The prime directive of Tek-Gnostic’s “Pop Future” is to provide analysis, insight and commentary on the “high weirdness” that is our Brave New Future. What was once considered fringe theory is fast becoming reality... as the paranormal morphs into the new normal. Such is the nature of the new paradigm. We pursue our prognostication of the future, in part, through critical observation of mass media, as seen through the lens of what has been termed Synchromysticism… the art of realizing meaningful coincidence in the seemingly mundane. It is through the recognition of synchronicities that the ways of universe are revealed to us.
 

 

“The future belongs to those who give the next generation reason for hope.”

 - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Item: A Vision of the Future by Jack Heart
We stand upon a precipice of unquestionable horrific consequence. We nonchalantly name this precarious moment: “the present.” That vast expanse that we call “the past” unfolds behind and beneath us like an immense nightmarish plain, stretching to infinity. The nexus of possibilities that lay before us, collectively known as “the future” is obscured… clouded by a fog of potentialities… created in part by the amazing events of the near-past.

The first decade of the 21st century has been quite a ride. The transition from the old paradigm to the new millennium… began abruptly on September Eleventh, 2001. On that day, with the orchestrated demolition of the World Trade Center, and other violent acts, the citizenry of Spaceship Earth awoke to the new age. Broadcast live around the world by the modern media machine, the new age came crashing into our living-rooms via that “luminous screen of mediocrity”  ...that modern humanity fixates upon daily.

This was not the new age that many of us visualized in yoga class. This was not the new age we envisioned during the “Harmonic Convergence.” This was a darker wake-up call that viciously came up-side our heads as if to say…

“Welcome to the future, chumps.”

Consequently, most of our visions of the world in which we live have been greatly influenced… tainted, even… by the events of that infamous day. Seemingly overnight our planet's socio-economic landscape had been re-arranged into a mix of archaic tribalism and multi-nationalism. A “Jihad” or holy war had been declared against capitalism in general and the United State’s neo-empirical expansionism in particular.

For decades leading up to 9/11, a “Crusade” of western interests had descended upon the Islamic world, most notoriously (and militarily) Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. Little wonder that there would be a push-back from conservative factions within Middle Eastern countries such as Iran, as well as lawless territories such as Waziristan. The so-called Arab Spring aside, ultra-conservative fundamentalism, from all of the “Desert Religions,” east & west, seem to hold disproportionate sway over the affairs of man.

Terrorists… Crusaders… Fanatics… Infidels…

Presently, a murky, slightly sinister haze obscures a clear view of our near future, making prediction difficult and more than a little fuzzy. Terrorism and covert operations have replaced diplomacy as a political first option. Even as “terrorist cells” get their footing around the world, traditional global economic mechanisms are breaking apart. We now find ourselves living in a post rule-of-law, spy-vs-spy world.

In the ensuing years, we have witnessed an erosion of civil liberties, at the hand of the Industrial Military Complex 2.0. The rapid growth of Top Secret America, which began with an impulse to secrecy and a blank check from Congress in the days after 9/11, now employs nearly a million people at 1,900 private companies and 1,300 federal organizations. This gargantuan intelligence/counter-terrorism industry continues to virally expand with virtually no governmental oversight. The threat of domestically targeted surveillance drones pushes us to the brink of an Orwellian police state.

Beyond the Precipice
The rise of the “Homeland Security State” is not without push-back from the American Citizenry. Two resulting trends have recently emerged within contemporary American culture. One trend is the proliferation of what has been popularly referred to as the “prepper” or survivalist movement. The other trend has been labeled the community resilience movement. These two factions pursue very different agendas, both driven by the same macro-political climate mentioned above.

The survivalist camp has been growing over the decades and includes such factions as the militia movement, wilderness survivalists, proponents of the second amendment and “right to bare arms” …and more recently the doomsday preppers. Extreme right and left wings are represented by the likes of posse comitatus and earth first! It could be argued that the radicalism of the NRA and the libertarianism of the Tea Party can be traced back to the survivalist mentality that was incubating in the 70’s, emerging into public view in the 80’s.

This conservative collective continues to grow in popularity. The recent revival in fringy right-wing conspiracy theories, what the Southern Poverty Law Center has called “Patriot Paranoia” has proliferated since President Barak Obama’s election, and subsequent re-election. The sentiment that is fed by these assorted conspiracy theories is an ever increasing distrust of the American Government. A certain amount of skepticism is healthy… the question is… how much is too much? At what point does mistrust become crazy?

It is reasonable to assume that the survivalist camp is fueled by “fear based” sentimentality. There appears to be an entropic, not enough to go around, survival of the fittest attitude that promotes a defensive posture, including the caching (hoarding) of provisions and weaponry. This mentality operates on the principle of scarcity. Survivalists feel the need to “protect what’s mine.” Again, the question arises… when does a defensive posture turn offensive? At what point do the defenders become predators?

Coinciding with the popularity of the doomsday preppers, another movement has recently emerged. Responding to similar concerns, the community resilience movement seeks to mitigate a perceived erosion of national infrastructure. If it true that the United States is going to hell in a handbag, the “resiliencers” (we coined this phrase ourselves) seek to fill the void, created by a retreating federal government, with self-sufficiency.

The community resiliency camp can trace its modern roots back to the 70’s, vis-à-vis the “back to nature” movement. It loosely includes such diverse factions as master & organic gardeners, alternative energy (solar, wind & hydro) or “off the grid” enthusiasts, the environmental movement and even natural childbirth advocates. Both right and left political ideologies are represented. Everyone from open source war strategist and former USAF pilot in special operations, John Robb, to Hippy media entrepreneur and futurist, Stewart Brand.

The resiliency movement is rapidly gaining ground to the point of critical mass within the consciousness of the American public. This localized, yet networked response to diminishing services, crumbling infrastructure and lack of political will to fund such services, also speaks to an increased mistrust of government. More specifically, it speaks to skepticism over the government’s ability to continue to deliver such services. “Resiliencers” operate from an extropic, “we can do anything we set our minds to” mentality. This philosophy also resonates with rural dwellers such as ranching and farming communities.

The resilient community approach is one of optimism and expertise. This mentality operates on the principle of abundance. It is an open, (dare we say) “love based” creative solution to the very serious challenges facing us all. Resiliency is also a “strength based” strategy that instills self-reliance within one’s home and community. Growing food, generating local power and providing local manufacturing all promote economic stability within the home, the neighborhood, the community and the bio-region.

Dreaming the Future
The question becomes… which movement makes more sense as we move into a shared brave-new-future? On the one hand, the survivalists seek to address active security… as in providing paramilitary protection for their community and cached resources/provisions for their loved ones. Additionally, there is a desire to protect constitutional rights… specifically the second amendment right to bear arms and fourth amendment right against unreasonable search and seizures. This position looks to be confrontational… “Keep the hell away from our personal freedoms and our god-given liberties, thank you very much.”

On the other hand, the resiliencers seek to address the passive security (self-reliance) question by building infrastructure, thereby decreasing dependence on the centralized state. They seek to meet their needs locally, not relying on interstate commerce, especially interstate freight delivery via semi-trucks. This speaks to a larger desire to end reliance on big oil… ie: international energy commerce. This position appears to be dismissive… “We no longer need your artificially propped up international capitalism, thank you very much.”

It is our assertion that in the long run, the path to community resiliency is the wiser choice. Active security is important, but at the end of the day… real and sustainable security is created by real and sustainable self-sufficiency. The immediate and essential choice before us is one of vision and intention. Before we can create a better future, we must first dream it… visualize it. This is not so much a question of how do we get there, but one of who do we want to be, both individually and as a community, in getting there? Do we move into the future with compassion and integrity? …or does the end justify the means?

Perhaps each faction has something to learn from their counterpart. Regardless, the future we choose is the future we get. Let’s all get there together, helping one another along the way.

 

Futurology Hyperlinks Accelerating Future Acceleration Studies Armchair Revolutionary Doug Rushkoff Future Human Evolution Future Positive Future Primitive

GBN     Global Guerrillas     H+ Magazine     Imagining the 10th Dimension

Near Future Laboratory     Open the Future     Orbital Vector     Plausible Futures

Resilient Communities     Tech Levels     World Future Society

 

 

Item: Babylon Bandwidth by Jack Heart

Advances in mobile communication technologies and their global availability have exposed otherwise insulated individuals and cultures to the manipulations of those who would control media content. The power of mass media (read: mind control) in the hands of the few, is a threat to personal autonomy… for in the words of Jim Morrison: “Whoever controls the media, controls the mind.” 

With this knowledge, we look for ways to “break the spell” that the black-media-magicians have cast upon a largely unsuspecting public. We look for the tools and opportunity to push back against mass media programming, to act as Culture Jammer, while developing strategies to better prepare for an uncertain future. Given the revolutionary and game-changing potential that information technologies put in the hands of the individual, the outlook is increasingly in our favor... if we are willing to fight for it. We move to take personal responsibility for building a better tomorrow. We do not expect assistance from institutions of the old paradigm. We look to none but each other in this endeavor, for...

“The future's here... we are it... we are on our own”

- from "Throwing Stones" by Robert Weir & JP Barlow
 

Modern media, defined here as the communications, entertainment and advertising industries, are suspect in that they dictate the content being delivered to the public. Media moguls within the entertainment industry control content, who in turn are influenced by advertising agencies that (along with their clients) bankroll the production costs of entertainment programming. Communications companies deliver, via their networks and a tech-driven  array of wireless gadgetry, data rich content, created to a great extent by the entertainment industry.

This powerful media triad... communications, entertainment and advertising... secure political favor through the power of the lobbying industry, which controls our government. As opposed to other powerful industries seeking influence over our government such as Big Oil, the media triad's commodity is essentially the manipulation of the content of people's minds. Seeing an opportunity, our government seeks a “Quid pro quo.” As such, these industries wield enormous power and influence and cannot be trusted by virtue of the age-old adage that absolute power, corrupts absolutely.

Take television (please!). There is a reason why TV executives refer to shows they produce as “programming.” There is a reason why advertisers pay small fortunes for commercials and for product placement in films. Their intention is simple. They desire to program the masses to do their bidding. Overtly, they want the masses to buy their products... but covertly... they want the masses to think the way they want them to think. They want people to think like good consumers. These masters of the airwaves will stop at nothing to broadcast their disinformation... to impose their version of reality to suit their nefarious agenda. This deceptive content of control we label “Babylon Bandwidth.” Here is a subtle and formidable adversary.

Pop Phenom
There is, however a major outcome of this “content” that is not completely controlled by the media masters. This is the all-important phenomena known as “popular appeal.” Although each agency controls their individual output, it's relative success or failure is dependant upon how it is received by the public. To be effective, output must be popular. To be popular, it must resonate on a deeply emotional (perhaps even spiritual) level with the masses. Try as they might, the media masters cannot consistently predict or control popular appeal. Consequently, each individual media mogul is forced to react... to constantly re-adjust their messaging, in response to popular sentiment.

Popularity is an intangible and more importantly, an ineffable commodity. If enough people are enamored with a media phenomenon... for a long enough period of time... it becomes a trend. This is of course the “holy grail” of the media industry. Since advertising effectiveness and hence advertising revenue is dependant upon mass appeal, significant research and development resources are budgeted to study such trending. For this reason, the collective output of the media industry is significant on a cultural level, as it mirrors the culture being targeted.

Close examination of the combined collective output of modern media tells us much about our global citizenry. By virtue of what is being marketed to us, modern media reveals perceived trends in how we think, feel and react to events of consequence in our world. Indeed, it illuminates collective characteristics of our consensual reality… our collective consciousness, as reflected by the manipulations of the above mentioned media masters. In this regard, popularity of media output becomes an indicator of what resonates, what “grabs the attention” of specific, or in the words of the marketing magicians... “target” populations. By scrutinizing how we are being marketed to, we gain more insight into who we are as a culture.

By waking up to Babylon Bandwidth, we begin to understand the extent of media manipulation... we begin to realize “how deep the Rabbit-hole goes.”  

Today, as information technology evolves more rapidly, the media masters begin to lose control of the medium. Social media has to a certain extent, de-centralized modern media, diluting Babylon Bandwidth's hypnotic power. The perceptive and vigilant citizen can, in effect, use modern media to their advantage by gleaning trends in the media-stream. In considering trends, specific pieces of media content lose importance. In the words of Marshall McLuhan... the medium is the message… a medium itself, not the content it carries, becomes the focal point of significance. Realization of these trends allow us to sharpen our predictive faculties in contemplating the future. By examining trends in media for purposes of prediction, we logically place emphasis on a popular or “Pop Future.” 

Synchronicity & Synchromysticism
Pop Future... or the perceived trending in entertainment,  infotainment and information services, as evidenced via the world wide web and social media platforms such as facebook, et al... is a culturally powerful predictive tool. We intend to fight back against Babylon Bandwidth, using this and other tools to our advantage. We will examine all available data-streams for the purpose of predicting possible, probable and prescriptive outcomes to present day scenarios, as they pertain to personal autonomy. We will examine the complex intertwining advancements and expectations in the hard sciences such as astronomy, physics &  biology, as well as other disciplines of relevance such as, psychology, sociology and anthropology. Additionally, we pursue intuitive disciplines, peering through the lens of a new and relatively esoteric interdisciplinary system known as Synchromysticism.

The term Synchromysticism was coined by Jake Kotze in August of 2006 for an article posted on his website Brave New World Order, who defined it as: “The art of realizing meaningful coincidence in the seemingly mundane with mystical or esoteric significance.” 

Synchromysticism is heavily influenced by the study of the collective unconscious as pioneered by Dr. Carl Jung. Jung was the founder of analytical psychology. He emphasized understanding the psyche through exploring the worlds of dreams, art, mythology, religion and philosophy. One of his most notable ideas is the concept of synchronicity. Jung created the term synchronicity to describe the alignment of “universal forces” with the life experiences of an individual. Jung believed that many experiences perceived as coincidences were not merely due to chance, but instead reflected the creation of an event or circumstance by the alignment of such forces. In difference to these forces, consideration is given to the power of mass media and its influence on humanity’s psyche.

Pop Future seeks to illuminate the mysterious universal synchronicities, as mirrored by mass media, to better understand the forces that are at work, shaping our newly emerging global culture. By searching for patterns in the noise... by aggregating  and analyzing transmissions from the collective conscious... we will harness the resulting information to our advantage... forecasting the Future from what emerges.

 

 

Sci (Fi) Blogs 2001: A Space Odyssey Beyond the Beyond Borg FutureConscience Orbital Vector PDK Blog   Pop Culture io9 Nerd Blerp TheoFantastique

Synchromystic Blogs Brave New World Order Dedroidify Groupname for Grapejuice iAhuasca Kosmos Idikos The Libyan Sibyl   Popped Culture Synchromystic Pop Culture The Sync List The Secret Sun Watching the Watchmen The Wrong Way Wizard

 

 

Feature Presentation

Wii Games - E3 2010 - What will our near future look like when gaming invades real life?

 

Tek-Gnostics Hyperlinks

The Azhar Book     Bene Gesserit     Buckminster Fuller     Cyberspace Map

DNA & Future Memory     Consciousness Hacking     ET Cultural Competency

The Earthling & the Matrix     EcoTek     Exegesis     Jedi Academy     Sci Fi as Sacred Text

SMI²LE     Space Age Satori     Terrapin Station     Wake up, Neo...