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Peter Joseph's 'When normality becomes distortion'

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    This is probably the first
    presentation I've made of this nature
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    because the majority of my work
    surrounds the Zeitgeist Movement
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    or things that are related
    to my film series
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    but I've tailored this
    very carefully to
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    what I felt the audience of this
    event would find interesting.
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    The working title as
    noted in the program is:
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    'When Normality Becomes Distortion:
    Reflections on a World Gone Mad'
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    but as the talk developed I
    experimented with a few other
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    less sensationalized titles to
    see what would work better.
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    The 2nd one I came up with was
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    'When Intuition Fails: The Inevitable
    Breakdown of Human Assumption
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    and its Social Consequences'.
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    Not bad, a bit too wordy, though
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    so when I finished
    the presentation
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    it struck me to have a
    little more intellectual one
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    'Limited Dimensional Thought in
    a Multi-Dimensional Reality'.
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    All right, annoyingly
    intellectual but still OK.
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    Regardless, I point this out so
    you can make your own decision
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    which title you think
    is more applicable
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    because they cognitively
    highlight different context
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    of what I am going
    to present here.
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    As far as myself, as introduced,
    it's usually at this point
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    I might say something about who I
    am, my credentials and experience
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    as though frankly, any
    of us should care.
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    One of the great failures
    of critical thought
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    is the assumption of authority
    around a given data set.
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    People might think "This person's
    considered an expert in a given field
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    due to the standard set forth
    by culture, so therefore
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    I can just trust blindly
    anything they say
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    without critical evaluation."
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    A rather ominous perspective
    and I think most would agree
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    a large number of atrocities
    historically can be found
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    sourced to this blind
    dedication to the statements
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    of supposed authority.
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    Who am I? I'm just like you.
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    I'm a compiler and a messenger.
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    You should have no faith
    in anything I say here
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    and rather be prepared
    to critically assess
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    whatever issues noted
    on your own accord
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    within the bounds of your
    logical reasoning and training.
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    As I will expand upon
    later in this talk
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    there is actually no such thing
    as the origin of any information.
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    I view knowledge as a life
    form in and of itself.
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    There is no empirical source
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    and it evolves and multiplies
    just like any other organism
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    utilizing the vehicle of our collective
    human experience: transference
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    and like biological evolution
    it is self-correcting.
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    Any false thought
    will eventually
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    (even after long struggles) be
    seen by the environment and
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    selected out by the
    collective awareness
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    or what could also be
    called 'The Group Mind'
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    which I will talk about
    again a little bit later.
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    Furthermore, the premise
    of this talk regards
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    not the specifics of any discipline
    of knowledge or understanding
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    but the mechanics of it
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    specifically the
    nature of its change.
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    I'm less interested in what people
    think and more interested in
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    how they came to think it, and
    how they maintain it as valid.
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    This talk will not only consider
    such frames of reference
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    as they're often called
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    frames of reference
    individual people utilize
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    to generate and support
    their decisions and beliefs
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    but also the larger
    order institutions
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    that arise from those
    referential assumptions
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    once they are shared by a
    large enough group of people
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    to define social normality
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    which is the status
    quo that we all know.
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    Then the status quo practices will
    be qualified or even quantified
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    against what we could haphazardly
    call 'Our Objective Reality'
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    which will draw its assumptions from a
    completely different referential benchmark
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    than most of the population
    of the world is familiar with
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    a frame of reference we have come
    to know as 'The Scientific Method'.
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    You'll notice I said haphazardly
    termed an objective reality. Why?
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    Because the concept of objective
    can only be hyperbole, right?
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    How could we possibly be
    so arrogant to assume
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    at any point in time
    in human history
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    that we have ever been
    empirically right?
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    It simply hasn't happened yet,
    if you take the broad view.
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    It wasn't until the past
    couple of hundred years
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    that The Scientific Method has
    barely been taken seriously
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    with respect to human
    affairs and society.
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    What is the core mechanism of
    the Scientific Method, really?
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    Self-correction.
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    Self-correction through testing and
    logical calculation and hypothesis.
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    The self-correction attribute of
    science is what enables its evolution.
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    There is no
    recognized phenomenon
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    that isn't undergoing a
    constant change of definition
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    as the evolution of
    knowledge continues.
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    Truth itself is an
    emergent distinction.
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    It's not a noun;
    it's more of a verb
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    which constitutes an
    approach towards reality
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    but never, ever, getting there.
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    That said
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    it's obvious that we're
    doing something right.
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    The fact that this building we're
    in hasn't collapsed upon us means
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    we have been able to come in
    harmony with some kind of
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    natural physical law that
    exists beyond our control.
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    The fact that we understand to a
    certain degree how our bodies work
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    creating medicines
    that can help us
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    in positive ways over
    statistical time
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    shows that we are indeed
    in some kind of alignment
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    with what we call nature
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    as opposed to blaming our
    sickness on gods and demons
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    as we did in the past
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    as this organism of knowledge
    continues to evolve.
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    There does seem to be
    a pre-existing logic
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    (this is important to note because
    people take this for granted)
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    a logic which
    dictates our reality
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    doesn't give a damn what we
    think of it and impose upon it.
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    It appears we can either be
    vulnerable and align as best we can
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    and engage this harmony,
    or we can walk against it
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    fight it, to our personal
    and social disadvantage.
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    The unfortunate thing is
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    (as I will continue to
    address later in detail)
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    our basic social construct
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    as a whole, top to bottom
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    along with the dominant human values
    inherent to it that support it
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    appear to be firmly
    walking against
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    the natural order that exists
    (that we are slowly discovering)
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    becoming more and more decoupled
    from reality as it were
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    and hence, really,
    our life support.
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    For the sake of argument, I would like
    to quickly reduce human perception
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    into two basic modes of operations:
    emergent and traditional.
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    Today the traditional element
    is clearly the most dominant.
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    The cultural zeitgeist (no pun
    intended) is always based on
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    institutions that are tending
    to perpetuate themselves
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    non-emergent thought processes
    and their consequences.
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    Why? Because they're forms of
    psychological security, aren't they?
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    They're also forms of
    financial security.
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    Our whole society is
    actually based upon
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    institutional self-perpetuation
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    whether it's the preservation
    of a political administration
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    a corporation's market
    share and dominance
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    or even a religious demographic.
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    The traditional
    notion is so powerful
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    that the very act of questioning
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    is often met with disdain
    in the culture today.
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    Some, in their defense, have
    even gone so far to suggest
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    that all beliefs and values
    must be equal and respected
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    and they must be tolerated in
    the same element of quality.
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    Is that true?
    Are all values equal?
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    Does everyone have
    the right to believe
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    and act upon whatever
    they choose?
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    Are we all to respect
    everything others want us to?
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    If I put a gun to your head
    and have the value and belief
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    that you should die, is
    that acceptable to you?
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    Are you a bigot for
    not allowing me
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    to express my freedom of belief?
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    Obviously, values are not equal.
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    Some work and some don't
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    or more specifically, some
    represent a closer approximation
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    to reality and others do not.
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    The farther those values are
    from this natural order
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    the more destructive
    they often become
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    not just to the
    individual or group
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    but to all of us as a
    collective society.
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    There rests a distinct,
    social imperative
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    that is often ignored or feared.
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    The taboo associated with
    challenging what others think
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    under the still convenient
    notion that all values are equal
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    is simply not tenable.
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    You are partially responsible
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    for the thoughts and
    values of others
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    and they are
    responsible for yours.
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    There is nowhere to hide from
    the collective consciousness
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    and an underlying thesis
    of this presentation
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    is that until human
    society is able to
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    find and share a basic, common
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    working, responsible,
    near-empirical value set
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    we're basically doomed.
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    My hope here is to generate
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    a personal and social reflection
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    with respect to what
    you believe and why
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    eventually to be framed within the
    social context I keep alluding to.
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    It will be argued that the
    failure of emergent perception
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    to be open and listen
    to the world we live in
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    rather than impose upon it
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    with these traditional assumptions
    we blindly hold as empirical
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    is the psychological root of the
    problems we see in the world today:
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    environmental, social.
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    It is a value system disorder
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    that is continually
    created and reinforced
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    by the social system we inhabit
    and share ideologically
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    and if uncorrected,
    it could lead
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    to the collapse of human
    society as we know it today.
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    A collapse which (if
    you're paying attention)
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    is accelerating right
    now across the world
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    fueled again by a
    set of detrimental
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    perspectives that go
    largely unrecognized
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    like cancer cells go unrecognized
    to an immune system.
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    In 1884, a unique book was
    published called 'Flatland'
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    and apart of some very
    clever social commentary
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    the work gave a perspective of
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    what it would be like to live
    in a 2-dimensional reality
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    as opposed to the 3-dimensional
    one that we share.
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    One can go left and
    right, forward and back
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    but there was no such
    thing as up and down.
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    Perspective was
    hence restricted.
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    If something from the 3rd
    dimension was to come
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    and visit this
    2-dimensional reality
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    the perception of that
    object would be confined
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    to the properties enabled
    by the 2-dimensional view.
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    A 3-dimensional object
    moving up and down
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    through the 2-dimensional plane, would
    be perceived by the inhabitants
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    as this mysterious mutating
    2-dimensional line.
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    I would like to use
    this abstract notion
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    as a very loose metaphor with
    respect to cultural perception.
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    What if those in the
    2-dimensional flatland
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    had actually always been
    in the 3-dimensional space
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    but their frame of
    reference was so limited
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    by the tools of
    measurement they had
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    their experience so consistent
    with the 2-dimensional world
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    their associated values so ingrained
    and stubborn as generations past
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    that they were simply unable
    to reconcile its presence
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    even though it was
    obviously there?
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    They might have even
    established whole philosophies
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    and institutions based on the
    appearance of their world
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    perhaps 'The Church of Squares'
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    or 'Linear Economics' or the
    party 'Line of Politics'.
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    But as time went on and their
    tools and education grew
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    the consequences of their perceptual
    folly started to manifest
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    and the beliefs and
    institutions they had created
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    started to draw a confusion and
    disorder as a natural evolution.
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    They might have thought
    "How could the very fabric
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    of our assumptions that we
    all share of this reality
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    that seem correct and almost
    provable over long periods of time
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    how could they
    actually be wrong?"
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    Around 200 BC a Greek
    mathematician named Eratosthenes
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    estimated the circumference
    of the planet Earth
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    likely the first mathematically to solidify
    that it was truly round and not flat
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    a rather dramatic finding since, it
    certainly looks flat, doesn't it?
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    In Psalm 93 of the Bible it states
    "The world is firmly established.
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    It cannot be moved.
    " In another passage it states
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    "The sun rises and the sun sets
    and then hurries to rise again."
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    That would make sense
    too, wouldn't it?
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    After all, when you look at the sky
    it appears to be moving around us.
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    We still use that premise
    of thought in our language:
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    We still say 'up and down'
    when it's really 'out and in'.
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    We even still say 'sunrise' and
    'sunset', interestingly enough.
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    It wasn't until Galileo
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    really introduced our now
    obvious heliocentric universe
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    solar system, excuse me
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    and it was confirmed, obviously
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    among much traditional
    controversy.
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    Since we're on the
    subject of the stars
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    (to continue this type of example
    as I inch into value systems that
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    might be shared in the
    common community)
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    one of the most
    persistent past times
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    of human indulgence since the
    beginning of recorded history
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    a practice that has generated a
    flourishing economic industry to this day
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    spreading across
    virtually all cultures
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    is the practice of astrology.
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    In Western astrology,
    the signs of the zodiac
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    depending on their positions
    at a certain time
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    are thought to have predictive
    power in some interpretive form
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    horoscopes, etc.
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    Astrology is so popular
    today across the world
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    that you can't really read a newspaper
    without finding a column on it.
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    I even tend myself to be asked what
    my sign is a few times a month
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    when I engage in different conferences.
    It's very, very common.
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    But what is the basic perceptual
    source of this belief
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    especially Western tradition?
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    It might as well be straight
    out of the book 'Flatland'.
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    First of all, the view of all
    constellations are seen as 2-dimensional
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    yet the luminance of those celestial
    bodies that make up those forms
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    are actually distributed
    across vast distances
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    in 3-dimensional space.
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    Constellations as we know
    them simply do not exist
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    outside of the prima facie
    pictures we see in the night sky.
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    Second, stars are not fixed
    as we came to understand.
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    They are born and
    they die like us.
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    It is the illusion of
    permanence given a
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    very short duration
    on this planet
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    in regards to human
    evolution in cosmic time
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    that we think these 2D pictures
    will be the same for eternity
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    holding empirical value.
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    Third, to reintegrate
    the 2D flaw:
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    It's only a fixed perception
    from the planet Earth.
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    If we are viewing these same
    stars from another side
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    of the Milky Way galaxy
    from a different angle
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    they would not represent anything
    close to the forms we see from here.
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    Despite the popular
    culture's interest
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    which is actually quite romantic
    given the deep yearning
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    to understand our place and
    relationship to the universe
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    (relationship by the way
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    is the most common
    definition of spirituality)
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    we are only left to realize that
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    in what I will call the
    'Expanded Dimensional Reality'
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    debunking the limited
    dimensional perception
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    no different than thinking
    the world was flat or
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    that the sun moved
    around the Earth
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    most today won't
    argue those facts
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    as adamantly as they will argue
    their belief in astrology.
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    Another example of this limited
    dimensional perception
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    comes from the cultural
    characteristics
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    of the period of origin
    of certain ideas.
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    Just as the constellations
    still today
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    are recognized for their
    names after spoons
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    and oxcarts and scales
    and common animals
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    as opposed to space shuttles and
    TVs, laptops and smartphones
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    the projections of thought
    of any point in time
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    can only reflect the state of
    knowledge at that point in time.
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    It's a dead give-away.
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    The traditional religious
    systems of belief
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    contain the rhetoric, not of an
    advanced technological society
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    or a society of advancements
    in civil rights
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    or advanced medical
    treatments, no.
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    It contains the period-based,
    cultural values
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    that occurred thousands
    of years in the past.
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    Did God invent man or
    did man invent God?
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    Do the depictions of monotheistic
    gods appear like us?
  • 16:46 - 16:48
    Why do they?
    Why do they appear like us?
  • 16:48 - 16:51
    Why do they have tempers like man?
    Why are they emotional
  • 16:51 - 16:54
    and judgmental and
    volatile and retributive?
  • 16:54 - 16:59
    Why is it that monotheism is common
    to desolate, desert cultures
  • 16:59 - 17:03
    while polytheism is common to lush,
    diverse, rainforest cultures?
  • 17:03 - 17:07
    Is it random chance that nearly all
    the early gods of Greece and Egypt
  • 17:07 - 17:10
    actually related to
    natural phenomenon?
  • 17:10 - 17:14
    The sun, the moon, the
    stars, the ocean, water...
  • 17:14 - 17:16
    It's almost as
    though the minds of
  • 17:17 - 17:19
    those who created these
    stories and ideas
  • 17:19 - 17:23
    were trying to figure out what the
    natural world was and what it was doing
  • 17:23 - 17:28
    and they could only impose their
    culturally specific ideas upon them
  • 17:28 - 17:33
    as the organism of knowledge
    continued its evolution.
  • 17:33 - 17:36
    Why are the gods in traditional
    African religions black
  • 17:36 - 17:38
    and the gods in the West white?
    Why are the gods
  • 17:38 - 17:41
    of patriarchal
    societies always male?
  • 17:41 - 17:43
    And why is it that people
    born in the cultures
  • 17:43 - 17:47
    that support these beliefs
    tend to perpetuate them?
  • 17:47 - 17:51
    How often do you hear of an Arab
    person born in the Muslim culture
  • 17:51 - 17:54
    magically becoming
    Jewish as a child?
  • 17:55 - 17:58
    I'm sorry to stand in what could
    be a controversial opposition
  • 17:59 - 18:02
    to the beliefs of what are
    really billions of people
  • 18:02 - 18:06
    that ascribe to say astrology
    or theistic religious belief
  • 18:06 - 18:10
    but when the perceptual context
    of origin of these belief systems
  • 18:10 - 18:12
    are taken into account
  • 18:12 - 18:16
    we find a clear, limited,
    dimensional perception
  • 18:16 - 18:21
    cloaked as relevant through
    traditional perpetuation
  • 18:21 - 18:25
    denying the emergent
    nature of our reality.
  • 18:26 - 18:30
    This leads me to the true focus
    of this talk (believe it or not)
  • 18:30 - 18:33
    for the limited dimensional
    perception (and I apologize
  • 18:33 - 18:37
    for the annoying techno jargon but
    it's the best I come up with)...
  • 18:37 - 18:40
    This limited
    dimensional perception
  • 18:40 - 18:43
    is not limited to these
    obvious examples.
  • 18:43 - 18:46
    In the very fabric of modern
    society with respect to
  • 18:46 - 18:50
    our economic, legal and political
    system, is no different
  • 18:50 - 18:55
    not to mention the vast number of
    contemporary value distortions
  • 18:55 - 19:01
    that continue to masquerade as
    viable, applicable and normal.
  • 19:02 - 19:05
    How many people here
    are Republicans?
  • 19:06 - 19:09
    How many people
    here are Democrats?
  • 19:09 - 19:13
    How many people here
    are Independents?
  • 19:14 - 19:17
    How many people here reject
    all political parties
  • 19:17 - 19:19
    and find the political
    concept itself as outdated
  • 19:19 - 19:22
    unscientific and detrimental
    to social progress?
  • 19:22 - 19:25
    Wow!
  • 19:27 - 19:31
    How many people here
    are Capitalists?
  • 19:31 - 19:35
    How many people here
    are Socialists?
  • 19:36 - 19:39
    How many people here
    find such notions
  • 19:39 - 19:43
    to be equally as outdated,
    arbitrary and useless
  • 19:43 - 19:47
    with respect to truly efficient
    economic management? Thank you!
  • 19:48 - 19:50
    Just as people were
    born into a culture
  • 19:50 - 19:52
    that supports traditional,
    religious belief
  • 19:52 - 19:55
    tend to conform their values
  • 19:55 - 19:59
    and perpetuate those values
    without critical thought
  • 19:59 - 20:01
    so do almost all of
    us when it comes to
  • 20:02 - 20:04
    our modern social institutions
  • 20:04 - 20:06
    which we think are
    intellectually viable
  • 20:06 - 20:09
    and separate from the
    religious dogma.
  • 20:09 - 20:13
    Let's take government
    and politics.
  • 20:14 - 20:18
    Politics in Greek means of,
    for, or relating to citizens.
  • 20:18 - 20:21
    It's essentially a decision-making
    method of social operation
  • 20:21 - 20:24
    and while variance does exist,
    the most dominant form today
  • 20:24 - 20:27
    is that some kind of
    representative government
  • 20:27 - 20:30
    where the interests of the people
    are said to have some expression
  • 20:30 - 20:33
    through the representation.
  • 20:33 - 20:34
    In the United States
  • 20:35 - 20:37
    we are said to have a
    constitutional republic.
  • 20:37 - 20:40
    This is basically a form of
    representative democracy
  • 20:40 - 20:45
    which must govern within the confines
    of existing constitutional law
  • 20:45 - 20:49
    which is a fairly rigid set
    of preconceived declarations
  • 20:49 - 20:51
    that apply not only to the
    conduct of government
  • 20:51 - 20:54
    but also to the people.
  • 20:54 - 20:56
    Why not pure democracy?
  • 20:56 - 21:00
    Because pure democracy is 100
    white men hanging one black man.
  • 21:00 - 21:03
    The originators of this country
    had a decent intuition
  • 21:03 - 21:05
    about the dangers
    of crowd mentality.
  • 21:05 - 21:08
    In the words of Thomas
    Jefferson "A democracy
  • 21:08 - 21:11
    is nothing more than mob
    rule where 51% of people
  • 21:11 - 21:14
    may take away the rights
    of the other 49%."
  • 21:14 - 21:20
    Democracy, to be applicable,
    is really contingent upon
  • 21:20 - 21:24
    the masses being educated
    about their environment
  • 21:24 - 21:27
    so their votes have quality.
  • 21:27 - 21:30
    Since that's very
    hard to qualify
  • 21:30 - 21:33
    a benchmark of 'rights'
  • 21:34 - 21:36
    hence the Constitution
    had to be created
  • 21:36 - 21:38
    to enable some form
    of regulation.
  • 21:38 - 21:40
    I hope that makes sense
  • 21:40 - 21:43
    because this train of thought
    is going to carry farther.
  • 21:43 - 21:45
    It's a benchmark.
  • 21:45 - 21:47
    The issue of a benchmark
  • 21:47 - 21:49
    as I'd like to present
    in this exercise
  • 21:50 - 21:52
    doesn't just occur
    with democracy.
  • 21:52 - 21:55
    It's also applicable
    to the monetary system
  • 21:55 - 22:00
    or the market system of monetary
    economics to be specific.
  • 22:00 - 22:03
    Today we have what is
    called a 'Free Market'.
  • 22:03 - 22:05
    It has a nice ring
    to it, doesn't it?
  • 22:05 - 22:08
    It seems to feed the
    same value association
  • 22:08 - 22:11
    we have regarding democracy
  • 22:11 - 22:13
    the so-called
    'Freedom of Choice'.
  • 22:13 - 22:16
    The 'Free Market' means that
    through the movement of money
  • 22:17 - 22:20
    power and property can
    be bought and sold
  • 22:20 - 22:23
    the only limitation being
    the state of your wealth
  • 22:23 - 22:26
    your purchasing power, the
    actions of your competitors
  • 22:27 - 22:30
    and the laws created to maintain
    order within the system
  • 22:30 - 22:34
    and it's the law attribute that
    I find the most interesting.
  • 22:34 - 22:36
    This is the benchmark:
    the legislation
  • 22:36 - 22:41
    or the regulatory 'game rules'
    because it's just a game.
  • 22:41 - 22:44
    This benchmark regulation
    is inherent in both
  • 22:44 - 22:46
    the Free Market and democracy
  • 22:46 - 22:52
    two ideas based upon the broad,
    romantic view of free choice.
  • 22:52 - 22:54
    This to me is really interesting
  • 22:54 - 22:57
    for these benchmarks
    basically imply
  • 22:58 - 23:03
    some type of third party,
    external, empirical reality
  • 23:03 - 23:05
    an empirical reality that
  • 23:05 - 23:09
    would have to inherently be
    absent of some form of choice
  • 23:09 - 23:12
    and freedom for them
    to exist as they do.
  • 23:12 - 23:14
    Think about that for a moment.
  • 23:14 - 23:16
    It's a contradiction
  • 23:16 - 23:19
    and this contradiction can
    be seen as an influence
  • 23:19 - 23:24
    coming from the new
    emergent understandings
  • 23:24 - 23:27
    that arise to the
    evolution of knowledge
  • 23:27 - 23:29
    new experience-driven
    information
  • 23:29 - 23:33
    trying to self-correct
    prior beliefs
  • 23:33 - 23:38
    through trial-and-error or intuitive,
    step-by-step adaptation.
  • 23:38 - 23:41
    The very foundational premise
  • 23:41 - 23:44
    of democracy and the Free
    Market as far as theory
  • 23:44 - 23:46
    is intrinsically flawed.
    Obviously
  • 23:46 - 23:48
    something is missing, or
    many things are missing
  • 23:48 - 23:51
    because it can't
    work on its own.
  • 23:51 - 23:55
    It requires influence of a
    third-party decision process.
  • 23:56 - 23:59
    Democracy is contingent
    upon an informed public
  • 23:59 - 24:01
    along with certain
    ever-present rights
  • 24:01 - 24:04
    which are essentially there
    because it is assumed
  • 24:04 - 24:07
    that the public doesn't
    know them, but they should.
  • 24:07 - 24:12
    The Free Market requires third-party
    rules to maintain order
  • 24:12 - 24:16
    rules which often demand certain
    environmental safeties:
  • 24:17 - 24:21
    pollution and
    basic-efficiency protocols.
  • 24:22 - 24:24
    We all know that the system as
    it stands in the Free Market
  • 24:25 - 24:28
    left to its own devices would
    use up just about everything
  • 24:28 - 24:30
    as I will allude to
    here in a little while.
  • 24:31 - 24:34
    The system can't stand on its
    own; it will self-destruct.
  • 24:35 - 24:38
    These rules are needed
  • 24:38 - 24:42
    to protect the Free Market
    and democracy from itself
  • 24:42 - 24:46
    otherwise, they
    will self-destruct.
  • 24:46 - 24:50
    As an extended example, if it
    wasn't for the regulations existing
  • 24:50 - 24:52
    against corporate monopoly
  • 24:52 - 24:55
    the world would've been taken
    over by one corporation
  • 24:55 - 24:58
    a long, long time ago.
  • 24:58 - 25:00
    Despite the statistically void
  • 25:01 - 25:04
    utterly false notions
    perpetuated by economists
  • 25:04 - 25:08
    that the more 'free' the
    market, the more efficient
  • 25:09 - 25:12
    free market competition is one
    of the most hegemonic concepts
  • 25:12 - 25:15
    ever invented.
  • 25:15 - 25:18
    While mob-rule democracy (again,
    continuing our comparison)
  • 25:19 - 25:23
    can generate mass irrationality
    with no basis in reality
  • 25:23 - 25:27
    if not properly collared
    through rights and education.
  • 25:27 - 25:30
    I'm sorry to drill this in
    but it's very important.
  • 25:30 - 25:32
    By the way, I suggest
    a book called
  • 25:32 - 25:36
    'The Crowd: A Study
    of the Popular Mind'
  • 25:36 - 25:38
    if you want to read about
    how crowd mentality
  • 25:38 - 25:42
    can override independent
    thought in a very caustic way.
  • 25:42 - 25:44
    It's well documented that
    people lose their objectivity
  • 25:44 - 25:48
    and lose their sense of control
    when involved in mass-appeal.
  • 25:48 - 25:52
    That isn't just for a soccer riot.
    It happens through the media.
  • 25:52 - 25:55
    It happens through
    many different forms.
  • 25:55 - 25:57
    So, then...
  • 25:57 - 26:00
    What is this benchmark
    that we keep seeing?
  • 26:00 - 26:05
    What is really being referenced in
    the broad view? Using the example
  • 26:05 - 26:08
    of rights for democracy and
    regulation for the Free Market
  • 26:08 - 26:12
    what do those two issues
    really reach for?
  • 26:12 - 26:15
    It reaches for the natural order
  • 26:16 - 26:19
    or more operationally,
    Scientific Causality.
  • 26:20 - 26:24
    That is what is breaching
    through the concrete.
  • 26:24 - 26:28
    The most dangerous value we can have
    floating around the culture today...
  • 26:28 - 26:31
    (I hope everyone can really
    listen carefully to this)
  • 26:31 - 26:34
    most dangerous value we have
    floating around the culture today
  • 26:34 - 26:37
    is the idea that any of
    us have freedom of choice
  • 26:37 - 26:39
    or the right to our own opinion
  • 26:39 - 26:42
    especially when it comes to
    issues of human survival
  • 26:42 - 26:44
    and sustainability.
  • 26:45 - 26:47
    We cannot choose;
    we can only align
  • 26:47 - 26:50
    if we wish to survive
    and prosper, period.
  • 26:51 - 26:53
    There is simply no
    such thing as freedom
  • 26:53 - 26:55
    when the benchmark of
    Scientific Causality
  • 26:55 - 26:59
    is brought into the equation with
    respect to any action or goal.
  • 26:59 - 27:03
    The only caveat is the
    emergent uncertainty
  • 27:03 - 27:05
    of the evolution of knowledge
  • 27:06 - 27:09
    which does require a
    threshold of flexibility.
  • 27:09 - 27:12
    Why? Because we don't
    know everything
  • 27:13 - 27:16
    but we do seem to get
    closer and closer
  • 27:16 - 27:20
    to more empirical understandings
    as time moves forward.
  • 27:21 - 27:23
    Is there really any freedom
  • 27:23 - 27:26
    to how we organize our
    economy on a finite planet
  • 27:26 - 27:28
    if the goal is to
    create the most
  • 27:28 - 27:31
    efficient, sustainable
    means of production
  • 27:31 - 27:33
    distribution and regeneration?
  • 27:33 - 27:35
    No, there isn't.
  • 27:35 - 27:39
    Industry is a technical process,
    a calculation problem
  • 27:39 - 27:42
    where the variables
    of human needs
  • 27:42 - 27:44
    physical science and
    earthly resources
  • 27:45 - 27:48
    are brought into a single,
    regulatory equation.
  • 27:48 - 27:52
    The properties of our resources can
    be scientifically quantified now
  • 27:52 - 27:54
    strategically assessed
    as far as their purpose
  • 27:55 - 27:57
    strategically oriented
    as far as the design
  • 27:57 - 27:59
    and the most logical manner
  • 27:59 - 28:02
    distributed through the exact
    same logic of pure efficiency.
  • 28:02 - 28:05
    We have globalization on this planet!
    What the hell are we doing?
  • 28:05 - 28:07
    We're taking stuff from
    all over the world
  • 28:07 - 28:10
    exploiting labor, moving it
    around, wasting tons of energy
  • 28:10 - 28:14
    when we could easily develop production
    methods in local communities
  • 28:14 - 28:16
    where you'd save X-fold
    amount of energy.
  • 28:16 - 28:19
    The distance between elements
    moving is X-fold less...
  • 28:19 - 28:21
    It's insane
  • 28:21 - 28:25
    but yet, the system perpetuates that.
    That's for a larger order subject
  • 28:25 - 28:27
    that I've not enough
    time to go into).
  • 28:27 - 28:31
    We could strategically orient
    industry, in itself evident as we do
  • 28:31 - 28:34
    based on the physics of our
    reality in where things are.
  • 28:34 - 28:36
    We could enable in a
    efficiency never known before.
  • 28:36 - 28:40
    It becomes self-evident,
    and why would we possibly
  • 28:40 - 28:44
    with regard to sustainability,
    want to do anything less?
  • 28:45 - 28:49
    As counter-intuitive and
    culturally obtuse as it may seem
  • 28:49 - 28:52
    there is no freedom or opinion
    in our technical reality.
  • 28:52 - 28:56
    There is only the most
    efficient way up until now
  • 28:56 - 28:59
    and the rest, is
    simply, inefficient.
  • 29:00 - 29:03
    The definition of economy in Greek
    means: management of a household.
  • 29:03 - 29:07
    A reduction of waste and
    maximized efficiency is inherent
  • 29:07 - 29:09
    in this premise.
  • 29:09 - 29:13
    Is this the way our current free
    market system is operating?
  • 29:14 - 29:17
    Let's take a step back again.
    What drives the global economy?
  • 29:17 - 29:19
    Consumption, and the
    more the better.
  • 29:19 - 29:22
    More consumption means
    more jobs, better GDP
  • 29:22 - 29:24
    and hence enabling
    more consumption
  • 29:24 - 29:27
    through purchasing power that's enabled.
    Is that efficient?
  • 29:27 - 29:30
    Shouldn't preservation
    and reducing waste
  • 29:30 - 29:35
    be the basis of an economy of a
    finite planet by definition?
  • 29:35 - 29:39
    How can an economy based on the need
    for constant growth and turnover
  • 29:39 - 29:43
    and even an economy based on
    constant need of employment
  • 29:43 - 29:46
    be 'economizing'
    anything at all?
  • 29:48 - 29:51
    Then there's this thing
    called 'cost efficiency'.
  • 29:51 - 29:53
    Cost efficiency demands
    cutting expenses
  • 29:53 - 29:56
    to remain competitive
    in the market place.
  • 29:56 - 30:00
    Every single product created
    by any corporation today
  • 30:00 - 30:04
    without exception, is
    immediately inferior by design
  • 30:04 - 30:07
    for the market requirement
    to cut creation costs
  • 30:07 - 30:11
    in favor of lowering the
    output purchasing price
  • 30:11 - 30:14
    to maintain a competitive edge
  • 30:14 - 30:18
    automatically reduces the quality
    of any given item by default.
  • 30:18 - 30:22
    It is impossible to create
    the strategically best
  • 30:23 - 30:26
    long-lasting 'anything'
    in our society
  • 30:26 - 30:30
    and this translates into outrageous
    amounts of wasted resources.
  • 30:30 - 30:34
    Likewise, the same mechanism
    is also reinforcing
  • 30:34 - 30:38
    environmental disregard,
    depletion and pollution.
  • 30:38 - 30:40
    Everyone is trying
    to save money.
  • 30:40 - 30:43
    Why do you think they are really
    going to care about the environment?
  • 30:43 - 30:45
    The logic is against it.
  • 30:45 - 30:47
    We see this constant
    in the world today
  • 30:47 - 30:50
    among many other
    issues I could list.
  • 30:50 - 30:54
    If you take a moment to really
    step back and think about this
  • 30:54 - 30:58
    not only is this inefficiency a
    characteristic of the market model
  • 30:58 - 31:00
    it's actually the
    fundamental driver.
  • 31:00 - 31:04
    Having clean, unpolluted
    water in your home
  • 31:04 - 31:06
    might seem like a
    nice thing in gesture
  • 31:06 - 31:09
    but the fact that money is
    not being exchanged for that
  • 31:09 - 31:14
    is anathema to the economic sustainability
    that we've come to understand.
  • 31:15 - 31:20
    More pollution means more profit.
    More disease means more jobs
  • 31:21 - 31:22
    ad infinitum.
  • 31:22 - 31:25
    I would go so far to say
    as pointed out here that
  • 31:25 - 31:28
    sustainability, efficiency
    and preservation
  • 31:28 - 31:32
    empirically are the enemies
    of our economic system
  • 31:32 - 31:35
    and that's unfortunately,
    the firm reality.
  • 31:35 - 31:39
    Those out there who talk
    about a green economy
  • 31:39 - 31:43
    as though there is such a thing that
    could possibly exist in this system
  • 31:43 - 31:46
    posing solutions within
    this structural order
  • 31:46 - 31:48
    such as renewable
    energies, energy credits
  • 31:49 - 31:51
    carbon footprint stuff
  • 31:51 - 31:53
    they are not understanding
    what's actually at work here.
  • 31:54 - 31:56
    You cannot have a true
    green, or even close to
  • 31:57 - 31:59
    whatever you consider
    a sustainable economy
  • 31:59 - 32:02
    in the market model
    of economics.
  • 32:02 - 32:05
    It is technically impossible.
    The system would fail
  • 32:06 - 32:10
    if we ever wanted to operate on a
    truly technical, sustainable level
  • 32:10 - 32:12
    for the system is fueled
  • 32:12 - 32:15
    by the exact opposite
    set of mechanics.
  • 32:17 - 32:19
    I would even go so
    far to challenge
  • 32:19 - 32:23
    for those out there
    that basically
  • 32:23 - 32:27
    are not in favor of the complete
    abolition of the market economy
  • 32:27 - 32:30
    as the solution to the destruction
    of our environment not to mention
  • 32:30 - 32:34
    the collapse of the social
    order itself we are seeing
  • 32:34 - 32:38
    while working to replace this system
    with a truly technical approach
  • 32:39 - 32:42
    for resource management:
    proper scientific allocation
  • 32:42 - 32:46
    seeking the highest level
    of efficiency possible
  • 32:46 - 32:48
    at every turn in production
    and distribution
  • 32:48 - 32:52
    for maximum sustainability which
    is a technical distinction
  • 32:52 - 32:56
    including proper allocation
    of labor and everything else
  • 32:56 - 32:59
    really, we're just
    engaging in patchwork.
  • 32:59 - 33:01
    It's not going to do
    anything in the long run
  • 33:01 - 33:05
    and we're wasting time because
    time is literally running out.
  • 33:05 - 33:08
    This again, coming
    back to my premise
  • 33:08 - 33:11
    is the result of our limited
    dimensional perception.
  • 33:11 - 33:14
    We have based our economy on
    outdated notions of human behavior
  • 33:14 - 33:17
    and convoluted notions
    of supposed freedom
  • 33:17 - 33:22
    and ignored the true technical
    reality, true environmental reality
  • 33:22 - 33:25
    that actually supports
    and sustains our lives
  • 33:25 - 33:28
    and creates good public health.
  • 33:29 - 33:33
    This realization that our
    true economic benchmark
  • 33:33 - 33:36
    is science, and hence
    the self-evident
  • 33:36 - 33:40
    calculation requirement needed
    to streamline our efficiency
  • 33:40 - 33:43
    inherently voids
    the entire basis
  • 33:43 - 33:46
    of free market economics itself.
    I can't reiterate that enough
  • 33:46 - 33:50
    for it simply makes zero
    technical sense scientifically
  • 33:50 - 33:52
    and is provably
  • 33:52 - 33:56
    now working against our
    survival and accelerating.
  • 33:59 - 34:02
    Coming back to politics,
    let's take a quantum leap
  • 34:02 - 34:05
    outside of our traditional
    assumptions for a moment.
  • 34:05 - 34:09
    What does the political institution
    and government really do?
  • 34:09 - 34:11
    Why do we even have it?
  • 34:11 - 34:15
    They work to compensate for the
    inefficiency of the economy.
  • 34:15 - 34:18
    That's it! That's the only
    reason they're there.
  • 34:18 - 34:20
    When people are not
    getting their needs met
  • 34:20 - 34:23
    they often resort to
    so-called 'crime'
  • 34:23 - 34:26
    so, government invents
    laws to silence
  • 34:26 - 34:30
    those victims of the
    economic efficiency.
  • 34:30 - 34:35
    Likewise, if we need resources being
    held in another sovereign nation
  • 34:35 - 34:37
    aka region of the planet
  • 34:37 - 34:40
    and we are not economically
    getting along with them
  • 34:40 - 34:42
    we engage in war to
    steal those resources
  • 34:43 - 34:44
    not to mention protect ourselves
  • 34:45 - 34:47
    from others who might
    want to steal ours.
  • 34:47 - 34:49
    There is no war in history
  • 34:49 - 34:54
    that has not been based upon
    resource acquisition or protection.
  • 34:55 - 34:59
    Likewise, the world's divided
    into gangs, ever noticed that?
  • 34:59 - 35:02
    We still have these
    things called countries.
  • 35:02 - 35:06
    We still assume a socially
    Darwinistic pretense
  • 35:06 - 35:08
    with the very existence
    of these nation states
  • 35:08 - 35:12
    not to mention the divisive,
    patriotic value distortions
  • 35:12 - 35:14
    that are born out of it.
  • 35:15 - 35:19
    Here once again, we have the
    limited, dimensional perspective
  • 35:19 - 35:22
    clashing with an emergent,
    multi-dimensional reality.
  • 35:22 - 35:25
    Are countries relevant
    in technical terms?
  • 35:25 - 35:28
    How could we possibly define
    them outside of our opinions?
  • 35:28 - 35:31
    a) All humans share
    the same basic needs
  • 35:31 - 35:34
    and b) the resources
    that we all need
  • 35:34 - 35:37
    have no idea what a country is
  • 35:37 - 35:39
    and they are dispersed
    everywhere on this planet
  • 35:39 - 35:43
    in one single,
    unified ecosystem.
  • 35:45 - 35:49
    If there's anything positive that
    came out of the US and Russian
  • 35:49 - 35:53
    Cold War that almost triggered
    complete nuclear disaster decades ago
  • 35:53 - 35:56
    it was the realization that
    radiation fallout in nuclear winter
  • 35:57 - 36:00
    never heard of countries,
    flags or sovereignty.
  • 36:00 - 36:03
    Just as the pollution from
    the Japanese power plants
  • 36:03 - 36:05
    that melted down a while back
  • 36:05 - 36:10
    it didn't need passports to cross
    over to other countries' atmospheres.
  • 36:10 - 36:13
    I hope my point is clear.
    The fact is
  • 36:13 - 36:18
    there is only and can only
    be one global economy
  • 36:18 - 36:23
    and there is only one, and can
    only be one global society
  • 36:23 - 36:26
    for our economic premise
    is what defines us
  • 36:26 - 36:28
    and that's what our survival is.
  • 36:29 - 36:31
    The socioeconomic
    system of our time is
  • 36:31 - 36:34
    as archaic, dogmatically
    religious and pseudo scientific
  • 36:34 - 36:37
    as any dogmatic
    religious belief.
  • 36:38 - 36:40
    They are completely decoupled
    from the benchmark of
  • 36:40 - 36:44
    our scientific emergent
    reality which is being denied
  • 36:44 - 36:47
    held in place by traditional,
    non-emergent institutions
  • 36:48 - 36:49
    which, mark my words
  • 36:49 - 36:53
    will be what destroys life
    on this planet as we know it
  • 36:53 - 36:56
    if the multi-dimensional
    reality that is springing up
  • 36:57 - 37:01
    is not realized and brought
    to the surface quickly.
  • 37:01 - 37:04
    The central problem we face is that
    the economic system is actually
  • 37:04 - 37:06
    still systematically
    reinforcing itself
  • 37:07 - 37:09
    continuing to hold
    this paradigm in place
  • 37:09 - 37:13
    by the ongoing values and
    actions of the masses
  • 37:13 - 37:15
    who do not see the true
    source the problem
  • 37:16 - 37:18
    because they're
    trapped inside of it
  • 37:18 - 37:20
    and they are accelerating
    its effects.
  • 37:20 - 37:23
    If anyone out there frames
    their sense of leadership
  • 37:23 - 37:27
    or success, based
    on money or a claim
  • 37:27 - 37:30
    you have a rude awakening
    coming to you.
  • 37:30 - 37:32
    I couldn't help but notice
    reading the pamphlet
  • 37:33 - 37:35
    of all the well-meaning
    presentations in this event
  • 37:35 - 37:38
    and they seem to frame
    things in a very similar way
  • 37:38 - 37:41
    as far as the way they orient
    themselves in this system.
  • 37:41 - 37:43
    I don't blame them and
    I don't put them down
  • 37:43 - 37:46
    but I hope this definition
    can eventually change.
  • 37:46 - 37:48
    What is true success?
  • 37:48 - 37:50
    Is success how well you
    manage your company
  • 37:51 - 37:53
    sell a book, gain a profit
  • 37:53 - 37:56
    or anything that engages the
    current socioeconomic paradigm?
  • 37:56 - 37:58
    If you agree with what
    I have just described
  • 37:58 - 38:00
    with respect to the
    economic system
  • 38:01 - 38:03
    those focusing on short
    term material success
  • 38:03 - 38:05
    might very well be assisting
  • 38:06 - 38:08
    in their own long term
    failure and demise
  • 38:09 - 38:12
    for they're only perpetuating a
    detrimental social system in the end
  • 38:12 - 38:16
    that will get the best of all
    of us if it isn't stopped.
  • 38:16 - 38:19
    Shouldn't true success
    be your ability to
  • 38:19 - 38:22
    adapt to the emergence
    of new information
  • 38:22 - 38:25
    improving your relationship with
    the natural order benchmark
  • 38:25 - 38:27
    that we've spoken of?
  • 38:27 - 38:29
    Is there really anything
    else that that can possibly
  • 38:29 - 38:33
    define success in the
    broadest possible terms?
  • 38:33 - 38:37
    Proper alignment with whatever
    reality happens to be
  • 38:37 - 38:40
    advancing itself and
    you being with it.
  • 38:40 - 38:44
    Do our relationships and
    marriages and bank accounts
  • 38:44 - 38:46
    and even our children,
    our status, our acclaim
  • 38:46 - 38:51
    really mean anything when it's
    stepped back to a larger order
  • 38:51 - 38:56
    of what it means to relate to
    the world that you live in?
  • 38:57 - 39:00
    There's a common term we frequently
    hear these days: corruption.
  • 39:00 - 39:05
    It seems to be all over the news
    and you can't possibly escape it.
  • 39:05 - 39:07
    How would you define
    corruption, broadly?
  • 39:07 - 39:09
    I would define it
  • 39:09 - 39:14
    as the initiation or
    support of deprivation
  • 39:14 - 39:17
    exploitation and/or abuse
  • 39:17 - 39:20
    either social or environmental.
  • 39:20 - 39:22
    If this definition is accepted
  • 39:23 - 39:25
    then it is logically
    correct to say
  • 39:25 - 39:30
    that all acts of commerce
    are inherently corrupt.
  • 39:31 - 39:34
    If you define corruption as
    deprivation, exploitation or abuse
  • 39:34 - 39:37
    every time you mark up a
    value on a good you sell
  • 39:37 - 39:39
    or cut corners to save money
  • 39:39 - 39:43
    you are engaging in deprivation,
    exploitation and abuse
  • 39:43 - 39:48
    by its systemic causal effect
    and intrinsic rationale.
  • 39:48 - 39:52
    That is the behavior our social
    system requires to continue
  • 39:52 - 39:57
    and that distortion is
    currently masked as normality.
  • 39:58 - 39:59
    In conclusion
  • 39:59 - 40:02
    and as a final rogue
    example of this
  • 40:02 - 40:04
    limited, dimensional perspective
  • 40:05 - 40:08
    meaning an emergent,
    multi-dimensional reality
  • 40:08 - 40:10
    that is forcing its hand
  • 40:10 - 40:14
    there is no 'you' and
    there is no 'me'.
  • 40:14 - 40:16
    We live in a world which
    assumes division, why?
  • 40:16 - 40:19
    Because that is what we
    perceive with our five senses
  • 40:19 - 40:21
    limited sense organs
  • 40:21 - 40:24
    but molecular study has
    proven the opposite.
  • 40:24 - 40:26
    It doesn't see it that way.
  • 40:26 - 40:30
    There is a perpetual ebb and flow
    and exchange in the molecular data
  • 40:30 - 40:33
    constantly happening within
    you and outside of you
  • 40:33 - 40:38
    interweaving with your environment
    at all times on many levels.
  • 40:38 - 40:43
    Concurrently, our life support
    is explicitly symbiotic as well.
  • 40:43 - 40:45
    We need resources to live and
  • 40:45 - 40:48
    the connection to our
    evolutionarily adapted habitat
  • 40:49 - 40:52
    that basically created us
    over generational time.
  • 40:52 - 40:55
    There's absolutely
    no disconnect.
  • 40:55 - 40:58
    In the words of Jacque Fresco
  • 40:58 - 41:00
    "You don't see the
    plug up our ass
  • 41:01 - 41:03
    but it happens to be there."
  • 41:04 - 41:06
    And then we have...
  • 41:06 - 41:09
    Then we have the
    knowledge level as well
  • 41:09 - 41:11
    as I alluded to before.
  • 41:11 - 41:13
    We exist in a group mind.
  • 41:13 - 41:16
    Newton did not invent gravity
  • 41:16 - 41:18
    just as Einstein did
    not invent relativity.
  • 41:19 - 41:21
    For him to do so, he
    would have had to invent
  • 41:21 - 41:25
    the whole of mathematical development
    since the beginning of time
  • 41:25 - 41:28
    along with all the tools
    and supporting provisions
  • 41:28 - 41:30
    and everything else that
    comprised his state of knowledge
  • 41:31 - 41:33
    naturally, at that
    point in history.
  • 41:33 - 41:36
    Every word coming out of
    my mouth has been learned.
  • 41:36 - 41:39
    We only have the
    illusion of novelty
  • 41:39 - 41:41
    because each of us appear
  • 41:41 - 41:44
    to originate in seemingly
    separate pockets of experience
  • 41:44 - 41:47
    in this connected
    unison that we share.
  • 41:47 - 41:52
    Our supposed creations
    seem unique and original
  • 41:52 - 41:55
    and novel but they're
    only expansions.
  • 41:55 - 41:58
    As stated at the beginning,
    there's nowhere to hide
  • 41:58 - 42:03
    from the collective consciousness and
    we're all responsible for each other.
  • 42:03 - 42:05
    The underlining meaning
    of this presentation
  • 42:06 - 42:09
    is that, until human society
    again is able to find
  • 42:09 - 42:13
    a basic, common, working,
    responsible value set
  • 42:13 - 42:15
    which we can
    basically agree upon
  • 42:15 - 42:19
    which is consistently pinged
    against the emerging benchmark
  • 42:19 - 42:22
    of our scientific reality
  • 42:22 - 42:25
    we have a very
    difficult road ahead.
  • 42:26 - 42:29
    Within this context, as we
    listen to the world around us
  • 42:29 - 42:32
    I consider the most active
    value orientation we can have
  • 42:32 - 42:35
    which almost guarantees
    an empathetic reaction
  • 42:36 - 42:40
    which hopefully can maintain this
    social diligence that's required
  • 42:40 - 42:44
    I consider the acceptance of
    our intrinsic unification
  • 42:44 - 42:48
    to be the most powerful form
    of expression of these ideas:
  • 42:48 - 42:52
    an acknowledgment of the oneness
    as it is poetically termed.
  • 42:52 - 42:56
    This oneness over division value
  • 42:56 - 42:59
    seems to be the ultimate example
    (at least in this point in time)
  • 43:00 - 43:02
    of our limited
    dimensional perception
  • 43:02 - 43:06
    being overcome by the
    multi-dimensional reality
  • 43:06 - 43:09
    and if properly understood
  • 43:09 - 43:11
    there could be no basis for war.
  • 43:11 - 43:13
    There could be no
    logic for greed.
  • 43:13 - 43:16
    There could be no such thing
    as inefficiency and waste
  • 43:16 - 43:19
    no basis for poverty.
    There can't possibly be class
  • 43:19 - 43:23
    and as abstract and
    misunderstood as it might sound
  • 43:23 - 43:25
    there could be no
    basis to define you
  • 43:25 - 43:28
    and there could be no
    basis to define me.
  • 43:28 - 43:30
    Thank you.
Title:
Peter Joseph's 'When normality becomes distortion'
Description:

Presentation given at the LCL Conference on October 8th, 2011. It focuses on the quality of our beliefs, actions and intents within the overarching context of what supports good public health, prosperity and sustainability and what does not.

This video was transcribed and translated by Linguistic Team international. To join this effort, please follow this link :
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The Zeitgeist Movement:
http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/

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Video Language:
English
Duration:
43:36

English subtitles

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