I am reading a book, okay another one, but this one is a little different. I didn't expect it to have such an affect on me, but it is. It is How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed by Ray Kurzweil.
Sometimes lately things seem like magic to me, and I am constantly reminded of Robert Heinlein's words: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
We can talk to our phones, and they "know" what we say. I realize I've been carrying a bit of fear around modern technology, feeling left behind, not understanding, but this book helps me understand what is going on, and how we are unfolding and evolving in amazing ways.
I fall into the romantic category, and certainly reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was an affirmation of that. Romance is described as watching a sailboat sail and enjoying the experience of it while not actually doing the work of hoisting sails, checking wind, and tying ropes.
Many years ago I became a Terwilliger nature guide. I had trepidation about losing my romantic relationship with nature, but instead I was opened up into a world of insects, birds, plants and rocks I had never imagined. My life was enriched. This book is like that. Who knew? My sons have been trying to tell me this "stuff" for years. After all, Chris's film is about the singularity, but there is something about this book, the clarity and humor, that has me opening wide, wide, wide to what I may have unconsciously been fearing. It is exciting. I am excited. I am really excited about what is happening, and in that, though I must admit I may be the only person who was not thrilled with the film Gravity, I certainly am more open to dangling in space, and looking for something to grab onto, or not.
Is there a place for ego in this "new world"? We evolve toward simplicity. Like flowers, we fuse. In this new world of connectedness, we may fear the "cloud", may fear that what we want private is known, but, in some ways, all is known.
When i came to Rosen Method, I saw there are no secrets. We may think we are hiding something, but usually people know. The body doesn't lie. Perhaps the game can be played longer on-line, but eventually people reveal for who they are. I believe what we are seeing with the Tea Party is an inability to accept change, but those who can't change, who can't adapt, die. Look at the dinosaurs.
Now, as I understand it, Michelle Bachman is excited because the "end is near". Well, isn't that always true? Breath comes in, and breath goes out, and that tidal movement may have a sense of beginning and end, and yet, it is an inter-mingling. We literally share moisture and air.
If empathy is part of consciousness, then, yes, the Tea Party is nearing an end, because they seem unable to put themselves in the place of another. They've lost imagination, compassion, wisdom, critical thinking skills, care. Could a robot really be any less "human" than they are showing themselves to be?
But, we do have leaders now. We have Malala Yousafzai. Even her name includes the "other". She reaches out to "you".
We can gather together, and we are. Right now, you are reading this, and I am typing to both a personal and an impersonal "you". Am I vulnerable in this? You may hate this post, and that's okay. I'm just trying to finger, for myself, something new.