Let’s posit a series of ifs and see if they add up.
- If the human brain is a holographic map of our greater environment.
- If it is currently evolving, or attempting to evolve, in order to reflect and interface with a wider, deeper spectrum of experience.
- If the brain needs to engage with its environment from an early age so it can hook into the corresponding areas of its environment.
- If human beings aren’t being provided with the necessary formative environment to allow for all of this.
- If, due to a repeating pattern of early trauma, the lower, reptilian part of the brain is reducing everything to a two-dimensional “fight or flight” program
- If what is actually happening is that the reducing valve is becoming more and more firmly embedded in our nervous systems and our perceptual narrowing is getting increasingly narrower just when it needs to be opening up.
Then:
- The environment which we create for ourselves, i.e. culture, with all its technological extensions and trappings, would necessarily reflect that inner narrowing.
- It would be preventing us, more and more with each subsequent generation, from experiencing the necessary, formative biological engagement with — and activation by — our environment.
- So while we would, on the one hand, be experiencing a growing potential (and need) for a wider, more holistic relationship with reality, on the other hand, we would experience a steady decrease in our capacity, or desire, to enter into such a relationship.
- This would create a vicious circle of anxiety, rage, and abuse, creating still more of the same, as human beings seek ever more extreme dissociative measures that allow them to disconnect from the experience of being disconnected, and numb the anguish of a benumbed existence.
- In the meantime, the brain would be following Nature’s plan undeterred, regardless of whether the organisms in question (that’s us) have laid the necessary groundwork or gone through the necessary rites of passage to psychologically prepare for the new perceptual awareness.
- Autism — both in its pure, potential aspects and its more widely seen aberrational or dysfunctional ones — would be one result of this.
Auticulture 
[silently curses technology for lost text…] For this theory to be valid it would have to be proven that autism is indeed a positive step up the evolutionary ladder. We are little tiny cells in an unimaginably vast being: nature/the universe. Evolution is the norm, because everything grows, flowers and naturally strives to become something bigger, wider, more alive than it once was… well that is how it is supposed to be. Strangely, technology has evolved exponentially this past century. I believe though, that technology is an outer manifestation of our latent potential inside of us, like an artificial reflection of abilities we can develop without tools. We don’t need technology as much as we think we do, in general. Funny how our spiritual growth is not as widespread as technology is… why is that? It makes sense that evolution would start from inside of people, in their foundation of perception. You only have as much freedom as you can imagine it, so overly sensitive individuals who see things that others miss would be the start of manifesting a more free and harmonious world… So long as we don’t get in the way of nature.
Lacaeus, while everything does grow, so does everything die. I am thinking of the way an ecosystem undisturbed will always naturally return to the peak of production.. beggining with the max number of large mammals, on down to the maximum amount of microorganisms being eating by the maximum number of worms all rotting away under the soil (in forests). Nature is never getting more alive its always been doing the same maxing out thing both living and dying.
What makes you think technology is an outer manifestation of latent potential? How would that work if the example were a plow? people could use a plow to expand their growing, what latent potential could this represent?
For this theory to be valid it would have to be proven that autism is indeed a positive step up the evolutionary ladder.
Is this something that can be proven? Is this what my posts have been arguing, really? I don’t much care for the word evolution unless it’s in a specific sense; it’s become spiritualized, almost synonymous for “good.” Does perception evolve, or does it move, expand, shift, deepen? Does an expanding perception demand a biological evolution, or is it the other way around? Can we isolate shifts in perception from physiological changes/advances – and if so, how – when you consider that perception itself is changing, that would alter the way our physical conditions are perceived and experienced.
What if there is only perception? We perceive that we perceive with a body, but it’s only through perception that we perceive a body at all. You dig?
The body may be the seat of awareness. But what’s beneath the seat?
“What makes you think technology is an outer manifestation of latent potential? How would that work if the example were a plow? people could use a plow to expand their growing, what latent potential could this represent?”
Sorry for the late response. I’ve been working insane hours lately. My statement is confusing probably because I’m not the best communicator. But what I had in mind was that technologies like cell phones, the internet, computers, cameras and vehicles. I was thinking hmm I wonder if we could develop psychic abilities and receive telepathic messages from each other instead of texts, have psychic meeting places, travel out of body, have photographic memory, acclimate our bodies to warm themselves up instead of a heater… that kind of thing would be very cool. Our potential would be latent psychic abilities and the reflection of that potential would be like cell phones. As for a plow, I guess I could argue that you could develop your fitness and plow the field yourself and only grow as much as you need and live off of less, and develop frugality… but that’s a bit crazy.
‘Does an expanding perception demand a biological evolution, or is it the other way around?’
I’d guess it starts with perception, since everything begins with thought, conscious or not. Our thoughts change our bodies and the world around us, but it all begins in the mind. I guess everything really is our perception of things.
I am writing about autism and technology now, for the next part of the series. As ever, your comments seemed to be very well-timed. Evidence of pre-cog abilities? ; )
Haha now you’re talking. Looking forward to it. Still have a lot to catch up on in the meantime. Wasn’t sure on what your thoughts were on the reality of psychic abilities, but I’m glad you’re open to it.