Metaconsciousness: Mythology for a Post-Civilized World
Contents | Prologue
What follows is an organic, growing, evolving, multi-volume exploration of the human predicament on planet Earth, including a search for possible or plausible "solutions" to the human predicament. The human predicament itself may be described generally as a condition into which the human residents of this planet have incrementally backed ourselves over the course of a relatively extended span of time, from which it is evidently very difficult to extricate ourselves at once gracefully, and "quickly." The eventual play-out of the human predicament appears to be the imminent catastrophic collapse of contemporary human civilization, and possibly the destruction of the biological life-support system of planet Earth; yet it also appears that "time is running short" on the process, and "gracefully" or "awkwardly," we humans are faced by a swiftly closing window of opportunity during which any such "solutions" must be found and acted upon "quickly;" or else the human predicament will run its course without a "solution."
The human predicament is complicated by the fact that it is multi-dimensional, global, non-linear, and non-simultaneous in nature and scope; which precludes the emergence of a single "solution" from any single "source," which may be expected to result in a "happy ending" for all. In a very real sense, every past, present, and future human resident of this planet either was, is, or will be, "part of the problem," "part of the solution," or a complicated mixture of the two. Therefore, none of us are exempt from the immediate and eventual consequences of the human predicament; and none of us are exempt from the responsibility for finding "solutions" to it, if any such are to be found at all.
The following volumes constitute part of my personal contribution to this dilemma, which I place perpetually at the very top of my list of priorities, so long as a) the human predicament persists, and b) I persist in corporeal form. I do not imagine that I shall procure, or be able to suggest, a comprehensive "solution" to the human predicament; but I do imagine that I may be able to make potentially valuable contributions to such a "solution," in collaboration and cooperation with others similarly motivated. The present work, therefore, is intentionally "open-source" and available for creative adaptation by others, who may wish to collaborate, or unilaterally to take it in multiple potential directions.
In their present form, Volume I in 14 major sections, and a Prologue, set out some of the more (or less) obvious aspects of the human predicament, and make the case that the human predicament springs as a direct consequence from contemporary widespread human mythologies, or beliefs about the nature of "reality." The suggestion is made that any "solution" to the human predicament must therefore include – must indeed begin with alternatives to contemporary "civilized" mythologies.
Volume II then presents a number of proposals for alternative "post-civilized" myths which, if widely adopted, might contribute to corresponding alternative beliefs about the nature of "reality," and consequently to human behaviors leading to destinies alternative to the potentially catastrophic crash of contemporary human civilization. Collaboration is invited in the form of further such proposals, or collaborative refinement of existing proposals.
The latest expansion of this work, Volume III, is dedicated to imaginative yet plausible visions of how the contemporary human predicament might be seen to have arisen, and to have ultimately played out, from the perspective of a future evolution of humanity for whom all these events lie securely embedded in the "past." The addition of Volume III is predicated upon the assumption that in order to come into manifestation, alternative "realities" must first be envisioned, or "imagineered." If people are able to imagine only indefinite, arbitrary, or "negative" outcomes to their contemporary circumstances, they should not be disappointed if indefinite, arbitrary, or negative outcomes manifest for them in an eventual future "present." Instead, it is suggested that now is the time to "imagineer" plausible future outcomes to present circumstances, in as rich detail as possible, that may eventually manifest in vastly more satisfactory circumstances for future human generations.
I might mention in passing that there are naturally quite a number of ways to read the present work. One way is to begin with this Introduction, and proceed sequentially until you reach Appendix C. Revision History of This Document, currently at the end of Volume III. Another way – any number of other ways, in fact – might involve scanning the table of Contents, and going to any section or subsection that may capture your attention, and reading as much of it as sustains your interest. Although sections and subsections are arranged in the order you see them listed, the coherency of the text does not depend upon them being read in that order. There are quite a spectrum of complexly interrelated ideas being expressed here, and more in the pipeline; so the Reader is hereby "liberated" to pilot her or himself through as many of them as sustain interest, in whatever order seems best.
Such, then, is the (current) scope of the work before you, Metaconsciousness: Mythology for a Post-Civilized World. Your collaborative participation in its ongoing evolution is welcome, and invited.
Metaconsciousness: Mythology for a Post-Civilized World
Contents | Prologue