When I was at school I was the proud owner of a Sinclair Scientific - remember Reverse Polish Notation!? When we wondered at the neatness and power of the first pocket calculators little thought we of where the technology would take us. When Marconi sent his first dots and dashes across the Atlantic, 100 years ago, he'd no idea of the GPS, Internet and Virtual Realities he helped to create . . . or had he?
The great inventors of the human race KNOW what they know . . . and that it's important. They're driven, and inspired, by something deep within them . . . by the power of evolution itself, perhaps?!
But other than the ability to talk to anybody anywhere and to bring any amount of sounds, words and pictures into your home, what's the point of all this telecommunication and computer technology? Where is IT taking us?
One obvious answer is 'the global village'. There is no doubt that the earth IS much smaller now. At an ever increasing rate we're becoming aware of and connected to all the varied races and creeds that make us the human race. This is not an end in itself. Its helping us to accept that all us humans are . . . the same and different. We are all people with similar physical and emotional needs, whether we come from Timbuktu or Tooting! And, depending on exactly where we did happen to be born, we'll have very different ways and views on what being human means!
Our minds are being expanded. IT is opening us to the broad spread of being human . . . and of being an integral part of the global family. Whilst surfing on my new machine I found I could listen to a Japanese Jazz radio station . . . from my home in middle England. It was an excellent reminder as to how small the world is these days! With widely available technology we can BE anywhere in the world. There's no longer any need to be isolated . . . and every reason to connect with fellow man . . . in all his forms!
Expansiveness . . . that's what it's about! It's no coincidence that the many spiritual, philosophical and therapeutic paths which also enable expansiveness are seeing a significant growth in parallel with communication technologies. As above, so below! As our physical world becomes more linked, so to do our beliefs. As we recognise our common dependence on each other (and on the flora and fauna of Gaia), so we begin to see our shared heritage as earthlings.
Before the 'net the world was a series of states, land masses and groups . . . the latest in the line of tribal culture: the national or cultural borders reflected the importance that individualism has in own mind. We were separate from other folks. We had our label (be it 'British' or 'butcher') they had theirs. But what do these labels mean now? When we get an e-mail we often can't even tell whether it's from a ten year old girl or a 80 year old man, let alone where in the world it originated . . . and often it doesn't matter!
And the language! I'm not into the latest text messaging myself, but gone are laws of grammar, gone the formality of a physical letter. Freedom of expression and open-ness prevail. If you're on the net you're part of a global community . . . and accepted as one amongst millions. At times an insignificant statistic in a Microsoft report, but at others capable of bringing about a revolution . . . with a single on-line message . . . or causing chaos with a well aimed virus.
The internet reflects the world . . . so big it cannot be totally comprehended; unpredictable . . . despite, or maybe because we try so hard to control it.
So who is in control? The major international IT players would like to think they are, but even if there are (virtual!) monopolies in the hardware or software businesses, what we put on it is a far more fluid quantity! It's just a tool for us to use as our conscience dictates.
Just a tool - no more, no less. It wouldn't take too much (say a meteor storm knocking out satellites and power stations and/or an even more virulent 'Love Bug' type virus) for the whole system to crash . . . and the where would we be? We become dependant on technology at our peril!
I see the current trends in global and mobile communications as a step towards the ultimate reunion . . . the total coming to together of humankind in a One-ness. Whilst I've joined the net community, not so the rapidly growing band of mobile phone users. I don't need it. Some of us already know that telepathy is just as effective in times of need (perhaps more so). . . and without those possible health hazards! (See "No IT" to see how telepathy compares with other forms of communication!)
Opening up a connection to our ISP is a step on the road to ESP. First our computer terminals then our minds . . . becoming a part of an integral whole - now at the level of e-mails and web cams, soon at the highest possible level of inner thoughts . . . at one with each other and life itself.
And there's no escape! Whether we like it or not, or are even aware of it, we ARE part of ‘Life the Universe and Everything’ . . . our global IT culture is part of it! . . . and part of the trend towards even greater integration.
At present we can opt out . . . we can choose to not have a PC or stay off-line . . . but unless we become hermits or run off into a forest or desert somewhere we're unlikely to escape for long! Just like the divine, the net, through solar power, satellites and portables PCs, gets everywhere.
Have you noticed that, these days, you’re expected to be connected to the WWW all the time? No logging in or logging off! Instant access to . . . whatever! The software companies make few allowances for those who have to pay for phone calls . . . or for those who's systems aren't up to the job! They even assume that you're connected (for help information) even when you're struggling with your initial installation!
Such is the mood of the times. Always available on a mobile, always connected to the web. There is no escape! Nor from life! Again, this trend is a lesson to us, a reflection of how we are part of the one-ness, of how (even if we want to be separate) we are inextricably linked to the rest of creation.
One of the implications of this is that we have little control over what we're sent and how all these systems work. We're expected to be benign users. We just plug in switch on . . and do as we're told. Indeed younger folks don't seem interested in how it all works, they’re quite happy to be non-technical surfers. So perhaps that's our lesson - those of us who like to think ourselves as engineers or at least intelligent: to let go, to trust!
I mean, I'm happy to trust the bus driver or pilot when I use their services, why not Microsoft! God is, after all, bigger than even Bill Gates and if a software company does mess things up, we can rely on the Universe to bale us out.
Yes, as in many aspects of life, our lesson with IT is to trust, to allow the experts to do their bit, to provide the tools . . . we can just relax, tune into the reality of it all . . . and enjoy the sense of being part of it all!
We have to learn to take what you're told with a piece of cake! It's by no means unusual for a program to imply that it can do a given something (such a read another file type) only to find it can't . . . and sometimes even have the software tell you it can't do something and find that it can! To get on with the ever more complex PCs we have to be flexible and adaptable, we must be ready and willing to try a range of options and not take too much notice of what we're told . . . except when it's important! As with life really, the only way to KNOW what's important is to listen to our intuition! Only our higher selves have the real answer!
One thing about the web is the way you have to subscribe to each and every service - you have to tell them your details, chose a username and pick a password to access that info. I suppose this reflects human life generally - always barriers for entry to a club or a service; if you're not wearing the right tie you're out. This is a reality of human society right now - barriers everywhere. Copyrights, locks and security measures of all sorts . . . only the right folks are allowed in . . or those who are good at breaking codes! All a reflection of our addiction to labeling, judging and separating.
The positive side? The reflection of higher life? That we DO, to become enlightened, need to make a commitment in order to get the most benefit. To access the highest truth we have to know how to overcome the barriers in our own mind . . . and, as with web security, all these passwords etc are of our own (human) making!
And have you noticed how for nearly every site requires that you have to down load a new plug in before you can see (or hear) it as its best? Again, this is the same as humans and our connection to the universal data base! Just as our PC needs certain software before it can get the best reception of a given message, so too do our minds need certain programming before we can channel higher wisdom!
Listening to radio stations and watching TV stations via the Internet has made me wonder what we mean by 'live'. Most 'streamed data' seems to be recorded then played back to each given subscriber on request: for example the UK's Channel 4 TV coverage of the Kumbh Mela Hindu festival from India the other year. Each day they televised 10 minutes of the day's events - these 'programs' were available 'on-line' too. Not such high quality definition true, but it's was there!
But if the 'as shown' TV transmission is 'live', how much delayed does the Internet version have to be, NOT to be live? Due to the speed of TV transmission (the speed of radio waves), and the processing of cameras and TVs, even 'live TV' isn’t strictly 'live' - it will be at least fractions of a second after the actual event. The web picture, due to the slower technology, usually has to be 'buffered' . . . and both images are only a combination of pixels! So none of it is real . . . or in real time. Coincidentally the name of a program used to display these images on the web happens to be 'Real Time'! Mmmmm!
But what about the images in our brains? Is what we see real or real time? we know, from the times we deceive ourselves, that it isn't! Even our minds process the information and so delay it.
The conclusion might be that the less processing of signals from sensor (be they human or technological), the more 'real time' an image is. But does that make it more real? Maybe not, since in the highest reality, time just IS!
One of the big frustrations I have with the 'net is the difficulty we users have, with many sites and services, in finding an actual person to talk to. Sure, all the experiences of many years are available to us on a FAQ or troubleshooting page, which we can trawl through and maybe get an answer from, but what about our specific question . . . or at least, this question in our words? And what about a bit of sympathy in providing the answer!
And so we see the weakness/limitation of many web sites - the lack of a personal touch. The inability to relate to surfers on a 1 to 1 basis. But does that not reflect the norm in much of the commercial world anyway! The absence of a phone number and actual name, let alone a contact e-mail, reflects the attitude of that organisation: They're living in their own world of profits . . . not the whole world of individuals. Or am I being unfair? Why have some-one on the end of a help line answering the same question over and over again? Because it shows you care!
The point about information on the Net is that it's always there. Once you've an active Internet connection you no longer need to keep files locally. To access help, to search an encyclopedia, to look at directories, libraries, etc we no longer have to keep them on our machines or bookcases. When every bit of info we need is available at the touch of a few buttons from the great cyber-space database, we needn't keep a copy in our house . . . or it our mind! Remember the aim when IT first became the in thing? A paperless office. A world which didn't need things written down. Well, we're getting there!
But the equally challenging idea is that we don't need to keep information in our heads.
Other than the folks who write the software, few now know how PCs and the Net work. We just accept it and use it. We don't need to know! We trust the system and service providers to provide the tools and web info providers to make available to us that which we need to know.
As IT develops so we can free ourselves of the need to understand the mechanics of how it gets to us and the need to keep local copies. We are free to access what we want when we want it . . . and enjoy!
Exactly the same applies to the cosmic database and divine delivery service! The Universe, The One-ness comprises every bit of information, idea, thought and feeling that ever was, is and might be. It's all part of what it. And by being part of this one-ness, by connecting into the Universal source, we have access to whatever piece of wisdom or energy at that time. We don't need to know how the process works, we don't need to keep a 'local copy' in our own heads!
So, as our higher awareness, our degree of enlightenment develops, so we can free ourselves from questions of 'what?' and 'why?' and 'how?' and have immediate access to the highest truth of the moment and just know the answer. Just as, on the Net, we have fairly instant answer to any question we might ask more conventionally!
In both cases we're accepting our part within a network, we're accepting that others may hold the key, we are allowing our fellow man and/or our divine provider to give us the information we seek . . . leaving us free to act on it!
All this information we access from the Net . . . or from the Universal database. Where is it? Where exactly does it come from? Often we don't know . . . and it doesn't matter!
The point about global or universal systems, be they man-made or God-made, is they are distributed. They don't reside anywhere in particular because they are everywhere! And it is this 'covering all things' nature of such networks that makes them so powerful . . . it means that they do embrace the knowledge of the whole, the combined resources of all involved.
On the Internet that means all sectors of human society that has Internet access (even if indirectly) . . . which is rapidly approaching a significant % of human facts, figures, beliefs and experiences. There are few views or facets of 'being human' that are not represented in some form on or via The Net!
The Web of Life, The Universe, God, goes further. Not only can we tap into every human idea (as we can on the Net) but by connecting into Source, into ‘Life the Universe and Everything’, we can access all levels of meaning and energy . . . not just facts and constructs of our intelligence, but deeper, more profound truths. Not only can we hear about human experiences we can actually share those sensations from within. We can allow access and know the mind of other creatures and of Earth itself.
Just as IT brings us into contact with the rest of humanity, so enlightenment connects us to the rest of life itself. One is a direct reflection of the other. Both are part of the trend that's enabling us to become integrated into our human and divine worlds.
That you're reading this shows that you know how to access info from the web, but it this piece I keep referring to 'access to the cosmic database', to the ability to connect into 'The Source', to God's wisdom. Hopefully I've suggested why this is such a good idea! For powerful and amazing though the Web is, it's nothing compared to the sense of belonging that becoming spiritually aware gives us.
So how do we take that step? If becoming enlightened means we can connect to 'The One' and take our rightful place within 'Life the Universe and Everything, how do we log-on to our divine self?
By using whichever service provider, whichever path, you feel drawn to! Many take to yoga and/or meditation. Many pursue a particular religion or philosophy. Just as CompuServe and AOL both 'do the job' as far as a connection to the Net is concerned, so to does Hindu or Buddhism give us the tools to connect to our higher self!
Again we might try a few different 'providers' before we find one that's right for us! We don't have to use one of the big names, we can choose a provider that caters for our particular needs and who reflects our approach to life and specific needs.
For example, I'd suggest GreenNet as a suitable ISP, because they're a network designed to help groups campaigning for rights, because they strongly support charitably and voluntary work. Likewise as a path to cosmic connection I've chosen Reiki, because it fits my need for flexibility or use and simplicity of approach!
Why not try a demo of the sense of cosmic connection that Reiki can give you!
Just as more and more humans are getting on-line to the Internet, so too are more and more becoming spiritually aware! . . . There's no such thing as coincidence!
Keith Beasley teaches Reiki Healing as a means of personal, self and spiritual development. He is available in North Wales and for on-line consultations.
for list of Keith's books and Writings