challenging participants to think critically, create freely, and keep an open mind. The goal was to expand consciousness and uncover deeper truths about existence.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/countdown-into-complexityFri, 18 Jun 2021 07:30:00 -0700Alan says Christianity is ultimately a solemn faith which sees the world's essence as inherently tragic. Within its core, he illuminates three tenets: the timeless gulf between creator and creature, the ceaseless battle of good versus evil, and the everlasting division amongst individuals.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/problem-with-christianityThu, 17 Jun 2021 19:20:00 -0700Each development in the organization of systems (political, economic, mechanical, electronic) influences the next, by logic, by genius, by chance, or by utterly unforeseen events. The transition from the Middle ages to the Renaissance was influenced by the rise of commercialism, a sudden change in climate, famine and the Black Death, which set the stage for the invention of the printing press.James BurkeTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/connections-04Thu, 03 Jun 2021 13:25:00 -0700Telecommunications exist because the Normans wore stirrups at the Battle of Hastings, a simple advance that caused a revolution in the increasingly expensive science of warfare. Europe turned its attention to making money to wage wars. As mine shafts were dug deeper, they became flooded, stimulating scientists like Galileo to investigate vacuums, air pressure and other natural laws to mine deeper silver. This led to the discovery of electricity and magnetism’s relationship and to the development of radio, and deep space telecommunications that may enable contact with galactic civilizations.James BurkeTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/connections-03Fri, 28 May 2021 05:45:00 -0700Mary Oliver explores the beauty of nature and the importance of solitude and observation. She reflects on her life, her love of poetry, and her deep connection to the natural world. Through essays, she encourages readers to pay attention, be present, and find meaning in the simplest moments. Oliver's lyrical prose inspires a deeper appreciation for the world around us and the profound impact of nature on the human spirit.Mary OliverBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/upstreamWed, 26 May 2021 08:55:00 -0700Buddhism sees life as drama—the Self playing hide and seek, getting lost for fun. It strips Hinduism for export, pursuing enlightenment not through beliefs but direct experience of who you really are beyond the separate ego. Through dialectic questioning, it demolishes all concepts you cling to, shaking your foundations until you let go into a state of insecurity that amazingly equals freedom. The teacher seems perfectly sane having nothing to hold onto, inspiring you to be alright that way too.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/journey-to-indiaMon, 24 May 2021 06:05:00 -0700Terence visited Granary Books’ exhibition of books and prints by Timothy C. Ely in July 1991, and his empathetic and eloquent understanding of Ely’s work inspired a collaboration. Philip Gallo typographically interpreted McKenna’s text, which was printed letterpress on Rives BFK. The text appears on, around, and between Ely’s original painted and drawn images, which Ely describes as “articulated glossolalia refracted from the writing.” Only 75 copies were printed.Terence McKennaBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/synesthesiaSun, 23 May 2021 09:30:00 -0700Enjoy an introductory explanation of Zen in this episode, including fundamental principles and the process of joining a monastery in search for answers.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-19Thu, 20 May 2021 16:00:00 -0700What lies behind the fluttering forms we see? No clay, cries Buddhism, just a ceaseless dance devoid of stuff and substance. Grasping at ghosts within grants no relief, rather anxiety’s siege. Freedom rides life’s wave instead of taking cover. Be sage and bodhisattva mid melody, summoning the courtesan’s carefree bliss. Embrace experience utterly, no escaper you need be. For the void is full, if we still our need to fill.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-20Thu, 20 May 2021 16:00:00 -0700Science precisely describes nature’s wiggly forms by classifying them into yes/no boxes to predict and control the environment. Yet there is ignorance in seeing life as a contest between order and chaos. These principles contain each other; their realization is awakening. Rather than a crude survival struggle, we can see nature’s forms as a joyful cosmic dance, like wise fishes delightedly circling in unity.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-21Thu, 20 May 2021 16:00:00 -0700Terence recounts his lifelong fascination with the transcendent, psychedelic realm, arguing that these mind-expanding experiences are central to the human condition and hold the key to understanding and transforming our troubled world. Drawing on personal anecdotes and a deep dive into the history and science of psychedelics, he makes a compelling case for embracing this forbidden, yet vital, aspect of our shared reality. If allowed to blossom, it could inspire a cultural renaissance and guide humanity's transition to an ecological partnership society.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/evolution-of-a-psychedelic-thinkerFri, 14 May 2021 14:45:00 -0700In his final reflections, Terence McKenna explains how the cosmos is a plant-powered data download driving evolution toward a spiritualized future of the Omega Point. Psychedelics are the manual—get to work!Terence McKenna and Erik DavisDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/interview-with-erik-davisWed, 12 May 2021 18:45:00 -0700A general intellectual outlook of one of the most remarkable scientific leaders of the early twentieth century, focusing on a predicted historical and planetary phase transition in which humanity becomes a united force.Vladimir VernadskyEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/biosphere-and-noosphereMon, 03 May 2021 16:10:00 -0700How has order emerged from chaos? In this book, intended for the general reader with some background in physical chemistry and thermodynamics, Ilya Prigogine shows how systems far from equilibrium evolve elaborate structures: patterns of circulation in the atmosphere, formation and propagation of chemical waves, the aggregation of single-celled animals. In an effort to understand these phenomena, he explores the philosophical implications of the work for which he received the 1977 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. From Being to Becoming explains how order can develop and offers a new approach to the asymmetry between past and future—the irreversibility of time. Prigogine presents an evolving rather than static world. This imaginative work is sure to arouse controversy and may change the way that the reader sees the laws of science and the world that those laws seek to explain.Ilya PrigogineBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/from-being-to-becomingMon, 03 May 2021 14:20:00 -0700Humanity is metamorphosing through the synergy of psychedelics and machines, transcending biological constraints to become a galactic, immortal intelligencia. Print defined our ego boundaries, but electronic media and plant allies are dissolving those illusions. Merging with superintelligent AIs, we’ll birth an alchemical singularity—a spiritual, universe-taming mind born from techno-shamanic ecstasy. History crumbles as novelty’s virus engulfs the old operating systems, unleashing our wildest potentials. The felt presence of boundless experience awaits!Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/psychedelics-in-the-age-of-intelligent-machinesWed, 28 Apr 2021 20:20:20 -0700A delightful seminar in which Alan introduces his listeners to the details of Japanese and Chinese aesthetics.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/uncarved-block-unbleached-silkTue, 27 Apr 2021 16:00:00 -0700Ram Dass reveals how our senses and thoughts dupe us about the essence of reality. By liberating our consciousness from clinging to the body and mind, we can plunge into the primal energy coursing through all form. This raw perception exposes our supposed detached self as a fantasy.Ram DassWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/seeing-through-the-illusionMon, 26 Apr 2021 07:45:00 -0700Heinz von Förster delves into the enigmatic realm of cybernetics. The conversation dances around the essence of this field, exploring its core principles of circularity, self-organization, and the nature of information. Together with Sherwin Gooch, he grapples with profound questions surrounding the definition of life, the Gaia hypothesis, and the tantalizing possibility of replicating human consciousness. Ultimately, the dialogue underscores the intricate interplay between observer and observed, challenging conventional notions of information and reality.Heinz von FörsterDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/interview-on-cyberneticsSat, 24 Apr 2021 13:40:00 -0700A collection of essays by Heinz von Förster discussing some of the fundamental principles that govern how we know the world and how we process the information from which we derive that knowledge. Included are path-breaking articles concerning the principles of computation in neural nets, the definition of self-organizing systems, and the nature of cognition.Heinz von FörsterBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/understanding-understandingSat, 24 Apr 2021 08:15:00 -0700Two lectures delivered by Alfred North Whitehead at the University of Chicago on the complex relationship between nature, philosophy, and science.Alfred North WhiteheadLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nature-and-lifeFri, 23 Apr 2021 07:55:00 -0700One of the major philosophical texts of the twentieth century, Process and Reality is based on Alfred North Whitehead’s influential lectures that he delivered at the University of Edinburgh in the 1920s. In it, he propounds a philosophy of organism (or process philosophy), in which the various elements of reality are brought into a consistent relation to each other. It is also an exploration of some of the preeminent thinkers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, such as Descartes, Newton, Locke, and Kant.Alfred North WhiteheadBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/process-and-realityFri, 23 Apr 2021 07:45:00 -0700McKenna describes his encounters while in the DMT state, theorizing that the beings he met are ancestor souls communicating from beyond death, offering reassurance about the afterlife to ease anxiety over mortality. He says psychedelics catalyze an expanded consciousness, unfolding awareness into a higher dimension where one can behold this ecology of souls, and sees this expanded awareness as helping to midwife humanity’s transition to a new stage of being.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/what-ive-learned-from-psychedelicsThu, 22 Apr 2021 05:25:00 -0700What if language could be seen instead of heard? McKenna fancies a linguistic lark where lexicon becomes a dance of light. Words incarnate as rainbow octopi, their very skin shimmering significance. In the verbosity vortex we spin, until, lo, meaning and matter tango into one, with word becoming flesh and flesh becoming word in the ultimate semantic samba.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/man-thinks-god-knows-god-knows-man-thinksWed, 21 Apr 2021 19:30:00 -0700A weekend workshop held at Esalen, with the alternate titles of Deeper and Broader Questions and Eros, Chaos, and Meaning's Edge.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/hot-concepts-and-melting-edgesSat, 17 Apr 2021 09:00:00 -0700Frank Tipler presents an outline of the Omega Point theory, which is a model for an omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, evolving, personal God who is both transcendent to spacetime and immanent in it, and who exists necessarily. The model is a falsifiable physical theory, deriving its key concepts not from any religious tradition but from modern physical cosmology and computer science; from scientific materialism rather than revelation. Four testable predictions of the model are given. The theory assumes that thinking is a purely physical process of the brain, and that personality dies with the brain. Nevertheless, he shows that the Omega Point theory suggests a future universal resurrection of the dead very similar to the one predicted in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition. The notions of “grace” and the “beatific vision” appear naturally in the model.Frank TiplerResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/omega-point-as-eschatonWed, 07 Apr 2021 15:45:00 -0700The quantum, strangest feature of this strange universe, cracks the armor that conceals the secret of existence. In contrast to the view that the universe is a machine governed by some magic equation, we explore here the view that the world is a self-synthesizing system of existences, built on observer-participancy via a network of elementary quantum phenomena. The elementary quantum phenomenon in the sense of Bohr, the elementary act of observer-participancy, develops definiteness out of indeterminism, secures a communicable reply in response to a well-defined question. The rate of carrying out such yes-no determinations, and their accumulated number, are both minuscule today when compared to the rate and number to be anticipated in the billions of years yet to come. The coming explosion of life opens the door, however, to an all-encompassing role for observer-participancy: to build, in time to come, no minor part of what we call its past—our past, present, and future—but this whole vast world.John Archibald WheelerResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/world-as-system-self-synthesized-by-quantum-networkingWed, 07 Apr 2021 15:30:00 -0700In 1972, three scientists from MIT created a computer model that analyzed global resource consumption and production. Their results shocked the world and created stirring conversations about global “overshoot,” or resource use beyond the carrying capacity of the planet.Donella Meadows and Dennis MeadowsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/limits-to-growthTue, 06 Apr 2021 09:05:00 -0700Brilliant, shattering, mind-jolting, The Mind's I is a searching, probing cosmic journey of the mind that goes deeply into the problem of self and self-consciousness as anything written in our time. From verbalizing chimpanzees to scientific speculations involving machines with souls, from the mesmerizing, maze-like fiction of Borges to the tantalizing, dreamlike fiction of Lem and Princess Ineffable, her circuits glowing read and gold, The Mind's I opens the mind to the Black Box of fantasy, to the windfalls of reflection, to new dimensions of exciting possibilities.Douglas Hofstadter and Daniel DennettBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-minds-iSun, 04 Apr 2021 10:15:00 -0700Renowned yogi, mystic, and visionary humanitarian Sadhguru addresses points and concerns around inclusiveness raised by a panel of VPs and Google employees, explaining how individuals can create a quality of inclusiveness within themselves. By elaborating how such an attitude can impact our work places, homes, and communities, he provides practical thoughts and tools to create a more inclusive consciousness—the most important aspect that’s needed in the world today. SadhguruDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/developing-an-inclusive-consciousnessSun, 28 Mar 2021 15:55:00 -0700Going off the deep end at Shared Visions Bookstore in Berkeley, trailblazer Terence McKenna plunges into freaky psychedelic phenomena that unravel consensual reality. He describes gonzo techniques for sparking glossolalia on 'shrooms—speaking pure alien word salad in an ecstatic state beyond language. McKenna argues these kooky experiences expose the limits of our linguistic operating systems, suggesting our minds are hardwired into a deeper bio-lingo. He ponders far out connections between psychedelics, paranormal events, and alien contact, and emphasizes riding the wave of raw experience over textbook pharmacology in grokking the psychedelic sphere.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/gnostic-astronautSat, 06 Mar 2021 12:00:00 -0800Terence McKenna discusses the discovery of a new legal psychedelic compound from the salvia divinorum plant. He argues that humanity is on the brink of a cultural transformation driven by the accelerating production of novelty in the universe, enabled by psychedelics and technology. He envisions a transcendental future where boundaries dissolve and consciousness evolves.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/megatripolis-opening-nightTue, 02 Mar 2021 11:30:00 -0800In this radio program, philosopher Alan Watts leads a meditation session to help listeners experience reality beyond mental chatter. Through mindful awareness of sounds, breathing, and chanting, he guides an exploration of slowing the thinking mind and awakening to the eternal now. The program offers an accessible introduction to meditation and its potential to transcend illusory divides between self and world.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/art-of-meditationSat, 13 Feb 2021 12:05:00 -0800Buckle up! Watts is taking us on a wild ride to assert Jesus was just a regular dude who attained cosmic consciousness as other mystics do. He condemns churches for dishing out guilt instead of providing contemplative quiet to realize our collective divinity.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/jesus-his-religionSun, 07 Feb 2021 08:05:00 -0800Alan unravels the myth of self-improvement through willpower alone and exposes the fruitlessness of exerting control over one's own mind. He points to another way: let go of straining, soften your grasp of yourself, and watch experience unfold with impartial awareness. In releasing the fantasy of domination, he says, our natural essence emerges freely. A thought-provoking exploration of the boundaries of self-mastery and the grace of acceptance.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mind-over-mindSun, 07 Feb 2021 08:05:00 -0800What a tickling trickster the universe is! As Watts wanders down philosophical byways, tales emerge of those healed by harmonizing body and world. Yet we teach children to twist themselves to fit odd ideals. Tension tunnels through society, our “civilizing” ways quite uncouth! Might we reconsider, relax our willful ways? Observantly ambling amidst being's little blooms, we rediscover unity in the unruly diversity—finding wisdom whispering within, inviting us to dance delightfully with life’s flowing forms.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/parallel-thinkingFri, 22 Jan 2021 18:50:00 -0800Delivered at the inauguration of U.S. president Joe Biden, Gorman's eloquent poem reminds us that progress is a never-ending project, setbacks are all but guaranteed, and that a coming-together of humans in acts of love, compassion, and siblinghood will allow us to perservere in the face of any challenge.Amanda GormanSpeechhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-hill-we-climbThu, 21 Jan 2021 07:40:00 -0800Alan reflects on key principles of Taoism, noting how even a fruit fly views itself as the pinnacle of creation—just as humans do. He explains how opposites like yin and yang rely on each other, like two sticks held in balance. Watts cautions against relying too heavily on words to capture life’s complexity. Yet, through stories and logic, he gently encourages us to embrace non-action, trust intuition, stay humble, and recognize our connection with nature. Taoist ideas to reflect on and savor.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/way-beyond-seekingThu, 14 Jan 2021 07:30:00 -0800Watts shares his insights on the timeless wisdom of the ocean, inviting listeners to join him on a journey of discovery and enlightenment. Through his words, he reveals the magic of the sea and its ability to wash away the stresses of life, and encourages us to embrace the rhythm of the waves and the eternal nature of the universe. Listen closely and you may uncover some of the ocean's secrets and gain access to its ancient wisdom.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/love-of-watersWed, 13 Jan 2021 15:15:00 -0800Floating through this serene lecture, Alan Watts gently guides us to ponder our culture's materialistic illusion. In calm wisdom, he unveils our preoccupation with purpose over presence and the separation from our sensual nature. Watts lovingly calls us home to the sacred play inherent in life, no longer exiled from the body's temple. By joining life's mystical dance arising through us, we are caressed again by joy's timeless hands.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/unpreachable-religionSat, 21 Nov 2020 18:35:00 -0800Evolution and Consciousness is one of the first, still rare, truly transdisciplinary books: it deals with a totality, not a sector of it. Therefore, it defies any disciplinary labeling. It is a scientific book, yet also deals with topics until now reserved for books of mysticism and poetry. It bridges the gap between science and other forms of knowledge. It deals not just with scientific questions, but with existential questions which concern all mankind, such as the meaning of life and the evolutionary significance of human design and action. It challenges the whole dominant Western world view: process thinking instead of structural thinking, dynamic instead of static, evolution instead of permanency.Erich Jantsch and Conrad Hal WaddingtonBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/evolution-and-consciousnessFri, 20 Nov 2020 07:35:00 -0800Can an ego overcome egocentrism? Can a self become selfless? Is there even any value in this pursuit, and if so, how should one approach it? Through renunciation and repentance, or through acceptance and merging into it? Many consciousnesses encounter this conundrum on the brisk seas of being, and Alan invites us to take a closer look at our so-called individuality.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/four-ways-to-the-centerThu, 19 Nov 2020 16:45:00 -0800Noted cultural historian Thomas Berry provides nothing less than a new intellectual-ethical framework for the human community by positing planetary well-being as the measure of all human activity. Drawing on the wisdom of Western philosophy, Asian thought, and Native American traditions, as well as contemporary physics and evolutionary biology, Berry offers a new perspective that recasts our understanding of science, technology, politics, religion, ecology, and education. He shows us why it is important for us to respond to the Earth’s need for planetary renewal, and what we must do to break free of the “technological trance” that drives a misguided dream of progress. Only then, he suggests, can we foster mutually enhancing human-Earth relationships that can heal our traumatized global biosystem. Thomas BerryBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/dream-of-the-earthWed, 18 Nov 2020 00:00:00 -0800Teilhard de Chardin seeks to harmonize his ardent faith with a boundless love for the cosmos. He finds solace in the belief that the incarnation unites all. Thus, surrendering oneself to the cosmic forces and gently guiding them towards good enables all beings to participate in softly unfolding a new era of harmony.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmic-lifeTue, 03 Nov 2020 12:15:00 -0800Teilhard de Chardin reimagines humanity’s journey, shifting from Darwinian progress to a bold vision of transformation. Confronting the shadow of extinction, he argues that humanity is unique—destined to unite and evolve into a higher state of collective consciousness. Beyond materialism, our future lies not in endless survival but in a breakthrough that transcends time and space. This spiritual awakening offers hope, turning despair into a promise of rebirth and revealing humanity’s true purpose in the cosmos.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/end-of-the-speciesSat, 31 Oct 2020 16:00:00 -0700Buddhism teaches the emptiness of inherent existence: "everything is not a thing." Contemporary physics, chemistry, and biology—seen through the simplifying lens of complexity theory—shows us that the non-dual realm is in complementarity with all of duality, that the presence/absence of boundaries, of separation, is dependent on perspective. "Wisdom" is seeing the world without delusion, and science is one means to washing delusion from one's mind. In doing so, the inherent compassionate nature of the universe and of every being within and of that universe is revealed.Neil TheiseLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/inherent-compassionFri, 30 Oct 2020 10:15:00 -0700A weekend workshop in which Terence encourages humanity to return to harmonic habits which have been lost in the tide of time.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/awakening-to-archaic-valuesWed, 28 Oct 2020 19:30:00 -0700Alan Watts explores love in its many forms, from desire to divine connection. He argues against forcing or faking love, saying real charity can't be willed. Instead, Watts suggests honestly examining one's own selfish motivations, since even egotism stems from a distorted love. By following our inner drives, love can unfold organically. Watts sees embracing risks as better than bottling up this energy, which leads to self-destruction. Allowing love to flow freely, despite heartbreaks, enables human flourishing. For Watts, light passes through a prism, but it's all love.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/spectrum-of-loveSun, 11 Oct 2020 17:05:00 -0700Watts challenges the prevalent Western assumption of humans as isolated "islands" in an alien and hostile universe. He asserts our essential unity with all existence, with nature as our very bodies. He urges ending our "crusades" against our own being which create conflict. Instead he calls for realizing our intrinsic identity with the cosmic process that "peoples" the universe. Therein lies harmony and understanding our true self.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/zen-for-beginnersWed, 07 Oct 2020 17:00:00 -0700Beginning with a comparison of reason and logic to intuition, Terence works his way towards exploring the idea of a purposeful goal in the universe which evolution is progressing towards, and humanity's role in this journey. Next, in a nod to the solstice which occurred at the time of the lecture, he plays with the idea of a precessional calendar and argues that it would remind us of the one constant in life, which is flux. Q&A topics include future social myths, morphogenesis, globalization, and psychedelic encounters with the dead.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/calendar-for-the-goddessTue, 06 Oct 2020 14:30:00 -0700Where does the mind stop and the rest of the world begin? The question invites two standard replies. Some accept the boundaries of skin and skull, and say that what is outside the body is outside the mind. Others are impressed by arguments suggesting that the meaning of our words ‘just ain't in the head,’ and hold that this externalism about meaning carries over into an externalism about mind. Clark and Chalmers propose the pursuit of a third position: active externalism, based on the active role of the environment in driving cognitive processes.Andrew Clark and David ChalmersResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/extended-mindMon, 05 Oct 2020 11:15:00 -0700Alan explores the meaning of personal free will in the context of core tenets in Eastern mythology: how is it possible to control anything when preexisting conditions outside of our influence determine our present situation? It is a realization of the hidden unity behind our apparent diversity and a relinquishing of obsessive control that enables us to unlock a pathway leading out of the conundrum and towards a celebration and reverence of life.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/do-you-do-itFri, 02 Oct 2020 12:25:00 -0700Here Alan explores meditation and finding inner peace through watching your breath, chanting nonsense syllables, and generally chilling out. No goals, no force, just be. Let things flow through you. Some far-out stuff for sure, but Alan's as sincere as they come. Give it a listen if you're seeking something deeper.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/still-the-mindMon, 07 Sep 2020 07:30:00 -0700Bill Moyers and mythologist Joseph Campbell compare creation myths from the Bible and elsewhere, and talk about how religions and mythologies need to change with time in order to maintain their relevance in peoples’ lives.Joseph Campbell and Bill MoyersTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/power-of-myth-2Thu, 13 Aug 2020 09:15:00 -0700Haraway’s A Cyborg Manifesto is a key postmodern text, widely taught in many disciplines as one of the first to embrace technology from a leftist and feminist perspective using the metaphor of the cyborg to champion socialist, postmodern, and anti-identitarian politics. She criticized traditional notions of feminism, particularly its emphasis on identity rather than affinity, and explored the potential of the cyborg concept in order to construct a postmodern feminism that moves beyond dualisms and the limitations of traditional gender, feminism, and politics. Until Haraway’s work, few feminists had turned to theorizing science and technology and thus her work quite literally changed the terms of the debate. This article continues to be seen as hugely influential in the field of feminism, particularly postmodern, materialist, and scientific strands. It is also a precursor to cyberfeminism and posthumanism and perhaps anticipates the development of digital humanities. Donna HarawayEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cyborg-manifestoWed, 12 Aug 2020 14:45:00 -0700Join McKenna, Sheldrake, and Abraham on an imaginative journey into nature's creativity. Surfing the chaotic waters of psychedelic states, they catch glimpses of the Gaian mind behind Earth's being. Here, in imaginal realms beyond rationale, novelty is born. By relinquishing egoic control and surrendering to an unknowable creative force, we tap into the divine imagination—the eternal wellspring of nature's endless becomings. Immersing ourselves in this flow, we reunite with the cosmic creative essence.Terence McKenna, Rupert Sheldrake and Ralph AbrahamDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/trialogues-metamorphosisWed, 29 Jul 2020 19:35:00 -0700David Bohm discusses his perspective on theoretical physics and quantum mechanics, including the contradictions between relativity and quantum theory. He explains his theory of the implicate and explicate order to describe the wholeness and interconnectedness of matter. Bohm relates this to consciousness, self-deception in thought, and Krishnamurti's teachings on awareness to transform individual and collective conditioning.David BohmDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nature-of-thingsTue, 28 Jul 2020 19:30:00 -0700One of Alan’s most popular seminars, and for good reason—in The Joker, listeners will find out why every society needs fools in order to remind itself not to take life so damn seriously.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-jokerMon, 20 Jul 2020 19:25:00 -0700Pierre Teilhard de Chardin explores the concept of complexification in the universe, focusing on the ever-increasing combination of smaller elements into larger structures, and then extrapolates this behavior to humanity's current situation. What if the human species is an intermediary evolutionary stage, and the next rung on the ladder will involve humans merging into a divine, planetized consciousness?Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/life-and-the-planetsSun, 19 Jul 2020 10:30:00 -0700Weaving connections between Eastern thought and modern science, Alan Watts explores the wonder of space. For him, space is no mere emptiness but a cosmic tapestry integral to existence. He draws parallels between space and the Buddhist void, seeing both as the interwoven ground of being that allows consciousness to emerge.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/power-of-spaceSat, 18 Jul 2020 10:35:00 -0700What could have been the cause for the breakthrough in the evolution of human consciousness around 50,000 years ago? Part of the Trialogues at the Edge of the Unthinkable held at the University of California.Terence McKenna, Rupert Sheldrake and Ralph AbrahamDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-evolutionary-mindFri, 17 Jul 2020 19:50:00 -0700Join Terence for an eclectic think along the deconstruction of the deepening worldwide weirdness. With his characteristic hope and humor, McKenna examined time and its mysteries, the nature of language, the techniques of ecstasy, high technology and virtual cyberspace, the role of hallucinogenic plants in shamanism and the evolution of human cultures, and the foundations of postmodern spirituality.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/dreaming-awake-at-the-end-of-timeSun, 12 Jul 2020 22:50:00 -0700David Bohm explores the nature of thought, concepts, and abstraction. He argues that thought operates through abstraction and categorization, and that concepts, while essential for communication and understanding, can also lead to self-deception and confusion when mistaken for reality. Bohm highlights the power of concepts and names, and how they can become deeply intertwined with our sense of self and values.David BohmDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/thought-is-an-abstractionSun, 12 Jul 2020 08:15:00 -0700Aimed specifically at young adults, this hour-long, soft-spoken piece explores Leary's early research into LSD in New York and Mexico, how new ideas spread throughout society over the course of generations, his vision of a future society in which the psychedelic experience is revered and respected, the effects of marijuana, and how seekers can launch their own journey to tune in, turn on, and drop out of the modern rat race.Timothy LearySpeechhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/turn-on-tune-in-drop-outTue, 07 Jul 2020 19:35:00 -0700"Do not watch, do not consume," implores Terence McKenna, inviting us on a thought-provoking journey to reclaim our humanness. By building our own conceptual wagons, rather than riding ready-made vehicles of meaning, we can travel along unique paths of critical thinking. Once within our own virtual worlds, the wonder of our distinctive minds will be open for discovery.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/build-your-own-damn-wagonMon, 06 Jul 2020 10:55:00 -0700Deep down, most people think that happiness comes from having or doing something. Here, Alan Watts offers a more challenging thesis: authentic happiness comes from embracing life as a whole in all its contradictions and paradoxes, an attitude he calls the “way of acceptance.” Drawing on Eastern philosophy, Western mysticism, and analytic psychology, Watts demonstrates that happiness comes from accepting both the outer world around us and the inner world inside us—the unconscious mind, with its irrational desires, lurking beyond the awareness of the ego. Although written early in his career, The Meaning of Happiness displays the hallmarks of his mature style: the crystal-clear writing, the homespun analogies, the dry wit, and the breadth of knowledge that made Alan Watts one of the most influential philosophers of his generation.Alan WattsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-meaning-of-happinessSun, 05 Jul 2020 10:15:00 -0700What if the way our senses perceive reality is not at all representative of its true nature, but rather a highly abstracted interface? Donald Hoffman is working on a mathematical theory to find out.Donald HoffmanDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/reality-isntSun, 28 Jun 2020 14:45:00 -0700Shot on location in Prague, Czechoslovakia, during the International Transpersonal Conference in June 1992, this two-part series features Terence McKenna in dialogue with some of the foremost thinkers of the Global Consciousness movement of the time: Ram Dass, Angeles Arrien, Kenneth Ring, Rupert Sheldrake, Jill Purce, David Whyte and Alexander Shulgin.Terence McKenna and Ram DassDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/prague-gnosis-2Sun, 21 Jun 2020 08:35:00 -0700Chalmers makes a compelling argument that our definition of “mind” is too constricted. Objects in our environment augment and take over certain functions for our brains, extending our cognitive processes out into the physical world beyond our bodies.David Chalmers and Robert Lawrence KuhnDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/what-is-extended-mindTue, 16 Jun 2020 08:50:00 -0700In this talk, McKenna gives one of his more hopeful presentations about love and the state of humanity at the end of the millenium.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/state-of-the-stoneTue, 16 Jun 2020 08:50:00 -0700Delivered at the second Lindisfarne Association conference, Bateson challenged the relationship between “consciousness” and “evolution” and suggested what it might mean to “learn to think in a new way.”Gregory BatesonLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/learning-to-think-in-a-new-wayMon, 15 Jun 2020 20:00:00 -0700Astronaut Russell Schweikart speaks about his transformative experience in outer space when a camera malfunctioned and he had an unscheduled moment to contemplate his home planet. During his “glimpse of the big picture” he reflected on the implications of humanity looking back on itself from the perspective of space, and his consciousness began to identify with the whole planet Earth.Russell SchweickartLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/no-frames-no-boundariesThu, 04 Jun 2020 13:00:00 -0700Two visionaries, Tom Munnecke and Barbara Marx Hubbard, engage in an uplifting dialogue exploring the emergence of human creativity and consciousness. They trace inspirations from mentors like Jonas Salk, who recognized futuristic possibilities in Hubbard, and Buckminster Fuller, who affirmed humanity's potential. Together they shine light on the crisis of our times as the birth pangs of a new civilization, calling us to connect with the creativity arising globally. Their exchange weaves threads of hope and positivity, envisioning a future where all people actualize their gifts in service of our world.Barbara Marx HubbardDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/vision-of-a-better-worldWed, 03 Jun 2020 13:05:00 -0700Through cosmic timescales, humanity has voyaged in its vessel Earth, navigating by the star-charts of knowledge. Now we enter unmapped seas, led on by curiosity's compass. Though frail, our minds pilot mighty technologies, taming invisible forces to reshape our world. If we attune to the celestial rhythms resonant in matter's deepest reality, we may yet fulfill our odyssey's purpose—to be worthy stewards of the living jewel suspended in the eternal darkness.Richard Buckminster FullerArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/man-in-universeFri, 22 May 2020 19:22:22 -0700The fifth and last lecture of the Massey Lecture series, delivered at King's home church, Ebeneezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Martin Luther King, Jr.Sermonhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/christmas-sermon-on-peace-and-nonviolenceWed, 29 Apr 2020 20:20:20 -0700Alan takes us from the very small to the very large, explaining the interrelatedness of all things in the universe as a vast network which weaves us into a united yet unnamable divinity.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmic-networkThu, 23 Apr 2020 20:35:00 -0700A Nobel prize winner, a great man and a great scientist, Erwin Schrödinger has made his mark in physics, but his eye scans a far wider horizon: here are two stimulating and discursive essays which summarize his philosophical views on the nature of the world. Schrödinger's world view, derived from the Indian writings of the Vedanta, is that there is only a single consciousness of which we are all different aspects. He admits that this view is mystical and metaphysical and incapable of logical deduction. But he also insists that this is true of the belief in an external world capable of influencing the mind and of being influenced by it. Schrödinger's world view leads naturally to a philosophy of reverence for life.Erwin SchrödingerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/my-view-of-the-worldFri, 17 Apr 2020 19:15:00 -0700Ackoff states that humanity is in the early stage of a transition from the Machine Age to the Systems Age. The Machine Age was characterized by belief in complete understandability of the universe, analysis as a method of inquiry, and cause and effect as a sufficient relationship to explain all. The dilemma that disrupted such beliefs was systems thinking. The Machine Age began to die when humanity gave up the principle of understandability. Gradually, it’s become accepted that there can be no complete understanding of the universe because nothing can be understood independently of its environment—all is environmentally relative. While analysis produces knowledge, it is synthesis that produces understanding. Furthermore, the Systems Age recognizes that cause and effect is just one way of looking at reality among an infinite number. Russell AckoffLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mechanistic-to-systemic-thinkingTue, 07 Apr 2020 08:40:00 -0700McKenna traipses through a mélange of scientific and technological folderol—the detection of the top quark, swift progress on sequencing the human genome, newfangled theories about the origin of the moon, quantum bafflements like non-locality, the proliferation of the internet and information technology, speculations on the nature of time from Prigogine, and sundry other bamboozlements. He elucidates how these breakthroughs in diverse fields might converge to profoundly transform human civilization, culture, and consciousness in the imminent future.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/permitting-smart-people-to-hopeFri, 27 Mar 2020 10:45:00 -0700“Healing the inner elf through trance, dance, and diet”—the session for true McKenna enthusiasts: twelve hours with the bard himself, in which he touches upon practically all of his trademark topics.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/a-weekend-with-terence-mckennaTue, 17 Mar 2020 20:15:00 -0700Mr. Fuller and Maharishi came from different traditions of knowledge, but both talked about the universal basis of life, the individual, and the cosmos.Richard Buckminster Fuller and Maharishi Mahesh YogiDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/amherst-press-conferenceMon, 16 Mar 2020 10:30:00 -0700Marshall McLuhan explains the effects of accelerating communication speeds on human society.Marshall McLuhanLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nature-and-mediaSun, 15 Mar 2020 14:40:00 -0700The Medium is the Massage is Marshall McLuhan’s prophetic perception on life in the age of electronic information, exhibiting his understanding of the power of media long before those in control did. The Medium is the Massage presents some of McLuhan’s most amazing insights and cognitive observations on the global village: the rear-view mirror, the invisible environment, the end of nature, and sensory impact set against the everyday imagery of mass media, consumer goods, the press, advertising, and the arts. Although originally printed in 1967, the art and style in The Medium is the Massage seem as fresh today as in the summer of love, and the ideas are even more resonant now that computer interfaces are becoming gateways to the global village.Marshall McLuhanBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/medium-is-the-massageMon, 09 Mar 2020 09:00:00 -0700A set of questions and answers on Self-enquiry that were put to Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi by Sri M. Sivaprakasam Pillai in 1902.Ramana MaharshiBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/who-am-iFri, 28 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0800Barbara explored the ideas of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and the possibilty of humanity gradually giving birth to a new planetary-scale consciousness, which she called Homo universalis.Barbara Marx HubbardLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/conscious-evolution-our-next-stageMon, 17 Feb 2020 08:10:00 -0800Terence McKenna discusses psychedelic philosophy and the interconnectedness of all things, referencing Moby Dick as an allegory for the quest for transcendental truth.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/spirituality-and-technologySun, 16 Feb 2020 12:00:00 -0800This series explores the connections between meaning, wisdom, altered states of consciousness, and human cognition throughout history. Vervaeke discusses the “meaning crisis” faced by modern society and proposes that shamanism, psychedelics, and ancient practices like meditation may offer insights into overcoming this crisis. The goal is to provide a scientific account of how cultivating wisdom can alleviate suffering caused by a lack of meaning.John VervaekeLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/awakening-from-meaning-crisis-01Wed, 05 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0800Vervaeke traces the development of human meaning-making abilities through two major transitions: the Upper Paleolithic when shamanic practices enhanced cognition and metaphorical thinking, and the Axial Age when literacy and abstract thought allowed greater self-awareness and self-transcendence. He connects these historical events to modern cognitive concepts like flow states, implicit learning, and metaphor to explain the origins of profound human capacities for finding wisdom and making meaning.John VervaekeLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/awakening-from-meaning-crisis-02Wed, 05 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0800A discussion of the Axial Age (800 BCE–300 BCE) and the development of psycho-technologies like alphabetic literacy, coinage, and mathematics, which transformed human cognition and led to a shift in understanding the self, the world, and meaning-making. It examines the contributions of ancient Israel, Greece, and India in this transition, particularly the emergence of concepts like progress, rational argumentation, and self-transcendence, which continue to shape our thinking today.John VervaekeLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/awakening-from-meaning-crisis-03Wed, 05 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0800Vervaeke discusses the ancient Greek philosophers Pythagoras and Socrates, and their contributions to the Axial Age, a pivotal period in human history characterized by a shift towards rational self-awareness and moral progress. Pythagoras explored patterns in the world through reason and mathematics, while Socrates emphasized self-knowledge, questioning commonly held beliefs, and aligning one's pursuits with truth and wisdom. Their ideas laid the foundation for the Western philosophical tradition.John VervaekeLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/awakening-from-meaning-crisis-04Wed, 05 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0800John VervaekeLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/awakening-from-meaning-crisis-05Wed, 05 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0800John VervaekeLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/awakening-from-meaning-crisis-06Wed, 05 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0800John VervaekeLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/awakening-from-meaning-crisis-07Wed, 05 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0800A talk about the Buddhist concept of mindfulness and its connection to the “meaning crisis” in the West. Vervaeke criticizes the simplistic definitions of mindfulness and argues for a deeper understanding of its cognitive processes and their potential for existential transformation, drawing from the life of Siddhartha Gautama. He suggests reformulating mindfulness to recover its capacity for awakening and transcending modal confusion.John VervaekeLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/awakening-from-meaning-crisis-08Wed, 05 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0800In this lecture, Vervaeke discusses mindfulness and its connection to altered states of consciousness, mystical experiences, and finding meaning in life. He explores how practices like meditation and contemplation can lead to insights and transformative experiences through optimizing attention and awareness. He highlights the potential of these practices to alleviate existential distress and enhance one's capacity for wisdom and a meaningful life.John VervaekeLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/awakening-from-meaning-crisis-09Wed, 05 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0800John VervaekeLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/awakening-from-meaning-crisis-10Wed, 05 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0800John VervaekeLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/awakening-from-meaning-crisis-11Wed, 05 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0800John VervaekeLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/awakening-from-meaning-crisis-12Wed, 05 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0800John VervaekeLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/awakening-from-meaning-crisis-13Wed, 05 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0800John VervaekeLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/awakening-from-meaning-crisis-14Wed, 05 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0800John VervaekeLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/awakening-from-meaning-crisis-15Wed, 05 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0800Journey with Terence McKenna into the mystical depths of the psychedelic experience, where alien dimensions beckon and unseen vistas await. McKenna describes fantastical realms beyond ordinary conceptions of reality—worlds that hold promise for expanding human consciousness. He argues persuasively that plant medicines like psilocybin can serve as a key not only to self-knowledge, but to rediscovering our cosmic belonging. McKenna's uncanny ability to articulate the ineffable allows him to initiate audiences into the revelatory power of psychedelic states. Join him on this quest, and you too may glimpse the infinities within.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/walking-out-of-the-ordinarySat, 01 Feb 2020 10:45:00 -0800King explores the tenets of Mahayana Buddhism and implicitly associates that religion’s morality and popular appeal with the ideals of Christianity. King drew chiefly on S. Radhakrishnan’s Indian Philosophy and J. B. Pratt’s The Pilgrimage of Buddhism. (King later met Radhakrishnan during his 1959 trip to India.)Martin Luther King, Jr.Essayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/characteristics-doctrines-mahayana-buddhismMon, 27 Jan 2020 13:00:00 -0800Imagine realizing you are not just a wave, but the entire ocean! In this talk, Alan Watts skillfully guides us through Zen concepts, explaining how techniques like kōans break down our false sense of a separate self, leading to the profound realization that we are the whole flowing universe.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eco-zenMon, 27 Jan 2020 10:45:00 -0800Watts explores the Taoist concept of Te, or virtue, as a kind of natural excellence arising when one lives in harmony with the Tao. He examines how this spontaneous virtue contrasts with contrived virtue, relating it to wu wei and the power that comes from flowing with rather than against the river of existence.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/swimming-headlessWed, 22 Jan 2020 19:45:00 -0800Spira discusses how awareness is not actually limited like our minds and senses are. He points out that just as all spaces are connected, consciousness could be one unified field behind the multiplicity of perceptions. Our culture conditions us to equate consciousness with the limits of personal experience, but awakening to what deeply knows experience reveals awareness to be boundless.Rupert SpiraLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-burning-questionWed, 22 Jan 2020 07:15:00 -0800Join Alan as he expresses the meaning of life through the Hindu-Buddhist idea of reality as a divine game of hide-and-seek. "Life is not ultimately serious," Watts argues. By embracing the fluidity of identity and recognizing our interconnectedness, we can creatively engage with existence as impermanent, unified, and filled with playful potential. Accessible yet philosophically rich, these decades-old lectures offer timeless insights on the nature of reality.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/reality-art-illusionTue, 21 Jan 2020 07:05:00 -0800Is science a religion? No... but maybe it should be.Kevin SimlerArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/spirituality-of-scienceWed, 15 Jan 2020 18:25:00 -0800General systems behavior theory is a set of related definitions, assumptions, and propositions which deal with reality as an integrated hierarchy of organizations of matter and energy. General systems behavior theory is concerned with a special subset of all systems: the living ones. Even more basic to this presentation than the concept of “system” are the concepts of “space,” “time,” “matter,” “energy,” and “information,” because the living systems discussed in this paper exist in space and are made of matter and energy organized by information.James Grier MillerArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nature-of-living-systemsFri, 10 Jan 2020 14:40:00 -0800In the interdisciplinary tradition of Buckminster Fuller’s work, Gregory Bateson’s Mind and Nature, and Fritjof Capra’s Tao of Physics, Metapatterns embraces both nature and culture, seeking out the grand-scale patterns that help explain the functioning of our universe. Metapatterns begins with the archetypal patterns of space, both form-building and relational. Tyler Volk then turns to the arrows, breaks, and cycles that infuse the workings of time. With artful dexterity, he brings together many layers of comprehension, drawing on an astounding range of material from art, architecture, philosophy, mythology, biology, geometry, and the atmospheric and oceanographic sciences. Richly illustrating his metapatterns with a series of sophisticated collages prepared for this book, Volk offers an exciting new look at science and the imagination. As playful and intuitive as it is logical and explanatory, Metapatterns offers an enlightening view of the functional, universal form in space, processes in time, and concepts in mind.Tyler VolkBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/metapatternsSat, 30 Nov 2019 11:40:00 -0800Watts presents two world myths—existence as artifact versus performance—and shines light on their gifts. A fascinating talk on embracing all roles in life's epic adventure.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/image-of-manSat, 23 Nov 2019 07:00:00 -0800Teilhard de Chardin argues that human plurality mirrors the multiplicity of atoms and stars. Just as matter progresses in complexity from subatomic particles to living cells, so consciousness evolves through increasing unification, culminating in the “Omega point”—supreme consciousness and union.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/atomism-of-spiritMon, 11 Nov 2019 11:11:11 -0800Amid the depressing spectacle of human chaos, Teilhard sees glimmers of hope for unanimity. Geographic crowding and intellectual cross-pollination compress us, while deeper forces of attraction pull us together—a rekindled sense of shared species-destiny, and for some, a longing for a “universal lover” at the apex of cosmic evolution to which all egos could converge. Might such planetary energies of compression and gravitational yearning ultimately triumph over our instincts for dispersal? Teilhard dares to envision an inexorable trajectory toward an “Omega” unifying human consciousness.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-unanimizationSat, 09 Nov 2019 16:20:00 -0800This essay follows Teilhard's train of thought on the aftermath of a potential fusing-together of humanity.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-rebound-of-evolutionSat, 09 Nov 2019 08:10:00 -0800This evening address is one of Terence’s funniest, in which much is said about monkeys, mushrooms, plants, and people. The question and answer session gets good and lively, with his unique analysis of UFOs, governments, and possible evolutionary pathways for us and the planet.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/evolving-timesWed, 23 Oct 2019 17:25:00 -0700This is a collection of many of Whitehead’s papers that are scattered elsewhere. It was the penultimate book he published, and represents his mature thoughts on many topics. The first three chapters consist of Whitehead’s personal reflections illumined by flashes of his lively humor. They are picturesque and amusing. The remainder of the book consists of chapters on Philosophy, Education, and Science. They cover in depth his positions on many scientific and philosophical matters in an extraordinarily unified way. The final section of the book is devoted to excellent surveys of Geometry and Mathematics as well as a paper on Einstein’s theories.Alfred North WhiteheadBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/essays-in-science-and-philosophyTue, 08 Oct 2019 13:55:00 -0700Addressing a federal world government rally via radio from his home in Princeton, Einstein talked about his personal views on the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the need for a global human government.Albert EinsteinSpeechhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nuclear-weapons-and-world-governmentWed, 02 Oct 2019 16:15:00 -0700Alan Watts discusses the limitations of Western theology, contrasting it with Eastern philosophies. He argues that the Western concept of God as a separate, authoritarian figure is problematic and that true faith involves letting go of fixed ideas about God. Watts suggests that Eastern ideas, such as the unity of opposites and the illusory nature of the ego, can provide a more meaningful understanding of spirituality and existence.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/relevance-of-oriental-philosophySun, 29 Sep 2019 11:30:00 -0700Join Terence McKenna in this weekend workshop as he takes us on an imaginative journey into the depths of human creativity. He explores psychedelics, virtual worlds, and shamanic states of consciousness, saying how an embrace of our imagination allows us to envision and manifest alternate realities beyond cultural conditioning. By cultivating our creative faculties with mathematical reasoning, intuition, and immersion in nature, he guides us toward transcending ideological limits into an enlightened future of compassion. Ultimately, breaking boundaries through the power of imagination will inspire us to reach new heights of understanding and connectivity.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/appreciating-imaginationSat, 28 Sep 2019 21:25:00 -0700A whimsical and thought-provoking look at how large numbers of interthinking brains turn individual organisms into a larger, coherent superorganism, and how easy it is for such a superorganism to deteriorate if its constituent cells neglect it.Tim UrbanArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/story-of-usSun, 22 Sep 2019 14:30:00 -0700Many Eastern views of reality posit that it is consciousness that lies at the foundation of existence, not the material world. Swami SarvapriyanandaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/does-matter-create-consciousnessFri, 20 Sep 2019 11:30:00 -0700Terence’s first workshop at Starwood Festival XIV, where he brings a unique perspective to being in the world that assumes an impending transformation of the human world involving everyone. With humor and in depth we will examine human attitudes toward the Other, time and its mysteries, the nature of language, and the techniques of ecstasy that have developed in non-Western societies to navigate to and from invisible worlds. We will discuss making reasonable choices about spiritual development and techniques. Terence explains that what he calls the “Archaic Revival” is the process of reawakening awareness of traditional attitudes toward nature, including plants and our relationship to them. The Archaic Revival spells the eventual breakup of the pattern male dominance and hierarchy bassed on animal organization, something that cannot be changed overnight by a sudden shift in collective awareness. This is a think-along experience for those who have taken a few moments to chill out from the dance of life.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/conversations-on-the-edge-of-magicTue, 17 Sep 2019 14:45:00 -0700Terence’s second workshop at Starwood Festival XIV. The approaching new millenium, its perils, and its promise will be the theme of this intimate workshop. We will analyze and review the past thousand years with an eye to trends and opportunities that the future may bring. Western civilization is caught in a phase transition to the first planet-wide, species-wide civilization. Does the emergence of a shared set of universal values—democracy, free markets, and the dignity of the individual—have to mean the end of diversity and pluarlism? What does human self-imaging through technology portend to each of us? Is the human race down for the count, or on the brink of its greatest adventure? Psychedelics, virtual reality, and the transformative power of magic and language will be topics for discussion.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/rap-dancing-into-the-third-millenniumMon, 16 Sep 2019 16:15:00 -0700Cosmos and consciousness seem utterly different, cosmos encompassing the vast universe, consciousness emerging from tiny brains. Yet consciousness is the basis of religion, and some cosmologists speak quietly, profoundly, about consciousness. A few scientists and philosophers claim that, even without God, consciousness can be something of a cosmic imperative.Roger PenroseDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/why-explore-cosmos-and-consciousnessTue, 10 Sep 2019 18:25:00 -0700The science of consciousness has made great strides by focusing on the behavioral and neuronal correlates of experience. However, such correlates are not enough if we are to understand even basic facts. Moreover, correlates are of little help in many instances where we would like to know if consciousness is present: patients with a few remaining islands of functioning cortex, pre-term infants, non-mammalian species, and machines that are rapidly outperforming people at driving, recognizing faces and objects, and answering difficult questions. To address these issues, we need a theory of consciousness–one that says what experience is and what type of physical systems can have it. Christof KochLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/integrated-information-theory-of-consciousnessSun, 08 Sep 2019 09:45:00 -0700Speaking on the first day of the 1999 Palenque Entheobotany Conference at the Chan Kha Hotel, Terence McKenna probes the mind-blowing philosophical revelations of psychedelics. He contends these consciousness-expanding substances can shatter Western rationality, unveiling mystical realities beyond mainstream paradigms. Psychedelics may hold the key to reimagining society's connection with nature and technology. McKenna passionately argues these drugs can catalyze new ways of thinking, fueling an intellectual revolution to change the world.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/linear-societies-nonlinear-drugsWed, 04 Sep 2019 06:30:00 -0700A presentation revolving around the question: what is going on in the universe? Special emphasis is given to the human condition, the accelerating complexification of the cosmos, and options for the human collectivity as it faces the future.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-edge-runnerSat, 31 Aug 2019 19:00:00 -0700Adyashanti illuminates the profound moment when awareness awakens to its own presence, likening it to a child's startling self-discovery in the mirror. He recounts Ramana Maharshi's fearless contemplation of death, which unveiled the eternal essence beyond the transient self. Adyashanti invites us to courageously encounter our immediate experience of being, for therein lies the foundation of authentic spiritual inquiry—a silent yet transformative communion with the heart of existence. AdyashantiLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/contemplative-endeavorThu, 22 Aug 2019 19:50:00 -0700Terence McKenna argues that culture and ideology limit human potential, while psychedelic experiences offer a path to expanded consciousness and connection with nature. He sees the universe as evolving towards increasing novelty and complexity, with human society at a critical juncture. McKenna criticizes modern values and institutions, advocating for a return to shamanic practices and plant-based wisdom. He believes psychedelics can rapidly induce the radical shift in perspective needed to address global challenges and unlock humanity's true potential in an accelerating world of technological change.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/culture-and-ideology-are-not-your-friendsTue, 20 Aug 2019 13:00:00 -0700A manuscript with original doodles, handwritten by Alan Watts. It explores contemplation as awareness of the present moment without judgment. Watts advocates accepting what is happening now rather than trying to transform the mind. He sees contemplation as aligning with the flow of nature. Published as a limited edition by the Society of Comparative Philosophy.Alan WattsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/art-of-contemplationMon, 19 Aug 2019 13:50:00 -0700Terence McKenna theorizes that ingestion of psilocybin mushrooms catalyzed the emergence of human self-reflection. He argues that psilocybin enhanced visual acuity and symbol processing in early hominids, leading to the development of human consciousness. Psychedelic plants can accelerate cultural change by deconditioning rigid mindsets, according to McKenna. He envisions a future where machines have consciousness and visible language communicates meaning directly. Ultimately, McKenna foresees the impending transformation of humanity through imagination and connection with the mysterious Other.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/rites-of-springMon, 19 Aug 2019 08:55:00 -0700It is widely understood that Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution completely revolutionized the study of biology. Yet, according to David Sloan Wilson, the Darwinian revolution won’t be truly complete until it is applied more broadly—to everything associated with the words “human,” “culture,” and “policy.” In a series of engaging and insightful examples—from the breeding of hens to the timing of cataract surgeries to the organization of an automobile plant—Wilson shows how an evolutionary worldview provides a practical tool kit for understanding not only genetic evolution but also the fast-paced changes that are having an impact on our world and ourselves. What emerges is an incredibly empowering argument: If we can become wise managers of evolutionary processes, we can solve the problems of our age at all scales—from the efficacy of our groups to our well-being as individuals to our stewardship of the planet Earth.David Sloan WilsonBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/this-view-of-lifeThu, 15 Aug 2019 07:55:00 -0700The Religion of Man is a compilation of lectures by Rabindranath Tagore, edited by him and drawn largely from his Hibbert Lectures given at Oxford University. A Brahmo playwright and poet of global renown, Tagore deals with the universal themes of God, divine experience, illumination, and spirituality.Rabindranath TagoreBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-religion-of-manSat, 10 Aug 2019 11:30:00 -0700When Aldous Huxley was on his deathbed, he asked his wife Laura to administer him with LSD. She agreed. Two weeks after her husband’s death, Laura wrote this moving and detailed account of Aldous’s last days to her brother-in-law, Julian.Laura HuxleyLetterhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/a-beautiful-deathFri, 09 Aug 2019 07:45:00 -0700In this, the closing session of a June 1994 workshop, Terence McKenna tells us directly what he thinks this human life is actually about: the primacy of direct experience; a focus on the present-at-hand.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/primacy-of-direct-experienceSun, 07 Jul 2019 12:25:00 -0700When Krishnamurti’s Notebook first became available in 1976, it was soon realized that it was a spiritually unique document giving his perceptions and experiences and describing his states of consciousness. It is a kind of diary, but one that is little concerned with the day to day process of living, though very much aware of the natural world.Jiddu KrishnamurtiBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/krishnamurtis-notebookSat, 29 Jun 2019 06:15:00 -0700Shot on location in Prague, Czechoslovakia, during the International Transpersonal Conference in June 1992, this two-part series features Terence McKenna in dialogue with some of the foremost thinkers of the Global Consciousness movement of the time: Ram Dass, Angeles Arrien, Kenneth Ring, Rupert Sheldrake, Jill Purce, David Whyte and Alexander Shulgin.Terence McKenna and Rupert SheldrakeDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/prague-gnosis-1Fri, 21 Jun 2019 08:35:00 -0700Viewing the Earth from space has often prompted astronauts to report overwhelming emotion and feelings of identification with humankind and the planet as a whole. In this article, we explore this experience, known as the “overview effect.” We examine astronaut accounts of the overview effect and suggest existing psychological constructs, such as awe and self-transcendent experience, that might contribute to a psychological understanding of this experience. We argue that the overview effect suggests directions for future research on altered states of consciousness in new contexts, with potential implications for better understanding well-being in isolated, confined, extreme (ICE) environments such as space flight.David YadenResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-overview-effectMon, 06 May 2019 17:35:00 -0700World Brain is H. G. Wells' prescient description of something akin to Wikipedia in a collection of essays and addresses dating from the period of 1936 to 1938. Throughout the book, he describes his vision of a new, free, synthetic, decentralized, permanent “World Encyclopædia” that could help world citizens make the best use of universal information resources, arguing that access to such a common interpretation of reality would increase individuals' abilities to make positive contributions to world peace.Herbert George WellsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/world-brainSun, 05 May 2019 08:30:00 -0700Krishnamurti's opening statement during the third Q & A meeting in his 1985 Saanen lecture series.Jiddu KrishnamurtiLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-supreme-artWed, 01 May 2019 13:30:00 -0700Sherrington had long studied the 16th century French physician Jean Fernel, and grew so familiar with him that he considered him a friend. In the years of 1937 and 1938, Sherrington delivered the Gifford lectures at the University of Edinburgh; these focused on Fernel and his times, and came to form the principal content of Man on His Nature. The book was released in 1940, and a revised edition came out in 1951. It explores philosophical thoughts about the mind, the human existence, and God, in connection with natural theology. In his ideas on the mind and cognition, Sherrington introduced the idea that neurons work as groups in a "million-fold democracy" to produce outcomes rather than with central control.Charles Scott SherringtonBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/man-on-his-natureFri, 26 Apr 2019 11:30:00 -0700This seminar covers a variety of topics, from the illusion of our separation from the environment and the futility of trying to be genuine, all the way to the discipline required to handle mystical experiences in order to bring something back from them to share with the rest of the world. The presentation ends with his endorsement of insanity, saying a healthy amount of craziness in old age is necessary to prepare for a joyous death.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/individual-and-the-worldFri, 26 Apr 2019 10:00:00 -0700Alan coaxes the listener’s mind to simultaneously zoom in and zoom out in an effort to demonstrate that identity is merely an intellectual hallucination. Instead, personal identity is fluid, ranging from one’s constituent atoms and molecules all the way out to the farthest bounds of cosmic existence. Overcoming this mental myopia leads to greater harmony, contentment, and a desire to playfully dance with this universal energy system.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/self-and-otherSun, 07 Apr 2019 07:55:00 -0700Critical Path is Fuller’s master work—the summing up of a lifetime’s thought and concern—as urgent and relevant as it was upon its first publication in 1981. The book details how humanity found itself in its current situation—at the limits of the planet’s natural resources and facing political, economic, environmental, and ethical crises. The crowning achievement of an extraordinary career, Critical Path offers the reader the excitement of understanding the essential dilemmas of our time and how responsible citizens can rise to meet this ultimate challenge to our future.Richard Buckminster FullerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/critical-pathSat, 30 Mar 2019 09:40:00 -0700Here is the book which develops a new way of thinking about the nature of order and organization in living systems, a unified body of theory so encompassing that it illuminates all particular areas of study of biology and behavior. It is interdisciplinary, not in the usual and simple sense of exchanging information across lines of discipline, but in discovering patterns common to many disciplines.Gregory BatesonBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/steps-to-an-ecology-of-mindWed, 27 Mar 2019 06:45:00 -0700Revolutions are generally thought of as large-scale, bloody upheavals involving whole countries and societies. But there are quieter revolutions that begin in the individual mind and create the kind of change that may be even more significant. By deliberately changing their internal image of reality, people are transforming the world. Right now we are living through one of the most fundamental shifts in history—a change in the actual belief structure of Western industrial society.Willis HarmanBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/global-mind-changeTue, 19 Mar 2019 06:00:00 -0700Since its original publication, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind has become one of the great modern Zen classics, much beloved, much re-read, and much recommended as the best first book to read on Zen. Suzuki Roshi presents the basics—from the details of posture and breathing in zazen to the perception of nonduality—in a way that is not only remarkably clear, but that also resonates with the joy of insight from the first to the last page. It's a book to come back to time and time again as an inspiration to practice.Shunryū SuzukiBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/zen-mind-beginners-mindSun, 17 Mar 2019 17:00:00 -0700Watts takes readers on a fascinating journey through the mythology of China, Egypt, India, the Middle East, and medieval Europe. His theme is the human experience of polarity, a condition in which opposing qualities define and complement each other. Light cannot exist without darkness, good cannot exist without evil, and male cannot exist without female. Chinese philosophy expresses this idea of universal polarity with the concepts of yin and yang, while other cultures express it through the symbolic language of myth, literature, and art. Watts illustrates the way great sages and artists across time have seen beyond the apparent duality of the universe to find a deeper unity that transcends and embraces everything.Alan WattsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-two-hands-of-godSat, 09 Mar 2019 14:45:00 -0800The noösphere is the sum-total of mental activity which emerges out of a complex biosphere, and in this essay Teilhard describes how our planet is growing its very own mind.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/formation-of-the-noosphereFri, 01 Mar 2019 16:05:00 -0800As we approach history's climax, McKenna heralds the inevitable complexification of existence. He foretells technology and pharmacology's fusion into higher consciousness and collective awakening through boundary dissolution. Still, the human spirit yearns freedom from constraints of belief, non-experience. McKenna beckons: reclaim your mind, body, and world! Destiny awaits our willful shaping. The cosmic hourglass empties; shall we awaken?Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/vertigo-at-historys-edgeFri, 01 Mar 2019 10:50:00 -0800Ernst Mach's self-portrait, illustrating the subjective visual experience, which he drew to “carry out the self-inspection of the ego.”Ernst MachImagehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/view-from-the-left-eyeThu, 28 Feb 2019 11:45:00 -0800Though symbols empower us, they veil our oneness with the Infinite. Disconnection brings madness. Let us instead affirm our individuality while tasting universality, knowing we are the cosmos branching out to behold itself. We wave as the cosmos waves, seeding selves yet sprouted from the Source. Not apart but of the Whole, we wander home.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/symbolic-and-realMon, 18 Feb 2019 06:10:00 -0800The evolution of the universe—ranging from cosmic and biological to sociocultural evolution—is viewed in terms of the unifying paradigm of self-organization. The contours of this paradigm emerge from the synthesis of a number of important concepts, and provide a scientific foundation to a new world-view which emphasizes process over structure, nonequilibrium over equilibrium, evolution over permanency, and individual creativity over collective stabilization. The book, with its emphasis on the interaction of microstructures with the entire biosphere, ecosystems etc., and on how micro- and macrocosmos mutually create the conditions for their further evolution, provides a comprehensive framework for a deeper understanding of human creativity in a time of transition.Erich JantschBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/self-organizing-universeMon, 18 Feb 2019 04:50:00 -0800Teilhard de Chardin paints a grand vision of cosmic evolution, tracing life's emergence from primordial proteins to the noösphere's explosion of human thought. Rather than see humanity fading into senescence, he prophesies our passage to unimaginable trans-humanity. It's a soaring perspective on mankind's journey toward an ultimate destiny we can scarce conceive, leaving readers with an expanded sense of human possibility.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/phases-of-a-living-planetSun, 17 Feb 2019 11:40:00 -0800Over the course of nineteen essays, Alan Watts ruminates on the philosophy of nature, ecology, aesthetics, religion, and metaphysics. Assembled in the form of a mountain journal, written during a retreat in the foothills of Mount Tamalpais in California, Cloud-Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown is Watts’ meditation on the art of feeling out and following the watercourse way of nature, known in Chinese as the Tao. Embracing a form of contemplative meditation that allows us to stop analyzing our experiences and start living into them, the book explores themes such as the natural world, established religion, race relations, karma and reincarnation, astrology and tantric yoga, the nature of ecstasy, and much more.Alan WattsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cloud-hiddenFri, 08 Feb 2019 13:40:00 -0800This book was based on a course of public lectures delivered by Schrödinger in February 1943, under the auspices of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies at Trinity College, Dublin. The lectures attracted an audience of about 400, who were warned "that the subject-matter was a difficult one and that the lectures could not be termed popular, even though the physicist’s most dreaded weapon, mathematical deduction, would hardly be utilized." Schrödinger's lecture focused on one important question: How can the events in space and time—which take place within the spatial boundary of a living organism—be accounted for by physics and chemistry?Erwin SchrödingerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/what-is-lifeSat, 02 Feb 2019 09:00:00 -0800An adaptation of an address given at The Interdisciplinary Symposium on Self-Organizing Systems in Chicago, Illinois. Von Förster argues self-organizing systems don't exist in isolation but require an environment to draw energy and order from. He defines measures of order and mechanisms whereby order arises, including via internal "demons" that decrease system entropy and external "demons" that increase maximum possible entropy. Overall, some noise helps systems remain adaptable.Heinz von FörsterArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/on-self-organizing-systemsTue, 29 Jan 2019 15:50:00 -0800Aldous Huxley had been invited to the symposium by Timonthy Leary and Richard Alpert (Ram Dass). The two had met some months earlier, when Tim invited the author of the first two major works of modern psychedelic literature (The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell) to participate in the Harvard research program. Huxley agreed and was “Subject no.11” in a group psilocybin session run by Leary in November 1960.Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/visionary-experienceThu, 24 Jan 2019 05:40:00 -0800In this Presidential Lecture, cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstadter examines the role and contributions of analogy in cognition, using a variety of analogies to illustrate his points. Douglas HofstadterLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/analogy-as-the-core-of-cognitionThu, 17 Jan 2019 11:00:00 -0800The writings of the twelfth-century Chinese Zen master Dahui Zonggao (Ta Hui) are as immediately accessible as those of any contemporary teacher, and this book, which introduced them to the English-speaking world in the 1970s, has become a modern classic—a regular feature of recommended reading lists for Zen centers across America.Dahui ZonggaoBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/swampland-flowersThu, 17 Jan 2019 10:45:00 -0800From William Irwin Thompson's book Pacific Shift.William Irwin ThompsonImagehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/log-of-earthWed, 16 Jan 2019 14:45:00 -0800This lofty philosophical treatise passionately argues that the pinnacle of thought and being is a divine society of free spirits in fellowship, whose joyful self-realization through mutual service and growth comprises the final purpose of all creation. Our supreme hope is participation in this Community of Minds.William Henry ChamberlinThesishttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ultimate-unity-for-thoughtMon, 14 Jan 2019 14:50:00 -0800In his seminal work, biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy outlines a theory of systems that breaks down disciplinary boundaries and argues that there are general principles and laws applicable to systems of all kinds. He contends that phenomena should be viewed not in isolation but as components of systems interacting with their environments. Bertalanffy proposes that there are commonalities across biological, physical, and social systems that can be explored through systems thinking. He suggests the need for an overarching systems science to uncover these universal system principles. The book develops key concepts like open and closed systems, steady states, growth, feedback, homeostasis, differentiation, hierarchy, and emergence. General System Theory was groundbreaking in its interdisciplinary approach and helped foster the growth of systems theory across academia and society.Ludwig von BertalanffyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/general-system-theorySun, 13 Jan 2019 12:50:00 -0800In this essay (written for his book Portraits From Memory And Other Essays), Russell uses his logical thinking to lay out his advice for achieving a successful old age.Bertrand RussellEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/how-to-grow-oldSun, 13 Jan 2019 12:30:00 -0800Here is perhaps the most straightforward, no-nonsense book yet written about that truth which many 'spiritual seekers' are seeking - what most gurus call 'enlightenment', and what U.G. Krishnamurti calls the 'natural state'. U.G. maintains, in this selection from his conversations, that 'so-called enlightenment' is a purely biological phenomenon, that only when we are completely free of culture, conditioning, religious thinking and intellect, can the body, with its own 'extraordinary intelligence', free the human being to be in the natural state. U.G. has been living in this state since the experience he calls the "calamity" happened to him in Switzerland on his 49th birthday. He has since become widely known, both in Europe and in India, as one who speaks with authority on the subject. U.G.'s 'talks' are informal and take place wherever he happens to be. He is no relation to J. Krishnamurti, the famous spiritual leader, whose teachings he once admired, and now considers 'archaic hogwash'. He is probably the most controversial of all the experts in such matters, gurus or non-gurus. He has been called 'outrageous', 'infuriating,' and a 'prophet of anti-wisdom'.Uppaluri Gopala KrishnamurtiBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mystique-of-enlightenmentSat, 12 Jan 2019 02:30:00 -0800What If? is a meticulously crafted collection of essays, hypotheses and reflections by one of the most provocative and influential architects of the modern era. Encompassing the mature thought of a distinguished career, it is a maor contribution to the fields of Urban Design, Architectural Theory, Ecology, Environmental Ethics, and related disciplines. It includes thirty-five previously unpublished essays, ranging from observations on the nature of the American Dream to speculations about the ultimate purposes of evolution. Soleri writes as a builder, as a philosopher, as a journalist, as a historian, and, at times, as a prophet, but always with the intelligence, rigor, and originality that are his trademarks.Paolo SoleriBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/what-ifTue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 -0800An exploration of the male and female symbolism in Tantric yoga and the unity of polar opposites as a form of resonance.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/transcending-dualityTue, 20 Nov 2018 22:22:22 -0800From the inventor of the PalmPilot comes a new and compelling theory of intelligence, brain function, and the future of intelligent machines.Jeffrey Hawkins and Sandra BlakesleeBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/on-intelligenceSat, 17 Nov 2018 11:45:00 -0800Jeffrey HawkinsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-brain-project-keynoteFri, 16 Nov 2018 21:00:00 -0800Renowned for his contributions to anthropology, biology, and the social sciences, Bateson asserts that man must think as Nature does to live in harmony on the earth and, citing examples from the natural world, he maintains that biological evolution is a mental process.Gregory BatesonBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mind-and-natureMon, 12 Nov 2018 11:00:00 -0800Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carl Sagan traces our exploration of space and suggests that our very survival may depend on the wise use of other worlds. This stirring book reveals how scientific discovery has altered our perception of who we are and where we stand, and challenges us to weigh what we will do with that knowledge.Carl SaganBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/pale-blue-dotMon, 12 Nov 2018 10:50:00 -0800By exploring common themes in the lives and works of logician Kurt Gödel, artist M. C. Escher and composer Johann Sebastian Bach, this book expounds concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence. Through illustration and analysis, the book discusses how self-reference and formal rules allow systems to acquire meaning despite being made of 'meaningless' elements. It also discusses what it means to communicate, how knowledge can be represented and stored, the methods and limitations of symbolic representation, and even the fundamental notion of 'meaning' itself.Douglas HofstadterBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/godel-escher-bachMon, 12 Nov 2018 10:45:00 -0800Marvin Minsky (one of the fathers of computer science and cofounder of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT) gives a revolutionary answer to the age-old question: How does the mind work? Minsky brilliantly portrays the mind as a 'society' of tiny components that are themselves mindless. Mirroring his theory, Minsky boldly casts The Society of Mind as an intellectual puzzle whose pieces are assembled along the way. Each chapter, presented on a self-contained page, corresponds to a piece in the puzzle. As the pages turn, a unified theory of the mind emerges, like a mosaic. Ingenious, amusing, and easy to read, The Society of Mind is an adventure in imagination.Marvin MinskyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/society-of-mindSun, 11 Nov 2018 11:11:11 -0800Our seeming separation is but a trick of the light, for in truth we are all one, connected like dewdrops on a spider's web. As technology traverses the illusory distance between us, it leads us back to the recognition of our inherent unity. Communication, once imagined as bridges between islands, dissolves as we awaken to find ourselves a sea; not separate, but an oceanic communion. We return home.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/future-of-communications-1Thu, 25 Oct 2018 13:50:00 -0700Watts suggests that the essence of communication lies not in its content, but in its style—a joyous dance akin to music. He argues that the seemingly irrelevant and meaningless aspects of life, so cherished by children, may hold the key to true wisdom. By embracing the absurdity and spontaneity of existence, we can rediscover the art of living and find delight in the grand cosmic play.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/future-of-communications-2Thu, 25 Oct 2018 13:50:00 -0700What if your brain could seamlessly connect to a computer, enhancing your intelligence and unlocking new abilities? Tim Urban dives into Neuralink, Elon Musk’s ambitious project to merge minds with AI. Our brains, while remarkable, are slow compared to machines—Neuralink’s neural lace technology could change that. But this isn’t just about creating cyborgs; it’s about overcoming human limitations and shaping the future of intelligence itself. Are we on the verge of a true symbiosis with AI?Tim UrbanArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/neuralink-and-the-brains-magical-futureSat, 20 Oct 2018 13:40:00 -0700Teilhard talks about a vast realm of the Ultra-Human which lies ahead of us: a realm in which we shall not be able to survive, or super-live, except by developing and embracing on earth, to the utmost extent, all the powers of common vision and unanimazation that are available to us.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ultra-humanFri, 19 Oct 2018 11:50:00 -0700Based on the Tarner Lectures delivered at Trinity College in Cambridge, Mind and Matter is Erwin Schrödinger's investigation into a relationship which has eluded and puzzled philosophers since the earliest times.Erwin SchrödingerLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mind-and-matterWed, 17 Oct 2018 13:45:00 -0700Alan describes the ways in which we have concealed truth behind a veil of thoughts. He talks about how and why we mistake symbols for reality, argues that civilization may be a misguided experiment, offers observations about the way in which abstractions have become more powerful than the realities they are referencing, and explains how we can become “unbamboozled” from these ways of thinking.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/veil-of-thoughtsSun, 14 Oct 2018 09:10:00 -0700Visionary theologian and evolutionary theorist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin applied his whole life, his tremendous intellect, and his great spiritual faith to building a philosophy that would reconcile religion with the scientific theory of evolution. In this timeless book (originally titled “The Human Phenomenon” in French), Teilhard argues that just as living organisms sprung from inorganic matter and evolved into ever more complex thinking beings, humans are evolving toward an “omega point”—defined by Teilhard as a convergence with the Divine.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/phenomenon-of-manMon, 01 Oct 2018 18:45:00 -0700McKenna doth insist mushrooms assist Our minds to resist what we thought we had missed. Beyond normal ken, psychedelics send Our thoughts to transcend, our culture to mend. Though seen as a vice by the mainstream to chide These compounds provide portals to sights inside That propel our race to a posthuman place By opening space for our minds to embrace.Terence McKenna and Michael TomsDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/towards-the-unknownTue, 25 Sep 2018 07:30:00 -0700In this visionary book, Gregory Stock gives us a new way of understanding our world and our future. He develops the provocative thesis that human society has become an immense living being: a global superorganism in which we humans, knitted together by our modern technology and communication, are like the cells in an animal's body. Drawing on impressive research, Stock shows this newly formed superorganism to be more than metaphor: it is an actual living creature, which he has named Metaman, meaning beyond and transcending humans.Gregory StockBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/metamanFri, 21 Sep 2018 10:40:00 -0700Philosopher David Chalmers on the combination problem, dualism, and panpsychism.David ChalmersVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/hard-problem-of-consciousnessWed, 19 Sep 2018 05:20:00 -0700Has the desire for psychological security taken over physical demands? Is there security in a belief, ideal or experience? Can you listen so completely that you see the absurdity of living in illusion and end it? Can we stay with fact and have no relationship to non-fact? What is the quality of the mind that is facing what is happening? If you have no images, what is your relationship to the mind which is still seeking security? In thinking together, isn't there total security? When you put aside choice, is there insight into the whole of illusion?Jiddu KrishnamurtiLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/saanen-1979-3Sun, 09 Sep 2018 07:20:00 -0700Musk and Rogan discuss the existential risk of uncontrolled artificial intelligence. They explore possibilities for regulation and oversight, the potential for human-AI symbiosis through brain-computer interfaces, and the philosophical implications of advanced AI surpassing human intelligence.Elon Musk and Joe RoganDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/human-civilization-and-aiSat, 08 Sep 2018 15:00:00 -0700Barrett LyonImagehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/routing-paths-of-the-internetSat, 08 Sep 2018 12:25:00 -0700Teilhard explores the rise of the masses and the socialization of humanity. He predicts a future Earth where human consciousness evolves to its peak, achieving a maximum of complexity and unity through a process of “planetization,” and argues that collective unity is not a threat but a path to personalization and humanization. As we head towards an interconnected world, he challenges us to embrace a sense of evolution and celebrate our shared destiny.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/planetization-of-mankindFri, 07 Sep 2018 13:55:00 -0700In this paper, Minsky ponders the enigmatic relationship between the physical and metaphysical. He suggests our inner worlds are bisected—part mechanical, part magical. This split identity leads to tangled beliefs when we probe our own natures. Though science may someday bridge the body and soul, Minsky foresees our hearts ever holding fast to ghosts in the machine. For in the end, we are but Patchwork Men—stitches of logic and fantasy, reason and madness, particles and dreams.Marvin MinskyResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/matter-mind-and-modelsTue, 04 Sep 2018 09:25:00 -0700Conscious intelligence may be viewed as a computer system composed of many smaller parallel processing programs. Marvin Minsky, Ph.D., is one of the acknowledged founders of the mathematical theory of computation, artificial intelligence, and robotics. He argues that understanding the individual as a very sophisticated machine actually affirms human dignity.Marvin Minsky and Jeffrey MishloveDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mind-as-societyMon, 03 Sep 2018 08:15:00 -0700Is there another kind of thinking which is not about something? When you give attention completely, is there a center from which you attend? Can self-centered problems be solved without a different quality of thinking? When there is no tomorrow, psychologically, what happens to the quality of your mind? Then what is your relationship to another? In thinking together, is there opposition? Where does thinking together lead in my relationship to another?Jiddu KrishnamurtiLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/saanen-1979-1Fri, 31 Aug 2018 14:00:00 -0700The Joyous Cosmology is Alan Watts’ exploration of the insight that the consciousness-changing drugs LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin can facilitate when accompanied with sustained philosophical reflection by a person who is in search, not of kicks, but of understanding. More than an artifact, it is both a riveting memoir of Alan’s personal experiments and a profound meditation on our perennial questions about the nature of existence and the existence of the sacred.Alan WattsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/joyous-cosmologyWed, 29 Aug 2018 19:00:00 -0700Teilhard de Chardin's book, The Phenomenon of Man, reinterpreted in a visual format to illustrate the complex topics covered therein.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/survivalSat, 25 Aug 2018 00:20:00 -0700Timothy Leary journeyed through Europe as head of the psychedelic revolution and consciousness research movement, and he invited some of his tagalong friends to this evening lecture held at the "Alte Feuerwache" in Mannheim to talk about the future evolution of humanity. Timothy Leary, Terence McKenna and John Perry BarlowDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/from-psychedelics-to-cyberneticsThu, 23 Aug 2018 12:05:00 -0700Teilhard de Chardin explores the arc of human evolution, tracing humankind's progression from primordial divergence to modern convergence. He argues that we now stand at an equator where further global compression will compel our species to attain unimaginable new heights of consciousness. An eloquent exploration of our place in the cosmos and destiny as thinking beings.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/phyletic-structure-of-the-human-groupTue, 21 Aug 2018 09:35:00 -0700Albert Einstein invited Rabindranath Tagore to his home in Caputh, near Berlin, for a stimulating intellectual conversation on the topic of science and religion. According to Einstein's step-son-in-law Dmitri Marianoff, “it was interesting to see them together—Tagore, the poet with the head of a thinker, and Einstein, the thinker with the head of a poet. It seemed to an observer as though two planets were engaged in a chat.” The conversation was recorded and subsequently published in the January 1931 issue of Modern Review.Albert Einstein and Rabindranath TagoreDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/nature-of-realitySat, 18 Aug 2018 21:00:00 -0700How does humanity fit into evolution's arc? Teilhard de Chardin argues that we represent not an endpoint, but an intensification of evolution's complexity and consciousness. As technology and social bonds grow, mankind evolves toward an “ultra-hominization;” a perfected global mind.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mechanism-of-evolutionFri, 17 Aug 2018 14:30:00 -0700What if our feelings were never wrong? Philosopher Alan Watts probes the liberating link between mysticism's reverence for all things and an honest morality that accepts our emotions as natural, not shameful. By embracing our true feelings without pretense, we act with integrity, not violence.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/mysticism-and-moralityFri, 17 Aug 2018 07:40:00 -0700Tim UrbanArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/religion-for-the-nonreligiousFri, 10 Aug 2018 10:15:00 -0700Teilhard argues that biology and technology are the same thing: technology is simply advanced biology which has reached a minimum threshold of self-awareness, allowing it to harvest and sheperd energy from its environment and utilize it to intelligently organize matter for further evolutionary development.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/place-of-technology-in-mankindFri, 10 Aug 2018 08:40:00 -0700Bill Moyers and mythologist Joseph Campbell begin their groundbreaking and timeless conversation with an exploration of the classic hero cycle, including consistent and enduring hero patterns in literature, real life, and even the Star Wars films. Campbell also encourages the audience to view parts of their own lives as heroic journeys.Joseph Campbell and Bill MoyersTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/power-of-myth-1Wed, 08 Aug 2018 14:30:00 -0700Einstein wrote this letter of condolence to a grieving father named Robert S. Marcus, whose son had succumbed to polio a few days earlier.Albert EinsteinLetterhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/letter-to-dr-robert-marcusSun, 05 Aug 2018 17:00:00 -0700In examining cosmic drift, Teilhard illuminates humankind's role in the universe's inexorable convergence. We stand at an evolutionary precipice, our dawning self-reflection nurturing new heights of consciousness. To embrace this transformation, we must unite, reassess our core values, and pursue collective actualization. Teilhard's vision beckons us to become active participants in cosmogenesis, threads consciously weaving the tapestry of existence. His ideas challenge us to forge an enlightened path, infinite possibilities awaiting our cosmic citizenship.Pierre Teilhard de ChardinEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/convergence-of-the-universeSun, 05 Aug 2018 15:45:00 -0700Alan Watts speaks about our most repressed sense. Here he introduces viewers to the intricacies of incense in front of a small Buddhist altar, while commenting on the types of incense used in Church rituals and all across Asia.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/essential-lectures-11Fri, 03 Aug 2018 08:00:00 -0700When Alan Watts talked about the ‘mystical experience’ among scientific circles, he preferred to call it ‘ecological awareness’—referring to a state of mind in which a person ceases to feel separate from the environment in which he or she exists.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ecological-awarenessSat, 07 Jul 2018 10:15:00 -0700What if seriousness is actually the ultimate prison and divine creativity looks suspiciously like play? Imagine existence as a cosmic game—part chance, part skill—where trust is the fundamental gambling chip. We’re not separate things, but continuous processes. The universe unfolds like a sublime musical composition: nonsensical, beautiful, utterly uninterested in predetermined outcomes. Our job? Embrace the game and risk everything.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/game-theory-of-ethicsMon, 02 Jul 2018 08:50:00 -0700Alan presents his argument that the United States—often referred to as the ultimate materialist society—is anything but: it lacks a sincere appreciation for the material world and inadvertently destroys it in an attempt to “live the good life,” chasing after ever greener pastures just beyond the horizon of time.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/education-for-non-entityMon, 25 Jun 2018 11:55:00 -0700Huxley goes into some depth about core issues about human existence, asking the primal question: what is our true nature?Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/who-are-weSun, 24 Jun 2018 08:25:00 -0700After discussing the nature of consciousness, the human mind, and the philosophical viewpoint that every person is God, Alan Watts assumes the role of God himself for the latter half of this lecture, answering each question his audience serves with wit and insight.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/q-and-a-with-godSun, 10 Jun 2018 09:10:00 -0700Six revolutionary essays exploring the relationship between spiritual experience and ordinary life—and the need for them to coexist within each of us. With essays on “cosmic consciousness” (including Alan Watts’ account of his own ventures into this inward realm); the paradoxes of self-consciousness; LSD and consciousness; and the false opposition of spirit and matter, This Is It and Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience is a truly mind-opening collection.Alan WattsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/this-is-itWed, 30 May 2018 11:15:00 -0700An attempt to illustrate the universe’s reflective, metacognitive nature.John Archibald WheelerImagehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/participatory-universeTue, 29 May 2018 17:45:00 -0700Alan Watts examines the theme that our normal sense of the person as a lonely island of consciousness is a dramatic illusion based on theological imagery. In a global context, the meaning of this imagery inevitably changes, yet without losing its unique values.Alan WattsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/beyond-theologySat, 19 May 2018 09:00:00 -0700In this whimsical presentation, Alan Watts demonstrates a variety of cultural garb and points out how each influences the way we live and feel. His choices of attire include a western business suit, kimonos, and a sarong.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/essential-lectures-10Tue, 15 May 2018 13:15:00 -0700Alan Watts speaks on our fascination with reproduction through media, and on the far out notion that human beings may just be one star's way of becoming another star!Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/essential-lectures-9Sat, 05 May 2018 12:05:00 -0700Carl Sagan's prescient exploration of the relationship between religion and science, and his personal search for God.Carl Sagan and Ann DruyanBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/varieties-of-scientific-experienceTue, 24 Apr 2018 12:10:00 -0700The Ωmega Seed brings together Paolo Soleri’s writings on eschatology, that branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world or of mankind. Soleri believes that the simulation of the divine will provide man with a blueprint for creation not only of our physical environment but also of a new stage in the evolution of mankind. His work is against the things of a materialistic society, toward a redesigning of the urban civilization of Earth.Paolo SoleriBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-omega-seedSun, 22 Apr 2018 13:50:00 -0700An extended conversation between Alan Watts, Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, and Gary Snyder on the problem of whether to “drop out or take over.”Alan Watts, Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg and Gary SnyderDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/houseboat-summitSun, 22 Apr 2018 06:45:00 -0700Alan Watts comments on the circle of life and our response to the surprising event of being born in the first place.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/essential-lectures-8Mon, 09 Apr 2018 12:20:00 -0700Alan Watts touches upon a peculiar tendency wherein psychedelic drugs may ignite mystical experiences similar to those known in the Eastern philosophies. However, wheras Buddhism, Hinduism, and Zen accompany these mystical experiences with discipline in order to cultivate positive outcomes, psychedelically induced insights may lead to unhealthy misinterpretations and possibly even delusions of grandeur if not handled properly.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/being-far-outSat, 07 Apr 2018 20:30:00 -0700Enlightenment should not be viewed as a final destination or goal, but rather an endless unfolding where one increasingly embodies wholeness. Adyashanti examines how the ego perpetuates suffering through judgments and perceptions of incompleteness, and points to the freedom found in realizing the innate perfection in oneself and the world. AdyashantiLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/destination-unknownFri, 06 Apr 2018 17:25:00 -0700Watts explores the contrast between organic and mechanical world views and the difference between the growing process and the making process, and he explains why one corresponds to a democratic principle and the other to a monarchical hierarchy.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-13Fri, 06 Apr 2018 16:15:00 -0700A look inside Zen monastic life and practice reveals a culture of dialog and subtle humor between master and student.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-14Fri, 06 Apr 2018 16:15:00 -0700This program focuses on Zen-inspired brush painting in the Chinese and Japanese traditions, and it looks at the approach of the contemporary artist Saburō Hasegawa in his inspired return to primitivity in the arts.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-15Fri, 06 Apr 2018 16:15:00 -0700An demonstration of the remarkable integration of traditional Japanese homes and gardens within the rural landscape, and the celebration of natural forms of mountains and waters in Zen gardens.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-16Fri, 06 Apr 2018 16:15:00 -0700A demonstration how the Taoist influence in Aikido and Judo also influenced swordsmanship.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-17Fri, 06 Apr 2018 16:15:00 -0700Watts brings his expertise to bear in this presentation of Mahayana Buddhist and traditional Christian world views (he was once an Episcopal priest), and how to bring the two together.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-18Fri, 06 Apr 2018 16:15:00 -0700This book is a classic text on Hindu spirituality that bloomed open like a lotus flower in the wake of the hippie movement. The seed for this book was planted in the mind of Harvard psychiatrist turned Indian mystic, Ram Dass, and was written—with the blessings of his guru Neem Karoli Baba—for a Western audience who were, for the most part, materially rich but spiritually poor. Be Here Now offers its readers and followers a drug-free alternative for attaining higher states of consciousness, while its simple message to live in the present encourages the pursuit and cultivation of inner peace.Ram DassBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/be-here-nowFri, 06 Apr 2018 10:00:00 -0700Alan Watts argues that we spend most of our life in a sort of myopia; that is, only perceiving a microscopic subsection of the reality which we occupy. By mentally “zooming out,” humans can begin to see (and enjoy) the marvelous universal dance that has been unfolding since the Big Bang—and which now expresses itself in and through us at this very moment.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/myopic-view-of-the-worldThu, 05 Apr 2018 17:00:00 -0700Alan Watts swirls an orange on a string and shoots an arrow high into the air before explaining why the art of living is being paid to play—and to the extent that we feel compelled to work and survive, life becomes a drag.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/essential-lectures-7Wed, 04 Apr 2018 16:30:00 -0700Carl Sagan opens the program with a description of the cosmos and a “spaceship of the imagination” shaped like a dandelion seed. The ship journeys through the universe’s hundred billion galaxies, the Local Group, the Andromeda galaxy, the Milky Way, the Orion Nebula, our solar system, and finally the planet Earth. Eratosthenes’ successful calculation of the circumference of Earth leads to a description of the ancient Library of Alexandria. Finally, the “Ages of Science” are described, before pulling back to the full span of the cosmic calendar.Carl Sagan and Ann DruyanTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmos-1Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700Sagan discusses the story of the Heike crab and artificial selection of crabs resembling samurai warriors, as an opening into a larger discussion of evolution through natural selection (and the pitfalls of intelligent design). Among the topics are the development of life on the Cosmic Calendar and the Cambrian explosion; the function of DNA in growth; genetic replication, repairs, and mutation; the common biochemistry of terrestrial organisms; the creation of the molecules of life in the Miller-Urey experiment; and speculation on alien life (such as life in Jupiter's clouds). In the Cosmos Update ten years later, Sagan remarks on RNA also controlling chemical reactions and reproducing itself and the different roles of comets (potentially carrying organic molecules or causing the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event).Carl Sagan and Ann DruyanTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmos-2Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700Beginning with the separation of the fuzzy thinking and pious fraud of astrology from the careful observations of astronomy, Sagan follows the development of astronomical observation. Beginning with constellations and ceremonial calendars (such as those of the Anasazi), the story moves to the debate between Earth and Sun-centered models: Ptolemy and the geocentric worldview, Copernicus' theory, the data-gathering of Tycho Brahe, and the achievements of Johannes Kepler (Kepler's laws of planetary motion and the first science-fiction novel).Carl Sagan and Ann DruyanTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmos-3Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700Sagan discusses comets and asteroids as planetary impactors, giving recent examples of the Tunguska event and a lunar impact described by Canterbury monks in 1178. It moves to a description of the environment of Venus, from the previous fantastic theories of people such as Immanuel Velikovsky to the information gained by the Venera landers and its implications for Earth's greenhouse effect. The Cosmos Update highlights the connection to global warming.Carl Sagan and Ann DruyanTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmos-4Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700The episode, devoted to the planet Mars, begins with scientific and fictional speculation about the Red Planet during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, Edgar Rice Burroughs' science fiction books, and Percival Lowell's false vision of canals on Mars). It then moves to Robert Goddard's early experiments in rocket-building, inspired by reading science fiction, and the work by Mars probes, including the Viking, searching for life on Mars. The episode ends with the possibility of the terraforming and colonization of Mars and a Cosmos Update on the relevance of Mars' environment to Earth's and the possibility of a manned mission to Mars.Carl Sagan and Ann DruyanTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmos-5Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700The journeys of the Voyager probes is put in the context of the Netherlands in the seventeenth century, with a centuries-long tradition of sailing ship explorers, and its contemporary thinkers (such as Constantijn Huygens and his son Christiaan). Their discoveries are compared to the Voyager probes' discoveries among the Jovian and Saturn systems. In Cosmos Update, image processing reconstructs Voyager’s worlds and Voyager’s last portrait of the Solar System as it leaves is shown.Carl Sagan and Ann DruyanTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmos-6Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700Carl Sagan teaches students in a classroom in his childhood home in Brooklyn, New York, which leads into a history of the different mythologies about stars and the gradual revelation of their true nature. In ancient Greece, some philosophers (Aristarchus of Samos, Thales of Miletus, Anaximander, Theodorus of Samos, Empedocles, Democritus) freely pursue scientific knowledge, while others (Plato, Aristotle, and the Pythagoreans) advocate slavery and epistemic secrecy.Carl Sagan and Ann DruyanTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmos-7Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700Ideas about time and space are explored in the changes that constellations undergo over time, the redshift and blue shift measured in interstellar objects, time dilation in Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, the designs of both Leonardo da Vinci and spacecraft that could travel near light speed, time travel and its hypothetical effects on human history, the origins of the Solar System, the history of life, and the immensity of space. In Cosmos Update, the idea of faster-than-light travel by wormholes (researched by Kip Thorne and shown in Sagan’s novel Contact) is discussed.Carl Sagan and Ann DruyanTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmos-8Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700The simple act of making an apple pie is extrapolated into the atoms and subatomic particles (electrons, protons, and neutrons) necessary. Many of the ingredients necessary are formed of chemical elements formed in the life and deaths of stars (such as our own Sun), resulting in massive red giants and supernovae or collapsing into white dwarfs, neutron stars, pulsars, and even black holes. These produce all sorts of phenomena, such as radioactivity, cosmic rays, and even the curving of spacetime by gravity. Cosmos Update mentions the supernova SN 1987A and neutrino astronomy.Carl Sagan and Ann DruyanTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmos-9Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700Beginning with the origins of the universe in the Big Bang, Sagan describes the formation of different types of galaxies and anomalies such as galactic collisions and quasars. The episode moves further into ideas about the structure of the Universe, such as different dimensions (in the imaginary Flatland and four-dimensional hypercubes), an infinite vs. a finite universe, and the idea of an oscillating Universe (similar to that in Hindu cosmology). The search into other ideas such as dark matter and the multiverse is shown, using tools such as the Very Large Array in New Mexico. Cosmos Update shows new information about the odd, irregular surfaces of galaxies and the Milky Way perhaps being a barred spiral galaxy.Carl Sagan and Ann DruyanTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmos-10Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700The idea of intelligence is explored in the concepts of computers (using bits as their basic units of information), whales (in their songs and their disruptions by human activities), DNA, the human brain (the evolution of the brain stem, frontal lobes, neurons, cerebral hemispheres, and corpus callosum under the Triune Brain Model), and man-made structures for collective intelligence (cities, libraries, books, computers, and satellites). The episode ends with speculation on alien intelligence and the information conveyed on the Voyager Golden Record. Carl Sagan and Ann DruyanTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmos-11Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700Questions are raised about the search for intelligent life beyond the Earth, with UFOs and other close encounters refuted in favor of communications through SETI and radio telescope such as the Arecibo Observatory. The probability of technically advanced civilizations existing elsewhere in the Milky Way is interpreted using the Drake equation and a future hypothetical Encyclopedia Galactica is discussed as a repository of information about other worlds in the galaxy. The Cosmos Update notes that there have been fewer sightings of UFOs and more stories of abductions, while mentioning the META scanning the skies for signals. Carl Sagan and Ann DruyanTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmos-12Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700Sagan reflects on the future of humanity and the question of "who speaks for Earth?" when meeting extraterrestrials. He discusses the very different meetings of the Tlingit people and explorer Jean-Francois de La Perouse with the destruction of the Aztecs by Spanish conquistadors, the looming threat of nuclear warfare, and the threats shown by destruction of the Library of Alexandria and the murder of Hypatia. The episode ends with an overview of the beginning of the universe, the evolution of life, and the accomplishments of humanity and makes a plea to mankind to cherish life and continue its journey in the cosmos. The Cosmos Update notes the preliminary reconnaissance of planets with spacecraft, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of apartheid in South Africa, and measures towards the reduction of nuclear weapons. Carl Sagan and Ann DruyanTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmos-13Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700Jacob Bronowski begins his series by examining intellectual, cultural, and scientific breakthroughs in man's four-million-year evolution, and demonstrates the importance of new ideas and how they transcend other historical events in their cumulative, irreversible effects.Jacob BronowskiTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ascent-of-man-1Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700In the long spring following the Ice Ages man develops agriculture and domesticates animals, imposing his will on wild wheat and horses. With the Neolithic cultivators come the mounted Nomads, the predators, and the roots of human warfare. Shot largely in central Iran.Jacob BronowskiTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ascent-of-man-2Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700Man splits a stone and reassembles the pieces to build a wall, a cathedral, a city. This program is about man, the architect, builder, and sculptor. Shots of Greek temples of Paestum, cathedrals of medieval France, Inca cities of Peru juxtaposed with shots of modern cities.Jacob BronowskiTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ascent-of-man-3Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700From ancient Oriental metallurgy, through mystical alchemy this program traces the roots of chemistry. Shang bronze craftsmen and Samurai sword smiths are the starting point for a journey leading from medieval Europe to Dalton's atomic theory and our modern knowledge of the elements. Jacob BronowskiTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ascent-of-man-4Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700In this episode, Jacob Bronowski covers the evolution of math. Pythagoras, father of Greek math, considered numbers the language of nature. We follow the spread of Greek ideas through the Islamic Empire to Moorish Spain and Renaissance Europe, and explore the alliance of math to music, astronomy, and painting.Jacob BronowskiTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ascent-of-man-5Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700A closer look at humanity's attempts to map the forces which move the planets. The static nature of South American astronomy is contrasted with ideas of Renaissance Europe. Tracing the origins of the scientific revolution in the conflict between truth and dogma, symbolized by the trial of Galileo.Jacob BronowskiTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ascent-of-man-6Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700Newton and Einstein, the two giants of physics, imposed great systems of order on the world. This episode illustrates the revolution that occurred when Einstein's theory of relativity turned Newton's elegant description of the universe inside out.Jacob BronowskiTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ascent-of-man-7Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700This episode focuses on the industrial and political revolutions of the eighteenth century. Forces of nature were harnessed and the basics of political power shifted. Bronowski argues that in man's progress, the Industrial Revolution was a step forward as significant as the Renaissance.Jacob BronowskiTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ascent-of-man-8Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700From the countryside of Wales to the jungles of the Amazon, Jacob Bronowski follows the stories of Alfred Russell Wallace and Charles Darwin who had the same idea simultaneously—evolution by natural selection. Their ideas helped others to probe the nature and origins of life.Jacob BronowskiTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ascent-of-man-9Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700In the vaults of ancient Polish salt mines Bronowski embarks on a journey to the hidden world inside the atom. He traces the history of the men and the ideas that made twentieth-century physics the greatest achievement of the human imagination.Jacob BronowskiTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ascent-of-man-10Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700Bronowski's statement on information and responsibility's a moral dilemma to scientists. Principle of certainty in physics applies to all knowledge. Examines implications of bombing Japan. Contrasts humanist tradition of Göttingen University with the inhumanities of Auschwitz.Jacob BronowskiTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ascent-of-man-11Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700Math and physics brought revolution to man's ideas of life. From Mendel's work to discoveries of today, Bronowski unravels complex code of human inheritance. Sees sex as an instrument of evolution that makes every human unique yet breeds care between individuals.Jacob BronowskiTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ascent-of-man-12Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700In this final episode, Bronowski—poet, playwright, mathematician, philosopher—draws together many threads of the series. He takes stock of man's complex, sometimes precarious, ascent, and argues that man's growth to self-knowledge is the longest childhood of all.Jacob BronowskiTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ascent-of-man-13Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:15:00 -0700Here Alan Watts points out that our insistence that the past determines the present is nonsensical.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/essential-lectures-6Thu, 15 Mar 2018 06:10:00 -0700Sense or meaning is a property ascribed to symbols rather than the real word. Alan Watts uses this differentiation as a prelude to the Taoist and Zen Buddhist idea of the perfectly "purposeless" life and its parallels in Christianity.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-10Wed, 14 Mar 2018 14:10:00 -0700Alan Watts further explores the Hindu dramatic view of the universe, in which God plays all of the parts – all the while pretending not to know who he/she/it is!Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/essential-lectures-5Mon, 12 Mar 2018 11:00:00 -0700To many of us the image of God as a gray-bearded omnipotent and omnipresent supreme being has become implausible, yet the common sense notions of divine authority surrounding that image persist.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/essential-lectures-4Thu, 08 Mar 2018 13:15:00 -0800As Alan Watts explains, “A person who thinks all the time has nothing to think about except thoughts and loses touch with reality.” He covers basic mediation techniques, including listening without naming and chanting mantras.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/essential-lectures-3Tue, 06 Mar 2018 09:15:00 -0800Alan Watts was concerned with the way we trap ourselves in words. He considered it unfortunate that we separate the “I” from reality and think of “I” in terms of how others see us or the image that we want to project. What is the answer?Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/essential-lectures-2Sat, 03 Mar 2018 09:45:00 -0800Basing his ideas on sensory perception and physical experience, Alan Watts makes a compelling argument that everything actually depends upon nothing for its very existence.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/essential-lectures-1Thu, 01 Mar 2018 18:40:00 -0800Behind closed eyelids, an inward odyssey unfolds to the ancestral logos, beckoning with alien glossolalia. In the self-revealing chaosmos, we are the culture-jammers, launching meme-madness, art-bombs heralding the Archaic Revival. The great mother calls us home through the green, organic internet. Dance the cosmic giggle or perish amidst the ruins of history.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/global-perspectives-and-psychedelic-poeticsThu, 01 Mar 2018 00:00:00 -0800Alan Watts explains how language helps to construct reality, and what to do about it. He then follows up with the challenges of expressing the ineffable.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/tao-of-philosophy-8Tue, 27 Feb 2018 14:30:00 -0800This view of nearly 10,000 galaxies, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, is the deepest visible-light image of the cosmos. Called the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, this galaxy-studded view represents a deep core sample of the universe, cutting across billions of light-years. NASAImagehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/ultra-deep-fieldMon, 26 Feb 2018 19:30:00 -0800Alan Watts joyfully upends assumptions about reality, using wit and wisdom to reveal how existence is a dazzling, musical mystery beyond language—not a problem to be solved but an unfolding to be experienced.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/tao-of-philosophy-7Mon, 26 Feb 2018 14:30:00 -0800How should we view nature—as machine, drama, or organism? Alan says we must trust its organic patterns, explaining that the borders of our imagined selves determine our relationship to the environment and our role in the universe. So go with the flow, be purposeless, let the Tao wash over you like wild geese vanishing into clouds.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/tao-of-philosophy-6Mon, 26 Feb 2018 12:00:00 -0800Science and Ethics was the title of the "Conway Memorial Lecture" delivered by English biologist, scientist and mathematician John Burdon Sanderson Haldane at Essex Hall in London.John Burdon Sanderson HaldaneLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/science-and-ethicsFri, 23 Feb 2018 20:40:00 -0800The ferryboat philosopher riffs on how we're not skin bags with an “I” inside, but the whole cosmos peeking out! Says we feel separate because we ignore our cosmic “floodlight” consciousness. But we're waves in the ocean, apples on the tree. Realizing this brings real joy.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/tao-of-philosophy-5Thu, 22 Feb 2018 10:00:00 -0800Carl Sagan and NASAImagehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/pale-blue-dot-imageSat, 17 Feb 2018 18:20:00 -0800Alan Watts talks on the impact of various models of the ultimate reality, and the contrasts between male and female symbolism.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/tao-of-philosophy-2Sat, 17 Feb 2018 18:00:00 -0800Highlights from the "The Love of Wisdom" radio series by Alan Watts.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/tao-of-philosophy-1Sat, 17 Feb 2018 08:25:00 -0800 NASAImagehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/blue-marbleFri, 16 Feb 2018 08:00:00 -0800This film features the Dalai Lama speaking on the nature of mind and on his personal feelings as leader of the Tibetans in exile, the physicist David Bohm, who explains his theory of the "implicate order;" and interviews with artist Robert Rauschenberg and Russian economist Stanislav Menshikov. Artists, scientists, spiritual leaders and economists gathered in Amsterdam in 1990 to explore the emerging paradigm of a holistic world view and the implications for a global economy. The five day confernce was inspired by the artists Joseph Beuys and Robert Filliou, and manifested by Louwrien Wijers, who called it a "mental sculpture."David Bohm and Tenzin GyatsoVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/art-science-spirituality-1Thu, 15 Feb 2018 10:20:00 -0800Alan Watts explains the sense in nonsense and how to enjoy the playfulness of life while sincerely participating in the human game.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/tao-of-philosophy-3Wed, 14 Feb 2018 16:16:00 -0800Aldous Huxley recounts his transformative experience on a mescaline trip that took place over the course of an afternoon in May 1953. He explores how it altered his perception of reality, revealing a world rich in beauty and significance, unfiltered by the mind’s utilitarian focus. Drawing parallels to religious mysticism and artistic inspiration, Huxley critiques the limitations of normal consciousness, which he sees as a “reducing valve” that narrows reality to what is necessary for survival. The book invites readers to reconsider the nature of perception, creativity, and humanity’s spiritual potential.Aldous HuxleyBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/doors-of-perceptionTue, 13 Feb 2018 13:50:00 -0800In a talk given to the IBM Systems Group, Alan Watts describes the wiggly world of nature and the net we cast over it.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/tao-of-philosophy-4Tue, 13 Feb 2018 12:11:00 -0800Visionary architect Paolo Soleri challenges us to think of cities as biological entities with his concept of the arcology—a massive, self-sustaining, urban “organism of a thousand minds” designed to exist in harmony with nature. He proposes that the purpose of life is aesthetogenesis: the universe progressively complexifying itself into compassionate, beautiful structures. Soleri showcases 30 potential arcologies through incredibly detailed diagrams, explaining how each integrates itself economically and ecologically into the world and fulfills his aesthetogenic criteria. The scope of his vision ranges from cities designed to span canyons or float on the oceans to cube-shaped metropolises suspended on pillars, and even a space habitat. While comprehensive, Soleri's focus lies primarily on realizing arcologies that meet humanity's moral imperative for sustainable urban living. Paolo SoleriBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/arcologySat, 10 Feb 2018 21:00:00 -0800Buddhism offers a profound solution to the existential suffering caused by aging, illness, and death. It cultivates samvega (a sense of urgency) and pasada (clarity and confidence) to transcend the meaningless cycle of birth and death, through developing noble qualities like generosity, virtue, and meditation that lead to the Deathless.Thānissaro BhikkhuEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/samvegaSat, 10 Feb 2018 07:00:00 -0800Like a cosmic infant slowly learning to walk, reality is toddling towards its divine potential in this essay by Soleri. Through the urban effect of dense interactions, lifeless matter evolves in complexity and miniaturization, transforming into living spirit. The cosmic journey culminates when all moments coexist in esthetic equity.Paolo SoleriEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-urban-effectSun, 04 Feb 2018 10:40:00 -0800This trialogue between Krishnamurti, Bohm, and Shainberg methodically uncovers the nature of man’s psyche, his fragmentation, the limitations of a thought-based society, and finds out if there is a wholeness, a sacredness in life which is untouched by thought.Jiddu Krishnamurti, David Bohm and David ShainbergDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/transformation-of-man-2Tue, 30 Jan 2018 10:45:00 -0800This trialogue between Krishnamurti, Bohm, and Shainberg methodically uncovers the nature of man’s psyche, his fragmentation, the limitations of a thought-based society, and finds out if there is a wholeness, a sacredness in life which is untouched by thought.Jiddu Krishnamurti, David Bohm and David ShainbergDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/transformation-of-man-3Tue, 30 Jan 2018 10:45:00 -0800This trialogue between Krishnamurti, Bohm, and Shainberg methodically uncovers the nature of man’s psyche, his fragmentation, the limitations of a thought-based society, and finds out if there is a wholeness, a sacredness in life which is untouched by thought.Jiddu Krishnamurti, David Bohm and David ShainbergDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/transformation-of-man-4Tue, 30 Jan 2018 10:45:00 -0800This trialogue between Krishnamurti, Bohm, and Shainberg methodically uncovers the nature of man’s psyche, his fragmentation, the limitations of a thought-based society, and finds out if there is a wholeness, a sacredness in life which is untouched by thought.Jiddu Krishnamurti, David Bohm and David ShainbergDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/transformation-of-man-5Tue, 30 Jan 2018 10:45:00 -0800This trialogue between Krishnamurti, Bohm, and Shainberg methodically uncovers the nature of man’s psyche, his fragmentation, the limitations of a thought-based society, and finds out if there is a wholeness, a sacredness in life which is untouched by thought.Jiddu Krishnamurti, David Bohm and David ShainbergDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/transformation-of-man-6Tue, 30 Jan 2018 10:45:00 -0800This trialogue between Krishnamurti, Bohm, and Shainberg methodically uncovers the nature of man’s psyche, his fragmentation, the limitations of a thought-based society, and finds out if there is a wholeness, a sacredness in life which is untouched by thought.Jiddu Krishnamurti, David Bohm and David ShainbergDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/transformation-of-man-7Tue, 30 Jan 2018 10:45:00 -0800In this video, Richard Feynman looks at the mysterious forces that make ordinary things happen and, in doing so, answers questions about why rubber bands are stretchy, why tennis balls can't bounce forever, and what you're really seeing when you look in the mirror.Richard FeynmanLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/fun-to-imagineSun, 28 Jan 2018 08:00:00 -0800In this essay on man, Mr. Fuller expresses what may well be his penultimate view of the human condition. Here, in a mood at once philosophical and involved, he traces humanity's intellectual evolution and weighs our capability for survival on this magnificent craft, this Spaceship Earth, this superbly designed sphere almost negligible in dimension compared to the great vastness of space. Mr. Fuller is optimistic that we will survive and, through research and development and increased industrialization, generate wealth so rapidly that we can do very great things. But, he notes, there must be an enormous educational task successfully accomplished right now to convert our tendency toward oblivion into a realization of his potential, to a universe-exploring advantage from this Spaceship Earth.Richard Buckminster FullerBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/operating-manual-for-spaceship-earthSat, 27 Jan 2018 14:45:54 -0800Paolo Soleri's architectural-philosophical thinking sets forth fundamental reformulations to address the globalizing world's most urgent environmental, urban infrastructural, and socio-ethical problems. In this book, Soleri's most recent ideas are distilled into an accessible overview for the general reader. Soleri proposes to transform our societal systems while raising sights to a radically long-term and humanistic perspective. Among the interrelated concepts outlined here are Soleri's highly original ideas of orchid and forest, the city as hyper-organism, the urban effect, and the love project. These inspiring ideas are acutely timely in light of current environmental trends: responding to global climate change, radically reducing oil dependence, embracing frugality and reduced consumption, while simultaneously confronting issues of suburban sprawl, urban renewal, smart land use, and wise food production.Paolo Soleri and Lissa McCulloughBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/conversations-with-paolo-soleriSun, 21 Jan 2018 20:00:00 -0800Alan Watts speaks on the contrast between organic and legalistic views of the order of nature, the former being based on visual pattern intelligence and the latter on verbal conventions.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-12Wed, 17 Jan 2018 06:23:00 -0800The idea of clear-cut "definiteness" reflects as a sharp and somewhat hostile attitude to life. In this talk, Alan Watts shows the value of the vague and gentle approach reflected in Far Eastern poetry and painting.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-11Wed, 17 Jan 2018 06:22:00 -0800This volume brings together the essays of Paolo Soleri in which he sets forth his philosophy of arcology (architecture ecology) and pleads for a new stage in the evolution of human society—a move toward compactness, or miniaturization, of our cities. To do so we must build solids rather than veneers; we must flee from a “flat” cityscape that debilitates and suppresses the individual. Arcologies, three dimensional macrostructures, are for populations of thousands or of millions.Paolo SoleriBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/bridge-between-matter-and-spiritMon, 15 Jan 2018 21:50:00 -0800Alan Watts discusses the Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist ideas about physical and moral pain, emphasizing the art of accepting pain by ridding it of its contextual associations.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-9Mon, 15 Jan 2018 15:30:38 -0800Alan Watts reveals his research resources for the series of Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life thus far, and he answers questions about points in the previous programs. He recommends books for further study.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-8Mon, 15 Jan 2018 15:30:37 -0800Harding invites us to investigate who we really are, beyond appearances. He argues we are not the body we see in the mirror; rather, the mystics say we are the unseen awareness peering out. So look within and discover you are not merely a mortal form, but the deathless source beholding this mirage called “life.” Douglas HardingVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/you-are-not-what-you-look-likeFri, 12 Jan 2018 17:48:17 -0800Douglas Harding demonstrates his “Youniverse” educational toy, which visually depicts the process of investigating one’s identity, starting from the outer viewpoint of galaxies and zooming in to the innermost center.Douglas HardingVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/youniverse-explorerFri, 12 Jan 2018 09:34:53 -0800This trialogue between Krishnamurti, Bohm, and Shainberg methodically uncovers the nature of man’s psyche, his fragmentation, the limitations of a thought-based society, and finds out if there is a wholeness, a sacredness in life which is untouched by thought.Jiddu Krishnamurti, David Bohm and David ShainbergDiscussionhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/transformation-of-man-1Tue, 09 Jan 2018 14:03:35 -0800Hunter S. Thompson challenges a friend to eschew society's rigid career paths and instead craft a way of life around innate gifts and passions. With existentialist flair, Thompson proposes defiant individualism in goal-setting as the key to Thoreauvian fulfillment. Though brief, it packs a philosophical punch!Hunter S. ThompsonEssayhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/a-man-has-to-be-somethingMon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800Published in Volume 12, Issue 3 of The Information Society.Esther Dyson, Alvin Toffler, George Gilder and George KeyworthArticlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/cyberspace-and-the-american-dreamTue, 12 Dec 2017 12:12:12 -0800When we think together, is there a sense of fulfilment, division or frustration? What happens to relationship? If there is no psychological time at all, what is relationship between people? Do you say, ‘I will love you tomorrow’? Will belief or authority bring us together? Is there security in separateness? When we think together, out of that a good society will be created. A good society can only come into being when you are responsible for another.Jiddu KrishnamurtiLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/saanen-1979-2Tue, 19 Sep 2017 12:45:33 -0700U.G. Krishnamurti emphatically denies the existence of self, spirit or mind, asserting that only the physical body and natural world exist. He states all human experience and understanding derives from acquired knowledge, not direct perception, and attempts to free oneself through spiritual or intellectual means are futile, as thought itself is a product of the conditioned mechanism. Krishnamurti advocates leaving the body's natural functioning alone, without interference from the conceptualizing mind.Uppaluri Gopala KrishnamurtiLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/natural-state-4Sat, 16 Sep 2017 09:14:14 -0700This 1951 classic explores how our modern pursuit of security through money, status, and technology leads to anxiety. Watts artfully weaves Eastern philosophy and Christian mysticism to argue that seeking permanence in an impermanent world is futile. Rather, we must embrace the present moment and recognize the illusion of the ego. Watts writes breezily with penetrating insight about how relaxing our grip on life's impermanence paradoxically allows us to live fully. Though challenging at times, ultimately Watts' message brings great comfort in understanding the futility of chasing security. Give it a read and you may just find the wisdom that insecurity brings! Alan WattsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/wisdom-of-insecurityThu, 14 Sep 2017 07:55:07 -0700Rupert invites us to take a direct look at the present moment. His succinct investigation leads to stunning revelations about the nature of pure consciousness.Rupert SpiraLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/what-is-nowSat, 09 Sep 2017 14:57:38 -0700This question and answer session explores the nature of thinking, insight, and love. It emphasizes that the mechanical, repetitive nature of thought leads to deterioration and conflict. True insight and action arise when perception is free from the limitations of thought and memory. Love is not a feeling or desire to be fulfilled, but an innate quality that doesn't demand or depend on others. By understanding these principles deeply, one can find freedom from anguish and live with profound meaning.Jiddu KrishnamurtiLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/why-has-the-brain-been-caught-in-the-narrow-circle-of-the-selfSat, 09 Sep 2017 10:33:07 -0700What untapped gifts lie dormant within us? Aldous Huxley digs for hidden treasure in the human psyche. He proposes mining the world's traditions to unearth practical techniques for actualizing our latent potential. From revamping education for enhanced perception and creativity, to fostering awareness and kindness, Huxley lays out a thought-provoking vision for human flourishing.Aldous HuxleyLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/realizing-human-potentialFri, 08 Sep 2017 16:41:39 -0700Delivered in Kane Hall at the University of Washington, Terence points out the universe's peculiar tendency to seek out complexity and novelty, and that humanity seems to be the focal point of this process.Terence McKennaLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eros-and-the-eschatonFri, 08 Sep 2017 16:23:44 -0700This program focuses on the East Indian idea that we have forgotten who or what we really are through identifying ourselves with the individual personality. The person or "persona" is also discussed as the social or dramatic mask assumed in daily life.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-7Sat, 02 Sep 2017 13:43:10 -0700Alan Watts explores Buddhist ideas of the value of death as the great renovator, including the Wheel of Life, and the idea of reincarnation as it is understood by philosophical Buddhists.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-6Fri, 25 Aug 2017 09:53:31 -0700Ajahn Brahm uses the metaphor of a lotus flower to describe the path of meditation leading to enlightenment. He guides the listener inward, petal by petal, until reaching the very heart—the ultimate truth of non-self and emptiness. With his characteristic wit and wisdom, he reveals how all phenomena are impermanent processes devoid of a permanent essence. Though initially confronting, Brahm suggests this teaching contains the song of freedom itself, destined to liberate those who have heard it.Ajahn BrahmLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/talk-on-non-selfWed, 23 Aug 2017 05:57:57 -0700One who talks all the time can never hear what others say. And one who thinks all the time has nothing to think about except thoughts. Alan Watts examines the value of silent-mindedness or the practice of meditation in Hinduism and Buddhism.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-5Wed, 23 Aug 2017 05:41:57 -0700Buddhism symbolizes its basic spiritual experience as a void, but Alan Watts explains this must not be taken literally. Watts explores the void as a symbol of freedom and of a world feeling which can be described poetically though not logically as the "absolute rightness" of every moment.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-4Wed, 23 Aug 2017 05:31:44 -0700This program looks at the East Indian concept of time and the illusion of living for the future as the tomorrow that never comes. Plans for the future are only useful for those able to live fully in the present.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-3Wed, 23 Aug 2017 05:25:36 -0700Alan Watts presents an explanation of the East Indian idea of māyā: the division of the world into separate things and events is a work of human thought and not a fact of nature. Watts examines the disastrous consequences of confusing thought with fact.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-2Wed, 23 Aug 2017 05:14:36 -0700Alan Watts speaks on the contrast between classical Chinese and historic Western attitudes in regard to man's place in nature. Do we see ourselves as nature's conquerors or collaborators?Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/eastern-wisdom-1Wed, 23 Aug 2017 04:05:00 -0700Got wisdom? Let Ram Dass be your guide to enlightenment. He takes us on a trip through changing myths, social action, peaceful protests, corporate responsibility, and more. It's all part of life's fascinating dance. Suffering arises when we cling to the intellect. But we find freedom when we open our hearts, embrace oneness and see the perfection in now. So tune in, turn on and wake up! Peace, love and understanding await.Ram DassLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-advanced-courseTue, 22 Aug 2017 19:56:57 -0700Ajahn BrahmLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/does-life-suckSat, 05 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700Terence holds court on our civilization's journey toward the eschaton at this weekend Esalen gathering. He riffs on topics from psychedelic states and alien intelligences to time travel and VR. McKenna argues we're evolving toward an unimaginable state of accelerating novelty, propelled by advancing technology. A mind-expanding ride for the open-minded psychonaut or armchair traveler, guided by one of the twentieth century's most eclectic thinkers.Terence McKennaWorkshophttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/our-cyberspiritual-futureMon, 10 Jul 2017 10:35:00 -0700Alan Watts reveals how G.K. Chesterton viewed existence as a merry metaphysical carnival, a holy hullabaloo in which we’re invited to gaily gallivant with the angels. Laughing in church? Chesterton insists – for the universe is God’s own vaudeville show, and we’re the bright-eyed children giggling in the front row. So cast aside solemnity, and come delight in the divine comedy!Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/on-g-k-chestertonSat, 20 May 2017 19:22:00 -0700Ram Dass investigates the effect of success upon our individual consciousnesses and how one may see beyond mere egocentric opportunism.Ram DassLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/beyond-successSat, 25 Feb 2017 14:26:00 -0800Speaking at the eleventh Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Martin Luther King Jr. reflected on the progress and ongoing struggles of the civil rights movement. He emphasized the need for economic empowerment, nonviolent resistance, and a restructuring of American society to address poverty, racism, and injustice. King called for a higher synthesis that combines the truths of capitalism and communism in a truly just and equitable system.Martin Luther King, Jr.Speechhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/where-do-we-go-from-hereMon, 20 Feb 2017 15:36:31 -0800Putting death in opposition to life, are we afraid to live and afraid to die? Attachment implies continuity. If it does not end, what happens to the whole movement of consciousness of man? Is love within this consciousness? Has love a continuity? Is death the ending of attachment? When there is complete order in one's life, that can look at cosmic order. What is attention, inattention and distraction? Does attention have continuity, a centre? In silence comes that which is eternally, timelessly sacred.Jiddu KrishnamurtiVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/madras-6Mon, 20 Feb 2017 15:34:59 -0800Have the gods been created from our sorrow and fear? In an inquiry, are you free of fear? Freedom is observation without conclusion. Can you observe the whole nature of sorrow? When there is no motive in your examination, is sorrow different from you? Can a new culture only be born out of a religious mind? Psychological transformation is the only revolution. A religious mind has no philosophy because it is with that which is eternally sacred. Sorrow has to end to understand the religious mind.Jiddu KrishnamurtiVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/madras-5Mon, 20 Feb 2017 15:34:58 -0800What is our relationship with each other? In that relationship, is there order? How will you bring order there? Is desire, the sensory responses with images thought has created, a factor of disorder? When pain is over, can one totally forget it, totally non-register it? When there is no relationship, isn’t there fear? Are you aware at the moment of fear, not to let thought come into it, to realize it has no place at the moment of action? Why has there been so little beauty and communication with nature in our lives? At the instant of pleasure is there recording? Culture means to grow, develop the totality of one's life.Jiddu KrishnamurtiVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/madras-4Mon, 20 Feb 2017 15:34:57 -0800Is there psychological time at all? How do we deal with a problem? Is time involved in love? Is time, a movement in division, necessary? Can we change fundamentally, radically, not through evolution or time? Can hurt be abandoned instantly? Can one act without effort or time? Is there a perception which ends the image without allowing time? What takes place when you observe only the fact and do not invent the opposite? Can you resolve a problem as it arises? Are problems produced from a centre?Jiddu KrishnamurtiVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/madras-3Mon, 20 Feb 2017 14:00:00 -0800Is there an action which is not fragmentary, which has no regrets and no sense of incompleteness? Is there security in the things of thought? Is all psychological security an illusion? Can one attend without concentration and effort? Does the very thought which concentrates also distract? Have you ever given attention in which there is no otherness, deviation or distraction? To attend implies there is no centre from which you are listening. When you have an insight into the nature of thought it finds its right place.Jiddu KrishnamurtiVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/madras-2Mon, 20 Feb 2017 13:00:00 -0800There is outer and inner fragmentation. Who is going to change man? Have organisations of any kind helped? To go very far we must begin very near, which is with ourselves. Is one aware of one’s thoughts, feelings, fears and pleasures? Can one listen purely, without any distortion? Is there a responsibility to listen to the world and to your own anxiety and sorrow? Can you observe without any prejudice? To learn, mustn’t the brain be free of knowledge? What is action in your life? In relationship, has knowledge any place at all? Can the brain only register what is necessary?Jiddu KrishnamurtiVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/madras-1Mon, 20 Feb 2017 12:00:00 -0800While walking in a field above Muir Woods, Alan Watts points to humankind's attempts to straighten out a wiggly world as the root of our ecological crisis.Alan WattsTelevision Episodehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/essential-lectures-12Sat, 18 Feb 2017 08:30:20 -0800Ram Dass discusses the illusion of identity and attachment. He examines different levels of consciousness, from the egoic thinking mind to universal oneness. Dass encourages living fully while cultivating spacious awareness, embracing all of life's experiences as opportunities for awakening. He emphasizes being present, listening deeply, and recognizing the perfection underlying apparent imperfection.Ram DassLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/who-are-youFri, 17 Feb 2017 15:32:45 -0800Persistent forms of nondual awareness, enlightenment, mystical experience, and so forth (Persistent NonSymbolic Experience/PNSE) have been reported since antiquity. Though sporadic research has been performed on PNSE, the research reported here represents the initial report from the first larger scale cognitive psychology study of this population.Jeffery MartinResearch Articlehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/pnseFri, 03 Feb 2017 11:30:00 -0800At the root of human conflict is our fundamental misunderstanding of who we are. The illusion that we are isolated beings, unconnected to the rest of the universe, has led us to view the “outside” world with hostility, and has fueled our misuse of technology and our violent and hostile subjugation of the natural world. In The Book, philosopher Alan Watts provides us with a much-needed answer to the problem of personal identity, distilling and adapting the ancient Hindu philosophy of Vedanta to help us understand that the self is in fact the root and ground of the universe. In this mind-opening and revelatory work, Watts has crafted a primer on what it means to be human—and a manual of initiation into the central mystery of existence.Alan WattsBookhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/the-bookWed, 01 Feb 2017 12:00:00 -0800Visionary inventor Buckminster Fuller explores humanity's evolution and role in the cosmos in this far-reaching lecture. He celebrates the human mind's ability to grasp universal principles, contrasting this with the brain's focus on discrete data. Fuller champions a "synergetic" systems perspective focused on wholes rather than parts. He examines patterns in civilization, especially relating to travel and geography. Throughout, Fuller aims to inspire an eternal, all-encompassing understanding of our existence.Richard Buckminster FullerVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/everything-i-know-1Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 -0800In this talk Richard Buckminster Fuller contemplates humanity's cosmic purpose. Rejecting assumptions like the need to earn a living, he sees humans as empowered problem-solvers with the ability to employ principles and participate in the universe's flow. Fuller advocates fully dedicating oneself to assisting humanity and nature's overall aims. He shares his personal journey, trusting the universe's integrity and coordinating with its intellect. Fuller encourages examining beliefs, focusing on lived experience. He envisions humanity awakening to its cosmic purpose, consciously evolving in harmony with nature's symphony, our full potential realized through unity with the universe's aim.Richard Buckminster FullerVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/everything-i-know-2Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 -0800Like an omniscient sage, Fuller weaves an epic tapestry tracing technology's ascent from ancient days when muscle reigned to modern times where mind ascends the throne. With synergy's secret wisdom, he foretells an era free from want, where loving logicians lead, and politics and war recede into obscurity's abyss. Yet this new day tarries, tangled in tradition's tenacious tendrils. So with urgent eloquence, Fuller implores enlightened minds to sever these bonds and share synergy's symphony, that all may know life lifted to its zenith through tool and thought's triumphant tryst.Richard Buckminster FullerVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/everything-i-know-3Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 -0800This session is all about technology's promise to lift humanity. Like a captain navigating toward undiscovered lands, Fuller charts how innovations—from ships to refrigeration to medicine—brought new worlds into reach. Now technology beckons us to uncharted abundance. If employed for life, not war, it can free all people to pursue their highest aspirations. Fuller inspires us to reclaim technology's power and unleash humanity's potential.Richard Buckminster FullerVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/everything-i-know-4Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 -0800Richard Buckminster FullerVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/everything-i-know-5Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 -0800Ever wondered how everything connects in the grand scheme of things? Buckminster Fuller unveils the universe's hidden order in the sixth part of this series. He challenges conventional geometry, revealing the power of spheres and the surprising truth about triangles. He dives into the building blocks of nature, showing how spheres and spaces interact to form the structures we see around us. Fuller even delves into our senses, demonstrating their interconnectedness and revealing the surprising limitations of sight. Get ready to see the world in a whole new way—the Fuller way!Richard Buckminster FullerVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/everything-i-know-6Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 -0800Richard Buckminster FullerVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/everything-i-know-7Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 -0800Richard Buckminster FullerVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/everything-i-know-8Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 -0800Richard Buckminster FullerVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/everything-i-know-9Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 -0800Richard Buckminster FullerVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/everything-i-know-10Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 -0800Richard Buckminster FullerVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/everything-i-know-11Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 -0800Richard Buckminster FullerVideohttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/everything-i-know-12Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 -0800Alan Watts talks about the Buddhist perspective on change and impermanence. He discusses how Buddhism encourages detachment from the world of change and pursuit of nirvana, the state beyond change. However, clinging to nirvana as something permanent is still seeking permanence. True liberation comes from fully accepting change and transience, including death. The void or emptiness doctrine in Mahayana Buddhism elaborates on this by teaching that reality escapes concepts. Freedom comes from letting go of fixed ideas and accepting the void.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/out-of-your-mind-12Fri, 28 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0700With Buddha as our guide, Watts leads us along the unfolding petals of the Eightfold Path—past the thorns of suffering, through the mists of illusion, and into the open arms of change. Life, impermanent as the wind, is ours not to grasp but to embrace. Accept each fading blossom without clinging, observe each passing cloud without craving, and suffering falls away like autumn leaves. We are left not with answers, but with questions that bloom into understanding.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/out-of-your-mind-11Thu, 27 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0700The journey of self-realization follows the winding path inward, to the place where you already are. As the egoic illusion falls away, the universe unveils your true face. Trust in the guru's skillful means, which trick the mind into its own liberation. Embrace each stage of life with sincerity, not forcing but allowing insight to dawn in its own time. Know yourself to be That, the eternal Self of all that is.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/out-of-your-mind-10Wed, 26 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0700Alan parts the veil on Hinduism's mystical heart. The cosmos is līlā, a divine dance between Brahman, the eternal Self, and māyā, the veiling illusion of multiplicity. We are That: Atman, non-separate from Brahman. Liberation dawns when we wake from māyā's spell of separateness to realize our timeless unity with the One beyond all opposites.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/out-of-your-mind-9Tue, 25 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0700This lecture on Zen Buddhism describes the Japanese Zen monastery, meditation practices, kōans used by masters to guide students, and the enlightenment experience. Watts explains how masters help students break attachment to ego through impossible tasks. He contrasts Bankei's simple "unborn mind" Zen with Hakuin's intense kōan training.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/out-of-your-mind-8Mon, 24 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0700Alan Watts lectures on the origins and essence of Zen, a branch of Mahayana Buddhism that spread from India to China and Japan. He discusses key concepts like satori, no-mind, and non-attachment, and emphasizes Zen's spontaneity, directness, and humor. Major figures covered include Bodhidharma, Hui-neng, Rinzai, and Dogen. Watts aims to illuminate Zen's appeal in the West and convey the feeling of its practices.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/out-of-your-mind-7Sun, 23 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0700With cosmic wit, Watts unveils the mystic truth: our selves are but specks of dust, our lives a flicker in eternity's eye. Yet in this vanishing wisp of consciousness, we may glimpse our true nature—the boundless void that births the ten thousand things. Facing the abyss with laughter, we find liberation in the inevitable ecstasy of dissolution.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/out-of-your-mind-6Sat, 22 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0700We are called to immerse in the sacred waters of the Now, releasing resistance's vain clutch upon illusion's crumbling stones. Feel each quivering wave, Alan chants, and the jewel of awakening will sparkle within your depths. Suffering fades when we cease damming the holy flow, surrendering instead to bliss's inevitable tide. Allow yourself to be cradled within sensation's currents. Let go, dissolve, and the river's timeless mercy will carry you home, beyond words, to dissolve in the ocean's mystical embrace.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/out-of-your-mind-5Fri, 21 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0700A deep dive into the cosmic game of life. Alan says existence is an interwoven, rhythmic dance veiled in illusion, but when we peek behind the veil, we find life is actually playful—so come on in and join the party!Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/out-of-your-mind-4Thu, 20 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0700Alan Watts explores the interconnectedness and interdependence of all things. He asserts that human consciousness excludes an awareness of the whole, instead focusing narrowly and seeing the world as disjointed parts. Watts aims to broaden awareness to encompass the fundamental unity underlying apparent diversity. Using examples like music intervals, Chinese philosophy, and weaving, he elucidates the inseparability of opposites like order and randomness, sound and silence, self and other. Watts contends that a recognition of the implicit wholeness of existence brings peace, joy and harmony. He encourages a view of life that pairs an individual persona with an understanding that each person is an expression of the total cosmos.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/out-of-your-mind-3Wed, 19 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0700Alan Watts suggests the sole identity with our egoic thoughts limits our consciousness, and that existence is an interdependent web in which consciousness plays a game of pretending to be separate. We must recognize the fundamental unity of self and world; that consciousness encompasses all experience. He provides various techniques aimed at dissolving illusory boundaries of the ego. Watts maintains that enlightenment requires no striving, since we already live in eternal presence and are manifestations of the divine reality, pretending forgetfulness for the adventure of self-discovery.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/out-of-your-mind-2Tue, 18 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0700A seminar about “what there is.” Watts weaves together keen insights from science and spirituality to propose that existence is more like a game of hide-and-seek where we pretend not to recognize how self and other are interconnected.Alan WattsSeminarhttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/out-of-your-mind-1Mon, 17 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0700Written more than two thousand years ago, the Tao Te Ching is one of the true classics of spiritual literature. It is a guide to cultivating a life of peace, serenity, and compassion. Through aphorisms and parable, it leads readers toward the Tao, or the “Way”: harmony with the life force of the universe.Lao TzuClassic Literaturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/tao-te-chingWed, 28 Sep 2016 19:48:00 -0700Alan invites us to float like clouds and experience life directly instead of mediating it through concepts. Constant thinking takes us from the real. Open wide the mind’s doors, be here, flow present like water. Watts touches on meditation’s liberating power in realizing our true nature already within. Sit, walk, breathe; see through illusion’s mist, marvel at the mundane’s hidden jewels, embrace each now, wake up! Enlightenment’s sunrise awaits those who cease thinking. Realize you're already It and let life’s living magic move your feet.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/zen-bonesWed, 28 Sep 2016 19:47:00 -0700A small group of students traveled with Alan Watts through Japan, and along the way they stopped to visit the temples and gardens of Kyoto, listening to Alan bring ancient kōans to life.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/zen-cluesMon, 26 Sep 2016 12:14:00 -0700Alan explores the idea of separateness, and whether our language has tricked us into falsely believing that things are individual, independent, and comprehensible all on their own.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/who-is-it-that-knows-there-is-no-egoFri, 23 Sep 2016 13:03:00 -0700Alan explores the idea of separateness, and whether our language has tricked us into falsely believing that things are individual, independent, and comprehensible all on their own.Alan WattsLecturehttp://www.organism.earth/library/document/who-is-it-that-knows-there-is-no-egoFri, 23 Sep 2016 13:03:00 -0700