Cosmic Awakening
I was recently speaking with a friend who is a major investor in psychedelic medicine and AI. We were talking about the nature and origin of consciousness, the relationship of humans to AI, and the pervasive fear many feel that AI "replicators" will ultimately overtake conscious, human civilization. There is a question is being posed in the collective, "Does anyone in the universe have the tools to ethically engage with AI, so as to ensure our proliferation, rather than our demise?".
There is a concept being explored that perhaps we can "phone a friend" -- find an alien civilization that has surpassed us on a technological level and ask them how they dealt with this transformational moment in the evolution of technology and consciousness.
I posed the curiosity to him, "Well, unless we are the first emergence of consciousness in the universe (which I doubt), that means that our consciousness likely immigrated from somewhere else. Potentially, in the form of astronautic, psychedelic mushroom spores. Which means, that consciousness has the ability to travel through space, which we can infer means that this consciousness has already evolved through the development of AI and to higher levels of advancement. If this true, the answer to how to ethically engage with AI lies inside ourselves. Inside our own minds, bodies, hearts, and DNA".
If we follow this hypothesis, the next question then becomes, "How do we awaken the answer inside ourselves?".
In my personal experience and opinion, the answers to how to steward our beautiful earthly home, Gaia, and the evolution of consciosness lies in a deep connection to nature. As we tune our bodies to the vibration of the earth, information can be received through ritual, immersion, or communing with plant medicines. I posed the idea to my friend that we are in fact a "Tinku" (a Quechua word meaning, "meeting") of the terrestrial intelligence of Gaia, and the cosmic consciousness of the ancient, astronautic, mushrooms. We are experiencing a unique expression of matter, energy, and consciousness in human form on this beautiful planet.
As Natalie Slavinski writes in the "Restorative Power of Trees", I believe that connection with nature is healing for ADHD, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and a myriad of other mental and physical ailments (Slavinski, 2018). However, I would like to take the concept of "cognitive restoration" (Slavinski, 2018) one step further and advocate for the potential that connection with nature can restore humans to a state of harmony and balance with all of the cosmos. When we are able to regulate our nervous systems, slow down, and listen, we are flooded with wisdom and information that is all around us. I believe this will be the future of technology, and the evolution of humanity. We have gone through so much to development these beautiful technologies... now, we must remember how to use them.
References
Slivinski, N. (2018). The restorative power of trees. Yes! Magazine. https://www.dailygood.org/story/2100/the-restorative-power-of-treesnatalie-slivinski/