EP29 The Key to Our Metamorphosis
This text comes from a transcription of podcast episode 29 called “Basia´s Thoughts”.
In the previous episode we talked about metamorphosis.
We talked about the differences between the fall of past empires and what we are currently going through. We talked about the dwindling natural resources, unsustainable system, global interconnectivity, exponential technological growth with new key technologies allowing for decentralised organisation and reduction of centers of power and thus corruption.
We also played around with the caterpillar into butterfly metamorphosis process. And we asked - is there a hidden potential in humans that, for some reason, has not been allowed to blossom?
What is it, and how do we make it blossom? This is what I would like to talk more about today and hopefully tie together a number of different ideas we have already discussed in previous episodes.
Let us start with the idea of a dormant potential in human beings. One type of unrealised potential is perhaps what we tend to see as spiritual capacity and the idea of becoming a realised being - an enlightened being.
Certain particular individuals have attained this. And it might even be true that times of moral crises spur such transformation on. Certainly, we have seen enlightened individuals, but they have been few.
If many, or most of us, were to reach such an enlightened state it might be seen as both an individual and societal metamorphosis. And this type of transformation does indeed hold the promise of a truly collaborative society where all are able to focus on what they love most and yet have everyone prosper as a result of it.
But what is stopping us from going through this type of change?
There is something that is holding us back. Let us think on a personal level. Why am I not realising this insight? Maybe i am too busy. There are so many obligations, just to survive. I have to do so many things. Also, when we look deeper we see that most of our actions are pure re-actions, and not even to what it going on but to our past traumas. Thus, most of our actions are motivated by fear and induced by threat.
Where is the felt immediate threat? At the individual level.
There may be a more significant threat looming but if the individual level threat is activated a person might have too narrow a vision to see the greater threat. It is a bit like scaring someone to jump off a cliff.
What if we all realise that it is better to act for the good of all than for the apparently immediate good of our self. What if we create societies where we will tend to act that way. Would that solve everything?
There are societies that are a bit like that already. Sweden is one such place. There are subtle psychological ways of control that are put in place early on in the upbringing of the individual and lead to a general compliance.
Understanding that we need to do certain things for the good of others and therefore sacrificing our own well-being does not lead to connection with our higher nature, peace, and an optimal system.
Such a system contains a high level of internal shutting down and violence. The suffering is felt by the individuals but it is considered normal and necessary and there is no other frame of reference for how it feels to live. And so, people believe that they are in the best system ever and there is no revolution.
So, knowing that it is good to act in a way that is best for all is not enough. Knowing this and using ones willpower, sacrificing oneself, is also not enough, even though it will outwardly look like a better society and it will have some benefits as compared to other societies.
Then, what is enough? What is required in order for an all-win society to work? There needs to be an actual internal alignment with the good of all. What is stopping us from it? Fear. Threats.
We may not be able to eliminate threats from our world. We try to. And then we will often also try to control the outside world through this powerful tool of fear, and thereby steer others in directions that seem less threatening to us. But what could prove much more efficient is to reduce the fear. Fear is our reaction to events. And as such, we actually have more to say about it.
Fear arises in us. When? Whenever we identify with some limit. It is not when we discern a limit, but when we identify with it. Whatever limited type of identity we choose for ourselves we will guard its limits against possible threats.
And so, if we can identify with who we truly are, and not with a limited image or series of images of it, we will automatically not have any need for the fear.
This is what I meant when I said that misidentification seems to lie at the source of our problems.
It is a piece that when it falls into place many other automatically follow. Our need for external control of others diminishes to the degree of our identification with our real self. No need for KYC (Know Your Customer) when you have KYS (Know Your Self).
The idea of wanting or trying to be good and worthy that comes with a trap, as we discussed in episode 19, falls away. This is because we inherently know that we are worthy and act from that.
The painful philosophy of doing to become happy that leads us into a life replete with suffering and only moments of ecstatic achievement falls by the wayside.
The insightful cries of countless generations; Crisis and difficulty catalyse change. No pain no gain. What does not kill you makes you stronger. Necessity is the mother of all inventions. etc… can all be seen as arising within that particular philosophy.
Instead, the new philosophy is that of “doing out of happiness”. It is the philosophy of living life as a celebration. And it is a natural consequence of knowing who we are.
It automatically internally aligns us with the good of all, without waging internal war. It allows us to look at deeply troubling issues with clarity and enthusiasm for finding the solution, as opposed to not wanting to see it or seeing it but consequently becoming depressed and unable to act.
This can be seen as a spiritual transformation, with immense physical consequences. But are we ready for it?
We may require a transitional phase into it. A phase over a few generations. And this is where I see that our current technological advances can be put to work in its favour and our current crises in natural resources and systematic failures may encourage the design and evolution of them.
One of the overall key design features of the new technology would be to inspire our spiritual evolution, in the sense of learning who we are and living in a way that is congruent with such knowledge. But it has to be an internal transformation, not an external imposition under obvious or subtle threat.
The transitional phase may involve removing some immediate fears, like that of survival, by allowing for automation fueled by renewable energy, and kept up by computer programs. It may reduce the incentives for power and boost our particular creativity. The details of all of this will have to be well studied, simulated, and tested.
What could we do right now to start moving along that path? How can we be helpful?
There are endless actions we could take, based on what we resonate with more.
It can be little practical ways of reducing the grip that fear has on us, by reducing the activities that re-enforce it in our daily lives. Maybe a little less tv would make a considerable difference.
Perhaps we could start with practices that make us more present, embodied, and aware, like yoga or meditation. Meditation has actually proved to be the most transformational tool in my life.
Or perhaps you would be interested in learning what types of character structures you have, so that you can understand not only the underlying traumas but what distortions they caused in your subconscious and how they are now creating automatic responses for you. Seeing this will make it easier to not identify with that personality.
For the more intellectually minded, learning more about how and why what may initially appear as a spiritual path is actually the next logical step in science may prove of value. I can leave a link to a first article on this topic. As many of us believe in science, seeing that it is actually faith-based at its core and we are at a stage where can do better by actually moving away from materialism, can be helpful in our own personal identity transition.
Learning more about the systems around us, how or why they work and what it is we wish to move toward can be helpful.
But, ultimately, the key will be to actually learn about who we are, to see our essence.
And even if we have not gotten quite there yet, seeing that this is where we want to go and helping in whatever way we can to assist others in that direction, already makes for a meaningful life.