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.