Events seem to involve more than just individual decisions and actions and to be determined more by socio-cultural “systems,” be these prejudices, ideologies, pressure groups, social trends, growth and decay of civilizations, or what not.
New Additions
Unfolding the Stone
Terence McKenna
Unfolding the Stone
Making and Unmaking History and Language
1991
Also published under the title Empowering Hope in Dark Times, McKenna explores the philosophical underpinnings of alchemy and Hermeticism. He argues that these esoteric traditions promote the inherent divinity of humankind and the overcoming of fate through magic. Psychedelic plants and mystical experiences are positioned as means of glimpsing liberatory truths. McKenna ultimately seeks to empower his audience with a hopeful worldview and a sense of human potential, even in difficult times.
Lecture
01:40:56 11,909 12
Unserious Wisdom
Alan Watts
Unserious Wisdom
(Buddhist Mysticism)
While Pure Land Buddhism promises easy enlightenment through faith in Buddha Amitābha, Alan Watts explains how its eccentric followers, the myōkōnin, found wisdom by goofing off. With playful tales of the monk Ryōkan’s antics, from imitating tigers to forgetting letters mid-juggle, Watts shows how these rascal sages attained childlike wonder by ditching spiritual bootstraps for carefree acceptance of their flawed humanity. For the myōkōnin, the path to Buddhahood involved more fun and games than pious efforts.
Lecture
29:10 3,840 1
World as Lover, World as Self
Joanna Macy
World as Lover, World as Self
1991
This overview of Joanna Macy’s innovative work combines deep ecology, general systems theory, and the Buddha’s teachings on interdependent co-arising. A blueprint for social change, World as Lover, World as Self shows how we can reverse the destructive attitudes that threaten our world.
Book
61,573 9
Theory of Collective Mind
Garriy Shteynberg
Theory of Collective Mind
2023
The human mind harbors wondrous capacities. Beyond understanding individual minds, we can represent unified awareness across souls, feeling strands of consciousness intertwine. As one, we comprehend realities; as one, we hold intentions. Synchronous experiences spin these mental webs, binding our fates and etching shared worlds upon our hearts. Though fragile, such unions nurture cooperation’s tender bloom. Let us marvel at this collective mind—a tapestry of perspectives, stronger than its threads. In this oneness we find hope, for it whispers: even in darkness, we need not walk alone.
Research Article
6,050 1
Whole Earth Models and Systems
Donella Meadows
Whole Earth Models and Systems
1982
An accessible essay by Meadows that serves as a fast-paced introduction to systems thinking, particularly its archetypes. Published in CoEvolution Quarterly, № 34.
Article
7,355 20
The Computer and the Brain
John von Neumann
The Computer and the Brain
1958
John von Neumann’s unfinished book, begun shortly before his death and published posthumously. He discusses how the brain can be viewed as a computing machine, touching on several important differences between brains and computers of his day (such as processing speed and parallelism), as well as suggesting directions for future research.
Book
20,598 3
The Computational Boundary of a “Self”
Michael Levin
The Computational Boundary of a “Self”
Developmental Bioelectricity Drives Multicellularity and Scale-Free Cognition
2019
All epistemic agents physically consist of parts that must somehow comprise an integrated cognitive self. Biological individuals consist of subunits (organs, cells, and molecular networks) that are themselves complex and competent in their own native contexts. How do coherent biological Individuals result from the activity of smaller sub-agents?
Research Article
15,248 6
Light of the Third Millennium
Terence McKenna
Light of the Third Millennium
1997
Speaking at the Whole Life Expo in Palmer Auditorium, Terence says our task is to surf the accelerating wave of novelty to dissolve cultural delusions. Psychedelics and technology can download new perspectives, stripping away outdated assumptions. Through imagination, language, and art we can meet the eschaton: the transcendental object at the end of time. Our task is liberate ourselves, take responsibility for our ideas, make visionary art, and find community without fear.
Workshop
01:21:54 9,550 12
Building The Earth
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Building The Earth
1965
A visionary and hopeful book on humanity’s future relationship to the planet from which it arose, Teilhard outlines a new psychological state of awareness in which individual humans unite into planetary Personhood. Paragraphs are arranged in verse and interspersed with delicate graphic illustrations. Published posthumously ten years after Teilhard’s passing.
Book
8,840 22
A Symbiotic View of Life
Scott Gilbert
A Symbiotic View of Life
We Have Never Been Individuals
2012
For animals, as well as plants, there have never been individuals. This new paradigm for biology asks new questions and seeks new relationships among the different living entities on Earth. We are all lichens.
Article
6,699 16
Robots, Men, and Minds
Ludwig von Bertalanffy
Robots, Men, and Minds
Psychology in the Modern World
1967
Based on lectures delivered as The Inaugural Lectures in The Heinz Werner Lecture Series at Clark University (Worcester, Mass.) in January 1966, the book introduces new conceptions of humans and their world. After discussing the advantages and drawbacks of humanity’s propensity for the symbolic construction of reality, it focuses on the systems approach to an understanding of the species. The author warns against the common error of identifying cybernetics with general systems theory. No matter how complex the cybernetic system, it "can always be resolved into feedback circuits" and thought of in terms of "linear causality." The regulative behavior of general systems is determined by goal-directed, dynamic interaction between many forces and variables in an open system. Bertalanffy points out that "no comprehensive theory of systems exists today." As a model, however, the approach has many advantages, such as obviating the need for the "ghost in the machine" and suggesting some solutions to the mind-body problem.
Book
36,312 52
Ubuntu and the Law in South Africa
Yvonne Mokgoro
Ubuntu and the Law in South Africa
1998
While difficult to define, the concept of ubuntu is worth preserving and adapting to modern South African society.
Article
2,751 6
Trending Today
Tao Te Ching
Lao Tzu
Tao Te Ching
506 B.C.E.
Written more than two thousand years ago, the Tao Te Ching is one of the true classics of spiritual literature. It is a guide to cultivating a life of peace, serenity, and compassion. Through aphorisms and parable, it leads readers toward the Tao, or the “Way”: harmony with the life force of the universe. (This version was translated/interpreted by Stephen Mitchell in 1988.)
Classic Literature
6,523 1 121
Man in Nature
Alan Watts
Man in Nature
The Tao of Philosophy 6
1965
How should we view nature—as machine, drama, or organism? Alan says we must trust its organic patterns, explaining that the borders of our imagined selves determine our relationship to the environment and our role in the universe. So go with the flow, be purposeless, let the Tao wash over you like wild geese vanishing into clouds.
Lecture
54:24 6,696 10 47
Mr. X
Carl Sagan
Mr. X
1969
Written under the pseudonym Mr. X to avoid the heavy social stigma associated with marijuana consumption at the time, Carl Sagan documented his personal experiences with cannabis in this essay in order to dispel common misconceptions about the drug. It was later published in the 1971 book Marihuana Reconsidered by Lester Grinspoon. Sagan enjoyed cannabis on a regular basis for the rest of his life, but never spoke of it publicly.
Essay
2,946 7 39
A Great Event Foreshadowed
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
A Great Event Foreshadowed
The Planetization of Mankind
1945
Teilhard explores the rise of the masses and the socialization of humanity. He predicts a future Earth where human consciousness evolves to its peak, achieving a maximum of complexity and unity through a process of “planetization,” and argues that collective unity is not a threat but a path to personalization and humanization. As we head towards an interconnected world, he challenges us to embrace a sense of evolution and celebrate our shared destiny. Originally written in Peking during Christmas 1945, later published in the August–September 1946 edition of Cahiers du Monde Nouveau with the title La planétisation humaine.
Essay
4,744 15 33
Lucifer and Ahriman
Rudolf Steiner
Lucifer and Ahriman
1919
We live in critical, apocalyptic times. In these five lectures, given just after the end of the First World War and in the midst of trying to effect the social-political life of his times with the movement for a threefold social order, Rudolf Steiner focuses on the vital task of developing a right orientation toward the spirit: a free spiritual life. With great compassion and understanding he shows, in telling examples, how humanity must walk a conscious middle path between the two “tempting” powers of Lucifer and Ahriman. He tells of the incarnation of Lucifer in the third millennium BCE, from which flowed not only the wisdom of paganism but also the intellectual consciousness we enjoy today. Ahriman is shown to be approaching humanity through phenomena such as materialism, nationalism, and literalism in preparation for his incarnation in the millennium now opening. It must not be thought, however, that these two powers work apart: on the contrary, they work more and more together. Our task is to hold them in balance, continually permeating the one with the other. Doing this requires a new form of conscious spirituality. Original German title: “Soziales Verständniss aus geisteswissenschaftlicher Erkenntnis” and “Der innere Aspekt des sozialen Rätsels. Luziferische Vergangenheit and ahrimanische Zukunft.” Translated by D. S. Osmond.
Lecture
26,206 12 19
Nothingness
Alan Watts
Nothingness
Essential Lectures, Program 1
1972
Basing his ideas on sensory perception and physical experience, Alan Watts makes a compelling argument that everything actually depends upon nothing for its very existence.
Television Episode
27:11 3,374 2 18
The Nature of Consciousness (Part 1)
Alan Watts
The Nature of Consciousness (Part 1)
Out of Your Mind 1
1969
A seminar about “what there is.” Watts weaves together keen insights from science and spirituality to propose that existence is more like a game of hide-and-seek where we pretend not to recognize how self and other are interconnected.
Seminar
01:02:39 8,134 9 15
Arcology
Paolo Soleri
Arcology
The City In The Image Of Man
1969
Visionary architect Paolo Soleri challenges us to think of cities as biological entities with his concept of the arcology—a massive, self-sustaining, urban “organism of a thousand minds” designed to exist in harmony with nature. He proposes that the purpose of life is aesthetogenesis: the universe progressively complexifying itself into compassionate, beautiful structures. Soleri showcases 30 potential arcologies through incredibly detailed diagrams, explaining how each integrates itself economically and ecologically into the world and fulfills his aesthetogenic criteria. The scope of his vision ranges from cities designed to span canyons or float on the oceans to cube-shaped metropolises suspended on pillars, and even a space habitat. While comprehensive, Soleri’s focus lies primarily on realizing arcologies that meet humanity’s moral imperative for sustainable urban living.
Book
42,122 15 15
Work and Play
Alan Watts
Work and Play
Essential Lectures, Program 7
1972
Alan Watts swirls an orange on a string and shoots an arrow high into the air before explaining why the art of living is being paid to play–and to the extent that we feel compelled to work and survive, life becomes a drag.
Television Episode
28:39 3,517 5 15
The Joker
Alan Watts
The Joker
One of Alan’s most popular seminars, and for good reason—in The Joker, listeners will find out why every society needs fools in order to remind itself not to take life so damn seriously.
Seminar
03:08:18 20,436 15 15
The Web of Life (Part 1)
Alan Watts
The Web of Life (Part 1)
Out of Your Mind 3
In this philosophical seminar, Alan Watts explores the interconnectedness and interdependence of all things. He asserts that human consciousness excludes an awareness of the whole, instead focusing narrowly and seeing the world as disjointed parts. Watts aims to broaden awareness to encompass the fundamental unity underlying apparent diversity. Using examples like music intervals, Chinese philosophy, and weaving, he elucidates the inseparability of opposites like order and randomness, sound and silence, self and other. Watts contends that a recognition of the implicit wholeness of existence brings peace, joy and harmony. He encourages a view of life that pairs an individual persona with an understanding that each person is an expression of the total cosmos.
Seminar
56:16 6,308 6 14
Spectrum of Love
Alan Watts
Spectrum of Love
1969
Alan Watts explores love in its many forms, from desire to divine connection. He argues against forcing or faking love, saying real charity can’t be willed. Instead, Watts suggests honestly examining one’s own selfish motivations, since even egotism stems from a distorted love. By following our inner drives, love can unfold organically. Watts sees embracing risks as better than bottling up this energy, which leads to self-destruction. Allowing love to flow freely, despite heartbreaks, enables human flourishing. For Watts, light passes through a prism, but it’s all love.
Lecture
26:54 3,576 3 14