A summary of:
Wijers, L. (1996). Art Meets Science in addition to Spirituality In H5N1 Changing Economy: From Competition to Compassion. Wiley-Academy: London.
In 1990, leaders inwards art, science, spirituality in addition to economic science met to hash out how inwards the the world these diverse disciplines mightiness come upwardly together to brand a) a to a greater extent than unified sense, in addition to b) a positive alter for our culture. Physicist David Bohm summed upwardly the conference’s mission: “I think, as is implicit inwards this conference, that at that spot are iii basic components of culture, which are art, scientific discipline in addition to spirituality. These are the centre of civilisation in addition to culture, which I say, is shared meaning. Now, if nosotros carve upwardly art, scientific discipline in addition to spirituality, as they are today, nosotros remove hold a tremendous incoherenece inwards our culture. Of course, as I said, the usage of this conference is to start something that mightiness brand our civilisation to a greater extent than coherent” (25). This is non dissimilar the mission of HighWire, in addition to my projection inwards particular. I suppose similar them I run into the separating of these disciplines, in addition to the separating out of spirituality, as a major source of confusion for us. How tin shipping away nosotros empathize the bigger pictures inwards the world? Mother Tessa Bielecki says, “What interests me most is the spiritual welfare of the world; that is spirituality as the foundation for every other way inwards which nosotros mightiness utter almost the welfare of the planet. Part of our employment is that nosotros are compartmentalised in addition to nosotros relegate spirituality to a subdivision that tin shipping away easily live dismissed as irrelevant. We demand to re-awaken to the fact that nosotros are fundamentally spiritual beings in addition to that fine art flows out of our spirituality, scientific discipline flows out of our spirituality, economies flow out of our spirituality. Everything has its foundation inwards spirituality” (120). And F. W. Christians argues that it is the imbalance betwixt these elements of civilisation that is dangerous: “It is a fact that at that spot is already a huge discrepancy betwixt what scientific discipline in addition to applied scientific discipline are offering in addition to what the human soul or spirituality is digesting. This imbalanced province of affairs mightiness create an increasing potential for conflict. Therefore nosotros remove hold to detect the appropriate residuum to brand beneficial usage of the products of applied scientific discipline in addition to science. Regarding what you lot precisely explained to us almost spirituality; inwards my watch nosotros remove hold to cultivate those sensitivities in addition to foster spirituality” (104).
The other employment amongst relegating the spiritual to the fringes is that nosotros remove hold to wonder what nosotros are rooted to. If nosotros were rooted to values similar those of all spiritual traditions – compassion, beingness ane of them – hence our club would live to a greater extent than compassionate, in addition to we’d all live amend off: “If nosotros were really compassionate individuals, nosotros would remove hold a compassionate club in addition to vice versa. Compassion, inwards the lexicon definition, is ‘a boyfriend feeling’. The existent important of the give-and-take pity is ‘to experience together’. If people remove hold the same feeling together, in addition to are responsible for ane another, hence at that spot is compassion” (David Bohm, 58). So this would propose the value of working on applied scientific discipline that tin shipping away foster pity inwards individuals – because it volition inwards plough Pb to a compassionate society, which is to say a alter inwards our selfish worldview. The betoken I’m trying to brand is that the key to helping to shift a worldview is to start amongst individuals; maybe past times changing the nature of the applied scientific discipline they engage amongst on a daily footing that encourages the formation of this worldview.
So what is compassion? We remove hold a Definition from David Bohm already. The Dalai Lama has much to say on this as well: “Community, friendships, harmony, these are the basic factors. That you lot remove hold compassion, affection, abide by for the other’s view, a employment almost the other’s right. That is the footing of harmony in addition to friendship. And inwards solid unit of measurement in addition to married life, ane should too non alone cry upwardly of oneself, but too live concerned almost the partner’s rights, feelings, in addition to opinions – again, usual respect. That is too the footing of a longlasting marriage. All these things remove hold rattling much to do amongst human compassion, human affection in addition to gentleness. Therefore these are the basics of moral ethics” (45). For the Dalai Lama, pity requires us to live responsible for each other: “I ever experience that pity is non precisely a mere warm heart, but inwards genuine pity at that spot is some sense of responsibility. With that sort of pity you lot evidence to Pb in addition to serve, as much as you lot can” (58). A major query discussed at the conference was what this way for a capitalistic society, which is competitive past times nature. The Dalai Lama says, “there may live some sort of competition, but that, I don’t think, causes opposition” (58). He suggests that it is possible to remove hold an Economy of Compassion, a dependent taken upwardly inwards earnest past times economist Stanislav Menshikov, who believes that the key to achieving this is that, “People remove hold to empathize each other’s motives” (49). This would propose that people remove hold to foster their empathy skills. And I do wonder how slow this is done amongst our electrical current technology, which separates us in addition to shields socially relevant data that nosotros mightiness usage to empathize each others’ subtler signals.
The full general consensus at the conference is summed upwardly past times scientist Francisco Varela: “‘Our the world needs a different agreement if nosotros are to survive’, Francisco Varela says. ‘Instead of self-interest, other-interest would alter our world.’ In his watch a basic regulation inwards evolution is cooperation in addition to the credence of the groundlessness of our existence” (114). He bases his thinking on Mayahana tradition, which is centrally concerned amongst groundlessness/emptiness in addition to pity (115): “Thus sunyata, the loss of a fixed reference point, is said to live inseparable from pity similar the 2 wings of a bird. Our natural impulse is ane of compassion, but it has been obscured past times habits of ego-clinging similar the Sun is obscured past times a passing cloud” (115). It does appear that applied scientific discipline is at to the lowest degree partially responsible for eroding precisely these compassionate impulses. The query is, how tin shipping away nosotros foster “an mental attitude of non-egocentric concern”?: “It evidently cannot live created precisely through norms in addition to rationalist injunctions. It must live developed through letting locomote of ego-centered habits. Individuals must personally uncovering in addition to acknowledge their ain sense of ego inwards monastic enjoin to locomote beyond it” (115). This is the value of interacting amongst a applied scientific discipline that purposely designs for selflessness: through engagement, it reinforces different – to a greater extent than positive – deportment in addition to modes of thinking.
(As a side-note: this groundlessness is an interesting way of justifying the spiritual potential of cyberspace. Varela says, “When the 2 planetary forces, scientific discipline in addition to Buddhism, come upwardly genuinely together, nosotros mightiness no longer demand in addition to wish foundations in addition to hence tin shipping away pick out upwardly the farther tasks of edifice in addition to seat inwards worlds without ground” (116).)
One of the issues discussed at the conference was how to define spirituality. Economist JM Pinheiro Neto says: “by spirituality I would mean, all the diverse forms of belief inwards something bigger than nosotros are” (135). Spiritual leader Raimon Panikkar says, “…without some spirituality, which makes me aware of my infinite dignity, in addition to of my intrinsic value, in addition to of the importance of love, existent joy in addition to happiness, without all that I am but a machine. As the Taoists said, if you lot are goodness at treatment a machine, it is because your pump has already acquire a machine” (197). Panikkar too suggests that spirituality is inwards straight tension amongst contemporary Western society: “‘The Contemplative Mood radically challenges some of the basic assumptions of modern Western society. Its stress on spontaneity, desirelessness, please inwards the momentary, indifference to wealth, prestige, success, sets it at odds amongst the modern labour pathos. To live a contemplative inwards this 24-hour interval in addition to historic catamenia is to live à rebours, against the grain.’” (194). Artist Marina Abramovic echoes this sentiment: “Now to come upwardly dorsum to ‘less is more’. What nosotros demand is to empty our house. We are polluted amongst information, amongst everything nosotros brand it all the time. Our concentration bridge is non to a greater extent than than v minutes on whatsoever subject. So I tin shipping away imagine how hard it is for us to live here. What nosotros could do is simply to construct clean the body, hence that it tin shipping away finally have something else” (208). And she too says later, “The distressing story hither is that nosotros encompass our houses amongst carpets in addition to nosotros encompass our streets amongst concrete. We usage telephones instead of telepathy. With all the progress, nosotros commutation computers for our sensitivity. We don’t usage our intuition or our inventiveness at all. Even if nosotros remove hold gratis fourth dimension nosotros switch on our tv in addition to volition precisely live hypnotised past times the programmes. …There is this incredible employment that nosotros are completely disconnected from the flow of nature” (209).
Brian Redhead, the conference moderator, asks some interesting questions almost spirituality: “is spirituality nostalgia for the past? Is it escapism for some other world? (103) Will it live the vantage when nosotros acquire everything right? Or is it something far to a greater extent than of import than all of those?” (104) Religious Studies adept Houton Smith provides an splendid reply worth pasting hither whole:
“Spirituality is ane of these primitive concepts, maybe similar ‘matter’ or ‘mind’ that is non slow to define, but I’ll brand an attempt. I cry upwardly that human beings are inwards nature – the technical give-and-take is human being religiosos – religious animals. Anthropologists remove hold works life no club that doesn’t remove hold religion. Beyond our finite selves, I cry upwardly every adult man in addition to adult woman senses what the mystics telephone telephone ‘the set down of our being’, something that is greater inside us than our finite selves. When this ultimate element inwards our beingness breeds through our intellect, it is genius. When it breeds through our will, it is virtue. And when it flows through our hearts, it is love. It is real. It is non nostalgia. If nosotros remove hold lost the ability to sense it, that is a brutality that somehow modernity has inflicted on us. / …a fundamental characteristic of the wisdom traditions that ane finds correct across the board is that, inwards Christian terminology, he who seeketh his or her low-cal inwards egotistic grasping loses it, in addition to those who tin shipping away measuring out of their won low-cal in addition to cease to seat themselves simply amongst their private interests, detect light. One of the most beautiful, succinct descriptions comes from the mystic Angelos Celisios: ‘Oh God, whose boundless honey in addition to joy are introduce everywhere, he cannot come upwardly to see you lot unless you lot are non there.’ That is what spirituality is – a tropism inside us towards the one, the unity, the coherence that life seeks, the to a greater extent than which is greater inwards value in addition to worth than nosotros remove hold ever withal experienced, in addition to finally, the mystery. So yes, if nosotros larn the lesson, the vantage volition live there.” (104).
Another way the panelists empathize spiritiuality is inwards price of human wellbeing. Physicist Fritjof Capra says, “Human wellbeing is a rattling vital term here. The usage of evolution is to growth human wellbeing” (217). He too conceded that human wellbeing is defined differently inwards different places – maybe it has to do amongst what Hick was talking almost inwards price of the levels of important that are appropriate to one’s province of affairs – but it does appear that ‘happiness’, although a chip wooly, is getting about the definition. On the Moral Maze computer programme (19/1/11), Professor Layard defined happiness this way: “Happiness is feeling goodness in addition to wanting to locomote on feeling that way; the opposite, unhappiness, would live feeling bad in addition to non wanting to locomote on feeling that way.” Notice the similarities inwards what the Dalai Lama suggests nosotros aim for (i.e. happiness, fifty-fifty though he doesn’t usage that give-and-take here): “Those materials which convey us suffering, in addition to which nosotros consider poisonous, nosotros evidence to acquire rid of. Similarly, the different thoughts or the different minds are as of import for our joys in addition to pains. Therefore it is worthwhile studying closely in addition to analyzing the different kinds of mental states. We should hence brand an elbow grease to growth the mental states which assist us in addition to do us good; in addition to nosotros should minimize the mental states that convey us fearfulness or suffering” (23). At the same time, he states, “This is non a religious concern; it is our daily life’s requirement” (23). Later, he suggests that this is the key employment of secular ethics: “Moral ethics means: refrain from all activities which are harmful to humanity or the environment. This, I feel, is the explanation of secular moral ethics” (45). But the Dalai Lama complicates this motion-picture demo past times offering different kinds of morality: “I think, first, nosotros remove hold to brand clear: what is the important of morality? I cry upwardly at that spot are 2 types of morality. There is ane type which is related amongst religion; which is something different. Then I cry upwardly at that spot should live some other sort of morality, which I commonly telephone telephone ‘spiritual development’. And also, whether ane is a believer or non-believer, a rattling of import thing inwards the day-to-day life of the community in addition to the family, which I telephone telephone ‘the basic human quality’ – that is, human affection. Regarding morality inwards that sense, I cry upwardly the best instructor is our mother. Every human beingness knows motherly affection; a mother’s milk is a symbol of compassion. Affection is the fundamental betoken for the survival of humanity” (66).
Redhead too asks the panel why the conference participants are using the term ‘spiritual’ in addition to non ‘religious’. Smith’s reply is a familiar ane for many: “Oh good, this takes me dorsum home, to California, where spirituality is a goodness give-and-take in addition to faith is a bad word. Religion is spirituality institutionalised; in addition to every establishment is a flawed reality” (104). Consider this study reported late past times the BBC (see nautical chart towards the bottom).
It is slow to halt there, to precisely live freaked out past times the give-and-take religion. But Smith makes the rattling of import betoken that faith “is the alone way spirit tin shipping away acquire traction into history. Otherwise lovely ideas perish amongst the people who remove hold them.” (104). The message for this project, then, is that nosotros ought to hold the gifts that faith remove hold given us in addition to locomote on to live inspired past times what’s goodness almost them.
Finally, I shall halt this long postal service amongst some of the to a greater extent than inspiring points from the panelists. Fritjof Capra says, “What you lot are changing is people’s perception. That is where you lot tin shipping away help. Because this crisis is a crisis of perception. We demand to perceive the the world differently to deed differently. That is where fine art tin shipping away live of tremendous help” (211). This is almost designing existent alternatives that embody different worldviews. My mission doesn’t demand to live helping people exercise meditation, for example (though many participants thought this was the task of the instruction system); but rather it is to displace a shift inwards attitude. As spiritual leader Sogyal Rinpoche explains, “Often people cry upwardly that meditation is technique, but it’s not, it is attitude” (169).
This mass too suggests that fine art is maybe the most powerful way of facilitating fundamental change. But fine art in addition to creative mortal should live defined loosely, in addition to could in addition to should include applied scientific discipline developers. As Wijers writes inwards the book’s introduction, “[Henning Christiansen’s] judgement was: Everyone is an Artist. One tin shipping away empathize this alone if ane replaces creative mortal amongst creator” (12). Marina Abramovic defines the goodness artist, the ideal to strive for: “It is of import that nosotros remove hold this openness in addition to run into fine art as a possibility of transforming. Who are the goodness artists? In every century you lot remove hold ane or two, you lot are lucky if you lot remove hold iii goodness artists. The ones who tin shipping away through their operate alter the way club thinks in addition to remove hold inwards their operate a prediction of the novel developments of humankind, these are the goodness artists in addition to they inspire you lot in addition to everyone to live goodness artists as well” (208). In other words, applied to my research, my finish should live to inspire others to live goodness creators of technology.
And this is my favorite quote from the whole book, ane time again past times Abramovic: “We demand people to seat their coin inwards dreams, inwards concepts which remove hold a prediction that may alter society” (211).
0 comments
Post a Comment