The "Mechanization of Culture"

James O' Dea is the former president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and we were fortunate to have him give a keynote presentation at our conference last year. In his talk, James spoke of the "mechanization of culture" , a term that immediately resonated with me. It's a great way of describing a kind of trap we've fallen into in terms of giving away bits and pieces of our lives.Part of this mechanization refers to deep cultural patterns related to Cartesian and Newtonian views of the universe as a mechanism. This is the foundation for a more sophisticated form of materialism that pervades the cultural and educational landscape today. But another aspect relates to the idea of living our lives mechanically, even robotically.

We see this today in an unfortunate tendency to outsource bits and pieces of simple tasks and life activities that used to be an integral, joyful part of life. We are increasingly tempted to function as mini-corporations, hiring people to take care of simple life tasks because we're too busy focusing on other things to do them. Prepared foods and a boom in takeout restaurant dining for example has become a huge business discouraging people from mindfully preparing their own food. Got a pet? Don't bother cleaning up the mess, outsource it to a "pet waste technician" (Yes there are companies that do this). The list goes on.

Reconnecting to the earth means a lot of things: walks in nature, supporting green energy and conservation and recycling. There is of course a large list. But it also means reconnecting with "earthiness". Taoism and Zen Buddhism offer us wonderful perspectives focused on enjoying the simplest tasks and appreciating their restorative power. When we reconnect with the simpler aspects of our physical existence, we also reconnect with nature in a very fundamental way.