Friday, December 28, 2012

A Transition Period?

In this piece New York Times op-ed columnist, Paul Krugman, discusses the possibility of a future economic model other than the current one based on growth.  He says that more and more people are bringing up this notion that the days of reliable growth may be over.  I usually try to stay away from the  mainstream news, but when it starts talking about the same issues that futurists and techno-optimists are, it's at least worth a mention.  To me, it's a plus that this kind of talk is at least entering the mainstream vernacular.  All this in a year when "cannabis" is no longer a verbal no-no!  Coincidence?  Check it out for yourself and decide if we're actually near a crossroads where terms like "sustainability" and "quality of life" might be more valuable measures than "income" or "GDP".  Let's follow Bhutan and make GNH the most important national acronym.

A Positive News Story from Bill Hicks

Image from Reddit:

On Zen, Drugs and Creativity (from Jonah Lehrer's "Imagine")

Edit: I'm only about 20% of the way done I'm finished with this book but and it really is was an eye-opener.  His research and easy-to-read writing style really brings some good points about tapping into our creative centers into the forefront.  If you think you're not a "creative type," Lehrer just might change your mind.  I'll keep highlighting as I'm reading and share through my Twitter (@pb_zen).  Here are the main points that I've taken away and would like to share so far:

Zen and Creativity:

A story about a Zen Buddhist meditator that illustrates the importance of these alpha waves. At first, this man couldn’t solve any of the CRA problems given to him by the scientists. “This guy went through thirty or so of the verbal puzzles and just drew a blank,” Kounios says. “He assumed the way to solve the problems was to think really hard about the words on the page, to really concentrate.” But then, just as the meditator was about to give up, he started solving one puzzle after another; by the end of the experiment, he was getting them all right. It was an unprecedented streak. According to Kounios, this dramatic improvement depended on the ability of the meditator to focus on not being focused so that he could finally pay attention to all those fleeting connections in the right hemisphere. “Because he meditated ten hours a day, he had the cognitive control to instantly relax,” Kounios says. “He could ramp up those alpha waves at will."

ADHD and Creativity:

Students diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) got significantly higher scores. White then measured levels of creative achievement in the real world, asking the students if they’d ever won prizes at juried art shows or been honored at science fairs. In every single domain, from drama to engineering, the students with ADHD had achieved more. Their attention deficit turned out to be a creative blessing.

Drugs and Creativity:

A recent online poll conducted by Nature, nearly 20 percent of scientists and researchers regularly take prescription drugs in order to improve mental performance. The most popular reason given was “to enhance concentration.”) Because these stimulants shift attention away from the networks of the right hemisphere, they cause people to ignore those neurons that might provide the solution. “People assume that increased focus is always better,” says Martha Farah, a neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania. “But what they don’t realize is that intense focus comes with real tradeoffs. You might be able to work for eight hours straight [on these drugs], but you’re probably not going to have many big insights.” (Marijuana, by contrast, seems to make insights more likely. It not only leads to states of relaxation but also increases brain activity in the right hemisphere. A recent paper by scientists at University College, London, looked at a phenomenon called semantic priming. This occurs when the activation of one word allows an individual to react more quickly to related words. For instance, the word dog might lead to faster reaction times for wolf, pet, and Lassie, but it won’t alter how quickly a person reacts to chair. Interestingly, the scientists found that marijuana seems to induce a state of hyperpriming, meaning that it extends the reach of semantic priming to distantly related concepts. As a result, one hears dog and thinks of nouns that in more sober circumstances would seem completely disconnected. This state of hyperpriming helps explain why can-nabis has so often been used as a creative fuel: it seems to make the brain better at detecting the remote associations that define the insight process.)


The Vision (Flash Non-Fiction, 1200 Words)

This story is my attempt to describe one of the craziest experiences of my life.  McKenna would be proud.  I have been at my in-laws this week (who don't have the Internet!) and just came home for the afternoon to do a few things around the house.  Sorry for the raw draft but I wanted to get some more original content out there.  Don't forget to share or +1 if you enjoyed it.  Thanks, AJ


The Vision

by AJ Snook

The third floor is my semiprivate sanctuary. It's the place that's allowed my teenage mind to survive into its 30s and, subsequently, fatherhood – that mind of wonder, inquiry and bliss. My room up there is a far cry from the decadent man caves so popular these days. No leather sofa. No surround sound. No humidor. No Chivas Regal. Unlike a teenager, thankfully, I have outgrown the need for braggery. Actually, I have – through a conscious effort – succeeded in widdling my list of friends down to a toothpick. Just a few to go all in with. Afford the time put the work in on a few instead of spreading my bets too thin.

What I lack in superficial sticker shock up in my room, I certainly make up for in humanist depth. Books on Eastern religion – Suzuki, Ram Dass, Alan Watts. Notebooks filled with novel sketches and thoughts not to be forgotten. A rug for sitting, table for working. White walls and a simple brown shag rug. Usually a laptop used sparingly as a music player, a thesaurus, an ebook, and more.

But the one thing that really makes my room standout from the rest of the house is the small wooden box that sits unsuspectingly on the bookshelf, on top of a used copy of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. It's not for jewelry or trinkets, no, it's where I keep my mind expanding substances, my tools for self-discovery. My metaphysical body shop. Instead of ratchets and oil cans I keep magical herbs and a ceramic pipe in the exact size, shape and color of a cigarette (in case I need to make my mind lab mobile).

As I'm in my room last summer I hear my wife, three months pregnant call up the stairs to me, “Honey, dinner's ready!” (She knows what I'm doing and is neither supportive nor antagonistic.)

The stuff I'm smoking is a synthetic form of THC that I got from a buddy of mine whose a chemist (one of the perks of growing old and continual down the path of the psychonaut, though slightly more lonely, is that your friends become more useful, more powerful). To say that it's strong stuff is as non-descriptive as saying Katrina was a strong hurricane (true but lacking qualification). The partaker must know the possible damage before getting involved. A bout of hunger and a nap on the couch are not parts of this game.

Warning: Expect lapses of introspection and that lead to simultaneous realizations of both the horror and wonder about the nature of reality so metaphysically robust that one lacks the language capabilities to translate said epiphanies back into the sober world in a quantifiable and constructive way.

Translation: You might meet some motherfuckin' thought aliens beamed full-speed into the meat receiver you call a noggin.

So with dinner getting cold I suck down a full bowl of the stuff in one careless gulp. In roughly five-hundred words, the consequences are documented below.

It hits me right away. Like after a sucker punch from the champ my brain gets a regular jostle and my head is put into a different place altogether. The walk down the steep winding stairs is accomplished only through muscle memory and great reliance on the banister and faith that it won't break under my weight. I splash through the beads draped in front of the entryway and into the living room/kitchen.
Immediately I hear a cute, “Can you do me a favor and cut the onions?”

My confidence is through the roof so I oblige and get to cutting. My head has a pulse running through it that feels rythmic and intentional. A homing beacon perhaps? Chop, chop, chop. Cutting has never been so much fun. After only about thirty seconds of cutting, though, it happens. The pulse in my head intensifies and it feels like something is quickly approaching me. I can feel a sort of gravity or pull on my being. I imagine how planets and other celestial beings feel when they get too close to each. For every reaction...

Next I'm in a dark place. My consciousness doesn't feel lost. It's still intact but it's not in my body. Am I dead? Will my kid grow up with a single mother? These thoughts come to me but the very existence of this space I'm in puts my worries to rest. If this exists then my unborn baby has nothing to worry about...ever.

Next I see two large figures appear. As I'm writing this I'm sure my memory couldn't bring back their true shapes in worldly terms, but my earthly mind seems to want to reassemble them into giant white and silver heads with eyes of light, the texture and color of them pulsating in waves of the supernatural hues, never solid, always flowing. They are the size of suns but they see me very clearly.

Again translated as best I can they communicate to me through pulses of cosmic energy (love?): 

“Welcome. We want to show you something before you leave.”

“Before I leave? What do you...” but I never got an answer as their show began in all its grandeur.

Out of the depth of space emerged a plane of pure light energy. It stretched for as far as I could see, perhaps to infinity. Nothing existed but the vacuum of space minus the stars and planets (Is that familiar space – the only space I know – different than where I am now?), the two giant conscious beings, me, and this plane of light. But through some kind of psychic cue the godly due (working together), allowed another plane to rise up from the first, hovering parallel above it. Then a second hovered down below it. Three parallel planes of infinite (conscious?) energy and power expansing out into the infinite void.

What exactly were they showing me? Other dimensions that lay parallel and connected to each other because of some universal, natural order? That's the best I could come up with. But I woke up on my kitchen floor. Back here in this realm of words and pictures. Not more than two seconds had passed, although at least three minutes had gone by in that other realm. My chopping knife was staring me in the face, so close I could smell the onions on it. I can't say that I learned much that I can apply here in a worldly way (not getting rich off of this experience if you know what I mean). All I can say is that it was real and not a construct of my imagination or subconscious.

The three truths that I can take away are as follows: aliens are real but they don't need ships, the mind is a cosmic beacon/receptor for said aliens, and there are drugs here that just might catalyze a face-to-face with them. Keep an open mind.



Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Shunryu Suzuki on Zen

buddhism, spirituality, japan, meditation
Shunryu Suzuki
This is the first part of a series of videos about Shunryu Suzuki (the Zen priest who founded the San Francisco Zen Center).  I have read rave reviews of Suzuki roshi and I have also read rather harsh criticisms of his style of zen.  To paraphrase the criticisms, they mostly claimed that he brought an unauthentic form of Zen Buddhism to America.  In short, some people say that he wasn't teaching Zen in the way of the true Japanese masters.

Perhaps my above description is an oversimplification, but even if I spent the time to describe these criticisms in detail I think my point would be the same: the experience of zen is a personal and direct experience with the singular point of universal energy that resides in us all.  Therefore, the method of teaching (and surely the masters of old would agree) doesn't matter as long as the end result of the pupil merging with that universal energy (even if for just a moment) is realized.

I think that Suzuki roshi was able to teach the end result of zen to his pupils in San Francisco and help start rolling a new ball of spiritualism across America, one that is still rolling and accumulating energy and strength today.


"The only time that you ever are is now.  And the only place that you ever are is here.  And, what are you going to do with it?"

Johns Hopkins Psilocybin Study

Could shamanism one day be a part of mainstream Western culture?

"The psilocybin study looks exactly identical to naturally occurring religious experience."  - Dr. Roland Griffiths

Coincidentally I am reading Huxley's final novel Island which is about  small island nation that is able to create a Utopia in a large part by the direct spiritual experience in the form of magic mushrooms.  If the idea of direct experience, compared to the traditional religious experience, this quote from Island might make things a little clearer for you: "Give us this day our daily Faith, but deliver us, dear God, from Belief."

The people of the island say this as part of their ritual because, even though they are religious people, they are also realists and rationalists.  When the mushrooms are used properly -- when they're held up with the highest regard or esteem -- they are one of the tools for making direct contact with the soul and the realms of consciousness that our modern culture has squashed and repressed (sometimes violently).

Moving on, I can imagine a future North America or Europe that encourages, or even requires, its delinquents (another topic Huxley's islanders tackle with mushrooms and a broader sense of community) to receive psilocybin therapy in order to deal with his issues (most of our delinquents are male, after all).

On a side note, my first child was born this week.  I'm exhausted and ecstatic at the same time.  I find my mind wandering and imagining what kind of man he will grow up to be.  What will his skills be?  Will he be artistically inclined?  Scientifically?  Or maybe good with his hands?  What will his job title be?  Doctor?  Teacher?  Or maybe psilocybin therapist?  After watching this TED talk, I'd be okay with that.


Sunday, December 23, 2012

Alan Watts - The Road to Here

This moment is eternity, but we musn't try not to anything, because that is doing something.  The moment we can do that we will be woken up.  Trying to attain satori or nirvana is the very thing keeping us from attaining it.  As we eventually figure out the way, we discover that the distinctions between things aren't there.  All things are seen as inseparable.

Amazing spiritual lessons in this clip from Alan Watts.


Saturday, December 22, 2012

Sex Robots in Less than Ten Years

It's not going to be too long before sex dolls that are virtually indistinguishable from the real thing become prevalent in society (see the video below from nine and a half months ago).  Despite being an interesting piece, those TV commentators clearly are speaking as the corporate talking heads that they are, and they don't divulge how this is a natural creation and nothing to be ashamed of.  In fact, it's a shame the way that they belittle this technological progress as nothing more than the work of horny Japanese nerds.  Don't they know that all men are horny?

It begs the question, though, will more husbands and wives get in, or stay out of, trouble because of the rise of these erotic terminators?  For the record, I believe the number of dissatisfied couples will decrease.  First of all, sexual angst will plummet due not only to sheer availability, but also because of the fact that a person will be able to choose the sexual partner of his or her liking.  Size, shape, color, and sound will all play a factor.


The last thing that I think about, however, are those intangibles.  Those factors that scientists won't yet be able to incorporate into their design -- things like pheromones, odor, and the timing of a look or a blush.  The novelty of the human experience can be extremely powerful.  Those imperfections have the possibilities for huge turn-ons, too.  Does she not smell like roses because she's spent the day at the office...and do you like that?  Are his hands sweaty from nerves because he likes you so much?  Did she forget to take those is-it-cold-in-here-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me Band-Aids off her nipples before she disrobed?  Are his body hair and that thin layer of fat irresistibly soft and comforting in the dead of winter?  These are all factors that you would very possibly only find endearing in a real human being and not in a cyborg.  For that reason, I doubt that the male-female relationship will be supplanted by the human-cyborg relationship any time soon.  Our DNA is too strong-willed for that.  Nevertheless, the 2020s are going to be a very interesting time.


Don't forget to share and/or +1

Adyashanti - What is Now?

I work with kids and sometimes they teach me wondrous things.  For example, I was walking through the halls at school today with one of my youngest students, and he asked, "How far away is the end of the universe?"  Then he pondered, "Why is there now?"

These were brilliant questions.  I wished I could have given him an answer.  I quickly realized that we were both the same.  Even though in this superficial world I am considered his superior, we are truthfully no different.  Just as ignorant.  Just as awe-struck by the nature of it all.


Then I run into this Adyashanti clip.  In all truthfulness, I strayed away from Adyashanti as a teacher for quite some time.  I saw his singular name and thought of Prince, his bald head and thought of a cult leader.  But when you sit back and listen to the guy, he doesn't want anything from you.  He's harmless, which makes his message more trustworthy.  What I think he's trying to say is to understand the connection that that wise kid was trying to make with me (and the universe), instead of trying to giving him a factual answer.  Maybe one day our technology, pushed forward by all of our hard work and creativity, will be able to answer the daunting question of exactly where the universe does end.  But until that day, I think the best way to approach that student's question is to empathize with him and realize that we are all part of the universe.  We are not separate from the divine, but rather, it lives within us and around us.  I should learn to share that realization with the child who understands it on a more precise level than I do.

"The only true inevitability is you can't avoid your true nature forever."  - Adyashanti

"It's when we realize our separateness [that we realize] we're not good or bad...we're one."  - Adyashanti

"You can never tell a mind how the divine moves, because a mind can't understand it...ever." - Adyashanti

Don't forget to share and/or +1

Electrical Brain Stimulation: "Everything in My Head Finally Shut Up"

Researchers have found that "transcranial direct current stimulation" can more than double the rate at which people learn a wide range of tasks, such as object recognition, math skills, and marksmanship.This is the kind of article made for this site.  It touches on cutting edge technology and spirituality (a.k.a. state of mind) equally.  It certainly is possible that we may be entering the era of instant zen.  If that's the case then we'll have to reconsider what to do with our spiritual time instead of meditating or expanding our consciousnesses pharmacologically.  I think the conversion rate to all things spiritual -- all things zen -- would be enormous if the time it took to get there suddenly became minimal.  There are other philosophical questions to discuss, first and foremost the value of work/effort, however hard work might one day seem antiquated in a world of abundance -- a world of free lunches.

I think it's important to remember what our pursuits in technology have taught us thus far, and how we can apply those lessons to brain science.  What we can wholly understand, we can also manipulate.  That surely holds true for the almighty brain.

Don't forget to share and/or +1.

Is This Your Brain on Drugs?

Scratch that image of your brain being fried when you smoke a little sweet green dope.  If this study holds true, it means that a lot of the preconceptions of the old generation were wrong and society needs to be reeducated.

The amount of mainstream press that the marijuana movement is getting is very encouraging.  The dangers of legalizing seem to be shedding like the layers of an onion, while the risks of not legalizing seem to be piling on like constricting stones.

Don't forget to comment and/or share.

Do You Want to Live Forever?

+Jerome Dallas suggested that I watch some Aubrey de Grey, so I did.  I had heard of him (or rather I had seen his overgrown beard in Singularity docs) but I didn't know much about him other than he's probably the lead figure in the trans-humanist movement.  He, along with plenty of other futurists, want us to be able to extend our biological selves indefinitely.


I find this topic interesting because talking about aging is simultaneously talking about death.  With death comes the unknown and with the unknown often comes spirituality.  It's a little comical how people are so quick to bash this idea of immortality.  They say that they would rather go to heaven or that it would be such a lonely experience.  They never take into account that even a million years of extended life would be nothing more than a blip on the 4 trillion that the earth has endured or the 13.75 trillion that the universe has mustered.

Naturally, this doesn't take into account the free will of a human being.  If you want to end it, you should have the right to end it (especially if you're eternal).  Anyway, watch this documentary (76 min.) when you have time.  He gets pretty concrete with his ideas within the first 20 min. and even though the word "death" pops up every other sentence, it definitely fits the category of "optimistic futurism".

Sorting Robot

In my book I write about bots that comb the streets for trash and discarded goods.  They act as cleaners, recyclers, and they also hook into nearby buildings to share or get electricity (depending on who has the surplus).  I can also see them coming to our homes and discarding something that has broken or is unwanted.  Let's say your computer is out of date and you're ready to trade it in.  If we're still operating in a scarce society, subscribing to this bot's service could grant significant discounts on your next computer, reusing the rare metals and other expensive components.  If we're in a post-scarcity world then this will just help minimize waste and serve as an example of how technology can breed efficiency and sustain a (nearly) harmless system for us.


Friday, December 21, 2012

Jason Silva - We Are the Gods Now

In the same vein as Buckminster Fuller, Jason Silva is probably best described as a futurist philosopher. Unlike Mr. Fuller he's not a scientist at all, but he has an unbelievable ability for recall and an inspiring way to see the positive connections between ideas, trends, and discoveries.  Not to mention he's also cool, young and charismatic.

If you found your way to this site, you are probably already familiar with his short-form videos of philosophical espresso.  The whole package of visuals, sounds and words really does a number on the imagination.  It makes me chuckle at everyone at work going through their day as if things are always going to be like this -- worker drones shuffling along an overdue system.  It's time to return this way of life before we accrue a late-fee.  Jason Silva reminds me of this and inspires me to try to be even just one little grain of sand on the beach of the paradise future.


Thursday, December 20, 2012

Guided Meditation with Mooji

This is a popular guided meditation from Mooji.  His voice is extremely soothing and his words poignant.  I find, if anything, the increased awareness taken away from meditation helps me be more present in each moment of each day -- to focus on the here and now.

For those of us also focused on the continual and exponential rise of technology, sometimes it's hard to concentrate on making the most of the present time.  If we all were to daydream about the bounties that the future will bring, we would never put in the thought, time or effort to get there.  If reading Eastern philosophy has taught me anything it's that all we have (and will ever have) is the present moment.  A better future is what we will create by repeatedly collecting better present moments over and over and over again.

Tracy Atkins talked about this at the end of his recent Singularity 1-on-1 podcast.  He said, "Don't wait for the Singularity.  Change the world for a better today."  I believe gaining some insight through meditation and philosophy is a much needed compliment to the progress we see (and want to see) happening in the technological and creative sectors.


12 Light Years Away. What are the Odds?

Astronomers may have found a star, Tau Ceti (awesome name by the way) almost identical to our sun, and it's just 12 light years away.  Five planets orbit it and one of them could possibly be in that prime Goldilocks zone.  It looks like they'll have to do a little more research to get a definitive answer, but the preliminary findings look pretty solid.

For us Singularity enthusiasts, a relatively nearby planet could do wonders for the rate of technological progress (not that it needs all that much nudging).  Still, any extra motivation for progress and for focus on something positive is a plus.  It's easy to envision mankind rallying around a unified quest for exploration instead of around a war based on our divisions.

For me, specifically, this finding makes me wonder about the nature of life and about why, after all of these planetary discoveries over the last decade, are we still alone in the universe.  Some are predicting that we won't feel so lonely sometime between now and thirty years from now.  During that time more than one notable astronomer believes that we will have discovered our first universal neighbor.

Finally, if all of this comes to pass what does it mean for our spirituality?  Of course we may have to adjust our perspectives, but if anything I think it will be an exciting and soul-expanding discovery.  Our imaginations (those indispensable partners of our creative inclinations) will grow like unburstable bubbles, expanding right before our very eyes.

Check out this video to help us understand how un-impossible those odds may be.




Mushroom Festivals Around the World

Here's a link to mushroom festivals around Europe (and one in New Zealand).  Could make for a great road trip for you Europeans.  I'm sure you'd meet a lot of wise and knowledgeable people if you went.  I've always wanted to go to one.  I know Shroomfest in Telluride is the quintessential mushroom festival in the U.S.  The next one will be held from August 15th to 18th so mark your calendars, plan your vacation accordingly, and hold onto your toadstools because if you meet the right shroom enthusiast, it's going to be a wild ride.
Magic Indeed

Sunrise Over the Curvature of the Earth



This is just stunning.  Our planet is a gem hidden in a dark corner of the universe.  We are so lucky to have this unique perspective -- one capable of perceiving such beauty and love.

For Sale

Only eBooks are for sale at the moment. You can purchase them through this link.

Thanks, AJ

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

McKenna: "Information Uses Bright People"

My morning mini-post is this good McKenna talk that covers almost all of the topics that I'm interested in: creativity, drugs, and technology.  They all swirl together into a brew of coolness.  He also goes into a bit about post-scarcity (without directly calling it that) and hints at profits being wiped off of the face of the earth by our creations, allowing them to usher in a new age of the truly free transhuman being.

(And it wouldn't be McKenna without one mention of the elves.)



My First eBook (re-post about my experience at a Buddhist funeral)

This was the first eBook I published in 2012. You can purchase it here for US $.99 at the Amazon Kindle store.

The Muse Who Never Was

I'm pretty happy with this short fictional story (4200 words).  It's about a surfer who inexplicably finds a fine catch in a woman in L.A.  However, through the strange nature of the way things are, a morbid twist finds its way into the story. It's in my "Collection of Short Fiction" but it's also available for 99 cents as a Kindle single.


Hidden Human History (Weird!)

Warning: The following content is weird and presented for entertainment purposes only.

I got a message from someone on Google+ yesterday saying to get rid of my "redneck page" on this blog.  I assumed he was talking about this "Weird" page.  I didn't reply to him, but I refuse to get rid of it for a few reasons.  First, I think it's simply entertaining (no worse than watching The X-Files).  Second, if the universe/multiverse really is infinitely large, isn't all of this not only possible, but likely.  Third, why take life so seriously?  Chill.

By the way, I love how this guy just spews all of this as fact and with supreme confidence.


Breaking the Taboo

This well-received drug legalization documentary is out on Youtube.  Narrated by Morgan Freeman and only an hour long, it's a concise view of what has happened melded with what is happening as far as drugs in the West.  Maybe not a must-see, since a lot of this has been covered in other well-known docs over the last decade or so, but it's not a bad way to spend an hour and an important sign of the times, a sign blaring in bright colors, "Legalize it!"

Update: I'm halfway through the movie and need to spew out this stat: "In 2009 there were 1.6 mil drug arrests in the U.S.  1.3 mil were for possession.  And 800k+ of those were for marijuana."  What...the...fuck. I'm sure I've heard those stats before, but I'm as dismayed as if I'd just heard them for the first time.


Steen Rasmussen's Vision of the Future

Steen Rasmussen's resume boasts time at CERN and Los Alamos to name a couple notable research facilities. His primary focus is in protocell research.  He claims we're not far off from creating those elusive building blocks of life synthetically.  I read his recent interview with Susan Mazur and found his take on what our understanding of protocells might lead to most fascinating.


Rasmussen is fascinated by a technological future with "democratized material production," i.e., an at-home personal fabricator to spin out medicine, electronics, clothing, "anything." Perhaps more importantly, he sees us inventing machines that can "love more deeply" than may be humanly possible.

Even though we're decades, if not centuries away from having personal fabricating machines, it's utterly amazing that we currently possess the technology to be able to see the road we need to take to get there.  The steps we need to take are visible.  In the past all we could think of about the future was robot servants, flying cars, teleportation, and time travel.  Don't get me wrong, all of those would be great, but they are very general, wishful predictions.  This interview with Mr. Rasmussen is so specific that it's hard not to believe that one day his projections will one day play out.  Below is his explanation in further detail about the technology we need to be researching which will eventually bring us to the day we make a 20th century New York pizza in our Sony Fabritron.  
Steen Rasmussen: One of the wonderful things about Information Technology is that you can program your computer. It's easy to give instructions. But it's very hard to tell a biological cell or biochemistry what to do. At the end of the day, however, all material objects have some chemical composition. So if you want to make new materials, you would need to control some chemical production. How can you instruct chemistry to do that? That's where microfluidics comes in.
You can program the microscopic flow of particular molecules in microfluidics by computers by actuators, e.g., with electrodes or with other means. You are then able to control the chemical production down at the microscale, even down at the nanoscale. So you can make factories that are extremely small. We're still in the infancy of this technology, lab on a chip that can be used by individuals at home.
Suzan Mazur: But you're saying you already have this lab on a chip developed in some form that you can just plug into your computer?
Steen Rasmussen: Yes, but we can only do very simple things. What I'm referring to is the future where we'll be able to have Information Technology and biology or production technology to talk to each other, so you'll be able to program material production in the same way as you program your own computer on your desk today. You'll be able to have a personal fabricator able to make anything.
We’ll eventually be able to implement von Neumann’s Universal Constructor and make it into a Personal Fabricator you’ll have on your desktop just as you have your computer and your printer today.

Back to that Sony Fabritron, there's absolutely no way we make it that far and still have the need for companies. I was talking with a guy on Google+ the other day who was really into the concept of Post Scarcity. It will most likely take a lot less than a Fabritron to tackle the issue of scarcity. The Fabritron will be more for extreme luxury and creativity. They will also be popular on long distance space flights, I assume.  That pizza I mentioned before definitely sounds better than astronaut ice cream.


Read the full Rasmussen interview at Scoop here.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

The Berlin Wall of Pot Legalization

Sorry, I don't have time to write much before work today, but this Rolling Stone article is a must read for any pot optimist.

Now that It's Legal, Colorado Lawmakers Meet

I think hard and often about this one.  Although this New York Times article has very little substance, it's hard to ignore.  There are lawmakers in Colorado who are paving the road for the rest of the country.  The way they decide to move forward will directly affect not only the other states that are inevitably going to follow them after they see the economy surge and crime decrease, but also the consciousness of the country.

I know that sounds a bit dramatic.  It's easy to label weed as a loyal companion of Funyuns and drool stains on the couch cushions, but people who use the tool called weed correctly know that it can have profound effects on the consciousness and on the soul.  It paints the world with a different brush.  It doesn't dull, but enhances.  It provides a unique and powerful viewpoint -- one of creativity and of empathy.

I hope those Wild West lawmakers make the right decisions and pave the road for the rest of us with gold.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Sex at Dawn by Chris Ryan

This book has been getting rave reviews.  The favorite part of many seems to be the theory that the old adage, "It takes a village..." was the way we operated for most of our existence as homo-sapiens.  Small groups of about a hundred ate, hunted, gathered, learned and (most importantly) slept together.  There weren't households and couples with strict social rules and borders like we have today.  Procreation at a rapid rate was a necessity and the women knew it.  Can you imagine the fear they must have had of their tribe one day dying out?  I bet they took their sex real seriously.

Chris Ryan would agree.  In fact, he argues that the shape of a man's penis (roughly that of a plunger) is an evolutionary adaptation.  The reasoning for this is that the plunger created a suction of sorts, removing the sperm of his tribal competitor and replacing it with his.

Since the women traveled and gathered food together, they most definitely ovulated together, too.  Anyone who has ever lived in a college dorm for an extended period of time probably knows this.  Therefore rituals revolving around the cycle of the moon must have been extremely important.  Ovulation rituals.  Rituals to perpetuate their namesake.  Rituals to survive.  Sex rituals.

I can just imagine the full moon parties full of freshly hunted game, wildfires, magic mushrooms (McKenna goes into this subject in particular in depth), maybe some kind of fermented drink and, of course, sex.  Lots of it.  Though short, there were probably some real thrills that came along with the lifestyle of ancient man.  Surviving is indeed living.

Below are two of Ryan's interview from The Duncan Trussell Family Hour.  Great stuff.


Duncan Trussell Has Testicular Cancer

It looks like my favorite podcaster/comedian probably has cancer.  Over the last year he has brought me a lot of entertainment, but more importantly wisdom.  I can't think of any stranger living and breathing today whom I feel I know better (due to all the conversations I've eavesdropped him having on his and Joe Rogan's podcast) or would be as sad about if suddenly gone.  I know it's a bit morbid to think about, but before the cancer news (link to his latest podcast where he talks about it) I found myself on the way to work, listening to the show and thinking, "Man, there is no other person out there that I've never met who I'd cry for had he suddenly died."  I felt a bit guilty for thinking that and thought how weird he'd think it if I had emailed or Tweeted him to tell him that.  But now I'd like to make sure I publicly say how meaningful his existence is.

The good news is that this kind of cancer is beatable.  If there's anyone both strong spirited and level headed enough to beat this thing, it's Duncan.  From the stories he tells and his constant talk about "putting work into yourself" spiritually through reading, discourse, meditation, chanting, comedy, and an acquired sense of humility and awe, he is living proof that this life isn't static and hopeless.  He shows us all through action and through his art that this life has meaning and purpose.

I listened to every podcast of his since I got my iPod last Christmas.  At that time I was in the middle of paying off my 40k student loan.  I decided to unshackle myself from that burden by practicing a lifestyle of hard work and extreme frugality.  I picked up extra work on Saturdays and even some evenings apart from my full-time job.  I took out my grocery, transportation, and entertainment money in cash at the beginning of each month and never once spend more than I said I would.  Usually I had something left over.  I began chipping away at that beast of burden, the whole time listening to Duncan and the people who inspire him.

So, to Duncan Trussell, the man with a tough battle ahead, good luck and thank you so far for all of the warm, funny, and meaningful shows you have shared.  I hope you get better and are able to produce a comedy special for us all sometime soon.  Finally, to spread one of his more famous messages to the blogosphere: Kill the vampire in your life.

You can support Duncan through his website either by sending him a direct donation or by buying something through his sponsors.  He also has a wonderful community on his forum. (His site is listed on the right side of my blog.)

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Osho on Language

This is Osho's most watched clip on Youtube.  He comments on language in a very meaningful way, a way we often don't stop to think about.  For starters, the language that we use carries such a heavy weight on a day to day basis.  The way we use it is like a siren flashing our identity to the world around us.  For many of us, too, our proficiency in verbal communication dictates what point on the food chain spectrum we fall onto.  The adept negotiators can usually provide better for their families than the neurotic, self-questioning introvert.  Of course their are exceptions on both ends, but the competitive nature of this system based on scarcity in which we live in has a way of dictating the kind of language that we use.  From my perspective, the straight forward and logical speaker does better than the abstract thinker.

The closer we get to the cusp of the Singularity, I hope the more acceptable it will be to use our right brains.  After all, art is an expression of the divine.  We are tapping into (the lower case "g") god when we express ourselves creatively.  I think Osho understood this, hence his mocking nature at the reprimand of the use of the word "fuck".  Shouldn't such a powerful word be celebrated rather than condemned?  Shouldn't we instead get rid of the capital "G" God that every grade school teacher and grammar Nazi so censures?  I believe that we are all lower case "g" gods and that the capital "G" God is nothing but a myth of language, the kind Osho finds amusing.


You Are a Soul

Found this on Reddit and thought it fit.

Sason Silva on Drugs and Turning into Gods

"Every technology allows a form of human expression that didn't exist before."

It does seem to me that we're, in fact, turning into gods.  The fact that we can manipulate, create, and extend life at will is a sign of amazing things to come.  It's utterly ironic, though, that we're still mired in so much war and disagreement.  Imagine the progress we could realize if we could all get focused on similar goals that revolve around themes of science, creativity, exploration (both spiritually and physically), and health.  Our concern for education should be in these areas and not in teaching kids clerical skills so that they can manage an office desk for 30 years.  That thinking is antiquated and a waste of a precious mind.  Think about how many musical geniuses have never come to fruition over the years -- how many teachers, poets, and fitness gurus.  And it's all because the people who were in charge of them (their stakeholders) had different plans for them.

At that time there was very limited connectivity.  For that artist to emerge she first had to hit the life lottery, meaning she had to either stumble on that needle needle in a haystack.  It could have a been a Sagan book left open on a library table at school.  Or that old lady at church who used to recite lines from Leaves of Grass to the kids as she served them milk and cookies.  The opportunities to be inspired didn't fall in your lap as often as they do today thanks to the Internet and its brethren like Jason Silva.

Kurzweil Joins Google

Big announcement today.  Ray Kurzweil joins Google to work on machine learning and language processing.  They are really amping up their AI pursuit.  Exciting times!

Willing to Die

"You can only die well if you can understand that your disappearance as this organism is simply seasonal.  You are just as much the dark space beyond death as you are the light that you call life."

This clip makes me think about the big bang or the birth of the universe and it makes me understand that even though the whole got vastly bigger since then, we are all still parts of that singular point that we came from long, long ago.  This connects to zen and Eastern religion in the way that it makes it easy to realize how utterly silly the ego is in the way that it tells us that death, and our will to struggle against it, is somehow in our control.  Beyond that and even sillier, the ego tells us that it matters for us to care. Watching this video and being reminded that flowing with change like a surfer on a wave, I feel like life actually has more purpose then the times I am inseparable from my ego.  Thank you Mr. Watts.


Saturday, December 15, 2012

Cannabis in America Today



Here's a great picture of the map of the U.S. and how each state has approached cannabis (click for full image).  The states that have taken a zero tolerance stance are few and far between, however it would be nice to see more states turning the blissfully emerald hue of Colorado and Washington.  We need to change our collective consciousness before any real physical change can also occur.

Be Here and Now

I'm reading Huxley's Island right now.  If Brave New World was his dystopian masterpiece, then Island his utopian one.  On an island off of India the talking birds are trained to caw, "Be here and now." among other spiritual reminders.  Ram Dass would be right at home on that island.  I suppose Hawaii isn't so bad either.


Rocky II: "Win!"

This is one of the most underrated scenes in the most underrated of the first four Rocky movies.  I grew up fixated on these movies.  Dream big.  Eyes on the prize.  Overcome adversity.  Do the unexpected.  A guy from the wrong side of the tracks.  The heart is the strongest muscle.  These are all concepts that I got from the Rocky movies, not mention they helped me admire tough old dudes.  Mickey was the man.  RIP.  This inspirational clip was one of the first time I got inspirational goose bumps (if not the first).  Enjoy.


Puma Punku

A lot of these alien shows are pretty far fetched, however this episode was one of the most compelling that I saw.  I do still think that there is a chance that we underestimate the engineering and constructions abilities of the ancient cultures, not to mention the amount of time they had to build these things, but the fact that they went so far out of their way to build up above the tree line in the thin air is pretty intriguing.

Contribute


It's my belief that this short life should achieve results with impact and progress that revolve around themes of love and harmony.  I wouldn't say that I'm all that intellectually smart, however, I do think that through my life experiences I have taken on a modest level of emotional intelligence.  Those lessons have taught me that it takes more than one person to do something consequential.  If you find the intersection of soul and science riveting, an incoming spec on the future's horizon that's only getting bigger and more apparent, please get in touch with your ideas.

Original works of fiction, art work, blog posts, links, and nearly any other contribution are welcome.  If you know which drop down category or sub-category your submission fits into, please indicate that information in your email.

Also, if you'd rather just donate some money, please click on the Paypal link on the right side of the page.  I'm also working on putting together and selling some Japanese green tea gift baskets, along with handwritten post cards whose contents include a handwritten spiritual, congratulatory or custom messages.  Coming soon.


Bullet Proof Coffee

I first heard about bullet proof coffee on Joe Rogan's podcast (episode link here).  Sounds legit.  Seems like there's real science and reasoning to back up the claims that this shit is real good for you.  A bit pricey but maybe worth a try.  The founder, Dave Asprey, seems like a smart guy who genuinely cares about making the world a better place.  He even claims that he spend around 40k (that stat's from memory) researching and perfecting his take on diet and exercise.  Ironically, that 40k is almost exactly the same amount that my grad school loan was.  Damn I want to do more good in the world.

Walking for Health

It goes without saying that any body movement you perform -- whether it be running, walking, lifting weights, or even sex -- has a positive effect on your health.  For me, however, walking has been a lifesaver.  I work too much (which I am going to cut back on when this job's contract is up) and that means that I usually get home after dark and feel like there isn't enough time to do all of the following: hang with my family, do something creative, and exercise.  These are the three things that I value the most in life (plus, TV shows nudge their way in, too) so exercise tends to hit the road first.  For the most part, though, I move quite a lot.  Thanks to walking.

First let me preface.  My commute to work is about forty minutes door-to-door.  That includes a walk to the station, a train ride, and a short bus.  It's annoying, but thank the gods for the invention of the iPod.  I usually listen to podcasts and/or music to occupy my time.  And the funny thing is that I only live about 5 km from my work, but public transportation is just so much easier than buying a car and the parking spots.

I don't enjoy the rat race, but thanks to walking I have learned to enjoy the commute.  The 5 km walk takes just under an hour.  When I'm strolling slowly home with a beer in tow, maybe it takes 70 minutes.  A pause in the park or a stop in the store isn't uncommon.  I even stopped to smell a flower this week.  Sure beats filing into a silver tube full of familiar faces whom I abhor to see because the connotations that go with them revolve around themes of indentured servitude, peer pressure, and coercion.  On some level, isn't society just an amalgamation of the three?

But I choose to walk.

I walk past bushes and trees.  I take different routes and see different faces.  I choose my own pace and have a venue to imagine -- a venue without ceilings that obstruct the effervescent azure sky that the workplace already masks quite often enough.

Thank you walking.  Goodbye rat race.

Unconventional Teachers

Bashar

David Icke


Raise Your Frequency

The definition of an unconventional teacher, Bashar hits on so many good points when he lectures.  "Know that that vibration is your birthright."  Live your life the way your core is telling you to.  When you meditate don't you ever get in touch with that center point of your soul, even if just for a split second?  You will always exist within your basic character.  Is the passing of 2012 also the tipping of the see-saw to the reality of the positive instead of the negative?  Let's wait and see.  If not, maybe we can make it happen with out the fate of the universe, but as agents of the universe instead.

"There is a reason why creation is not complete without you!"  - Bashar


Friday, December 14, 2012

The Duncan Trussell Forum's Writers' Warren

My favorite comedian and podcaster, Duncan Trussell, has a forum that attracts a lot of cool and interesting people.  There's very little petty bickering and unwarranted cyberspace name-calling there.  For writers, too, his subpage "Writers' Warren" is a great place to go and share your work.  People there are good at balancing their criticisms with compliments.

What is Wellness?

This article is from Georgetown.  There's a lot of good stuff in here and sometimes it's refreshing to read contemporaries, as the ancients and those who have passed on (Watts and McKenna to name a couple), even though historically recent, can also seem unattainable at times due to their legendary status.   Below are a couple excerpts if you don't have time to sift through the article:

Wellness is not a synonym for health or fitness. In my understanding, a person can be terminally ill, mentally retarded, or physically disabled yet still possess a deep wellness spirituality. Conversely, a person can be physically fit, mentally awake, and morally straight yet abuse a spouse, beat up children, and be a colossal pain in the neck to everyone else. Certifiably healthy? certainly! Well? hardly!

and

...wellness is more a process than a state. One never really "fully arrives" at wellness. No sooner does a person achieve a wellness goal or objective than an entire new horizon of choices and possibilities explodes into view.


Are Women More Spiritual?


I just ran into this article from UCLA that publishes some interesting info about the gender differences that exist in relation to spirituality.  Scroll down to p.7 and notice the chat which explains how women have a statistically significant difference from men when asked the question about whether or not being spiritual is "essential".  Are us men really that out of touch with the intangible...the holy?

DARPA's Big Dog

Okay, picture this.  You're the youngest daughter of a hard-working Pakistani family in the year 2018.  You were just born today.  Dad sells disposable cell phones downtown.  Mom dry cleans suits around the corner from Dad.  Your older brother is thirteen today, but he'll be heading off to college (the first to  do so in the family) in just a few months.  Last year, however, the global war on oil slithered its way into your city and the enemy of your country (not your enemy, mind you) has entered your streets.  So far you've been lucky.  Your house is intact.  Your close relatives are unscathed.  But then you hear it.  You hear the sound of...Big Dog.  It's that sound that's about to turn your world inside out.  It's that beast that's about to put a big question mark on your outlook on life...and on the entirety of humanity, as well as his dutiful and steadfast offspring: the machine.


Daniel Kraft - The Future of Medicine

Growing organs, 150th birthday, nanobot cancer assassins. The future is now.

Revisiting this post some time later, I now have a bit of skepticism about many futurists like these. I see TED talkers somewhat as good orators and slick salesmen. They're out to sell a book or acquire a job at a major tech firm. They're engaged in self-promo as much as they are out to save the world, and the pessimist in me believes that they would save their careers and reputations before the world herself if they had to choose between the two.

All that skepticism aside, I'm all for paving the way for another technological revolution in medicine if it will allow me and my loved one to share a few more healthy years together. The current model of life-extension at any cost (both literally and figuratively), even if that cost means 20 extra years of pain and suffering, should be a game that we try to end...soon.

Are these the designs that Daniel Kraft envisions?

Alan Watts Lectures

  1. Web of Life (.mp3)

The Web of Life

This two hour lecture by Alan Watts is a gem.  His short clips synced to video are breathtaking, but sometimes you just want to close your eyes, listen, and pretend you're in the room with him.  You want to pretend you could share a whiskey and a joint with him afterward and talk hopefully of the world that has yet unfolded.  You want to make-believe that the next century will outgrow war and oppression and, instead, embrace simplicity, empathy, compassion, inquiry and understanding.

Link to this lecture.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Inception Art

Einstein Quote

Crack for Future Junkies

This kind of article, the kind of article that outlines the outrageous change that we are going to see over the course of the century, is enough to make the daily grind bearable, enough to allow you to put a smile on your face, lift your chin up and know that things won't always be as drab as they sometimes are in your office.  The endless routines and faces and fake interactions might not have to be as we approach the coming decades.  Just as The AJ Snook Blog tries to instill a connection between the Heart and the Hard Drive, articles like these inch us ever so slightly closer to that connection.  I can just picture the outstretched fingertips of one on the verge of interlocking with the other, merging to create a bold new future.  To me, that is what the Singularity entails.

D.T. Suzuki, the Swordsman & the Cat

There are very few D.T. Suzuki interviews available online.  Until I can dig some up, here is a zen story of his.


Hollywood Behind Slow Internet in U.S.?

I'm throwing this out there as a conspiracy theory on a bit of a whim, but I do have a reason.  Here in Japan our Internet speeds are much, much faster.  Due to this extreme speed I am able to easily stream all of my favorite shows (Dexter, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead to name a few) that I normally wouldn't be able to watch here.  A quick Google search of "show/movie title" followed by the word "streaming" will reveal a plethora of sites.

Us Singularity watchers see the progression to free streaming everything as being inevitable.  As big date becomes cheaper and household download speeds get faster, it's no wonder that a once spotty practice of watching TV streaming online (with all the lag time and failed links) has, in Japan, become nearly as trustworthy as my Internet connection itself.  If one works, so does the other.  Not to mention, with faster speeds comes the ability to watch these streams in higher quality.

Therefore, it doesn't surprise me that the U.S., the largest TV and movie watching market in the world, is lagging behind most of Europe and East Asia when it comes to Internet speeds.  The crawling browser dinosaurs that still exist in the States are about to be hit with an asteroid known as truly high-speed Internet.  With the Kindle Fire HDs that we can plug directly into our TV sets with merely an HDMI cable will allow us to put these streams onto our TVs making the need to pay for TV start to seem irrelevant, and it wouldn't surprise me to learn that Hollywood supports the crawl.  Thank our lucky stars that Google Fiber might very well turn this thing into a real race yet again.
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