Sun Rings Like a Bell—And You Do Too

Feel like dancing with the sun? An article in the May 4^th, 2007 issue of Science magazine suggests new evidence that the sun rings and vibrates in such a way that it affects winds on the Earth, cell phones, and other features of our lives. These oscillations are carried to Earth on the solar wind that transverses the solar system. This idea, that large-scale, galactic phenomena can noticeably effect us here on Earth is the basis of Planetary Intelligence: that our lives and actions are intrinsically interwoven with the fabric of the universe and nothing about our everyday existence is independent of this interconnectedness. The complex, global and interstellar phenomena that surround us are part of the identity and sense of who we are: Even something as seemingly inconsequential as a breeze can be part and parcel of a larger set of universal relationships.

The Cosmic Axis of Evil: What it Means for You

No, I am not talking about nasty reptilian aliens from the Gama Quadrant. The cosmic “axis of evil” is a name astrophysicists are giving to a newly discovered feature of our universe: a spiral pattern imprinted on radiation left over from the big bang. It has long been thought that matter is uniformly distributed throughout space, with no particular preference in any direction. Now there is new evidence (New Scientist, April 13, 2007) suggesting that the entire structure of the universe has the orientation of a corkscrew pattern: over 300 quasars fit into this overall whole twisting structure. Data from 1660 spiral galaxies also show the same overall orientation. If such a thing is true it would suggest that directionality, or anisotropy, rather than isotropy is the basis for galactic organization at the largest scale. Thus, the whole universe may in fact be based on spiral geometry, rather than being evenly spread out and uniform in all directions. So when you see or imagine spirals in your life, know that you are connecting to the most basic, fundamental structure of the whole universe.

Connect to Etheric Energy by Activating Your Creativity

Creativity stimulates our bodies and minds to connect with the endless energy that makes up the universe. It gets us out of our heads and into a zone of immediacy and interactivity. When you engage your creativity you are in the present and living in the moment. In the present, we get out of our “monkey minds” and can connect with mind of the universe. How does this happen? Well, when we operate out of our linear mind, we are following a social program: a type of hypnotic conditioning full of judgments, expectations, pre-calculated outcomes, and schedules. In this mindset, we become disconnected from the immediacy of being alive. We become mentally and sensually dulled: almost like a time-delay has been introduced into our experience of reality. In this mode we are susceptible to a variety of artificially-induced mentalities such as self-doubt, feelings of inadequacy, grandiosity, lack of energy, and confusion.

By engaging our innate creativity, we can temporarily burst forth from the cage of reason and experience an immediate sensory and emotional presence that will allow us to feel more complete and alive. And at the same time, we engage the creativity of the universe, which operates instantaneously. In Carlos Castaneda's books, Don Juan referred to this as creating a link to our “second attention” or ability to perceive energy directly. When you do this, you can feel a sense of energy in your solar plexus, a feeling of focus and “intent.” As this point we become connected to the flow of universal, original energy with its own logic and direction. You feel like you are in the flow of something much bigger than you are. It's a feeling I know you'll enjoy, so spend some time getting “out of your head” and be creative today.

Expand Your Awareness, See the Big Picture

Much of our lives nowadays are increasingly preoccupied with small-scale micromanagement of information and control of information technologies like email, instant messaging, cellphones. In order to keep track of this vast information flow we often end up multitasking: doing lots of separate tasks at the same time. Recent research shows that we only hold a maximum of four separate things in our minds at once (New Scientist, April 7^th, 2007) . Yet, many of us try to do even more than that. This can cause a loss of perspective, context, and holistic thinking. Our attention becomes fragmented and we can potentially lose our deeper connection to our subconscious mind and non-local awareness. We face the danger of losing sight of the bigger picture and our relationship to the larger environment. We become like race horses with blinders on. Focusing on small-scale events, without seeing the macrocosm, can lead to a loss of perspective, an overinflated idea of the importance of detail, and a preoccupation with trivia. Once in while, take time to see the big picture. Use your imagination to see your place in the whole universe.

Seeing the bigger picture isn't something you actually “see.” It's more of a feeling of connection, an inner knowingness which is often in short supply these days. In the works of Carlos Castaneda, his mentor Don Juan Matus often talks about “stopping the world:” that is, stopping the voices of our inner dialog. By quieting our “monkey mind,” the chattering voices in our heads, we can regain a sense of wonder, mystery, and awe. Deeper perception requires stillness, like the quiet waters of a lake reflecting the image of the moon.

One exercise I like to do is to attempt to imagine my geographical place on the Earth as it spins around the solar system. Imagine that you can see yourself and the planet spinning around at the same time. This can allow you to almost feel the motion of the Earth and the universe: to feel yourself moving, even though your eyes tell you that you are standing still. You can even imagine that you are on your own spaceship Earth hurtling through the cosmos at lightening speeds. By every count, we are moving in 11 different directions at once. We are nestled in a constellation of planets, stars, and galaxies. To see yourself in this vast cosmological nexus is the essence of planetary intelligence. By doing so, you can regain your cosmic heritage as an infinite being and galactic citizen.

Grow Your Planetary Intelligence--The Butterfly Effect and the Power of Your Attention

The Butterfly Effect is a concept from chaos theory that postulates that even small events can have big effects. In this case, according to the laws of chaotic dynamics, a butterfly flapping its wings over the Amazon rainforest can effect the weather in China. This is because under the right conditions, even small changes in a system can lead to big changes somewhere else in that system. Tiny perturbations can lead the system to rapidly change its entire form and structure. The Butterfly Effect reminds us of the subtle effects of all the decisions and actions we take on our larger environment. This goes contrary to our modern mindset that respects sheer power over subtle quality. This encourages us to ignore little details that we think don't matter so much. However, one only has to recall to mind recent disasters of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia both of which suffered fatal damage from seemingly innocuous and minor defects such as O-ring design or heat tile adhesion. In both tragic cases, these tiny defects cascaded together to become catastrophic failures. In sociological speak, these technologies are known as “tightly-coupled systems:” the parts are all closely connected and interact in non-linear ways. Nowadays, our whole planet is a tightly-coupled system. Every action we take has the potential to create effects larger than we ever anticipated. And similarly, seemingly irrelevant relationships and processes can have important consequences on distant parts of the system. By paying attention to our own attention, on the silent spaces and empty passageways between seemingly more important objects and events, we can cultivate our planetary intelligence and learn to observe the entire life process, not just the outcomes that we have been trained to look for or expect to see.

Grow Your Planetary Intelligence--Pay Attention to Subtle Forces and Empty Spaces

The mechanistic paradigm, the idea that the universe is a huge machine, teaches us that big causes create big effects, and small causes create small effects. This is the idea of linear causation or proportionality and is the foundation of our modern world-view. It encourages us to focus on “bigness:” that is the importance of material things over energy, size over quality, speed over completeness. From this perspective, you might as well spend your energy accumulating as much stuff as possible because the winners are “those who die with the most toys.” However, one of the discoveries of research into zero-point energy is that empty space has substantially more energy than objects or solid space. In fact, it is said that a single cubic meter of empty space has more potential energy in it than all the objects you can see around you for 20,000 light years. This gargantuan quantity of potential energy lies in the vacuum between sub-atomic particles and we don't yet have the technology, at least not officially, to harness it. Yet zero-point energy is visible all around us in the behavior of liquid water. What makes water fluid yet “sticky” is the attraction of zero-point energy between the hydrogen atoms in different water molecules. Without this subtle zero-point attraction, life as we know it wouldn't be possible. So this subtle, “weak” vacuum-effect creates the conditions for biological life. Similarly, weak forces all around us create attractive forces that allow for communications, information, and self-organization. Instead of focusing your attention on the loudest, the biggest, and most energetic phenomena around you, take time to look at seemingly irrelevant things, objects, and processes. Focus on the space between objects rather than on the objects themselves. This will give you another perspective on the living energy fields around you and how to use your intelligence to interact with them.

Grow Your Planetary Intelligence--Slow Down

One of the easiest ways to connect with planetary intelligence is to deliberately slow down your pace of life so as to experience more detail and information in your surroundings from moment to moment. Our modern pace of life is so fast now as to create a condition of “information overload” in our sensory awareness. Coupled with a constant barrage of interruptions from email, cell phones, and instant messaging, our attention is subject to fragmentation. This mental interruption has been shown to result in a greater effect in lowering IQ than smoking marijuana (New Scientist, June 28, 2006). Being constantly interrupted is one way that a large, macro-view can be supplanted by an overly narrow, micromanaged perspective that is so common in our contemporary culture. This is similar to what I call “fractal flattening:” a condition whereby the natural variability of nature is condensed into smooth, predictable systems favored by our mechanistic, rationalistic mindset. The result of fractal flattening is the we may, collectively, gain efficiency but lose information and a larger, broader perspective. Intelligence is not only an analytical, logical skill: it is the ability to sense and understand the “whole picture” and to be aware of all the subtle relationships in every living system. To see the big view we need to “stop the world” of our inner dialogue and see the hugeness of the totality of our universe. Therefore, spend a few minutes a day just slowing down and paying attention to whatever is right in front of you. The vastness of your intuitive attention will naturally reveal itself to you.