5 May 2006
Dear Friends,
Greetings, and welcome to the latest revision (V 3.1.4) of Metaconsciousness: Mythology for a Post-Civilized World; a partial rewrite of the Tribe section of the Prologue, and additional minor editing and error-correction throughout the work.
Ordinarily, I wouldn't bother to announce such a minor revision, usually preferring to announce only relatively major additions to the work, such as a new chapter. In this case, however, having given rather meticulous attention to the work as a whole, I am beginning to feel that it makes a statement about the contemporary human predicament that I have not seen in widespread circulation among the usual communication channels around the planet. There are at least a couple of possible alternative reasons for this: a) the work may be so far removed from "reality" that it amounts to the random hooting of a lunatic, and is undeserving of serious attention; or b) the work may be somewhat "ahead of the wave," and its relevance to the contemporary human condition has not yet been widely appreciated. My bias naturally leans toward the latter view, while not discounting the former possibility.
Upon review, and some streamlining, I would like to recommend Chapter 17. The Myth of Human Destiny as a candidate for renewed attention. It is admittedly a long chapter, yet it has been at least somewhat streamlined, and broken into a number of more digestible pieces by a series of subheadings which combine in the sweep of a rather broad circle:
My partial rewrite of the Tribe section of the Prologue consists primarily of the addition of a section on The Parable of the Tribes, introduced in 1984 by Andrew Bard Schmookler in a book of the same title; in which he argues in effect that once started, the pattern of warfare spreads like a plague among social entities, until it envelops the entire planet – as it has evidently done in our time. This is an automatic, self-perpetuating process that selects for competence in war, even among tribes or social entities with an intentional preference for peaceful ways.
Chapter 17 may provide the basis for an answer to The Parable of the Tribes, inasmuch as it leads up to another possible self-perpetuating process, made possible by recent technological developments, that may naturally select in the opposite direction; that is, in favor of peace, in preference to war. This is a theme that I will be exploring further in future versions of Metaconsciousness: Mythology for a Post-Civilized World.
Meanwhile, it occurs to me that I have been pursuing this exploration of metaconsciousness, and a "post-civilized" mythology and way of life, and some of you have been reading about it, for quite some time now; and I am wondering if there is anyone "out there" who resonates strongly enough with this trend of thought to want to do something about it? The thought coincides with the circumstance in my life which requires me to rent a new domicile; and prompts the follow-on thought that the Universal Metaconsciousness may be nudging me to take this project to the next level. I am not inseverably attached to any particular geographic region, although I have enjoyed living in northern New Mexico for the past 3½ years. I could as happily live and do my work almost anywhere – if a, or some kindred spirit(s) were interested in exploring with me "in 3-D" what it actually takes to evolve a "post-civilized" social entity. If this message comes to the attention of any such, please do give me a shout! I need to be resettled somewhere, or at least have a concrete plan of action, by the first of June.
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Love, Peace, Joy, Now,
Harmon
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