Fighting the Friction

Friction is a necessary force in nature.   Without friction we would literally slide down any slippery slope, be unable to stop or hold anything, and be falling down or crashing constantly.   We need friction - this natural resistance, to live safely.  This is a quixotic truth yet in a social sense people often believe that friction causes discomfort which they wish to avoid.  Having everything "running smoothly" is a goal for most people and that includes "no tension" within their relationships. 

Social media implicitly demands we only post images presenting "smooth sailing" and 'positive value' portrayals of people and situations.   Dramatic poses, displays of skin and sexually explicit pics spread quickly to "go viral"  (like a swift moving infection of the mind/spirit) amassing audience and media "engagement" are becoming de rigueur.  While each person may believe they have a "unique branding", in reality they become predictable and like a swarm on the few 'popular' platforms.   This week I am urging you to exercise your judgement, your brain and fight the deliberate media incitements to be sucked into the fantasies of effortless achievements, easy opulent lifestyles or to resist jumping into the bandwagons created to incite  friction, division, slanders and extremes.    Dare NOT to click!

Find new ways to ease, squeeze, outsmart and defuse or ignore presented "issues";  therefore de-escalating those factions, groups and persons who seek to distort truth, garner mob support to attack those they view (or are brainwashed to see) as "divergent", or non-conforming to the "acceptable narratives".   Resist the strong currents pulling toward 'One Mind/Group Think/Hive Control'.   Ignite your full spectrum thinking@ and don't fight the friction-learn when to ease off and when to embrace these anomalies with your own willpower and brain.   This week I will include means and ways to do so.  You will need to employ these on a daily basis.

'Groupthink' is a term first used in 1972, by social psychologist Irving L. Janis that refers to a psychological phenomenon in which people strive for consensus within a group. In many cases, people will set aside their own personal beliefs or adopt the opinion of the rest of the group. The group is more concerned with maintaining unity than with objectively evaluating their situation, alternatives and options.
  
Groupthink may come about organically in homogeneous societies with a common, language, culture, ethnicity, belief system and environment.   Tribal societies such as Indigenous Aboriginal, Native American and specific African tribes are examples.   These peoples historically had rituals, ceremonies, obligations and strict rules/taboos in order to ensure their survival against outsiders, invaders, predators and natural disasters.  Groupthink evolved over time and experience from within.

However, this type of Groupthink is different than what Irving Janis was describing as observed in the latter 20th, and the beginning of the 21st centuries.   Today, heterogenous societies, fueled by global movements and immigration mixing cultures, ethnicities, languages, beliefs and customs are steered by media, the dominant group/culture's education system and political organs, to create a "common group think" based on who is in power and wishes to keep their power.  The 'unity' proselytized is not for the benefit and overall health of the individual or tribal group-rather the individual, family unit, clan and tribe will be forced to be subsumed and assimilated into a larger entity.   Labels become more important than names i.e. you become a "party member", "Comrade", "Green", "Tory", "Rebel" "Alt Right/Left"-etc.   You are expected to think, act, espouse in concert with the group not your personal choice, conscience or ideas.   Independent thought is actively discouraged.   Groupthink has it's own script you follow to be considered "one" of them.

Further,  with advanced technologies-the "hive mind" observed in bees, starlings, locusts, Monarch butterflies, Red crabs, bats and dolphins can be understood physiologically by tracking, tagging and imaging neural networks in different species over time.  This has been accomplished by reviewing changes in migration patterns, hunting, incubating and food storage.  There are many who wish to connect human minds this way and further, have human minds connected to computers to form a "hive mind".   The rationale is that the sacrifice of individuality is worthwhile for the betterment of the larger population.   They base their model and prescription on "nature".

"No individual fully grasps the entire problem, whether the task is to defend a hive or migrate in a coordinated fashion, he said. But by acting on its own senses within its immediate surroundings, each animal influences its neighbors’ behavior. Magnified across a large flock or swarm, you get a global behavior of the whole system that can appear intelligent. The secret behind these new research efforts derives from the basic rules of what’s known as swarm intelligence, a scientific framework inspired by the way in which birds flock together, social insects swarm and dust particles swirl in the air.  In other words, the sum is greater than its parts." www.nbcnews.com/id/23888902/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/t/swarm-intelligence-inspired-animals/

Films such as: The Matrix, Transcendence, Listening, Minority Report, Star Trek, X-Men, Fifth Element, Lucy, The Divergent Series all are part of predictive programming for control using technology interface and "group think".   The film, gaming and media industries want to condition their audience/population to see "hive mind-no privacy" as an inevitability thus subconsciously and consciously normalizing shocking controls while preparing you to submit to groupthink, groupmove,  group chipping...willingly.   My warning to you all-DON'T CAPITULATE-RESIST!

Here are strategies to shield yourself and discern tactics used in GroupThink.  Read, implement and pass these forward please.   There are more of course, but for this week I offer the following:

1. Invite, research and consider diverse points of view when decision making is involved as an individual or a team.   Deliberately play the 'devil's advocate' and raise challenges to the usual thinking processes.
2. Document and verify facts, separate out assumptions, opinions and stereotypes diligently
3. Ask questions which encourage probing and creativity ex:  "What else?"  "What are we missing?"   "What does our opposition do/use/understand?"  "What's the worst that can happen?"
4. Allow time for solitude and privacy before coming together to collaborate or brainstorm
5. Treat conflict and different points of view (Friction) as necessary for growth.  Conquer your fear of being "different" or not being "popular" because of your perspective
6. Limit numbers involved in decision making so everyone has a chance to speak and be invested in the process
7. Prepare with alternatives Plan B, Plan C and contingency plans and analyze post decision or issue with input from team members
8. Reward action, innovative ideas and not just compliance (internally and externally)
9. Seek to identify biases, triggers, stereotypes, automatic responses, vulnerabilites, manipulation tactics, ego driven emotions and influencers in yourself, in media, in organizations
10. ​Record your observations, discussions and decisions over time and compare

Gazing at Tokangawha translated as "burst open rock" in the south island of Aotearoa/New Zealand June 2019

Be willing to "burst open" your mind, ideas and movements to explore new territories.   Use "friction" as the dynamic force it is and ease off when you know or feel instinctively it is the time to do so.   Make it your Mission Possible-pursue true freedom and exercise your independence daily.

This Tuesday I include a song from Imagine Dragons album "Smoke + Mirrors"-entitled:   "FRICTION"....appropo eh?!  Let me know: www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0aoh363PI4 

Aroha Nui (much/big love)

Jo