A Call to the Higher Mind of Man

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A Call to the Higher Mind of Man Noah Yates 11/23/09

“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams.”- Roald Dahl

Roughly thirteen billion years ago the universe irrupted into space and time from a mysterious singularity. In relatively short time, the ballooning universe cooled significantly, homogeneous matter condensing into ordered structures, i.e. stars and galaxies. These fusion reactors cooked heavier elements into existence. Those new heterogeneous elements aggregated to form more complex structures, such as planets and new stars. Following many thousands of generations of stars, which burned-out and cast their spent material into space, our sun, along with our planet, came into being approximately five billion years ago.
On Earth, geologic processes unraveled, which brought about super-conductive atmospheric conditions conducive to the onset of organic chemistry. Soon, self-replicating cellular life-forms emerged. A chain reaction was initiated, which, now, four and a half billion years later, has culminated in the existence of high-order, self-reflecting organisms- the entire macrocosm of the roaring cosmos compressed into the manifest microcosm of vibrating human form/consciousness/spirituality/social interaction/and artistic expression.
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Ponder, for a moment, a future scenario—perhaps it is 10,000 years from now, only 100. The clouds tumble and trash above the Rocky Mountains of the American Midwest. Radiating bright, silvery neon lights, a spectacular insectoid object descends from the sky. Large, sweeping tentacles of gold-diturbium shoot out from beneath the craft, planting the ship on the coarse slopes of a granite monolith in northern Colorado. Inside, extra-terrestrial beings of supreme intellect, consummate wisdom, and transcendent magnanimity prepare to disembark from their vehicle in hopes of greet the possible inhabitants of this oxygen-rich, water covered planet they have stumbled upon. Hailing from a galaxy that flies at the far edge of the universe, their star, long-since deceased, was one of the earliest to be formed in the remnants of a supernova, which allowed the formation of their world composed of exotic elements. This race is ancient beyond the scope of our conception. But they have come to earth with tidings of good fortune—for within their vast knowledge is contained the answers to all of our questions, and they have constructed numerous gateways to other, untold dimensions—where the entropic effects of time cease to exist, and beings of all varying forms and consciousness play together in the fields of eternity.
However, these masters of the heavens- insightful, observant, and judicious- are veteran nurturers of countless worlds. Through their experiences they have accumulated erudite devises by which they conduct the integration of a newly discovered planet’s inhabitants—for every planet that breeds life, and has sufficient time to undergo evolutionary precession, contains a single species, which holds dominion over all of the other life forms on that planet—and invariably those creatures, by virtue of the fact that they are minded and capable of activity, posses powerful technologies that shape the world in which they live- for better or for worse. In accordance with this truth, it follows that these celestial heroes will only convey their benevolence to worlds, whose high-minded, master species, can demonstrate the five qualities of cosmic maturity: 1.) proficient skill in the art of efficiently allocating energy and resources. 2.) competency regarding the management of waste. 3.) praiseworthy judgment on the issues of objective, moral etiquette. 4.) the capacity to impart compassion to all fellow life forms. 5.) refined acumen in the tolerance of diverse world-views concerning the nature of being and the origins of the cosmos.
If we continue to perpetuate our habits--of indiscretion toward the consumption of resources- of rapidly growing alienation from nature- of egocentric manipulation of matter/energy through the sciences and technology- of indifference toward the fate of the diverse species that share our Earth- of mutual prejudices that drive us to war against each-other based on petty, medieval notions such as class-difference, varying ethnicity, religious dogmatism, or ego-driven campaigns of idealism—if we persist in maintaining an attitude of every-man-for-himself and if we exercise the maxims set forth by the material-capitalist value that “whoever dies with the most toys wins”—what will be their diagnosis of us as a species? Are we worthy of admittance into the higher-order league of beings, who actually care for each other- who strive to live in symmetry with nature- who rehearse harmonious equilibrium alongside the forms of life with which they share existence in space and time?
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Gather into your mind’s eye the vision of another scenario. Consider that we are the sole inheritors of the entire universe—only our planet and solar system had the conditions necessary to engender organic chemistry and biological systems. We are the progeny of a cosmic experiment, the conclusion of which hinges upon what Mankind does now. The previously described super-beings are a potential form of our future-selves. Do we have the qualities necessary solve our problems and sustain long enough to reach such an advanced sate level of sophistication?
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“In the same way that you see a flower in a field, it’s really the whole field that is flowering, because the flower couldn’t exist in that particular place without the special surroundings of the field; you only find flowers in surroundings that will support them. So in the same way, you only find human beings on a planet of this kind, with an atmosphere of this kind, with a temperature of this kind- supplied by a convenient neighboring star. And so, as the flower is a flowering of the field, I feel myself as a personing- a manning- a peopling of the whole universe. –In other words, I, like everything else in the universe, seem to be a center… a sort of vortex, at which the whole energy of the universe realizes itself- comes alive… an aperture through which the whole universe is conscience of itself. In other words, I go with it as a center to a circumference.”- Alan Watts
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Modern humans personify the culmination of nature’s efforts to express itself. Our hallmark being our thinking brains- our minds have created language that enables organic evolution to enter a new level of complexity that multiplies the facility of information to spread and collectively aggregate to engender new structures. This epigenetic evolution, first exhibited in the form of written language that yielded the articulation of complex thoughts recorded for the retrieval and cross-reference to build more complex thoughts, has now entered a new domain with the invention of computer networks and nano-processors. These technologies allow for an exponentially accelerating outgrowth of meaning.
"It's as though we took the Platonic bon mot about how "if God did not exist, Man would invent him", and say "if the unconscious does not exist, humanity will invent it"– in the form of these vast networks able to transfer and transform information. This is in fact what we are caught up in, is a transforming of information. We have not physically changed in the last 40,000 years; the human type was established at the end of the last glaciation. But change, which was previously operable in the biological realm, is now operable in the realm of culture.”- Terence Mckenna
Nature is self-similar across all scales, and so, the behavior of an atom resonates with the behavior of a galaxy. Likewise, the processes involved in the dynamic fluctuations that evoke the rise and fall of civilizations exhibit congruence with the processes, which govern the activity of molecular chemistry and the evolution of star systems. Extrapolating from this, we can envisage that our perception of existing in a body and undergoing the experience of being human (and all that encompasses- feeling of emotions, undertaking of struggles, achievement of triumphs, creative expression, self-awareness, meditation..etc.) is a direct reflection of the character possessed by the universe as a living entity. The universe is alive, and our participation in its ongoing narrative, which stems from the unfolding of cosmic order, becomes ever more paramount in the predication of why the universe exists and where it is going.
Notice that, as you examine the sequence of events/trends of interaction between matter and energy, going back in time, from the present to the big bang, the formal systems that manifest become less and less complex. Reversing this concept, we see one property of nature, which is, as of yet, unexplained by the prevaricators of science—that is, as time progresses forward, the density of connection between things is amplified and novelty is conserved. This is to say that the flow of causality moves toward concrescence, drawing through time in an on-rushing current-- the product of each successive process provides the platform from which the next progression will proceed. Complexity builds on complexity in an exponentially accelerating process.
The New Age was precipitated by the opening of dialectic between the competing ideas of archaic and modern, tribal and technocratic, and the scientist and mystics. The internet and media sources provided by technology cultivate a dialogue between the view-points of minority groups and the governing bodies, which bear authority over them. This chaotic synthesis confers greater and greater consequence to the creation of future states of novelty. The moment in which you are reading this sentence is the farthest forward time has ever existed; even the re-iteration of this concept within your mind represents a deeper journey into novelty than has ever existed. Slowly it becomes apparent that we must grasp the reigns of destiny and steer our course through the labyrinths that lie in wait for us beyond the veil of tomorrow.
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“Until Philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand aside, cities will never have rest from their evils—no, nor the human race, as I believe—and then only will this our State have a possibility of life and behold the light of day.” Plato (1*)
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The prevailing winds of change signal a looming necessity for us to unify as citizens, not of individual nations, separated by imaginary boundaries of geographic, ethnic, or cultural artifacts, but by coming together in the pursuit of the unification of individual ideologies we can fabricate a new reality rooted in our new-found capacity for self-reflection>self-correction. We must take unto ourselves the task of becoming O Henry’s Cosmopolite—each individual must beckon the intent of becoming microcosms of the macrocosm that is a perfected future state of existence.
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Our ability to destroy ourselves is the mirror image of our ability to save ourselves, and what is lacking is the clear vision of what should be done... What needs to be done is that fundamental, ontological conceptions of reality need to be redone. We need a new language, and to have a new language we must have a new reality... A new reality will generate a new language, a new language will fix a new reality, and make it part of this reality. I believe that liberation, or let's even say, decency as a human quality, is an actual resonance and anticipation of this future perfected state of humanity. We can will the perfect future into being by becoming microcosms of the perfect future, and no longer casting blame outward on institutions or hierarchies of responsibility and control, but by realizing the opportunities here, the responsibilities here, and the two may never be congruent again, and the salvation of your immortal soul may depend on what you do with the opportunity. Terence Mckenna
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Three principle changes must be executed in order for Mankind to extend its longevity into the future: ideological paradigm-shift, cultivation of ‘green’ living techniques, and re-examination of how we educate our youth.
Accordingly, it behooves us to, through the endeavors of all inhabitants of Earth, adopt strategies to mitigate the effects of our rapidly expanding human population on the environment; this includes both the implementation of more “natural” ways of living/prioritization of needs and the more intelligent application of technology toward the goal of achieving sustainable methods of food production, waste management, and resolution of renewable/perpetual energy conundrum.
In this age of high technology and an exponentially growing human population, we as a species are approaching a tipping-point of universal consequences. Either we will awaken to the consequences of continued irresponsible and childish misuse of our resources—reshaping our ways of being, or we will succumb to the effects of what happens when a system exceeds carrying capacity. Developed countries across the globe have begun the transformative process of fomenting a second “green revolution,” which will combine the benefits of both modern biological technologies and ancient methods of organic techniques of sustenance in an ongoing effort to create a dynamic equilibrium with nature. [Crispeels and Sevada] One component of the green revolution will focus on reducing the collective ecological footprint of humans (the aggregate land and water area needed to produce all of the resources a person or groups of people consume and to absorb all of their waste.)[Campbell and Reece] As is discussed in Jonah Lehrer’s essay, The Living City, cities, like organisms, must constantly maintain defenses against various things which threaten their survival; by innovating our ways of living, we develop ‘immunity’ from the problems we face.

Inasmuch as we require modification in any field of behavior, the foundation of all progress lies in the province of education. Individuals in today’s bustling world lack the ability to emotionally connect with the consequence what they are doing, in terms of the accumulated effects of a particular behavior as a species-wide phenomenon. Extrapolating from this, what we need is a generation of emotionally intelligent*people [Goleman]. Already modern education is beginning to practice techniques necessary for the cultivation of highly emotionally intelligent individuals. If we implemented the correct educational/conditioning methods during the critical years of learning/cognitive development, societies would be orders of magnitude more productive and the individuals that comprise society would be happier than they are, because a society of highly emotionally intelligent individuals has stability for adapting to change and the capacity to become something better. The process of positive evolution is accelerated when the limits of novelty are tuned for reflection and iteration.
Our potential to succeed in these goals is contingent upon our uniting as citizens of the globe. The aforementioned concept of our being emanations of the universe’s intent should be instilled in our children as fundamentally as it is taught that the earth revolves around the sun—for “Technology is destructive only in the hands of people who do not realize that they are one and the same process as the universe.” [Alan Watts] The elaboration of this theme surely precedes our ability to mature into the cosmopolitan, cosmic denizens that we can become—for if it were presented to every person with great lucidity, and if they were to envision and perceive this concept in its entirety, only then could ordinary cognitive thought immerse into a metaphysical realm of higher thinking that strains to reach a pinnacle of truth, which reveals the way of truly pure existence.
What will be the legacy of the human race? Shall we continue to wallow in our world-wide state of malaise- unflinchingly pursuing our material-capitalist game until we run the train into a wall, fatally wounding ourselves and the planet, or shall we awaken to our species-wide ineptitude and coordinate a full-scale re-imagining of our responsibilities as the dominant force shaping the evolution of life on earth? Is the human race destined to prove itself a positive influence on the evolution of this cosmic experiment or are we going to demonstrate that human consciousness is actually a cancerous tumor—terminally afflicting the Gaian over-soul. The salvation of our species and the soul of the universe may depend upon our capacity to make this decision together.
We have the unique ability to recognize our mode of continuance and thereby have the capability to alter our course through reality by means of objective resolutions. For this reason, we can strive to create a world of love and beauty, a utopia where souls are cherished, an ambience that is absorbed in universal, magnanimous affinity with all life on Earth. Through these processes of social reformation, the genesis of a new reality will invigorate a transgression of the present-day paradigms, as we coalesce to draft a new way of borrowing from our precious Mother Earth and utilizing her gifts to their fullest efficiency—we will renew her plentiful reserves as we interface with the infinite, progress toward our eventual plateau of ethereal, celestial existence as Neo-humans.
“To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite;
To forgive wrongs darker than death or night;
To defy Power, which seems omnipotent;
To love, and bear; to hope till Hope creates
From its own wreck the thing it contemplates.”
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“Peace, peace! he is not dead, he doth not sleep—
He hath awakened from the dream of life—
‘Tis we who, lost in stormy visions, keep
With phantoms an unprofitable strife.”
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“Drive my dead thoughts over the universe
Like withered leaves to quicken a new birth!
And by the incantation of this verse,
Scatter, as from an unextinguished hearth
Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!
Be through my lips to unawakened earth
The trumpet of a prophecy!” --Percy Bysshe Shelly (*2)

Work Cited
*Campbell, Niel A., and Jane B. Reece. Biology. 8th ed. San Fansisco, CA: Pearson- Benjamin Cummings, 2008. Print.
*Goleman, Daniel. Emotional Intelligence Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. New York: Bantam Books, 2005. Print.
*Lehrer, Jonah. "The Living City.". Remix: Reading+Composing Culture; Catherine G. Latterell. 2nd ed. Boston-New York: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2010. 577-581. Print.
*Speels, Maarten J., and David E. Sadava. Plants, Genes, and Crop Biotechnology. 2nd ed. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett, 2003. Print.
*"Terence McKenna -." Wikiquote. 14 Nov. 2009. Web. 24 Nov. 2009. <http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Terence_Mckenna>.
*Watts, Alan. "Quotes by: alan watts." Brainy Quotes. Brainy Media, 17 Feb. 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. <http://www.brainyquote.com/>.
*Watts, Alan Conversation with Myself. Prod.. Perf. Alan Watts. Alanwatts.com, 1971. Google Videos. 2 <http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8688992796818009166>
*Yates, Gregory A. Earth Whispers: The Quest for Biovision. Manuscript 1st Ed. ed. Elizabethtown, KY: Biovision, 2005. Print. [quotes *1 and *2 were procured from this book]

Thanks for the gr8 threads you've been creating!
What a breath of fresh air!
Thank you!

Thank you very much! I appreciate the encouragement. I want to begin writing again.... this time setting my own projects instead of writing essays on topics "directed" by the teacher. (I usually wrote whatever I wanted anyway )

Using the words "man" and "mankind" to talk about humanity is exclusionary and sexist as well as outdated and not generally accepted in academia anymore. Might want to update and correct your language usage a little bit.

I don't buy that at all.

But... I will consider your suggestion for the revised edition. The essay is full of mistakes... I wrote it quickly and haven't touched it since.