The spirit of discernment, and the seven levels of achievement

Usually, I am very often asked, "What is that, Government 2.0?", with big round eyes looking at the ceiling. (see my definition.)

Last week at the Conference Beyond 2010 Edmonton, I was talking about collective consciousness. I've been asked (politely, with some hesitation): "What is that, consciousness?"

It is possible to understand and foresee the direction in which our society operates by assessing the various levels of consciousness.

"After the spirit of discernment, diamonds and pearls are the world’s rarest thing." [French moralist, Jean de la Bruyère] Discernment is apparently unusual for the time being, but who said it could not become common in the future?

"Your mind is the instrument of knowing (epistemological apparatus). So to comprehend its conceptual / meaningful output one must master its use. Hence, don't just "look through" the instrument at the experiential/semantic context that it creates. Also "look at" the instrument itself." [John Ringland]

Every thought causes a shift in the entire field of reality, as demonstrated by quantum physics. Thought has an influence on matter. Any aspect of reality can be changed at the quantum level by shifting its information and energy. The technology to create such shifts is in the mind.

The mind is a non-local phenomenon. It has no fixed place in time or space but is a quality of the field. In other words, when you have a thought, you are activating the cosmic computer.

There are seven levels of achievement or conscience (says Deepak Chopra). Once you understand what these levels are, it becomes possible to predict what changes and alterations may occur when a critical number of individuals of a community shift to a higher level of consciousness.

Level 1 (the flight response mode) >>> Your achievement in life is based on family, community, feelings of belonging and material comforts. This mode allows you to survive in the face of danger. You live in fear. You want to survive.

Level 2 (the reactive mode) >>> Your achievement in life is based on success, power, authority, prestige and other rewards of the ego. This is the mode that creates our identity. Beyond mere survival, everyone seeks to meet the needs of the I, me and mine. You want to succeed and you realize yourself by competing with others.

Level 3 (the inner peace mode) >>> Your achievement in life is based on peace, communication, self-acceptance and inner silence. This is the mode that leads to well-being. You do not want to be engulfed by the perpetual agitation of the outside world.

Level 4 (the intuitive mode) >>> Your achievement in life is based on insight, empathy, tolerance and indulgence. You look for information in the outside world and inner world. You must learn to trust your ability to get to fully know yourself. You confirm that your inner world is good.

Level 5 (the creative mode) >>> Your achievement in life is based on inspiration, the development of artistic or scientific creativity, and passion of discovery. You keep inventing new goals, new concepts, and to discover new facts. This creativity seems to spring from nowhere - the unknown simply generates new thoughts. It is the inspiration. You are amazed by the beauty and complexity of life.

Level 6 (the visionary mode) >>> Your achievement in life is based on compassion, dedication to others and the universal love.

Level 7 (the sacred mode) >>> Your achievement in life is based on the completeness and oneness with everything.

More discernment
”An emergence is happening everywhere, unsung heroes are courageously demonstrating that a change of heart, a unified humanity and an improvement of the quality of life for all, is possible and is linked to a new conception of life". (Argentine writer Ernesto Sabato)

Now more than ever, we continue to hope that together we will affect change in our lives and our communities by gradually establishing a network for change.

When analyzing a system such as Empire Avenue, based on a level 2 achievement - you want to succeed and you realize yourself by competing with others - we understand why users may eventually get tired of such a system. We also understand why some users are looking for a deeper meaning. They either drop out of the system, or they could seek to find meaning, which could happen by participating to communities. Users could reach higher levels of achievement / consciousness.

The same can be applied to society and governance. We now live in an economic system based on consumption of goods, a Level 2 of achievement / awareness. Successful implementation of government 2.0 would probably be achieve at Level 5 of consciousness, or the creative mode. Citizens are considered co-creators and they can participate and collaborate in providing ideas.

Forward-thinking governments encourage their citizens to invent new ways to adapt to the public data to challenges, and citizens take action. The ideas are analyzed and incorporated into the process. To improve the usefulness of governmental data, governments themselves must increase their awareness by developing analytical skills necessary for sharing and manipulation of data they collect. If the opening of public data actually transforms the way government works, data analysis should then be a core competency of most organizations.

From either side, citizens and government, more discernment - call it whatever you want - more level of achievement, or conscience - would be required to achieve a true governance 2.0.