The Sweet Spot

I'm interested in the overlap between three relatively obscure but vital areas which we can refer to as Permaculture, the Techno-Singularity, and work on our internal being or "Success Metaphysics".

• The term Permaculture (permanent agriculture) refers to a form of applied ecology that develops agricultural yields in harmony with the physics of Nature.
• The Techno-Singularity is the idea that our accelerating knowledge and technology are approaching a mathematical limit beyond which lies a totally new world.
• By Success Metaphysics I mean to indicate all the various methods and systems (The Silva Method, "The Secret", etc.., there are hundreds of paths and modes) that exist to help people with self-transformation.

Each of these areas has a huge and potent following, but (strangely to my mind) there seems to be very little going on in the sweet spot where they overlap.

I want to expand that little triangle in the middle. I think it's really great down in there. Let's talk a little more about each area and then about what we might find in the middle.

Applied Ecology

I've been a fan of Permaculture ever since I first heard about it. The founder Bill Mollison is an ecologist and the discipline itself has its origins firmly in the scientific paradigm.

By observing Nature and using the natural patterns we elucidate we can develop agriculturally productive ecosystems that take care of our needs while they improve the health of the land.

The ecosystem (what most people mean when they say "the environment") is the only context we have for health and sanity. Without grounding ourselves (both figuratively and literally) in Nature we risk our technological power running away with us as we approach the...

Techno-Singularity

Bucky Fuller was among the first to point out that our accelerating ability to "do more with less", solving all our physical problems ever more cheaply and easily, would catapult us into a strange new (possible) future by the mid-1970's.

Bucky was an engineer and a student of humanity's progress and he calculated that, if we used our resources and technology sensibly, by sometime in the 70's we would be able to work only about two years and then retire, having paid for all our future expenses for the rest of our lives by dint of the effort we expended in those two years.

Work two years and then retire. That's the future we should expect to have (or have had since about thirty or forty years ago.)

The new book "Abundance" by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler, which my sister recently bought thinking it was a "success metaphysics" book (see below), does a marvelous job of bringing Bucky's message up to date and showing that we really are on the cusp of a fantastic world transformation.

All we have to do is get over our baggage, which brings us to...

Success Metaphysics

For me the current best example of the kind of thing I mean here is the great FinerMinds blog & site (which is where my sister heard about the "Abundance" book.)

There is far too much to describe in a brief few sentences, but the crucial point here is that there exist myriad methods to work on oneself to heal and grow and, eventually, transform yourself.

Some techniques are as simple as adjusting your internal "self-talk" or repeating positive affirmations, others are more involved or require (professional, responsible) guidance.

Some things are fairly conventional, such as hypnosis and prayer. Others are still unusual in some places but are growing in acceptance: meditation, EFT, and Reiki are good examples.

Some things are totally off the charts of consensus reality. Things like past-life regression, telepathy, communication with "higher beings" (the list goes on and on) are considered fiction in some circles and commonplace in others.

There are even books like "The Charisma Myth" by Olivia Fox Cabane. It purports to be a perfectly nondescript manual for increasing your charisma but, if you read between the lines just a little, it's obviously a manual of spiritual practice.

The Sweet Spot

The place where these three general areas overlap is the sweet spot I want to expand and dwell within.

The science and technology of the Singularity "call off" the Horsemen of the Apocalypse if we can get our collective act together.

The [scientific but non-reductionist] study of and interplay with Nature will prevent us spinning off into our own artificial constructs.  True health and happiness involve participation in the greater systems within which we are embedded and no matter how powerful our technology makes us we are still beholden to the whole.

The spiritual journey that we are all inevitably on is both the means and the meaning.