Technology, Power & the Myth of Progress Are we accelerating into rebirth—or just spinning faster? Focus: Techno-acceleration and cultural dysregulation Surveillance, AI, algorithmic incentives, and digital tribalism The myth of progress: linear vs. cyclical views of development Real technological wisdom = adaptive tools, not addictive toys Decentralized tech for regeneration: open-source, crypto, mesh networks Optional …
Author Archives: Jay Downes
Rebuilding Culture & Community
Rebuilding Culture & Community You can’t rebuild the world—but you can rebuild your street. Focus: What breaks when meaning breaks: trust, tradition, cohesion The role of localism, mutual aid, place-based wisdom Indigenous and ancestral blueprints for community resilience The function of ritual, story, and shared myth in renewal Tools for real-world rebuilding (urban gardens, makerspaces, …
Utopia, Dystopia, and the False Binary
Utopia, Dystopia, and the False Binary Two illusions about the future—both missing complexity. Focus: The dangers of techno-utopia and fear-based dystopia Black Mirror vs. Star Trek: competing futures of collective imagination How fiction shapes policy and belief (narrative power) Realism: localized adaptive systems over grand idealism Collapse as bifurcation, not binary: multiple futures unfolding Optional …
Death is Not the End
Death is Not the End Renaissance as Rebirth From collapse comes compost. Focus: Historical rebirth cycles (Renaissance, Meiji Restoration, Harlem, etc.) How breakdown breeds innovation, art, and new paradigms Cultural death as a clearing: the space for spiritual and civic renewal Individual roles in mass renewal (mythological/archetypal context) What survives collapse: myth, memory, music, and …
Collapse & Complexity
Collapse & Complexity Entropy isn’t just biological—it’s civilizational. Focus: Systems theory meets collapse theory (Tainter, Greer, Diamond, Turchin) Entropy in cultural, ecological, and institutional systems The role of overshoot, fragility, centralization, and resource depletion Psychological effects of collapse (pre-traumatic stress, societal grief) Signs we’re already inside collapse—not waiting for it Optional Cheatsheet: “Societal Collapse 101: …
Rebuilding Real Spirituality
Rebuilding Real Spirituality Embodied, Honest, and Earthbound Spirituality that integrates, not escapes. Focus: Spirituality as pattern recognition, not performance Earth-based traditions, Indigenous wisdom, and nervous system truth Disciplines over downloads: breathwork, silence, devotion The sacredness of limits, labor, grief, and conflict Becoming a conduit, not a brand Optional Cheatsheet: “Rebranded Spirituality: Embodied, Integrated, Real”
Cult Dynamics & Charisma Addiction
Cult Dynamics & Charisma Addiction When “spiritual community” is just social control in robes. Focus: Red flags: manipulation, hierarchy, identity erasure, false certainty The allure of belonging: why even smart people fall into cults The role of trauma bonding and unresolved parent wounds Leader worship vs. personal sovereignty Deprogramming tools and self-checks Optional Cheatsheet: “So, …
Psychedelics & Ego Dissolution
Psychedelics & Ego Dissolution Is your awakening real—or are you just chemically unburdened? Focus: The science and mythology of ego death 5-MeO-DMT, psilocybin, ayahuasca: what they do neurologically Psychedelics as entropy amplifiers—not wisdom-makers Pitfalls of overuse, identity loss, delusional inflation When ego death becomes spiritual escapism Optional Cheatsheet: “Ego Dissolution & Psychedelics: A Guide to …
Mystical Experiences & the Nervous System
Mystical Experiences & the Nervous System Not everything that feels divine is divine. Sometimes it’s a limbic loop. Focus: Breakdown vs. breakthrough: how mystical states arise (bio/psycho/chemical) Dysregulated states interpreted as “downloads” Breathwork, fasting, dissociation, and hypervigilance as access points Integration vs. glorification of non-ordinary states How to ground insight into lived transformation Optional Cheatsheet: …
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The Trap of Spiritual Bypassing
The Trap of Spiritual Bypassing When “light” becomes a way to avoid the dark. Focus: Escaping real-world problems through “higher vibrations” Avoiding trauma integration, shadow work, or personal accountability Toxic positivity, law of attraction extremes, manifestation addiction When breathwork, mantras, and rituals become a veil over wounds The physiological consequences of emotional repression Optional Cheatsheet: …