Some wonderful thoughts here.

Wouldn't it be great if people were as excited about confronting important global issues such as climate change and plant and animal extinction as they are excited about the new Spider Man movie?

My feeling is that as these problems increasingly threaten and encroach upon the lifestyle of "unlimited affluence" that we have come to enjoy and take for granted, more people will wake up and realize that we need to drastically shift our society towards a sustainable paradigm, in terms of both civic planning and industrial design. Certainly, media will play an important role in this shift. My hope is that Reality Sandwich will represent this new media paradigm and help transform our social conscience and consciousness.

Just as we need a revolutionary shift in the media, I think we need one in science and medicine, too. Our attitude towards nature as something that we have full reign over, and that we can and should "control," has brought us to the edge of this climate change precipice in the first place. And consider our skewed attitude towards microbes as things we should ultimately conquer: the majority of microbes don't cause disease, but science and medicine are only funded to study those that do. This leaves us completely ignorant about how most of the microbe world works. For example, although we don’t fully understand yet why monkeys with SIV (the primate version of HIV) never develop AIDS, there is reason to believe that the harmless endogenous retroviruses monkeys often house in their DNA might be involved in protecting them. I think that we would be wise to change our approach to science and medicine and to be open to learning from nature rather than just controlling it.

Tristan, yes, it's been so mixed up. People, by and large, want to avoid confrontation of any kind and so seek easy solace as glaring sets of eyeballs.

'Confronting' these situations often brings with it feelings of some Herculean task or sense of burden. Things many tend to shy away from, hiding in whatever darkness they devise.

When one really --Engages-- life and living and with it plants and animals and so forth, all other things (environment, social, scientific, recreational etc) become manageable and prioritized in a very natural way. It's part of the challenge of the era; accepting that we've just now become profoundly and collectively aware of where we are, what needs to be accomplished and by when.

Our attitude towards nature as something that we have full reign over, and that we can and should "control," has brought us to the edge..

The illusion that we are seperate from nature is indeed among the most pervasive and damaging of all.

"...the ticking time-bomb of ignorance and greed gets defused at the last moment by teams of stylish secret agents of consciousness and compassion, working in coordination across the planet. These tantric technicians create wilderness corridors for endangered species, end sectarian conflicts among warring factions, deploy alternative technologies at appropriate scales, and generally transmute negative vibes to harmonic frequencies."

Yes, Daniel--we're absolutely on it. These are the times, dear humans. We are the ones we've been waiting for, and we're right on course for accessing our cosmic consciousness. Please remember to enjoy the ride! xoxo, b

I am a 23 yr old assistant editor at a movie-trailer vending company.  We make previews for 50% of the blockbusters that hit the theatres.  I live in Hollywood.  I am surrounded by ignorance and ego.  I hear and see, during Monday-Friday, the most clueless people say and do the most clueless things, while their bank accounts grow and grow and grow.  They're happy about that, and that's all that seems to matter for them.  Luckily I have a good outlook on life and I have become a much happier person in the past few years, otherwise I would have lost my mind or left by now.

 

That doesn't change the fact that I am completely sick with the way we are treating Planet Earth. 

 

Anyways- I know the people that work on these movies you guys speak of.  I am in the epicenter of fake.  I feel like a spy in the enemy castle, studying their ways and learning from their evil plans!  But all I've learned here so far is this:  don't go see Spiderman 3... and don't go see Rush Hour 3 (even IF my voice is in the trailer for 2 seconds!)  In short, don't go see any of these horrible "films".  Go see a film with a real story... or a real moral... something with GOOD writing, not a movie that's meant to brainwash children and hypnotize adults!  I'm sorry if you like these types of movies, and I apologize if I'm ranting like a weirdo (I'M AT WORK NOW!) but it's true, and you know it.  These movies are insanely wasteful.  Billions upon billions of dollars are spent, countless gallons of gasoline and oil for large vehicles are used, the electricity bills are never fun and imagine how much of the energy put into the movie "NEXT" could have been put into something else... like, I don't know, feeding people.

 

Well I guess I should go back to working for the people I just spent 10 minutes bashing.  Eek.  I'll be out of here soon, when my research is done (wink wink) and my bank roll is comfortable enough to really go headlong into what I know is the right direction.

 

Interesting times, indeed.  :)

"If we used our genius for marketing and storytelling to project a different vision and value system, we could repattern and reprogram the collective psyche in a very short period of time.."

 

Totally agree with that. If we continue to go in this direction, eventually down the road our missions will be accomplished.

Imagine what people can accomplish, when limitations and restrictions become thin, cultural boundaries are crossed, and we move forward with a positive focus on sustainability and the desire to have knowledge, and we can all work together in our own ability, as a planet representing itself in a universal culture. This site is amazing, I look forward to its potential.

 

Excellent...

I came across a link to your site at http://dailygrail.com

I'm really impressed with the quality here, and the talent.  I agree with the article, but would add that...as Shakespeare said, nothing is except thinking makes it so, and while it may appear difficult to change society, it only takes changing the thought patterns of each individual, oneself first.  The task is entirely individual and organic, which gives me some hope.  Just a matter of interrupting those mesky meme's.

I would just add that, we can create anything (within reason) we want to.  Looking at our modern culture, its architecture and technology, one realizes the potential of human society.  We can make good here, if we understand that here is what matters, and not there, some fictional afterworld where all will magically be made right.  

Anyway, excellent site.  

Reese
http://esotericaobscura.blogspot.com

I am in alignment with your vision of a societal shift. The aged technology of community will bring balance to the young rambunctious ways of technological individuality. The seed was enveloped long ago. Now the contractions are beginning. Birthing pains will be felt. 

...is the only way that social revolution will be viable. The cooperative dream will only be realizable if it is voluntary. This cannot be imposed from outside of us, only brought forth from within us. I think we have a long ways to go before we see this change, especially in the richest nations. However, it is possible (even likely) and more than worth the optimism. Great disturbances (peak oil, global warming, government sponsored terror) will act as catalysts for more and more people to awaken. In the meantime, awaken yourself to awaken others and thus the world.

Great article Daniel, I look forward to many more.

 

"Sanity is Madness put to good use. Waking life is a dream controlled." -George Santayana

"when a major new media technology emerges, it leads to profound changes in the social system"...
Looking back at these shifts on the internet, the major shifts I see in the past are the invention of email and napster...and currently I see the craigslist type site,
an almost altruistic model, of websites inflicting a change of their own.
In addition, blogging is a new publishing medium where the common man can be heard. This in itself is creating a snowball of unknown proportions, I don't think anyone can assess the extent of this activity yet.
It would seem there is 10 times more information on the internet now than there was in 1999, the rate of growth is exponential I'm sure.
This expanding information source, the increasing speed at which it is delivered, and the increasing diversity of the content will provide a
fertile bed for many shift's to occur in the future.
I can not help but be optimistic.
Open source software developement should be a major component of any shift, it puts the power to develop into the users hands. The open source revolution that is happening now are definitely shaking things up with the monsters of Software.
http://www.sacredmayan.blogspot.com

Looking in my crystal meth ball I see that this massive food shortage-end of the world-soylent green-disaster has to happen. It's already happened on some level. When we concerned citizens get all solar power and save the whales we just convince the red state fear junkies that saving the planet is the same thing as being a commie. In AA it's common knowledge you can't help an alcoholic until he asks for help and he's not going to ask for help until he's near death, lower than low, scraping bottom. I'm not saying give up or stop trying, I'm just saying think locally, be prepared for when the whole thing starts burning up and drowning at the same time. There's an old Chuang Tzu story where a student comes to him saying he's going to go to this corrupt province and convince the evil ruler there to stop opressing his people and turn to the Tao. Chuang Tzu tells this kid to go home and meditate instead. We have to recognize that the current global crisis is a reflection of our own collective screwed up thinking. We need to work on ourselves, our perceptions, and the world will follow suit. The Simpsons covered all this back when Marge started writing Itchy and Scratchy cartoons, where instead of disemboweling each other they sit in rocking chairs and make each other lemondaide. BUT there are signs of hope, i.e. The Last Mimzy is certainly a step in the right direction. Another step is for global change to wipe out a good 3/4 of the human population... a strategic withdrawal from mother Earth into the next dimension... so we stop devouring natural resources like a swarm of cancerous grasshoppers. We need to stop splitting things into opposites -- good and bad, right and left, red and blue, life and death, war and peace... we have to embrace the destructive aspect of ourselves if we are ever to heal. That means rearing back and looking into the apocalyptic future and whooping like Slim Pickens at the end of Dr. Strangelove. "Bring it Awn!"

I want to say "yes" to many of the comments here, and give thanks to know that there are others caring about what we feed our heads (I've never owned a tv for that reason); who also know we need to feed our souls; that we need to "cultivate our garden" (recently read "Candide"); and work both separately and together to create new visions to share/inspire/heal....

 

We've been cursed & blessed to live in such interesting times. Times like these can call forth the best in us, or the worst. We choose.

we say things like 'the rich countries of the world have to lead the way' but i would like to give the example that i live in france, one of the rich countries if you will, and there is no such thing as hollywood cinema here that could have influence in other places. as for difusing to 'poor countries', 'africa' is half an hour away by plane and it is not a foreign country. the US is much more foreign to us here in many ways. i hate to say it because i hate when french people say it, but not the entire world functions in the same alphabet as the states, for better or for worse.

as much as french people are super ecological and leaders in saving the earth (average mom does not have dryer, dishwasher, etc, we kill our own chickens, etc..) the spiritual revolution that seems inherent in this preapocalyptic dream, well, is forbidden by law in france (la laïcité) and generally not well regarded in the public sphere. although i would love to have the whole world on the same page sometimes so we could experience this global times together, i must admit it is very much an illusion that exists in america or in those touched by americanism (perhaps this is why i live here, to do some of the touching, and this site too, its excellent for that, n'est-ce pas?)not that global warming is an illusion, but that the idea that we are all on the same page, or all want to be on the same page, is.

i have trouble grasping this sometimes, but then i have dinner in the village bar... not that there are not some psycho wicked shamans and really nice people roaming this land, but 'dream machine' is just not part of everyday vocabulary...... the press here is composed of people who have passed through very selective schools, the internet is slow getting off the ground here, i know i probably sound crazy......... i mean there are some good things getting going, but we're not in kansas.

so i will just say i like what the meth guy said about just acting here where you are at the time. big social changes are exhilerating in thought and in reality, meditation is empowering and life changing, but hot air rises and floods our biosphere... i'm not saying you haven't written very important words to be read, in fact i am a big fan, i just am trying to make known the things i am learning the more time i spend here.

good luck to everyone. thanks for your optimism dan

I couldnt agree more Mr. Daniel with your ideas, which I too have thought and think about ALOT, if not obsess upon. I just question, I mean I sit and look at it within myself, who is creating this media?, where does this media really start? Where does everything really start? Are we wasting our time trying to change things on the outside when the only thing we really have jurisdiction over is our own inner world, which as many spiritual teachings tells us, is how the manifest is manifested. If we all just started turning more inward and healing the divides of our psyches and hearts dont the laws of creation take care of themselves and manifest thru us? I mean do we really even see reality clearly at all? I am not disagreeing with your thoughts at all, in fact I too feel changing the media is a huge peice of the puzzle.But isnt the media a reflection of our collective inner and as I see it, lets go to the source. Start at the root....something tells me we underestimate the power of this and that the inner transformation is the magic we have been looking for. Why couldnt the solutions to our problems be simply and maybe cornily(is that a word) deep within our selves. But what do I know, I watch Sex and the City and lately, have started to resonate with some late nite preachers.....but maybe I just havent healed enough of my inner psyche heart....go figure. I

Let our words be the conduits of the one rhythm heartbeat.....

Kinley Lyra Doucette

My friend and I were discussing the possible events of 2012 and we hit upon an interesting idea. If 2012 is indeed supposed to be a moment of unparalleled novelty, consider this:

Throughout human history, many, many terrible things have happened. McKenna once called history "the long slog towards Armageddon".

How incredibly novel then, would it be if things just miraculously worked out... can you imagine if global warming suddenly completely corrected itself?

Last night I watched the DVD movie: Children of Men. Even more interesting were the bonus comments on the disc from well-known futurists. (You have to watch this bonus material yourself in order to understand) I believe that it's too late to demonstrate our situation with metaphor as this movie tries to do. HBO should do a shockingly truthful no-holds-barred docu-drama developing the doomsday scenario in one explosive season. Then lets see if mass hysteria can shift the consciousness of the populace. (Look at what Gore's movie did?) The least an HBO show like this can do is to prepare us spiritually for the inevitable. The way I look at it, we have three choices: Work, Hope, and Resignation. Of these three, hope is the most futile. There are many, many things that demonstrate the presumptuousness of our human species. On the top of the list is a belief that we can “Save the Planet”.

People are aware of what's happening around. All of us are having fun of watching television as it is another medium of communication. However, books can be considered as another form of communication since it also used as one way of giving information to the readers. Nonetheless, Self publishing book companies have become popular in recent years, as book companies are notoriously stringent in selecting books. However, Self publishing can be risky because it cost a lot of money. Nowadays, self publishing companies, many internet based, like iUniverse, allow authors to have a book published, and in some cases only print when an order is placed. Author Solutions, a book publishing firm based in California, recently acquired Trafford Publishing, a book publishing company in Canada. The interesting thing about companies like Author Solutions is that they are a bit different than traditional book publishers – although both are self publishing companies. An aspiring author can go through companies like Author Solutions.

Please remember to enjoy the ride! xoxo,
brochure design | animated logo | custom logo

The way I look at it, we have three choices: Work, Hope, and Resignation.
Company Logo Design | corporate logo

good article with great thoughts but still i dont agree with some of your points

custom logo design

Any mission is possible! Movies are a great way to express feelings which seems to be the best way for me as well. I enjoy watching movies while basement waterproofing my house.

Anything is possible like nike. :) Clubs in Abu Dhabi | Dubai Hotel Apartments

Good luck with your reality show. Dog arthritis

Thanks for sharing this. It was very interesting to read, from a point of view that isn't usually shared. Painted Pine Furniture Pine Bookcases

Anything is possible if you work hard enough at it. All you have to do is set in your mind that you can do it. epl highlights Autoradio

The earth should be preserve from further damage by pollution. after Kyoto fiasco I am hopeful about Copenhagen Summit 2009 for betterment of things. marina hotel dubai | Dubai Marina property | careers in Dubai

I think we need to make our level best to create a hassle free world with lot of love and happiness. Dubai Short Stays | Dubai houses for sale | Hotel Marina Dubai