Resistance is NOT Futile

We are stardust. We ARE nature. We are not separate from these things and one another, no matter how much our minds can reinforce the illusion that we are.

Our bodies are a masterpiece of technology, and the technology that exists today is derivative of what we ourselves have created. However, it is all progressing at an accelerated speed surpassing what we could ever foresee and having many profound, nuanced, collateral impacts that we are just beginning to understand. 
It is easy in this face-paced world to become unconscious. In fact dissociation can be an effective coping skill and survival technique sometimes, so that we are not crushed by the endless stimuli and information about all that is happening all at once in this wide world.

We are simultaneously more “plugged in” and also experiencing less connectedness to one another than ever. Why is it that with more ability to be in connection with others over social media, email, video chat, text etc that the statistics show that we are more lonely, more depressed, experiencing lower self-esteem, and greater division? I could go on and on about the “whys” but the punch line here is the same; It is essential to break the complete hypnotic trance of doom scrolling, checking notifications, fearing that being unplugged will mean that you miss a precious moment or tragedy and spend some amount of time also recalibrating to co-regulating nervous systems with others “IRL:” taking off our shoes and putting out feet in the grass/ocean/river/dirt. Heck, even if we step in dog poop, we get to have an alive and real experience.

This has never been more important than now, as we move into unprecedented times where mega-billionaires and marketing firms control the sky and buy our attention and our data. Who pay psychologists and sociologists to assess how to best manipulate our brain chemistry so that we willingly “consent” to their terms, and who do not have our best interests in mind. We give them our locations, our photos, our texts and thoughts, our preferences, our fingerprints, faces, and eyes scans, somehow imagining that we are not important enough for them ever to use it for anything. We imagine if we do not “consent” we will not have access to apps, social networks, and services that we need. It is important to continually evaluate this compliance.

"Resistance is futile" is a phrase used in Star Trek (the Next generation and forward) to describe the Borg's attempts to assimilate other life forms into their collective consciousness. The phrase is often followed by a declaration that the target will be assimilated and its biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to the Borg's own. I believe, as the show ultimately highlights, that resistance is NOT futile. 
The being in this image is finding balance between being part of the the cosmic fabric of the universe, the deep connection of being an extension of natural word, and also utilizing the magic of technology to move their energy through. Life does not exist in binaries. At the same time I am evaluating all of the ways technology is impacting my body, heart, mind and soul in unhealthy ways, I am also typing this on a computer. I DJ, I use an IPad for my sheet music, and as of this writing I still have an IPhone, Patreon, Google, Facebook, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube and instagram accounts.

The ways each of us as individuals and communities evaluate the cost/benefit analysis of our relationship to technology is deeply personal. “Resistance is NOT Futile” invites us to remain in a consistent and alive dialogue with balancing out relationship with technology, our own magical flesh and bone, nature and all of the universe.

Things to Consider:
Considerable research demonstrates that screen addiction is real (whatever the platform) and impacts the chemicals in our brains. How much can we “consent” when we are “under the influence?” How can we assess this in our own lives
How do you discern, asset and maintain boundaries with technology? 
What kinds of routines can you set up to be in nature and share space with other people? How can we assess the balance between this and our use of technology?