Identity: Discovering the True Self

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What we are not, can reveal what we are in essence

Every photograph I’ve ever made is a portrait of impermanence. After the shutter clicks, the subject changes. The light grows brighter or darker. A cloud moves. A flower fades. A child grows older. A face changes. Even mountains—given enough time—rise and disappear. Photography teaches an unavoidable truth: Everything we can see changes, is subject to entropy. Which raises one of humanity’s oldest questions: If everything about me changes—moment to moment—who—or what—am I?

For something to qualify as our true identity, our “essence,” the ground of our humanness, it cannot be subject to change. It can’t be anything that comes and goes over time.

In part, I’m contemplating this topic because I recently heard of someone who staunchly refused to do the morally right thing—or shift his belief—because he identified so strongly with a particular ethnic group. To generally paraphrase that mindset: “My people have an ancient history. Having been born into this group, their path is my path; I believe as they do, even if the world thinks otherwise. You ask who I am? I am one with my people, and I will defend them to the death. I am nothing without them.”

A staunch commitment like this, expressed as “I am my people” can start and maintain wars, racial and political conflicts and a host of other violent events. Vehemently claiming and clinging to an identity other than one’s true essence creates separation. And any attack on that identity, however subtle or overt, requires a counter attack—which is considered justified because it’s reciprocal. Thus the lesson of history: “war breeds war.”

Individually and collectively, we don’t yet know who we are.

I say “yet” because the consequences of the “separation paradigm” are proving to be disastrous and unsustainable. Eventually, we’ll learn that this perspective cannot sustain a civilization. It doesn’t support life.

What I am not

From their beginnings, the major religions and wisdom schools have provided a unified answer to the question of identity. But for the most part—and for a variety of reasons—it hasn’t taken root. Essences are rarely discussed or debated outside these and academic venues.

Our true identity, “essence,” is the core of our being, the most fundamental and intrinsic quality that makes us unique—one of a kind and unchangeable with time. As such, our essence is not subject to change. That being so, I can gain some insight through a process of elimination. For instance—

I am not my body, mind or thoughts. (They are constantly changing)

I am not my heritage or race. (These are properties of my body, not me).

I am not my DNA. (This blueprint for a particular body often changes. Mutates).

I am not my personhood. (I am not the person I was yesterday)

I am not my family or relationships. (I simply have membership in them. And they change).

I am not my house or neighborhood.

I am not my faith, beliefs, religion or philosophy.

I am not any of the schools I attended or organizations I belong to.

I am not my money, wealth or possessions.

I am not my gifts (talents or capabilities)

I am not my labels: name, roles,  occupations or interests.

I am not my beliefs, values, intentions, perspectives, imaginations, dreams or aspirations.

I am not my faith, religion, ethnicity, culture or nation.

I am not my status, reputation, image, personality or history.

I am not my health or lack thereof.

I am not what I create or invent.

I am not what I consume.

And so on…

This doesn’t mean these aspects of our lives are unimportant. Our families, cultures, talents, beliefs and stories are precious expressions of who we are.

So What Am I?

I am that aspect of being that’s not—and never has been—subject to change; not in a process of becoming. We assign it different labels so we can talk about it, but the human essence across time and cultures is the same—

soul

spirit

light divine

divine spark

cosmic life-force

spiritual presence

higher Self

Atman (Hindu)

Pneuma (Greek)

Nitzotz (Hebrew)

Monad (Theosophy)

Agni (Vedic)

Buddha Nature

Jesus referred to it as I AM.

Our essence is believed to be eternal, one in being with the Creator, God, Source, the Ground of All Being, Infinite Intelligence. While our body-minds differ from one another, we each have the same divine spark within. It’s the basis for human unity—and our true identity.

If that’s true, how then shall we live?

If our deepest identity is not the ego-self but the soul, the life lessons are profound. Rather than “rules,” I would frame them as shifts in perception. 

  1. Learn non-attachment: I have experiences; I am not my experiences. If the soul is the witness beneath changing conditions, then we can participate fully in life without being possessed by it. I have a story, but I am more than my history. The lesson is to Hold everything lovingly—but lightly. This is the wisdom behind the Buddhist teaching of “impermanence.” Suffering comes not because things change, but because we resist it, demanding that changing things provide our permanent identity.
  1. Learn humility: My perspective is not the whole truth. If my ego is not my essence, then neither are my opinions, beliefs or worldview. This is critically important socially. The ego says: “If you challenge my belief, you threaten me.” The soul says: “If you challenge my belief, you may help me grow.” That shift alone transforms marriages, politics, religions, cultures and nations. A soul-centered person is open, can ask: “What if I’m wrong?”
  1. Learn compassion: The same essence lives in everyone. In India the greeting “namasté” acknowledges the divine spark in each personal encounter. It says, in effect, “I honor that place in you where, when you are in that place and I am in that place, we are one.” If the deepest reality in me is also the deepest in you, then separation is ultimately superficial. The question becomes: “Can I see the soul beneath the behavior?” 
  1. Learn forgiveness: Human beings are in a process of becoming. One of the great lessons of soul identity is patience with incompleteness. The ego asks: “Why aren’t you better?” The soul asks: “What are you still learning?” We’re all unfinished, works in progress. We are beings in the process of awakening to the reality of our true—divine—nature.
  1. Learn courage: Nothing real—essential—can be lost. A great deal of fear comes from defending temporary identities: status, possessions, reputation, youth. But seeing essence as more substantial than form, change becomes less threatening. The question shifts from: “What am I losing?” to: “What is life inviting me to become?” This is the spiritual meaning of transformation. 
  1. Learn presence: This moment is where the soul lives. The ego spends much of life traveling backward into regret and forward into anxiety or dreaming. But awareness itself is always present. The soul encounters life only now. That’s why contemplative practices—including contemplative photography—matter. The camera (especially view cameras) slows us down enough to truly see: a leaf, a face, a beam of light, a shadow on a wall, a footprint in the sand. Minor White famously said, “Once it has selected a photographer, spirit always stands still long enough to be recorded.”
  1. Learn service: We are here to express and contribute, not acquire. If identity is ego-based, life becomes: “What can I get?” If it’s soul-based, life becomes: “How can I use my gifts to contribute?” The emphasis changes from: “What do I own?” to: “What can I give?” Our gifts, talents, creativity, and photographs are not who we are—they’re the ways our true identity expresses itself.

By strongly identifying with and clinging to anything that changes, life becomes a struggle to maintain what can’t last. By identifying with the soul beneath that which is impermanent, life becomes an adventure in growth, compassion, creativity and awakening. Ego strives to be special, particular, to stand out from the crowd. It’s concern is acquisition and tomorrow. Knowing our true identity, the soul guides us to become what we truly are—to be present and aware now. According to Teilhard de Chardin, “We’re spiritual beings having a human experience.”

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My other sites:

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: Access to 81 free videos on YouTube featuring thought leaders and events of the 1980s.

Part-Whole Relationships

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One Individual’s Expression Matters

Image

Do you see the jetliner? Remove any one of the pixels in the above image and there would be a hole in the whole (photograph). It wouldn’t be complete. It wouldn’t be the same photograph. Some might say it would have a flaw.

The universe presents itself to us as a system composed of parts-within-wholes, of systems within systems, organized through time and evolution as interdependent levels of complexity. Each part, including you and me, is integral to the whole; and, in some holographic sense, each part is a microcosm of the greater macrocosm. Each part contains within itself the seed or template of the whole.

— Christian de Quincey, Philosopher and author

Each and every individual pixel within a digital image is a necessary part of the whole picture—if it’s to be complete. Because pixels have unique characteristics such as size, color, luminance and value they are also individuals by virtue of their boundaries. Each bears a strong relationship to those in close proximity, less so for those farther away. Even the myriad of individual pixels so distant they appear to be unrelated are present and contributing to the whole picture.

Sounds like life, doesn’t it?

Had the above scene been photographed on film, the parts would have consisted of grains of silver halide which are “fixed” entities. They couldn’t be changed. On the other hand, because digital pixels are “virtual,” consisting of  units of electron excitations, they can quite easily be manipulated—for instance, made lighter or darker with changes in color and saturation. Whether the image substrate happens to be paper or a computer screen, photographic images are mechanical systems, constituted of parts that can be manipulated—in the developing and printing processes or using software applications such as Photoshop in the case of digital images.

Not so with living systems.

They’re composed of other living systems, each of whom continuously makes choices regarding their function and relationships. At every level, a living system is referred to as a “holon” because the uniqueness and integrity of the whole depends upon the integrity of its parts. And because each individual holon—cell, organism or person—makes decisions for itself relative to its condition, purpose, function, environment and host of dynamic considerations, such systems are said to be constituted of “members” rather than parts. When parts are interchanged within a mechanical system it returns to its functional design. But when members are replaced within a living system it becomes newly constituted.

At every level, as change occurs—within a living system or its environment—the holons (systems above and below) change. They become new by adapting, or they die. (Thus the expression relating to human beings, “Grow or die.”) And when a human holon dies, the system within which it was a member—family, business, organizations—have to adapt to the change.

System scientists refer to the decision-making capability of a holon as autopoiesis “self-making.”

By our choices we constantly make ourselves new, not just our experiences in life. Philosopher of science, Beatrice Bruteau, wrote that “In all living systems it’s the interactive union of the members, the sharing of their being, their energies, that constitutes the new whole.” I emphasize: The sharing of their being. Atoms unite to form molecules, molecules unite to make cells, cells unite to form organisms, that in turn unite to make organs, that unite to make… You get the picture.

Whether we share, what we share and how we share our beingness, beyond but including what we do, how we do it and how we behave and talk makes a profound difference for the whole systems (holons) within which we are members. This is especially so for those in our close circle. But it’s also the case, by extension and facilitated by the electronic media, for those beyond it—the larger holons within which we function as members—family, community, church, business, industry, nation, species.

As members of a church, community and political systems, we remake these larger systems by the quality of our presence and everyday choices. For instance, one of the lessons we’re learning on this turn of the evolutionary spiral is that the person or persons we elect to public office—or allow to lead us, directly impacts the reality of a nation.

Considered broadly, in the above image I’m reminded that every human being (pixel in the analogy), regardless of circumstances, is an integral member in the emerging picture of the human family. Every day, the quality and manner of our character, choosing and relating contributes to the making of that picture. Our interrelatedness makes us interdependent.

What happens in and to one of the system’s parts also happens in and to all its other parts, and hence it happens in and to the system as a whole.

— Ervin Laszlo, Systems scientist, philosopher

Image

This is a greatly enlarged section from the lower right corner of the sky image above, here to demonstrate how individual holons (pixels in this case) contribute to and constitute the larger image.

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My other sites:

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: Access to 81 free videos on YouTube featuring thought leaders and events of the 1980s.

What Does it Mean to be Human—To be More Fully Human?

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Finding Meaning, Purpose, and Wholeness Through the Evolution of Consciousness

In The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness. Arthur C. Brook says

many today, especially young people, are experiencing a growing sense of emptiness.

  • There’s a lack of purpose and significance
  • Loneliness, anxiety and dissatisfaction are on the rise
  • I’s the feeling that something essential is missing

Growth in adolescence depends in large part on the amount of meaning one is able to extract from the culture. — Mihalyi Csikszenthihalyi, Psychologist

He attributes this to having our more choices, conveniences and distractions.

  • The perennial questions (Why am I here? What is worth living for?…) are seldom discussed.
  • The culture advises “Become successful, and then you’ll be fulfilled.”
  • The theme of modern life is self-centered: my identity, my desires, my opinion…
  • Emersion in technology provides constant stimulation.
  • There’s a loss of higher connection—to God, nature, beauty, truth, love, awe.
  • Everyday living is largely reduced to productivity and consumption.

I’m moved to write about this because evidence of this is showing up in attitudes and media. Also, because meaning is the organizing principle in life. It gives our experience coherence, connecting our story to larger stories. And it helps us endure hardship, make choices, develop our gifts and feel that our lives matter beyond survival or success. Without meaning, we may be comfortable and having great experiences, but its accompanied with a persistent feeling of disconnectedness, restlessness or emptiness.

Socially, meaning is the bond that holds communities together. Shared meaning creates trust, belonging, cooperation and a sense of responsibility for something larger than oneself. Even large cultures are sustained by stories about what’s valuable and sacred, and what people aspire to become.

A crisis of meaning becomes a crisis of relationship: separation from ourselves, from one another, from nature and from the great mystery of existence.

The arc of human evolution

(Source: ChatGPT. My request: “I’d like a timeline: first appearance of mammals; first appearance of “homo sapiens”; first appearance of self-reflexive consciousness—awakening to the inner life. And what would characterize the transition from then until contemporary humans?”)
  • ~225–200 million years ago — First mammals: beyond reacting, life developed feeling
  • ~65–55 million years ago — Early primates: monkeys, apes and humans diversify. Life begins relating in complex groups
  • ~7–6 million years ago — Earliest human lineage separates from other apes. Life begins to reshape its environment intentionally.
  • ~2.8–2 million years ago — The genus Homo Life begins to accumulate knowledge across generations.
  • ~300,000 years ago —Homo sapiens appear in Africa. Life becomes aware of possibilities; early signs of a symbolic inner world.
  • ~100,000–40,000 years ago — Symbolic awakening (“inner life”). The great point of self-reflexive consciousness: “I am aware that I am aware.” “Who am I?” “Where did I come from?” “What happens after death? What is my relationship to the cosmos?

Since then—

  • Mythic humanity (~50,000–10,000 years ago). Humans experience themselves embedded in nature.
  • Agricultural humanity (~12,000 years ago). The Neolithic Revolution transforms consciousness. Less nomadic, more sedentary.
  • Humans begin controlling ecosystems. (“We can shape the world.”)
  • Rational/scientific humanity (~500 years ago). The rise of modern science. (“We can understand the world.”)
  • Contemporary humanity. Emerging planetary consciousness. (“We are the world becoming conscious of itself.”)

What does it mean to be human?

We’re the creature in whom the universe looks back on itself, wonders and continually ask: Who am I? What does it mean that I am here? What have I come here to BE? What have I come here to DO? What’s going on? What matters? 

These being “perennial” questions, it’s the seeking itself that creates coherence and connection to the larger story. It helps us endure challenges, make good choices and feel like our lives matter. Behind the scenes, evolution moves at a glacial speed toward greater complexity, awareness and capacity for relationship.

Considering the causes for feeling disconnected, restless or empty, many in our culture were—or are—never taught or give thought to these questions. Others just don’t want to go there. Still others get so busy there’s no time to consider them in earnest. 

What does it mean to become more fully human?

For me, perception opens the doorway. For most of biological history, seeing served survival: Where is food? Where is danger—mate—shelter? Sight was primarily functional.

As human consciousness evolved, seeing became something more. The eye became connected not only to the brain, but to memory, imagination, emotion, meaning, and spirit. We became the creature who could see and appreciate beauty. 

Ecologian Thomas Berry suggested that the great work of our time is moving from seeing Earth as a collection of resources to seeing it as a communion of living beings. Both perceptions carried meaning, but the latter elevates it—expands the mind and opens the heart to greater levels of relationship, connection and belonging.

While increased capacities to perceive opens the door to meaning, the “light” it lets in (to the mind and heart) opens a constellation of capacities—

Self-awareness: the ability to reflect our thoughts, emotions, motives, preferences and actions. We’re no longer only shaped by life—we participate in shaping it.

Love: it expands the circle of identity; the capacity to reach concern beyond ourselves. Teilhard de Chardin said love is the movement from separation toward communion.

Compassion: feeling another’s experience as real; suffer for people we never met.

 Interpretation: even in the experience of suffering we can transform it into understanding.

Creativity: we can imagine and create realities that don’t yet exist. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi said “The most important thing about creativity is that it enriches life.”

Wonder and Awe: the feeling that we tapped into or belong to something larger than ourselves.

Conscious Choice: freedom from instinct; we can notice things and choose. 

For me, meaning-making occurred in every facet of life. In family—to learn, share and grow together with loved ones. In photography—using a camera to see the divine in all things. In film and television production—to exercise my creative potentials. In blogging and maintaining web sites— to share my photographs, interests and thoughts. In researching— decades spent studying anthropology, physics, philosophy and spiritual traditions. In studying the Ancient Maya of Central America—learning the significance of past life influences. And 26 years of teaching— afforded me the privilege of passing on practical lessons and hopefully some wisdom to young minds. Every day—meaningful. Every step—meaningful.  

Wholeness  

(Source: ChatGPT. I asked: “How does becoming more fully human relate to becoming whole as a person?)

Becoming more fully human amounts to a movement toward wholeness. The two ideas are inseparable.A human being is born with extraordinary potentials—perception, intelligence, imagination, love, creativity, compassion, self-awareness—but they do not automatically mature. They must be awakened, cultivated, and integrated. To become “more fully human” is to bring more and more of our capacities into conscious expression.

In that sense, evolution has two movements:

  • Outer evolution: the development of the human organism—hands, eyes, brain, language, tools, technology.
  • Inner evolution: the development of human consciousness—wisdom, empathy, meaning, creativity, compassion and love.

The first gave us the ability to shape the world. The second asks whether we have become mature enough to shape it wisely.

Abraham Maslow suggested that development moves beyond personal fulfillment toward self-transcendence: using one’s gifts in service of something larger than oneself. And Viktor Frankl emphasized that fulfillment is not found by turning inward in self-concern, but by reaching beyond oneself toward meaning: “The more one forgets himself—by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love—the more human he is.”

The awakening meaning

What does it take?

  • Quiet
  • Self-inquiry. Asking the perennial question within—where all the answers reside.
  • Daily appreciating what is—as it is.
  • Continuously asking: What does this mean? What am I supposed to be learning?

Becoming “more fully human” isn’t necessarily about adding something new to ourselves. It’s about awakening gifts that have always been within us—but that modern life has taught us to ignore or suppress.

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My other sites:

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: Access to 81 free videos on YouTube featuring thought leaders and events of the 1980s.

Nature’s Design Principles

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The Seeds We Water Are The Ones That Grow

Over time, a species of tree that evolved into the maple did so in part because it succeeded in finding a way to disburse numerous seeds over a greater distance. As kids we called them “pinwheels” or “helicopter seeds.” Hedging no bets in the area of reproduction, between 12,000 and 90,000 of these seeds can fall from a single tree in one season.

In this image I see a delivery system, a “package” perfectly designed to accomplish its mission. The heavier bulb containing the seed responds to gravity, pointing downward so it can penetrate the ground, while the aerodynamic “wing” system takes advantage of the wind to disperse the seed beyond the tree’s roots where it can germinate in fresh soil with the added advantage of increased sunlight. The design alone increased the odds of successful reproduction.

Because creation begins with imagination, when I think of seeds, I think of ideas. Of the number of ideas I’ve had, relatively few passed beyond germination. Fewer yet reached maturity. With time and experience we become more selective in our wanting, but how is it that some goals, even when pursued with passion and persistence, don’t come to fruition? Two examples, one from business the other from teaching, come to mind for me, both of which—in hindsight—provided the same simple but profound lesson: Apple trees don’t grow from peach seeds. They are both fruit trees, but their inherent designs, growth needs and strategies are very different.

If I were king of the world, students would be exposed to nature’s design principles and strategies before they graduate from high school. Like many of us with vivid imaginations, I generated many ideas about what I could do and what I wanted to do. Had I known, even metaphorically, that ideas and initiatives grow organically from the ground up (not the top down), from seeds (ideas) planted in soils rich in nutrients (money and resources for businesses) with lots of sunlight (intelligence and wisdom) and caring hands (a collaboration of peers), the ideas mentioned above would likely have blossomed. Instead, they now reside in folders in my “Uncompleted Projects” file drawer.

On the other hand, perspective: had those ideas manifested, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. And although those ideas still tug at my heartstrings, I consider myself better off for having learned what doesn’t work. Had the bigger ideas manifested, my lifestyle would have been chaotic. Gratefully, I needed to learn some very important lessons by missing the brass ring. And that’s perfect. Had I understood something of nature’s design principles and strategies, I like to think I would have directed my attention differently.

In our consciousness, there are many negative seeds and also many positive seeds. The practice is to avoid watering the negative seeds, and to identify and water the positive seeds every day.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

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My other sites:

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: Access to 81 free videos on YouTube featuring thought leaders and events of the 1980s.

Ascending the Evolutionary Spiral

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Collaboration, Courage, and Consciousness are Shaping Humanity’s Future

The spiral stairway in this image evokes in me considerations of the evolutionary spiral, the universe’s operating system, which scientists understand to “favor” increased novelty, diversity, adaptation, complexity and order.

Along the bottom steps of the oil tank, I see the significant ordering that has already occurred. In the steps above and combined with the railing, the lighted way indicates that the overall direction of evolution is onward and upward. Finally, conveying purpose to this ascending pathway is the massive structure behind it—the universe.

Applying the metaphor to humanity, I would place the current generation in the area of transition, where light and order are emerging from the darkness—wherein dwells ignorance, short-sightedness, intolerance, self-centeredness and the illusion of separation. I imagine the transition toward the light up the steps being fueled physically by health and well-being, safety and security, strong economies, innovations in every domain, the pursuit of excellence and what works for everyone. And because consciousness gives rise to form, I imagine that love, compassion, tolerance, collaboration, empowerment, ethical behavior and the like are the energies at the growing edge of illumination.

To some this may sound saccharine or unrealistic, particularly in light of how we’re portraying ourselves in the mass media and entertainment venues. But evolution is a universal, unbounded and dynamic process that has operated, and will continue to do so, with or without human beings.

What’s different in our time is that we understand this and we’ve gained some knowledge about the patterns that support living systems—cooperation, adaptability, complexity, and interconnectedness.”

In his study of 26 societies, Historian Arnold Toynbee found that a civilization’s  prospects for survival were greatly enhanced by the movement of information and resources from the top of the society to the bottom. Those that accomplished this feat of uplifting citizens at the lowest level survived the longest. On the other hand, collapsed civilizations had in common an “inflexibility under stress and the concentration of wealth in a few hands.” He also observed that civilizations disintegrated when their leaders stopped responding creatively, and they “sank owing to nationalism, militarism, and the tyranny of a despotic minority.”

Addressing the challenge of moving in the more positive direction, biologist and systems scientist Dr. Janis Roze, advised: “We must now give equal time and focus, equal or even greater energy to those human qualities that are constructive, growth enhancing, confidence and trust inspiring, so that the power of these qualities can be consciously developed and applied both to individual lives and to the directing of societal and world affairs.”

As far back as we’ve been able to see, human evolution favors the passing on—physically, mentally and socially—of characteristics, qualities and thinking that promote survival and growth. The darkness below the stairway suggests the gravity of older patterns of consciousness: fear of loss, attachment to power, institutional self-protection, short-term thinking, and the subtle pressure to conform rather than act courageously.

Yet the illuminated steps on the spiral stairway hint at another direction emerging within human society—one shaped less by competition and division than by collaboration, creativity, empathy, and the recognition that our lives are profoundly interconnected.

The spiral itself reminds us that evolution isn’t simply movement through time. It’s an advance in awareness.

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi connected the dots, tying the individual to evolutionary process by observing: “What evolves is not the self trapped in our physical body, which will dissolve after death. Rather, what will survive and grow is the pattern of information that we have shaped through our existence: the acts of love, the beliefs, the knowledge, the skills, the insights that we have had and that have affected the course of events around us. No matter how smart, wise, or altruistic a person might be, he or she is not going to contribute to evolution except by leaving traces of complexity in the culture, by serving as an example to others, by changing customs, belief or knowledge in such a way that they can be passed down to future generations.”

Light doesn’t emerge from the darkness, it dispels and gives form to it, creating well-ordered shadows.

Consciousness (light) is fundamental. It’s progress isn’t a straight line, but a spiral. The direction toward expanded thinking and a better life, individually and collectively, is in alignment with the patterns revealed in nature—cooperation, diversity, adaptability, complexity, and interconnectedness.

For us, the direction of choiceful change is either up or down. There’s light on the steps ahead, darkness on those below. Every day, personally and socially, the steps we take, even the tiny ones, are either up or down. There’s no standing still.

We live on a different planet now, where not biology but symbolic consciousness is the determining factor for evolution. Cultural selection has overwhelmed natural selection. That is, the survival of species and of entire ecosystems now depends primarily on human activities.

—Brian Swimme, Cosmologist

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My other sites:

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: Access to 81 free videos on YouTube featuring thought leaders and events of the 1980s.

 

Our Crisis Is a Birth

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What the Butterfly Reveals About Humanity’s Painful Transformation

My contemplations tend to focus on the present.

They’re usually prompted by one of my photographs, the social climate, or patterns in current events—what people are talking about online or in person. For these I generally write with a “closeup” or “normal” lens.

This topic requires something much wider.

The idea came to me because of the growing buzz surrounding the birth metaphor. While the analogy has circulated for decades—perhaps even longer—it now seems to be gaining traction globally among ecologists, futurists, philosophers, systems thinkers and spiritual visionaries.

In part, I suspect, it’s because so many people now feel the instability personally.

Environmental disruption.
Political polarization.
Economic anxiety.
Information overload.

The erosion of truth.
Loneliness.
Confusion.
A growing sense that something fundamental is breaking down.

Fear and helplessness seem to be rising everywhere. People increasingly ask:

“What’s going on? Exactly, what’s happening? Everything’s breaking down.”

Have you felt this? Have you found yourself sensing that the world has become louder, less safe, dumber, more fragmented and more emotionally exhausting than it once was?

Does it seem like humanity is unraveling?

Or becoming something new? The perspective that we’re experiencing the pains of birth works for me because it reframes the meta-crisis in a way that’s both meaningful and hopeful.

Not easy.
Not painless.
But purposeful.

Like an expectant father trying to calm his wife during labor:

“Hold on, honey. You’ll get through this.”

Both understand:
something difficult is happening,
but also something extraordinary.

Something wonderful is coming.

Meta-Crisis

Many thinkers now use the term meta-crisis to describe the convergence of multiple global breakdowns occurring simultaneously.

Climate disruption.
Political instability.
Mental health struggles.
Weaponization of technology.
Social fragmentation.
Economic inequality.
Declining trust in institutions.
Discredited media.
The erosion of shared meaning.

These crises are not isolated problems.

They interact.
Amplify one another.
Feed one another.

Each appears to be unsolvable. Yet at the same time, something else is happening.

Around the world, people are joining their talents to envision and co-create more humane ways of living. New movements emphasizing ecology, compassion, collaboration, trauma awareness, restorative justice, mindfulness, systems thinking, social engineering, sustainable economics and global responsibility are on the rise almost everywhere.

Beneath the noise, higher consciousness is on the ascendency.

Philosopher Beatrice Bruteau described it as a movement from a “domination paradigm” toward a “communion paradigm.”

Domination systems are organized around hierarchy, control, separation and competition.

Communion systems recognize interdependence, caring relationships, co-creation, mutual flourishing and shared creativity.

In domination cultures, power flows downward.

In communion cultures, power circulates.

Bruteau believed evolution itself gradually moves toward greater interiority, relationship and wholeness—not merely toward greater technological complexity. Humanity, in her view, is slowly awakening to the reality that we belong to one another; we “indwell” one another.

What if much of today’s instability reflects the painful tension of a worldview dying while another is struggling to be born?

Does that change how you feel?

Does it soften the anxiety even slightly?

What Is Trying to Be Born?

Different thinkers describe humanity’s possible future in different ways, yet many point toward remarkably similar qualities:

expansion of love,

greater compassion,
increased awareness,

co-creative partnerships,
creative expression,
deeper relationships,
heightened intuition,
and a growing recognition of our interdependence—with one another and the Earth.

Many also share another striking conviction: evolution moves toward greater complexity, coherence, freedom, order, awareness and beauty.

Jesuit philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin believed the universe evolves toward increasing consciousness and unity—a movement culminating not merely in intellectual advancement, but in what he called Christogenesis: the gradual emergence of humanity into higher expressions of love, communion and spiritual awareness modeled for him most fully by Jesus the Christ.

Similarly, Barbara Marx Hubbard wrote of “the birth of the universal human”—a stage of development characterized by expanded capacities for empathy, creativity, intuitive knowing and conscious co-creation.

Indian mystic Sri Aurobindo envisioned evolution moving beyond the rational ego into what he called “supramental consciousness”—a more integrated mode of being grounded in unity, spiritual awareness and direct experience of the sacred within all life.

Philosopher Beatrice Bruteau similarly believed humanity is evolving toward greater participation in divine creativity itself.

Christian monk Thomas Merton wrote that humanity’s deepest crisis is one of identity: forgetting our essential connectedness to God, one another and creation.

Teacher Thich Nhat Hanh used the word “interbeing” to describe the reality that nothing exists independently. Compassion naturally arises when we experience this directly.

Ecological historian Thomas Berry believed humanity is transitioning from a human-centered worldview toward an Earth-centered consciousness—grounded and resulting in mutual flourishing.

Systems theorist Ervin Laszlo argues that humanity is developing toward greater planetary coherence, resulting from the integration of science, spirituality and systems awareness.

And social theorist Riane Eisler sees history gradually moving away from domination systems toward “partnership cultures” rooted in cooperation rather than competition and control.

Not all perspectives, however, are equally hopeful. Some technologists envision humanity’s next stage primarily through artificial intelligence, genetic engineering or cybernetic enhancement—an evolution of capability more than consciousness.

Others fear civilizational collapse altogether.

And still others suggest evolution has no direction beyond adaptation and survival.

Yet despite these differences, many thinkers across philosophy, spirituality, ecology and systems science share a striking intuition:

humanity may be growing toward a wider identity.

From isolated self
to relational self.

From competition
to communion.

From fragmentation
to wholeness.

From domination
to participation.

From fear
to love.

Expanded Inner Capacities

Some thinkers envision humanity’s next evolutionary stage primarily through advances in technology.

Others suggest that humanity’s deeper evolution may involve the unfolding of latent inner capacities already present within consciousness itself.

Paramahansa Yogananda wrote extensively about expanded human potentials traditionally regarded as extraordinary or even miraculous:
heightened intuition,
telepathy,
clairvoyance,
states of unity consciousness,
and profound experiences of spiritual perception. In Autobiography of a Yogi, he described such capacities not as supernatural exceptions, but as glimpses of possibilities latent within human consciousness.

Similarly, Barbara Marx Hubbard believed humanity may be developing capacities that today seem extraordinary but could eventually become natural expressions of a more evolved human being.

Research organizations such as HeartMath Institute and the Institute of Noetic Sciences have explored phenomena involving intuition, interconnected consciousness and the deeper potentials of the human mind.

Viewed together, these perspectives suggest two parallel dimensions of evolution:
the outer evolution of technology,
and the inner evolution of consciousness.

One expands what humanity can do. The other transforms what humanity can become.

For many spiritual visionaries—including Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Sri Aurobindo and Barbara Marx Hubbard—the highest possibilities of human evolution are ultimately expressed not through power or machinery, but through expanded consciousness, deeper compassion, conscious co-creation, awakened creativity and greater expressions and expansions of love.

Seeing with a wider lens

Contemplative photography has taught me that, what appears chaotic often reveals inner coherence when viewed from a shift in perception.

A tangle of branches becomes graceful.
Shadows become dimensional, creating geometry.

An oil wrench evokes its elemental beginning.

A giant oak tree latent within a single acorn.
Broken surfaces reveal texture, depth and reflection.

A spark of the divine in a homeless person.
Even violent storms possess strange beauty when viewed from a distance.

Perhaps evolution works this way too. “Unraveling” can be seen as laboring for something higher to emerge. The butterfly image accompanying this essay expresses this beautifully.

Inside the cocoon, transformation appears hidden, disordered and uncertain. One form dissolves before another can fully emerge. From the insect’s point of view, the struggle of transition is normal, simply a natural process of being present and letting go. It doesn’t know what’s ahead, it trusts that nature knows what it’s doing.

Letting go of the past is difficult. But when something in life is ending it’s for a good reason. And it’s a sign—the possibility of transformation.

The current era is filled with the signs of passing through such a threshold—moving painfully from one state of being to another. Many evolutionary thinkers suggest that nothing essential is ever truly lost in the evolutionary process. Each stage of development carries forward and integrates the most life-promoting energies of what came before it.

Matter becomes life, life becomes mind, mind becomes self-aware consciousness. As Pierre Teilhard de Chardin observed, evolution appears to move toward increasing complexity and consciousness—toward greater wholeness, integration and interiority. In this view, humanity’s future does not abandon the past but transforms and includes it within a larger expression of life.

evolution has direction,

growth is cumulative,

and the deeper achievements of humanity are not meaningless or discarded.

Evolutionary movement is always forward,
not merely cyclical repetition.

What increases is depth of being—

Toward greater wholeness.
Greater consciousness.
Greater compassion.
Greater freedom.

Greater participation in one another’s well-being.

When my wife was in labor, about to deliver our daughter, uppermost in our minds—along with the struggle of the moment—was the (long standing) anticipation of what was to come. Perhaps humanity too, will one day look back and acknowledge that the struggle was WELL WORTH IT.

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My other sites:

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: Access to 81 free videos on YouTube featuring thought leaders and events of the 1980s.

Good Vibrations: The Difference Between “Care” and “Caring”

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Love makes one retirement community stand heads above the rest

In November 2025 my wife Linda had a stroke. It wasn’t severe, but after a hospital stay we moved her into an “assisted living” facility where she underwent speech and physical therapy. She had always cooked, so under her guidance I managed to “assemble” some nutritious meals and manage the house and finances on my own.

After exhaustive research and visiting several assisted living facilities, we chose “Facility A” for Linda.

  • highest rating in the city; a price we could afford
  • people we didn’t know and others who had parents living there said it was “wonderful”
  • our meeting with the sales manager was very positive; we were all impressed
  • the place was beautiful, secure, well maintained and the food we sampled was good
  • plenty of activities; easy free parking and the people we met were friendly and welcoming

As expected, in a move to institutional living, there were things we liked and didn’t like.

Months past. Because “everything was on the wrong floor” of our two story house (one of my computers was upstairs, the other in my basement studio). I was exhausted and my knees were suffering. We didn’t know if Linda could come home and my health was declining from too much stress. Clearly, our 50-year home wasn’t going to work; we needed a “one floor plan.”

After an extensive research, mainly by my daughter and her husband, we moved two hours north to our current residence—”Facility B,” which is twenty minutes away from them. I had a lot of stuff associated with my writing, photography and attempts at watercolor painting, so I have a one bedroom apartment and Linda’s studio apartment is 40 steps down the hall.

We’ve been here a little over two months and we’re very pleased; good decision and good choice. Our rooms are very nice and the food is wonderful, far better than Facility A. I drive to the grocery and other stores, and to my delight I’ve been photographing in nearby parks and nature preserves. Fresh locations for photography is golden!

Having personally experienced two assisted living facilities, something I hadn’t expected came to light—the difference between “care” and “caring.”

Although it was not part of our criteria in searching for a facility, it happened that both institutions were owned by Christian corporations. They were non-denominal with no apparent agenda, other than providing diverse religious services for those who wanted that.

Facility A (For profit)

The nurses and staff were competent, but it often took the aids from 10 minutes to a half-hour to show up after patients pressed their call button (worn as a pendant around the neck). When they came, they did what the patient wanted and left. Some of the aids insisted that Linda conform to a protocol that most of the other patients followed. When she didn’t, there were arguments. After a while the aids, nurses and she developed an adversarial relationship. It became apparent that the aids in particular weren’t happy with their jobs.

Facility B: (Non-profit)

Here too, the staff, top to bottom, is competent. Now when Linda calls for assistance an aid or nurse shows up within 5 to 10 minutes. Every time. When she didn’t conform to what most other residents were doing, they let her be. Total freedom. No nagging, no argument. The difference in attitude couldn’t have been greater.

Here, the staff—at all levels—is friendly. Even cheerful. We often hear that people are loving their jobs. And it shows. Rather than leave the room after attending to a person’s needs, they talk for a bit, admiring the furnishings and artwork on the walls. They genuinely want to know us better, call us by name, ask what’s going on and show us photos on their smartphones. I received special favors that required some time effort and probably some expense without even asking. And when I asked if a change in furnishing waspossibke, the adjustment was made—and with a great deal of friendly humor.

“Care” and “Caring”

Facility A’s mission statement was a near carbon copy of the assisted living facilities we’d researched—”enhancing resident lives, personalized care, active living, providing a supportive environment, promotes independence, wellness and community connection.” The nurses and aids did their jobs, but with little evidence of compassion or real caring about the residents. The culture was dry and impersonal, relying on weekly entertainment events where the staff, generally unsuccessfully, tried to engage the residents. Overall, the vibration was gloomy.

The wording of Facility B’s mission includes terms such as “purposeful service, compassion, inclusion, excellence, servant leadership, commitment to creating a loving environment, a lifestyle filled with purpose, comfort, independence with connection where older adults can thrive.” In this setting, employees are not only competent, they radiate caring, kindness, cheerfulness and compassion. The vibration is friendly, cheerful and engaging.

Causal Factors

Perhaps the non-profit status accounts for some of the outpouring of genuine caring at Facility B. But then—and no one speaks of it—I get the impression that most people working here have a spiritual or religious motivation. There are always exceptions, but I sense that these aren’t just jobs or career tracks for many. From the way they talk, they’re practicing their vocation.

“Culture” is a reflection of “spirit”—collective consciousness. In some instances, “Spirit” is also in evidence. What a difference it makes!

Love is the vibration, the energy, a unified self. At a more basic level it is our thoughts that most powerfully affect our physical well-being. The cells in our body react to everything the mind generates, consciously and unconsciously. Negativity, the lower vibrations, bring down the immune system and the optimum functioning of the body is compromised. Positivity, higher vibrations, sustain health and well-being at every level. Love is the highest vibration.

 Isira Sananda, Wisdom teacher and Indigenous Elder

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My other sites:

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: Access to 81 free videos (that I produced) on YouTube featuring thought leaders and events of the 1980s.

Radiance

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Our world is as big as the candle we carry

Since my introduction to photography in high school I’ve been in love with Light.

Long before I understood aperture, exposure or composition, I sensed that certain qualities of light carried emotional and even spiritual force. The qualities of light—its softness, direction, contrast, intensity and mystery—could transform ordinary things into something extraordinary.

Over time I came to understand that for me, photography was not about “capturing” images. It was about learning to see more deeply, and by engaging my aesthetic preferences better express my appreciation for a subject’s being. It’s how I became less interested in subject matter, far more the radiance flowing through them.

It was also the reason why I stopped using the label “Fine Art Photographer.” The more accurate description of my practice was simply “Contemplative Photography.” My approach shifted from making art to making meaning when I began using my images to spark contemplations. For instance, the above image evokes in me considerations of the first light of the universe, a result of the great expansion or Big Bang. By trying to stay current on the science of astrophysics and cosmology, my imagination takes me there—and further back.

Like the universe, light expands in all directions at once piercing the darkness. It’s this expansive feature that gives rise to its use as a metaphor for birth, awakening, increased awareness and spiritual evolution.

Whether on location or working in my basement studio, my first consideration was always the light—its angle, brightness, contrast and the modulation between soft diffusion and crisp specularity. Because color tends to capture our attention first, my preferred medium was and remains black and white, which emphasizes the qualities of form, texture, simplicity, contrast and geometry.

Working in this manner and reflecting on the results over time, I noticed that certain qualities of light triggered my transcendent nerve.

The word I use to characterize this feeling is “Numinance.” Quite often, lifting a dripping wet print from the tray, it could take by breath away. Now, with digital printing, it’s more rare.

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary,

Aaron Rose, Film director, artist

The Science

The essence of light—what it is—remains an open question.

After a lifetime of investigation, Albert Einstein admitted that he never understood what light actually is. At the atomic level a unit of light is referred to as a photon, but that’s just a label to describe a packet of energy that has a fixed speed but no mass and can behave as either a particle or a wave—depending on how it’s observed.

Photons are entirely different from matter, yet they give rise to and sustain matter. They’re produced when energy is either added or subtracted to an atom, causing an electron (best conceived as an energy “field”) to jump from one orbit to another—amazingly, without crossing the distance.

Gazillions of these events happening together result in the streams of light entering our eyes.  Physicist David Bohm saw these emissions as “information, content, form and structure itself, regarding light as “the potential of everything.” Max Planck said, “The photons which constitute a ray of light behave like intelligent human beings: out of all possible curves they always select the one which will take them most quickly to their goal.” What scientists know of the cosmos and its many features has largely been gained studying the frequences of these emissions.

Years ago, friend and portrait photographer Walt Weidenbacher even referenced light as a guideline for living. He said, “The world is as big as the candle we carry.”

Having been fortunate to interact with many people who radiate light through qualities of character, refined personalities and expanded consciousness, it gives me joy to think of them and know that they’re illuminating the darkness, making a positive difference in the world. Although we don’t see them in the popular media, my sources indicate their numbers are growing rapidly, especially among young people.

I imagine you can name at least three people you’re interacting with right now who are “radiant”— sources of light. Who brightens your day? Who do you want to engage more often, and in meaningful conversations?

A deeper question would be to ask the nature of their radiance. Specifically, what are they radiating? Joy? Kindness? Genuine caring?

And what am I radiating? What am I putting out there? Is it authentic relative to my reason for being here? How big—bright—is my candle?

Light created the eye as an organ with which to appreciate itself.

Johann Wolfgang Goethe, German writer, philosopher

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My other sites:

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: Access to 81 free videos on YouTube featuring thought leaders and events of the 1980s.

 

The Soul as Playwright

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Alone in the theater

house lights down

curtain in the wings

stage light in a cage

red “Exit” signs

third row middle seat thirty-three

I ponder.

He said, “All the world’s a stage.”

This time ’round I’m the star

The stage a platform

The theater a world.

This life the play

soul the playwright

body the costume

personality the role

life the performance

purpose following the script

cast members fellow travelers

Marks steps in the prebirth plan

Props necessities to fulfill it

Audience other travelers.

Why do we do this? This isn’t who I am.

Oh, yes—prep for the ultimate play.

Technologies Of Transcendence

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Part 2: Our Greatest Innovations Are Revealing a Crisis of Seeing

Beyond appearances, every technology is an expression of human consciousness extending itself beyond limited thinking. What we’re witnessing today is not merely rapid innovation, it’s the emergence of certain technologies that transcend utility, developments that don’t just improve life, but reveal who and what we’re becoming. They’re not isolated breakthroughs. They form a pattern.

The Expanding Edge of Human Capacity

Across multiple domains, humanity is reaching beyond what once seemed fixed.

Artificial intelligence and robotics are extending cognition and action beyond the biological body. They raise a profound question: if intelligence can be replicated, what remains uniquely human?

Space exploration is carrying us beyond the Earth itself. From that perspective borders disappear, and we begin to see our planet as a single, fragile whole.

Ecological awareness is dissolving the illusion that we’re separate from nature. We’re not simply observers and consumers of the Earth—we’re conscious members of a larger holon, a living system.

Biotechnology and gene editing are allowing us to alter the very structure of life. Evolution is no longer something that simply happens to us. It’s becoming something we can participate in.

Nanotechnology and advanced materials are reshaping matter at its most fundamental levels.
We’re learning that the smallest (quantum) structures often hold the greatest power.

Global communication networks have connected humanity in real time. We’re forming a planetary nervous system, where ideas move instantly across the whole.

Seen together, these are signals, suggesting that humanity is moving from being shaped by evolution to consciously co-creating it.

What These Technologies Are Teaching Us

Each of these developments carries an implicit lesson:

  • Limits are often provisional.
  • Intelligence isn’t confined to the individual mind.
  • Human consciousness is shaping its own (and the planet’s) evolution.
  • Life—all being—is interconnected and interdependent at every scale.
  • We’re active participants in larger, unfolding processes—earth and human evolution.
  • We can do more together—synergistically— than we thought possible.

The technologies are teaching us that the problem isn’t out there. It’s in the lens through which we perceive ourselves, others and the planet that sustains us.

The Metacrisis: A Failure of Seeing

If these are truly technologies of transcendence, then we must ask: Why, as our powers increase, do our crises deepen? Why do the same capacities that can heal the planet also accelerate its destruction? The answer doesn’t lie in the technologies themselves. It lies in how we see ourselves individually, the species as a whole and our relation to the Earth. Our “metacrisis”—a compounding of complex breakdowns that can’t be resolved independently—is not, at its core, technological or political. Again, it’s perceptual—a crisis of sustained erroneous perception.

  • We’ve seen ourselves as separate from nature, so we exploited it.
  • We’ve seen ourselves as separate from one another, so we divided and competed.
  • We’ve seen ourselves as isolated selves, so we pursued power without wisdom.
  • We’ve seen others as threats, so we disengaged, demonized and denounced them.
  • We’ve seen others as potentially violent, so we armed ourselves.
  • We’ve seen the Earth mainly as a resource, so we despoiled the life that sustains us.
  • We’ve seen natural resources as commodities, so we put a limit on them to create wealth.
  • We’ve seen life itself as meaningless, so we became selfish with short term goals.

Power Without Responsible Perception

Our technologies have advanced much faster than our ability to process their ethical consequences. We can manipulate life, but we haven’t learned to fully honor it; we can connect the world, but we don’t really understand one another—or accept our differences, and we can extend intelligence, but haven’t deepened the wisdom to apply it toward collective flourishing. The defining imbalance of our time is that, while we’ve gained the power to transcend sensory limits, we haven’t yet transcended the consciousness of separation, self-centeredness and greed that created them. As a consequence, technologies may be amplifying our brilliance, but put to self-centered ends they create confusion, instability and division. For example—

Social media platforms amplify our ability to connect and share ideas globally—yet the same systems fragment attention, reward outrage and intensify polarization.

Artificial intelligence accelerates insight, creativity and problem-solving, while also generating misinformation and uncertainty about what’s real.

Biotechnology and gene editing offer the potential to eliminate disease, yet they raise profound ethical dilemmas about the manipulation of life, inequality and unintended consequences.

Global financial systems and digital markets enable unprecedented wealth creation and efficiency, while also driving inequality, instability and disconnection from real-world value.

24/7 news and information networks keep us constantly informed, in the process overwhelm, distort and distract from greater priorities, creating a persistent sense of crisis.

The Real Milestones

The more significant next stage of human development is not primarily technological. It’s perceptual. What’s most needed—and will occur if we learn from nature and the metacrisis we’ve created—is a paradigm shift in consciousness: from separation to participation, from control to relationship, from fragmentation to wholeness. Without this shift, our tools will continue to outpace our wisdom in using them. With it, those technologies will become instruments of healing, coherence and respect across the board.

Seeing as the Turning Point

Our expanding technological capacities and the deepening global metacrisis reveal a single truth: the outer world reflects the inner lens through which we perceive it. My experiences in contemplative photography have taught me that everything depends on how we see. A landscape approached with distraction yields one kind of image—chaos. The same setting approached with presence, interconnectedness and respect reveals something entirely different—coherence, a sacred presence. So it is with civilization. The future will not be determined by what we can build, but by whether we can learn to see the world and ourselves as an undivided whole.

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David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: Access to 81 free videos on YouTube featuring thought leaders and events of the 1980s.