Paradigm shifting is a traveler’s adventure. And as all seasoned travelers will agree, maps are indispensable. Lots and lots of maps guiding us through innumerable worlds and dimensions explored by billions of people over hundreds of thousands of years.
Science put simply, is a systematic pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the world around and within us and of reality itself. Quality scientific knowledge, yielding critical, practical applications, has been prized and cultivated for thousands of years, by every culture in the world. But surprising to many, these pursuits rely on widely diverse approaches, exploring vastly different dimensions of reality with each culture developing different models and maps reflecting their particular focus and priorities.
Some cultures focused on inner life using primarily spiritual practices such as meditation, dreaming and clairvoyance along with profound intellectual work (Tibetan Buddhists). Some were more interested in developing a loving and respectful relationship with Nature, communicating regularly with nature spirits and other inhabitants of subtle levels using Shamanic practices to attain altered, higher states of consciousness (Indigenous Peoples). Others explored the patterns and processes of both humans and the natural world by living in retreat in caves for literally years at a time without any influences aside from Nature herself, becoming aware of and cataloging inner and outer experiences in great detail (Chinese Taoists). The list goes ever on …
Each one of these scientific pursuits resulted in a unique and complementary contribution to the greater body of human knowledge. Each one provides a map & compass of a specific and unique territory used as a frame of reference making it possible for people to make sense of the world and to make it possible to actually live in the world.
The essence of each of these maps, the seed, is the culture’s paradigm directing the design and development of everything. And as we will see later in this series, this is happening both internally in our bodyminds and externally in our everyday world.
And like all maps, each one of them has flaws, blind spots and is incomplete. One map of a town might show all the bicycle routes, another, historical places of interest, still another museums, bookstores and movie theaters. Each map is useful – and accurate – depending on your intent. But the most complete map, the most accurate picture, can only be seen when all the maps are integrated. This is why wisdom dictates that we honor other’s view while simultaneously respecting our own. Paradigm shifting does not mean abandoning our own, or any other view, but rather, developing the ability to shift from one paradigm to any other – at will – depending on what we want to do or explore. For example, the paradigm of Western Science/Medicine literally gave birth to the art of surgery by mapping the details and mechanics of the material world. But nothing fails us so completely when we seek to recover from surgery. For this, Naturopathic Medicines such as Chinese Medicine mapped the patterns on the subtle levels and dimensions of our world revealing the processes and potential practices for healing itself.
A word to the wise before we proceed …
While shifting out of our current paradigm does not mean abandoning it, it does mean no longer being limited and confined by it. Western Science is a welcome contribution to world knowledge, but we should not be trapped inside this one view, locked out and disrespectful of the rest of the world community and to all the realities they have revealed.
To put it simply – we are in paradigm prison.
Our culture, like no other, has declared a monopoly on maps of reality while simultaneously negating and trashing all others. It negates others by maligning and discrediting them through its own internal logic; through a competition mentality where the one and only “winner” is Western Science; and through repressive legal and financial restraints such as making certain types of medicine and science illegal. Ultimately, it negates the existence of anything that is not found on its so-called one and only map – if it’s not there, the logic goes, it simply does not exist.
Somehow, it has been decided that all other paradigms, while they might provide some useful information worthy of exploiting, are immature, naive, primitive, superstitious, undeveloped, delusional, outdated, foolish, etc., leaving Western scientists alone to determine whether or not something is real or valid or worthwhile. It is also worth considering our reluctance to appreciate and respect the maps and paradigms of other cultures is racist at its core. Why is it that we think the only viable paradigm is one authored by white, male, wealthy, Christian Europeans? This author staunchly disagrees. believing instead that each and every pursuit of truth, around the globe, throughout all of history, has unveiled a critical piece of the infinite field of reality.
So, our most daunting challenge is to understand that we are “inside” a paradigm, considered to be the one and only viable paradigm and to become aware of the prejudice, bias and misconceptions this idea creates. Without this understanding, these preconceptions will stop us at every turn, as we consciously or unconsciously reject entire bodies of knowledge, shutting down any and all explorations. But, if we open our hearts and minds and move from isolating ourselves and holding ourselves above other cultures to appreciating and integrating with them, we move from incomplete maps to an expanded and enlightened view of reality itself. So while we want to honor and continue to reap the benefits of our current view, we must at all costs, break out of the monopoly-prison status it now holds.
Different culture/different focus:
four examples …
so many more and so much more to know about each one!
As you read through the examples below, I suggest becoming aware of reactions to the ideas presented. Each example presents a tiny hint of an entire body of knowledge concerning things not seen on our maps, but clear as day on others. Tibetan Buddhists, for example, have a great facility in astral and dream travel. Does this seem possible or does it seem ridiculous in the face of our own ideas? On our map, the “astral” does not even exist. This process is not only the beginning of understanding other paradigms but also seeing our own (benefits and limitations both) more clearly. There can be no shifting without recognizing where we are (which map we are using) and where we are going (new maps & new territories).
Tibetan Buddhism, which treasures spirituality above all else, developed a science designed to deeply explore dimensions of consciousness and levels of existence. This focus led to practical and intellectual understandings of non-material dimensions, spiritual practices, healing approaches/techniques for both the body and the HeartMind, dream fluency, astral travel and communication, all stages and processes of death and dying including conscious death and predetermined reincarnation … and a great deal more. Their meditation practices alone enjoy deep respect in the greater, worldwide community for their skillful design and their effectiveness in furthering mental health and conscious evolution.
Chinese Science/Chinese Medicine explored the nature of energy and the energy of Nature. Thousands of years of efforts yielded an entire medical system alive and well today using detailed energetic maps of both people and planet along with a nearly infinite range of practical techniques and applications. One of the prize discoveries is the understanding of the mutually reflective/reciprocal relationship between humans and the natural world with a mountain of skillful techniques to align and harmonize the two to maintain health, increase longevity and enhance possibilities for transcendent experiences. Today, CM is used by millions and millions of people for everything from indigestion to mind-body integration.
Senoi Indians of Malaysia put their focus on dreams and subtle levels of consciousness. Their devotions led to an extraordinary system of communal and personal mental health practices, the crown jewel of which was a non-violent society. Dreams were used to dive deep and transform repressed and “unwanted” feelings into boundless creativity. My personal favorite for young people was dream recall/sharing at the breakfast table with adults and children alike to help them own, and eliminate shame for any feelings, along with waking encounters with others, to express and heal any conflicts revealed in the dreams. My favorite for the grown-ups concerns the importance of monogamy and loyalty which rank high on the tribe’s list of morals. Instead of asking people to repress their sexual feelings for other than their spouse, individuals were encouraged and trained to dream, at will, of sexual encounters with their forbidden lovers. After experiencing full satisfaction in the dream, the person is guided to ask their dream lover for a gift to bring back to the community which would give the community as much pleasure as the dream had given them. Instead of infidelity leading to shame, repression, guilt and divorce, this discovery/invention opened the portals of creativity and the dreamer did indeed receive gifts of poetry, inventions and art for the benefit and pleasure of all – fidelity and lifetime unions being the most precious benefit of all.
Western Science/Western Medicine took a serious look at the mechanics of the material world. This choice, which grew out of the idea that what was accessible to the five senses was singularly important, yielded such wonders as technology, surgery, dentistry, emergency medicine and the unbelievably helpful realm of prosthetics: eyeglasses, hearing aids, prosthetic limbs, false teeth, etc.
Worshipping at the Altar of Diversity …
As we can begin to see, even with these few fragments, every culture, every wisdom teaching, every scientific pursuit reveals a unique world within our world; a unique dimension of reality worthy of investigation and appreciation; a dimension filled with knowledge, both practical and beautiful, furthering our understanding of everything from the grandeur of the cosmos to the day to day living on planet earth. It is the Integration & Synergy of this Diversity wherein our salvation lies.
The story of the Elephant in the Dark, which appears n different versions all over the world, speaks simply and eloquently of this. Here is one version …
Elephant in the Dark
by Rumi, Beloved Sufi Mystic & Poet
(translated by Coleman Barks)
Some Hindus have an elephant to show. No one here has ever seen an elephant. They bring it at night to a dark room.
One by one, we go in the dark and come out saying how we experience the animal.
One of us happens to touch the trunk.
“A water-pipe kind of creature.”
Another, the ear. “A very strong, always moving back and forth, fan-animal.”
Another, the leg. “I find it still, like a column on a temple.”
Another touches the curved back. “A leathery throne.”
Another, the cleverest, feels the tusk. “A rounded sword made of porcelain.”
He’s proud of his description.
Each of us touches one place
and understands the whole in that way.
The palm and the fingers feeling in the dark are how the senses explore the reality of the elephant.
If each of us held a candle there, and if we went in together, we could see it.
The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts …
Nature herself proclaims diversity as the single most fundamental feature of our world. We have only to notice the mind-boggling variety of beings on earth: gazillions of animals, vegetables and minerals (to use a Western Science model) with billions of variations within each category and within each many variations as well. How many different flowers are there? Roses alone appear in hundreds of different colors, sizes and shapes, not to mention each and every bush having its own story to tell.
And yet with all these variations and diversity of form, Nature does quite well as she integrates and synergizes them creating the dynamic, powerful, fully harmonized magnificence we call Life – a phenomenon so much greater than any one or even the sum total of its infinite number of parts.
Integration & Synergy of Diversity …
Integration means more than just tolerating other cultures though; it means more than reading a book about them. Integration includes intimacy. It means opening to others with a willingness to explore and directly experience another’s world, to walk in another’s shoes. It means integrating and using the maps and knowledge developed by others to inform our lives, our creations, our view of reality.
When Buddhism came to Tibet, there was already an indigenous people living there – the Bön People. The two traditions could not have been more different from each other. Buddhism – quiet, intellectual, contemplative, simple. Bön – Shamanic, colorful, altered states, sacred rituals with music and dancing … Decades after the two met, opened to each other and truly integrated with each other, a new and never seen before religious/cultural form appeared – Tibetan Buddhism – with clear influences from both. These two were so intimately and deeply integrated that when I questioned a visiting Monk about the origin of a specific practice – was it Buddhist or Bön? he replied, “No one knows anymore, no one is concerned with this. The best of both have come together elevating and enhancing each other.”
Nature shows us at every turn that this is her way. The integration and synergy of egg and sperm – as different as two things can be, creates new life, an entirely new human being. Could it be any clearer?
the Integration & Synergy of Diversity gives birth to an all-new, all-inclusive paradigm …
Nor does shifting mean that any one paradigm should reign over others. Rather, it is possible to move to a paradigm that is able to “hold” all the others creating an intellectual commons; a vast, open field of cross-cultural models, maps and paradigms, each one opening the door to a different dimension of reality. A commons where all the world’s paradigms can be seen, appreciated and used in context; creating freedom and fertile ground for new ones to come into being. An all-inclusive, all-embracing paradigm which also makes it intellectually safe to fully immerse into a given model, remaining mindful that it is only one of many, and always able to shift to another or return to the expanded view of the commons.
As we travel through the ins and outs of paradigms, we will see, little by little, both the general sense and the intricate details of this new paradigm. And as we begin to “see” this new paradigm and the worlds it reveals, we simultaneously will find ourselves in an expanded field of consciousness with infinite inner and outer worlds and dimensions to explore. Freedom!
LNL 