Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

Im pretty new to this site, and I was ranting in a blog and thought “where is the counterculture of today”

I figure the beats, hippies, mods, punks, and several other countercultures have been claimed by the past.

However, for the amount of complaining I do about modern culture in today's society, we need a rebellion of our own.

So, I want to know…..
 

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

Well I never quite finished my thought.
What i want to know is…
      A. WHO is with me?
and
      B. What is it that YOU want to stand for?

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

How about a pro-culture rather than a counter culture?
This for me would mean we could build upon improving the current culture without the need for opposition.

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

Just scanning the different threads, wondering how to start on Zaadz and this one caught my eye. Good question - what about a Counterculture for today?

Mia's mention of the counter cultures of the past got me going since she said “mods” - and funnily enough, I was a mod in the Sixties (not that it was exactly countercultural, more reactive to be honest, as I identified totally with the Who and ‘My Generation' and tore around the streets with my mates on our Lambrettas and Vespas being sort of obstreperous).

And later I was a hippy and I sincerely tried to help create a counterculture. I really thought the old world would implode with the advent of “All you need is Love”. I lived in intentional spiritual communities, attempted as much as possible to live a life of awareness, go back to the land, “to be closer to spirit.” And it was all a fascinating adventure and exploration, though in the end it only had very limited success. But the fire to create something different has never left me.

Since those days, I've come back around to very consciously trying to create a different and new culture again. Shanti says ‘pro-culture': which makes sense as a way to say that what we're trying to do is not merely a reaction or rebellion against something, which will tend to be within a limited framework.

I'm a long term student of Andrew Cohen, the founder of WIE, and I live again in an intentional spiritual community dedicated to attempting to create a new culture. I see what I'm involved in now, as an evolutionary culture, since I don't know what the future culture is going to look like. But I know it's up to me and everyone else who cares about this extraordinary vast evolutionary unfolding that we call “Life”, to do our damnedest to create a new culture and consciousness.

            Of course, living (physically) in communities is just one way to do this. And I wonder what is possible through Zaadz? Certainly consciousness is not local and physical proximity is no limitation to consciousness.

Also, I think the basis of a new culture is how one person relates to another person. What is the quality of authenticity in my relating to you and vice versa? Because I really believe that human relationship is the heart of what culture is about. And that's really in my/your/our hands. It wouldn't take that many people to create the embryonic beginnings of a different culture.

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

Hi Chris,

It is really interesting topic to discuss - culture. I used to think of culture always as “out there”, not something that I expressed myself. In fact, for a while, I was convinced that America basically didn't have a culture, which reflected the fact that I thought real cultures were the old traditions that materialism and post modernity in general killed. But if culture is defined by how humans relate to each other, or even the collective knowledge and conditioning we are part of, then we must never be absent culture, right? Or is the felt lack do to our individualism and lack of connection with others. If we spend most of our time in “me-worlds”, are we really even having any meaningful engagement with other people?

It is easy for me to say, yes I think we need a new culture, but doesn't that mean I think that the way I connect, communicate and develop with others needs to change too? If I create culture, a new culture has to start with me, (or us) … wow. I think that is why I was struck by your question, “What is the quality of authenticity in my relating to you and vice versa?”

It is interesting that the word “culture” means both the accumulated stuff of society as well as the cultivation of something (whether it be plants or mind or spirit). I think the culture in the verb sense is almost more accurate to describe this new culture; meaning that it seems like we are culturing culture. Does that make any sense?

Christiana

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

The thing that really strikes me about this conversation is that if culture is created between two people (one of them being ME) then suddenly I am not waiting for culture to change. It is literally up to me to change so that culture can change. In this, Culture collapses down into each moment of each of my interactions with people around me. This understanding takes away the idea that for the world to be different, everyone else has to get it together. Sure, there are lots of people who need to evolve, but the important thing here is that I don't have to wait for anything like that to occur in order to take full responisiblity for the world that we are creating now. That's a radical stand–a truly radical stand because it is taking complete responsiblity for myself in the context of wanting to change culture, change society, and that there is literally nothing to wait for and that I can have a huge affect. Even just acknolwedging that we are responsible for creating this world is a gigantic leap in a time where usually we feel totally victimized by what is happening in the world at large.

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

What you are saying about culture is fascinating. I like Christiana's term ‘culturing culture'. You've run with what I was saying. Amazing how implicating (and empowering and liberating too) it gets when we look closely and break down what is really meant by ‘culture'.

 No one exists in isolation and so we are all knowingly or unwittingly creating the culture that we share together all the time.  As you say, it's up to me and you right now and the quality of our interactions is creating some sort of culture all the time. It gives infinitely more weight to our actions to become conscious of this fact and then to chose to start to create a new and more deeply authentic culture. It both makes my own actions - words and deeds - more important, and simultaneously it takes the emphasis off ‘me' and onto the bigger purpose of creating a new future together.

            As I'm typing this, I'm conscious how utterly immediate this all is - we're not really blogging “about this”; it's not a dummy run or practice for real life. If I am being authentic and sincerely inquiring, and you are too, then we're actually engaged in creating a deeper culture right now.

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

Dear Laura,

I think we can make a tremendous difference today and every day, yes! A good beginning is being able to recognize what the culture we live in is, good and bad. As fish in the “water” that is our culture, as someone earlier pointed out, we begin by not even perceiving we have a culture. We can see others' but not our own.

Once we begin, we continue to explore the depths of the culture. As we grow up in our own lives, we can begin by our lives, choices and words to speak prophetically of another approach to life that is truly pro-life, not in a narrow sense, but in a way that embraces living joyfully and eagerly. A way that is not sucked into the industrial-military-scientific complex, not seduced by consumerism to buy buy buy until we're heavily indebted or bankrupt. A way of peace and joy…

Namaste,

Nicole

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

I think it is really interesting to think about something like what you call “pro-culture,” but don't you think that in a sense that is allready happening?
I mean the diffusion of different cultures and beliefs are continuously adding to each other creating an almost never ending pro-culture feeling. The only problem is that there is opposition to that. Change evokes fear, for example, almost every class of immigrants into America are historically discriminated against, and it takes generations for their additions too American culture to be seen in society. Looking at past attempts, adding to a culture is almost impossible if you do not have a group that is looking for a change.
I guess what i think of as a counter-culture would be the sect of popular culture that takes a pro-culture stance to a radical extreeme. I'm not sure.

I think your pro-culture idea is really interesting; I have never thought of it that way before.

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

Yes I do think it already happening.

Many individual pockets around this planet and this is a nice place to connect.

I also live in an intentional community and can agree that this is great place to work at producing real change in the way we relate to each other on a everyday human level. This is where we can make a difference.

There are two things that for me make the community I live in special, that may be seen as “radical” in conventional mainstream society.

Everyone who stays here eats a vegan diet and everyone is asked to participate in the daily meditation program here with two hours silent meditation a day. This combination along with the accumulated positive energy field here creates a supportive space where it is easy to be sensitive to the deep connection between us all.  

Modern living has many great things to offer (such as internet), but it is up to us as individuals to really set the priority for our lives. Creating healthy and sustainable community is very interesting and enjoyable for me.

With Love
Shanti

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

INDEED. I agree with you - how about a pro-culture?

It's better to be for something than to be against something.

If you are against something, you are still in that field of activity of what you don't want - why focus on what you don't want? So, if you are anti-war, be pro-peace.
Indeed, Mother Theresa said it best: “I will never be at an anti-war rally. If you have a peace rally, invite me.”

If you are anti-hunger, be pro-people having enough to eat.
If you are anti-poverty, be pro-wealth
If you are anti-drugs, be pro-health.

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

I have my community at the Unity Church I attend. It has evolved into a place that evokes a feeling of home to people who come there. We accept people as they are, giving them a place to follow their spiritual path. We are growing fast. We move to a larger space next month.

We are trying to transform the world. We have started a movement to involve 1% of the local population in regular meditation practice. The http://whenonepercent.org website documents the research that shows the transformative effects of this.

The Cultural Creatives have focused on being the change they want in the world. There are more of them than most suspect. They have the buddha and the dharma part going for them. The sangha is the third piece, a place where we can evolve together. It is great to have Zaadz here. So much sharing going on. There are other's in our local geographies searching for a place to share themselves. Be courageous and find connections in the unexpected places close to home. Who would have thought I would attend church again after 30 years of avoiding it. There is a place for us.

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

I would suppose it is safe to say that counter culture
never really went away - it is alive and well today…
the youth today have their raves, drug induced trance
connections with something akin to mystical awakenings
typically thrown off on to the beat generation basic
humanistic mentality that if it feels good then do it
you only live once in the moment of bliss closely
connected with the concept of the vastly popular
magickal axiom 'Do what thy wilt and harm no one'
gives quite a lot of leeway along the lines of basic
debauncery mistaken for illumination….
then too least we forget the hippies never really went
away either, the tradition of 'Woodstock' carries on in
annual precision year after year the truest form of
counter culture there is next to the all to slick version
of commercial rebellion known as 'Burning Man'
the so called tribal consciousness revolution
plugged in and turned on in the strongest tradition
of Timothy Leary extraterrestrial in origin little
leprechauns from the seveth dimension come
to awaken humanity for the next great 'shift', yep…
why not attend your local Rainbow Gathering
coming to hidden forest near you soon…. talk
about total freedom this is Dead Head utopia
old and young hippies running wild and free
in complete and total anarchy… clothing optional

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

Ah… Culture… In Russian, to be “cultural” means to be educated, well-mannered, creative. It's a different meaning in English. I think culture is like class. We don't need to cultivate another class, create a new identity.

We don't need more separation. We need unity. Not the unity of ideas, or a global culture, classlesness. We need unity of spirit. Tolerance, understanding, mutual respect.

Why make a new culture if we can be Muslims and love Christians, if we can be Christians and love Buddhists, if we can be black and love white? When a culture starts that is pro-somethng, it usually means by default that it is against something else. Peace culture is against war. Green is against big business. Vegan is against meat. Why not just let go of against and embrace it all as a part of us, of what Is?..

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

That was very nicely said Zet White. What use to be a melting
pot of cultures now seems a country of extremes and wanting
excess. In the truest since all dualities are best transcended.

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

I do not think anywhere has been a “melting pot” of cultures. If you actually look at history there has always been extreems and excess.

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

I just watched a BBC movie on Global Dimming (a dark twin brother of global warming) and just wanted to leave a little remark on this page in connection to that.

When climate changes, everything will change. All countries will try to close borders and protect themselves. Protect their culture, and let billions die. Think of this honestly… If tomorrow your country had to face millions of immigrants from starving and flooded areas of the world, would you allow it?

Until there is a fundamental change in global mentality, suffering will continue and, I fear, escalate. Are people prepared to leave their wealth and security behind and walk to different, safer, areas? Are they willing to share the increasing fertility of their land with those striving of hunger? I know our governments aren't. And I know that many people aren't, too. What about us, here on Zaadz, are we any different?

Can we really change the world?..

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

I AM WITH YOU

but as i don't know what culture is, mine is not Counterculture and
what i do know though is truth can not be without  complete revolt

etsaman
amaysoy

Re: Lets Begin a Counterculture for today

Very good Zet.  Your mind is where it needs to be. just keep on keeping on!

Blessings and Peace