What is Visionary Society?
Is a meaningful life possible? Can we make use of our intelligence and creativity, our passion and compassion? Can we shake off the trance that makes us sleepwalk through our lives? Can we have real understanding or true friendship?
Visionary Society is the idea that we can see beyond the hypnotic, conventional, ideological, political dogma that we have been raised in. That we can step aside from the rush of history. And that we can form our own lives and society through nothing other than insight and courage.
Most of us feel powerless. That is because we are powerless. Vast forces such as government, corporations, and technology dominate our lives. Within this system we might be able to carve out personal happiness if we are lucky. But this changes little.
The whole way society is organized suppresses our minds. But blaming society – government and corporations – is not helpful and is actually part of the problem. We have to find a way that takes advantage of our tremendous but underutilized abilities.
After our last print experiment more than ten years ago, Alaska Humanity News, we promised ourselves that we wouldn’t print again until we were able to actually DO something about the news. Is it possible to actually change something at the root level? That is what we have been wrestling with the last few years.
Visionary News is not what you ordinarily see in the media, which is news of current events, usually from a political perspective. News of the real is what lies under the surface, what produces current events by our fears and instincts, our hopes and dreams. It is the very root of our life. It is at the center of our heart. Can we find it? Maybe not, but at least we can set forth to make the attempt, in every case and in every way.
The things that really matter – the subtle and the sublime – produce the nitty gritty of society, the hot dog stands, the popular movies, the failing health care system, the mighty military machine, the mass incarceration system, and the dysfunctional lives that most of us live. Our lives are too comfortable. We don’t even know who we are. You can’t know if you’re not tested.
Welcome to the first edition of Visionary News. This is not a static, one-way production. Every article culminates in a series of steps that you can take (available in the online edition). Visionary News is dependent on your participation. Let’s make Salem more thoughtful, more meaningful, and – dare we envision it – more sublime.
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