Friday, December 8, 2000
J. Harmon Grahn, Editor
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And just like that ("*!") another year has rolled around again, and it's time to commence another volume of The New Paradigm. Not only is the process of change accelerating, time itself seems to be speeding up. Doesn't it? Or is it just me? Is this what they mean when we're told the world, ourselves included, are raising our frequency? Certainly year-ends / -beginnings seem to be coming round a lot more frequently than I seem to remember them doing in the past. This (year 2000), in my perception, has been the "Year Zero" in transition to the New Millennium, which officially begins 1 January 2001. It has been a year of preparation, of waiting, of shifting ground, shifting posture, in preparation for a spring in an entirely different direction than has been carried by the momentum of the past. Have you ever had the experience of crossing a stream by hopping from rock to rock, avoiding getting your feet wet? There are numerous rocks above water, and numerous possible routes across the stream, and at a certain point you may change your mind about the route you were planning to take. You pause for a moment on the rock upon which you happen to be standing, poised to spring to the next rock, and instead shift your stance, because you can see a preferable route to your destination. Maybe the alternative route will require a somewhat more energetic leap than you were at first contemplating, but from there the rocks are spaced closer together, and your progress should be easy. So you arrest your progress along your previously planned route, and recoil your body for a spring in an alternative direction. Such a maneuver can be somewhat awkward, for it interrupts your forward momentum, and you may feel in danger of losing your balance and plunging headlong into the stream. This year, it feels to me, has been such a pause, for me, and for the entire world. During this past year, The New Paradigm has been at rather a low ebb of activity, so it seems. Vol. III consists of only 14 editions, with nothing at all appearing between February and May, May and August, and August and November. These evident gaps in the flow, however, have in fact together comprised what is called a "pregnant pause," for through them the Free Digital Library had its gestation and birth, and is [no longer] in place, lying largely dormant, yet poised for emergence in the New Millennium. That's where we've been; now I'd like to peer into the murky future and try and make out what, if anything, can be discerned of the coming New Millennium. There's a lot of this sort of thing going around, especially this time of year, and fortunately, most prognostications into the future are seldom consulted again, once they themselves recede into the past. Or if they are, they are likely to find themselves featured in such legendary treatises as Jeanne Mason-Dixon's immortal Canceling Psychic Predictions Due to Unforeseen Circumstances. Anyway, here's my stab in the dark at an essay on "New Beginnings, Part I." [Editorial Note: The following essay is the first of what has developed (so far) into a five-part series. The "Table of Contents" for the entire series follows.]
If, as I am imagining, each of us occupies a non-congruent, or partially overlapping "reality" in relation to the "realities" of those around us, near and far, then each of us is the Creator of the "reality" we respectively experience; and it is incumbent upon each of us to create the "reality" most to our individual liking, or else endure the discomforts of a "reality" we hate, or one with which we are not entirely satisfied. This has actually been the (or one) thrust of The New Paradigm for the past three years, and tnp is not the only venue in which such concepts have been expressed. All my words notwithstanding, however, as well as the many words of others, I must admit this has not been an easy concept for me to assimilate; so I shouldn't be surprised if you may have had some difficulties with it as well. For one thing, is it not arrogant, or even blasphemous, to cast oneself in the position of Creator of one's "reality?" Of one's world? Of one's universe? Not if it's true. Unyielding insistence upon the "truth" of one's illusions is arrogance, or hubris. It is also fatally disempowering. Blasphemous? You decide. Well. It has never been my objective to persuade anyone of anything; only to give as clear expression as possible to my peculiar form of dementia for others to evaluate, if they wish, from the perspective of theirs. Following, then, is an attempt at describing the world I intend to bring into manifestation for myself; others who harmonize with my vision are welcome to join their efforts to mine, in whatever ways seem to them appropriate. The foundation for my vision of a genuinely civilized human society is Individual Sovereignty, and I'm sure I've mentioned elsewhere from time to time my conviction that the only law appropriate to such a society is twofold:
To that I feel an additional provision is needed: Do nothing not in harmony with the "highest good" for "All That Is." Actually, this should stand at the top of the list, for all else necessarily follows from it. "Highest good" is inevitably a subjective term, however, and consequently prone to "error" or misunderstanding. Nevertheless, individuals deliberately and consistently seeking the "highest good" for "All That Is," as they understand it at any moment, may be confidently expected to achieve satisfactory and steadily improving results, occasional "errors" notwithstanding. These are not "laws" in the "old paradigm" sense, which some "authorities" impose with potentially lethal force upon others, allegedly "for the good of society," or some similar rationale. In a society of Sovereigns, no such bogus "laws" are either possible or desirable. However, a true Sovereign is one who fully grasps shim's identity with "All That Is;" consequently, to act "in harmony with the 'highest good' for 'All That Is'" is very clearly in one's own best interest. One would no sooner (intentionally) act otherwise than one would intentionally burn down one's own house. Similarly, to interfere with another's liberty is instantaneously to attract the same interference in one's own. Why would anyone want to do that? However, these things need to be part of the common understanding. They have not been so in "the contemporary world;" they will be in the "new paradigm" world I am visualizing for the New Millennium. Bringing the "new paradigm" world into somewhat sharper focus, I can see vast, sprawling social entities, such as empires, nations, and multinational corporations, being replaced by much smaller, more dynamic and fluid communities of incomprehensibly rich diversity. This is so because the motivations of the past are not the motivations of the future. The primary motivation for vast and expanding institutions of all kinds has basically been fear, and the consequent quest for endlessly augmented accumulations of power of various kinds, in defense against, or competition with parallel and similarly motivated entities. The most aggressive of these have been empires, nations, and political blocks. However, the pattern has been repeated in "the contemporary world" by entities of all sizes and shapes, in all spheres of human endeavor; for the "old paradigm" under which they were all formed and function is one of universal, unceasing war "of every man against every man," as Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) expressed it, and life for the losers "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Such fearful motivations have no place in the "new paradigm" world, for there the common understanding is that All are One; Each is Sovereign; and matter, energy, and human creativity are endless, infinite, and infinitely expansive. The entire concept of war is so alien and primitive in such a world that it is practically unthinkable. "Why on Earth would anyone do something so crazy as that?" would be the perplexed response to any suggestion of war on any level. Therefore, cooperative associations form among persons in the "new paradigm" world for a rich variety of purposes, none of which has anything to do with war, conflict, or competition; or for purposes of amassing coercive or manipulative power over anyone. Instead, various kinds of communities spontaneously form around shared interests and endeavors. Every member of such a community is Sovereign, so no one is "boss" and everyone is a master: master of shimself, master of shim's craft. Even children are masters, in their way: masters of discovering who they are. Such communities, I imagine, may take many different shapes and forms, and each derives its personality and culture from the unique mixture of Sovereign Individuals who make it up. Communities may form for any number of diverse reasons, and some may take shapes and forms very difficult to imagine today. The communities I envision are of limited size, because beyond a certain size a local population ceases to be a community, and degenerates into an anonymous "mass of humanity." Because no one is drawn to a community without a shared creative purpose, it is difficult for me to imagine a community growing larger in size than one in which every participant can be at least casually acquainted with every other. This suggests a limit of a few thousand individuals as the maximum size a community is likely to grow. Warfare is not an option for such communities, so there is no advantage, and many disadvantages, to vast local populations. Such considerations do not preclude the possibility of communities of communities, engaged in cooperative ventures of wider scope than are practicable for single localized communities. These endeavors correspond to parallel (excluding warlike) endeavors undertaken in the "old paradigm" world by nations and groups of nations. I expect "land ownership" to be replaced by less illusory, and more cooperative practices. What is called "real estate" in the "old paradigm" world is in fact the substance of planet Earth, and is by nature common to all inhabitants of the planet, human and non-human alike. To fence off a portion of the Earth, and endeavor to keep "outsiders" out, will eventually be seen as no less futile than trying to cut a slice of ocean, or to take possession of a cloud. Some communities may adopt a nomadic lifestyle, while others sink roots, like a forest, into the soil of a particular geographic region - all in consistency with the principle of harmony with the "highest good" for "All That Is." This implies universal stewardship of the Earth, with the same care one takes in maintaining one's own body and home; for that is what the Earth is. Such stewardship is always reciprocal: Earth's inhabitants take care of her; and she takes care of us. Wealth in the "new paradigm" world does not consist of the uneasy tension between a few "haves" and many "have-nots," for real wealth consists, as Bucky Fuller (1895-1983) used to say, of matter, which is indestructible; energy, which is inexhaustible; and human know-how, which does nothing but expand. People always learn more, Bucky used to say, about combining matter and energy to human advantage; it is impossible to learn less. (Well, the "old paradigm" educational system poses a challenge to the last statement, but that is another matter.) Because "new paradigm" people are not at war with one another, consequently have nothing to fear from one another, and therefore form cooperative, rather than competitive relationships, the sharing of information is universal in the "new paradigm" world, to an extent almost beyond comprehension for "old paradigm" people today. And the consequence of this is: invention and creative innovation take an immediate and spectacular "quantum leap" very early in the ascendancy of the "new paradigm" world. Ways of combining matter and energy, which if known, have been kept carefully guarded secrets in the fear-saturated "old paradigm" world from which we are now emerging, become rapidly and widely understood early in the New Millennium. Compact, efficient, clean "free energy" devices proliferate, effectively severing all tethers to octopus-like "old paradigm" petroleum and utility conglomerates. "Antigravity" technologies suddenly emerge, enabling small and large-scale transportation systems and vehicles which can transit between any two antipodal points on the globe within minutes. Bodies, goods, services, and information are at liberty to move about the Earth with equal facility and ease. Interplanetary and interstellar commerce become commonplace. Under such conditions, finance, currency, and banking cease to be the exclusive domain of the vast, remote, and arcane entities that control such (alleged) "services" today, and enter the ken of commercial partnerships of all scales and descriptions. Once rapid and unobstructed mobility throughout the planet are established, much of human commerce may be facilitated by direct barter; and all commercial exchanges may be transacted through locally negotiated contracts and currencies (promissory notes) backed by real goods and services of mutually acknowledged value. Money thus ceases to be an exclusive "gateway" for the manipulation, control, and plunder of human commerce, and becomes instead a free and convenient mechanism for facilitating trade. Free, that is, in both senses of free beer and free speech. Most people today have no comprehension of the burdens that will be lifted from their lives by these developments alone. Another burden lifted in the "new paradigm" is the "taxation" (plunder) of productive individuals by nonproductive artificial entities that obstruct liberty and subsist off the productivity of others, a/k/a "governments." Because every individual in the "new paradigm" world is Sovereign, i.e. Self-governing, no one feels the need for any other form of governance; consequently none is present. Simple. Similarly, the so-called "public education system," which has served the sole purpose of indoctrinating generations of compliant, somnambulant slaves, vanishes without a trace in the "new paradigm" world, and is not replaced. "School's out" for "new paradigm" children, who will never again be incarcerated in prison-like institutions to have their stupidity and resentment honed to a high gloss. Instead, children mix freely with their elders and participate in the community, where they can observe at first hand how anything is actually done that may captivate their interest. Children are never a burden in a community founded upon love, honesty, and inspiration in harmony with the "highest good" for "All That Is." Elaboration of "new paradigm education" would require an entire edition by itself of The New Paradigm. Maybe later. [See "New Beginnings, Part II"] Are all these "ideals" for the New Millennium not just so much "pie in the sky?" How will such "dreams" actually come to pass? How will they be maintained, without, for instance, some overarching system of authoritative control? How will a peaceful community of self-styled "Sovereigns" defend themselves from the first gang of "Road Warriors," say, who storm up on their choppers? There may be several answers to this. For one thing, being peaceful and unwarlike does not necessarily imply being defenseless. Is there a more peaceful and unwarlike creature in nature than, say, a skunk? Or a porcupine? Or a honey bee? A community of Sovereigns of unbridled creativity may be able to invent very effective means of defending themselves, if necessary, from any who may attempt to plunder them. Then too, if we do indeed create our own "realities," one of the underlying premises of this essay, what within such a community would attract a gang of pirates into their presence? Into their experience of "reality?" I have the sense now that "the contemporary world" is in the process of splitting into multitudes of entirely diverse "contemporary worlds," in which different individuals have increasingly divergent experiences of "reality;" and the experiences we have are determined by "where we're at" psychically, or spiritually, within our individual selves. I have no way of proving this, nor inclination to do so; however, I have had experiences in my own life which at least suggest it. Possibly you have too. Therefore, I am able at least to conceive a vision of a "new paradigm" world of such elevated "vibration" that those not in "resonance" are simply not in residence. They don't even see it. Their experiences conform to whatever "vibes" they do "resonate" with; so plundering bikers and plundering bankers can plunder one another, if that is their preference - in "their world." This is about "my world" - "our world," if you happen to "resonate" with it. As to "how such 'dreams' may actually come to pass," an image I like to call to mind from time to time is that of an old-fashioned balance beam scale, such as merchants have used time out of mind. In one pan is a heavy block of lead; in the other, nothing. It is obvious the balance is going nowhere; the heavy pan is solidly on the ground, while the empty pan is swinging lightly in the breeze. Someone drops a grain of gold the size of a BB shot into the empty pan. Nothing happens. Someone else drops another gold BB shot into the (no longer empty) pan. Nothing happens. Someone else, and someone else, and someone else, file by, each dropping a grain of gold into the pan. Nothing persistently continues to happen; the heavy pan is immovably planted upon the ground. Time passes.... At some later date, quite a mound of gold has accumulated in the pan, yet the balance has remained unmoved and apparently immovable. At some point, however, one person drops a grain of gold into the pan - and lo! the entire system shifts. Perhaps just a little at first; which encourages a few others to come forward with grains of gold as well. The heavy block of lead is hoisted decisively into the air, and the pan of gold settles gently to the Earth. This, symbolically, is the paradigm shift I think is "going on" right now with the human race. Things have been essentially the same now for thousands of years: masters and slaves, and endless, futile toil, and pointless wars. "This is the way it has always been." Many cannot comprehend the thought of its ever being otherwise. Yet around the world, and across the millennia and centuries, single individuals have from time to time dropped a grain of gold into the pan of human consciousness, and passed on. Each grain is a golden thought, of peace, of love, of truth, of liberty, of the inherent nobility of the human heart. The grains have accumulated. The awareness of Who We Are is much "heavier" now than it has ever been before. "One of these days" someone, somewhere, drops a golden thought into the human thoughtstream, and something that has never happened before happens. It could be anyone. We're all connected psychically, after all, whether we realize it or not. A simple little thought, of love, of light, of truth, the "work of a moment," could "shift the balance" of the world, and usher in a "Golden Age." It might be you. It might be me. It might be anyone. Who cares? The one who "thought the thought that changed the world" might not even realize it; and anyway, that single thought would have made but little difference without all the others that preceded it. In any case, the paradigm shifts, and all prosper, and regain the Sovereign liberty proper to us all. This is what I think is "going on" right here, right now, invisibly, everywhere. This has been a thumbnail sketch of some aspects of the "new paradigm" world I am creating, right here, right now, with my thoughts and imagination and intent. There is a good deal more where that came from, one vital component of which is the provision that "my world," so called, is not the product of my thoughts alone; because I do not relish living in it alone. I don't even imagine myself as the "kingpin" in "my world," only as a Sovereign participant among Sovereigns in a "resonant" global community. "My world" is therefore the product of many thoughts, many minds, many hearts, each in resonance with the overarching principle of the "highest good" for "All That Is." Would you like to participate in the building of such a "new paradigm" world? Would you like to embroider your "golden thoughts" into the fabric of such a world? "Our world?" "Your world?" Go ahead. Imagine it. (If you want to.) Create in your own mind the world as you would like it to be. How will it look? How will it feel? How will it work? How will it come about? Can you believe it? If not, what can you believe? What is possible, plausible, for you? Maybe stretching the margins of your belief is in order? After all, the entire universe actually exists, only a minute fraction of which have any of us ever experienced here on Earth. You could believe practically anything, and find it somewhere. Why not here? Why not now? Why not you? In "your world," just the way you like it? Why not?
"New Beginnings, Part I" |
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