Music illuminates the darkness of the mind

A gypsy musician asked me on Edgeryders: "How can we smooth away towards peace?"

The world today presents a spectacle that is not at all reassuring. There is such a clash of views, such a conflict of opinions, hate, orgies of crime, violence and wars, and massacres. As the situation exists, there appears to be no way out of the present chaos and confusion.

Can anyone suggest a solution to these problems? Is there any way to bring about unity and harmony to the nations? Why is the human population drifting helplessly toward a possible disaster without raising a finger to avert it? There has occured a disorientation of the intellect, which attaches more importance to wealth, possession, or power than to life itself. The tense situation of the world cannot endure for ever. A state of saturation must come about, sooner or later, beyond which it would not be possible to proceed further. Every intelligent person who cursorily glances at the newspaper or watches television can see the deterioration and rot that has set in the world structure, leaving no area immune where one could draw a breath of relief.

The solutions can be provided by the genius and tireless efforts of a band of gifted individuals.

Creators of beautiful gypsy music can demonstrate, with their passionate and vibrant music, vibrating harmoniously with our bodies and minds, that luxury and over-abundance are not necessary for the bloom of the inner person, since the zest of life and happiness flows form the inner fountain of our being.

Music helps us travel beyond thoughts, beyond doubt, beyond pain, beyond mortality. Music illuminates the darkness of the mind as a flash of strong lightning cleaves the darkness of the night, leaving man transformed with but one glimpse of the inexpressible splendor and glory of nature.

May sublime music enlighten and bring peace to the minds of all!

ANDREI, agility to find the right thing to say

Tall (and I stress the word tall) blond with square jaws, Andrei Trubceac exudes calmness and self-control. Perhaps he feels like screaming (see "Interview with a Romanian activist" by Noemi Salantiu), but nevertheless he stands bolt upright. He looks at you straight in the eye. Despite his tall stature, his eyes are filled with goodness, with no trace of arrogance. He's only 23, but you would be surprised at how mature he seems to be. Andrei lives in Klausenburg, Cluj, Romania, and he comes from Orhei. He is currently looking for opportunities in the field of international development, in the area of peace and conflict. See also "Anti-ACTA activists of the world, unite!" and "At the edge of conflict and mixed identity".

If someone asks him a question for which he has no answer, he will ask you politely to give him a few minutes to formulate his thoughts, without letting anything show in his expression. Thereafter, he will respond calmly, weighing every word.

Andrei is completing studies in international relations. He seems to have chosen the right discipline that really suits him. He guessed right away that he is able to embody the right direction and is equipped to help people come to agreements. Maybe I'm wrong, but he does seem to have the makings of an ambassador. He listens respectfully, and I am grateful that he is not a chatterbox. I am convinced he would not make unsubstantiated or irrelevant claims.

In addition, he has a keen eye to identify situations that lack substance. He can tell you about things which nobody has thought of before, in the most natural way. This could enable him to develop a keen sense of assessment and the ability to deal with gray or undefined zones: what it takes to juggle with ambiguity.

He can also recognize the value of people and he is capable of expressing positive comments about them.

Andrei, who calls himself @TOOLosophy on Twitter, is able to observe attentively and keep cool in various situation, while finding the right thing to do or to say. Even if he speaks with caution and discernment, he does it with flexibility, therefore he probably on his way to develop strong skills for compromise and negotiation... always useful in conflicts, wouldn't you say?

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.