Goodbye Nation-States? Hello Altered States…

Dear reader,

I find myself returning, again and again, to something Ursula K. Le Guin said during her acceptance speech for the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, in November 2014.

These words, by one of the patron saints of our literary journal, continue to remind me that we mustn’t go numb, look away, or despair in the face of the seemingly unstoppable onslaught of corporate, military, and technological power over the living systems of the Earth and our lifeworlds.

In Tom Valovic’s essay this week, “Big Tech Companies Are Becoming More Powerful Than Nation-States,” as in his previous contribution, “The AI-Robot Wars: Is Dystopian Science Fiction Becoming a Reality?,” we are emboldened to see clearly what Valovic refers to as the “Technology Takeover” of our lives. Indeed, some even argue that the rise of Big Tech augers the end of capitalism as such (including its brand of industrial democracy), as we circle back to a kind of feudalism (or rather, technofeudalism), where the very few use the levers of global finance and technology to control the outcomes of the many… which of course, is not at all what Le Guin had in mind.

As a dimensional counterpoint to the outward-facing concerns explored in Valovic’s essay, we have also published a poem I wrote in December 2022, following an experience with the psychedelic plant medicine ibogaine. “Retreat in Tepoztlán with Ibogaine” was, in a way, my “homework” following the retreat, as I sought to integrate the powerful insights and visionary material that came to me during my journey.

In May 2023, I performed it live for a Cosmos Co-op event Longmont Public Media, and the recording is included with the text of the poem. I hope it does something for you. Perhaps it brings an inner focus to the kind of consciousness we may need if we’re ever going to achieve a world of mental health and ecological balance.

I also share the poem to give an example of the kind of work that has come out of my encounters with various plant medicines, since I will be co-leading a retreat experience from August 9–11 called the Psychedelic Incubator, which is specifically for writers and artists who want to explore how a psychedelic journey (with psilocybin mushrooms) can catalyze their creative process. The retreat is about half-full after just a couple of weeks since launching our site, so check it out soon if you think you might like to sign up.

For those of you who happen to be in Colorado, another upcoming event that attempts to address the same social, spiritual, and ecological crisis we’ve been discussing will be Lisa Maroski’s free workshop on June 15, “How Can We Emerge from Polarization? A Language Workshop for Future Humans,” which also will take place at Longmont Public Media. If you’re in the area, please join us! And, we’ll be going out for dinner afterward, so let us know ahead of time if you’ll be attending and would like for us to save you a seat.

We’ll have copies of Lisa’s new book, Embracing Paradox, Evolving Language: Expressing the Unity and Complexity of Integral Consciousness, available for purchase—but if you can’t make the event, here’s where you can find a copy. In an important way, Lisa’s book can be read as a response to Le Guin’s call: “Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.”

Over the coming months, Lisa is also planning events in California, Chicago, and potentially Boston and New York, so do stay tuned and let us know if you’d like the details on those.

One last thing: in an attempt to get our books more widely read, we are still offering free reviewer’s copies to anyone willing to write and post an online review. You can love or hate the book, or feel indifferent; we welcome your honest appraisal. The deal is simply that you promise to write and post something, and we send you the book. Yes, a FREE BOOK.

As always, we invite your participation and welcome your thoughts in our forum at Infinite Conversations, and, if you wish to help fuel and sustain our work, please become a supporting member.

Thank you for reading,

Marco V Morelli
Co-Creator, Cosmos Co-op
@madrush: on Mastodon | on Infinite Conversations

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