Collapsing

"We live amidst the ruins of our own creations"

This was a poignant comment made by an author about our current human civilization, in comparison to our ancestors. He said the phenomena of still being in existence while living among extensive ruins that we ourselves have created in our lifetimes is unprecedented.

For the Maya and the Anasazi, perhaps it was a 50-200 year drought that led to their abandoning their cities and eventual collapse. For the Mesopotamians, perhaps the mineral salt build-up in their crops destroyed their agricultural system. War, lack of necessary minerals and nutrients, a shifting atmosphere and climate - there are so many different reasons why civilizations have fallen.

I always find it fascinating to take a step back and really look at the scope of our current human civilization. We haven't been around for a very long time at all, and I sense a repetition of history in our arrogance that we think we will simply always be in existence.

Not that I don't want our civilization to survive. But all of those reasons for a civilization declining that I listed above are very real threats to us now. Our population is becoming so large that we already can't feed and give water to all humans on the planet. To enhance the problem, those who have more access to food and water are hoarding supplies away, 'just in case'. This makes the number of people we can supply through cycling our resources even less.

Interesting survival skills - we utilize the same techniques with greed and money as we do on basic survival. Or perhaps the bigger issue is that people consider them one and the same.

Anyway, we are clearly tapping all of our minerals and resources, and changing the climate in a big way as a result. Will we run out of oil before we come up with a truly successful and efficient way to produce cleaner energy, or will we choke ourselves to death on the pollution we're causing?

Or, will we just blow each other up in a final nuclear war?

Eek! That got pretty heavy and morbid just then. Not trying to bring you down, but I'm sure this is something that you've thought about. Anyway we're pretty casual about it - we've taken some ancient civilization's predictions, made a blockbuster movie where the world is destroyed by AWESOME special effects and HEART STOPPING dramatic close-calls - I think you've proven you can handle the discussion.

Anyway, as far as the whole Mayan Calendar thing, what I think is that it won't be one event that happens on December 21st. I think that the year 2012 will put us face to face with the choices that determine our survival more than ever before. We will either make the choices that alter the way we look at our human society, or we will choose the path of greed and destruction. Some things aren't yet written in stone and I think this is a big moment for free will.

Or maybe the aliens are finally coming to try to colonize and we'll have to band together and become planet Earth, rather than this country, this continent, etc...

:-)

There's a difference between wishing for world peace in the world as it is now, and wishing for deeper human collaboration in order to create a completely new way of living. We need a way of life that looks at trade/commerce differently, we need a way of life that focuses on the basic necessities of survival first and foremost, and then picks up their Wii afterwards. It's about living a life such that you are your priority, but you are also aware of the effect of the way you live, and are active in making it as compatible with the rest of the world as possible.

Ah well, one can dream, right? 

Science and Spirituality

I recently interviewed for a job at a psychiatric facility, to be a coordinator for a non-invasive anti-depression treatment. While I was in the interview, I realized that I was engaged and continually asking questions about their company. I found myself much more interested than some interviews I've been on. It's happened a few times that the interviewer will ask me if I have any questions to ask them, and my mind goes blank because I'm not inspired by the job. Realizing that this was something I was interested in more than just for money, I began thinking about what sort of subjects most energize my mind.  


I've always found psychology to be fascinating, but I haven't yet decided whether I want to set my trajectory towards primarily scientific explanations and solutions rather than spiritual. In fact, moving out to California enhances the likelihood that I'll become new age-y and ditch scientific thought altogether (mostly joking). But just as being extremely organized in a town full of disorganized artists can be a benefit, so can having a scientific mind in a primarily spiritual environment - if I'm willing to consider the whole picture.


Thinking about depression, I could comfortably say that many of the mood disorders, panic disorders, and depression are due to a weakness or an incorrect wiring in specific nerve centers of the brain. This is not a disease like some other psychological diagnoses - and I'm certainly not claiming that all psychological disorders fall under this category. In any other animal other than the human though, this flawed assembly would lead to pretty rapid termination - humans, however, have created for themselves leeway when it comes to Darwin's 'fittest'. 


The faulty wiring is due to a variety of factors, but the more pertinent concern is that the organism (a.k.a. the depressed human) is not existing in a way that is consistently maintaining and improving their state of life. The inconsistency causes a person to become blind to their need for survival; their need to find the most beneficial way of living, which improves their quality of life and allows them to feel most authentic. 


This is where the drugs come in, in the scientific world. For medicines such as anti-depressants, the formula is obvious - when you take the medicine you feel good. When you don't take the medicine, you feel bad. Clearly, this doesn't solve the long-term issue. But here's where my medical opinion diverges from the 'system': like any transformative drug - be it prescription anti-depressants, prescription anti-anxiety medication, hallucinogens, or even marijuana - the point is not to become dependent on them and allow them to redefine your life. The point is to see what possibilities there are for an evolved existence, working towards a higher quality of life that you hadn't previously been experiencing in your habitual, stagnated self. 


I'll try to clarify further. When a person takes an anti-depressant and feels good, that shows them that their body really can feel good and happy, and not only when they take the drug. They might think it's only possible with the drug because the person is scared to take on the responsibility of finding the reality where they feel good all by themselves, but that's false. When a person has seen and understood the possibility of what they can experience, that is the moment where they have the ability to break off from the substance and go on a personal quest - if only they accept that they have the strength to do so. 


If you are a negative person with terrible self esteem, 'but' and 'can't' are probably two of your favorite words. 'But' is dangerous because it can be used to justify a negative thought - "BUT I'm not saying I'm feeling negative, I'm just expressing how I initially reacted with a negative thought! It's not the way I am!" See the trap? Now imagine setting a goal to in effect re-wire your mind by not allowing the words 'but' or 'can't' to come out of your mouth. Everything has to be in the context of possibility, and nothing negative will be expressed about yourself. Do you think that eventually you will change the way your mind thinks? Without a doubt. You become a more positive person by disciplining yourself to stop falling into self-pity. This is an example of a first step that can be taken, on the road to reconfiguring your life.


So are the drugs useful at all? This is a bit of a double-edged sword. They have the potential to be useful for the reasons I've just stated. But, the fact that so many people take anti-depressants and never get off them only means that people are encouraged to let go of the reins on their life and allow the drugs to do the work. It would be one thing if the people were presented with the option of how they could really re-create their lives after they've experienced what is truly possible for their happiness - but they usually aren't. Doctors wouldn't make money if they encouraged their patients to take control of their own lives and health. The unfortunate part is, most people don't want to take control anyway. They'd rather just be dependent on the prescription drug than have to really focus on understanding how their body is functioning/malfunctioning. 


As for spirituality, a lot of what I've been experiencing recently is energetic work and meditation - a focus on how the energy flows through my body and recognizing the ailments that occur when energy is trapped. This to me relates exactly with what I've been saying - if certain energies are not flowing correctly through the body, it could be skipping over energetic impulses that were long ago weakened and forgotten about. Using meditation to calm the mind's reactions to immediate stimuli, and to experience personal energy and it's response to/effect on all energies around it can result in the same benefits. Add some conscious language work in there to focus on the way a person is perceiving and sharing themselves with the world in a social context - they're in great shape now. And the good news is, this sort of practice will result in long-term benefits, not the temporary results that anti-depressants will offer. 


I've been diligently working to reframe my mind based on the ways I've personally allowed it to weaken, and I'm going to keep on doing it - persistence and strength is the key. Courage, also.