Can FLO Conscious Living Save the World?¶

Our world is falling apart. We're divided, isolated, and distracted. We can't repair our broken infrastructure or even fix our electronic gadgets. The natural systems we depend on are all out of balance. And the bet on AI technology to solve everything might instead lead to our ultimate demise.

The key thing about these problems is that they are driven by human decisions. So, avoiding catastrophe depends on understanding how the systems around us lead to unhealthy decisions and how to move toward healthier directions.

Synthesizing the best ideas¶

This project aims to bring together the best perspectives and practices. We start with some of the most effective teachings and then continually update them to incorporate additional insights and improve the overall presentation.

We do not try to comprehensively discuss all ideas nor to say neutrally that one philosophy teaches this and another teaches that. We favor ideas which seem healthier than others, especially in practice. When contributors disagree, we work to find resolutions that accommodate all concerns. And we use the CL practices themselves when deciding each step in the project's evolution.

But one project can't be everything¶

Of course, to reach the most people, ideas need to be shared in many different languages, formats, styles, stories, and other contexts. Different expressions will reach different audiences. And we all learn best when we engage with ideas from many angles and revisit things in different ways at different times. So, there will never be a single right way to express CL. And one project cannot possibly encompass all perspectives.

So, we celebrate all the various creative expressions, personal stories, and different teaching styles that help anyone live in more conscious, healthy ways.

FLO makes the difference¶

Being FLO (Free/Libre/Open) is what makes this project different from the zillions of resources from other authors, influencers, and coaches.

When publications are restricted (whether legally, technically, or through social norms), it leaves the audience with limited choices. We can give something more or less attention. We can critique or praise. We can decide whether or not to make our own new publications to add to the pile.

With FLO projects, we have additional choices. We can offer suggestions. We can participate in discussions about potential updates. We can directly contribute changes. And we can adapt things into derivative projects without having to start from scratch.

Imagine how different it would feel to directly improve each book or article we read. Sometimes we might just fix typos. Other times, we might improve the style or add some explanations for a confusing section. Or we might just add a missing topic to an otherwise excellent work by copying the relevant section from another place.

FLO methods have themselves evolved to deal with all the concerns that arise such as crediting sources and tracking changes. A world of FLO resources does not mean everything blurs together. It means we can enjoy a richer ecosystem of ideas and expressions with wider creative participation.

CL is built on mindful awareness¶

Take a moment to review how it felt to read the opening sections here so far. Did it feel inspiring or compelling? Did it help you envision new possibilities? Or did you take it with skepticism or even cynically ask what the catch is or dismiss it as grandiose and impossible? Did you consciously notice the mindset you had when reading? Were you rushing through or slowly considering each point? Were you focused or were you distracted by other things?

A core claim of CL is that maintaining healthy patterns in life requires mindfulness — bringing conscious attention to how we are experiencing each moment. From there, we can consider each next step and whether it aligns with our values and goals.

The importance of skepticism¶

When we get sufficiently anxious/freaked-out/outraged/hopeless/overwhelmed/etc, it primes us to really listen when someone says they have the solutions. What a relief to think that there really are things we can do. Maybe it will be okay after all…!

Stories are especially engaging when they put us in a special group of saviors. Open our minds enough to such stories, and before we know it, we've been sucked into a cult…

Cults might have valid critiques of problems with mainstream society. They might practice meditation, play inspiring music, care for one another, and bring people real feelings of meaning and belonging. Those features aren't what makes something a cult.

What makes cults into such traps are features like deference to authority, dismissal of doubts and questions, demonizing of critics, and exclusiveness and secrecy.

When we're not dealing with full-blown cults, we're still constantly inundated with messages from people who want to sell us something or get us to believe one side or another of some issue. So we should probably not trust people who say the end of the world is near — even though they are right…!

Are you being appropriately skeptical of what you are reading here? You can read about how that this project is different and is trustworthy, but do you really know? Make sure to check that it lives up to its claims!

FLO-CL claims¶

Unlike so much else out there, FLO-CL costs nothing and has nothing for sale and nothing exclusive. We don't ask you to follow us on ad-driven, addictive social media. Nothing here is trademarked or patented or certified or secret. To avoid even the mild exclusivity of special clubs, we minimize jargon and esoteric language.

This project draws from many influences, and we care about crediting sources. But we never say that an idea should be accepted because of where it came from (nor that any idea should be rejected merely because of its source).

Everything in FLO-CL aims to be accessible and safely testable by anyone. The focus here is on values and practices rather than on assertions of absolute truth.

To find healthy directions, we need multiple perspectives¶

If we only listen to our positive thoughts and feelings, we will be gullible, fall into traps, and fail to notice all sorts of risks and dangers.

If we only listen to our negative thoughts and feelings, we will be cynical, miss opportunities, and fail to appreciate things that are currently healthy.

We must appreciate both our doubts and our hopes and not make one or the other supreme. We need to be conservative enough in protecting healthy systems while being flexible enough to imagine possibilities. We must fix and improve things where we can, step-by-step with appropriate humility and precaution.

Along with seeing different perspectives, we need integrity. We must integrate all the different parts of us so that they work together in harmony. And we need integrity at all scales: individually, socially, and globally.

So if you feel some intuitive resistance to any ideas here, listen to your intuitions. Figure out what they are telling you. Then, without losing those insights, take time to also see a more open perspective.

If your intuitions completely align with what you read here, then purposely check to see how it looks from a more skeptical posture. There is no way this project has everything perfectly right and clear.

CL supports freedom rather than dependency¶

With any group, idea, or technology, we can ask how dependent we become on it. If we leave it behind, are we better off or worse off than if we'd never encountered it? Have our skills been strengthened or have they atrophied?

Competitive technologies take the place of our skills. We might drive cars; follow turn-by-turn navigation; eat prepared, delivered, processed foods; and have AI autofill our messages. These things can leave us with atrophied muscles and minds.

Enhancing technologies support our skills. We can ride bikes, read maps, use the stairs, learn from cooking videos, and carefully use some sorts of AI to give us writing suggestions. If we then lose these technologies, we still have stronger muscles and better understandings.

Of course, human thriving will always depend on cooperation and healthy natural systems. Relying on tools and other people is not inherently a problem. Still, we can ask how dependent are we? When we lose someone in our lives, did our time with them bring us greater understanding and compassion or has it left us weaker and more troubled? And we can also ask whether we leave others better off having known us.

All of the CL ideas aim to be enhancing. CL does not resolve anything for us, it helps us learn how to better resolve things for ourselves.

Conscious commitments¶

The many crises we face today are rooted in people lacking presence, failing to take real responsibility, being righteous and overconfident instead of curious, lacking integrity, and acting out of contempt for themselves and others instead of living with love and compassion. So many of us find ourselves burning out while addicted to unhealthy junk instead of living at our best with healthy vitality.

Individually, each of us have little power to change the whole system. However, all the power that any of us has comes in the question of what to do in the very next moment. Our very next step could might be to pause for a conscious breath, to study, to meditate, or to take some concrete action toward coordinating with others to build a larger movement that could lead us to a healthier future.