COUNCIL ONE
 

CREATION  MYTHOLOGY

  CHOOSING THE ULTIMATE
Social architecture aims at doing something consciously and pro-actively with our civilization. It has tools for building a framework for culture and doing it all together. It is because we are doing something together and something that will have a lasting impact that we should begin the journey together with the same or at least complementary mindsets.

This step which is called creation mythology is an exercise in context building. It is a chance to examine the character of the road we are about to take together and see if we imagine the journey will have substantial results and meaning for us all.

Creation mythology examines our underlying beliefs about why we are alive and why we are here on this planet. And to examine the deeper reasons we exist in no way imagines that doing something...is more important than doing nothing. When we as social architects have produced a fully whole culture then there should be plenty of room to do nothing and do it in fine style. Or if the group you represent has a creation mythology that believes GOD will do everything independent of our efforts, then you can stop reading this drivel and just be the social architecture you believe in.
 

What is the purpose of our civilization ?

Imagine you and your group of social architects are standing in a field somewhere. A spaceship appears and lands beside the group. A very wise looking elder steps out of the craft and asks you:

"What is the name of your planet and what is the purpose of your civilization?"

Maybe you can now sense what a fundamental question we are asking here. Its a terribly basic idea and its shocking to notice how seldom it is discussed. For the answer to this question shapes the context of all the other questions.

You see, if we know what the purpose of planetary life is.....and what role the group we belong to plays in that purpose....then we can expect to be able to choose any number of cultural tools with a relatively greater chance at alignment and fulfillment . For example, at a planetary level we could choose to accept a course of action like :

Pursue an evolutionary and symbiotic relationship in concert with our host, the planet earth.

Now if our creation mythology was deeply ingrained and went somewhat like: humans are the superior species on this planet and therefor have dominion over all other lesser forms, then it would be genuinely impossible to pursue the above course of action without eliminating the word symbiotic. For there would be a built in bias against learning much from lesser developed sources, like animals or plants or the earth itself. You see, we can better advance our work together by creating an agreed upon contextual alignment up front.

A very proactive way to get at our collective purpose is to simply ask:
 

What is our higher purpose ?

This can be useful . It also does not necessarily root out the more deeply ingrained mythologies we have grown up with and carry somewhat unconsciously around with us. So, for that reason, the question is worth a patient and thorough discussion.

It is very stimulating to discover the underlying assumptions we already have concerning the meaning, nature, and purpose of life. Today, we experience a collective worldview shaped after a century where the tool-makers and engineers thought they could craft a solution to nearly any functional problem that could be clarified. As a consequence we have important thinkers like Buckminster Fuller saying things like:
 

"We could make the world work for 100% of humanity."

We accept such a practical view quite easily. Though many of us want a world way beyond functional effectiveness. In the famous hierarchy created by Maslow, basic needs promote the achievement of higher order or more advanced needs such as self-actualization. It seems plausible that we would always be attending to basic needs, just as we would always cleaning the house....in support of higher outcomes like a great party.

At the same time it is also true that some people really believe that "we are in God's school" and really are not responsible for doing anything to reshape the nature of experience and we should just be grateful to be a part of it in every moment. The nice thing about these two ideas whether provable or not.... is that they can improve our overall condition and our appreciation for it, if we all believe in them. What you think is what you get.

Lets examine, for a moment, another ingrained mindset: "hard work is just part of life." Work is held by most as being good! Money comes from work, therefore money must be good also. We certainly seem to need plenty of money. If you are rich then, would it follow, you could be a better father ? I don't think so.

What may be at question here is ...how much work. There is honest labor which builds soul. If everyone shared that experience then there wouldn't be just work. So maybe the mix of activities and no activity at all would be a higher road.  And what about "higher" as a description of better?  How about "expanded"?

When America was settled by the white Eurocultures the available technology at hand meant that 97 % of those present had to grow or somehow produce food. That kind of work was essential. Now only 4% of that culture must work to produce the required food. Does this mean we have eliminated labor from the modern way ? Remember that was the promise of the industrial age and the technological revolution.

Also, that means that 96% per cent of what we do now could be classified as make-work. So is work good because we need to do it or because we are addicted to it.  Or is work a hangover of the system called money?  We could work our way back out of money as the key form of exchange by just recognizing what it is we really believe to be important. So we could reexamine the ideal work ethic. You see, there are many unexamined conventions that can be challenged.

For example, if dirt is so dirty and full of germs why do we grow our food in it ? How can saliva be clean enough to carry around in you mouth one minute and turn into that awful entity spit the minute it is propelled from its hallowed origin.  What limiting mythology.

So, we now may have eliminated work but not the work ethic or the underlying mythology about work. Its worth a review don't you think ? Its not as if people haven't already shifted their work schedules. A pole taken in early 1997 revealed that as many as 37 % of Americans were working at home on their own schedules as entrepreneurs.
 

Become aware of sacred cows

These kinds of examples come from unexamined folklore...or mythology. Of course as social architects we want to look at slightly larger beliefs than germs or spit, but it's interesting to see the power that unquestioned mythology has. It is valuable to zoom out from time to time and ask these fundamental questions.

Science seems very close to unveiling the most essential particles in the universe. These particles hold the possibility of unlimited energy. It could be that chi, ki and prana are in fact those very essences and they can be harnessed by our intention and bring a future life where we spend our time "in the zone." We can see athletes, shaman, martial artists, jazz musicians and others that enter advanced zones of performance that defy even their own ability to explain.

As social architects we can direct our attention to advanced states of being. In this way we can catalyze a culture that continues to evolve relevant purposes and exceed the best human performances rational behavior can determine.

History books paint such a glorious history of the good old days. Yet, if we attend the news broadcasts today we often feel as if there is no hope. The truth is that if we were able to go back in time we would likely find that a portion of life was unreportably difficult and always has been. Imagine spending most of the day bent over in a field harvesting produce or pulling weeds ?

CHALLENGE

Spend some time unearthing the mindsets at hand and then, with that alignment, structure a higher purpose for the culture you serve. A higher purpose does seem to work best when it pulls us forward on the highest plane possible and never quite seems to be reachable. Like a beacon it faithfully calls forth the best in us.
 

Let us begin our adventure to find a better civilization by clarifying what we really want.
 
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