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The digital age, nonlinear science, the living universe and spirituality

I present these ideas to you with my most humble appreciation for your interest, and my own recognition that the ideas explored here are a starting point for discussion of the underlying concepts presented. The nonlinear theory of the living universe that I present in this essay and the resulting concepts are a result and a synthesis of the writings, teachings, and theories from some of the most brilliant, revolutionary and important thinkers in human history. The theory is simply the recognition of a series of connections between their various discoveries and the potential significance and applications that these connections may have.

The digital age, nonlinear science, Living Universe and spirituality

The main focus of this article is to explain how new discoveries made in the digital age are indicating the following. First, that the universe and the earth are alive in the form of living systems and like all living systems are self-organizing, nonlinear systems with universal, holistic behaviors. Second that we have come to this understanding by utilizing linear, analytical thinking, (or logic) that we have advanced to a very high level of complexity. Third, that due to the non-linear nature of the digital era, this same linear, analytical thinking has reached its limitations of effectiveness as the dominate way of thinking. Lastly, how we can thrive in the digital era and manifest our ultimate potentials, harmonizing our thoughts and actions with the living universe by utilizing a holistic logic based on the universal behaviors of living systems, a logic which I call nonlinear thinking.

The digital integration of two fundamental components of the universe, information and energy, has created the digital era where we now live in a globally interconnected digital world. In this era we are witnessing an exponential acceleration of the pace of change in society, culture, theoretical science, technology and ultimately, the rules of the way life functions.  We now process our social, political, economic, environmental, and scientific activities and systems through the nonlinear network of the Internet, which are becoming nonlinear and emerging systems with a high level of interdependency, interconnectivity, unpredictability and are simultaneously self-organizing To understand and thrive in such systems requires a radical shift from a linear worldview to one that is a nonlinear view of nature, a holistic approach that recognizes  the self-organizing process and how to creatively and positively participate in it. With this shift comes the emergence of a nonlinear perception and a nonlinear thinking or holistic logic which we can harness to participate creatively in the emerging digital world.

Every two days, we now create as much information as we created between the dawn of civilization and 2003 (according to Google CEO Eric Schmidt). The quantity of information that we have created and our ability to process it has reached a critical mass, elevating our analytical or linear logic to a level of effectiveness to where we can now develop nonlinear theories. When we synchronize nonlinear theories, such as quantum mechanics, systems, networking, chaos, and fractal theories, we see strong evidence that the universe in which we are residing is itself a living system. The living universe manifests itself through nonlinear living networks. Nonlinear networks by performing at the edge of chaos become  self-organizing systems, and fractal in such a way that the behavioral patterns of the elements and the whole system are in synchronization. All members of nonlinear networks implement their assets in a cooperation and partnership manner to achieve the long term goals of the whole network, creating a whole that is greater than the sum of the individual’s assets. These networks achieve a higher level of functionality, efficiency and creativity that is beneficial to all members. This process is the universal behavior of all nonlinear networks.

Nonlinear thinking is a holistic logic based on the universal behavioral patterns of nonlinear living networks.  The characteristics of nonlinear logic are: observant, nonjudgmental, holistic, feminine, spiritual, intuitional, and connected with the universe. The universality makes the holistic logic simple, powerful and applicable to any nonlinear process or relationship on any scale (from the personal scale, to theoretical science, social, political, economic and environmental activities and systems).

Over a long period of time humans progressively separated themselves from the living planet and its cognitive process. This was primarily a result of mimicking nature, (for example mimicking the voice of other species for attracting or repelling animals) we progressively separated the object from the subject which resulted in abstract thinking, an illusive mental separation from the living universe, self-awareness, and linear-analytical-logic. When we consider ourselves as independent, separated from the living network we attempt to protect our separated self from the rest of the universe, which resulted in an analytical, linear logic that is self-defensive, self-protecting, and has a bias to negativity and liabilities. We have advanced the linear logic to a point where we now understand the behaviors of the living universe, and have created a holistic logic to harmonize our actions with it. At the same time this advancement has lead us to understand the limitations of linear logic and our separated self. These limitations are especially significant in the digital era because of the now non-linear nature of our social, political, economic, and environmental activities and systems.  Linear logic is self-assertive, deterministic, judgmental, reductionist, masculine, materialistic, short-term oriented, and results in a dominant and competitive attitude toward the other members of the web of life, including sensitivity to change, and a tendency to quickly synchronize with violent events and negative news.

If we shift our perception from linear to nonlinear we are changing our behaviors and attitudes from self-assertive to integrative, from rational to intuitive, from reductionist to holistic, and from separation to connectedness. We are also shifting our values, from consumption to conservation, from competition to cooperation, from quantity to quality, from domination to partnership, from rigidity to flexibility and from liability to asset management. Furthermore, this shifts our state of mind, from negativity, blame, anger, revenge, violence and hopelessness to positivity, forgiveness, tolerance, peace and hope.

Most spiritual, artistic, and near death experiences have indicated that when we are selfless and totally connected with the living universe we feel joy, peace and love. Nonlinear thinking, with its lack of expectations and nonjudgmental characteristics, demonstrates unconditional love as its ethical value and guiding principle. It is the most reliable benchmark for other ethical values because it satisfies the values of any living system. These include cooperation, partnership, nonjudgmental attitude and a lack of expectations. These ethical values are not anthropocentric; they come from observing and mimicking the behaviors of other living ecosystems. For example, the Earth gives us a smooth ride around the solar system every 365 days, providing us with everything we need. It does this with no expectation regarding how we treat her back.   During the last millenniums and especially the last few centuries, linear perception and logic has been the dominate logic of human beings.  The blame that results from judgmental linear thinking hinders our ability to forgive, which is an inherent part of unconditional love.

Our brain, like any living system, is a self-organizing cognitive open system based on feedback, which seeks its optimum hidden potential. As we become passionate and nonjudgmental observers of our thoughts, feelings, and actions, with the values of the living system we create positive feedback that helps the brains self-organizing process to think holistically in its relationship with bodies’ network and its other social and environmental networks. Through this self-organizing process our thoughts and actions become in sync with the living universe, unifying the right and left side brain, and unifying our will and destiny both individually and collectively as great evolutionary theorist Barbara Marx Hubbard says “shifting from ego to essence of the living universe”.

The purpose and the challenge of this paper is to explain the nonlinear behaviors of the living universe through analytical, linear logic so that we can understand the holistic and universal behavior of the living planet and how to participate harmonically as an unseparated part of it. The Digital era is the end of the current cycle of cognitive process of elusive mental separation and marks the start of the reunion of human beings with the living planet and the point at which the living planet has become self-aware. In this process our brain becomes humble enough to acknowledge that the idea of a separated and independent self is only an illusion, and realizes that  its self-existence, long term health and functionality requires a sustainable relationship  based on cooperation and partnership with its own body, other humans, earth and the entire universe.

I will now briefly explain the above concepts by the following topics:

1) The amazing, creative universe

2) The digital era: exponential rate of change and major paradigm shifts in science

3) Nonlinear Sciences

4) How the universe is alive

5) The Duality of the brain in perceiving and processing information

6) The evolution of linear and nonlinear perception and logic

7) Our brain is self-organizing system

8) In the digital era

9) Nonlinear thinking, philosophy and spirituality

10) Our brain is a self-organizing system

 

The amazing, creative universe

The known universe contains 100 billion galaxies, each with 400 billion stars. The sun in our solar system is made of 97 percent of very simple elements, hydrogen and helium, and it is a key contributor in a network capable of creating and sustaining the green planet we call Earth. The composition and location of our sun enabled the creation of life on earth, from amino acids and single-cell bacteria to vastly diverse plant and animal species, and finally human beings. Us humans are a form of life that is capable of communicating a single word through the synchronization of four million cells and neurons between the writer and the reader of this article. If we are the byproduct of such an amazing network as the system that created us, then we must have the same creative capabilities, and the digital era is enabling us and guiding us to recognize and manifest our astonishing potentials.

The digital era: exponential rate of change and major paradigm shifts in science

Throughout the history of the universe the rate of change, or the time period from one stage of complexity to the next shortens after each progression on an astronomical, planetary and biological scale. On the human scale, the recent integration of two fundamental components of the universe, information and energy, has created the digital era, which is now exponentially accelerating the pace of change. As a result, scientific understandings and technological advancements are progressing at an astounding rate. It used to take centuries for a paradigm shift, but in the digital era it can happen in months and it will happen faster and faster after each progression.

When we observe the historical pattern of the progression of western science it indicates that our foundational assumptions and theories have shifted from a static, rigid and linear view of the universe (Euclidian geometry which deals with static shapes, or the flat and static concept of earth) to a more dynamic, flexible, and nonlinear view (fractal geometry that explains the dynamic, flexible and nonlinear process of chaos, and Gaia theory). But, the recent shifts are a result of a series of nonlinear discoveries that changed our understanding of fundamental scientific paradigms, which I will now explain.

The first shift is the understanding that the universe is not made of fundamental building blocks but in its purest form is made of constantly moving energy which contains information pattern. The theory of quantum mechanics has shifted scientific thinking dramatically. It has helped us to understand that, at the subatomic level, the universe is not made of any particular elements, but rather only energy. A great physicist and systems theorist, Fritjof Capra, explains this shift in his book, The Tao of Physics.

“This shift in paradigm thinking in science concerns a shift from thinking in terms of structure to thinking in terms of process. In the old paradigm, it was thought that there were fundamental structures, and then there were forces and mechanisms through which these interacted, which gave rise to process. In this old paradigm, it was the structure that determined the processes. In the new paradigm, we think that process is primary, that every structure we observe is a manifestation of an underlying process. This process thinking came into physics with Einstein’s relativity theory. The recognition that mass is a form of energy eliminated the concept of a material substance from science, and with it also that of a fundamental structure. Subatomic particles are not made of any material stuff; they are patterns of energy. Energy, however, is associated with activity, with processes, and this implies that the nature of subatomic particles is intrinsically dynamic. When we observe them, we never see any substance, nor any fundamental structure. What we observe are dynamic patterns continually changing into one another – a continuous dance of energy.”

The dancing energy has a pattern of information that is everywhere. Each creature on Earth is composed of information; information sits at the center of our cells and rattles around in our brains. Every particle in the universe, every electron, every atom, every star, and each one of the countless galaxies in the heavens is packed full of information. That information is always flowing, moving from place to place, spreading throughout the cosmos. Throughout cosmic history, the universe, which is made of energy, has evolved to have many diverse, complex forms, including human beings that are capable of processing complex information. Therefore, energy and information are the most essential components of the universe. Or in other words, the universe is made of cognitive energy. Quantum mechanics explains the nonlinear behaviors of energy, while networking theory explains the nonlinear behaviors of information (such as the Internet).

The second shift is the discovery of the entanglement phenomena which created a new era of understanding that we are dealing with an interdependent, interconnected, correlated and nonlinear universe, and to understand this universe we must use a holistic, systemic and a nonlinear approach.

The third shift is that there is also entanglement among the consciousness of human beings (the observer) and the universe (the observed) and that when we observe the universe it responds to our observation.

The fourth shift is the recognition of the universe as an interconnected, dynamic network of relationships and how the components of a network interact to give rise to process which shifted the primary focus of studying the universe to studying process and relationships.

The fifth shift is a deeper understanding of randomness and its significant role in a nonlinear world.

The sixth shift resulted from taking a closer look at chaotic events which shows that there is an amazing order beyond chaos and how nonlinear networks by performing at the edge of chaos manifest themselves in fractal patterns and become self-organizing systems in such a way that the behavioral patterns of the elements and the whole system are in sync, creating a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. The acknowledgment of the chaos process as a necessary step toward a higher order and synchronization and as the most efficient manifestation of energy shifts our negative perception to a more positive, hopeful and comfortable, perception of chaos.

Lastly, as written by Charles Seife in his book decoding the Universe, “there is a long tradition of using pinnacles of science and its corresponding technology as a metaphor for the universe. In ancient Greece, geometry, surveying equipment and musical instruments were the science and technological wonders of the age, and Greeks regarded the cosmos as a manifestation of geometric relationships and musical harmony. In the mechanistic science of the seventeenth century, clockwork was some of the most complex technology, and Newton described a deterministic clockwork universe, with time as an infinitely precise parameter that gauged all cosmic change. In the nineteenth century, with advancements in thermodynamics and entropy, and development of the steam engine, Clausius, Von Helmholtz, Boltzmann, and Maxwell described the universe as a gigantic entropy-generating heat engine, sliding inexorably to a cosmic heat death”. The last decades have been dominated by the development of computer science and information technology, resulting in the proposition of the metaphor of the universe as a gigantic computer by Seth Lloyd, Gregg Braden and other scientists.

Now, the combination of nonlinear theories and advancements in bio-mimicry and digital technologies have provided a new metaphor of the universe as a living system. Even though Gaia theory has been accepted among scientists since the 1970‘s, until now, recent advances in non-linear theories like quantum mechanics, networking theory and system theory have not been applied to our understanding of the Earth as a living system. On the other hand, spiritual thinkers are paying less attention to Gaia theory and the emerging Living Universe metaphor, which is consistent with most spiritual traditions. The living universe metaphor provides a consistent holistic logic as a platform toward unifying science and spirituality.

Nonlinear Sciences

Systems Theory

According to systems theory living systems are arranged in nonlinear network patterns. Through these patterns they exhibit self-generating, self-organizing, self-regulated, integrated, intuitive, and holistic behaviors. Nonlinear living networks, by performing far from equilibrium, at the edge of chaos, organize themselves in an emergent structure (represented by fractal geometry), which makes them flexible and universal. These structures are open systems connected to their surrounding environment with feedback loops. The key characteristics of emerging structures are non-equilibrium, nonlinearity, indeterminacy, and high sensitivity to small changes in the environment. According to cognitive theories, living systems are cognitive systems and the interactions of a living system with its environment are cognitive interactions.

Networking Theory

Networking theory explains how nonlinear networks behave; nonlinear networks are made of combinations of order and randomness. Order brings structural stability and cohesiveness, while randomness provides flexibility, allowing the structure to weather chaos and instability. When a nonlinear network reaches a critical point of instability, a new order spontaneously emerges. In this stage, the elements synchronize in full cooperation, creating a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts with increased information content and functionality, this process is the main source of creativity of the universe, and makes it a cognitive system. Randomness is also a key player in reducing the degrees of separation among the members of social nonlinear networks in such a way that within human social networks there is a maximum six degrees of separation among the entire human population. Since nonlinear systems perform far from equilibrium, cause and effect are not proportional: small changes may have dramatic effects because they may be amplified by self-regulating feedback loops, and sometimes even major changes can be absorbed with remarkably little disruption. Nonlinear networks follow an uneven distribution pattern, called the “power law distribution.” the Internet (In non-linear network such as the Internet, those sites with the most connections have the lowest degree of participation, and the sites that exhibit the highest degree of participation have the fewest links or connections, take Google, Yahoo, or other large websites. There are only a few of them participating at that level, so they have the most connections with other websites), electrical power grids, blood circulation, distribution of the sun’s components, wealth, and social power, they universally demonstrate the power law distribution. In nonlinear networks the power law distribution also applies to order and randomness; they are mostly made of order with only a little randomness. A great example of how order and randomness can combine together to create a flexible and sustainable system is the cooperation of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems to create “erratic rhythm” of our heart. The heart is really just a big muscle and would tire quickly if it performed exactly the same movement every time it pumped blood; the heart avoids fatigue by varying the speed and rate at which it clenches. This means the heart never makes the same movement from moment to moment. Movements are repeated but on such long-time scales that a healthy heart never tires. Also, the erratic heartbeat exists at the edge of chaos at a critical point, therefore like all such nonlinear systems, it will be very sensitive to small changes. As a result, it will be able to react very quickly to the demands that the body is placing on it.

Since nonlinear living networks are manifested in fractal geometry, the properties of nonlinear living networks are scale-free and universal, and can serve as basic guidelines to the emerging nonlinear logic and provide a better scientific understanding of the world from which we can align our actions with the living universe. This is often called universality and is a significant observation, as explained below by Duncan Watts in his book Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age.

“The observation that very different systems can exhibit fundamental similarities is generally referred to as universality and its apparent validity presents one of the deepest and most powerful mysteries of modern physics. It is mysterious because there is no obvious reason why systems as different as superconductors, ferromagnets, freezing liquids, and underground oil reservoirs should have anything in common at all. And it is powerful precisely because they do have something in common, which tells us that at least some of the properties of extremely complicated systems can be understood without knowing anything about their detailed structure or governing rules.”

How the universe is alive

As has been explained earlier, energy and information are the essential fabrics of the universe, and both behave in a nonlinear fashion. Their patterns of organization and behaviors are consistent with the nonlinear behaviors of living systems, as explained by systems theory. Therefore, we can conclude that if the fundamental components of the universe are behaving like living systems, then the universe itself is indeed a living system, radically changing our perception of and relationship with the living world.

Living Universe perception is consistent with Gaia theory. Spiritual thinkers have used nonlinear conduits such as art (most notably poetry) or mysticism to explain their divine experiences when they are totally selfless and connected with the living universe. The living universe theory and nonlinear logic for the first time in the history of human beings provides a scientifically simplified framework to explain their metaphysical and spiritual experiences. Living networks through cooperation and partnership (rather than competition, and domination) among the assets of the network’s members achieve higher levels of functionality, efficiency and creativity. Our bodies are also networks that work in much the same way. Everything in the universe has an inherent tendency to participate in networks and synchronize with others. As Steven Strogatz explains in his book SYNC, this tendency “pervades nature at every scale from the nucleus to the cosmos. Every night along the tidal rivers of Malaysia, thousands of fireflies congregate in unison, without any leader or cue from the environment. Even our bodies are symphonies of rhythm, kept alive by the relentless, coordinated firing of thousands of pacemaker cells in our hearts.” In the next topic we will examine how domination of linear perception and logic could be the main reason that human beings, (who are part of the living universe), for the most part do not bring the same attitude of cooperation and partnership to their interactions with the earth, other species, and other members of the human network.

The Duality of the brain in perceiving and processing information

The human brain perceives and process linear and nonlinear information in two different regions. As scientist  Jill Bolte Taylore explains in her book My Stroke of Insight, our right-brain and left-brain hemispheres process information quite differently (Dividing the brain into the right and left sides is over simplification and is not a holistic approach, but the construct simplifies our discussion). The right side of our brain primarily perceives and processes information in a nonlinear manner creating a model or perception of the world that is connected to the living universe, while the left side primarily perceives and processes information in a more orderly, linear way, creating a model or perception that separates us from the living universe. Therefore our right side brain attempts to protect our separated self from the rest of the universe. Left-brain, linear thinking ends up being self-defensive, self-protecting, with a bias to negativity and liabilities, self-assertive, short-term oriented, and having a dominated and competitive attitude toward the other members of the web of life.

The right brain is observant, nonjudgmental, holistic, feminine and spiritual, while the left brain is analytical, deterministic, judgmental, reductionist, masculine and materialistic. In the digital age, which is a transformational era, a combination of nonlinear theories, cognitive science, neuropsychology, and spiritual teachings allow us to acknowledge the power of the linear and nonlinear perceptions and how to holistically integrate them to achieve the ultimate potentials that exist within us.

The evolution of linear and nonlinear perception and logic

In the early stages of human development human beings started to use their hands and vocal system to increase their ability to cooperate with each other. They used sign language for short-range communication and vocal projections for long-range communication. They mimicked the sounds that other animals made to attract harmless animals and distract dangerous ones. Combining sign language and vocal projections eventually created a subjective virtual world of information; an abstract concept, separated from real objects. The separation of subject from the object started us down the road to abstract thinking and the linear perception of self-consciousness. It is possible that the parts of the brain circuitry that activate our survival instincts, creates procedural memories and defines our orientations are the same parts that are activated when we are thinking linearly. We can think of these circuitries as hardware. To run on that hardware, we have created a worldview, software, if you will, that separates subject from object, leading to abstract thinking and ultimately linear perception and logic. As a result, we now experience ourselves as independent, separated from the living network. We therefore attempt to protect our separated self from the rest of the universe. Linear thinking ends up being self-defensive, self-protecting, and therefore sensitive to violent events and negative news.

The latest neuroscience research indicates that, as a defense mechanism, our brain shuts off extraneous sensory neurons in order to devote full attention to what is moving or changing. This mechanism, along with the power law distribution principle shaped our linear logic in such a way as to focus only on the dominant causes and to ignore the seemingly insignificant web of factors that contribute to any given event. The result is that we overlook the randomness that is a part of the real world and reduce it to orderly and linear events which is reinforced and supported by the stability and order that exist in our immediate surroundings. When we respond to the dominant element and get the desired result, it reinforces our belief in the linear model. Through the process of modeling the world in our mind, we notice that there is proportionality between the distance from the source and the clarity of what we see or hear. This reinforcement leads us to believe that cause and effect are proportional. This is a very powerful tool to deal with systems that are orderly and stable and perform at equilibrium. These orderly and stable systems are modular can be broken into pieces. Each piece can be analyzed separately and solved, and finally all the separate answers can be recombined, literally added back together, to give the right answer to the problem. In these linear systems, (which our current reductionist science is based on), the whole is exactly equal to the sum of the parts.

But the linearity is an approximation to a nonlinear reality, which by performing at the edge of chaos creates a whole which is greater than the sum of the parts. Order equips the linear logic with predictability, determinism, certainty and a sense of control over outside events. Certainty provides a deterministic tool to make judgments that lead us to abstract belief systems. Since our linear logic is based on the proportionality of cause and effect, the chaos and uncertainty in the nonlinear world highlights the non-proportionality of cause and effect and inconsistency of our linear judgment system, including our values and beliefs and having a sense of control over the events.  Therefore linear logic has a negative attitude toward chaos and change. Also, certainty brings expectation and planning, when our plans don’t manifest and our expectations do not meet, we become obsess with closing door rather than paying attention to so many open doors of opportunities that this so call failure event providing to us.  Linear thinking with its defense mechanisms codes our judgment system with fear, guilt, blame, anger, negativity, violence, hopelessness, and liability management, lowering the quality of information processing in chaotic events and challenges. This indicates the limitations and insufficiency of the linear logic and signifies the necessity of a nonlinear logic and systems thinking to explain the nonlinear world.  It is very important to mention that linear logic, reduction science and its corresponding technologies are incredibly useful tools that enabled us to achieve our current understanding of nonlinear science, the concept of the living universe, nonlinear logic, and even our realizations of its own limitations and liabilities. We use it successfully in all of our routine activities, including communicating this article with its readers.  The main purpose of this article is to unify the linear and nonlinear perception to achieve the ultimate potentials of our creative mind.

Neuropsychologists call linear thinking the “default state of mind.” It is our brain’s automatic mode. According to the brilliant explanations of health psychologist Kelly McGoinigal in her work The Neuroscience of Change, in the default state of mind, we hold a critical opinion about the present. By time traveling in our minds we create an alternative reality, regretting the past and projecting it as a negative liability onto the future. This robs us of being fully aware of and present in the current moment. Worrying about the past or future prevents us from giving full attention to the present, and it hinders our ability to focus our creative brains to manage the challenges. The default state of mind also creates a self-referential identity, or ego, separate from others, which we feel compelled to defend. To this end, we judge others and wonder what they think about us.

On the other hand, nonlinear perception is system thinking that observes the universe as an interconnected, dynamic network of relationships and recognizes how the components of a network interact to give rise to process. It is a holistic logic based on behaviors of nonlinear living networks which all members implement their assets in a manner of cooperation and partnership to achieve the long term goals of the whole network, creating a whole that is greater than the sum of the individual’s assets that is beneficial to all members. Since nonlinear living systems perform at the edge of chaos the non- proportionality of cause and effect create inconsistency in our linear judgment, but provides observant and nonjudgmental quality to nonlinear thinking. Also, nonlinear logic recognizes chaos as a prerequisite to evolve to a higher level of cognitive order and self-organization; it has a positive attitude toward chaos and instability and welcomes changes and challenges. In dealing with change and challenges the main focus would be what can we learn from the current challenge, what is its message and how could we arrange current assets to successfully deal with the challenge rather than focusing on blame and accusations. The perceptional shift from linear to nonlinear is a move from self-assertive to integrative, from rational to intuitive, from reductionist to holistic, and from separation to connectedness. It also shifts our values, from consumption to conservation, from competition to cooperation, from quantity to quality, from domination to partnership, from rigidity to flexibility and from liability to asset management. It also shifts our state of mind, from negativity, blame, anger, revenge, violence and hopelessness to positivity, forgiveness, tolerance, peace and hope. As we shift from linear to nonlinear thinking we gain a greater ability to intuit as well as to process information analytically. Nonlinear thinking provides a hopeful, creative, peaceful, ecologically harmonic framework to deal with a nonlinear, chaotic, digitally integrated world. Nonlinear thinking is state of mind called “mindfulness.” When we are mindful, we experience events with our senses rather than our judgments. We are fully aware of the present moment, it’s a creative mode where we are selfless, totally connected to the living universe’s spirit, knowledge, and power (athletes call it the zone), it is highly possible that this state of mind activates the part of our brain that all metaphysical experiences of our ancestors have been stored, that is why most of nonlinear scientist have certain degree of spiritual awareness.

When we investigate how the domination of linear logic functions in the human body, we gain deeper insight into the behavior of humans. These insights extend to our social and environmental activities as well. In terms of power, control, and consumption, our body follows the principle of power law distribution. Our brain weighs just 2.5 percent of the weight of our body, but it has complete control over the entire body. It consumes more energy per gram per second to maintain itself than any other organ in our body. The self-assertive behavior that accompanies linear thinking is also seen in the brain’s relationship to other parts of our integrated body network. As a result of linear logic, instead of holistic and integrated behavior, our brain orients toward entertainment, habits, and expectation in the interest of short-term, selfish gain. In fact, the greed that marks our society begins with our brains’ linear perception. Due to that worldview, the brain often maintains and entertains itself at the expense of the rest of the body. We consume more than we need to satisfy our brains’ short-term desires, and we suffer the physical and financial consequences later. Linear perception not only separates us from the living universe, it also illusively separates our brain from the rest of our body’s network. Our brain can be so shortsighted that it does not realize that its own long-term sustainability, that of the brain itself, is connected to the wellbeing of the body’s entire network.

The self-assertive nature of linear thinking shifts the brain’s behavior from partnership with the body’s network toward domination. Instead of cooperating and utilizing asset management with the whole network to achieve optimum synergy, it competes to satisfy its short-term desire and employs liability management. In default mode, the brain dominates not just the body network but also exhibits the same tendency toward other members of the web of life, including plants, animals, the Earth itself, and even other humans. We divide these others into genders, races, nations and different religions. We focus mostly on differences, rather than recognizing the commonality. For example a reader may agree with 95 percent and disagree only with 5 percent of the materials and conclusions of this article, but our linear logic would focus and magnifies that difference in a level to disregard the validity of the whole article rather than synchronizing on the agreeable points and allowing further discussions to clear the remaining 5 percent.

In the global political stage we observe the same attitude too, Arabs and Israelis, are from the same Semite tribes. They share the same mythology. They believe in the same god and that they descended from the same father, Abraham. They are also fortunate enough to live in a region with a plethora of spiritual and historic places, where the three major, monotheistic religions began. They live on the beautiful Mediterranean coast. They have advanced societies that utilize agriculture and technology to face natural challenges like drought and rapid climate changes. They have all kinds of natural and human resources, a cultural tradition of hospitality, and wonderful music. All of these assets could create a booming business in spiritual tourism, if the region had a reputation for a peace. Increased tourism could allow Arabs and Israelis alike to live with prosperity, hope, and peace, which is the fervent wish of most people. Shifting the logic from linear, which emphasizes differences and causes violence and instability, to nonlinear, which emphasizes commonality and asset management would bring peace and coexistence. It would diffuse the violent approach of the minority who use the conflict as a justification to continue violence and bring hope to the younger generation.

In the digital era

We have designed our social and environmental activities on the basis of a linear perception that reflects self-assertive, short-term oriented, dominating and, controlling values. We divide the members of the human network into different Individuals, nations, religions and cultures, all of them separated from Gaia, the living planet and the whole universe. We do this for individual, short-term gains, while nonlinear perception allows us to live holistically, as a piece of the web of life. We are now living in a globally interconnected digital world, since we  process our activities (social, political, economics, and environmental) through the nonlinear network of the Internet these activities have become interconnected, interdependent,  nonlinear, with a tendency toward chaos and instability with self-organizing capability, therefore requiring holistic approaches to challenges. This structural shift has created a dissonance between our traditionally linear perception and the non-linear structure of our global activities where we now need to shift our linear logic, which has a negative attitude toward change, to a non-linear logic which welcomes change.

Nonlinear thinking, philosophy and spirituality

Most spiritual beliefs and experiences indicate a higher spirit or intelligence in the universe. Humans have always sought to understand this higher power, intelligence, and spirit. If we recognize that the universe is alive, it is not too much of a stretch to acknowledge that other species and even solar systems and galaxies are alive and have valid intelligence and spirit. We can see that all of the spirit and intelligence contained in other humans, beavers, milkweed, dung beetles, Jupiter, and the Milky Way synchronize to provide a nonlinear network of intelligence and spirit that is greater than a simple tallying of each element’s intelligence and spirit. With such a higher intelligent and sprit, the living universe guides the whole network and has a dynamic relationship with each component. The holistic nature of nonlinear perception does not consider the higher spirit and intelligence of the living universe as a separate entity. Rather, it is a result of and is an inseparable part of the system itself, so creation is a perpetual process of self-creation with no central command.

By acknowledging this higher intelligence and spirit of the living universe as guidance, we can restore the hope that has faded in recent centuries due to a loss of spirituality, a loss of faith in religious beliefs, and pessimistic predictions of entropy and environmental impacts accelerated by the modern world. We can unify physics and metaphysics in a hopeful and dynamic form. Having faith in the universe and in Earth’s greater intelligence is a hopeful, positive approach to chaotic events in our rapidly changing world.

Nonlinear thinking, with its lack of expectations and nonjudgmental characteristics, demonstrates unconditional love as its ethical value and guiding principle. It is the most reliable benchmark for other ethical values because it satisfies the values of any living system. These include cooperation, partnership, nonjudgmental and no expectations. These ethical values are not anthropocentric; they come from observing the behaviors of other living ecosystems. For example, the Earth gives us a smooth ride around the solar system every 365 days, providing us with everything we need. It does this with no expectation regarding how we treat her back. The same is true of the sun and of animals such as dogs.  After all most of spiritual, artistic, and near death experiences have indicated that when we are selfless and totally connected with the living universe we feel joy, peace and love. Unconditional love is a most enjoyable, pleasant, creative human experience and is the pinnacle of the emotional part of the cognition process. “In love, one and one are more” (Jean Paul Sarter). On the other hand, thinking linearly in terms of blame hinders our ability to forgive, which is an inherent part of unconditional love.

After all, most spiritual beliefs hold that the fabric of the universe is made of love and that the primary duty of human beings is to recognize and manifest this concept as the ultimate goal of the spiritual journey. In his book The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell has shown that most mythical stories of human beings show that the main purpose of creation is the manifestation of unconditional love. In Christianity, for example, these values found their physical embodiment in Jesus Christ’s experience and his core beliefs.

The mythology of Sufism also states that the creator is love and wants to manifest itself in physical form. The creator made angels, but they could not feel and suffer the pain that accompanies love. So it then chose human beings, which are capable of feeling and suffering pain, to manifest this ultimate goal of creation. This mythological imagination and teaching ultimately embodies itself in a great number of Sufis’ personal life experiences. The values were set down in the poetry of love, inspired by the personal experiences of Rumi, a renowned poet born in 1207, and, a century later, in the work of Hafez, a Persian poet who wrote about love and spirit.

 

Through love all that is bitter will sweeten.

Through Love all that is copper will be gold.

Through love all dregs will turn to purest wine.

Through Love all pain will turn to medicine.

Through love the dead will all become alive.

Through love the King will turn into a slave!

• Rumi

 

Our brain is a self-organizing system

Our brain, like any living system, is a self-organizing cognitive open system based on feedback, which seeks its optimum hidden potential. As we become passionate and nonjudgmental observers of our thoughts, feelings, and actions, we create positive feedback that helps the self-organizing process achieve its universal potentials. The effectiveness of this feedback is directly related to the quality of our observations. Meanwhile the qualities of observations are directly related to the long-term goals and the values that derive from those goals. When we set our goals to achieve the spirit and intelligence of the living universe and start observing our thoughts, words, feelings, and actions with the values of the living system (which we have defined earlier), our observations become nonjudgmental, accepting and passionate toward our and others thoughts and actions. As we observe our brain function with this quality of feedback, which are flexible, adoptable, and, holistic, we allow our brains to start the self-organizing process to participate holistically in our body network to achieve its ultimate capability. The latest research of integral visionary Terry Patten indicates that our heart as a cognitive living system receives and process information intuitionally. Our Body as a living network consists of different cognitive living organs with their own intelligence. Holistic participation of our brain will sync all of our organs to create a higher intelligence that is greater than sum of individuals and is intuitionally connected with the living universe. In this way, we open ourselves to the network of life, synchronizing with and receiving information intuitively from the living universe. The latest research in neuropsychology indicates that when we set our deepest aspirations to be in harmony with the true nature of the living universe, our brain will respond positively and start manifesting it in reality. This phenomenon is consistent with the Vow concept in wisdom traditions.

When our goals and values are consistent with the behavioral patterns of the living universe and by living by those principles, we create a dynamic relationship with the universe based upon its own essential behaviors. We are in tune with the universe. In this way, our will and our destiny become unified and our creativity based on unconditional love will create a heaven on Earth.

As ancient traditions realized, our imagination, thought, and words are sacred and magical, and the living universe acts as a mirror, reflecting and responding dynamically to them. We can individually or collectively shape the future by focusing on values that are harmonic with the behavior of living systems. Earth as a living system is communicating and facilitating this process too.

When we consider the human network as an interconnected and inseparable sub-network of the universal network there is a dynamic relationship among the whole living network. As we discussed earlier the living universe as a larger network carries a higher intelligence than the network of human intelligence, therefore, the living universe is able to provide many types of signals through our dreams and in our daily connections to further connect us. We are witnessing rapid environmental awareness among humans and amazing spiritual personal experiences among neuroscientists, such as Jill Taylors’s My Stroke of Insight or Eben Alexander’s near-death experience. Earth as a living system is also communicating and facilitating this process, which will lead to a transformation of human consciousness.

We may not be able to predict when or how this transformation in our conscious will take place, but nonlinear perception itself could help to hasten this emerging awareness. In the digital era as our activities become nonlinear, our linear approaches to the upcoming challenges become inconsistent and counter-productive, despite this, at the edge of chaos the self-organization process will still start and the degree of separation among the networked components will be decreased, resulting in higher connectivity among the members who have the closest thresholds.

When we consider human intelligence as a self–organizing cognitive living network, spiritual thinkers, who have a scientific background, along with system thinkers with spiritual awareness and a holistic view of the universe, are the sub networks that have the closest threshold to the emerging nonlinear concept. If these individual’s join into a network together and share their wealth of knowledge and experience with each other, they would create an intelligence network, which is greater than sum of their individual knowledge. They could then simplify and publicize the nonlinear perception and its powerful, universal, and harmonic applications among their networks, which would create waves of hopeful thoughts and actions in line with the behaviors of the living universe. The living universe would in turn magnify these waves and reflect them back. As more people become aware of the nonlinear concept, eventually the process will reach a critical mass and a new popular concept will spontaneously emerge.

Conclusion

The Digital era is the end of the current cycle of cognitive process of elusive mental separation and marks the start of the reunion of human beings with the living universe. In this process our brain becomes humble enough to acknowledge that the idea of a separated and independent self is only an illusion, and realizes that  its self-existence, long term health and functionality requires a sustainable relationship  based on cooperation and partnership with its own body, other humans, earth and the entire universe.

The nonlinear theory of the living universe that I have presented in this essay and the resulting concepts are a result and a synthesis of the writings, teachings, and theories from some of the most brilliant, revolutionary and important thinkers in human history. The theory is simply the recognition of a series of connections between their various discoveries and the potential significance and applications that these connections may have.  In order to realize the potential of the concepts that has been explored in this essay we need to create a collaboration of scientists, scholars, philosophers, students and all interested humans to build upon and communicate the ideas. By working together with a spirit of nonjudgmental cooperation and partnership we can harness this opportunity to align ourselves with the universe and insure the continued survival, sustainability, progress and prosperity of humanity.

Since in the digital world all of our activities are interconnected and inseparable with self-organizing potential it requires a unified solution that satisfies all of our economic, political and environmental challenges. Fortunately, nonlinear thinking has such a capability that I would like to share with readers in my next article.