Cornerstone of Curist Mind

Curist Mind promotes an integrative philosophy that aims to establish sustainable living and wellness by reincorporating nature in our worldview; while recognizing and harnessing the power of relational restructuring that exists in all things, from the quantum ground to human consciousness and beyond.

Daily, we expand our understanding of what constitutes knowledge and who creates knowledge (as AI throws a monkey wrench in our epistemology). Experimental data emerges with advanced technologies, giving us a glimpse of realities we thought impossible just decades ago. So no, we can not ignore the interrelationships that exist at all levels of being and knowing, nor how quickly they will be changing. Nor can we deny our role as co-creators of our world. This is the foundation of Curist Mind, to perceive the dynamic nature of reality shaping and reshaping at all moments, creating time and space and personal experience. These are esoteric and somewhat philosophical issues, but they do impact our daily life. Perspectives shape how we see the world, how we see ourselves.

Curist Mind inspires Spirit activism to support personal well-being and create social change.

Curist Mind is a philosophical framework to understand the creative drive in the universe and the metaphysical foundations for growth and change that can ultimately establish humanity's survival, by understanding the synergistic and resonate nature of reality as the ground of sustainability. This unfolding of life that motivates our inquiry into the world through scholarship and science, can reveal the benefits of bringing our talents to the community level (and for the community to support our talents) as a stepping stone to creating a sustainable society (and as a larger goal for the world) that encourages healthy, sacred and synergistic relationships at all levels of development, that of our sacred natural creation and of our expanding human innovation. A well-rounded development of society and of Self depends on our surroundings and our mind-body-spirit alignment. Curist Mind aims to guide that development with the metaphysical principles of creative growth and scholarship that highlights our interconnected world down to the core of our existence.

Wellness amounts to preventative mental health. A full alignment of our energetic being (the external layer of our physical boundaries) that connects with every aspect of our surroundings, together with our spiritual self (the energy that connects us to our inner core and allows us to contemplate cosmic consciousness) relies on practices to recenter us within the energetic fabric of our world. Flow-state activities (that vary per person) and spaces that naturally induce mental flow-states (sounds of ocean waves crashing on the shore) help us reach a state of alignment. Energy alignment is more accessible and palpable in natural environments because of the energetic ground of nature that stems from the interconnected aspect of energy in motion (the metaphysical ground of all existence in our universe). This holistic perspective of Curist Mind that focuses on a nature-centrist relationship to provide us a charging post for our personal well-being is in-line with sustainable living practices that focus on the intricate web of life. A focus on personal wellness that utilizes the energy from nature as a source of well-being is inherently conservationist, to preserve what amounts to sacred spaces. Our brains are wired to respond to natural environments. But at an even deeper level, natural spaces produce energetic relationships with various aspects of our being, that generate mostly resonant coupling at our core (mimicking the resonate nature of the real at the meta-ontological level). On a physiological level we sync-up with our environment at the outer boundaries of our energetic self, and feel energized when it is regenerative (we feel drained or frazzled in a chaotic environment as with noise pollution or during a storm). Internally we generate a spiritual connection in nature, especially in areas that carry sacred energy in the surrounding environment itself, and this of course varies for each person depending on cultural factors. Still, we can all regulate our breathing and enter a mindful state while letting the sights and sounds of peaceful nature sink in.

Regardless of the activity, when we enter a flow state the boundaries of our inner self come to the forefront as our cognitive awareness shifts (we move from an alpha/beta brainwave state to a theta/alpha brainwave state), we establish a mental and physical link with our spirit (the internal/external boundary dissipates with more profound experiences of ego dissolution) where we can expand outwardly in contemplation, feeling at one with the universal energy, or we move inwardly as we introspect with a more profound experience of our sense of self. It is in these moments that we can better establish a sacred space for our own development that helps us recognize our role in this world, our passions, our needs and desires. Along with the courage to bring our talents to our larger community.

A holistic view of our world incorporates environmental and social justice as an inherent goal to ensure a just future for younger generations to thrive.

The conclusion of Joseph Campbell's hero's journey requires the reintegration back into one's community to come full circle. To lead to sustained creativity (as the universe demonstrates) we need a reiterative effect, we need to reintegrate our talents back into our local communities to strengthen our society for the future. Integration turns out to be the missing link in the architecture we have built for our 21st century world. For over 100 years, we have lived in a post-modern era bent on deconstructing our world, creating more exacting sciences and fields of knowledge to whittle down to the most expert point of understanding. This has led to immense success at the level of research leading to technological and medical advancements, to progress in most respects. Progress has been crucially important in lifting many out of poverty and out of the daily grind of eking out an existence, and for the larger social and environmental justice movement writ large; but it has also splintered society and created a chasm of intractable and opposing views of how to mitigate our future. In a deconstructed world that has reached its limits, the principle way to transformative growth is to integrate knowledge with wisdom to understand the universal resonant energy that supports life, to envision and ultimately create a just and thriving world.

Recognizing integrated features of our world, and ourselves within it, is key to establishing a sustainable worldview that can support a thriving natural environment. A world-vision that honors the interdependence of all that exists, down to the relational, organizing-structure of the universe, allows us to build a synergistic society. This requires that we change how we view nature and our connections within it, recognizing the fluid nature of matter in order to see our role as co-creators in the world, to create a future world with intention - one that can support us and allow us to reach our potential as a conscientious being.

Our post-modern movement of deconstruction now requires an integrative paradigm of what constitutes the things in our world (our ontology) as we shift to incorporate a resonate theory of matter and consciousness. Flow-states are crucial for life to thrive. Living out this worldview brings intuition to the forefront. Intuition is the connective tissue that ties us to the ethereal realm, the cosmic space of which we are a part, as well. In fact, it is the cornerstone of Curist Mind. A curious individual that explores his/her inner mindscapes will develop deeper connections in all types of relationships; but we must embrace silence to hear that most important relationship with our self. It requires we remain open-minded. A 'curist mind' practices different states of being through mindfulness and meditation, learning and taking action that weaves integration and participation into daily living to create synergistic moments that lead to personal development. We can come to see more clearly the threads that tie us together and, with some faith in the sacred connections, we allow intuition to lead. But even if the conviction of a new worldview is lacking, simply participating in the natural world provides a path to healing for each individual that sets out to reconnect with the primordial energy that resides in its structure. A new way of seeing our connection with the world (terrestrial and ethereal) is the most direct way to establish well-being and sustainability in our societies.

There are many pockets around the world that have successfully moved in this dynamic direction, and thankfully we find this holistic mindset firmly in our cultural consciousness. Yet, we still face a crisis of disintegration (at the paradigmatic level), and of polarization (at the social level), that threatens the overall well-being of our society (and that of people around the world). The continuous rise of mental health stressors and insufficient coping-skills among a large segment of our population proves of grave concern. In many regards, we have made strides with respect to public health initiatives to lessen the taboo around seeking emotional and mental health support. Still, the issues that plague our society, such as the fentanyl or opioid crises, screen overuse, and all types of addictions (along with the lack of trained mental health professionals for children and adolescents who are experiencing the brunt of these crises) are all symptoms of a broken system.

There are many factors to point to, but fundamentally we have been cut off from the natural flow-states and natural rhythms that provide overall well-being. Adults try to balance work and family life within a hustle culture that is unsustainable and leading to burnout as a social epidemic. Kids no longer play outside, while schools fall short of providing spaces for creative growth with no incentive to support recess, music and the arts as core curriculum features, and as a result there is no time to unwind in the evenings while affluent parents over-schedule their children's time to supplement the lack of creative support or to play into an overachiever dynamic that is counter productive for these children in some cases. Meanwhile, because of a multitude of factors, anxiety, depression and suicide are on the rise for our youth. Nature has been removed from the equation to the point that we now structure it back into our lives as we realize how important it is to have parks, greenways, and access to water sources. Any holistic worldview will reintegrate the natural order into our calculations of what matters to us as a society. This will lead to sustainable action at institutional levels, if it becomes part of our social fabric through individual action and community efforts. Recognizing the import of interdependence helps us focus on relationships.

Creating a healthy relationship with our environment, within green spaces and more natural landscapes available to us, allows us to build healthy personal relationships (first with our own body and internal development of self), secondly with our loved ones, and then through our community building, all of which in turn generates a healthy society, the local reverberates, or radiates out to create national stability. This requires that we think about boundaries. Healthy relationships require a flexible boundary, recognizing the porous nature of any relationship and how energy flows between each. Systems are sensitive to their environment, but must balance between coordination with the external world and maintaining internal integrity. This can be understood within the framework of a resonate theory of nature. The philosophical framework of curist mind aims to highlight this aspect of how we live, how everything in the universe manifests this relational structuring and restructuring. To the extent to which we can harness that and tune-in to the metaphysical ground of becoming, we are able to impact the space around us in a synergistic way. Intentional living produces stronger ripple effects in our communities.

The most profound developments in science point to the benefits of incremental, organic changes to create dynamical systemic change. We can create synergistic growth by establishing thriving local communities through wellness and sustainable living. A focus on personal growth by harnessing the metaphysics of healing can lead to profound and effective change for an individual, and reverberate out to effect larger social systems. More importantly, an integrative, holistic perspective of the world, and our role in it, provides an ethical compass to make decisions at all levels of community - from families to governments - that intrinsically honor the natural and energetic ground of reality. These relationships that exist at every level of development (from the subatomic to the cosmic) influence how we live in the world, and by extension explains how we can influence relationships in our world no matter how small our actions. All systems are built upon smaller interactive systems. As individuals working within a community, we can accomplish so much when we begin to integrate all that we have come to learn about our world with a worldview that values a variety of creative drives, within a sustainable framework that honors nature as our energetic foundation.

The practical goal of Curist Mind aims to harness our personal wellness to then give back to our community and, from the ground up, create thriving, empowering spaces that impact the larger national and international systems; this is the teleos of cosmic consciousness within a social framework.

As with all aspects of life, where there are Spirit-driven processes at play, meaning a teleos specific system (one that has an interest in its self-preservation) we find value-making systems. I like to consider Spirit as eros imbued energy. One definition of eros reads: the sum of life-preserving instincts that are manifested as impulses to gratify basic needs, as sublimated impulses, and as impulses to protect and preserve the body and mind. Organic life exists at this level. In fact, a whole range and assortment of spirit-driven relationships create value in our world, leading up to what we experience as love. There are many Greek names for love (philo, eros, agape, etc.) to connote the multi-layers of movement expressed as the human condition. But at a basic level, all organisms experience eros. There are many dynamical systems that are not imbued with value, or life-preserving instincts, such as a turbulent system in the atmosphere. It simply comes into and out of being in relation to its environment. At some point, it will reach a state of equilibrium within the system and it will disintegrate into its energetic surrounding (or a strange-attractor may keep it stable until conditions change), but it will not grow in complexity. Biological beings are entities that experience complexity, expressed as teleology.

All of matter (whether just dynamical or teleological) is structural, beginning at quantum symmetries and developing into oscillating patterns sensitive to its relationship to its surroundings which restrict and define it, making it into what it is, as it also shapes its surroundings. This object-relational structuring is the organizing, driving-force of nature at its most elemental aspect of reality. The teleos of the universe can be understood as that of a novelty-seeking engine, as we witness something remarkable happen at the level of biological life. All biological life is a conglomeration of many different relational systems that must remain out-of-equilibrium to exist, with a reward factor of free energy release. There forms a delicate balance within any biological system that makes elements in its environment more, or possibly less, favorable to its being-in-the-world. Those things resulting in favorable conditions are valuable to this system's self-preservation. Any unfavorable conditions are to be avoided. Things that are favorable are liked. When energy-driven systems begin to like or dislike something, we enter realms of higher-order development and that of Spirit, meaning eros-driven energy - from the most basic life form with sentience, up to conscious awareness and to complex beings with self-awareness, on up to the development of human meta-consciousness. Complexity has a threshold by which processes take on a teleological stance in the world. Scientists such as biologist Michael Levin and anthropologist Terrance Deacon are trying to delineate that boundary zone from different end points.

Human evolution progresses along these complex fault lines where cultural development in human evolution eventually gives rise to aesthetics, to spiritual meaning and value, and to the sublime experience of crafting a life path. Culturally, these impulses and eventual spaces allow us to express elements of the human condition. We are social beings with social norms, crafting invisible (liminal) boundaries, along with the rhythms of the natural world. As a self-aware species with thousands of years deepening our mindscapes, we now amplify the ground of cosmic consciousness that highlights integration through the broader sweep of natural history and human evolution. Later, I will explore what that means for us, specifically how our mindscapes lead to cosmic consciousness. For now, we will conclude with what integration means for us on a personal level, in the realm of self-love.

The focus on our mind, body, spirit and energetic levels of being is the most important aspect of wellness, and the foundational ground for sustainable living. Remember, our environment shapes us, just as we co-create our environment. We can all live with greater intention letting love and Spirit build our resilience and intuition, and together create a connected community with a perspective of the larger system we live within. At a critical level of intentional living, we can shift the underlying collective unconscious. With this holistic mind-frame we are more inclined to support policies at all levels of governance (self to society) that honor an integrative view of a just society - through education and mental wellness that leads to sustainable living and thriving communities. You don't have to understand yourself to impact your friends, family and community. You do that naturally every day. You do, however, benefit from a strong sense of Self, of who you are, what your role is by what your talents are, to create a positive impact in your communities and abroad.

The more we grow on a personal level, the more social strides we make towards a just, thriving community that in turn lifts up its citizenry. Creating change from all corners at once, through an integrative vision, is the Curist way.