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Proyecto Visión 21

It is time to have a serious talk about topics nobody wants to talk

Francisco Miraval

I recently reviewed a catalogue of online classes you can take for free or at a very low cost from prestigious universities all over the world. I was amazed to discover the variety of unexpected topics analyzed in those classes, topics not only far removed from daily our conversations, but also abysmally removed even from our imagination.

One class, for example, deals with cosmic evolution and super-humanity. There is also a class about trans-humanism. And I saw courses about viral mythology, exo-politics (interplanetary politics), eco-spirituality, and quantum mysticism,

I want to emphasize these are real classes offered by real and renowned universities or institutions and taught by professors with a long experience and recognized expertise in their respective fields. This is not some unknown person with some funny ideas creating a fancy web site. These are true scholars teaching online the same subjects they also teach to their students inside the classrooms.

I must say I did not expect to see a class about the intersection of mystical practices and quantum physics, or a class about the connection between spirituality and ecology. In other classes, professors analyze what some of them perceive to be an imminent change in humanity, be it through spiritual transformation or through technological advances.

I also must say that, after reading what is being taught and the topics students are now exploring in college, I felt like almost prehistoric. It seems I am unable to understand what is going one around me, just as my great-grandmother would not know what to do if a time-machine ever transported her to the 21st century.

Even more, at the same time researchers think it is time to study extraterrestrial diplomacy or the transmission of  myth from the remote past to the present, most of us are still watching TV, playing games, going to concerts, and doing many other things that, in light of the new developments I just mentioned, suddenly become almost irrelevant.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that we don’t care about the future or that we are unable to think about the future. What I am saying is that, as in many other occasions, we haven’t had yet the opportunity of thinking about the future. To be honest, I don’t think anybody will ever give us such an opportunity. It’s our responsibility to create it, to build it. And that’s not an easy task.

In 1784, in An Answer to the Question: “What is Enlightenment?” the German philosopher Immanuel Kant said that, “Laziness and cowardice are the reasons why such a large proportion of (persons)… gladly remain immature for life,” because they prefer to rely on what others do and say.

The good news is that we are neither lazy nor cowards. That’s why we are here. At the same time, I think the time has come for us to focus our hard work and courage in preparing ourselves and our community for a future that, while still unimaginable, is certainly about to happen.

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