[P2P-F] the guru question

[Michel Bauwens]

thanks richard!

On Mon, Sep 12, 2011 at 10:42 PM, Poor Richard <poor_richard at att.net> wrote:

> On 9/12/2011 7:39 AM, Michel Bauwens wrote:
> > related to our question/discussion here:
> >
> > http://noetic.org/noetic/issue-fourteen-september/the-guru-question/
> >
> > with a comment of mine at the bottom
>
> Michel, I am not fond of the word guru, but I acknowledge the existence
> of people who fit many of the commonly attributed criteria to varying
> degrees. The thing is, many of the guru critera can be met by many
> people who would not be widely acknowledged as gurus. These are simply
> highly-developed people in all walks of like. I don't want to imply they
> are plentiful, exactly, but they are more plentiful than the classic
> gurus. The closest people to being gurus I've known personally were an
> elderly 5th grade english & history teacher, two fellow middle school
> students, and Dr. John C. Lilly of the Janus Institute. I spent a couple
> of weeks with him and was introduced to the sensory deprivation tank.
> Though I had already read his work before meeting him, the participatory
> interaction was very effective in amplifying and imprinting everything.
> Lilly also has a special presence, similar to the Jaque Cousteau I've
> met only through the TV set. If that weren't enough, his wife was
> totally awesome.
>
> On the other hand, I tend to exclude most of the people who call
> themselves "gurus" from serious consideration these days.
>
> I believe J. Krishnamurti and George Gurdjieff among others whose work
> and lives I am familiar with, might have deserved the title, but of
> contemporary people I might call gurus I can only think of Pemma Chodron
> and Thich Nat Hann, but I'm not sure if they really qualify. I am most
> confident of Pemma because of listening to many hours of her audio. The
> voice conveys a bunch of information.
>
> Rather than guru, I prefer the terms teacher, mentor, or more in the p2p
> vein, learning partners.
>
> What all gurus and teachers potentially have in common is just more of
> something you want than you already have. Im my case, I would define
> such things in terms of bio-cognitive development, skills and abilities,
> knowledge, and wisdom rather than in spiritual terms.
>
> Even the so-called direct transmission occurs in some degree between any
> two people (or more) who become intimate, in proportion to the degree of
> intimacy achieved. Intimacy is not only built through direct
> face-to-face and physical contact, but through various kinds of shared
> activity as well.
>
> As direct psycho-physical intimacy increases over time, the bandwidth of
> the bio-cognitive communication increases. Some of the channels are
> language, voice quality, body language, pheromones, and
> bio-electromagnetic fields. Voice modulation, body language (including
> micro cues), airborne chemicals, and physical contact all stimulate the
> release of a wide array of neurotransmitters and other hormones
> throughout the body. These change the states of brain networks, nerves,
> and tissues throughout the body. That much is established fact.
>
> My additional hypothesis is that all these channels of communication
> gradually come into greater synchronization between people. Its similar
> to the way higher data throughput is achieved between nodes in a
> computer or communication network as they each synchronize to the same
> timing, states, and protocols. The rate at which this happens between
> people and the degree to which it happens depends on the innate
> psycho-physiological characteristics of the participants as well as
> their acquired proficiency. It can be trained, although such methods are
> not well developed in the secular world. When well-developed,
> interpersonal communication bandwidth may change as much as the
> difference between using a 300 baud modem and using a 10 gigabit
> broadband connection with a computer.
>
> The importance of shared activity to developing bio-cognitive intimacy
> and high communication bandwidth can't be over-emphasized. Important
> activities are singing and dancing, eating and drinking (especially
> alcohol), domestic houskeeping (especially kitchen work), manual labor
> (gardening/farm work, carpentry, etc.), professional work, artistic
> collaboration, dialog/debate, sports and recreation (camping is great),
> travelling, and adventure. Sharing risks and crises is especially
> effective. The more time participants spend  together the better.
> Sharing living quarters and workplaces is especially effective, within
> the limits of intimacy fatigue. And of course if these things are done
> mindfully, with the intention of developing high-bandwidth intimacy, and
> with appropriate methods and skills, the best results are possible.
>
> Some of this is common sense, but the hypothesis about high-bandwidth
> bio-cognitive intimacy is not something I pulled out of my ass. I have
> achieved such intimacy with several different individuals and with
> several small groups who lived and worked together.
>
> Drugs: under the right circumstances there can be a place for the
> controlled, educated use of psychoactive substances in the formation of
> high-bandwidth bio-cognitive intimacy.
>
> PR
>
>


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