Sweeny vs Bard #59 - With Max Borders - Who are the grey robes?
Feb 15, 2024
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The podcast explores archetypes, art, and religion in a tech-driven world, delving into creating a global digital priesthood. Topics include spiritual growth, decentralized data, and the integration of Eastern and Western philosophies for human development. Discussions also cover the importance of artists and priests in balancing practical considerations, vibrant community protocols, and the interplay of spirituality, psychedelics, and freedom in tech innovation.
The Gray Robes movement aims to bridge technology and spirituality by uniting techies and artists in network states and charter cities.
Symbolism is crucial in balancing tech power, with gray robes promoting art and spirituality for societal integration.
Tech barons may seek deeper purpose as they face project challenges, with gray robes offering spiritual guidance and inspiration.
The urgency for a new spirituality and art movement is emphasized to counter fascism and preserve freedom in the digital age.
Deep dives
The Gray Robes: Uniting Tech and Spirituality
The podcast episode explores the concept of the Gray Robes, a movement focused on bridging the gap between technology and spirituality. Max Border, a special guest, discusses the importance of integrating philosophical and cultural values with the technological advancements made by the Silicon Valley. The Gray Robes movement aims to create a corpus callosum, where the left-brain techies and the right-brain artists can unite and collaborate, resulting in something greater than the sum of its parts. The vision is to build network states and charter cities that are not only tax-saving havens but also cultural and spiritual centers. The movement seeks to bring art and spirituality into the digital era, creating a symbolic order that complements the technological advancements of the tech barons.
The Role of Symbolism in Tech-Oriented Society
The podcast delves into the importance of symbolism in a tech-oriented society. It highlights the need for a symbolic order that can balance out the power of the tech geeks. The gray robes, with their focus on spirituality and art, could serve as a complement to the tech barons in building a holistic and integrated society. The podcast emphasizes the significance of cultural fixtures, such as yoga studios, art centers, and spiritual practices, to enhance the quality of life in the network states and charter cities being developed by the tech community.
The Challenge of Merging Technology and Spirituality
The podcast acknowledges the challenge of merging technology and spirituality. It recognizes that the tech barons may not naturally gravitate towards spirituality and may be more inclined towards engineering and building. However, it suggests that as they encounter difficulties and limitations in their projects, they may start seeking a deeper purpose and meaning beyond their technological achievements. The gray robes movement aims to be a source of inspiration and guidance for these tech-oriented individuals, providing a path towards spiritual exploration and artistic expression.
The Urgency of Paradigm Shift and Importance of Freedom
The podcast underscores the urgency of a paradigm shift, particularly in the face of rapid technological advancements and the increasing influence of China. It stresses the importance of preserving freedom and openness in the digital age, emphasizing the need to counteract the surveillance and control exerted by political and technological powers. The gray robes movement advocates for a free and open sensocracy, promoting philosophical inquiry, pluralism, and the preservation of individual liberties. It encourages tech barons to embrace freedom and spirituality and looks towards psychedelics as a catalyst for spiritual experiences that can inspire innovation and social transformation.
The Need for a New Spirituality and Art Movement
In order to counter the emergence of fascism and the growing merger of business and government, there is a crucial need for a new spirituality and art movement. Traditional spirituality and art have failed to prevent this dangerous unity and have thus proven inadequate. The new movement must be both grand and fantastic, combating fascism and promoting decentralization. It should be based on the understanding that the digital age requires a new sense of spirituality and artistic expression. By creating a powerful and anti-fascist spirituality and art movement, the gray robes can serve as the symbolic order that guides and nourishes society.
The Fourth Way: An Impossible Pursuit
The fourth way, as explored by Gurdjieff, represents a pursuit of a higher spiritual path that transcends traditional narratives and paradigms. It requires a balance of qualities and an audacity that can be challenging to achieve. However, realizing the fourth way can only bring temporary success, as the pursuit itself becomes a constant dialectical process. The gray robes must recognize the impossibility of the fourth way but still strive for it, embracing its beauty and seeing it as a transformative quest.
The Urgency to Challenge the Merger of Business and Government
The gray robes must stand against the increasing alliance between business and government, which is manifesting in the form of fascism and centralized control. The consequences of such unity are dire, threatening personal freedoms and innovating decentralized alternatives. By catalyzing a response to this power consolidation, the gray robes can serve as a force for change and protect the values of freedom and decentralization.
The Emergence of a New Form of Art and Spirituality
To counter the limitations of traditional spirituality and art, the gray robes must explore and cultivate a new form that aligns with the digital age. This emergent art and spirituality will require a sacred and private space where it can flourish, eschewing the commercialization and superficiality often associated with traditional art forms. By embracing the return of the sacred and private, the gray robes can foster a genuine artistic and spiritual movement that is both anti-fascist and capable of inspiring decentralized alternatives.
A deep conversation about archetypes, the need for art and religion, and a Gurdieffian 4th way in the land of technological utopia and dystopia. And a plug for Max's upcoming course on Parallax, which will explore these issues.
THE GREY ROBES - INITIATION INTO A GLOBAL DIGITAL PRIESTHOOD WITH MAX BORDERS: starts March 10th:
https://www.parallax-media.com/courses/max-borders-1
Links:
Parallax Mighty Networks: https://parallax-media-network.mn.co/share/RnBBvEYInToDBG2P?utm_source=manual
Parallax Academy: https://www.parallax-media.com/2024-courses-and-events
Membership and Donation: https://parallax-media.eu/parallax-academy-calendar.
Max Borders is the author of The Social Singularity (2018) and The Decentralist (2021). His latest book is called Underthrow (2023). Currently, he is working on two major projects: a cosmopolitan constitution designed to open the era of open-source law, and a global fraternal society dedicated to the mission, morality, and meaning of the “Grey Tribe. Borders is founder and Executive Director of Social Evolution, an organization dedicated to liberating humanity and solving social problems through innovation. He is also co-founder of the event experience Future Frontiers, which succumbed to COVID in 2020 after eight years.
Alexander Bard: Alexander Bard is a Swedish author, lecturer, artist, songwriter, music producer, TV personality, philosopher and political activist, and one of the founders of the Synthesist movement along with his co-author Jan Söderqvist. His books include “The Futurica Trilogy”, “Digital Libido” & “Synthetism”.
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