Building a Conscious Society?

[Keith]

We're all working on developing ourselves to a higher level of Consciousness, but what about the bigger picture? We live in a very unConscious society, so this thread is to raise the question: how do we transition to a more Conscious society?

Do we start a separate, model society? How would such a thing work? How would it deal with worldly problems such as crime?

Alternately, do we try to improve our current society of Bears from within? How?

This world needs transition to a Conscious way of living, and it needs to do so quickly ; but how do we get there, from here?

[peter]

Originally Posted by Keith

Do we start a separate, model society? How would such a thing work? How would it deal with worldly problems such as crime?

Separate, model societies fail... this has been tried and it failed... sure... you could give it another try BUT it would be so much better if you turn your inner light to the max and illuminate as much of your surrounding as you can... enough people turning their inner light on and you will have a very bright society...

Originally Posted by Keith

Alternately, do we try to improve our current society of Bears from within? How?

This one is easy... bear costume and fireworks. Try pitching the "Think for a change" firework... it does wonders

Originally Posted by Keith

This world needs transition to a Conscious way of living, and it needs to do so quickly ; but how do we get there, from here?

With patience and consistency. Just as a ship slowly leaves the harbor... you too can gently push some of your favorite bears towards the exit of the cave... little by little they will get accustomed with the brighter and brighter light and in no time they will be looking towards the sky... wishing to be eagles...

[tomjen]

The problem with all the old model societies are, that they include people living at a low level. Therefore you could properly get away with basing the society on anything (including, although I do not recomend it, Communism).

As for how you would deal with crime - if you have crime you do not have a society of high level people.

[songwriter]

Originally Posted by Keith

We're all working on developing ourselves to a higher level of Consciousness, but what about the bigger picture? We live in a very unConscious society, so this thread is to raise the question: how do we transition to a more Conscious society?

Do we start a separate, model society? How would such a thing work? How would it deal with worldly problems such as crime?

Alternately, do we try to improve our current society of Bears from within? How?

This world needs transition to a Conscious way of living, and it needs to do so quickly ; but how do we get there, from here?

Passing the word. Telling about it.

[JohnLong]

I've begun to think (I'm not sure yet) that corporate culture is a great place to start. Not only is being more aware healthier for all involved, in the long run it's more profitable. The only downfall I see is that corporate culture becomes more enlightened, more people will leave it. Kinda puts you in a circle there.

What we need there are enlightened corporate leaders, and that seems like a lot to ask of any conscious person. Try asking Steve if he'd go and become a corporate VP and I don't think you'd see much eager acceptance!

[Scott]

Originally Posted by JohnLong

I've begun to think (I'm not sure yet) that corporate culture is a great place to start. Not only is being more aware healthier for all involved, in the long run it's more profitable. The only downfall I see is that corporate culture becomes more enlightened, more people will leave it. Kinda puts you in a circle there.

What we need there are enlightened corporate leaders, and that seems like a lot to ask of any conscious person. Try asking Steve if he'd go and become a corporate VP and I don't think you'd see much eager acceptance!

What we need is more entrepreneurs (like Steve) to start businesses which hire conscious executives and staff right from the get-go. Trying to overthrow the disgusting oligarchy which is 21st Century America probably isn't going to get us very far. We can take large steps, but that doesn't mean our changes are going to have an immediate effect.

Originally Posted by tomjen

The problem with all the old model societies are, that they include people living at a low level. Therefore you could properly get away with basing the society on anything (including, although I do not recomend it, Communism).

As for how you would deal with crime - if you have crime you do not have a society of high level people.

What exactly would you define as "crime"? Remember, if you're creating your own model society, you can do whatever you want with it - including changing the legal system (which I would strongly recommend). For example, I could easily conceive of a conscious society in which all information is free. Try doing that now, and see how long you can keep the copyright lawyers off your back! In theory, you should have no crime in a conscious society, but only as long as the inhabitants agree on what constitutes a crime.

Originally Posted by Keith

We're all working on developing ourselves to a higher level of Consciousness, but what about the bigger picture? We live in a very unConscious society, so this thread is to raise the question: how do we transition to a more Conscious society?

Do we start a separate, model society? How would such a thing work? How would it deal with worldly problems such as crime?

Alternately, do we try to improve our current society of Bears from within? How?

This world needs transition to a Conscious way of living, and it needs to do so quickly ; but how do we get there, from here?

My advice would be to start with people at mid-levels of consciousness... say, Courage, Neutrality, Willingness and Acceptance. (People below Courage may not have a sufficient understanding of societal growth, while people above Acceptance are probably contributing already.) Build a foundation of understanding about what type of society we want, and teach these key people what they can do to make it happen. Once we have a strong base of rational thinkers and joyous altruists, the next steps will become obvious. Actively seek out people with a fear-based consciousness and... well, show them the light!

I'd like to expand on this later. Remind me if I forget. This is a great thread; let's keep it running.

[placebo]

Originally Posted by songwriter

Passing the word. Telling about it.

I don't think that is the way. Since i was born i was catholic. They were telling me The Word of God. And i didn't care about. What search were they talking about? I didn't understand nor belived in God.

Than i found steve's site and started PD. And because of that i think that people will become conscious when they feel need of being conscious. They will find their own path when they decide to start finding it. Pushing them to do so simply wouldn't work.

[Michael Chui]

An important facet seems to be helping those who are beginning to become more conscious with their new perspective(s).

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Michael Chui

An important facet seems to be helping those who are beginning to become more conscious with their new perspective(s).

A couple of posters have suggested that help should only be extended to people above a certain level of Consciousness. Is this really necessary or appropriate? It seems like people at the lowest levels are the ones who need help most.

John, I really like the idea of a "Lightworker" corporation. I suspect great care would have to be taken with the legal side (eg. I believe shareholders have the legal right to sack a CEO for failing to maximise short-term profits - less than ideal for our purposes!), but it has a huge amount of potential. How do you see such a thing working?

re: Crime, it was a poorly chosen word ; substitute "antisocial behaviour". Certainly this would not occur in a 100% Conscious society, but a society cannot realistically be 100% Conscious. There will always people in a society who fall beneath that level (eg. children, the mentally ill, visitors or newcomers to the society, people whose Consciousness level falters due to life events etc.) How would such a society best deal with these people?

How would such a society best deal with disagreement?

BTW, I agree with Tomjen. Separate societies have been tried and failed, but they were not primarily composed of Conscious people. I believe a separate society of Conscious people would be successful. But there are drawbacks to that approach; it creates an 'us' and a 'them' (and thus introduces friction with other societies), it loses the opportunity to directly interact with (and to improve and learn from) current society and it

That's an either/or situation, so I'm guessing there's a third alternative solution that I've missed. Does anyone else have insight as to what it could be?

[Michael Chui]

Originally Posted by Keith

A couple of posters have suggested that help should only be extended to people above a certain level of Consciousness. Is this really necessary or appropriate? It seems like people at the lowest levels are the ones who need help most.

They all need help, and you should do your work such that you reach as much people as you can, even if that means doing it one by one. But there are two important points to note.

The first point is that the most vulnerable time for a person is when they awaken. Having seen that they could be that much more is not easy to contain. I would account a good number of suicides as well as disillusioned embitterment to this. The last think you want is for someone to awaken and decide that, instead of becoming more conscious, they will instead become powerful and rule over others.

The second point is that we do not yet have a mechanism for awakening people. Like Morpheus says, we may be trying to save them, but until they are out of the system, they are still a part of the system and they can be a drain on those who are conscious. Someone who doesn't have the spark, as far as I know, cannot be directly helped. This isn't to say you shouldn't help them, but you shouldn't assume that you can awaken them. If your purpose is to help awaken people, then that's what you'll do. But if it's not, then that's not what you should be trying to do.

When, after all, will you die? You shouldn't fear death, of course, but you should recognize that life as we know it is finite.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Michael Chui

The second point is that we do not yet have a mechanism for awakening people. Like Morpheus says, we may be trying to save them, but until they are out of the system, they are still a part of the system and they can be a drain on those who are conscious.

The Matrix is an entertaining and thought-provoking movie, but its philosophy is abhorrent in some ways; a key one being the callous disregard for 'unawakened' human life that you refer to. (Yes, I realise this was an effect of the setting of the film; another way of phrasing that is that the setting was designed to excuse the callous slaughter of innocent human beings).

It's a good film, but I'd thoroughly question any attempt to apply its philosophy to real life.

Originally Posted by Michael Chui

Someone who doesn't have the spark, as far as I know, cannot be directly helped. This isn't to say you shouldn't help them, but you shouldn't assume that you can awaken them. If your purpose is to help awaken people, then that's what you'll do. But if it's not, then that's not what you should be trying to do.

I think the key word is 'directly'. When it comes to personal development, no-one can be directly helped ; it's personal. All you can do is provide the support and environment that people need to grow.

How to be a genius suggests that a key difference between a genius and an ordinary person is having one good mentor. (The other key difference is hard work which is probably partially inspired by the mentor too).

[songwriter]

Originally Posted by placebo

I don't think that is the way. Since i was born i was catholic. They were telling me The Word of God. And i didn't care about. What search were they talking about? I didn't understand nor belived in God.

Than i found steve's site and started PD. And because of that i think that people will become conscious when they feel need of being conscious. They will find their own path when they decide to start finding it. Pushing them to do so simply wouldn't work.

Well.. but they didn't tell the word of God or the word of Jesus. Jesus said so many things and these things has been translated, manipulated even inverted as centuries has passed. Compare Catholic Church to Jesus...

Now, take a look at songwriters, what they say remains the same over the years.

You probably are guessing were I'm going...

"The Beatles were more popular than Jesus", "not best or greater, just more popular" John Lennon.
Obviosly Lennon and McCartney were less "pure" than Jesus but their message is now exactly the same as the original one and it's been spread all over the world.
Jesus said some things and that did not reach the world...until someone change them around..., etc.

So writing a song it would be a great option. "Some sugar helps the medicine go down" "in a more delightful way"...

Lennon couldn't believe the song Imagine was "tolerated" or not censored. He goes against the usual religions, the capitalism and armies (almost every form of power) . But that was done... with music... If the music is good you don't even need lyrics...
Well, Imagine was written by John being in The Beatles, but they didn't release the song... It was a very "bold" song, not Paul style... so John kept it for the future to himself.

"You may say that I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us and the world will be as one".

[peter]

Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Earl Nightingale's Lead the Field as part of the school curricula.
Maybe the chapters from Lead the Field could be used as a theme for a semester.

[Keith]

From my personal experience, eating a healthier diet, exercising regularly and becoming an early riser provide both the physical energy and a large boost in self-confidence ("look what I can achieve if I put my mind to it!"). IMO, both of these are vital fuel for personal development ; perhaps that's also a point at which to start?

The government has hammered people with ads to eat better and exercise and have had lacklustre success. I think a more effective emphasis would be providing support for people to achieve these things ; how do people find the time and energy to exercise when they're working 2.5 jobs? How do the same people find the time, money and energy to prepare a healthy meal when takeaway is so much easier and often cheaper?

The food issue can be tackled on a large scale (eg. corporations subsidising healthy organic takeaway) or small (grow enough organic food in local gardens to feed your block) - preferably both and then some.

Time and money is a harder issue. One idea is that benevolent corporations could buy land/accomodation and rent it at affordable prices to struggling families. People could also be subsidised to get on their feet (eg. http://www.kiva.org/app.php). Subsidising is tricky because you need an offsetting income stream from somewhere but I'm sure there are other options. Thoughts?

I'm focussing primarily on the low end of the spectrum because (a) it's a lot more people, (b) it's the source of a lot of the world's problems, (c) highly conscious people are in a better position to help themselves and (d) this thread raised the question whether it can be helped.

But it's also important to support the growth of consciousness at the high end:

Higher consciousness needs could be supported through things like this forum and physical analogues ; groups of people who get together and support each other to grow.

I'm sure there are many other ideas I haven't thought of on both vectors ; what other ideas are there and how can we make them happen?

[Michael Chui]

Originally Posted by Keith

It's a good film, but I'd thoroughly question any attempt to apply its philosophy to real life.

You might be surprised by exactly how deep its philosophy goes. For instance, Cypher presents the point of view of why you might not want to awaken someone. Neo's reaction to "the truth" is the precise reason they do not attempt it on someone who's too old. And this is just the immediately applicable philosophy.

Originally Posted by Keith

I think the key word is 'directly'. When it comes to personal development, no-one can be directly helped ; it's personal. All you can do is provide the support and environment that people need to grow.

Excellent point. So perhaps that's what we should be doing.

Originally Posted by Keith

a key difference between a genius and an ordinary person is having one good mentor. (The other key difference is hard work which is probably partially inspired by the mentor too).

The word "genius" has never sat comfortably with me... but neither has "intelligent".

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Michael Chui

You might be surprised by exactly how deep [The Matrix's] philosophy goes. For instance, Cypher presents the point of view of why you might not want to awaken someone. Neo's reaction to "the truth" is the precise reason they do not attempt it on someone who's too old. And this is just the immediately applicable philosophy.

And Neo is a great counter-example to that exact philosophy ; he was exposed to the truth at a later age and did just fine (it may even have contributed to his success). Ultimately any human being is going to be taken aback by a major paradigm shift ; that doesn't mean that the opportunity to experience that should be withheld from them. (Nor does it mean they should have one forced upon them then be abandoned to go through it with no support).

Again, The Matrix is a very good film, but some of its philosophical (and especially moral) positions are of questionable applicability to reality.

One thing The Matrix did do a superb job at, is getting the man on the street thinking about subjective reality. (Which in fact, supports my case that the 'average joe' can handle these concepts if fed them in the right way).

Originally Posted by Michael Chui

Excellent point. So perhaps that's what we should be doing.

Very much agreed ; the point of this thread is to brainstorm a better world, and IMO this issue is one the key vectors to achieve that.

Originally Posted by Michael Chui

The word "genius" has never sat comfortably with me... but neither has "intelligent".

For these purposes, genius = "someone who is recognisably very successful in their field".

[Michael Chui]

Originally Posted by Keith

Very much agreed ; the point of this thread is to brainstorm a better world, and IMO this issue is one the key vectors to achieve that.

My intended vector is to go the route of education. I don't know how that will work out... I'm pretty unconvinced I can make a sufficiently large splash in pedagogy, but one splash might be a good enough one, I figure.

[peter]

Originally Posted by Michael Chui

I'm pretty unconvinced I can make a sufficiently large splash in pedagogy, but one splash might be a good enough one, I figure.

I believe that if you want you can make a tsunami in pedagogy, you can even revolutionize it... that is IF you want.
All you have to do is think and act, think and act... they throw you out the door you enter through the window and if they lock the door and barricade the windows, you stat pushing against the walls and if you do that with enough determination and persistence the universe will create a new door for you.

Impossible is nothing!

After all you do have The Power of One.