Mindscapes

At The Gulliver Project, you can engage with others in a meaningful dialogue at our events and podcasts.  Let your mind wander through our books and publications.  Add your group to our calendar list for upcoming events.

• Awareness and Knowledge…  - click to view
  Awareness and knowledge dissolve naiveté and fear.  Consider how many of our fears are about "unreal" things – because we didn’t know they were myths, illusions, or just plain incorrect.  Or consider how many of the fears we have about very real threats stem from not knowing what to do, how to mitigate the challenge and protect ourselves.  Ignorance is not bliss; however, the more we "mix it up" with others, the more we will know, the more comfortable we will feel, and the better basis we will have for making informed, long-term decisions…and mysteriously, the more compassion we will feel.  We will feel and act more secure and more self-empowered in the world.
• Everyone is "right"…
  Everyone is “right” within their own context, and all possess "genius" in certain capacities.  The beliefs and practices of many tribes, nations, and religions have persisted for thousands of years.  We may not understand why a people do (or believe) the things they do (believe), but it's a safe bet that there's a good underlying reason.  That doesn’t mean we have to agree with them, or that their rationale is still valid to a new reality (i.e. the medical benefits of blood-leeching).  But like a seasoned negotiator, we might each want to ask ourselves:  "Am I ever harmed by knowing more about the other person/group's position?"  Or more to the point, "Could I possibly learn something from them?"
• It's getting harder…
  It’s getting harder to "Make sense of the non-sense."  Prior to the 18th Century, the global doubling of knowledge occurred in centuries' timeframes.  With the Industrial Revolution, it jumped to every generation.  With the Space Age, every five years.  With the Information Age, every two years… In the Age of Globalization; data, information, and knowledge – not to be confused! – come at us like shifting tectonic plates and crashing tsunami waves.  Throw in run-amok commercialism, high-speed internet, and ever-specialized fields of study/interest, and we’re awash with input… So more than ever, we must know how to rig our own sails, set our own tiller, read our own charts…. and throw unnecessary baggage overboard.  We must know, "What is it that I really want?" – and how to find it…
• Freedom comes from…
  Freedom comes from… inside each of us. That is, recognizing our own inner-truths from relative, fleeting cultural truths.  The great religions, governments, and societies of the world provide valuable collective ideas about how to conduct our lives, individually and collectively.  They have much to offer, and we may have good reasons for owing them certain allegiances.  However, none can tell us "who we are." By honoring our own enlightened self-interest – our vocational, recreational, aesthetical, and spiritual callings – we not only empower ourselves for a richer life, we automatically (and mysteriously!) contribute more to others.  Just as an eco-system is strengthened through diversification of its fauna and flora, so is the web of Humankind strengthened when each strand achieves its optimum strength and flexibility.
• There are wonderful…
  There are wonderful resources…  in the world right now which we can utilize in our quest to "Feel Better… Have More… and Be More".  The power of the Internet connects us with world events in minutes… even seconds.  Trade barriers are coming down between old adversaries, exposing us to new markets, new cultures, and new ideas.  Travel is cheaper (relatively) than ever before, and gets us to places that were inaccessible, even unimaginable, just a few decades ago.  For all of the world's problems, literacy rates are three times greater than a century ago, and life spans double.  Positive change is happening.  The more we recognize – and avail ourselves of – the wonderful opportunities shaping up in the world, the more we will thrive, prosper, and of course – "lift" others.

What would you like to add?
By submitting questions to TGP, you give permission to TGP to post my question on the website or in their newsletter.

• If you could choose… - click to view
  If you could choose one "pragmatic" activity or experience –  something within your ability or means – that could "lift the world" (and be fun and enriching to you, of course!) – what would it be? How would you go about achieving it?  What’s in the way?
• If you were to…
  If you were to compare the "truths" of Others with your own "truths," how would you go about the evaluation process?  If your discoveries collided with your deep-seated beliefs, how would you reconcile that? Would you embrace it, reject it, or try and synthesize it with the "other truth?" Is it possible that both could be "true" relative to their situation?
• Think of a time…
  Think of a time… when you absolutely knew something to be true – then found out later it really wasn't… how did you treat that revelation?  How did it make you feel?  Did it change your personality, or make you more "open-minded?" How about a time when you really were correct, but no one else believed you – did you try and "win them over" with patient logic – or did you "make them wrong," or just ignore them?
• What if…
  What if the prevailing "truths" of our time – paradigms – were to be seen later as incomplete, even false?  We all look back at history and shake our heads in amazement at what was once assumed true:  the "divine right" of kings; witch-burning; blood-leeching; slavery; a (flat) earth-centered universe…But what about our contemporary "truths":   Social Darwinism (e.g., economic "survival of the fittest");  Manifest Destiny; Technology-as-Savior;  Zero-sum-gain (a loser for every winner); Cure-centric healthcare (vs. prevention-based); Consumption-driven growth… is it possible that many of these are flawed, outmoded, even "flat wrong" – and that future generations may look back and say, "Wow, what were they thinking – how primitive" ?
• It’s amazing…
  It's amazing when you consider that great scientists – like Einstein, Newton, Heisenberg, Galileo – have proven what many spiritual teachers have taught for centuries:  that energy and matter are interchangeable; and that energy is neither created nor destroyed.  If that’s the case, then it would seem to infer that our "consciousness" (energy, after all!) preceded – and will supersede – "us".  Where did "we" come from, and where are we going?  More importantly, what are we doing with the energy and matter at our disposal NOW?  Our potential for creation is vast – if we look at the big picture.  The 21st Century is providing many opportunities for us to shake things up.  It will be interesting to see how we use the tools - the gifts – that are readily available in this amazing New World.

We also encourage submissions – that is, your Mindscape questions and comments!
By submitting questions to TGP, you give permission to TGP to post my question on the website or in their newsletter.

Escapes