Mormon Transhumanist Association Opinions

Let’s start walking the sacred walk to the stars

Fri, 18 Aug 2017 02:46:21 -0600

Watching “2001: A Space Odyssey” in 1968 was a powerful religious experience. Encountering Transhumanism was another. Space, transhumanism, and transcendence are the cornerstones of Turing Church.

The picture above shows a reconstruction of a holy place of power: the (fictional) place on the Moon where space faring humans first encounter a vast, superhuman intelligence that has mastered Space and Time. In the words of Sir Arthur C. Clarke (from the novel):

They could become creatures of radiation, free at last from the tyranny of matter. Now they were lords of the galaxy, and beyond the reach of time. They could rove at will among the stars, and sink like a subtle mist through the very interstices of space.”

[Mind] would eventually free itself from matter. The robot body, like the flesh-and-blood one, would be no more than a stepping-stone to something which, long ago, men had called “spirit.”

And if there was anything beyond that, its name could only be God.

I am a former space professional who knows and loves cool tech as much as the next geek, and I am persuaded there’s fun to be had and money to be made in space, but to me the importance of space goes much beyond that: I strongly believe spreading to the stars is our manifest destiny, cosmic duty, and sacred quest.

To me, transhumanism is all about future humanity — our biological descendants and our AI mind children — joining the community of advanced galactic civilizations and achieving God-like powers. The Turing Church cosmic visions start with:

“We will go to the stars and find Gods, build Gods, become Gods...”

Our future is out there among the stars, where we’ll find transcendence beyond our wildest dreams.

In two thoughtful essays titled “Religion for a Galactic Civilization” (1982 and 2009) my friend Bill Bainbridge, the author of “The Meaning and Value of Spaceflight: Public Perceptions” (2015) and the classic “The Spaceflight Revolution: A Sociological Study” (1976), argued that

“We need a new spaceflight social movement capable of giving a sense of transcendent purpose to dominant sectors of the society… In short, we need a galactic religion, a Cosmic Order.”

Turing Church wants to be a Cosmic Order, at the forefront of both wild philosophical speculations and bold hands-on space initiatives.

A bold initiative: Let’s start building outposts on the sacred road to the stars

Besides cosmic speculations, I also want to help building outposts on the sacred road to the stars, and I want you to participate. Let’s go the futurist way:

In “A Virtual World Space Agency,” (2009) I proposed to create a global space agency of the people, open to anyone. Then a few months ago I created a Facebook group to explore the idea of a decentralized autonomous space agency.

Please request to join the Facebook group “Space Decentral” if you want to come on board.

The project is now part of Space Cooperative, a worker-owned cooperative that is developing a crowdsourced approach to settling the space frontier.

I joined Space Cooperative because it’s fresh and fun (plus there’s also this new thing about farming watermelons on Mars — stay tuned). Most of the team are millennials with young faces untouched by wrinkles and bad thoughts, but that’s a feature not a bug: my generation has screwed up, and it’s right and proper to pass leadership to them. We oldies will do what we can to help.

Perhaps “screwed up” is too much: those cities on the Moon we dreamed of in the sixties were really too much too soon — don’t try to run before you can walk and all that. Bill Bainbridge and Sir Arthur C. Clarke noted that

“Space travel is a technological mutation that should not really have arrived until the 21st century.”

It appears they were right — the youthful Apollo adventure of last century was but an inspiring prelude of things to come, and space travel becomes a reality in this century.

Let’s go and build those outposts on the sacred road to the stars.

You don’t need to be an astronaut or a top space engineer to participate: every small thing you do here and now on Earth to support our expansion into space is a step — your step — in the right direction. Up there, every robotic planetary probe is an important step, waiting for people to follow.

And don’t underestimate the power of symbols. The Moon Temple proposed by artist Jorge Mañes Rubio as part of ESA’s “Moon Village” concept would be a very powerful symbol and illuminate the beginning of the sacred walk.

Too bad the Moon Village doesn’t have, I fear, a chance in hell to be funded by governments anytime soon.

Perhaps we should do something about that.

Picture from Wikimedia Commons.

Let’s start walking the sacred walk to the stars was originally published in Turing Church on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Enemy

Tue, 15 Aug 2017 08:39:00 -0600

We are culturally conditioned to be racist before we even know the word. We are culturally conditioned to be sexist regardless of gender identity. We are culturally conditioned to be heterosexist before we have a sexual identity. These ideas cannot be changed without first acknowledging we are living in a racist, sexist, heterosexist society born from the primitive shortcomings, ignorance, and hatred of our ancestors.

Racism is not a black vs. white issue.

Sexism is not a men vs. women issue.

Heterosexism is not a hetero vs. homo issue.

The enemy is not a person, nor does it have a face, other than the one you see in your reflection. The enemy is racism, sexism, and heterosexism. The enemy is unwittingly passed down from generation to generation. The enemy lurks within our minds, pervasively influencing the reality we create, and the enemy has manifested horrific acts of violence. The enemy has made drones of us.

The enemy would die one of two ways:

(1) The collective extinction of the human species.

(2) The collective transcendence of the human species.

I don't see another way out.

I believe we have the capacity to transcend our limitations, but we will be far more effective if we learn from our past and target ideas instead of people. This will be difficult because as mortal beings we can easily be killed with bombs, guns, cars, violence, or even apathy, while a hateful idea can live on like a parasite jumping from host to host. Killing a person is easier than killing the enemy. Insulting a person is easier than killing the enemy. Fearing a person is easier than killing the enemy. We must be reflective of our own faults and skeptical of our institutional affiliations. We must be cautious of the double-edged sword of identity politics. We need to be effective.

If we are going to improve our community, we must adjust our tactics. To defeat the enemy we'll need to work together, not as human vs. human, but as humans vs. hateful ideas.

*Published at Rational Faiths on Tuesday, August 15, 2017

The Purpose of Scripture & Doctrine

Tue, 15 Aug 2017 08:33:20 -0600

I spend a lot of time thinking and talking about scripture and doctrine. And yet, as I’ve expressed in many different ways, I believe that love is the answer—the truly significant factor.

So why not just let the scripture & doctrine stuff go?

This is what a lot of people ultimately do. When they study and deconstruct, it gives them permission to move away from legalism, and towards love as a core value and motivating ethic. In that process, they realize that getting it all right isn’t the most important thing in the world, and they eventually let go of that study altogether.

So why not just do that?

At this point, I’m old enough to have been through two significant deconstructions, and to watch numerous friends and colleagues go through them too. And I haven’t always felt good about what I’ve seen.

Many times things start out feeling like a great liberation, and then gradually wind their way to something that feels a lot more empty and hopeless.

And maybe even cynical.

Some people then go looking for something to fill that emptiness, and having already tried religion, they find a strong political ideology to take its place.

I think that’s a dark path, and as more and more people are going through deconstruction, I want something better for them on the other side.

And I’ve realized that we are not the first generation to go through this.

“Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a god who knew the way out of the grave.” — GK Chesterton

Christianity has died again and again. But each time it has been resurrected, reborn to new life.

The result of those deaths and rebirths is what we experience as scripture and doctrine. They point us to the visions and values that helped previous generations find life. They didn’t find that life by rejecting everything that had come before, nor by refraining from critiquing it. Instead, they grappled with it, wrestled with it, took it into the wilderness—and came back with something new and powerful, carrying forward and revitalizing the heart of the old.

This is what we see in Jesus, Paul, and the first disciples. It’s what we see in Moses, David, and the prophets. It’s what we see in the Reformers, the Restorationists, and throughout church history.

It’s what I think we need today. We cannot really cut ourselves off from our past, and so we must either reject it, or renew it. But having experienced power and beauty in something, most of us cannot bring ourselves to fully reject it.

And if we don’t find our way towards renewal, we’ll be caught in a dark limbo.

This is my way out, my fundamental step on the path to life:

I believe in life, and I believe in humanity. And I believe in a God who believes in both.

This God calls and equips us to share his purposes. “All that I have is yours”, God says, asking us to join in and care for life and humanity just as he does.

That’s the entire biblical story. It’s the Greatest Commands. It’s love.

And doctrine and scripture and all the rest—when they’re good, healthy, functional, life-giving—are how we keep reminding each other of these facts.

Memories of the Universe

Sun, 13 Aug 2017 16:46:30 -0600

Computerized Resurrection

‘Memories of the Universe’ is the logical information about the history of the earth and everything that happens there. It contains the physical appearance of all people, their memories from life on the earth, feelings, and consciousness.

It is well known that the idea of Memories of the Universe is central to philosophies of Transhumanism, Posthumanism, and Singularity. The universal information is needed for natural Immortality, such as man-made technological Uploading of the dead, which is sometimes called natural Resurrection.

It is less known, that the concept of Memories of the Universe is also critical for traditional religions. The logical information about all people who have ever lived on the earth is needed for Supernatural Immortality. This information is used by traditional Supernatural Forces, known as anthropomorphic God(s), during the process of supernatural Resurrection. Some philosophies envision Supernatural Forces as non- anthropomorphic entity, such as Nature. In this case, Memories of the Universe are used by non-anthropomorphic Nature.

Memories of the Universe, can have different logical forms — it might be a single classical type of database, or the information might be spread and kept in more than one place. There are many hypothetical ways in which Memories of the Universe might be created. Some of them are natural, while other are supernatural. Whichever way it is done, the universal information needs to contain the history of all people living on the earth, in the past and in the future, written down permanently in memory internal or external to the visible universe. The existence of naturally created memory of the earth has not been verified scientifically yet — discovery of it is a goal for Humans of Future. The existence of supernaturally created Memories of the Universe is the subject of religious beliefs — eventually it also needs to be confirmed by science.

Memories of the Universe Created Naturally

‘Records of the Universe’ is the logical store of information about the earth, and all people who ever lived there. It is created in natural way and automatically. Records of the Universe is the particular implementation of Memories of the Universe. Much have been written about natural Records of the Universe — for example, numerous articles by Giulio Prisco published on Turing Church website, in IEET magazine, and his personal blog. The universal store of information is referred to in this article by the term ‘Records of the Universe’. Other authors use variety of names for the same idea. For example, Giulio Prisco uses terms ‘quantum archaeology’, ‘time scanning’, ‘coping dead from the past into the future’, or ‘akashic records’.

The term ‘akashic records’ is important, because it refers to attempt of describing the universal store of information by early Buddhism over 2,000 years ago. It was done in generic terms rather than scientific, but historically it was the first attempt.

In more recent times, Records of the Universe were described as created by a variety of mechanisms, such as radial images, information leak via black holes, point of final destiny towards which the universe is heading, or quantum vacuum referred to by Turing Church website.

The next possible mechanism by which Records of the Universe are created is called ‘Imprint’. The hypothesis of ‘Imprint’ assumes that the entire visible universe, including the earth, is contained inside another bigger world, which is filled by a substance such as the aether. According to this hypothesis, the visible universe is moving all the time relative to the external world — the universe flies in the aether of the external world. The aether does not slow down the movement of the earth, and it does not cause any other effects detectable by current technology. The aether is in a different dimension or outer universe relative to the earth and the entire visible world.

The next assumption is that the visible universe, while moving in the aether, leaves an imprint of itself behind. This is a kind of modification, disfigurement of the aether. Once the aether is changed, the imprint remains the same forever. The earth, while moving through the aether, leaves its track behind thorough the entire history of the planet. The imprint is the memory of events on the earth and the entire visible universe. The track in the aether contains the memory of everything which has happened on the earth since the creation of the universe until now, and of everything what will happen in the future, until the end of the visible universe. The aether contains all information about humanity, from the beginning of living organisms, through to the appearance of humans. This information is not restricted to external human forms. It contains all thoughts and inner feelings of each person thorough their entire life.

The concept of aether was used in science repetitively. As discussed in the article published by Turing Church, the idea of aether was temporarily abandoned in science, and then later reintroduced in modified form as a ‘new aether’. The aether as a medium for storing Records of the Universe is a similar but still different concept.

Recording the history of life on the earth in the aether can be imagined by analogy to a gramophone. This device records sounds on the gramophone disk using a needle. During sound recording the needle makes small vibrations depending upon volume and character of sound, as a person talks or sings. The vibrations of the needle make imprints in the material of the disk in the form of a gramophone track, distorting slightly the original matter of the disk. In this way the sound information is permanently written on the disk, and can be recreated later when playing back the disk. During playback, the distortions in the matter of the disk (on the sound track) are causing vibrations of the needle, that in turn are transformed into a sound, as it was originally recorded. The gramophone disk is the external memory of human talking or singing.

In the ‘Imprint’ hypothesis, the aether is the equivalent of the gramophone disk. As sound information is recorded on a disk, in the same way information about everything that happens on the earth is recorded in the aether. Movement of the visible universe relative to the aether is equivalent to movement of the gramophone needle relative to the disk. The gramophone disk rotates relative to the needle. In similar way it can be imagined that the movement of the visible universe relative to the aether is rotational rather than linear. If it is rotational, then the period of rotation must be longer then the time between the creation of the universe and its end, or else old information would be overwritten after one complete cycle; unless the movement of the universe relative to the aether is spiral, in which case the period of rotation might be shorter, without overwriting.

The ‘Imprint’ hypothesis is presented on The Immortality web site. Is the ‘Imprint’ hypothesis confirmed by the science of today? The answer is no. That is why it is a religious belief at current times that might become scientific reality in the future.

Memories of the Universe Created Supernaturally

The concept of information is a modern one. Traditional religions do not use this term which is understandable, since it was not known in antiquity when Holy books were written. This does not prevent using the concept of information in a religious context. The traditional texts should be reinterpreted using modern terms. Religions need to explain how information about human life is preserved for posterity.

Although the concept of Memories of the Universe is analysed mainly by philosophies of Transhumanism, Posthumanism, and Singularity, it is important to traditional religions as well. Some Hindu and Buddhist philosophies already embrace it — not so much the Abrahamic religions. Memories of Universe are necessary for religious Immortality — Supernatural Forces will not be able to carry out Resurrection without accessing information about deceased people. Therefore, Memories of the Universe are important for both Transhumanism, and for traditional religions. The difference between Transhumanism and traditional religion is, that Transhumanism supports the view that Humans of Future will be able to access the Records of the Universe, without relying on Supernatural Forces. Traditional religions usually stress, that only Supernatural Forces are capable of providing Immortality. If Humans of the (far) Future turn out to be the actual Supernatural Forces, then there is no difference between Transhumanism and traditional religions.

In order to see how traditional religions rely upon Memories of the Universe, one needs to look at their theories of Resurrection. A first traditional hypothesis is that information about each human is passed from their body and brains into their soul before or during the dying process. Under this concept, the soul is usually understood as an ontological substance that is essential for life. After death, the soul separates from the material body, with all information preserved inside. Religions do not deliberate about the details of how the passage of information is done, and how souls maintain that information — usually religions assume transfer of information implicitly. When the dead are Resurrected, the information is extracted from each individual soul, and passed into new bodies and brains. Under this theory, the souls act as Memories of the Universe. The information in such record is not kept in a single database, but rather it is spread over individual souls. All souls, together, form the information database. In order to confirm the existence of such records scientifically, one needs to detect souls of deceased people scientifically, and in the next stage, to verify that souls are capable of storing information. This has not occurred yet. The other problem is, that some religions (Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic groups) do not support the concept of souls.

The next religious hypothesis is that traditional Supernatural Forces keep the information about all people on the earth in their own divine brains. This theory is consistent with doctrine of Abrahamic religions that Supernatural Forces know all about each person, and decide for them what to do. The problem with this hypothesis is that Holy books do not use the concept of brain. In antiquity many people did not know that thinking is done inside the brain — it was thought that thinking is done inside of the heart. Therefore, the religious texts need to be reinterpreted in terms of divine brain as a centre of memory and thinking for Supernatural Forces. Under this hypothesis, the brains of Supernatural Forces, act as Memories of the Universe. To confirm the existence of such records scientifically, one needs to first detect Supernatural Forces scientifically, and then look inside of their brains, to see whether Memories of the Universe are there. At present, science is not able to analyse information inside of brains of fellow humans. Therefore, looking into the brains of Supernatural Forces is the long way to go.

Another religious hypothesis is that traditional Supernatural Forces do not use souls or their own brains as a source of information about deceased humans, but rather they access the external store. In this case, most information used by Supernatural Forces is located outside of their brain and souls. Under this hypothesis, Supernatural Forces do not supervise directly the recording of information. It is rather done automatically, without their direct supervision. This is the same as naturally created Records of the Universe.

One Memory of the Universe

Philosophies such as Transhumanism, Posthumanism, and Singularity usually assume that in order to carry out Resurrection, Humans of Future will access information contained inside of naturally created Records of the Universe. This source of information is independent from anthropomorphic natural or Supernatural Forces. It is created by one or more of following mechanisms: radial images, imprint, final destiny point, black holes, quantum archaeology, quantum vacuum, or in some other ways. The big advantage of natural Records of the Universe is its ability for automatic creation, without personal supervision or attention. It is like video and audio recording that is done almost automatically, or by a computer acting in similar fashion when set up.

Alternatively, Humans of Future would access information inside of souls or brain(s) of traditional Supernatural Forces. Looking inside brains of Supernatural Forces would be strange. Moreover, it seems that traditional Supernatural Forces themselves will use natural external source of information rather than relying on souls or their own brains.

Accessing Memories of the Universe is necessary for Immortality of deceased people. This is true for both Transhumanism and for traditional religions. Resurrection of dead is impossible without Memories of the Universe, regardless whether it is done in natural or supernatural way.

Logical information is a necessary condition of Immortality.

It seems that natural Records of the Universe is the logical store of information, for both natural anthropomorphic forces (Humans of Future) and traditional Supernatural Forces known as God(s). In such case, there is just one universal Memory of the Universe.

More detailed analysis can be found on website www.theImmortality.org.

Memories of the Universe was originally published in Turing Church on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Two Trees: a dream

Wed, 09 Aug 2017 10:47:00 -0600

Two trees grew on opposite sides of the meadow. Each was strong and beautiful, growing toward the same light. Their branches swayed in the wind, longing to touch the other, but the distance between them was too far, too wide. The only way for them to meet was to grow upward. Their branches would meet only if they crossed paths at the sun, their common destination. Minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, passed.

The two trees grew taller, but the sun would not be reached, nor would their branches touch. The intensity and heat was too great. They reached too high. The sun singed the trees’ leaves just before the trees' branches burst into flames. The trees heard the other’s cries as their bodies charred. Their roots cringed, grasping for safety, security, and hope in the meadow's soil. They burned until only blackened silhouettes remained. Minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, passed.

The two trees took refuge in the soil as they mourned. Fog shrouded the meadow until the trees could no longer see one another. They closed their eyes in defeat. Left with only what they could feel, the two trees took notice. Their roots met beneath the safety of the soil. Not one, two, or three times, but an entire network of roots grafted together over the years. The two trees took solace breathing in the soil together, though their branches never met. Minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, passed.

Religion News Service – As artificial intelligence grows, so do perceived threats to human uniqueness

Thu, 03 Aug 2017 13:33:57 -0600

RNS interviews The Rev. Dr. Christopher Benek regarding concepts surrounding “the uncanny valley” hypothesis as it pertains to artificial intelligence. Read the full article HERE.

The Gospel Herald (China) – 性愛機械人助減性犯罪﹖救世軍反駁：它只會扭曲性慾望！

Mon, 24 Jul 2017 17:58:36 -0600

The Gospel Herald (China) covers the theological commentary of The Rev. Dr. Christopher Benek regarding robot & human relations. Read the full article HERE. Don’t read Chinese? Try Google Translate.

VIDEO: Terasem’s 12th Annual Workshop On Geoethical Nanotechnology, Second Life, July 20, 2017

Thu, 20 Jul 2017 23:39:14 -0600

Terasem’s 12th Annual Workshop On Geoethical Nanotechnology took place as usual on July 20 2017 in the Terasem sim, Second Life, with top speakers and talks. Watch the full video below.

https://medium.com/media/d148502eb03809cd32adf6eaf50c9168/href

The Workshop is always held on July 20 to honor the anniversary of the first lunar landing. This year’s workshop theme was “Using Geoethical Nanotechnology to Combat Climate Change.”

As usual, Terasem Vice-President Lori Rhodes organized a flawless workshop with 35–40 participants, which is a lot for a daytime event on a working day.

Perhaps you think that Second Life is yesterday’s news, but make no mistake: the next wave of VR-enabled virtual worlds inspired by Second Life is tomorrow’s news.

Expanding into space and protecting our planet are linked goals, which can be achieved by aggressively developing emerging technologies like advanced materials and molecular nanotechnology. New methods for social cooperation, such as virtual worlds and blockchain-based decentralized organizations, have an important role to play.

David Brin speaking at Terasem’s 12th Annual Workshop On Geoethical Nanotechnology in Second Life, July 20, 2017

Speakers

David Orban, founder of Network Society Research, faculty member and advisor at Singularity University;
Space activist and social entrepreneur Yalda Mousavinia, co-founder of Space Cooperative;
Scientist, tech consultant and top science fiction writer David Brin;
and of course Terasem co-founder Martine Rothblatt.

My Agenda

Thu, 20 Jul 2017 07:04:00 -0600

(Photo credit: Jocelyn Gardiner)

Every now and then I am questioned about my “secret agenda” by the various communities I participate in and identify with. The truth is I do have an agenda, but it’s not a secret. I openly advocate for my agenda with honesty and authenticity.

My Feminist Agenda

My feminist agenda is to create an existence where biological sex and gender do not mandate unnecessary expectations and limitations of what a person is capable of.

I maintain the importance of feminism, because globally women have and do experience more institutional, political, economic, and physical abuse, oppression, and subjugation than men. Even though that is the case, I extend my feminist agenda beyond the needs, wants, and desires of women.

My feminist agenda includes a future that not only recognizes our similarities, but also our unique differences. Yet, gender liberation requires equal opportunity despite these differences. While anatomical, physical, and logical limitations are present, it is my desire that we can transcend the unnecessary limitations in liberating persons from certain social constraint. While there is power and creativity to be found in constraints, there are also limitations that prevent further exploration of power and creativity.

As a Mormon, this means to see each other as God sees us, because all are alike unto God (2 Nephi 26:33), and finding prosocial ways for reconciling these differences while transcending limitations that would lead us to radical love.

My Queer Agenda

My queer agenda is to live in a world where radical love is recognized and encouraged.

My queer agenda includes, in part, the advocacy of homosexuality as a moral and prosocial option—though my queer agenda certainly isn’t limited to simply matters of homosexuality. There are also such oppressions in other queer relationships including plural relationships.

Most opposition toward queer relationships seems to arise from a sense that it is immoral according to God, or fear of the unknown. However, according to scripture, there is not fear in love (1 John 4:18-19) and love is capable of overpowering sin (1 Peter 4:8). In fact, the pursuit to thwart informed, consensual expressions of love is among the most grievous forms of immorality. To seek to oppress love is to oppress God. There is no God without love (1 John 4:8) when love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10) and the greatest of the commandments (Mark 12:30-3).

I suspect that those in opposition to queer or plural relationships do not see themselves as oppressing love, and would likely agree with the scripture references above. So the question at hand is can love (romantic and/or sexually) be expressed outside boundaries of heterosexual monogamy? Can people love differently and differing practices be respected and even celebrated?

For example, I like tomatoes. Others may or may not like tomatoes. There is nothing inherently moral or immoral about liking tomatoes. Immorality would be those who don’t like tomatoes insisting that everyone must not enjoy tomatoes, or even worse, must lose the desire for tomatoes entirely. Immorality would also be those who like tomatoes insisting that those who don’t like tomatoes are immoral for not desiring tomatoes. Morality is dependent upon how we choose to reconcile diverse desires, not that we necessarily adopt each other’s values. If it helps, substitute the word “tomatoes” for “women” or your preferred gender(s).

If a person considers a certain type of relationship as sin, they should have the burden of demonstrating how and why it is harmful to the individuals and community. This would require an explanation more sophisticates than “I don’t like tomatoes, therefore you can’t like tomatoes.” You may not desire what I desire, but that doesn’t make it sin. Likewise, I may not desire what you desire, but that doesn’t make it immoral either. Morality is how we reconcile the fact we love, value and desire differently which is also it’s own form of radical love. Those that can accept and love others that love plurally and/or homosexually may also be participating in radical love.

Radical love is far more broad than queer love or sexual expressions, though it includes queer love and sexual expressions. Radical love sometimes means refraining from sexual engagement. Radical love sometimes mean enjoying sexual engagement. Radical love is a pedophile seeking professional help and social involvement so they don't injure a child. Radical love is not shaming or injuring the pedophile. Radical love is a mother who gives her life for her child. Radical love is curing diseases. Radical love is forgiveness. Radical love is remorse. Radical love is resurrection. Radical love is creation of ideas, worlds, and life. Radical love includes so much more than sex. I think radical love is a necessary mandate for all of us and certainly is also a part of my Transhumanist agenda.

My queer agenda is one of radical compassion and love, even compersion. I want to live in a world where radical love, even queer relationships, is not discouraged, or pointed at and called “sin,” but rather recognized in all its diverse expressions. I want to live in a world where mutual, consensual expressions of love are not simply tolerated, but celebrated. I want to live in a world where queer love isn’t perceived as a threat that needs to be stamped out or feared, but rather something we embrace as a diverse option, not mandate. I want to live in a world where the word love is used honestly and unselfishly. I suspect others want that too which requires we start trusting each other in faith, not fear, to unify us (Colossians 3:14).

While there are certainly prosocial and antisocial ways of engaging in any sexual relationship weather they are heterosexual, homosexual, monogamous, or plural, my queer agenda is to find ways of engaging and/or disengaging in sexual relationships that promote radical love.

My Transhumanist Agenda

My Transhumanist agenda is to become a part of a radically compassionate,

super-intelligent posthumanity.

Transhumanism, broadly defined, is the ethical use of science and technology to radically improve and enhance the human condition. Transhumanism holds that we can evolve beyond our current physical, cognitive, and social limitations. Social justice and human rights issues are a part of addressing humanity’s physical, cognitive, and social limitations.

While some opponents may argue that Transhumanism is an unworthy, even oppressive cause due to the lack of universal accessibility, I would contend that the wisest approach is a joint effort to continue to develop technologies while simultaneously acting to mitigate for risks and concrete threats, such as oppression, violence, and ignorance. Social side effects of technologies should be assessed and addressed while continuing to develop better implementations. For example, not all women can afford prenatal care, but should we stop developing prenatal care? No. Instead we seek to find ways to get more women prenatal care while continuing to create better technologies.

Utopia isn’t a place that just magically appears, it’s a direction. Utopian visions may differ according to desires, but who could argue that utopian visions, even religion, have not given us hopeful trajectories? Of course, we can and should do better, and that’s exactly the point. The improvement of humanity includes social justice, human rights, radical love, and compassion under its umbrella. Pioneering a better tomorrow is not about naiveté to risk—it’s about hope, faith, and trust in overcoming risk.

My Mormon Agenda

My Mormon agenda is to become Gods, that is one with God, and live with our loved ones in

celestial glory for all eternity in a state of eternal progression.

This is Mormonism and I hold it to be a worthy cause. However, for me, celestial glory is not heaven within the confines of patriarchal authority that neglects and subjugates my sex. Celestial glory is not heaven without my LGBTQ+ family and the radical expansion of love. Celestial glory is not heaven if we don’t make it happen, right here, right now, on earth (Doctrine and Covenants 88:18-20). Celestial glory is scripturally and literally of our own making as we join the Body of Christ as exemplified by Jesus.

Most LDS Mormons don’t have a problem with this agenda, until it comes to changing policy, questioning authority, or challenging dogma. However, accomplishing the primary Mormon objective mandates that we change and adapt policy. Eternal progression is not something independent of our efforts, nor is it the sole responsibility of church leaders to implement. God cannot meaningfully reveal what we would not meaningfully accept, due to agency (Moses 4:3-4). If we are racist, so are our policies, rituals, and interpretations. If we are sexist, so are our policies, rituals, and interpretations. If we are heterosexist, so are our policies, rituals, and interpretations. If we are insincere, so are our policies, rituals, and interpretations. God has granted us the agency to either achieve transcendence or commit our own destruction (Alma 29:4-5).

If we are members of the LDS Church, it is not simply our prerogative to change ourselves, and by extension policy and the Church, but it is our imperative duty if we are to accomplish the primary Mormon objective. I choose faith in the Mormon agenda which is to become Gods and live with our loved ones beyond this earthly life for all eternity in a state of eternal progression. Eternal progression, in all its forms, is indispensable to Mormon doctrine. But that won’t happen without our collective works. Faith without works is dead (James 2:20).

My Agenda

My agenda is to create the tangible manifestations of radical love.

My agendas may seem unrelated to an observer, but for me, they are one in the same. For many people these issues are quite literally a matter of life and death. Life comes with risk—real existential risk on both a global and individual level. I don’t want to exist in a world of eternal subjugation, oppression, ignorance, or fear where radical love is trampled and suffering is greeted with apathy. If that is the case, we are no longer working toward heaven, but hell.

I want to compassionately work toward an existence where people can live and love freely, without the limitations of oppression, selfishness, hopelessness, and death. Any transcendent existence I want to build and be a part of includes the radical compassion of all of humankind seeking to build a better existence with reconciliation of diversification. I’m not perfect at it, but I think it’s a worthy aspiration.

*This post is a personal commentary of my own desires and objectives, and I am speaking as an individual and not as a spokesperson for th

You are not porn. You are the Sun.

Tue, 18 Jul 2017 07:32:00 -0600

I often hear people talking about widening the canopy of Mormonism to be more inclusive of various interpretations, orthodoxy, and orthopraxy, similar to Catholicism. I’m highly in favor of such aspirations, particularly with regard to orthopraxy.

While I stopped wearing garments three years ago, Mormonism is very much a part of my identity. My clothes might challenge orthopraxy, but my heart still bleeds orthodoxy, which is different than dogma. For me, garments were a reminder of the patriarchal oppression that I experienced in the temple. Some of the most beautiful aspects of Mormon theology are taught in the temple, like theosis, eternal sealings and priesthood power. However, all are dripping with androcentric esthetics and patriarchal policies. Temple depictions of heaven felt more like hell, so I stepped back to reassess. I think about returning to the temple from time to time and someday I might, but currently the wound is still too deep.

Since I don’t wear garments, I sometimes wear sleeveless clothing. I wear tank tops to school, I wear short shorts to go visiting teaching, and yes, I wear sleeveless dresses to church. Honestly, I don’t even notice it anymore. I wear what I like, because it’s comfortable and it makes me feel good. Most people don’t seem to mind either, or if they do they don’t overtly express it. I’ve worn sleeveless dresses while bearing my testimony of Jesus Christ and speaking at a baptism. With patience and time, most have become relatively accepting. Of course there have been a few who passive-aggressively comment on my esthetics, or glance at my legs or shoulders in disapproval, but that’s more a reflection of their issues, not mine.

I’m not going to lie, at first it was hard. The hardest part was getting over my own dogma and insecurities. First, I had to stop shaming my shoulders and stop giving unnecessary social power to others before I could persuade them to do the same. I had to accept that I could be a “good Mormon” even though that didn’t include LDS temple garments. Some aspects of orthopraxy require explicit communal sanction, but this wasn’t one of them.

A friend once offered me a good piece of advice. She said, “If you act like you belong, most people will let you belong.” She was right. I had to stop privileging their view and trust that I belonged to the community, even when my orthopraxy differed from theirs.

I’ve heard some Mormon feminists talk about having a #PornShoulders March to protest the objectification of Mormon women’s shoulders. I think this is a mistake. It will likely be perceived by certain members as a teenage girl throwing a temper tantrum because her daddy said she couldn’t leave the house dressed like that. I do not believe this is the intention, but likely the perception. This will cause those whom need to be persuaded to tighten their grip on the worldview that makes them feel safe, which includes the objectification of women’s shoulders, my shoulders, our shoulders, and even their own shoulders. They will cling to that which we wish to dispel.

It reminds me of one of Aesop’s Fables, The North Wind and the Sun:

“A dispute arose between the north wind and the sun, each claiming that she was stronger than the other. At last they agreed to try their powers upon a traveler, to see which could soonest strip him of his cloak. The north wind had the first try; and, gathering up all her force for the attack, she came whirling furiously down upon the man and caught up his cloak as though he would wrest it from him be one single effort. But the harder she blew, the more closely the man wrapped it around himself. Then came the turn of the sun. At first she beamed gently upon the traveler, who soon unclasped his cloak and walked on with it hanging loosely about his shoulders. Then she shone forth in her full strength, and the man, before her had gone many steps, was glad to throw his cloak right off and complete his journey more lightly clad.”

We must be the Sun—calm, patient, powerful, smart, bold, unyielding, and effective.

We must protest with persuasion. Stop privileging objectification. Stop hash tagging PornSholders. Stop perpetuating a partisan narrative that disservices the cause. Instead, privilege your view—the one that says God loves and accepts you and your shoulders at church. That is how we widen the Mormon canopy.

You are not porn. You are the Sun.

*Published at Rational Faiths on Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Terasem workshop in Second Life, July 20: David Orban

Tue, 18 Jul 2017 01:30:46 -0600

Terasem’s 12th Annual Workshop On Geoethical Nanotechnology will take place as usual on July 20 in the Terasem sim, Second Life, with top speakers including David Orban, founder of Network Society Research, faculty member and advisor at Singularity University,

Other speakers: space activist and social entrepreneur Yalda Mousavinia, co-founder of Space Cooperative, scientist, tech consultant and top science fiction writer David Brin, and of course Terasem co-founder Martine Rothblatt.

David’s talk is titled “The Biosphere Is A Small Subset Of The Technosphere And Will Grow With It.” Abstract:

In approximately 3.5 billion years of evolution the biosphere grew to cover all of the surface of Earth. But in vertical it only extends about a mile or two, to be generous, in both directions from sea level. Going up oxygen becomes scarce, going down light is stopped by the solid surface almost immediately, and in a few hundred yards by water.

Through solar energy, space based manufacturing, underground LED hydroponics, we can radically extend the volume in which biocompatible environments can allow organic life to thrive, and to sustain the human-technological hybrid civilization.

Earth’s carrying capacity is a hundredfold what we believe it is!

Through engineered nanorobots to suitably process the chemical and mineral composition of the soil within which to establish the fractal maze of 3D environments, the same approach can be applied to Martian colonies, too.

An abundant mindset, which leverages human creativity and the full potential of our technologies, can recognize the perils of the blind experiments we are already running on a planetary scale, and embrace the responsibility of open and directed developments that benefit all of the biosphere, giving it vast new opportunities unreachable by the casual attempts of natural selection.

David was kind enough to answer some questions:

The Earth, the Moon, or Mars?

All of the above! And more! We must stay curious and passionate about our future, which will include space, not as the next frontier, but the next series of environments with which to confront our ingenuity and desire to solve our challenges.

How can a Network Society help protecting and stewarding our planet?

Decentralized networks are able to evolve more resilient communities that leverage technologies at the edge, experimenting, iterating solutions, sharing best practices globally in a borderless, interconnected world.

How can a Network Society help going to the stars?

We are, from the Internet of Things, to blockchain, to Articificial Intelligence, putting together approaches that are eminently applicable to space exploration, and to radically redesigned approaches to how we can establish colonies in the solar system and beyond.

Are we getting close to The Diamond Age described by Neal Stephenson, or is nanotech a failed dream?

Nanotech is what powers our bodies. Nature took billions of years to evolve it. If it takes us a few hundred, it should not be surprising, and we can still be proud of the results.

Where are those nanobots that Eric Drexler promised?

As Paul Saffo says, “Never mistake a clear view for a short distance”. They are here in our future, unavoidably.

Please come and listed to David on July 20, and ask more questions!

Terasem’s 12th Annual Workshop On Geoethical Nanotechnology
Using Geoethical Nanotechnology to Combat Climate Change

Thursday, July 20, 2017
11:00AM — 1:30PM PDT/2:00PM — 4:30PM EDT/7:00PM — 9:30PM GMT

Terasem Island Conference Center in Second Life
[SLURL — click here to teleport to Terasem]

Feel free to explore Terasem Island in Second Life (just install a Second Life viewer and then click the link above) before the workshop, and feel free to contact me for help.

Pictures from David Orban.

Terasem workshop in Second Life, July 20: David Orban was originally published in Turing Church on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Terasem workshop in Second Life, July 20: David Brin

Mon, 17 Jul 2017 03:38:31 -0600

Terasem’s 12th Annual Workshop On Geoethical Nanotechnology will take place as usual on July 20 in the Terasem sim, Second Life, with top speakers including scientist, tech consultant and top science fiction writer David Brin.

Other speakers: space activist and social entrepreneur Yalda Mousavinia, co-founder of Space Cooperative, David Orban, founder of Network Society Research, faculty member and advisor at Singularity University, and of course Terasem co-founder Martine Rothblatt.

Organizer Lori Rhodes and I met David Brin a few days ago in Second Life for preparations. David has given talks in Second Life before — see for example this 2008 talk at Extropia Core, then the most active futurist community in Second Life.

The content of David’s talk on July 20 is kept under tight wraps, only the title has been revealed: “The Geoethics of Earth Alteration… and possible Gaia-Uplift” — If you are wondering what that means, come and find out on July 20! Access coordinates to the Terasem sim in Second Life below.

In David’s “Uplift universe” an intergalactic civilization, which has existed for billions of years, is perpetuated by the act of “uplift,” in which an advanced species changes a pre-sapient species until it is sapient. Gaia is the Earth, with its biosphere and noosphere.

Can we uplift Gaia, and what does Gaia become after uplifting? Let’s go to Second Life on July 20 and find out.

Terasem’s 12th Annual Workshop On Geoethical Nanotechnology
Using Geoethical Nanotechnology to Combat Climate Change

Thursday, July 20, 2017
11:00AM — 1:30PM PDT/2:00PM — 4:30PM EDT/7:00PM — 9:30PM GMT

Terasem Island Conference Center in Second Life
[SLURL — click here to teleport to Terasem]

Feel free to explore Terasem Island in Second Life (just install a Second Life viewer and then click the link above) before the workshop, and feel free to contact me for help.

Cover picture from David Brin, Second Life picture from ideonexus.

Terasem workshop in Second Life, July 20: David Brin was originally published in Turing Church on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Contortionist

Fri, 14 Jul 2017 12:02:00 -0600

I can stretch and bend,

put my feet behind my head.

I can smile real big,

and grow my skin thick.

Hold my breath for days.

Dress myself a million ways.

Repress a tear or two.

Laugh on cue.

Hold it together.

Cinch it tight.

Lengthen the stride.

Subdue the fight.

I can be anything for you.

Well,

anything,

but me.

I can twist my neck,

to suit your perspective.

Be your favorite fantasy.

Better than ecstasy.

Intermingled all night long,

I’ll moan you a song.

Tell you what you want to hear.

Placate your fears.

Perform.

Conform.

Distort.

Contort.

Take your pick.

I can be anything for you.

Well,

anything,

but me.

Wherever I go,

Whatever I do,

It’s up to you.

I’ll follow your rules.

How could I refuse?

Simply a toy you could enjoy

while I pretend to be coy.

Whenever you're done, toss me aside.

You can ignore that I cried.I'll stick to procedure.

Pretend to be eager.

Whatever you choose,

I can be anything for you.

Well,

anything,

but me.

But I’m more than machine.

I’m an actual human being,

with my own wants, thoughts and tasks.

But you wouldn’t know, you didn’t ask.

Because the truth is

you don’t know me.

You wanted the girl in a costume,

with extreme flexibility,

to absolve your of accountability,

and relinquish responsibility,

without your sensibilities,

you mock my authenticity,

without regard to my sensitivity,

with ruthless civility,

You wanted—

Well,

anything,

but me.

But the tragedy is

you could say the same to me.

CRISPR LOVE

Fri, 14 Jul 2017 10:55:00 -0600

Guest Blogger:

Gary Lee Parker

I cut my genes for you

I cut myself to keep your love

I trim the edges, rough to smooth

I shape my soul to fit your glove

I Infect myself for you

I change my mind to rise above

my baser state, the more uncouth

allotments, lop the riffraff of

my riffraff spirit’s residue

I clip the wings of Eden’s dove

I cut my genes for you, in truth

I cut myself to keep your love

I lose myself for you

I lose myself inside your need

in your X-Acto blade demands

For what I ought to be

Carefully I cut for you

my garden’s code I strictly weed

my garden’s code I prune by hand

and burn the cheap debris

my unruly runners hewn

I hew the gnarled knobs and seed

my soul anew, each woven strand

unzipped, I craft a better tree

I cut my genes for you

I cut my soul to rise above

I change myself, your fears to soothe

I cut myself to keep your love

evict myself to keep your love

eject myself to keep a love
you are unworthy of

Terasem workshop in Second Life, July 20: Yalda Mousavinia

Mon, 10 Jul 2017 10:00:58 -0600

Terasem’s 12th Annual Workshop On Geoethical Nanotechnology will take place as usual on July 20 in the Terasem sim, Second Life, with top speakers including space activist and social entrepreneur Yalda Mousavinia, co-founder of Space Cooperative.

Yalda’s talk is titled “Space Mission Collaboration for the Benefit of Humanity.” Abstract:

Space Cooperative is developing a collaborative platform to design and execute ambitious space missions through self organized local or virtual groups, with global vision, crowdsourced know how, and crowdfunded financial incentives. An integrated VR experience will provide immersive and energizing discussion and design spaces for next generation space endeavors. How can global citizens launch a new space program that leads us not only back to the Moon, but also back to the Earth? This presentation will illustrate two sample initiatives, a new Moon program and a “terraforming Earth” program aimed at taking better care of our planet through science and future geoethical nanotechnology.

I interviewed Yalda:

https://medium.com/media/1392a1bd2d6886f9e1ebf2bd6875e1b7/href

The discussion touches on space, the environment, the still untapped potential of virtual worlds, and the prospect of crowdsourcing and crowdfunding BIG projects to do BIG things, here on Earth and out there in space.

This is just an appetizer: Yalda has much more to say, so come and listen to her in Second Life on July 20!

Perhaps you think that Second Life is yesterday’s news, but make no mistake: the next wave of VR-enabled virtual worlds inspired by Second Life is tomorrow’s news.

The Terasem workshop is always held on July 20 to honor the anniversary of the first lunar landing. In the words of Martine Rothblatt:

“It reminds us of the imperative to move outwards — we must get religiously fanatic about galactic colonization.”

Terasem’s 12th Annual Workshop On Geoethical Nanotechnology
Using Geoethical Nanotechnology to Combat Climate Change

Thursday, July 20, 2017
11:00AM — 1:30PM PDT/2:00PM — 4:30PM EDT/7:00PM — 9:30PM GMT

Terasem Island Conference Center in Second Life
[SLURL — click here to teleport to Terasem]

Feel free to explore Terasem Island in Second Life (just install a Second Life viewer and then click the link above) before the workshop, and feel free to contact me for help.

Terasem workshop in Second Life, July 20: Yalda Mousavinia was originally published in Turing Church on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Christian Post – Sex With Robots Goes Against God’s Plan, Christian Ethicists Warn, Urge Ban on Child Sex Robots

Sat, 08 Jul 2017 13:10:22 -0600

The Christian Post features The Rev. Dr. Christopher Benek’s theological take on sexbots. Read the full article HERE.

Inverse – This Religion is the First to Say Sex Robots are a Sin

Fri, 07 Jul 2017 10:28:05 -0600

Jack Crosby of Inverse cites the writings of The Rev. Dr. Christopher Benek in an article dealing with theological implications of developing sexbots. Read the full article HERE.

Česká Pozice – Robot a jeho pán aneb Může mít umělá inteligence vlastní etiku?

Thu, 06 Jul 2017 21:54:09 -0600

Writing for Czech Magazine Česká Pozice, Blahoslav Hruška quotes The Rev. Dr. Christopher Benek in his piece on AI Ethics. Read the full version HERE. Don’t read Czech? Try Google Translate.

Terasem’s 12th Annual Workshop On Geoethical Nanotechnology, July 20, Second Life

Thu, 06 Jul 2017 08:34:01 -0600

Terasem’s 12th Annual Workshop On Geoethical Nanotechnology will take place as usual on July 20 in the Terasem sim, Second Life, with top speakers and talks.

Confirmed speakers include Terasem co-founder Martine Rothblatt, science fiction writer David Brin, and space activist/entrepreneur Yalda Mousavinia.

Other speakers will be announced soon. Stay tuned for the full program. In the next two weeks before the workshop we’ll publish here news, views and interviews with the speakers.

Perhaps you think that Second Life is yesterday’s news, but make no mistake: the next wave of VR-enabled virtual worlds inspired by Second Life is tomorrow’s news.

The Workshop is always held on July 20 to honor the anniversary of the first lunar landing. This year’s workshop theme is “Using Geoethical Nanotechnology to Combat Climate Change.”

Terasem’s 12th Annual Workshop On Geoethical Nanotechnology
Using Geoethical Nanotechnology to Combat Climate Change

Thursday, July 20, 2017
11:00AM — 1:30PM PDT/2:00PM — 4:30PM EDT/7:00PM — 9:30PM GMT

Terasem Island Conference Center in Second Life
[SLURL — click here to teleport to Terasem]

Feel free to explore Terasem Island in Second Life (just install a Second Life viewer and then click the link above) before the workshop, and feel free to contact me for help.

Image from Terasem.

Terasem’s 12th Annual Workshop On Geoethical Nanotechnology, July 20, Second Life was originally published in Turing Church on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Immortality, Resurrection, Mind-Uploading, try ‘Tyaga’ and Selfless Love

Mon, 03 Jul 2017 22:41:52 -0600

Editors’ note: We think this essay by Nupur Munshi is particularly interesting because it provides an Eastern view into Christian and Muslim teachings about sacrifice, and implications relevant for transhumanist spirituality.

“Oh Sister You are my courage and strength in the face of pain and grief.”

There could be two meanings for sacrifice or renunciation (the goal is similar) — one is the popular one, and the other is the one which I prefer to study. The popular meaning often tends towards not so relevant aspects of the concept because it is more inclined to ritualistic norms, but the other meaning, which has a richer meaning, is philosophically superior and may lead to understanding the true nature of our existence.

sacrifice (n.)

“Offering of something (especially a life) to a deity as an act of propitiation or homage.”
“Meaning ‘surrender, give up, suffer to be lost.’”

Tyaga (Sanskrit): renunciation — relinquishment of the fruit of action, giving up to get the higher.

We are here talking about “resurrection,” the most unusual thing to have happened in the history of mankind. Jesus came back to life after death. He was crucified and his dead body was lying in a tomb and after three days the tomb was found to be empty, Jesus “seen” to have risen in a glorified body.

I am a Hindu — I am not thoroughly acquainted with the episode of resurrection. I know that Easter is celebrated all around the world because of this miraculous feat of the Son of God. We love Easter in India as we see our Christian friends celebrating we rejoice in their celebration.

But what is resurrection, and why did it happen? To find an answer, I first looked into the Bible verses related to The Resurrection from the King James Version (KJV).

This is what I found.

Corinthians 15:3–4

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures;

Jesus was great and his death set an example to follow. A noble value, that of self sacrifice. It means to attain something great one must give away ordinary goals. Jesus’ brutal crucifixion and death, and His burial inside a dark tomb prior to the resurrection, was witnessed by everyone, and He bore the pain that came pouring down upon him. It was almost looking as if he was ready to accept that pain to his physical body to take the sins of others as his own and be punished for it.

Jesus did exactly that… and got back a glorious life. It is interesting to study the whole episode of false charges against him followed by the gruesome killing of and the strength of mind Jesus showed. Let us all learn from Him the courage with which he stood the adversities.

“Christ was unselfish, and yet he was crucified.” True, but we know that his unselfishness is the reason, the cause of a great victory — the crowning of millions upon millions of lives with the blessings of true success”. — Swami Vivekananda.

“ Christian Transhumanism holds that this understanding of human identity was embodied in the life of Jesus, who transformed our vision of the boundaries of human life, and self-sacrificially opened up new possibilities for the future of the human race.” — Micah Redding.

The act of sacrifice is very interesting. We call it relinquishment, the act of “tyaga” in Hinduism. Islam calls it “qurbani”. Renunciation is actually about giving up to get the higher.

“Renunciation comes by itself when you have got the higher. Then the lesser falls away itself.”

In the Hindu Scripture of The Bhagavad Gita, “tyaga” is predominantly dealt with as “To work thou hast the right but never to the fruit” (Swami Vivekananda). “Krishna teaches that perfection lies not in renunciation of the world, but rather in disciplined action (Karma Yoga), performed without attachment to results (karma-phala-tyaga)(Stephen Rogen).

Sacrifice is a spontaneous and unhypocritical selfless act of giving up the fruit of the effort the labor you put in to a work.

We have story of Sita. “There she will always be, this glorious Sita, purer than purity and all suffering, all patience and all suffering… without a murmur,” the great Sita, the consort of Lord Rama in our epic Ramayan. She is an amazing character — the beautiful daughter of king Janakya, she accompanied Rama to the forest as the latter was expelled from the kingdom, to bear hardships along with him. There she was captured and held captive by the demon Ravan. Charged falsely of impurity for her stay with Ravan, she had to undergo the “test of fire” to prove her chastity. She was forced into exile the second time, toil all by herself to raise her children in an ashram and finally, when she again had to take the trial on fire, mother earth opened up and took Sita away.

Some critics say that Sita’s “descent was Sita’s ascent”.

“Allah says in the Quraan: ‘It is not their flesh nor their blood that reaches Allah; it is your piety that reaches him.’ 22:37… Qurbani calls for the slaughter of one’s innate desires by placing the knife of courage and resistance on hatred, jealousy, pride, greed, animosity, and other such maladies of the heart.”

Let’s take the story of the Buddha. He left his kingdom and family for a meditative journey to enlightenment. “… the Buddha, who also awakened to new life in his moment of Enlightenment at the Bodhi Tree, which entails an awareness of Nirvana, a condition of bliss that comes from the blowing out of the three flames of greed, hatred, and delusion.”

Sacrifice is not slaughter of animals, symbolically it is slaughter of animosity, neither it is offering in the fire, symbolically it is about deriving happiness in selflessly giving sharing and loving, nor is it condemning, chastising or rebuking but rather, interestingly, being condemned and rebuked as in the case of Jesus and Sita. Sacrifice is the religion of the higher minds.

It is said that “Something beautiful happens to people when their world has fallen apart: a Humility,a nobility,a higher intelligence emerges at just when our knees hit the floor”.

When we talk about technology in the context and language of these philosophical aspects of the higher minds, the question of whether technology be able to tackle these before approaching uploading or immortality comes as a serious concern.

Should technological advancement be misleading, misguiding us to more greed, jealousy, hatred, name, fame, money? No … it must also help us to work on certain aspects of our behavior in the face of adversity and oppression. Technology should help us in the ultimate human purpose of “love and renunciation.” Science can develop methods of mind uploading and think of sophisticated methods of developing higher minds. The Upanishads says “Not by progeny not by wealth but by renunciation alone immortality is reached.” If God inflicts pain it is for our good — an opportunity of “tyaga” is an opportunity for immortality because, as Vivekananda says, “You are the Heirs of immortality, sons of the Eternal Father.” I am sure technology follows this rule, not the other.

When our body perishes at the time of death, our mind or consciousness moves to the next higher level of consciousness. In mind-uploading a sentient gets copied to a computer as a simulation in the form of information. The copy remains in a simulated world for as long as infinity. Moving to a higher level requires a lot of effort suffering, sacrifice, love and renunciation. Consciouness depend critically on subtle quantum effects in our neural circuitory. The fleshy brain is a substrate for non local quantum effects acted upon us via the brain. So, what if the neural circuitry that holds the mind is refined before transference to make things easier? Renunciatory habits refine neural circuits, the physical looses its hold, and finally the free mind is refined to be simulated and uploaded in a more powerful alternative substrate .

It is also a requirement now that we open up opportunities to study how all these things work to get a better idea of how the cosmic mind functions, quite contrary to our belief, to encourage sacrificing the fruit of our work, unselfishness, and love to get to the higher.

We discussed some of the possibilities in the recently held Online India Awakens Conference with a global group of renowned thinkers and scientists.: Ralph Abraham and Sisir Roy, Lincoln Cannon, Amit-Goswami, Giulio Prisco, Michael Latorra, and Frank Tipler.

My conversation with Swami-Suparnananda-Maharaj at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata, enlightened me that anything done with love comes with a spontaneous and natural feeling of renunciation and sacrifice, which is in fact beneficial in the long run in terms of our overall well being, no less eternity.

For that matter my sister Rumjhum is in a better situation now. She was a bundle of selfless love and she is immortalized by this very instinct of hers.

More…

Resurrection. Is it true that Jesus came back and in what kind of body? Where is he now?
What is mind uploading? And how will that be possible for someone who passed away earlier to the time when uploading will be done.
Transcending.

References

Picture from Wikimedia Commons: N. Roerich — The Great Sacrifice. Setting for I.F.Stravinsky’s Ballet “Sacred Spring.”

Immortality, Resurrection, Mind-Uploading, try ‘Tyaga’ and Selfless Love was originally published in Turing Church on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Mormon Transhumanist Association Opinions

Let’s start walking the sacred walk to the stars

A bold initiative: Let’s start building outposts on the sacred road to the stars

The Enemy

The Purpose of Scripture & Doctrine

Memories of the Universe

Two Trees: a dream

Religion News Service – As artificial intelligence grows, so do perceived threats to human uniqueness

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VIDEO: Terasem’s 12th Annual Workshop On Geoethical Nanotechnology, Second Life, July 20, 2017

Speakers

My Agenda

You are not porn. You are the Sun.

Terasem workshop in Second Life, July 20: David Orban

Terasem workshop in Second Life, July 20: David Brin

The Contortionist

CRISPR LOVE

Terasem workshop in Second Life, July 20: Yalda Mousavinia

The Christian Post – Sex With Robots Goes Against God’s Plan, Christian Ethicists Warn, Urge Ban on Child Sex Robots

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Česká Pozice – Robot a jeho pán aneb Může mít umělá inteligence vlastní etiku?

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Terasem’s 12th Annual Workshop On Geoethical Nanotechnology, July 20, Second Life

Immortality, Resurrection, Mind-Uploading, try ‘Tyaga’ and Selfless Love

“Oh Sister You are my courage and strength in the face of pain and grief.”

More…

References