Now-time of Isdom

The Isdom of the Wisdom Society: Embodying time as the heartland of humanity (Part #11)

Much is made speculatively of the first few seconds at the beginnings of the universe -- and of the millions of years of evolution since then. Much is made of the emptiness of space at the subatomic level -- and of the millions of kilometers of empty space between astronomical objects. Very little is made of the moments of time -- the fractions of a second -- in which awareness moves before any engagement in action or speech. And yet anecdotes abound on the capacity to review a whole life in such periods when faced with death. Or the astounding ability to recognize and respond to danger in that period -- as in the martial arts. Or the ability to fall in love. Just as subatomic space is "spacious", are such moments "time-full" in some way -- offering aeons of time for the dynamics of awareness?

Studies based on the work of C P Fulford and S Zhang (Perceptions of interaction, 1993) have shown that learners have the cognitive capacity to process speech at twice the rate at which a lecturer speaks [more]. It has been recently determined, with untrained volunteers, that it takes around 300 milliseconds to begin to understand a pictured object. A further 250 to 450 milliseconds is required to fully comprehend what it is. This suggests that the "total speed of thought" is between 550 and 750 milliseconds (Hopkins Scientists Clock The Speed Of Comprehension, 28 May 1998) [more]. These figures ignore the kinds of speeds associated with some jugglers and players of musical instruments, such as the piano [more | more | more | more].

For a meditator the perspective may also be quite different as described by José Argüelles (A Treatise on Time Viewed from Its Own Dimension) watching the flow of thoughts with panoramic view, an awareness of time within non-conceptual space:

"With practice one can begin to see the current of thoughts and the ego attachments and recognize that no thought is more or less important than any other. One can come to distinguish that there is actually "space" between thoughts. This space between thoughts is the original unobstructed nature of mind. To experience this space is to taste the essence of now-ness. In the space of now there is no history, no ordinary time, no ego, no beginning and no end. Because one learns to see without concepts"

Other possibilities are indicated from a Chinese qigong perspective, according to Yan Xin (Scientific Qigong Research, 1999):

Physics teaches us that the speed of light is the fastest velocity at which one may transmit material, energy, and information. Are there any material phenomena that can travel faster than the speed of light? From a qigong perspective, it seems very possible. But what kind of energy can make such a speed possible? This is difficult to assess. At the moment, modern scientific means still cannot discover or practically measure such an energy form. It is likely that the speed of thought is faster than the speed of light, but how can this be measured? How can this phenomenon be captured? Cultivating this space is called "cultivating clear seeing."

In 1996 the Long Now Foundation was established to develop clock and "library" projects as well as to become the seed of a very long term cultural institution. For them progress lately is too often measured on a "faster/cheaper" scale. The Foundation seeks to promote "slower/better" thinking and to foster creativity in the framework of the next 10,000 years. In contrast, with respect to Isdom, the suggestion here is that there is scope and merit in establishing a "Short Now Foundation" for thinking that will break through the "faster/cheaper" barrier -- but in the direction of instantaneousness.

There is indeed a "superficial" dimension to now-thinking (see Kato Hidetoshi. Global Instantaneousness and Instant Globalism, 1992; [more]) perhaps first identified as a "blip culture" by Alvin Toffler -- and now a characteristic of instantaneousness in warfare and simultaneity in economics [more | more]. It was Martin Heidegger who not only described the "abolition of distance" as a constitutive feature of the contemporary condition -- now characteristic of globalization -- but who linked recent shifts in spatial experience to no less fundamental alterations in the temporality of human activity [more].

Dwain W. Higginbotham (How the Universe Works) makes the point that "90 percent or more of the 'stuff' of the universe, is dominated by quantum weirdness, has instantaneousness as a common thread, and has no dimensions, and is everywhere in the background of the material/spatial aspect".

Conventional thinking about instaneity obscures the kind of thinking notably explored by meditators or inventors ("a flash of insight"). For example: "Instantaneousness is a fundamental quality of psychic energy, but people have been accustomed to suppose that lengthy thought is the strongest. In such a way they lose sight of the fact that time is not needed for thought" [more]. What has been termed cosmic consciousness is characterized by its instantaneousness: "The instantaneousness of the illumination is one of its most striking features. It can be compared to a dazzling flash of lightning in a dark night, bringing the landscape which had been hidden into clear view" [more]. It may also be characteristic of the religious conversion experience [more].

It is perhaps Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Flow : The Psychology of Optimal Experience, 1990; Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life; Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. 1996) who has helped most to give credibility to the dynamics of Isdom. He is renowned as the architect of the notion of flow in creativity -- people enter a flow state when they are fully absorbed in activity during which they lose their sense of time and have feelings of great satisfaction. He describes flow as "being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost." [more]

There is however relatively little information on "flow in groups" -- despite Csikszentmihalyi 's work (Flow in Sports: the keys to optimal experience and performance, 1999). But this work, together with that of C Mainemelis (When the muse takes it all: A model for the experience of timelessness in organizations, 2001), have been suggestive in exploring "collective virtuosity" (see Mark Marotto, Johan Roos and Bart Victor. Collective Virtuosity: The Aesthetic Experience in Groups Working Paper 2002-6 ), namely the ethical and aesthetical aspects of social interaction in groups, extending such notions of timelessness, "flow" and job crafting beyond the individual level. As a focus of the work of the Imagination Lab, "collective virtuosity" emphasizes the need to educate the imagination -- so critical to the ability of the alternative community at Damanhur to explore time travel (see Renaissance Zones: experimenting with the intentional significance of the Damanhur community, 2003).

The Imagination Lab study offers many further clues to the dynamics of Isdom, notably stressing the role of authenticity:

...ethics is about practicing who you are in the moment. The emphasis on the moment is related to the immediacy of authenticity....For a group to have collective virtuosity, the members must experience each other aesthetically....People that experience authenticity of others are challenged, and often inspired. this spark of transformation is the motor behind the recursive process and virtuous circle that is collective virtuosity. Authenticity leads to dynamic tensions between people. There is a rhythm of constant interaction, even conflicts that arise in the immediate moment of authentic exchange. Since it is not planned and controlled, there is a natural ebb and flow to the way people interact and co-create with each other. Such synchronization of activities is known as temporal patterning.

On authenticity, see also Evoking Authenticity: through polyhedral global configuration of local paradoxes 2003; Authentic Grokking: Emergence of Homo conjugens, 2003; Martin Buber. I and Thou, 1970.

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Now-time of Isdom