A Discussion of What's to Be Done (Part 1) - Whilst Getting Wiser

This is our tenth event, and the first of 2023.

To celebrate the occasion, we're going to try and achieve two goals simultaneously!

The first goal is, specifically, to discussion: "What 's To Be Done?"

In other words, what can we DO - individually and collectively - in order to consciously participate in Humanity's Transition?

There are action-oriented answers to this question (e.g. create a political party, disrupt traffic on the M25, become vegan, adopt Effective Altruism...).

And there are paradoxical-sounding answers, such as: "You don't have to do anything. Why? Not because there is nothing to be done. It is that you don't have to do, because you will do....".

There's a lot more to be said and discussed around the paradoxical-sounding answers, but let's cover that in Part 2 of the discussion at a future event.

For this event, we'll keep it (relatively!) simple by focussing ONLY on the action-oriented answers - of which there is an endless supply.

The format of the meeting will be for us to take it in turns to suggest and explain the reasoning behind an "action", and then for us to have a brief discussion about it.

But that's just the first goal. I mentioned we are aiming to achieve two goals.

The second goal will be hidden, and up to each of us to strive for individually. It is this:

When we are in our discussions - or indeed at any time - try listening carefully to the person speaking and attempt to take on their perspective - their way of understanding and interpreting the world. (And no, I don't have a method or formula for doing that: perhaps there's another discussion to be had on that.)

Why is this perspective-taking important?

A study by John Vervaeke and colleagues that looked at 'wisdom' found that the main trait of people who were considered wise was their ability to take and internalise multiple perspectives.

And, as many people have written (including me), the extent to which we can 'wise up' is the extent to which we'll be able to consciously participate in Humanity's Transition. This idea, by the way, provides something of a bridge into the paradoxical answers, and thus a perfect segue into the future Part 2 of this discussion. At that event, I will include the remainder of the above quote about "You don't have to do anything....".

Finally, there is also a connection to our previous event. The contrasts between action-oriented answers vs paradoxical sounding answers resonates strongly (I think) with our last event covering the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

SUMMARY and HOMEWORK:
Think of a variety of action-oriented answers to "What's to be done" and be prepared to describe them and their associated issues. (You don't necessarily have to fully agree with them.)

_______________________________________________________________________________

The wider context of Humanity's Transition is summarised in this 30-minute video:
"Humanity's Phase Shift, Daniel Schmachtenberger"