Rules, norms, mores, codes, taboos, beliefs, dogmas, narratives and ideologies
These are part of a larger set of abstractions (see Slide 16 notes) that limit possibilities for generative thought and action.
Some items, dogmas for instance, can simply be disregarded once you have recognised them.Generative
Geared towards generating value, meaning and joy. Seeking to create that which improves people’s lives and makes the world a better place. There are two main levels of generative action. Level 1 is action aimed at generating value for others (lend someone your bike). Level 2 is action aimed at creating that which generates value for others, again and again (give them your bike, or start a nonprofit that lends out bikes).
Certain other items must be observed if you are to avoid undesirable consequences. You will need ingenuity and resourcefulness if you are to free yourself from the constraints presented by such items. Lawfulness, morality and respect must inform your intentions and actions.
The mundane world trap
The first attention1 basically consists of everything that ordinary man considers it means to be human. It is the reality that has been constructed and developed in order to deal with the daily world and encompasses an awareness restricted to the physical body.
Lorraine Voss PhD, Female Warrior | view
1. First attention corresponds with mundane world.
Jim Channon, 1979
“One way of describing the process of enlightenment … is popping out of the structure and into the spirit. If you can’t travel freely into either set then your [sic] stuck in the cultural trance.” Download First Earth Battalion Operations Manual by Jim Channon, Lt Col US Army | Download is safe and screen display is fine but some pdf pages do not render correctly
Jack Martin Leith, 2025
I created this image while unaware of Jim Channon’s model.
Here, mundane reality is anaologous to Seahaven, the false world inhabited by Truman Burbank, Jim Carrey’s character in The Truman Show.
Seahaven
The movie industry has shown us other false worlds such as the Land of Oz in The Wizard of Oz and blue pill reality in The Matrix trilogy.Read more
External sources
A tale of norms and laws by Koen Smets on Substack
This website
A collection of quotes about intent
How might we transcend the mundane and activate pure imagining?
Intent — the generative impulse
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